The Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center

Yoga is a practice for union. When yoga is being practiced the participant becomes relaxed and tries to achieve a higher state of mind.(Fisher 80) There are different types of yoga that help achieve different states of mind. Raja yoga is the path to mental concentration and is used by meditative people. Jnana yoga is the path to rational inquiry which is done by rational people, and for naturally active people there is karma yoga which is the path of right action. “Yoga is known as the disconnection of the connection with suffering.” –The Bhagavad Gita (hinduwisdom.info) Hinduism also has a series of gods and goddess who Hindu’s pray to and worship. Durga whom is called the Ideal Warrior, Sita, who is the

They developed the different types of yogas to be pathways to realization that would lead to transcendence and knowledge of understanding. Smith also points out, “if you tracers the length and breadth of the universe saying of everything you can see and conceive, “not the…not this,” what remains will be God” (Smith,1991). This statement allows for one to understand just how vast the right direction in understanding God is.

Of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, yoga is the one that focuses on meditation. However, Hinduism has a variety of meditation techniques, each with different focuses for the subject. The ultimate goal for all Hindu meditation is to attain a calm state of mind.

I like the Raja meditation because it deals with our minds. When I tried this technique I found myself in a nicer state of mind. I was able to think clearly and I was able to appreciate life a little more than I did before. I was able to focus better on my homework while drowning out the extra noise around me. With both techniques I was more pleasant to be around and I was less moody.

Buddhists meditate to improve their physical and mental health, improved relaxation and happiness. Through meditation Buddhists show their reverence and respect towards Buddha. Buddhists express their religious and cultural beliefs through meditation because meditation is one of their central practices. Buddhists express their religious beliefs and culture through meditation because meditation is one of their practices that is key to their beliefs. Through meditation Buddhists express their religion and culture because meditation is one of of their unique practices and it demonstrates their culture and beliefs. Religious expression contributes to community because religious expression helps us express our different beliefs and culture and it creates a sense of identity and acknowledgement within the community. Buddhists believe that through meditation they can achieve enlightenment and with meditation they have something to unify and bring them together. By practicing meditation with a group of people it can create a sense of unity and

Previously discussed was a study centered on professionals using yoga as a technique for improving relationships with their patients, but this study emphasizes the importance of having compassion for yourself. In Newsome et. al (2012) study, thirty-one college students about to enter helping professions, including counseling, nursing, teaching, etc., attended a 6 week long mindfulness group which included mindful yoga. This research showed that after 6 weeks, the students' perceived stress levels had decreased and their mindfulness and self-compassion significantly increased. After the intervention, participants' feelings and thoughts pertaining to the impact of mindful yoga were recorded. One student claimed, "I am beginning to have more

Meditation has a long history that stretches back thousands of years. Nobody knows exactly where and when meditation began but scientists have evidence to believe that it began somwehere around 5,000 years ago. This was a time far before religious figures such as Jesus and Buddha are said to have existed. 5,000 years ago, much of the civilized world was nothing like it is today. It was mostly hunter gatherers with few villages in the open landscapes. Meditation is said by scientists to have most likely began with hunter gatherers who would pass on their enthusiasm for such an introspective practice to their children.

Crystal Boschert began her exploration with yoga 8 years ago. Within no time she fell in love with yoga, which led her wanting to learn more so, she could deepen her practice and to share her passion of yoga and its many benefits with other’s along with helping others to adventure into a more holistic way of living. In 2014, she registered with The National Yoga Alliance as a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200) and began teaching after completing her first teacher training at Jane’s House of Well-Being in St. Charles, Missouri. She was trained to teach Hatha yoga, using the Dynamic Yoga Method (DYM), under Robin Buck, Sarah Kadel, Matthew and Holly Krepps, and other masterful teacher’s.

I took the opportunity to visit Karma Thegsum Choling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center (KTC), located at 1000 Armeda Ave, Irving, TX 75061. The meditation center had recently moved from their Dallas location to Irving. After going through the course material on Buddhism, it got me curious to learn more about the culture, experience live worship ritual, meditation, and architecture of the temple. To understand the religion and culture better, I requested a friend of mine to visit the temple along with me. Since he practices Buddhism and also is a Tibetan, he acted as a personal guide during my visit to the meditation center. With little knowledge about Buddhism, he helped me understand the meaning of different symbols, prayer flags,

Lion’s Roar Mandala Tibetan Buddhist Meditation & Dharma Center meets at the Do Nga Dhargey Temple, meaning “Sutra and Tantra Flourishing” (Location). Sutra means “a collection of aphorisms relating to some aspect of the conduct of life” (Sutra). In other words, they are sayings that are meant to help you to reflect on life and how we should all act. Tantra is when you try to make a connection with the Buddha(s) through yoga and meditations. Upon approaching the temple, one cannot help, but to notice how clean their temple is from outside; the lawn is mowed, the path is swept, the building is without stains or damages, the bushes and trees are pruned, even the gate looks nice!

