“The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this life.  For it is only through meditation that you can undertake the journey to discover your true nature, and so find the stability and confidence you will need to live, and die, well. Meditation is the road to enlightenment.”

The purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness, which underlies the whole of life and death.

Meditation is the way to bring us back to ourselves, where we can really experience and taste our full being, beyond all habitual patterns. In the stillness and silence of meditation, we glimpse and return to that deep inner nature that we have so long ago lost sight of amid the busyness and distraction of our minds.

For those who would like to learn more about meditation, Chapter 5 of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying provides a complete introduction to the practice of meditation.

The booklet, Natural Great Peace, compliments the instructions given in this chapter.

You can also watch excerpts of teachings by Sogyal Rinpoche on meditation.

In addition, Rigpa offers courses and retreats on meditation.

Zam, the Rigpa shop, also provides other teachings on meditation and many other topics.

The link below gives details of some recent scientific research which has shown that meditation can have a significant impact on the function of the brain.