Meditation: definitions, techniques, traditions

Etymology of the term meditation

The English word “meditation” comes from Old French “meditacioun,” which traces to Latin “meditatio” from “meditari,” meaning “to think, contemplate, devise, or ponder.” In the Catholic tradition, the term “meditatio” was used for a formal, stepwise practice by at least the 12th-century monk Guigo II, before which Greek “theoria” was used for a similar purpose. The term was also adopted in English as a translation for Eastern contemplative practices—especially “dhyāna” in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism—derived from the Sanskrit root “dhyai,” meaning to contemplate or meditate; the Greek “theoria” is also said to come from the same root.

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Difficulties defining meditation

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