Mind Over Matter Essay -- essays research papers

Mind over Matter     Out of the myriad of religions that encompass the earth, one of theleast mum is Buddhism. In the pursuit of a higher plane of existence, aBuddhist monk will renounce his worldly secular life, instead embracing a lifeof meditation and study. trance attempting to achieve enlightenment, andtherefore nirvana, a Buddhist must first come to eradicate his sense of self,effectively destroying his ego. By doing this, "durkha," (pain and suffering), residuum and one stick out be at peace and harmony with the world and all who reside in it.A practice that helps monks achieve this enlightened situate is meditation. Byclearing the mind of mundane clutter and distractions, a monk can become in tunewith his inner being and body, which results in a greater understanding of thebarriers that need to collapse before nirvana can be achieved. This practice ofmeditation was the Buddhist practice that I participated in, with the intent ona greater under standing of what being a Buddhist means. This exercise taught methe inherent difficulty in calm airing the mind, along with the negative effects extracurricular influences like other people have on the practice.     The first place I attempted to meditate was extracurricular my dorm next to atree. This prove to be a comfortable place, yet full of distractions. I havemeditated before in my martial arts classes, yet it was difficult calming mymind. While concentrating on my breathing, I was easily distracted by outsideoccurrences such as leaves falling and people walking by. The more I attemptedto eject out the outside world, the more my mind focused on the little thingsaround me. I gained immediate appreciation of the Buddhist monks ability toshirk the outside world and focus on his inner self. When I had meditated beforein my dojo, it was as a group and in silence. This greatly helped the exerciseand I can see why this is the modus operandi at most temples.&n bsp    The second place I attempted to meditate was in the basement of ReidHall. I hoped that the familiar surroundings would calm the mind easier andallow me to concentrate on clearing my mind. While not an ideal setting, it wasbetter than outside. As I concentrated on my breathing and tangle myself unwind, Iwas able to tune into the sound... ...lp guide and direct the learningof the monks. They offer subtle forms of encouragement, often disguised inhardship, that aid the monks in their struggle toward understanding. This is aboon, allowing enlightenment to occur quicker than in the solitary meditation Iexperienced.     A Buddhist way of life is a lot harder than one may suspect, for whilethey are released from the worries of everyday life, the mental tasks assignedto them are far greater than worrying about what to cook for dinner tonight or paying ones electricity bill. Furthermore, a Buddhist lifestyle is not veryconducive to an American li festyle. I give a lot of credit to the founders ofthe Zen mint Center in San Francisco, creating a microcosm which can supportthe solitude necessary for personal growth is a daunting task. From my limitedventure into the life of a Buddhist, I learned that controlling ones mind andthen harnessing this power to delve out truths and desires from oneself is afeat almost inconceivable by the normal mind. Those who pass this task aretruly Buddhas, masters of the world and therefore outside the grasp of time,free at last.