The Practice and Examination of Theravada Meditation in ASEAN Community

Abstract

This research article aims at investigation on the meditation practice and examining tradition based on Theravada Buddhism found in precise schools of ASEAN community with analysis for its consistency of original Tipitaka scripture. The results revealed that meditation practice in the ASEAN countries is considered an important essence of Buddhism by Buddhists from ancient times, it in turn, embeds the spiritual culture, values, ideals of life in every Buddhist society. ASEAN countries that are primarily Theravada Buddhism, Thai, Myanmar Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic have been influenced by the doctrine and practice of meditation in the similar method and principle which are consistent with teachings of Theravada Buddhism, found in Tipitaka, its commentaries while the differences namely appear that some schools start with Vipassana, some schools begin with tranquility or Samatha, but the goal is to realize the Noble truth. The most popular method is the use of mindfulness and awareness to determine the dharma that is appearing in five aggregates, main postures and sub-postures until the mind enters to one-pointedness, then the practitioners observe all phenomena which is absolute truth. As meditation examination is not systematic, but meditation examinations can be seen precisely and formally from Myanmar tradition, which has carried a scripture and inherits the exams from the past. This meditation is the process of examining for encourages or resolving the practice of meditation to attain the goal. In each country there found different way, some schools do not use formal methods while relying on individual conversations or sermons to teach them to solve problems by themselves because speaking distorts the truth but misleads to constitutional thought, then it may lead to the attachment of principles, until ignoring the current state of present circumstances. Anyway, all schools of Buddhist meditation in ASEAN community mostly still follow the right doctrine that appears in Tipitaka.

Keywords: Meditation, Meditation examining, ASEAN community, main postures