With Eyes Closed, the Stress Goes
February 29, 2008
It’s 7:00 on a cold, blustery Sunday evening. Most Tufts students are typing away at laptops or hunched over stacks of textbooks in the library as they cram to finish their studies. Minds race and blood pressures rise as stress overwhelms many. Yet for a few students, the situation is very different. Stressors are left at the door during an evening of relaxation and spirituality at the weekly meeting of the Buddhist Sangha at Tufts.
The Sangha, which is recognized as an official student group, was formed about six years ago. Though it is an established group, it remains relatively small; an average of six students attend the weekly meetings and meditation sessions. Nevertheless, the group is led by a few committed individuals, most notably sophomore Nicholas Matiasz and junior Jason Yeager, who serve as contacts for the group. Justin Miller, an MIT alum, leads the Sunday night meetings, and Dr. David Arond serves as the faculty advisor.
Matiasz notes that many students are confused about what a Sangha is. Sangha is a Sanskrit word that translates literally to an assembly of all beings seeking some higher degree of realization. However, it is typically used to simply represent a “community” or “assembly” of Buddhist practitioners. The Sangha at Tufts is a Buddhist group whose members support one another in their spiritual growth and quests for Enlightenment. Although the group is officially tied with Buddhism, participants come from a variety of backgrounds and religious faiths.
In Buddhism, Enlightenment is defined as the complete realization of the universe and of oneself. This state can only be achieved through many years of learning and Buddhist practice. While the path to Enlightenment is very complex, there are essentially two qualities that a person needs to develop: wisdom, and love and compassion for all beings. The Buddhist Sangha provides support to individuals as they try to cultivate these attributes and move toward this enlightened state. Indeed, Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist master and peace activist, wrote that “taking refuge in the Sangha is a very important practice…abandoned, alone, you get lost, you get carried away. That is why you come to a practice center, in order to take refuge in the Sangha.” Nhat Hanh also stressed the importance of the Sangha not only for the individual, but for the Buddhist community as a whole: “The [Buddhist] practice should aim at transforming both the individual and the collective aspects of our consciousness. It is essential to practice with a Sangha to produce such a transformation.” In this way, the Sangha is designed to assist both the individual in his/her personal quest for Enlightenment and the community, as it fosters understanding and unites members.
The Buddhist Sangha at Tufts seeks to serve individuals and the student body as a whole. As part of its mission statement, the Sangha aims to “provide a safe place for students to learn and practice” as well as “to foster an open community that lives together in harmony and awareness.” The group hopes to “bring peace to the hearts of [its] members and thus facilitate a greater peace within the Tufts community as a whole.”
The Buddhist Sangha at Tufts tries to achieve these aims by holding meetings and meditation sessions every week and by bringing in various speakers throughout the year. The meetings are held every Sunday evening at 7:00 in the Rabb Room of Lincoln-Filene Hall, and the guided meditations occur on Wednesday mornings in Goddard Chapel. Miller is the teacher for the weekly meetings and Dr. Arond leads the Wednesday morning meditations. The group also brings speakers to campus to talk about the Buddhist faith. On February 7, 2008, the Sangha had a Chaplain’s Table event in the MacPhie Conference Room entitled “How Does Mindfulness Practice Reflect Respect and Dignity?” The Chaplain’s Table consists of dinner and a discussion and is open to all students. The Sunday weekly meetings are generally the centerpiece of Sangha’s activities. The meeting generally opens with a brief meditation session led by Miller, followed by an open discussion on some philosophical topic. The meeting also ends with a longer meditation.
Meditation has long been a common practice in Buddhism. Indeed, ancient Buddhist texts contain directions and techniques for meditation. Buddhists use meditation as a means of quieting their minds and self-reflection in order to approach Enlightenment. There are two basic kinds of meditation: samantha, or tranquility meditation, in which the practitioner simply attempts to observe him/herself and develop awareness about the body, and vipassana, or insight meditation, in which the practitioner concentrates on a mental object and seeks to gain insight on the path toward Enlightenment.
However, it is important to note that within these two schools there are countless variations, many of which can be practiced without any suggestion of the Buddhist faith. Indeed, many Christians, Jews, and Muslims now meditate according to techniques derived from Buddhism. Over the past two decades, many non-Buddhists in Europe and the United States have adopted mediation into their daily lives, due to perceived health benefits. The popularity of yoga and other spiritual practices have also helped to make meditation more common today.
The benefits of meditation are wide-ranging and numerous. According to an article from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicines, people use meditation for a variety of health pro from insomnia to depression to pain associated with chronic illnesses such as arthritis or cancer. A 2004 study by the state of Georgia found that just 20 minutes of daily meditation led to decreased blood pressure and heart rate in nearly all subjects. In addition to the physical health benefits, meditation can also produce a deep level of relaxation, which helps to improve mood, build self-confidence and regulate stress levels.
Although meditation originated as a spiritual practice, it is clear that its scope is not limited to the Buddhist faith. In fact, Matiasz acknowledges that many students come to the meeting simply to find inner peace after a stressful week. He claims that “the Sangha aims to relieve suffering on campus and to give students a better understanding of who and what they truly are.” The meditation sessions at the Sangha meetings at Tufts are generally guided by Miller, who “tailors the meditations based on the experience of those who attend each week,” according to Matiasz. In general, the meditations are focused on developing awareness and consciousness. In one meditation, Miller asked participants to envision a ball of glowing light flowing through their bodies, giving them energy.
After the meditation session is complete, the meeting proceeds to a discussion of philosophical topics. Miller invites students to come up with their own questions and to discuss the issues amongst themselves. Topics can range from an examination of ancient Buddhist texts to a reflection on the correct way toward Enlightenment to contemplation about how to develop compassion for other individuals. Generally, most discussions do not deal directly with the complex details of the Buddhist faith, focusing instead on how to find peace and develop love and compassion in everyday life. According to Matiasz, “Our discussions cover all sorts of topics; the only way to generalize our meetings is to say that we always talk in some way about life and its challenges. Our teacher, Justin Miller, often mentions that sometimes it is less useful to ‘intellectualize’ everything in the form of complicated philosophical arguments, and more useful to talk about the simple, everyday applications of Buddhism.” After the discussion has run its course, the meeting ends with another, longer meditation, again led by Miller.
While the group is officially a Buddhist group, Matiasz emphasizes that it is open to people of all faiths and backgrounds. “The meetings are geared toward all sentient beings. No experience of any kind is necessary…We welcome people of all religious backgrounds.” The group offers Tufts students something few other organizations on campus do: an opportunity to relax and connect with oneself for a few hours every week. While other students emerge from the library in the predawn hours feeling exhausted and tense, Sangha participants end their Sunday evenings feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.