Dangers to Meditation

By Bhikkhu Khantipalo

 
While the number of ways a meditator may go astray is legion, the few mentioned below deserve a special mention due to their common occurrence. First, a danger that cannot be stressed enough is the lack of right motivation for the practice of meditation. When the Eightfold Path is described, in its “wisdom” section, standing next to the (at first) intellectual right understanding, comes right motivation, thus emphasizing that the emotional roots underlying practice of the Way must be skillful ones: those connected with renunciation (non-greed), goodwill (non-hatred) and non-violence are mentioned. If one approaches Buddhist meditation with neither right understanding regarding dukkha and its cessation, nor with right motives, then one’s meditation is liable to seriously astray.