Meditation vs. Contemplation

[elfs]

I've often wondered why the eternal religions, the ones that believe that the universe has always been and always will be, like Hinduism and Buddhism and the like, have "meditation," whereas the eschatological religions, which have an existential persona at their core, have "reflection" and "contemplation" as their core values.

The obvious is answer is that those with a persona have something to compare themselves to, to mirror in thought or deed, and to "reflect." They also have stories to "contemplate." Buddhism has the Buddha, of course, and the more tribal Buddhism has the various enlightened ones of its stories, but Buddhists aren't called to contemplate their lives or attempt to emulate them-- enlightenment is a very personal pursuit, and if you aren't in it for yourself, you're not in it at all.

Comments

[danceswithlife]

Well...since I'm presenting writing a master's thesis that discusses this question, my take on it is that you've actually gotten it reversed. As I understand it in Buddhism and esoteric Hinduism meditation is for the purpose of mystical consciousness--the other common technical term for that (often used by Christian mystics) is contemplation.

Exoteric forms of spirituality may use their intellect to reflect, or may interpret the stories within their spiritual paths to better establish an a self that interacts with the world (which may, or may not be, a persona in the sense that Jung established the concept), but that process isn't "contemplation" in the way that term has been used in spiritual paths.

I don't disagree with your insights...just the terms you are using to convey them.

Books on contemplation: Thomas Merton or Evelyn Underhill. Since you have expressed an interest in Buddhism in the past you may like books on various forms of Buddhism meditation by Dr. B. Alan Wallace.