Why Meditation Makes You Happier, According to Buddhism

Demystifying a simple but powerful tool, explained through the lens of Tibetan Buddhism.

It seems meditation is everywhere these days, from prominent books like Dan Harris’ “10% Happier” to apps such as Headspace and meditation studios popping up around metropolitan cities.

Many Westerners are discovering a truth the East has known for thousands of years: Training your mind can have a profound impact on your well-being.

Frustrated about the limited effectiveness of classical Western treatment (read: medication), anxiety-ridden, stressed-out and depressed Westerners are increasingly turning towards meditation for relief.

But for a meditation practice to provide observable results one requires discipline and consistent commitment. Most who fail to put in the effort have yet to experience the results that those who do manage to commit so publicly rave about. The rewards are delayed, so it becomes hard to stick with it.

This is where insight is your friend. Once you truly understand how it works and what it can actually do for you — other than the well-known benefits such as “more calm, less stress, etc.” — you may be much more inclined to follow through. At least it did for me.

I started meditating around five years ago, not really knowing how exactly it would work to make me feel better. I just knew it supposedly helped with stress, clarity of mind, mood, and could ultimately make you happier. After exhausting many other avenues (exercise, therapy, coaching, retreats) to improve my mental well-being I was ready to give it a try.

It was only when I learned about how and why meditation works during my stay at a Buddhist monastery last year (read more about it here) that I truly experienced the powerful shifts it can create. This was in no small part due to fully understanding the workings of meditation for the first time.

So, I am sharing the same simple, straight-forward explanation that has changed how I view meditation and enabled me to commit to a daily practice that — fast forward — has had a bigger impact on my well-being than anything else I do.

Please note, there are thousands of different meditation techniques, and the information I share below originates from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Tibetan Buddhism differentiates between single-pointed attention and analytical meditation

Buddhists believe improving the quality of your mind is the principal source of happiness, and meditation is the tool to achieve it. Tibetan Buddhist practice two main types that differ in technique and purpose: single-pointed attention and analytical meditation.

Single-pointed attention is the more commonly-adopted form of meditation in the West. The two main techniques are “mindfulness meditation” (Vipassana) and “concentration meditation”. In concentration meditation we anchor our attention on one thing (e.g. breath or mantra) for an extended period of time. In mindfulness meditation we widen the field of awareness to all sensations and thoughts we are experiencing — sometimes also working with an anchor.

Analytical meditation is a much less prevalent, but equally important practice that Buddhists promote to improve the quality of their mind.

Single-pointed attention helps create space between you and your thoughts

Single-pointed attention trains the meditator’s ability to step into the role of the observer. This leads us to realize that at the most fundamental level we are not our thoughts, but the ever-present consciousness that observes (and “thinks”) our thoughts. The stillness in between our thoughts.

The main benefit from this type of meditation is that by identifying less with our thoughts, we gain more control over what and how much we think. The ultimate goal is to be able to let thoughts that don’t serve you pass by without getting wrapped up in them. The more you meditate, the more you gain that micro-distance — often just a millisecond — between having a thought and thinking the thought that can change everything.

Realizing you have the option to not get emotionally involved in every single destructive thought, you pave the way out of harmful patterns: Every time you redirect your attention back to the breath after getting distracted by a thought, you weaken the neural pathways that reinforce habitual thinking.

Analytical meditation helps us “see things as they really are” and populates our mind with more constructive mental states

Analytical meditation is the main tool for Buddhists to “see reality as it is” and gain insight through wisdom. This wisdom helps replace destructive mental states with constructive ones, which ultimately improves the quality of our mind, and will thus make you happier.

The key premise here is that the mind gives rise to what it’s familiar with.

When we are consumed by harmful mental states such as anger, hatred, jealousy, or judgement, it is often because these are the thoughts we have been thinking for a very long time.

Through analytical meditation, we aim to familiarize our mind with more constructive mental states, such as kindness, compassion, and generosity. By rehearsing these mental states in meditation, we increase the likelihood they will pop up into our consciousness outside the actual meditation practice.

This is incredibly powerful, because it enables you to cultivate a mind that works for you, not against you. You learn to replace anger with kindness, self-judgement with compassion, greed with generosity, attachment with connection.

These two meditation practices build upon each other, and a combination of both can bring about powerful mental shifts

It’s called meditation practice because in order to reap the benefits, practice is what is required.

Consistency is crucial.

Realizing that the more thoughts we have during a single-pointed attention meditation, the more opportunities we have to “train” the mind can be helpful. Leveraging apps to practice guided analytical meditations is a great way to start incorporating this technique into your practice.

When we commit to a consistent practice, even if it’s just for a few minutes a day, this simple tool has the power to completely shift the quality of your mind: you become more deliberate about which thoughts to think, you replace harmful thoughts with more productive ones, and in the process, you sustainably elevate your baseline happiness.