03.26.2023 “Buddhist Meditation for Everyone” The title of this Lion’s Roar Weekend Reader is also the name of our latest special edition magazine, just released. Why “for Everyone”? It’s not that we think “everyone” might want to suddenly take up meditation. But if they did, this would be a fine place to start.  And as my colleague Ross Nervig asserts in his introduction to Buddhist Meditation for Everyone, there are so many reasons to invest, or reinvest, in one’s meditation routine: “With persistence, it can give you access to deep insights into who you are (or aren’t), your place in the world, and even the very meaning of life. But there are immediate benefits, too. Making meditation part of your day can allow you to find your center and inner calm.” That all seems to us like something “everyone” should at least investigate, so Lion’s Roar goes out of its way to publish the clearest meditation instruction and guidance that we can, from — and for — a variety of perspectives and traditions.  You’ll find three such articles here in this Weekend Reader — and many more in Buddhist Meditation for Everyone, from easy-to-follow basic (yet powerful!) breath meditation instructions, to nuances of the mindfulness-and-Buddhist meditation locus, to heartwarming meditations like Metta and Tonglen, to meditations that can help you free yourself from negative patterns.  May they help you explore meditation’s many benefits and bring them into your life.  Thank you for your practice!  —Rod Meade Sperry, Editor, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide & Lion’s Roar Special Editions 5 Reasons to Meditate   Yes, it’s a strange thing to do — just sit there and do basically nothing. Yet the simple act of stopping, says Pema Chödrön, is the best way to cultivate our good qualities. Here are five ways meditation makes us better people.   We do not meditate in order to be comfortable. In other words, we don’t meditate in order to always, all the time, feel good. I imagine shockwaves are passing through you as you read this, because so many people come to meditation to simply “feel better.” However, the purpose of meditation is not to feel bad, you’ll be glad to know. Rather, meditation gives us the opportunity to have an open, compassionate attentiveness to whatever is going on. The meditative space is like the big sky— spacious, vast enough to accommodate anything that arises. ADVERTISEMENT The Science of Meditation: What We Know and What We Don’t   While people have believed for thousands of years that meditation works, the search for scientific proof is just beginning. The team at Greater Good Science Center assesses the current state of the evidence — what we do, don’t, and might know. There have been many studies of meditation, which is one of the best ways to cultivate moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and our environment. But sometimes, journalists and even scientists (who should know better) overstate the benefits. Indeed, the science behind mindfulness meditation has often suffered from poor study designs, lack of funding, and small effect sizes. As a result, there is still a lot we don’t understand about mindfulness and meditation. Here’s a rundown of questions that seem fairly settled, for the time being, and questions researchers are still exploring. How to Free Yourself from the 7 Obsessions Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John shares how to free ourselves from deep-rooted habitual patterns. This and five more teachings on freeing ourselves from negative habits are found inside Buddhist Meditation for Everyone. If we really want to break deep-rooted habits, every one of us needs to become aware of the obsessions of sensual passion, resistance, views, uncertainty, conceit, ignorance, and the passion of becoming. Maybe you’ve made a New Year’s resolution again this year, performed rituals, done therapy, or tried plant medicine. But these seven habitual ways of acting out are still dominating your life and causing you misery. Why? LION’S ROAR PROMOTION New special issue! Order your copy today.