Friday, June 1, 2012

The History of Meditation

Meditation has found its place in many cultures and in connection with various religions. It constitutues the clearing of the mind and a change in consciousness. Meditative practice has been used in a variety of ways, in religion to pay homage to a higher power of choice or as a form of relaxation. The spread of meditation eludes to the value of it. An important historical prescence who valued meditation was Gautama Buddha, who was responsible for the spread of Buddhism and the teaching of meditation throughout India.  


Attribute this work: Buddha by Steve Woodward
Origins of Meditation Timeline

1500 BCE - Earliest written historical reference of meditation for in Hindu Scriptures, called the Hindu Vedas.

1400 BCE - Reference to meditation in the Bible.

20 BCE - In the west, Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish Biblical philosopher wrote about spiritual excersises invloving concentration.

6th to 5th century BCE - Other forms of meditation evolved in Taoist China and Buddhist India.

3rd century BCE - The philosopher Plotinus had cultivated meditative routines.

1st centruy BCE - Buddhist meditation is considered a step towards salvation.

2nd century CE - Silk Road Transmission of Buddhism.

6th century CE - Western Christian meditation stemmed from the practice of reading the Bible.

8th or 9th century CE- Islamic religious pratice included meditative techniques.

10th to 14th century CE - Eastern Christian's formed an approach to spiritual meditation.

16th century CE - Western meditation was further develop by saints.

18th century CE - Intellectuals, such as Voltaire, studied Buddhism in the West.

100 CE- Buddhism was spreading through China and in the teachings from a Buddhist text called Vimalakirti Sutra passages about meditation were included. 

653- The first meditation hall was opened in Japan.

1931- Meditation began to be scientifically researched.

1950's - Secular forms of meditation were formed in India.

1960's - The arrival of a Westernized derivation of meditation in the United States and Europe.

1970's and 1980's - Influx of scientific research surrounding meditation. 

Meditation can benefit your life whether it is for religious purposes or just to calm the mind. Calgary offers different locations where you can learn and practice meditation: 
Attribute this work: Meditation at SOAS by Colin Smith








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