Meditation is a process of coming to know your own mind. It is a way of understanding and working with your mind, and a way of being with your mind, so you get the best out of it. The essence of shamatha, the first of the basic practices of meditation, is non-distraction. Shamatha involves allowing the mind to settle into a state of non-distraction. It is the antidote to distraction, the root of ignorance.
The ultimate “purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to introduce us to who we really are and the unchanging pure awareness which underlies the whole of life and death.” (The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, p.60)
A special feature of meditation emphasised by some traditions in Tibet and by Sogyal Rinpoche is awareness, or the pure awareness of the nature of mind. Most other meditations focus more on abiding, remaining or stillness, rather than on clarity and awareness. The way meditation is taught in Rigpa emphasises awareness at every level of practice, which eventually leads us to the pure awareness of the nature of mind.
The restless thinking mind, with all its stories, naturally subsides into a state of deep inner peace and contentment. This brings a profound transformation on every level of our being. The pain and distress of struggling with ourselves is dissolved; and a deep and fundamental forgiveness of ourselves becomes possible.