The Transformative Power Of Silent Meditation

Spirituality is perceived in the East with many similarities to what is believed in the West, but with an entirely different way of talking about it. For example, in terms of Easter philosophy a person’s individual identity is not their ego.

Identity is the journey of self-discovery that consists of affirming one’s individuality and being able to express everything that we are. This can be achieved through meditation, prayer, or various other spiritual and recreational practices that clear the mind through engaging in an activity that soothes us and brings us into silent contemplation.

Silence does not detach us from our soul essence. On the contrary, it allows us to be fully present and completely ourselves, without the limitation of words and actions. It is not aimed at denying our true spiritual nature. On the contrary, it is a time of authentic self-awareness and beingness.

Different Buddhist traditions refer to the natural state of mind as a state of enlightenment. In the Sanskrit and Tibetan traditions, we also find terms that speak of a clear, open mind. In Tibetan philosophy, enlightenment or awakened energy is called byang-chubs – literally purity and wholeness.

Being calm, at ease, and silent constitutes a state of mind that would happen naturally unless something is bothering us. These internal obstacles cannot be blamed on others or our external reality. Life is always complex and rarely calm.

In fact, these obstructions are seen as being nothing but habits, the result of karma, that obstruct the free and unconditional luminosity of the mind, like clouds that cover the sun on a summer day. Karma does not mean punishment. It is the result of previous actions. They are the result of what we do and what happens to us.

Knowledge does not mean mastering a great quantity of different information, but understanding the nature of mind. This knowledge can penetrate each one of our thoughts and illuminate each one of our perceptions ~ Matthieu Ricard

Meditation in Eastern philosophy is considered a science of purification of the mind, or yoga of concentration. Meditation is an experience that, little by little, transforms the mind, leading it towards wisdom. This wisdom is nothing more than the very nature of the mind, or innate innocence, the childlike state – natural and flexible but with awareness and maturity.

Meditation makes the mind agile and flexible, helping it release contradictions and fears. Meditation transforms the mind back to its original purity through the breath. Making it more and more subtle and relaxed, makes the body more relaxed. It unblocks the tensions and obstructions that are concrete forms of karma, of the mental afflictions that cause a physical and psychological bond. This process is a form of detachment, releasing clinging and tension, which has an analogous correlation in our thinking.

In silent meditation the body detaches from its tensions and becomes lighter and more fluid. The mind frees itself from its beliefs and imprints, fundamentally from the substantiality of the self. The body and the self are no longer perceived as rigid structures, but as a pure process, malleable flows of energy and consciousness, pure breath, or spirit.

Come back to square one, just the minimum bare bones. Relaxing with the present moment, relaxing with hopelessness, relaxing with death, not resisting the fact that things end, that things pass, that things have no lasting substance, that everything is changing all the time—that is the basic message ~ Pema Chodron

And this is the way to know that one is meditating with profit: that the body becomes progressively less tense, but above all, that the mind becomes more flexible and that attachment decreases.

The person who meditates within a tradition typically also accompanies his meditation with a philosophy and a series of ethical precepts, which naturally complement the practice. So, the standard test that their meditation or prayer practice is working is the evidence of transformation and increased inner peace.

We feel less dependent on what is going on around us and less worried about the future, and an acceptance of who we are and where we are. It is then that the possibility of compassion is born.

The most profound spiritual transformation consists of holding on to something, letting go of everything, and being open to life as a whole.