Meditation is essential as a way to achieve calmness of the mind. 

One day, while listening to a talk given by the Dalai Lama to a small group of people, this is the understanding that transpired –

The Dalai Lama speaks of meditation as “shaping of the mind” through the mind itself.

This influences the attitude of the mind, which in turn helps one to face and solve existing problems. 

At the same time, it helps to develop the essential qualities of compassion, forgiveness, love and a spirit of harmony. 

Overall, the mind becomes alert, which is very useful in every field and area of one’s life.

How do you train or shape the mind?

The Dalai Lama says that the best way to train the mind is through analysis, which is also seen as ‘discriminative awareness’. This is the healthy way. 

So, from skepticism, to experimentation, to eventual acceptance, based on one’s experience. He calls this the scientific approach.

It is through Reason that one develops a genuine conviction, because one has experimented and analysed. Therefore ‘analytical meditation’ is what is recommended. 

The best time of day to meditate is in the early morning hours, when the mind is fresh and alert. Begin with an indifferent attitude, withdrawing inwards – moving away from the sense objects – not following the senses with the mind – not going into the past or future. This way, the duration of thoughtlessness will gradually increase. Initially, some feeling of emptiness may arise. The process may not be easy, but one must try.

The Dalai Lama then speaks of Meditation with Compassion and what ‘compassion’ truly means.

Genuine compassion is not only a feeling of closeness, which is more about attachment.

It is about a genuine and unbiased feeling of the right for everyone to experience happiness.

When one visualises those who are unfortunate, such as those facing starvation or mental ill health, then something arises within – a kind of emotion/feeling based on reason. 

Simply meditate on this with the whole mind. When the feeling begins to dissipate, continue to analyse, till it becomes stronger. This helps to negate negative emotions gradually (like anger, which is blind and mostly destructive) and helps to fill oneself with compassion. 

That is how the mind gradually transforms and alertness increases.

Thereafter Self Confidence arises together with Motivation and Will Power.

The dual nature of positive and negative will keep arising. Analyse. Then tolerance happens as a by-product of one’s analysis. 

If the mind sees all angles, tolerance and forgiveness happens. 

The Dalai Lama believes that all major world religions have the potential to serve the world, despite having different philosophies. 

All should work closely together and enrich each other by learning from each other.

This helps to provide different angles of vision. 

One religion cannot suffice the whole world. It is like serving the same one dish at every meal. Only when there is variety will there be more customers.😊 

We all have to live together. 

In conclusion, the Dalai Lama states that Ahimsa, a practice that originated in Hinduism, meaning non violence or the ethical practice of not causing harm to any living thing, is a very important and rich tradition, whose values must be imbibed.