While looking through the field visit site list and researching many of the different options, I was drawn to the Vajradhara Buddhist Center, also known as the Kadampa Meditation Center of North Carolina. I discovered that they offered an “Introduction to Meditation” class which seemed to be perfect for me. The Kadampa Meditation Center’s website describes the class as being ideal for beginners and newcomers to Buddhism and meditation. With having no prior experience with any Buddhist practices or meditation, I presumed this class would be a great way for me to learn the basics of meditation, its role in Buddhism, and get to actually experience meditation for myself. Through this hands-on learning experience, I was able to learn that meditation is much more than just a casual practice; it takes great dedication and commitment to master.

Namely, Buddhist scholars and some monastics, are troubled about the subsequential lineage arising from MBSR programs, specifically how they might be diluting the rich teachings from various Buddhist schools and traditions (p. 189). With regards to Buddhist traditions, a vow of ethical behavior is required before engaging in meditation training. Reason being, vows provide “structure of safety for retreatants and monastics, and useful in purifying the mind for deeper practice” (p.189) Reputably, Cullen’s illustrates that Jon Kabat-Zin cultivated formal and informal practices of mindfulness, focusing on Vipassana Buddhist traditions. On the grounds that, this application, refrains from deep cultural influences compared to other Buddhist schools tradition and practices. This merger of Vipassana traditions in mainstream settings, still uphold original formal practices of the tradition, including; mindful movement (yoga that places emphasis on mindful awareness of the body), body scans (first foundation of mindfulness), sitting meditation (awareness of breath and extending awareness to include all four foundations of mindfulness) (p.188). Intentions of these MBSR programs are not solely based on stress reduction, but, the application of four foundations in daily life. According to Cullen is

Meditation is a huge aspect of the Buddhist way of life because meditation allows one to become connected with their inner self. It was believed that Buddha had become awakened through his meditation and realization of what causes his suffering and happiness which led to what is known as the Four Noble Truths. The meditation sessions take place on Saturdays and does not consist of one class where everything is learned, but instead several different classes where things are learned over a period of time. He had said that the first session was just to get to clear your mind and learn the way you think. This is a significant part of the buddhist beliefs because Buddhist adherents believe happiness comes from within, and in order to release all negativity, one must first connect with their innermost thoughts and

Religion is an important and prominent aspect of life. There are hundreds of religions established that influence thousands of followers. Personally, I am a follower of the Christian faith. My worship experience is in a church of like-followers praising an omnipotent God. In preparation for this research paper, I visited a worshiping venue for a religion outside the comfort zone of my own. In anticipation for the day of my visit, I did some prior research to a get a bit of background knowledge on my venue of choice. After some research and deliberation on a particular religion and venue to attend, I chose the Wat Buddharangsi of Miami: a Theravada Thai Buddhist Temple. Theravada Buddhism is a type of Buddhism that places emphasis on human pain in regards to God’s permit of evil on Earth. It is summarized by the Four Noble Truths that are based on the acknowledgment of suffering, its cause, and how we overcome this law of life (Livingston 246). Many of the practices of this religion include meditation. This alone peaked my interest because I see meditation being beneficial for not only religion, and not just specific to Buddhism, but useful for everyday life. Solidarity and peace gives you the opportunity to not only affirm your thoughts and beliefs, but also gives you a chance to focus on self-control. From the information I have gathered thus far, I could tell it would be an amazing learning experience that I wouldn’t regret.

We then started asking Sophia a couple of questions, like when did she decided on becoming a Buddhist, to our surprise a monk walked into the temple while we were talking to Sophia he asked us a couple of questions and then decided to sit down and talk to us, he instructed us in how to sit down and to listen, we offer us some pamphlets showing us what was Buddhism and what you needed to follow when you are part of the Buddhism we sat there and listen, he then proceeded to explain to us how to meditate, how to release our minds and how to let go. He instructed us to closed our eyes and breath “don’t let your mind wonder” were the words he constantly repeated “concentrate on your breathing, the feeling our the air leaving your lungs and entering them’ we then meditate for what I think was like 10 min, I really believe that in theory what he was saying to disconnect our minds and just feel the breathing, but it was harder for me to actually stay meditating, I get easily distracted and to my surprise I was getting distracted really easily the worst part was that the temple was in a complete silence, there was only another person in the temple walking around and this did not let me concentrate fully in the meditation process, but I did understand what he