does watching tv help in meditation

Cenarious SG

i hear that when watching tv your brain activity is even less than when you are sleeping

An Eternal Now SG

Where you heard that from?

Anyway, even if brain activity is as low as sleep or lower, also doesnt help what. there is no quality of mindfulness in sleep or watching tv (for most people).

But I heard from a moderator in another buddhist forum that the sort of concentration people have for TV and stuff is very similar to meditation, but too bad it is not a meditational object. If one can use a part of that concentration for meditation one will surely have achievements.

Cenarious SG

why is it not a meditational object

sinweiy SG

a bit of a info...as the chinese expression: water can life/build up a continent and can also bring down a continent.

the tv media is also like water. if u show things that encourage killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, cheating...u are creating grave negative karma, as u are teaching many many ppl. But if u are showing things that encourage morality, good conduct, selflessness..u are creating great positive merits.

more so is when u show Dharma materials. this is pure boundless merits/virtue (gong de wu liang).

watching Dharma talks does help in meditation, which is wat the Buddha's disciples did...they sit quietly to listen to Buddha preach the Dharma. their mind are not only concentrated, their wisdom also increases.

btw, as we always say jie/discipline ting/concentration hui/wisdom, the sole purpose of meditation is eventually to kai hui(open our wisdom).

/\

An Eternal Now SG

Simple. Because watching TV does not lead to the development of mental qualities. Tranquility, calmness, meditative joy and so on.

Passions SG

Hi,

Venerable Master Hsuan Hua had stated before, that T.V and computers are like demons. They drain people out of the state of mindfullness and they make you lazy, aswell as making people attached and thus leading to suffering. Thereby, my conclusion is T.V does not help in meditation in any way.

Om Vajrasattva Hum!

Ito_^ SG

so..

programmers are evil? Laughing

[email protected] SG

Then hardware are evil too?

An Eternal Now SG

Yup.. I do agree with this.. hope to see you around more often Smile

Programmers are OK.

The only problem is when people indulge too much on watching TV and playing computer games etc. It dulls a person's mental clarity, and therefore it is not beneficial meditatively. If TV and Computer are used for good purposes (i.e spreading dharma) it isn't a problem.

When some monks are caught playing some computer games a very long time ago, my shi fu stopped them and said "computers should be used to spread the dharma, not for playing/indulgence".

An Eternal Now SG

Since you are familiar with Eckhart Tolle terms, he always say, humanity is going beyond mind, not below the level of mind. Below the level of mind = vegetative state, and that is not what we should be looking forward to.

Even alcohol can reduce one's level of brain activities, but that is 'returning to the vegetative realm', and is not the same as transcending/going beyond the mind.