The Buddha says that his teaching is about suffering and the cessation of suffering. This statement does not mean that the Dhamma is concerned only with our experience of suffering in the present life, but it does imply that we can use our present experience, backed by intelligent observation, as a criterion for determining what is beneficial and what detrimental to our spiritual progress. Our most insistent existential demand, springing up deep within us, is the need for freedom from harm, sorrow, and distress; or, positively stated, the need to achieve well-being and happiness

Like other religious teachings, the Buddha’s teaching originates as a response to the strains at the heart of the human condition. What distinguishes his teaching from other religious approaches to the human condition is the directness, thoroughness, and uncompromising realism with which he looks at these strains. 

A growing community of Mormons in Salt Lake City, in the US sate of Utah, known as the Lower Lights Sangha, is practicing Buddhist mindfulness to deepen their spiritual lives. Meditation teacher Thomas McConkie,  an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, guides the group through their mindfulness exercises.

Tibetan meditation master Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche has long been a vocal advocate for the benefits of meditation, and in a recent interview he underscored the growing scientific evidence that supports his teachings.

Whenever I teach Japanese Buddhism, whether in the Americas, Europe, or East Asia, I frequently run into the same assumption among students that Buddhists, for the most part, practice meditation in order to attain nirvana or enlightenment. While this notion is certainly grounded in actual Buddhist beliefs and practices, it is too general and simplistic to accurately represent the full scope of the Buddhist tradition. Not only can one find a wide variety of practices within Buddhism, not all Buddhists strive to attain the same goal. In this article, I would like to introduce some of the meditative practices that can be found in Japan and the goals they are believed to guide the practitioner toward.   

Essex, UK -- A BUDDHIST Centre in Brentwood is offering children and their families the chance to experience meditation on Saturday.

London, UK - The Attlee Room in parliament will fall quiet on Tuesday to hear one of the country’s leading meditation teachers explain the basics of the 2,400-year-old tradition of mindfulness.

The Young Buddhists Association of Thailand (YBAT), which has been actively promoting Buddhist meditation for more than six decades, plans to hold its second annual camp for international students in August, aiming to present Dharma teachings in a manner more accessible to young people who are new to meditation.

“Whatever you are doing, everything should be done mindfully, dynamically, with totality, completeness, thoroughness. Then it becomes meditation, meaningful, purposeful. It is not thinking, but experiencing from moment to moment, living from moment to moment, without clinging, without condemning, without judging, without evaluating, without comparing, without selecting, without criticizing—choiceless awareness.” - Munindraji (1915–2003) (Knaster 2010, 1)