two types of meditation

In classical Buddhism, two types of meditation are identified. One is concentration meditation and the other is insight meditation.

With concentration meditation, the aim is to keep the awareness on a particular object or sensation. For example, we might decide to watch the breath – that is we feel the sensation of the breath entering and leaving the body, or the subtle movements of the body as breathing takes place. But we may choose any direct sensation as the object of concentration meditation. It could be a visual object – we could gaze at a candle flame or flower. It could be a sound – we may listen to the sound of running water, a mountain stream perhaps, or a fountain in a garden.

We can choose any of the senses and find a suitable object, bring our awareness to it and try and keep our awareness fully on that object throughout the meditation. Of course thoughts will arise, but this concentration meditation is about taking the energy out of the thinking mind and into the direct sensations, which need no thoughts to be enjoyed. And it is also about training the awareness to rest on one object and not be forever restless, jumping from one thing to another. This is concentration meditation.

Insight meditation is more of a contemplation. Here, there is some aspect of life which we want to investigate, which we want to come to a deeper understanding of. We want some insight to come. For example, we might be exploring the nature of desire. With insight meditation, we use the thinking mind but in a rather disciplined way, trying to keep the energy of the thoughts very focused on the subject which we are exploring. And even with insight meditation, we are not aiming to think a lot, but more allow the space for deeper thoughts to come to us, deeper realisations. We bring the energy of the mind onto a particular subject and allow some magic to happen within the mind. Allow some secrets to be revealed to us. This is insight meditation.

And so, insight meditation also brings concentration, albeit of a more mental energy. And, paradoxically, if we practise concentration meditation, just attending to some direct sensation, then often some insight will come to us out of the blue, unexpectedly. So these two types of meditation are perhaps not as different as they seem at first glance. Nevertheless, in classic Buddhism, these two types of meditation are differentiated. We can practise both: concentration meditation and insight meditation.