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Reprinted with permission from The Radiant Mind, the newsletter of
  Drepung Loseling Institute, an affiliate of Emory University and
 the North American Seat of Drepung Loseling Monastery.

ZA CHOEJE RINPOCHE
Honored the Center with his presence and teachings for a retreat on How to Bring Spirituality into Daily Life, and two public talks

 


Ven. ZaChoeje Rinpoche

This article is a summary of his talk of July 17, 2001 on Meditation. His Eminence has been recognized 
as the sixth reincarnation of one of the greatest spiritual teachers of Tibet holding the title Choeje (Dharma King). He was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree from Drepung Loseling Monastery in 1995, and then joined Gyudmed Tantric Monastery for Tantric studies. He led the DLM monks on the 1998 World Tour of the Mystical Arts of Tibet. He was welcomed warmly back by all.

 

Basic Meditation Techniques
by ZaChoeje Rinpoche
Transcribed by Maria Morelli and edited by Dianne HoffmanTranscribed by Maria Morelli and edited by Dianne Hoffman

Meditation is like medication -- medication is for physical sickness and meditation is for spiritual sickness, to cure our negative habits. When we start living in the present moment, then it is said that we are in meditation. Meditation is relaxation; and afterwards, meditation should leave you feeling fresh, not tired. So, meditation is not something to do, meditation is an act of being.

There are many different techniques of meditation. Today, we will learn about breathing meditation, visualization meditation, and mantra meditation.

Breathing Meditation

As long as we are alive, we breathe. Breath will not stop until we die. Each and every moment we need to be aware that we are living so we can appreciate life. We are being deeply in meditation when we are having awareness of our living, of our breathing. Just feeling the breath going out and coming in. The average person breathes 21,600 times a day. Our breath binds our physical body with our consciousness. When we die our physical body remains but the consciousness leaves somewhere. Our breath holds our mind and body together. Appreciate that we are breathing right now.

We can use our five senses in breathing meditation by being aware and by being in the present moment and feeling it. Let go of the past and do not wonder about the future. Start living here and use this present moment as much as you can. Then you will not waste your life. Breathing meditation leads us into being in the present moment. You start enjoying your life now. Living in the past or in the future is our habit. We almost forget to live in the present moment. The reality is the present moment, the past is just memory, the future is unknown. You can be in the present moment with your breathing.

Visualization Meditation

You should visualize yourself as a happy person if you want to do this kind of meditation. When you are happy, you feel very light. Your mind is full of brightness. Your face and chin go up, your eyes look up. Your shoulders look a bit more confident. Your heart feels soft, you just feel great inside. If you practice this meditation you are creating some positive habits. It may not be comfortable at first, but with time, it will feel very natural. If you have a problem with depression, this kind of meditation is very helpful! You are not visualizing other things; you are visualizing yourself as a happy person. If you practice this kind of meditation for at least three weeks you are creating a positive habit.

Then there are many Tantric traditional visualization meditations, like Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, or Heruka, or Vajrayoguini or Vajrapani. All of these deities are just the role models of happy persons. You and your deity are one, you are not a duality, not separated, and the deity is part of you. So that is the visualization meditation.

Mantra Meditation

The word Mantra (man-tra): "man" means mind, and "tra" means getting near. So we are getting closer to our mind and our mind is getting closer to the higher being.

A mala is used for mantra meditation. Some have 108 beads and some have 111 beads: 108 beads because the Buddhist scriptures have 108 volumes. Some traditional retreat malas have 111 beads. One round is counted as 100. Each 10 needs an extra 1 to make it complete. The mantra for Manjushri is OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI... The mantra for Green Tara is OM TASRE TUTTARE TURE SOHA... The mantra for Avalokiteshvara is OM MANI PEME HUM... This is the love and compassion mantra. You send compassion energy to other sentient beings, visualize that your heart opens and the light in the form of the mantra goes from your heart and touches everybody's heart, and their hearts open. That is mantra meditation.

You can combine all three types of meditation together. You can visualize yourself as a happy person, at the same time you are aware of your breathing and at the same time you can recite a mantra. The benefit of meditation is that you will become more alive and you will become a happy person. We practice meditation so that we benefit other sentient beings. Real meditation will bring us out of this samsaric cycle; it will take us into a real spiritual cycle. Don't forget it.