Question

In the West, meditation is sometimes taught as a method of stress reduction or enhancing concentration without a connection to the Dhamma. Do you think this is OK to give people a first impression of the benefits of meditation and maybe arising interest in the Dhamma? Or is it respectless and may even be a cause of many wrong views about Buddhism?

Answer

As long as people label it stress reduction and enhancing concentration it may be OK, but if they label it Buddhism it may be wrong. Then they're giving a wrong idea of Buddhism. If they're able to be truthful and say "These are some of the methods within Buddhism that I have taken out of Buddhism, to help us, help you, find more peace in your life, but there is much more," then that may be OK. And that may then whet a person's appetite to become more interested in what Buddhism does teach, in the larger path of purification of the mind. I think that amount of truthfulness will get beyond that feeling of being respectless and the cause of many wrong views. To say that these are just some techniques that have been taken out of the whole context of Buddhism and can be helpful in bringing more tranquility, rather then saying it is Buddhism. So, to be truthful about it can be helpful and then actually it may whet the person's appetite to learn more about what the Buddha teaches.

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