The term meditation often implies deep concentration or serious contemplation, but from the Buddhist perspective, meditation involves the interaction of three factors:

• Right Effort: To stop and prevent further unwholesome thoughts and to cultivate wholesome thoughts.
• Right Mindfulness: The mindful observation of the body, feelings, mind and the Dhamma.
• Right Concentration: One-pointedness of the mind achieved through Jhānas.

The Jhāna or absorption factors consist of applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, bliss and one-pointedness. These factors arise when mental hindrances such as sensual desire, aversion, sloth and torpor, restlessness and doubts are kept under control. In the state of Jhāna (absorption) the mind withdraws from external objects and rises by stages to levels of calmness and purity.

The purpose of meditation is to purify the mind of the defiling tendencies of greed, hatred and delusion. The mind that is undeveloped and untrained has an unsteady nature and is easily distracted. It tends to dwell in the past and future, promoting craving and aversion. This leads to sorrow, fear, worry and anxiety which affect the well-being of the individual.

In order to maintain peace and harmony within, it is important to learn how to focus the mind in the present - the here and now. The present is nothing but the past merging into the future. This is what we call change. So, if one is able to keep one’s mind in the present, it will enable one to realise change at a deeper, experiential level.

Wisdom is the understanding of the true nature of things; the ability to ‘see things as they really are’. It overcomes false-beliefs, doubts and fears of the unknown. It establishes a truly balanced and equanimous mind that is detached from the vicissitudes of life such as profit and loss, praise and blame, fame and ill-fame, happiness and sorrow.

The human personality is a mind-body complex comprising the Five Aggregates, constantly in a state of flux or change:

• Form (or the physical process),
• Feelings,
• Perception,
• Mental Formations and
• Consciousness.

When one experiences and realises the impermanent nature of mental and physical phenomena, one begins to perceive the truth of change, unsatisfactoriness and non-self.

The whole system of Buddhist meditation can be classified into two categories:

• Samatha meditation refers to the development of calmness and tranquillity. In the Pāli tradition, there are 40 different objects of meditation.
• Vipassanā is the development of insight, which leads to detachment and liberation. This practice centres on contemplation of the three characteristics of existence: impermanence (Anicca), unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha) and non-self (Anatta). The practice of Mindfulness (or Satipatthāna meditation) provides the basis for the development of calmness and insight.

To understand the role of meditation and more specifically, the practice of mindfulness (or Satipatthāna meditation) in the context of Buddhist philosophy, let us examine the basic teachings which are contained in the Four Noble Truths; namely

1. the Noble Truth of Dukkha,
2. its cause,
3. its cessation, and
4. the Path which leads to the cessation of Dukkha.

The First Noble Truth is the Truth of Dukkha which is often translated as suffering, but is better translated as unsatisfactoriness.

All beings are subject to birth, old age, sickness and death. Also, separation from loved ones or pleasant conditions, association with unpleasant persons or conditions and not getting what one desires -- these are also sources of suffering and unsatisfactoriness.

The Second Noble Truth explains the cause of suffering, that is, craving (Taṇhā). The Third Noble Truth points to the cessation of suffering and the Fourth Noble Truth explains the path which leads to the cessation of suffering. It is called the Noble Eightfold Path, which avoids the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, as follows:

The Eight Path Factors are aimed at reducing and eliminating the habitual tendencies of greed, hatred and delusion at three levels.

1. The level of transgression through unskillful speech and bodily actions.
2. The level of manifestation through unskillful thoughts.
3. The latent tendencies which can only be overcome through the development of insight and wisdom.

Mindfulness is essential at each of these three levels of purification. It plays a key-role in correcting any unskillful habits by way of thought, speech and bodily actions. Buddhist meditation (development of mindfulness) is contained in the discourse called the Satipatthāna Sutta.

The Buddhist Pāli term Satipatthāna refers to the establishment of mindfulness. Here, Sati or mindfulness is explained as objective awareness or bare attention. With it, one merely watches or observes the processes at work without getting involved with the reasoning, speculation and intellectual activity.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness referred to in the Satipatthāna Sutta consist of:

1. Kāyānupassanā (Mindfulness of the Body)

• Ānāpānasati mindfulness of in/out breath
• Postures
• Activities
• Impurities (i.e. the 32 parts of the body)
• The 4 basic Elements
• The different stages of Decomposition

The practice of mindfulness of the body is aimed at seeing the true nature of the body and to eliminate the false notion of ‘beauty’, thereby bringing about a transformation of our habitual attitude and reduce the tendencies of attachment to the body.

2. Vedanānupassanā (Mindfulness of Feeling) involves the mindful observation of pleasant, unpleasant and neither pleasant nor unpleasant sensations. Our habitual tendency throughout life (samsaric existence) is such that we take delight and cling onto pleasant sensations, react with aversion to unpleasant sensations, and ignore neutral sensations. The practice of mindfulness on feelings enables one to experience and realise the fleeting nature of our sensations and develop greater equanimity, thereby reducing our reactions to sensations with greed, aversion and ignorance.

3. Cittānupassanā (Mindfulness of Mind) involves the mindful observation of our mental states or thoughts. It enables us to observe and experience the different levels of concentration as well as those mental states tainted by greed, hatred and delusion. We also become aware of the wholesome and positive mental states. Seeing the transient nature of the mind, we will begin to let go of thoughts -- whether positive or negative -- until the mind becomes more and more empty and silent.

4. Dhammānupassanā (Mindfulness of Mental Objects) involves the mindful observation of the mind and body at work. Our contemplations are directed upon the following:

• the 5 mental hindrances (sensual desires, aversion, sloth and torpor, restlessness and doubts)
• the 5 Aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness)
• the 6 Sense Bases (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and the mind)
• the 4 Noble Truths and
• the 7 Factors of Enlightenment

The practice of Mindfulness on these different aspects of Dhamma in a calm, clear and steady mind leads to the development of insight and wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to penetrate and realise the characteristics of existence in terms of change or impermanence (Anicca), sorrow or unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha) and non-self (Anatta). This development of insight leads to detachment and liberation.

Meditation or mental culture therefore involves the development and purification of the mind. This leads to calmness and insight, enabling one to confront and to overcome problems, difficulties and the unsatisfactoriness of life.

The inner peace and blissful contentment which one experiences through mental culture does not depend on material things. It does not depend on personal relationships such as parents, teachers, spouses, children or friends. Neither does it depend on wealth, fame, status and power. The enjoyment and happiness derived through these worldly ways is of a fleeting nature. They come and go. The things which bring happiness in one moment may also bring sorrow in the next.

But inner peace and blissful contentment is realised through detachment and realisation of the characteristics of existence: that of change (Anicca), unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha) and non-self (Anatta). This happiness and peace that one gets through the realisation of truth is one that lasts forever.

That is why we say: "Nibbāna is the highest bliss".