Meditation turns accepted information into experience. On the first level, its purpose is to calm mind and keep it in one place. It creates space between the experiencer and his experiences, permitting the wise to choose roles in the comedies of life and avoid its tragedies. This protective distance is most frequently achieved through awareness of one’s breath or the concentration on a Buddha form, a meditation called ‘Shamatha’ in Sanskrit and ‘Shine’ in Tibetan. Whoever can hold this state of mind in the lab situation of one’s meditation will gradually accomplish the same in daily life. This is a first step in one’s development and a necessary foundation for both penetrating insight and more elaborate practices.

The second level of meditation is called ‘Vipassana’ in Sanskrit and ‘Lhaktong’ in Tibetan.

Here, the meditation is formless and aims at the nature of the mind itself. By being aware without an object to be aware of, insight and understanding arise spontaneously.

So meditation is the concentrating of the mind onto something and the clarity which arises from this.

Diamond Way meditations are for people who aim at enlightenment. If someone just wants to relax, other means are better suited for that purpose.

Generally, meditation is for people who have enough positive impressions in their store consciousness, and enough insight and joy, that they can stand to meet with their own subconsciousness. For psychotic people it can be dangerous to meditate, since they tend to experience their feelings and inner conditions as very real and they could experience some unpleasant  projections. In this case, saying Mantras and trying to act in a positive way is better than to start with concentrative meditation too early. When a person feels good without taking pills and is able to work, live independently and maintain relationships, then it is time to start meditating.

Then, there are meditations which shouldn’t be practiced without what is called ‘Buddhist Refuge’. It gives protection and creates a connection to one’s own Buddha nature, a connection to the teachings, to friends which are on the same way and to the Lama who gives the Refuge.

Moreover, meditation can only bring positive results to people who have the right foundations for the kind of meditation they practice. If difficult meditations are tried too early, it may result in a ’white wall’ state: one feels calm but rather sleepy. This state can reduce intelligence and energy.

What we strive for is an awareness as sharp and clear as a diamond.

Treat impractical or disturbing thoughts like a thief in an empty house. Give him nothing, let him look here and there, but not find anything. If you have a busy mind but do not pursue the thoughts that come up, there can be no harm. Don’t give your thoughts any energy and you will not be bothered by them.

A good suggestion is to try the ‘Meditation on Light and Breath’ booklet, which is available at various Buddhist centers of the Karma Kagyu Lineage.

The goal of the Phowa practice is to learn how to die consciously, and transfer the consciousness at the moment of death to a state of highest bliss. The practice is the last of the Six Yogas (energy teachings) of the great teacher Naropa, and one of the most profound teachings in Tibetan Buddhism. It is a very direct method involving visualization and mantra. Lama Ole is one of the few Buddhist lamas empowered to teach the Phowa practice. Since 1987, he has taught Phowa to over 80,000 people at several hundred meditation courses around the world.