Examine the main features of meditation in Buddhism (30 marks) Meditation itself is a form of bhavana, or self-development.

It is used by Buddhists to deepen their particular view of life and can focus on a wide range of topics such as to de-clutter the mind, physical health and to relax. Below I will write about the types of meditation used in Buddhism in detail. Firstly there is Samatha, a form of meditation used to have control over the mind. Ideally, people who use this form would have a object or subject to focus on, preferably one that suits their character. To illustrate this, if this person has the tendency to have greedy or selfish thoughts/actions, they could use death as their subject of focus. This is to help them to realise that everyone must die, whether they are good or bad, rich or poor. Thus making their greed seem futile in the face of death. However, the subject of focusing on our own breathing is a suitable subject for everyone and with practise, this type of meditation will eventually become easier to practise. Continuing with the example of breathing as the subject, when you concentrate on this you will, at some point, realise the extent in which we depend on it for life, and altogether the mental activity of the Samantha meditation will become less, with peace and happiness in its place. Another form of meditation is the Brahma Vihara, which literally means 'sublime state' and the basis of this type of meditation is made up of a person developing the feelings of love, compassion, joy and peace towards all living things. As a part of this there are four sublime states, the first being metta - translated as 'loving kindness', it is where a person begins by wishing themselves well, then spreading the positive, friendly thoughts out towards other beings. Karuna is the second sublime state and means 'active compassion', it is the means of understanding the nature of suffering and sharing the suffering of others. The third is mudita, the sympathetic joy in which the person meditating shares the happiness of all other beings. Lastly, there is upekkha, the state of peace and serenity. This is where the meditator looks at all beings with the same positive attitude of well-wishing and kindness. All this can be achieved by the form of visualisation. To illustrate this, the meditator could visualise the spreading of love from themselves to friends and acquaintances etc. Furthermore, a passage from a Buddhist text could be used and in the case for upekkha bhavana a relevant passage might be; "a truly wise man will not be carried away by any of the eight winds: propriety, decline, disgrace, honour, praise, censure, suffering and pleasure.". Vipassana is an important step in Buddhism for the path of enlightenment and follows from the seventh step of the Noble Eight Fold Path: Right Mindfulness. The word vipassana means 'insight' and refers to a system of mental development that consists of looking inwards at your mind as if you were an outside observer. By doing this the meditator can break the cycle, enabling them to see things ontologically. However, vipassana cannot be learnt from some book, but must be taught by a master of the meditation, someone who has gained the skill and is able to pass on these techniques to others. This meditation has a focus to make the mind aware that there is no 'i' to think if you look at the Three Marks of Existence, they perceive that the thinker and the thought are both the same. Those who practice this method use the lotus position, but people who are you well practised in vipassana will do it while sitting, walking, standing or lying down. As the whole meaning of vipassana is to have understanding of every clear action and movement. In conclusion of this, there are indeed many forms of meditation - especially Buddhist meditation, however they are all interlinked and share the fact that they all involve using the mind and body and use it as a way of taking control so that can create a state of focus and peacefulness. A quote that fits in with this is one by the Dalai Lama; "understanding of process enables a person to gain control of that process or to gain freedom of being controlled by it"