Meditation Techniques

All kinds of meditation, according to our definition, are “techniques.”

Unlike many of the daily social behaviors usually examined by sociologists and anthropologists, a method is a purposeful activity that is not taken for granted.

A method is systematic in the sense that its processes are well-defined; nevertheless, this does not rule out the possibility of spontaneous or even creative aspects, such as when random ideas are the focus of meditation.

It is continuous, in the sense that the intentional activity is either continuous (as when sustained attention is directed toward an image) or repetitive (as when a word or a sound combination is repeated over time), rather than sequential (as in the Hatha Yoga or Taij sequence of postures and movements, the nonrepetitive chanting of the entire Lotus Sutra in Buddhism, or the Book of Psa).

A method is separated from other activities in terms of time, posture, and place, as well as via particular rituals.

And it is done in order to accomplish specific results, which we will discuss more below, at least in part by using universal processes that are inherent in the structure of the human body and mind.

The technical elements of meditation are viewed with ambivalence in many contemplative traditions.

For example, content-oriented contemplative prayer and imagery are common, devotional traditions stress a personal relationship with God, and apophatic practices generally emphasize “unmediated” communion with the divine or “direct” revelation of ultimate truth. In all instances, this may lead to a negative attitude about meditation's technicalities.

However, this does not rule out content-oriented, devotional, or apophatic activities from our definition; rather, we put a greater focus on their technical elements, as opposed to the traditions' emphases.

The ambiguity over the technicalities of meditation is often expressed directly in paradoxical expressions, such as Meister Eckhart's concept of a "pathless way" in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries, or the Zen Buddhist notion of a "gateless gate."

At other times, a strong skepticism of meditative techniques is juxtaposed with exhortations to meditate, such as when the “Platform Sutra” depicts Huineng, a seventh- to eighth-century Chinese Zen master, claiming that he “has no techniques” (wu ji- liang), but in the same work exhorting his disciples to continue practicing “straight sitting” (duan-zuo)

The contradiction is well-explained in “The Epistle of Prayer” in the Christian context: “It is not possible for a man to achieve perfection in this task unless these two methods, or two more like them, arrive first.”

The beauty of this piece, however, is its suddenness, which comes without means.”

Jiddu Krishnamurti is most known for his anti-meditation stance (“the truth is a pathless land”), yet others have viewed his method as a kind of systematic contemplative awareness training.

A new collection of essays on the Zen practice of shi-kan ta-za (lit. "just sit") oscillates between insisting on the practice's lack of method and describing clearly technical elements such as attention to the lower abdomen, specific breathing practices, and a strong focus on correct bodily posture.

Sheng Yen, a Buddhist teacher from Taiwan, calls one of his meditation methods "the way of no method."

The strong goal-orientation inherent in the concept of a method is one explanation for this skepticism or ambivalence.

Techniques are used to produce certain results, yet actively pursuing outcomes may, paradoxically, make achieving them more difficult.

The pursuit of a goal may distract the mind's attention away from the actual practice, and it may include a mental concentration so intense that it fails to see realities that are more transient and transitory.

A technical approach may also promote apathy, as if the transformational benefits of meditation would happen on their own, almost mechanically or magically, rather than requiring a strong feeling of agency and personal involvement.

It may also obstruct the personal commitment needed in certain contemplative traditions, such as the Sikh practices detailed in this book by Kristina Myrvold.

A reliance on techniques is sometimes seen in the Christian tradition as standing in the way of God's grace, as in the following quotation from Jacques Philippe's Time for God about meditative prayer:

"St. Jane Frances de Chantal used to say, 'The best method of prayer is not to have one,' because prayer is not obtained by artifice'—by technique, we would say today—but by grace".

In general, meditation's technical emphasis may be compared with prayer's content-orientation.

While both meditation and prayer seek to achieve specific results, prayer usually does so directly via its content, while meditation usually does it indirectly, in a nonlinear manner, using technical elements that build on universal processes.

For example, prayer may seek to obtain forgiveness of sins by asking for it, or it may seek to achieve intimate contact with God through the expression of devotion, whereas meditation may seek to achieve its transformative effects at least in part through cross-cultural elements that go beyond such content, such as directing one's attention to the breath, or repeating certain sound coordinates.

The primary benefits of meditation come from the systematic application of a technique rather than any intentional effort, and such processes are usually outside the individual's direct control.

While the result of prayer may sometimes be out of one's control, it is usually thought of as relying on God's grace rather than any processes inherent in the human mind or body.

Even technical elements are given content-oriented interpretations in various traditions, such as when the breath is interpreted as an expression of existence's transience in Buddhist settings, as a connection to cosmic energy in Daoist and Yogic contexts, or as the breath of life in Christian situations.

Only from the viewpoint of an outsider can the universal processes involved in such elements be seen, regardless of the cultural context in which they are employed. Because this makes it easier to measure, scientific definitions of meditation tend to concentrate on its technical elements.

Meditation involves “use of a particular method (well defined),” according to one often cited definition. Instead of or in addition to "technique," other definitions include words like "[psychoactive] exercise," "[mental] training," and "[self-regulation/emotional and attentional regulatory] practice."

Meditation's technical orientation is sometimes contrasted with other practices' content orientation by stating that meditation emphasizes "process rather than content," whereas non-meditative practices like self-hypnosis, visualization, and psychotherapy "aim primarily at changing mental contents..." such as thoughts, images, and emotions.

However, in our view, meaningful content is not precluded from the concept of meditation as long as technical elements are included.

When it comes to identifying meditation as a method, individual agency is a critical component of the practice approach.

Meditation is something that the practitioner does, not something that is done to him or her.

Our definition excludes so-called spontaneous or natural meditations, such as the Buddha's famous childhood experience of meditative bliss:

"I recall once, when my father the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then—quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful mental qualities."

Most traditions, however, recognize that contemplative practice always takes place in a context, and that elements of the environment may be as important as the meditation method itself in initiating transformational change, as Sarah Shaw argues in this book for the Buddhist example.

Individual or community meditation may be performed, and even communal meditation can include a lot of individual agency, as shown by the fact that monks who have been practicing meditation together for years don't always know what each other is doing.

The degree of reliance on a teacher or master will also vary, ranging from no reliance beyond the initial instruction to so-called guided meditations, in which all stages of the practice rely on continuous instructions from a teacher or a tape recording, as in some of the Sikh practices discussed in this volume by Myrvold.

The master's function in Morten Schlütter's koan practices is an in-between scenario, in which the meditator is constantly given fresh koans to contemplate in addition to the original technical instructions.