MEDITATION SEEN IN THE ORIENTAL CULTURE
"Who am I?"
The desire to know the answers to this question is the most basic human essence.
Meditation is a breathing exercise performed in the Oriental culture. It has been deeply established on people's mind and became the basis of Eastern ideas. It has been aiming to improve one's mental conditions such as discovering your inner self, obtaining a sharper sense and potential power and awakening your real emotion.
During meditation, a person trains the mind and generates a mode of consciousness towards oneself thereby achieving some benefits. Meditation is universal. Anyone can perform meditation regardless of religion, race or culture.
Meditation gives a strong Oriental-like impression because it is widely performed in East Asia and India, so we call it Oriental Exercise.
The ancient and historical breathing exercises have various types such as Yoga, Zen meditation, Sendo Qigong, Qigong and Japan's original methods. When I searched for their origins, I found the remains of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa which is the pre-historic Indus culture in around 3000 BC. Many stone statues have been excavated there. Some of these stones are shaped like persons doing meditation and the stone relics as well, show people in contemplation. It is believed that meditation started with the evolution of the human race.
THE BREATHING METHOD IN ORIENTAL EXERCISES
The beginning of Zen meditation in Japan was acquired from Chinese Zen in the thirteenth century and has developed into Japan's original styles. The Chinese Zen was created with a realistic thought from China mixed with the abstract thought from India. Specifically, the ascetic practices of yoga and Buddhism came over to China. In China the acquired thought was mixed with Confucianism and Taoism. In this way, Chinese Zen came over to Japan and was influenced by Japanese emotional thought and it has been modified into Japan's style. After several hundred years, Japanese original Zen culture was born and penetrated in the people's daily life.
You can look at its influence in Japan particularly in the daily works of the Zen priest. Tea ceremony, flower arrangement and brush writing came out from their lifestyle which is totally harmonized with nature. They have a custom to gather the people to drink tea together. The tea powder is very valuable and medicinal.
Zen thoughts pursue problems of life and death keenly. Therefore, a Samurai who had to face death in a battlefield performs Zen meditation, engages in brush writing and draws monochrome landscapes. These habits became the martial art that is kendo, kyudo, karate, and judo.
After the mid-20th century, Zen ,Yoga, Qigong, and also Vipassana meditation (the oldest Buddhist meditation practices in India) were introduced to American and European countries by various ways. Nowadays, the number of people who execute Zen habit is increasing all over the world. Mr. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc., was believed to have a good knowledge of Zen.