Debunking the Common Myths of Meditation
When we mention the word meditation, a lot of people, particularly people who have no idea what meditation is, would think that it is very difficult. It may require one to sit still for a long time, and not think of anything. This is a common misunderstanding of meditation, particularly for a lot of beginners and outsiders. Due to the common misunderstanding that meditation is so difficult, it may scare many people from wanting to try and practise it.
The Buddha taught many different types of meditation. It is said there are 84,000 dharma doors i.e. methods, in fact, infinite methods to help us obtain peace of mind and liberate ourselves from all suffering in life. I have also personally practised many styles of meditation, including sitting silent meditation, Zazen, transcendental meditation, Sufi whirling etc.
Throughout all these different styles of meditation, I have come to discover one of the easiest meditations which is known as Nianfo (Chinese, which means mindfulness of the Buddha) or Amitabha-recitation, in which one recites the Name of Amitabha Buddha repeatedly (which I will explain in more details in Chapter Two). What I have also come to notice is that when I try to teach meditation to others, I realise many people have some common misunderstandings about meditation, so before I introduce this easy Nianfo meditation, let me first debunk a few myths about meditation.
Myth no. 1. You have to sit to meditate
This is probably the most common one. When it comes to meditation, most people, particularly beginners may think that one has to sit to meditate, particularly in some kind of difficult lotus position, straight back and cross-legged. While it is commonly seen as practised in Zen Buddhism, this is not the only practice. There are in fact many meditation practices that do not require one to sit for a long time, which may result in a sore lower back and numb legs. Sitting for a long time can be extremely challenging for many people nowadays, particularly for westerners. For Nianfo practice, one does not necessarily need to sit down, it is commonly practised when one is standing, walking or doing other things which does not require so much of the mental mind.
Myth no. 2: You can’t think of anything when meditating
Meditation is not about non-thinking. Actually we cannot not think, even if one really tries hard not to think, one cannot last for long. So Buddha never said meditation is to think of nothing (while some other practices may say so), but Buddha disagreed that meditation is to eliminate all thoughts, rather meditation is simply to eliminate afflictions, not eliminate all thoughts. The Buddha adopts the middle path - meditation is not about non-thinking, but rather, it is not to be attached to our wandering thoughts. One can simply perceive those thoughts like the clouds in the sky, which come and go, therefore, one does not need to be attached to all these fleeting and temporary thoughts.
Myth no. 3: You need a lot of time to meditate
When it comes to meditation, many people will come up with the excuse that: “Yes I know meditation is good for me, but I don’t have time to meditate.” It is a common misunderstanding that one needs to set aside a lot of time just to meditate. While for some forms of meditation this is true (such as in Theravada, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism), but for Nianfo practitioners, one can easily incorporate the Nianfo practice in their everyday life, without having the need to set aside extra time to meditate, nor giving up any of their daily duties.
