08/10/2025
After class, I chatted with my partner about traditional meditation (a change after teaching modern mindfulness).
We talked about Theravāda Buddhism (Hinayana tradition). It focuses on training awareness first, then looking deeply into the five aggregates, and finally realizing impermanence, suffering, and non-self.
This is quite different from Mahayāna or Tibetan Buddhism, which pays more attention to the nature of mind and the idea of Buddha-nature.
One example is the Four Yogas of Mahāmudrā, the core stages of meditation in the Tibetan Kagyu and Sakya lineages.
They describe four progressive levels:
One-pointedness, Simplicity, One taste, non-meditation.
The first two are like calming and focusing the mind; by the “one taste” stage we start to directly recognize the nature of mind, and the last two bring deep wisdom.
But reaching even “one taste” takes long preparation. Before this, Tibetan practice usually includes preliminary practices (reflections and groundwork) and lots of training in calm abiding and insight.
In other words, Tibetan Buddhism lays out an incredibly clear and detailed roadmap for meditation, step-by-step, well-explained and very systematic.
Very rare a traditions describe the path in such an organized and practical way.
If modern science wants to fully understand the mind and consciousness, it may still need hundreds of years. The good news is that many medical reseachers and neuroscientists are already studying and practicing these meditation traditions.
So, come, let’s explore mindfulness practice together now!
