u/BeeComposite

Who do you think will be removed from the 40-man roster?

Hi everyone - I come from a different tradition (Catholic). I am reading Arthur C. Brooks’ “The Meaning of Your Life” in which he talks a lot of the Dalai Lama. At a certain point he briefly mentions that every morning the Dalai Lama does what he calls “analytical meditation”, which is described as thinking about a philosophical/theological/moral question possibly derived from Buddhist scriptures and texts.

My assumption is that it’s a bit more complicated than that, however I think that the concept is pretty beautiful and could even be useful for me in my tradition (for example, ponder the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”). My understanding is that this type of meditation isn’t truly analytic, let’s say as a theological researcher would do, but it’s a bit more metaphysical while at the same time it’s not contemplation and it’s not the equivalent of a koan. I am not even sure how it is done (sitting? closing the eyes? Taking notes?).

Here’s my question: can anyone provide more insight and maybe some good sources on this topic? I find it very intriguing.

Thank you for reading this.