Lesson video

So our key question for today's lesson is why do Buddhists meditate? Well, in this lesson, we're going to be learning about meditation.

And we're going to learn about why Buddhists meditate.

And we're going to learn about how they meditate, and we're even going to practise a short meditation ourselves.

In this lesson, you'll need your exercise book or a piece of paper, a pencil and your brain.

Pause the video now, so you can go and get those things if you don't already have them.

Great.

Now you've got what you need.

Let's carry on.

I'm going to say the style words, and I want you to repeat them after me.

Buddhism, enlightenment, meditation, mindfulness, the threefold path, the four noble truths, Buddha.

Vipassana, let's keep going.

So the threefold path to enlightenment is what Buddhists follow.

Now, we can think of these as paths that lead to enlightenment.

They take Buddhists on a sort of journey.

I'm going to show you the words in English and in Pali, the original language of Buddhism.

Ethics, shila.

you can repeat those words after me.

Ethics, shila.

Two; meditation, samadhi.

Your turn.

Three; wisdom, prajna.

Great work, everyone.

So those are the three paths that Buddhists follow on their journey to enlightenment.

Have a look at your first task.

Your first task is to match the English word to the word in Pali.

Pause the video now and write those words and draw a line to match them to their correct translation.

Do you think you got that right? Did you remember the translations? Let's have a look.

so ethics-shila, meditation-samadhi, wisdom-prajna.

Watch the video now, so you can tick or fix your answers.

Great work, everyone.

Let's carry on.

The four noble truths.

I'm going to talk you through each of the four noble truths.

And I'm going to give you a little bit more detail after we've looked at each of the noble truths.

The word dukkha has been translated as suffering, anguish, pain, or unsatisfactoriness.

The Buddhist insight was that our lives are a struggle and we do not find ultimate happiness or satisfaction in anything we experience in real life.

And that is the problem of existence.

Two; the cause of dukkha is craving.

Now, the Buddha believed that the natural human tendency is to blame our difficulties on things outside of ourselves, but the Buddha said that the actual root of our difficulties is to be found in the mind itself.

The Buddha taught that we crave things that do not lead us to enlightenment.

Instead, these things satisfy our desires.

For example, we might desire or crave to eat a chocolate bar rather than meditate and learn more about our own minds.

And that was what Buddha said was the problem.

Three; the end of dukkha comes with the end of craving.

Now, the Buddha felt that we are in control of our minds and we can therefore control our cravings by making choices.

We are also the solution to our problems. In addition, Buddha taught that we cannot change the things that happen to us but we can change the way we respond to those things.

Four; there is a path that leads from dukkha.

Although the Buddha says that people are responsible for themselves, he says that we can learn from suffering.

And he taught some methods through which we can change ourselves and the way that we respond to the world around us.

For example, he said that Buddhists can use the noble eightfold path to help them live a healthy and happy life that would lead to enlightenment.

We'll come back to the noble eightfold path in the next lesson, but it's good if you remember it.

So meditation is a very important part of Buddhism.

Now, Siddharta Gautama, is said to have meditated for six days and six nights under the Bodhi tree before reaching enlightenment and becoming the Buddha, which means enlightened one, or awakened one.

Now, Buddhist today, follow the Buddha and meditate trying to reach enlightenment and become awakened themselves.

Here is a task for you.

I'd like you to answer the question below.

Let's have a look at it.

What are the two definitions of the Buddha? One, two, pause the video now so you can write the two definitions of the Buddha.

Did you remember those two definitions? Let's have a look.

The two definitions are; the enlightened one, or the awakened one.

You can pause the video now, so you can tick or fix your answers.

Let's move on.

Now, in our day to day life, we have lots of different thoughts.

And these thoughts are the purpose of meditation.

It's a way of centering or focusing the mind and the body.

Now, we can think about this in lots of different ways.

In our daily life, our mind is thinking about lots of different things.

We might be thinking about what's happened in the past or what's happening right now in the present.

We might even be thinking about what might happen in the future.

Our minds also might be thinking about the things that we're worried about, such as schoolwork or our friends, or what might happen tomorrow.

Our mind might also be thinking about our friends and our family.

You might also be thinking about your goals, your ambitions, or what your future holds.

Now, meditation is about trying to focus the mind so that it's not distracted by all of these thoughts and feelings that are happening inside the mind.

It's a way of centering our attention on our mind itself.

We try to do that so that we can reach a state of peace and calm.

Now, followers of lots of different religions, meditate.

There are also people who are not religious, who meditate as well.

It's also possible to meditate for yourself to simply feel calm and peaceful.

Recently the practise of mindfulness has become popular and mindfulness is a type of meditation.

Let's have a look at this task.

Complete the sentence below.

Try to use the words below.

Meditation is about trying.

Try to use the words; focus and distracted in your answer.

Pause the video now.

Did you remember what meditation is used for? Did you try and use the words, focus and distracted? Well done.

Let's have a look at the answer that I wrote.

Yours might be similar to mine.

I said, meditation is about trying to focus the mind so that it's not distracted by thoughts and feelings.

Pause the video now, so you can tick or fix your answer.

Excellent work, everyone.

Now that we know a little bit more about meditation, I want you to try and do this meditation along with me.

Let's take a closer look at the video.

You will need to find a quiet and comfortable place to sit, if you're not already in one.

Find a comfortable and quiet place to sit.

