Practicing Tibetan Buddhist Meditation @ Second Life

(Crossposted from www.c4chaos.com)

Second Life® doesn't have to be all about parties, sex, concerts, gambling, or hooking up with the opposite (or same) sex avatars. There are virtual places where residents can do virtual spiritual practice.

Here's a snapshot of my avatar practicing Tibetan Buddhist meditation.



Some meditation purists might say that doing meditation in a virtual world is ludicrous. Maybe. But I find it quite interesting. Why? Well, in the Tibetan tradition a big part of spiritual practice involves doing "visualization." For example, in the Tantra techniques, Tibetans use the mandala to aid them with their visualization. Tibetans are also known for using lucid dreaming techniques in their Dream Yoga. And to me, Second Life is like being in a lucid dream! If you explore SL enough you'll understand what I mean.

I used to practice lucid dreaming techniques. I've had some interesting experiences but it was a hit and miss. Sometimes I get lucid in the dream state and do amazing things in the dream world but more often than not I get lost in the dream. I find that SL is very similar to practicing lucid dreaming. You can be any persona, gender, creature in SL, fly around and teleport to the most profane and profound locations, create almost anything that you can imagine, and then settle on a meditation cushion in an environment created by residents who value spiritual transformation.

I'm not saying that SL meditation practice should replace actual practice in real life. But virtual  meditation practice could aid in the visualization process. It's also a good way of projecting consciousness into some other realm where everything is possiblle.

Using the principle of Mirrored Flourishing, I think it's possible that the good karma in-world would eventually spill over in the real world. It's all a matter of intention.