Website design By BotEap.comMeditation is a universal human experience found in many cultures throughout the world and is practiced by most major religions, schools of philosophy, and mysticism. Meditation is a very important part of the ancient school of yoga, which has profoundly affected other cultures. As it happens, yoga is the oldest and most documented method of meditation. Although most people are familiar with yoga as various physical postures, yoga is not limited to the practice of physical postures.

Website design By BotEap.comIn Buddhism, meditation was passed down from the Buddha (who lived 2,500 years ago) to twenty-eight successors of an Indian monk named Bodhidharma, who later traveled to China and introduced Dhyana (Sanskrit meditation) to the Chinese. In China, the meditation was called Chan (a mispronunciation of Dhyan) and was later exported to Japan, where Chan became Zen. The meditation tradition from India was also introduced to Tibet by Jetsun Milarepa in the 12th century, which had a profound impact on the development of Tibetan lamas.

Website design By BotEap.comIn Judaism there have been many mystics who practiced meditation. One such renowned mystic was called Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (Baal Shem Tov) who lived in Poland in the 17th century. He once commented that “All that I have achieved, I have not achieved through study, but through the state of the soul. When man abandons the consciousness of his separate existence and joins with the eternal, such a state produces a kind of of indescribable joy”.

Website design By BotEap.comIn the Islamic mystical path of Sufism, mystics (dervishes) practice a meditation called “moragaba.” This is a lot like the meditative practice of yoga. In fact, many of these renowned Sufis traveled to India over the centuries to receive meditation instructions, which impacted the development of Sufism. In the West, the poetry of renowned Sufi masters such as Hafiz and Rumi are now widely published.

Website design By BotEap.comIn the Christian tradition, Saint Teresa of Avila (who lived in the 1500s) was a renowned Spanish mystic whose teaching is filled with meditation, ecstasy, and ecstasy. Saint John of the Cross is another mystic from the same era, and his teachings are also full of meditation. There are numerous Christian mystics who practiced meditation, including Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Teresa of Lisieux, and even the current saint Padre Pio. In his writings, Padre Pio affirms: “Whoever does not meditate is like someone who never looks in the mirror before going out. If he does not bother to see if he is ordained, he can come out dirty without knowing it.”

Website design By BotEap.comThe Hopi Indians of North America also practiced meditation. They believe that various spiritual doors must be opened to experience the totality of all creation and meditation is the practice that opens up their spirituality.

Website design By BotEap.comTo this day, in the far reaches of the Kalahari desert in Africa, the people of the Kung tribe practice a ceremonial dance and meditation to enter “Kia” or transcendence.