Why Meditate?

Why Meditate?
Shinzen Young

Meditation optimizes five fundamental dimensions of human happiness. 

Reduction of suffering
The ability to experience unavoidable pain with less problem. 

Elevation of fulfillment
The ability to experience even small pleasures with enormous satisfaction. 

Self-understanding
It's actually helpful to understand yourself at a psychological level, but where meditation really shines is to understand who you are at the deepest level. 

Behavior improvement
If there's something you're doing that you need to stop doing, or something you should be doing that you're procrastinating or putting off, you can use meditation to behave more skillfully in the world. 

Service 
Contributing to the happiness of others in a way that comes from a spontaneous love.

And actually, that spirit of service is a consequence of success in the other four dimensions. As you suffer less, are more fulfilled, as you understand who you are, and as you have a handle on changing how you carry yourself, all of that sums up ultimately in how you contribute to making this world a better place. 

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Young, S. (2016). The science of enlightenment : How meditation works.Boulder, CO: Sounds True. (Sounds True, Amazon, library)

Talks and interviews on YouTube.