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Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing: Meditation as Medication for the Mind

Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing: Meditation as Medication for the Mind

ByLawrence W. Dolnick

What is the purpose or goal of meditation? This question forms one of the primary stumbling blocks for many Westerners first encountering Buddhism. The Western mind, reared on goal-oriented pragmatism, balks at the notion of a "goal-less" practice. Any project whose end-product cannot be clearly delineated in advance will not likely be deemed worthy of extended effort. Yet when one observes individuals who have overcome this hesitation, who diligently practice meditation despite its apparent "impracticality," one quickly sees that, in fact, something very practical is happening, indeed. Where no end-product is being pursued, something is being produced. This "product" may manifest as an invisible inner calm, a piercing sense of intuitive perception or a general air of "luminosity" of which the meditator him or herself may not even be aware. What is going on here?

Details

Publication Date
Sep 30, 2011
Language
English
Category
Religion & Spirituality
Copyright
All Rights Reserved - Standard Copyright License
Contributors
By (author): Lawrence W. Dolnick

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Format
PDF

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