{"id":174687,"date":"2017-03-07T13:05:01","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T07:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=174687"},"modified":"2017-03-13T15:11:15","modified_gmt":"2017-03-13T09:41:15","slug":"some-reflections-on-mindfulness-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/some-reflections-on-mindfulness-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Reflections On \u2018Mindfulness Meditation\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laksiri Fernando<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Laksiri Fernando<\/p><\/div>\n

I was pleased to read another great piece by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana on the subject of meditation, titled \u201cScientific basis of mindfulness meditation\u201d on last Saturday (The Island, 4 March 2017). I am using neutral language as much as possible by purpose without glowing him in praise. It is also my personal experience that \u2018meditation to the mind is like physical exercises to the body.\u2019 I am particularly referring to the mindfulness meditation or Vipassana, as he has explained.<\/p>\n

I became attracted to Buddhism at the age of ten when my Mahappa<\/em> (father\u2019s elder brother) became a Buddhist in 1955. I was inquisitive what he was doing in his room, sitting on a mat in a strange posture; and sitting there for long hours, keeping his eyes closed. It was in 1958 and thereafter, I came across many of E. W. Adikaram\u2019s articles in the Silumina newspaper, one of which was \u201cJathivadiya Manasika Pisseki<\/em>\u201d (Communalist is a Lunatic). He also published a series of short booklets thereafter called \u201cSithuvili\u201d (Thoughts) where he explained some simple methods of meditation. I also had the opportunity to listen to him at Moratuwa town hall as a youngster and on radio. He came for a series of lectures. Everything became forgotten later, engrossed in studies, \u2018student politics\u2019 and in a busy professional life thereafter. However, when I look back, even \u2018student politics\u2019 (!) could have been enriched, if there was a touch of \u2018mindfulness.\u2019<\/p>\n

Current Trends<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Australian schools today, mindfulness training is extensively used and there will be a \u201cMindfulness Teacher Training Certificate Course\u201d in Sydney in a week\u2019s time on 15-16 March. As Dr Wijayawardhana says \u201cThough the purists may argue that these variants negate the original aims but I am sure Gautama Buddha would not have minded his technique being used, even with modifications, for the good of many.\u201d The important point to ask here is whether and how far the Sri Lankan schools use these methods of \u2018Mindfulness\u2019 in a scientific manner for the benefit of the students and the society. Three objectives that Australian schools attempting to achieve are: (1) Relieve anxiety and stress of students (2) Let go of anger and frustration and (3) Overcome worrying and negative thinking.<\/p>\n

Wijayawardhana has given a useful exposition to the benefit of many medical personnel at the 39th Annual Academic Session of the Kandy Society of Medicine (15 February) about the various ways the medical science\/s today using the methods of meditation, beginning with the initiatives by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 in USA. When I encountered the first symptoms of acute angina in early 1997, after what they called an angioplasty, I was put on a heart rehabilitation program at the Concord Hospital in Sydney. After several weeks of physical exercises, I was surprised when the instructor introduced what he called the \u2018Breathing Meditation.\u2019 It was similar to Anapanasati and when he was talking, he looked at me and said, \u2018Fernando, you must be familiar with this,\u2019 to which I just nodded.<\/p>\n

It was mainly sitting relaxingly, and inhaling and exhaling for ten minutes, closing your eyes. There was a cassette available at a reasonable price to take home. The important thing was to be conscious about the process, and the instructor during the training, and also in the cassette, was asking us to concentrate on the nostrils, and how the air goes into the lungs and coming out when you exhale. During this exercise, your mind really becomes focussed. After the process, you feel much calmer and relaxed. This was mainly for stress control, as he said. Only after sometime that I realized, the name of the hospital, Concord, was well suited for this meditation lesson. During that time, we were also living in Concord.<\/p>\n

For Peace and Harmony<\/strong><\/p>\n

On a more social or \u2018spiritual\u2019 application, Dr Wijayawardhana has highlighted the recent contributions made by U Ba Khin (the Burmese) and more particularly, Satya Narayan Goenka, to popularize meditation and mindfulness in society. He also mentions its relevance to peace and harmony in the world, referring to Goenka\u2019s speech at the UN Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders for World Peace in August 2000. This is immensely relevant for Sri Lanka today.<\/p>\n