Deep Meditations

Transcendental Meditation (TM)

Ripples settling toward a still centre — the quieting of the mind TM aims for

• Roots: Taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from the late 1950s, drawing on Advaita Vedanta.
• How it works: Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, silently repeating a mantra for about twenty minutes, twice a day.
• Good for: People who want a simple, regular routine that does not ask for concentration.

Transcendental Meditation was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who began teaching it in India and then worldwide from the late 1950s. It became famous in 1968, when the Beatles spent several weeks at his ashram in Rishikesh.

Om, the sacred syllable often used as a mantra — Public domain

The method is deliberately easy. You sit with eyes closed and silently repeat a mantra, a sound given to you by a teacher. You don't try to concentrate or push thoughts away: when you notice you have drifted, you return to the mantra gently. Practitioners say attention settles of its own accord into quieter and quieter levels of thought.

TM is taught only through a paid course with a certified teacher, and the mantras are kept private, which some find off-putting. Research suggests it can lower stress and blood pressure a little: a 2013 American Heart Association review said it may be considered as an add-on for high blood pressure, while noting that many studies were small or run by researchers connected to the movement.

To try the idea: sit for ten minutes and silently repeat a calm, meaningless sound or a simple word. When you notice your mind has wandered, return to it without fuss. This isn't TM itself, but it gives you a taste of mantra meditation.

Vipassana (Insight) Meditation

Vipassana means “insight” — seeing things as they really are

• Roots: The Theravada Buddhist tradition, based on the Buddha’s teaching on the foundations of mindfulness.
• How it works: Watching breath, body sensations and thoughts closely as they arise and pass, without reacting to them.
• Good for: Seeing your own mind more clearly; the root of most modern mindfulness courses.

Vipassana is a Pali word meaning “seeing clearly” or “insight”. Its roots are in the Buddha's discourse on the four foundations of mindfulness, the Satipatthana Sutta: attention to the body, to feelings as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, to states of mind, and to the patterns of thought that shape them.

ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอ, CC BY 3.0

In practice you usually begin with the breath, feeling it at the nostrils or the belly. When attention wanders, you notice where it went — “planning”, “remembering”, “itching” — and come back. Over time you widen the attention to sensations throughout the body, watching them change from moment to moment. The aim is insight into three marks the Buddha taught: everything is impermanent, nothing impermanent can fully satisfy, and there is no fixed self behind experience.

In the 20th century, Burmese teachers made vipassana available to lay people. Mahasi Sayadaw taught a method of mental noting, and S. N. Goenka, from the lineage of U Ba Khin, began offering ten-day silent courses in India in 1969; they are still run worldwide on a donation basis. Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (1979) adapted these methods for hospitals, and most modern mindfulness apps descend from it.

Zazen (Zen) Meditation

The ensō — a circle drawn in one brushstroke, a classic image of the Zen mind

• Roots: Chan and Zen Buddhism in China and Japan; Dogen brought the Soto tradition to Japan in the 13th century.
• How it works: Sitting upright and still, eyes half open, either “just sitting” or working with a koan.
• Good for: People drawn to simplicity and posture, and comfortable with silence.

Zazen simply means “seated meditation”. It is the heart of Zen, the school of Buddhism that grew up in China as Chan and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The Japanese teacher Dogen (1200–1253) wrote a short guide, the Fukanzazengi (“Universal Recommendation for Zazen”), that is still read before sitting in many Zen halls.

Illustration: just sitting — the heart of zazen

The posture matters. You sit on a cushion in full or half lotus, kneeling, or on a chair, with the spine upright and the chin slightly tucked. The hands rest in the lap, left palm on right, thumbs lightly touching to form an oval. The eyes stay half open, resting on the floor about a metre ahead. Beginners often count breaths from one to ten and start again.

The two main schools then go different ways. Soto Zen practises shikantaza, “just sitting”: no object, no goal, simply being present. Rinzai Zen adds the koan, a riddle such as Hakuin's “What is the sound of one hand?”, meant to exhaust the thinking mind until something deeper breaks through.

