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Meditation involves right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Buddhists believe the kind of lives we lead is the result of our mental activity- thoughts, emotions and attitudes. To transform our live we must transform our minds and clear out our thoughts. The Dhamma states "our life is shaped by our mind, we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves".

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~Meditation involves one third of the noble eightfold path; right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
~if we want our lives to transform, we must transform our mind and clear our thoughts.
~The dhamma states 'our life is shaped by our mind, we become what we think. joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.'
~purposes- in order to see things clearly, the way they really are, he or she has to train the mind to be in control of thoughts and ideas that fill it.
~the thoughts of greed, hatred and ignorance can be discarded and replaced by thoughts of peace.
~this is all done through meditation.

different meditation-samatha-
~eliminates two root poisions, greed and hatred.
~easiest form of meditation, accessible to non Buddhists.
~buddhist use to clear the mind
~means concentration, choosing something to focus your mind on
~commonly used methods are breathing meditation and walking meditation
~samatha is also about paying attention to the movements of your body, and the changing states of mind.

~vipissana-
~eliminates third root poison, ignorance (so works together with samatha to eliminate all 3)
~vipissana means insight
vipissana means insight into the nature of life. the nature of life being anicca, anatta and dukkha.  it is one thing to read about and understand these, but another thing to actually feel the truth of them.
~it cannot be learned from a book, it must be taught.
~samatha is often used as a practice for vipissana.

benefits of meditation-
~eliminates 3 root poisons
~helps a person deal with negative emotions
~develops positive emotions
~brings many virtues: calm, patience, tolerance, compassion, insight, self control
~helps people recognise their true nature
~assists in attaining the early stages of nibanna

difficulties-
~it is easy to do it wrong- in the buddhas lifetime several monks committed suicide after concentrating too much on disgust for the body
~it is time consuming; it is impossible for most lay people to have time to meditate in any depth
~as the goal is to reveal the truth about the way things are, it might cause trauma before calm.

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Meditation is part of the Eightfold path. From meditation comes right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.  Buddhists believe the life we live is the result of our mindsets and mental activity. If we want our lives to be transformed we must clear our minds and change our thoughts, this can be achieved through meditating.
The purpose of meditation = to train the mind to be in control of thoughts and ideas in your head.
One type of meditation is Samatha meditation. This is the most simple form of meditation, it is easier and also available to non-Buddhists. It is used to de-clutter the mind. Commonly used methods are breathing methods and walking methods. Samatha is used to pay attention to changing states of the mind. Samatha eliminates 2 of the root poisons, greed and hatred.
Another type of meditation is Vipassana Meditation. Vipassana means insight into the nature of life. The nature of life being Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha. Vipassana cannot be learned from a book, it must be taught. New comers are told to get a teacher.

Benefits of Meditation

1. Eliminates the Three Root Poisons
2. Helps a person
3. Develops positive emotions
4. Brings many virtues: calm, patience, tolerance, compassion, insight, self control
5. helps people recognise their true nature
6. assists in attaining the early stages of Nibbana

Difficulties of meditation

It is easy to do it wrong - several monks committed suicide after concentrating too much on disgust for the body.
It is time consuming:

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Buddhists use meditation as a way to find/ reach the middle way and reach enlightenment. Everyone is ignorant until they reach enlightenment

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meditation is a key factor and task of being a Buddhist monk. Monks are not a lay person but have joined a monastery

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transforming your life to be enlightened is believed to be done by meditating. Buddhists meditate to clear the mind of clutter and to concentrate on meaningful religious activities and thoughts (they also do this to train the mind). by meditating, Buddhists aim to eliminate greed, hatred and ignorance, also known as the three root poisons.

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Meditation is part of the eight fold path.