The purpose of meditation

sittingBuddha

“The purpose of meditation is not to concentrate on the breath, without interruption, forever. That by itself would be a useless goal. The purpose of meditation is not to achieve a perfectly still and serene mind. Although a lovely state, it doesn’t lead to liberation by itself. The purpose of meditation is to achieve uninterrupted mindfulness. Mindfulness, and only mindfulness, produces enlightenment.”

~Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, “Mindfulness in Plain English” (page 126).
http://wisdompubs.org/author/bhante-gunaratana

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NOTE: This excerpt and image comes from the Bhavana Society Facebook page, which we highly recommend following, full of daily quotes by the Buddha and teachings on meditation and Buddhist practice by Bhante Gunaratana, abbot of  the Therevadan forest monastery in eastern West Virginia.

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1 Response to The purpose of meditation

  1. …. permit me to add that right mindfulness has to be followed by right concentration on a single mind/body process of our own to experience spiritual insight/wisdom …. Kind Regards & PERFECT PEACE ….

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