Metta (Loving-Kindness) Meditation

Metta, the practice of loving-kindness — goodwill radiating outward

• Roots: Early Buddhism; the method of widening circles was set out by Buddhaghosa in the 5th century.
• How it works: Silently wishing well to yourself, then to others in widening circles, using short phrases.
• Good for: Softening anger and self-criticism, and building warmth toward others.

Metta is Pali for loving-kindness or friendliness. It is the first of four qualities Buddhism calls the “divine abodes” (brahmaviharas): loving-kindness, compassion, joy in others' happiness, and equanimity. The Karaniya Metta Sutta asks the practitioner to cherish all beings as a mother protects her only child.

In the 5th century, the commentator Buddhaghosa, in his Path of Purification, laid out the sequence most teachers still use: begin with yourself, then a dear friend, then a neutral person, then someone you find difficult, and finally all beings everywhere. Some studies suggest that regular practice increases positive emotions and feelings of connection.

How to Practise Metta

Illustration: metta: wishing others well, one person at a time

1. Sit comfortably and take a few slow breaths.
2. Silently repeat phrases for yourself, such as: May I be safe. May I be well. May I be at ease.
3. Picture someone you love and offer the same wishes to them.
4. Do the same for someone you barely know — a shopkeeper, a neighbour.
5. If you can, offer them to someone you find difficult. Don't force a feeling; the intention is enough.
6. Finish by widening the wish to all beings everywhere.

If warmth doesn't come, that's normal. The practice is the repeated wishing, not a particular feeling.

Kundalini and Chakra Meditation

The chakras as modern yoga usually maps them along the spine

• Roots: Tantric and hatha yoga traditions of medieval India.
• How it works: Breath work, posture, mantra and visualisation, aimed at awakening an energy said to rest at the base of the spine.
• Good for: Experienced practitioners working with a teacher; approach intense breath practices gently.

In tantric yoga, the body is mapped as a subtle network of channels (nadis) and centres called chakras, “wheels”. A dormant energy, kundalini (“the coiled one”), is pictured as a serpent asleep at the base of the spine. Practice aims to wake it and draw it up the central channel, through each chakra, to the crown, where its union with pure consciousness brings liberation.

The system most people know comes from one text, the Sat-Chakra-Nirupana (1577), which describes six chakras and the thousand-petalled lotus above them. Older texts count differently, and the rainbow colours and psychological meanings now attached to each chakra were added in the 20th century, largely in the West (see The Philosophy Behind the Practice).

Illustration: the chakras as modern yoga usually places them along the spine

Open any chakra below for its traditional name, place and symbols:

A gentle way in: sit upright and breathe slowly. On each in-breath, imagine the breath rising from the base of the spine to the crown; on each out-breath, let it settle back down. Keep it soft. Forceful breathing and long breath-holding, common in some kundalini classes, can cause dizziness or anxiety, so learn them from an experienced teacher.

Trataka (Candle Gazing)

Trataka: a single steady point of focus

• Roots: Hatha yoga: one of the six cleansing practices of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century).
• How it works: Gazing steadily at a small point, usually a candle flame, then holding its after-image with eyes closed.
• Good for: Training concentration when the mind is scattered.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes trataka as gazing, without blinking, at a small object until the eyes water (2.31–32). It lists trataka among the six cleansing practices and, like many old texts, credits it with curing eye diseases, a claim modern medicine doesn't support. Today it is mostly valued as a concentration exercise: the eyes give the restless mind one simple job.

How to Practise

Illustration: trataka: the steady gaze on a single flame

1. Sit upright in a dim, draught-free room, with a candle at arm's length and at eye level.
2. Gaze softly at the tip of the flame for about a minute, blinking if you need to. Don't strain.
3. Close your eyes and watch the after-image. When it fades, open your eyes and repeat two or three times.
4. Build up slowly over days, not minutes.

Skip trataka if you have epilepsy, migraines triggered by light, or an eye condition, and stop if your eyes hurt.