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• Yoga as outlined by Patanjali describes eight "limbs" of spiritual practices, half of which might be classified as meditation. Underlying them is the assumption that a yogi should still the fluctuations of his or her mind: Yoga cittavrrti nirodha.

• Sant Mat teaches "sound and light meditation" ( surat shabd yoga)

• Osho taught a wide variety of meditative techniques, including a "laughing meditation".

Transcendental Meditation (or TM) — The procedure uses mantras that are the names of gods in the Hinduism religion, but that are admitedly meaningless in the teaching of TM. It is avowedly secular and often used in clinical studies.

Sikhism encourages the divine meditation on God's name, through simran.

Buddhist meditation — Meditation has always enjoyed a central place within Buddhism. The Buddha himself was said to have achieved enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. Most forms of Buddhism distinguish between samatha and vipassana meditation, both of which are necessary for enlightenment. The former consists of learning to focus the attention single-pointedly; the latter involves seeing the true nature of reality.

• Theravada Buddhism emphasizes vipassana meditation directed towards anapana, metta bhavana, or 38 other traditional topics (see: Kammatthana).

• In Mahayana schools, Tendai (Tien-tai), concentration is cultivated through highly structured ritual. Chinese Chan Buddhism (Sanskrit Dhyana, Japanese Zen) emphasizes ts'o ch'an and kung an meditation practices. The esoteric Shingon sect shares many features with Tibetan Buddhism.

• Tibetan Buddhism famously emphasizes tantra for its senior practitioners; hence its alternate name of Vajrayana Buddhism. However, visitors to Tibetan monasteries are often surprised to discover that many monks go through their day without "meditating" in a recognizable form, but are more likely to chant or participate in group liturgy.

• Zen Buddhism's meditation practice is called Zazen.

Taoism — includes a number of meditative and contemplative traditions. Historically — to judge by the texts of the Tao Tsang — these often focused on ecstatic journeys to other realms (some of them within the human body). Today Chinese temple activity tends to be ritualized, routinized, conflated with other religions such as Buddhism, and very noisy. More quietistic, perhaps purer forms of Taoist "meditation" is likely to be found at Taoist pilgrimage sites, such as the five sacred mountains in China.

Qigong and Daoyin — a large, diverse array of Chinese breath training practises originally related to Taoism, Buddhism, traditional Chinese medicine and the Chinese and some Japanese martial arts.

Judaism — Although Kabbalah and Hassidic Judaism have the explicit concept of meditation (Hebrew hitbonenut ), one can reasonably argue that a good deal of Jewish prayer ( tefillah ) is meditative. Jewish prayer is usually described as having two aspects: kavanah ("intention," which is similar to mediative spirit) and keva (the ritualistic, structured elements). See Jewish Meditation, by Aryeh Kaplan.

Christian meditation — Christian traditions have various practices which might be identified as forms of "meditation." Many of these are monastic practices.

• Eastern Orthodoxy recognizes the Jesus prayer or hesychasm which some have felt to be similar to Hindu mantra meditation (an analogy which is not usually accepted by the Orthodox).

• Roman Catholicism includes various contemplative practices, such as the rosary, lectio divina, or the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. There are several forms of Catholic Spirituality which each has a different approach to prayer.

• Protestant groups — especially in the wake of pietism — came to emphasize Bible study, and changing one's life in accordance with scriptural principles and the Holy Spirit. Probably the Quaker meeting — in which participants sit quietly, waiting for the "inner light" to move someone to speak — best matches our expectations for what "meditation" ought to look like. New Thought groups practice "meditation" (often called such) during which various positive thoughts are " affirmed".

Within Islam "meditation" is normally associated with Sufism. It includes practices ranging from dhikr (recitation of the divine names) to the sema of the Whirling Dervishes.

Given the diversity of practices which are called "meditation," the perceptive reader may well wonder how to distinguish between "meditative" and non-"meditative" activities. Is prayer a form of "meditation"? What about attendance at mass? Taijiquan exercises? Football? Can watching television or listening to music be considered meditation? The question of boundaries is a critical one for which no generally-accepted answer exists, though particular traditions may have their own understandings.

Meditation, to reflect off of the translation of "contemplation," is also a method of essay or contemplative writing in which one does continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature.

Meditation in context

While meditation focuses on mental or psycho-spiritual activity, this is of course only one of several spheres of human existence; and we are social beings as well as individuals. Most traditions address the integration of mind, body, and spirit (this is a major theme of the Bhagavad-Gita); or that of spiritual practice with family life, work, and so on.

Often, meditation is said to be incomplete if it has not led to positive changes in one's daily life and attitudes. In that spirit some Zen practitioners have promoted "Zen driving," aimed at reducing road rage.

Meditation is often presented not as a "free-standing" activity, but as one part of a wider spiritual tradition. (Nevertheless, many meditators today do not follow an organized religion, or do not consider themselves to do so faithfully.) Religious authorities typically insist that spiritual practices such as meditation belong in the context of a well-rounded religious life which may include such things as ritual or liturgy, scriptural study, and the observance of religious laws or regulations.

Perhaps the most widely-cited spiritual prerequisite for meditation is that of an ethical lifestyle. Even many martial arts teachers will urge their students to respect parents and teachers, and inculcate other positive values. At the same time, many traditions incorporate "crazy wisdom" or intentionally transgressive acts, in their sacred lore if not in actual practice. Sufi poets (e.g. Rumi, Hafiz) celebrate the virtues of wine, which is forbidden in Islam (though one could argue that the poets are speaking metaphorically); some tantrikas indulge in the "five forbidden things that begin with the letter M."

Most meditative traditions are "sober" ones which discourage drug use. Exceptions include some forms of Hinduism, which has a long tradition of hashish- or marijuana-using renunciates; and certain Native American traditions, which may use peyote or other restricted substances in a religious setting.

A number of meditative traditions require permission from a teacher or elder, who in turn has received permission from another teacher, etc. Hinduism and Buddhism stress the importance of a spiritual teacher (Sanskrit guru, Tibetan lama). Orthodox Christianity has "spiritual elders"

The immediate meditative environment is often held to be important. Several traditions incorporate cleaning rituals for the place where one meditates, and many more offer instructions or suggestions for an altar or other accessories. page 1 2 3 4

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