Meditation Within ALL the World’s Religions: Info and Resources

Since I recently did a post on meditation from a medical perspective, and one on the many different types of meditation, I thought I would round out the series with a post on spiritual and religious meditation. Many people associate meditation with Far Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, and don’t realize that there are also many forms of Judeo-Christian meditation, as well as meditations from other faiths. Below is an overview of meditation as it is generally viewed within each major religion, and links to resources with more info. By including these links I am NOT endorsing the teachers or authors associated with these sites (most of whom I don’t know) – just the information on the sites.

• In Buddhism, observing and stilling the mind are the key to recognizing the transience of all thoughts and emotions, in order to connect with eternal, non-personal awareness. Two good resources for learning more about Buddhist meditation are Buddhanet and WildMind.

• In Hinduism, meditating is the core practice for merging the mind with the energies operating beneath the physical world, through which the mind can ultimately merge with the source of these energies itself. Meditation is considered part of yoga practice – yoga means ‘union’ and meditation is considered the primary method for merging our awareness with the divine. Two good resources for learning more about yoga and Hindu meditation are the Sanatan Society and What is Yoga?

• In Kabbalah, often called Jewish mysticism, a form of meditation called ‘hitbonenut’, which involves contemplating a concept or light itself, is used to attain true, meta-intellectual knowledge. A good resource for learning about basic Kabbalastic meditation is LearnKabbalah. A good site for learning more about incorporating meditation into mainstream Jewish traditions is The Awakened Heart Project.

• Eastern Orthodox Christianity incorporates the ‘hesychasm’, or Jesus prayer, performed in a meditative, chanting fashion, in order to connect with the heart of faith. For some more info, go to The Jesus Prayer or Hesychasm.

• Roman Catholicism includes contemplative practices such as the rosary for lay people, and many silent contemplative practices for monastic initiates. St. Theresa of Avila was one of several Catholic mystics who wrote on the benefits of mental prayer. Here’s an interview with a former Trappist monk on the benefits of meditation for Christians, or you can learn more about Jesuit meditation as represented in the teachings of Ignatius Loyola.

• In Quaker meetings participants sit in silence, waiting for the ‘inner light’ to inspire someone to speak. Learn more about Quaker Silence or check out an essay by Mary Coelho, a modern Quaker and writer.

• The Sufis within Islam incorporate both energy center and devotional meditation to merge with the ‘beloved divine’ responsible for life itself. Sufism has many branches and corresponding meditation techniques, but most are centered on love meditations. Try this Sufi meditation of the heart, or check out this video meditation based on the famous Sufi poet Rumi.

• Taoism is the ancient Chinese mystic tradition and philosophy focused on balance and the interacting forces of yin/yang, passive/aggressive, masculine/feminine, and creating/receiving. Tai Chi is often considered a form of moving Taoist meditation. Sitting Taoist meditation focuses on similar themes of balance and flow.

• The Bahai faith, a relatively new religious tradition, founded in 19-century Persia, emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind and the common themes of all world religions. Learn more about the Bahai faith, or check out this information on meditation within the Bahai faith.

If you are interested in learning more about a particular spiritual tradition, check out this book list: Introduction to the World’s Spiritual Traditions. Or, for more books on meditation within different traditions, go to this booklist at my teaching site.

Book List: Introduction to the World’s Spiritual Traditions

Since I try and pull from all the world’s spiritual traditions in my own teaching, over the years I have compiled a book list of my favorite introductory and classic texts within each of the major traditions. This list is of course entirely subjective! I welcome other suggestions or feedback on these books in the comments section.

