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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper discusses two types of meditation: Theravada and Zen. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVTypMed.rtf
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self-examination. This paper compares two types of meditation: Theravada and Zen. Discussion There are two basic forms of meditation in the Theravada tradition; the first is "closely related to a
Hindu tradition of yoga practice involving a process of moral and intellectual purification associated with four stages of jhanic attainment" (Religion, 2001). That is, this meditation is comprised of four
separate stages, each building on the one before. In the first stage, the meditator "achieves detachment from sensual desires and impure states of mind through analysis and reflection"; this process
allows him to enter "an emotional state of satisfaction and joy" (Religion, 2001). From there, he moves to the second stage, in which "intellectual activities are abated to a complete
inner serenity; the mind is in a state of one-pointedness or concentration, joy, and pleasantness" (Religion, 2001). This stage requires that the meditator do something very difficult for anyone; he
is required to stop thinking, which is what the phrase "intellectual activities are abated" means. Anyone who has meditated knows the extreme difficulty of stopping unwanted thoughts from intruding on
the process and pulling him right out of the meditative state. When the meditator reaches the third stage, "every emotion, including joy, has disappeared, leaving ... [him] indifferent to everything
while remaining completely conscious" (Religion, 2001). When the meditator reaches the fourth stage, he has abandoned "any sense of satisfaction, pain, or serenity because any inclination to a good or
bad state of mind has disappeared" (Religion, 2001). At the end of this meditation, the meditator enters "a state of supreme purity, indifference to everything, and pure consciousness" (Religion, 2001).
Once he has reached this plane, the meditator goes on to an even higher state; he is immune to all perceptions and "reposes in the condition of spatial infinity" (Religion,
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