Meditation For Peace
The meditation, or dhyāna, methods taught by Bodhidharma, the founder of the Shaolin Tradition, are universal to all spiritual disciplines. The mechanics of the human mind and the attainment of spiritual realization is the same for all people, so the methods are the same. Further thoughts on this are available in the article “8 Ways to Be Spiritually Fit” (available on both Facebook and Google Plus).
Bodhidharma taught meditation, energization methods, and martial arts for the intent of awakening spiritual awareness within the monks and nuns of the Shaolin Temple. The primary goal of the Shaolin Tradition is the development of spiritual awareness. Meditation is the primary method used to accomplish this. Martial arts training and movement are secondary methods.
Turbulent situations can naturally trigger powerful emotions in one’s mind. These emotions can cause one to become reactive and impulsive and lose awareness of the present moment. This reduces one’s ability to think clearly and leads one to react rather than respond to the situation.
A troubled mind drains vital life force energy (chi in China, ki in Japan, prana in India), leaving one tired and frustrated. To respond to a turbulent situation with peace, or tranquility, one can prepare the mind to still itself with meditation.
Meditation eases the accumulated stresses in the mind, leaving it fresh and bringing it back to the present moment. A person with a sufficient degree of inner peace will radiate vibrations of peace all around himself or herself even in tumultuous situations. Just a few minutes of daily meditation will do wonders for one’s sense of inner peace.
Meditation is an essential element of the Shaolin Tradition and Chinese Zen. Meditation is the underlying foundation of the classes offered by the Michigan Shaolin Wugong Temple in Detroit and Madison Heights.
Breathe in. Sign up. Chill out.
|