You can sit on the floor with your legs crossed, or on the chair, with your feet clapped on the floor.

Make sure your back is nice and straight.

Close your eyes.

You're going to take a deep breath in, and count to the three seconds.

Then hold your breath for three seconds, then release your breath for three seconds.

We will do this five times.

And I will count so you can focus on your breathing.

As you breathe, try to focus your attention on your lungs, expanding and relaxing.

Let's go.

Breathe in, one, two, three.

Hold, one, two, three.

Breath out, one, two, three.

Breathe in, one, two, three.

Hold, one, two, three.

Breath out, one, two, three.

Breath in, one, two, three.

Hold, one, two, three.

Breath out, one, two, three.

Breath in, one, two, three.

Hold, one, two, three.

Breath out, one two, three.

Breathe in, one, two, three.

Hold, one, two, three.

Breathe out, one, two, three.

Keep your eyes closed and start to breathe normally again.

Now, smile widely, and slowly open your eyes.

How did you find that meditation? How did it make you feel? Were you able to focus on your breathing.

I know that after I did it, I felt really calm and peaceful and ready to start my day.

I wonder how you're feeling now.

You can always come back to this video and do another meditation.

Or you might want to think of your own meditation.

There are lots of things online.

If you found that really interesting and it helped you to relax.

Let's get on with our lesson.

Now, mindfulness is only one type of meditation.

There are lots of others, just like I've just said.

And there are different goals for different types of meditation.

But Buddhists are ultimately trying to reach nirvana or enlightenment.

And they do this over a long period of time.

They spend a lifetime trying to reach enlightenment.

Now, enlightenment or nirvana is very difficult to understand, but essentially it means transforming the mind so that the sense of self, completely disappears.

We can liken that state to a candle being extinguished like the flame, the sense of self disappears.

Now, meditation is not the same as praying like in other religions.

Prayer is always to a God.

But Buddhism has no God.

When people pray in other religions, they're attempting to have a union with God or to worship God or to open a personal connection with God.

Meditation is about reflecting inwards and understanding the self.

Here are some true or false statements.

Let's have a look at the statements, and when we finish reading them, you're going to decide are they true, or are they false.

One; only Buddhists meditate.

True or false? Two; meditation is an important part of Buddhism.

True or false? Three; Gautama meditated for six months to achieve enlightenment.

True or false? There is a Buddhist God.

True or false? Pause the video now, so you can answer true or false, to each of these four statements.

Let's have a look at the answers and see how you did.

So number one, only Buddhists meditate.

That's false.

Remember we said that lots of people meditate and lots of different religions, and even non-religious people meditate.

Number two; meditation is an important part of Buddhism.

That's true.

Three; Gautama meditated for six months to achieve enlightenment.

That's false.

Do you remember he meditated for six days and six nights under the Bodhi tree? Number four; there is a Buddhist God.

That one's false.

There is no Buddhist God.

Have a look at this image of this monk meditating.

What do you notice about him? Have a closer look, and pause the video and point at some of the features that you can see in this image.

What's he doing? How is he sitting? What do you notice about him? Here are some things that I noticed.

I noticed that he sitting with a straight back.

I noticed that his eyes are closed, and that he has his hands in his lap.

I noticed that he's sitting with his legs crossed, and that he sat on the floor.

Now, meditation is about reflecting inwards and understanding the self.

And Buddhists can often be seen doing all of these things.

Sitting with a straight back, having their eyes closed, hands and legs crossed and sat on the floor when they meditate.

They do these things to try and help them in the meditation process.

Vipassana.

Now, often when Buddhists meditate, they'll focus on a flower or a candle whilst meditating.

And this can help them to remember what the Buddhist taught.

That everything is always changing, and that suffering is inevitable.

For example, the flower will start out as a seed that will grow into a flower, look beautiful, and then eventually it will dry out and it will die.

Meditation is a helpful way for Buddhists to reflect on this process of life.

Let's read about Vipassana.

I'm going to read, and you can read along with me at home.

Often, Buddhists will focus on a flower or a candle whilst meditating.

This is to help them remember what the Buddha taught: that everything is always changing and that suffering is inevitable.

The flower will start as a seed, grow into a flower, look beautiful, but then dry out and die.

This type of meditation is sometimes called Vipassana, which means special seeing or insight.

It helps Buddhists to understand the world as it really is, instead of what we see at any one moment.

Vipassana teachers Buddhists that the mind and the body are completely linked, but that everything in the universe is also linked together.

On this page, you can see that there are two questions.

I'd like you read through the paragraphs on Vipassana, and I'd like you to answer the questions.

Let's read through them.

One; why do Buddhists sometimes focus on a flower when they meditate? Two; what does for Vipassana teach Buddhists? Pause the video now so you can answer those questions.

Great work, everyone.

Let's have a look at the answers that I wrote.

So number one, I wrote; Buddhists sometimes focus on a flower when they meditate because it reminds them that everything is always changing, and suffering is inevitable.

The flower, for example, start out as a seed, grow into a flower, look beautiful, but then dry out and die.

Number two.

I wrote; Vipassana teaches Buddhists that the mind and the body are completely linked, but that everything else in the universe is also linked together.

Pause the video now, so you can tick or fix your answers.

Well done today, everyone.

It was really lovely doing the meditation with, and for you.

And I look forward to our next lesson, when we we'll be learning about Buddhist festivals.

Thanks everyone.