Meditation is an essential aspect of Buddhist practice. In Tibetan Buddhism, the ultimate goal is enlightenment, or the continual awareness of our true limitless and compassionate nature. As one proceeds down this path, one becomes liberated from the habitual thought patterns that cause misery to ourselves and others.

For each person the path is a different length depending on where one is at the time he or she sets foot upon it, but the progression, if one practices with devotion and sincerity, can strip the mind of the illusions that cloud one's view of the lightness of existence.

All Buddhist branches teach calm abiding (shamatha) and analytic meditation (vipashyana). In addition, Tibetan Buddhism adds a vast array of skillful methods, including mantra, visualization, tonglen (giving and taking), chanting, esoteric yogas and Dzogchen. By virtue of these methods, Vajrayana is thought to teach the quickest path to enlightenment, and our particular school, Nyingma, is among the most "practice" (or meditation) -oriented in Tibetan Buddhism.

Comments by some renowned Buddhist masters on meditation appear below. This section will be updated periodically.

"In the beginning of meditation, the important thing is just to be present in a very relaxed manner. Nothing in the world matters but becoming one with your breathing- just flowing with it and letting the thoughts come and go without taking notice. Focusing on something simple, such as one's breath, reduces the sensory, emotional, and cognitive static that usually swamps pure awareness, allowing it to emerge. The point is not to concentrate on anything- breath included- but rather to "relax the mind into a spacious awareness that's the foundation of all our consciousness."

-- Tenzin Palmo (nun), in Spiritual Genius, by Winifred Gallagher

"When we are relaxed, calm and open like a pool in a glade, the quality of our inner nature stands out clearly. We have a keen and direct perception of ourselves and our interaction with everything that is going on around us. Our energy is well-focused; able to think clearly, we can plan and organize our thoughts effectively. We are self-assured: We know what we want to accomplish, what our obstacles are, and how to dissolve them. We work with ease, moving fluidly, in tune with our work rather than resisting its requirements, simply doing what needs to be done."

-- Tarthang Tulku, Skillful Means

"This is why the experience of the spiritual path is so significant, why the practice of meditation is the most insignificant experience of all. It is insignificant because you place no value judgment on it. Once you are absorbed into that insignificant situation of openness without involvement in value judgment, then you begin to see all the games going on around you. Someone is trying to be stern and spiritually solemn, trying to be a good person. Such a person might take it seriously if someone offended him, might want to fight. If you work in accordance with the basic insignificance of what is, then you begin to see the humor in this kind of solemnity, in people making such a big deal about things.

--Chogyam Trumpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

What is merit?

The English word "merit" doesn't convey the Buddhist connotation, because it reminds us of getting gold stars in school and being rewarded because we did well. That is not the meaning intended here, and therefore "positive potential" is a better translation of the Buddhist word. No one is rewarding us when we act constructively. Rather, we leave positive imprints, or seeds, on our mindstreams, and when the necessary cooperative conditions are present, they will bear fruit. This isn't a physical seed or imprint, but an intangible one, a positive potential.

Why must merit be dedicated? What should it be dedicated for?

Dedicating our positive potential is important in order to prevent it from being destroyed by our anger or wrong views. Just as a steering wheel guides a car, dedication guides how our positive potential ripens. Dedicating for the most extensive and noble goals is best. If we do so, all the lesser results will naturally come. If we dedicate our positive potential, however small, toward the ultimate happiness and enlightenment of all sentient beings, this automatically includes dedicating for a good rebirth and for the happiness of our relatives and friends.

Can merit be transferred to deceased relatives or friends?

"Dedicating" positive potential (merit) rather than "transferring" it conveys the meaning better. We cannot transfer merit the way we can transfer the title to a piece of property or the way I can give you my car because you don't have one. Those who create the causes are the ones who experience the results. I cannot create the cause and have your experience the result, because the imprint or seed of the action has been implanted on my mindstream, not yours. So if our deceased relatives and friends didn't act constructively while they were alive, we cannot create good karma and then give it to them.

However, our prayers and offerings on their behalf can create the circumstances necessary for a positive action they created to bear fruit. A seed planted in a field needs the cooperative conditions of sunshine, water, and fertilizer to grow. Likewise, a seed or imprint of an action will ripen when all the cooperative conditions are present. If the deceased have done beneficial actions while they were alive, the additional positive potential we create by making offerings or engaging in virtuous actions-reciting and reading Dharma texts, making statues of the Buddha, contemplating love and compassion for all beings, and so forth-can help them. We can dedicate the positive potential from these actions for the benefit of the deceased, and this could help their own virtuous seeds to ripen.