Meditation: Samatha, Vipassana and Visualisation

Why Do Buddhists Meditate?

Meditation is the central practice of the Buddhist path. It corresponds to the samadhi dimension of the Threefold Way (alongside sila/ethics and panna/wisdom). The Buddha attained Enlightenment through deep meditation under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya; his first structured teaching at Sarnath included the Eightfold Path, of which three factors — right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration — constitute the samadhi group. For Buddhists, meditation is not a technique for stress relief alone: it is the systematic training of the mind to see reality clearly, removing the ignorance that is the root cause of suffering.

Samatha: Concentration and Tranquillity

Samatha meditation (sometimes translated as “calm abiding” or “tranquillity meditation”) trains the mind to focus steadily on a single object. The most widely practised samatha technique is mindfulness of breathing (Pali: anapanasati). The practitioner sits comfortably, closes the eyes, and directs attention to the physical sensation of the breath — the rising and falling of the chest or the sensation of air at the nostrils. When the mind wanders (which it inevitably does), the practitioner gently returns attention to the breath. Over time, this builds a stable, tranquil mind as a foundation for deeper insight.

Lena, a lay Buddhist who attends the London Buddhist Centre, describes her samatha practice: “I sit for twenty minutes each morning. The first five minutes, my mind races over the day ahead — it takes real effort to keep coming back to the breath. But once the mind settles, there’s a quality of stillness that I can’t find any other way. It doesn’t last, but it’s there.” For Buddhists, this experience of stillness is not the goal but the prerequisite — a calm mind is necessary before deeper insight meditation can bear fruit.

Vipassana: Insight Meditation

Vipassana (insight meditation) goes beyond the calm achieved in samatha to develop direct, experiential understanding of the Three Marks of Existence: anicca (impermanence), anatta (no fixed self) and dukkha (unsatisfactoriness). In vipassana practice, the meditator observes the arising and passing away of physical sensations, emotions, thoughts and perceptions — directly seeing, in real time, that all these phenomena are impermanent, that there is no fixed “I” behind them, and that clinging to them causes suffering.

Vipassana is closely associated with Theravada Buddhism, though insight practices exist in all Buddhist traditions. The Pali Canon records numerous vipassana methods. In modern Britain, vipassana retreat centres offer silent retreats of several days or weeks where intensive practice takes place; these retreats are attended by both monks and lay practitioners.

Visualisation: Meditating on Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

In Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhism, visualisation is a major meditation method. The practitioner meditates on the form, colour, posture and qualities of a specific Buddha or Bodhisattva — for example, the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan: Chenrezig) or the Medicine Buddha. The purpose is not to summon an external being but to cultivate within oneself the qualities that figure embodies: compassion, wisdom, healing. By meditating intensively on a compassionate Bodhisattva, the practitioner gradually develops compassion as an inner quality.

Tibetan Buddhism in particular developed elaborate systems of visualisation (Vajrayana practice), often accompanied by mantra recitation, mudras (hand gestures) and contemplation of thangka paintings — detailed religious artworks depicting Buddhas and their pure lands. These practices require initiation from a qualified teacher and are among the most complex in all of Buddhism. Samye Ling Tibetan Monastery in Scotland and other centres in the UK offer introductory teachings to these practices for Western practitioners.