Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Official Report 674KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Kumanga Andrahennadi, who is a postgraduate student at the centre for natural design at the University of Dundee.

Good afternoon. I am from Sri Lanka, but I have made my home in beautiful Scotland and I am an active member of the Buddhist community in Dundee.

As I am a Buddhist, meditation or mindfulness practice, as it is recognised in the west, is the foundation of my spiritual practice and an integral part of my PhD at the University of Dundee. My research involves developing an online interactive mindfulness-based educational tool for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that is designed around the theme of caring for water.

Most spiritual traditions value the qualities of water, and Buddhist teachers have used water to describe how mindfulness meditation can work on our mind. Our mind’s activity is like a waterfall continuously pouring over a cliff. This is the first discovery in meditation: our thoughts flow continuously.

As we continue to meditate, thoughts lessen and the wish to follow them loses its power. Eventually, the experience varies from following the thoughts to focusing on the practice. This is known as the river.

Like a river meandering through a valley, the water runs smoothly. As it twists and turns or runs over rocks, the flow is interrupted. As with our minds, sometimes it will be agitated. Just as a river can flow calmly, sometimes we can focus without distraction.

As the practice continues, it is possible to maintain awareness and focus almost all the time with few distractions, just like the ocean without waves. This encourages confidence and trust in the practice. Any disturbance on the surface of the ocean, such as a wave, gradually settles back to the ocean itself. Finally, the experience is like a calm ocean without wind. We can meditate for as long as we want without distraction and we can rest our mind at will.

My Buddhist practice informs all aspects of my life, inspiring me to help others. I am a founding member of Nilupul Foundation, a community charity in Dundee that works to help those in need. Nilupul has pioneered the introduction of mindfulness into pre-school nurseries, offers training for women carers through the mindful living project, and is currently developing a unique mindfulness-based recreational therapeutic programme for adults with complex needs in Scotland.

Nilupul is now establishing its charitable work in my home country of Sri Lanka. I am very happy to be helping people here in the same way as the Scottish Government’s international activities are helping many people in Sri Lanka.

I thank the Scottish Inter Faith Council for nominating me and the Presiding Officer for the kind invitation to deliver today’s time for reflection. Thank you for listening and ayubowan—may you all have long life to serve others.