Motives Behind Meditation

Many times we find it helpful to clarify the motives behind our actions and their usefulness in our lives. Let's examine meditation with these criteria. People seem to survive just fine without meditation, so is it really necessary?

If we are able to stop our judgments, treat everything equally, and find joy and love in all of our actions, we don't need to meditate. If we can accept the death of a family member, insult from a friend, or a boss's anger, simply as part of an inevitable change, then we don't need to meditate. If we can understand the value of life in the birth of a new born baby as well as the death of an old beggar, we don't need to meditate. If we can truly leave our habits as easily as we create them, then we don't need to meditate. But if we can't do these things, meditation can be helpful. There is nothing special about meditation and there isn't really a technique; it is mere observation. We close our eyes to minimize visual distractions, we sit down to simplify our physical sensations, and we watch our breath because it is the essence of our body.

Meditation becomes an activity for a specific, dedicated time only when we aren't strong enough to be "awake" in every action. When we meditate, we don't try to perfect meditation, nor do we try to perfect anything else; we are quite simply watching ourselves, our habits, our thoughts... slowly coming to an understanding that stays with us not just through meditation, but through every action.