What is Meditation?

Meditation is a method for acquainting our mind with virtue. The more familiar our mind is with virtue, the calmer and more peaceful it becomes. When our mind is peaceful we are free from worries and mental discomfort, and we experience true happiness.

The Benefits of Meditation

Everyone wants to be happy all the time, but our lives are often filled with frustration and dissatisfaction. This is because normally we rely completely upon external situations to cause the happiness that we desire. As long as things go well, and we get what we want, we feel happy. But whenever the situation changes and things go wrong, without any choice our mind quickly becomes unhappy. Depending on what happens, our mood can swing from feeling elated to disappointed and back many times over the course of a single day. In an analogy, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso says that our mind is like a balloon in the wind, continually blown here and there with no ability to control its own direction.

It is impossible to control external events, but through practicing meditation we can gradually learn to control our mind. Then, rather than depending upon external situations for happiness, we rely upon virtuous minds, which are inner sources of happiness. Happiness is a part of the mind, so its real causes must come from within the mind. Gaining control over our mind gives us the freedom to respond to any situation without disturbing our inner peace, and the power to maintain a happy mind regardless of what is happening in our life.

Just as the real causes of happiness are created within our mind, many of our daily problems also come from within the mind. Every day many of us suffer from the problems of anger, attachment, anxiety, jealousy, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, and other painful feelings. All of these problems are a part of our mind. Therefore, through meditation we can also learn to recognize, reduce, and finally abandon inner causes of mental pain.

Meditation Classes

Our classes can help you to begin and deepen your practice through providing detailed guidance on meditation techniques and explanation of various objects of meditation. Besides receiving guidance from a qualified Teacher, learning to meditate with a group of friends is encouraging and easier than learning on your own. Please take a look at our class schedule to find a class that works for you.