THE Bible affirms the necessity of meditation many times, but is biblical meditation different from Buddhist meditation? Buddhist meditation often involves mantras that edify the gods of Buddhism or Hinduism. Meditating on and chanting a word or phrase praising or seeking a false deity is contrary to the tenets of Christianity.
Meditation in the Bible
Meditation verses in the Old Testament
“(Isaac) went into the field one evening to meditate…” (Genesis 24:63).
“Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you do well to write everything down. Then you will prosper and succeed” (Joshua 1:8).
Meditation verses in the psalms
The book of Psalms contains many references to meditating on the believer’s desire for acceptable thoughts, words, wisdom, understanding, and testimonies from the Lord – day and night.
“Blessed is he…who loves the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2)
“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
“In your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love” (Psalm 48:9).
“I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:12)
“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways” (Psalm 119:15).
Meditation Verses in the New Testament
In 1 Timothy 4Paul wrote to Timothy about the importance of prayer, of sanctification through the Word of God and sound doctrine. In verse 15Timothy was told, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them; let your profit appear to all. “
It can reasonably be concluded from these verses that meditation on God and the Word of God are beneficial for all believers. This practice frees the mind from the thoughts and pressures of the world, while focusing on the scriptures and the promises of God.
Buddhist meditation
Is a Christian inadvertently adhering to the tenets of Buddhism or building up false gods if he or she practices Buddhist meditation methods?
What is Buddhist meditation?
Buddhist meditation focuses on inner peace, mental development, a calm mind, and the pursuit of spiritual awakening. The different techniques and practices promote moral restraint.
However, the sticking point for most Christians could be to speak Buddhist mantras, which Dictionary.com defined as a repetition of a word or sound to help focus during meditation.
Three of the most common mantras or phrases repeated during Buddhist and Hindu meditation include:
- “Om Mani Padme Hum”, which translates to: “Hail to the jewel of the lotus”.
- “Om Namah Shivaya” means: “I bow to Shiva, the supreme deity of transformation who represents the truest and highest self. »
“Om Gum Ganapatayei Namah”, which means: “I bow to Ganesh, the elephant-faced deity capable of removing all obstacles. I pray for blessings and protection. “
In addition to this focused thought process, Buddhist and Hindu meditation also uses breathing techniques to achieve an elevated mental state.
According to this article from Christianity Today“Many Eastern religions teach that the source of salvation lies within and that the fundamental human problem is not sin against a holy God, but ignorance of our true condition. These worldviews advocate meditation and “higher forms of consciousness” as a way to discover a secret inner divinity. “While Hindus practice meditation with these methods,” the goal is to find God within their own beings, since God (Brahman) (Atman) are truly one. “
Mantras and biblical meditation
Is it sinful or blasphemous for a Christian to utter these phrases during meditation?
The Bible seems to state that we are responsible for our actions. In the Old Testament, a violation offering was required when a soul unknowingly sinned against the commandments of the Lord, but later realized it (Leviticus 5:17-19).
We who live in the age of the dispensation of grace are led and guided by the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 12:36, we are warned: “Every day that men speak without saying anything, they will give account of it on the day of judgment.” Mature believers are not like the child who repeats the curse word heard from a parent. We have a responsibility to know the meaning of what we say. If we speak with words whose meaning we do not know, we would assume that those words are “idle” because they do nothing to edify Christ.
The Christian who engages in meditation must understand the meaning of what he/she is saying. One could say that mantras would amount to the type of language mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:16-18when Paul commanded to “flee from profane and vain babblings, for they will become even more ungodly.”
In Ephesians 4:29Paul instructs the church to let no corrupt communication come out of your mouth, but what is good for edifying use, that it may minister grace to the hearers.
Verbally edifying the lotus, Shiva or the elephant-faced deity would either be considered blasphemous to the Lord Jesus Christ or would be of no use to the meditating Christian, depending on whether he understands the meaning of the mantra or not.
This scenario is similar to the popularity of George Harrison’s hit song, “My Sweet Lord.” It is widely believed that Harrison wrote “My Sweet Lord” to praise the Hindu god Krishna, while wishing that the Jewish and Christian religions were also included. by incorporating “hallelujah” into the lyrics. With the worldwide popularity of the Beatles, an entire generation was chanting the blindly uplifting Hindu mantra Krishna.
Meditation in its basic form has its origins in the Bible. The Bible is necessary and helpful for the believer to focus on and integrate the doctrines, laws and testimonies essential to our spirituality.
However, Buddhist meditation often involves mantras that edify the gods of Buddhism or Hinduism. Meditating on and chanting a word or phrase praising or seeking a false deity is contrary to the tenets of Christianity.
Chad is a believer in Christ, lawyer, amateur golfer, runner, dog lover and writer. He enjoys serving his church as a deacon and Sunday school teacher. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and his dedication to golf by3sixteen.com. He and his wife Brandi reside in Tennessee with their canine son Alistair.
Photo credit: Unsplash
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