What Is Meditation? A State, Not a Technique

TL;DR

Meditation is not a technique — it is a state that arises when the conditions are right.
What we train, what we practice, is the mind.
Stillness and inner silence are the foundations this state grows from.
The tradition behind this work is Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, part of the Eightfold Path.
In Qigong, this same current flows through breath, posture, and the cultivation of Qi.

Explore the main topics covered in this article below

What Is Meditation? The Most Important Distinction

Meditation is not a skill to master or a tool to apply. It is a state — an indefinable momentum that arises from cultivating silence and stillness, an encounter with the flow of nature itself.

What we practice is the mind. We work to create the conditions for this state to manifest — adjusting the body, calming the breath, quieting the noise of thought. Meditation is not the training itself. It is what happens as a result of it.

If meditation is treated as a technique, the question becomes: am I doing it right? If meditation is a state, the question changes: have the conditions been created for it to arise? Bharu describes reaching this state as a dissolving of separation — body, attention, and the surrounding world merging into one experience grounded in emptiness. “Everything disappears: the posture, the object of observation, and the context itself.” This is not a technique performed. It is a state encountered.

Stillness and Inner Silence: The Two Foundations

Stillness is the first attribute to train. When thoughts begin to quiet, listening and observation sharpen. We become present — witnesses to whatever circulates within and around us. The mind finds an anchor, a center, merging with the body and the surrounding environment.

We could be on a mountain peak or in the calmest room, and if the mind is agitated, anxious, or restless, the conditions for inner silence will not arise. Meditation arises from work within the internal realm. The practice is to disperse distractions and position both body and mind so that stillness can emerge on its own.

The Tradition Behind the Practice: Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration

To quiet the mind, the tradition points to two specific qualities: Right Mindfulness (sammā-sati) and Right Concentration (sammā-samādhi) — the seventh and eighth elements of the Eightfold Path (八正道), the Fourth Noble Truth in the Buddhist worldview.

Working within a method shaped by these qualities means the structure has been refined and tested across generations. It is not a set of rules to study, but the ground that the instruction in the next section stands on — body adjusted, breath settled, mind quiet, in that order, because that order has been walked before.

How to Begin: Body, Breath and Awareness

Adjust the body first — find a context where you can sit quietly, with the spine free and unforced. Close the eyes. Bring awareness inward. Relax without collapsing the physical structure. Then let the feeling settle on the natural rhythm of the breath.

From that point, the instruction is to not modify, not intervene — to remain quiet, free of expectation. Over time, stripped of fantasy or dogma, the nature of the mind reveals itself: a freedom framed within structure.

Many students arrive expecting a linear process — a technique to follow, a result to reach. Bharu describes this as a question he once carried too: “What do I have to do to meditate?” — a question loaded with the weight of expectation. The answer, arrived at through practice rather than explanation, is found in “not doing, doing” (wu wei, 無為). Simply sitting in silence, without forcing anything, is itself what influences the nature of the mind.

Meditation and Qigong: The Same Current

In Qigong, this same current of stillness and awareness flows through the body. The internal energy — Qi (氣) — does its work quietly, often without the practitioner noticing in the moment. Bharu describes this transformation arriving gradually: a sense of density, of warmth, like rivers slowly filling. The shift in the state of mind and body after a Qigong practice can be subtle enough to go unnoticed — and that quality of not watching for it is precisely what allows Qi to express itself.

Both meditation and Qigong depend on the same conditions: relaxed posture, natural breathing, calm intention. For a closer look at how this unfolds without forcing, see our guide to Wu Wei and the art of unforced action.

Wu Wei (無為), effortless action, is the quiet thread running through every stage of this practice — from sitting without forcing, to allowing the breath to settle on its own. The internal architecture behind this — how breath, body, and awareness align in Taoist practice — is explored further in our guide to Neigong.

The Three Treasures, Jing, Qi, and Shen, describe the layers of cultivation that meditation touches. Jing is refined through structural stillness, Qi through breath and presence, and Shen through the witnessing mind itself.

The rivers fill slowly, and mostly without notice. To meditate is to sit without watching for the water to rise — and at some point, without forcing anything, the posture, the object, and the context disappear, and what is left is simply the state itself.

FAQs: Simple Answers to Common Questions About Meditation

What is meditation in simple terms?

Meditation is a state of body and mind that arises from stillness and inner silence — not a technique or a tool, but the natural result of the right conditions.

Is meditation a technique or a state of mind?

It is a state. What we practice is the mind itself — the ground that allows this state to emerge.

What is the difference between meditation and mindfulness?

Mindfulness is one of the qualities trained on the way to the meditative state — part of the Eightfold Path, alongside concentration. Meditation is the state that can arise from that training.

How do I know if I am actually meditating?

There is no checklist to confirm it. The signs are subtle — a sense of stillness, of dissolving separation between body, attention, and surroundings — often noticed only in hindsight.

How does Qigong relate to meditation practice?

Both rest on the same foundations: relaxed posture, natural breathing, and calm intention. In Qigong, this current expresses itself as the cultivation of Qi.

How long should I meditate each day?

There is no fixed duration. What matters more than length is the ground being prepared — body adjusted, mind quiet, free of expectation — even if only for a few minutes.