
East Asian philosophers have studied the science of mind, consciousness and emotions for thousands of years. Hindu texts dating back more than 4,000 years describe meditation. Buddhist monks formalized ritual meditation about 2,500 years ago. And by 200 AD, Christian monks were meditating to draw closer to God.
In Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate purpose of meditation is to liberate the mind from attachment to things it cannot control, such as external circumstances or strong internal emotions. The liberated, or “enlightened,” practitioner no longer needlessly follows desires or clings to experiences, but instead maintains a calmness of mind and sense of inner balance. This mental discipline is honed through years of practice and is challenged daily by life’s experiences.
Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. Someone who lacks knowledge of the tools and methods of fitness may think her lack of strength or endurance is inevitable, rather than an aspect of life that can change through consistent training and a healthy lifestyle. Likewise, a person with an untrained mind may think the power that his thoughts and emotions wield over his life is inevitable, rather than seeing it as something that can change through meditation.
Long-term meditators come to see that thoughts and emotions are drifting by, much like clouds in the sky. And little by little, as practitioners become less invested in their mindless chatter, they can live with a more open awareness of present experience. With this awareness, they tend to react less impulsively to life’s pressures and are able to respond to them with greater equanimity.