Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation: "Spend 20 mintues in a silent meditation; a place you won't be disturbed, your own 'fig tree' as was Buddha's inspiration. In those 20 mintue..."

Although I had a basic guideline (the Eight-Fold Path), an extremely peaceful place, and was extraordinarily comfortable, I found it extremely hard to rid my mind of secular thoughts and achieving the right mindfulness. I had trouble concentrating on a topic for a long period of time and often found myself thinking of basketball or school or even food, even though I had just eaten dinner. Despite repeating the some of the quotes we learned during class, it proved to be no help to me. I am not sure why none of these procedures worked for me, it could be because it was slightly cold or because of the continuous city noises around me. However, none of these problems seemed to affect me too much while I was meditating. On the other hand, I did gain a little inspiration from my 20 minute meditation. During my meditation practice, I thought about the future and reminded myself that I am working not only for myself, but for everyone in my family, to make them proud. I believe this will motivate me mentally to do better in school and attain better grades.