Expert: Justin Choo - 3/2/2005

Question
I have another question: while meditating, does a Buddhist think about the Buddha; does he/she reflect upon the life of the Buddha while meditating; does a Buddhist try to emulate what the Buddha achieved while meditating?  
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Followup To
Question -
Hi...I was wondering if you could tell me whether there is an ultimate deity in Buddhism? (Christinaity = God; Islam = Allah; Buddhism = ?)
Answer -
Hi Tanya,

Thank you for asking me.

Most of us are brought up to believe that a religion must always have a supreme being as an overseer who punishes and rewards according to his whims and fancies.  Buddhism is a totally different concept.  If by "religion", that it must have a supreme being, controlling us, then Buddhism cannot be regarded as a "religion".  The more appropriate term to describe Buddhism is "humanism".  Buddhism deals with the conduct of the human life, based on universal truths which transcend race, culture, nationality, belief, and also time and space.  Universal truth has no boundary and time frame.  Truth IS truth, irrespective of who you are or where you are, or when.  The most obvious universal truth is the process of life.  When one is born, one IS subject to old age, sickness, and ultimately, death.  It doesn't matter whether you want to believe it or not.  No matter who you are, or what you believe,  you are subject to old age, sickness, and death.

The Buddha discovered that there is no one manipulating the strings of life.  We are not puppets on the strings.  There is no puppeteer up above.  We are all subject to the phenomenon process of arising, decaying and dissolving.  Buddhism does not subscribe to a super being, controlling us.  Buddhism places full responsibility squarely on the individual to lead a noble and harmless life, without fear or favour.  Buddhists have full control of their lives and are not subject to fear and intimidation.  The ultimate deity will be the person himself, for he has the power to choose to either be good or be evil.

Hope I have answered your question.  Please come back if you have further questions.

Smile from justinchoo :-)

Answer
Hi Tanya,

Welcome again.

Buddhist meditation is another very profound subject.  In
the Buddha's language it is called "bhavana", meaning mental cultivation.  The purpose of meditation is to train our mind to be calm.  Once the mind is calm, we can train our mind to do the things that we want it to do.  A person with an untrained mind, is a servant of the mind, because he allows the mind to take control of his life.  A person with a trained mind has in his possession a tamed mind.  He has control over it, and he can direct his mind to respond in the manner that he wants it.  The ultimate purpose of Buddhist meditation is to achieve peace and contentment, and the ultimate realization into the true nature of life and this world.

There are various techniques to train this mind.  The most common method is to lead the mind to concentrate on one object.  The object can be the image of the Buddha.  However most Buddhists use the breath as the object of concentration.  They concentrate on the in-breath and out-breath at the tip of the nose.  Another point of concentration is on the rising and falling of the abdomen while breathing.  Once the mind is concentrated on one point for a sustained period, one will begin to experience the power of the mind, and will gradually gain insight into the real nature of this life and the world.

Smile from justinchoo :-)