Tibetan Buddhism
Introductory:

• Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, Lama Surya Das
• A Journey in Ladakh: Encounters with Buddhism, Andrew Harvey
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche

Classics:

• Buddhist Masters of Enchantment, Keith Dowman & Robert Beer
• Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa, W.Y. Evans-Wentz
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead, W.Y. Evans-Wentz

Zen Buddhism
Introductory:

• Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki

Classics:

• Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki
• The Bodhidharma Anthology, Jeffrey Broughton

Hinduism
Introductory:

• Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda
• Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna : Abridged Edition, Swami Nikhilananda
• The Eternal Companion, Swami Prabhavananda

Classics:

• The Song of God: Bhagavad-Gita, Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood
• How to Know God, Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood

Vedanta
Introductory:

• Just Like You, Gangaji

Classics:

• Shankara’s Crest Jewel of Discrimination, Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood
• The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Ramanah Maharshi

Taoism
Introductory:

• Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life – Living the Wisdom of the Tao, Wayne Dyer

Classics:

• Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu
• I Ching or Book of Changes, C.F. Baynes, R. Wilhelm

Christianity (the emphasis here is on the practice of Christianity as a spiritual path, not religious theology)
Introductory:

• Return to Love, Marrianne Williamson
• Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsch

Classics:

• The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels
• Beyond Belief, Elaine Pagels

Kabbalah
Introductory:

• Simple Kabbalah, Kim Zetter
• The Practical Kabbalah Guidebook, C. J. M. Hopking

Classics:

• Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment, Daniel Chanan Matt

Sufism
Introductory:

• Essential Sufism, Huston Smith, Robert Frager, and James Fadiman

Classics:

• Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion: Poetry and Teaching Stories of Rumi, Jelaluddin Rumi

For more book lists and book reviews, go to the Book category.

5 Religions, 5 Women Mystics: The Maiden of Ludmir – Jewish Hasidic Rebbe

This post is one of a five-part series on women mystics, one from each of the five major world religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Click here for the full series.

Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also known as ‘the maiden of Ludmir’ was a nineteenth-century Hasidic Jewish woman popularly known as the only female Hasidic Rebbe, or religious leader, although she was never officially accorded that status. She was born in the Ukraine to a father that studied with a well-known Rebbe of the time, and based on visions and readings he received from him, believed his daughter to have special spiritual gifts. He therefore provided her with a religious education unusual for girls of her time, including intense study of the Torah.

As Hannah approached her teens and showed little interest in marrying or traditional female occupations, her father began to doubt his decision, and attempted to interest Hannah in a suitable young man, and limit her Torah study. After this attempt went awry, and following the death of her mother, Hannah experienced a deep depression followed by a religious dream in which she was told that she was in fact destined to live the life of a Hasidic religious leader, woman or no. She refused all attempts to tell her otherwise, and shaped an unusual life for herself as a spiritual counselor to many people, mostly women, within her Ukrainian community.

She lived alone in a small hut, engaged in Talmudic study and engaging in Kabbalistic mystic practices usually reserved only for Hasidic men. On the Sabbath, she would give religious discourses through a small window. Over time, she developed a reputation, and people would travel from all over Eastern Europe to hear her discourses, receive blessings, or ask for advice or healings.

This eventually upset the religious leaders of the area, who had originally written her off as an eccentric. Several times they sternly rebuked her and ordered her to marry. She refuted their arguments with her own Talmudic quotes, insisting that scripture clearly stated women had the right to study the Torah if they were so called. At one point, the pressure become so bad that she agreed to a sham marriage, but she had it annulled almost immediately and resumed her old life.

Eventually Hannah emigrated to Israel, and attracted a new small group of devoted followers. She is buried on the Mount of Olives, and in recent years, burgeoning interest in her story has attracted many visitors to her grave.

For more information on Hannah Rachel, check out the following books, The Maiden of Ludmir: A Jewish Holy Woman and Her World by Nathaniel Deutsch and The Receiving: Reclaiming Jewish Women’s Wisdom, by Tirzah Firestone.

The other posts in this series are on Margery Kempe (Christian), Sukhasiddhi (Buddhist), Rabia Basri (Islamic), and Mirabai (Hindu). For books on more women mystics, check out the Women’s Spiritual Book List or the Women Mystics page.