Meditation at work

Saovapa is a corporate secretary. She deals with dozens of people each day, handles scores of calls and arranges hundreds of appointments.

And there are plenty more trials and tribulations in her demanding career.

"At the end of the day I feel like I'm going to shoot myself," says the 24-year-old Saovapa with a sigh. "I feel furious for no reason. I think

I'm angry at everything - from the unfair way some people treat me, their manners, and even with busy phone lines when I really have to get through.

"I need to look for a way to calm myself. I'm sure it's not healthy for me. I think if I continue with this level of stress I'll end up in an early grave."

In this often cut-throat world, Saovapa is not the only one who feels like she's exploding with frustration and rage.

More and more people are seeking inner serenity through Buddhist-style meditation, according to Pongpun Saovaphudhasuvej, vice president of the Young Buddhists' Association of Thailand.

The practise, technically called Vipassana, teaches practitioners to create self-awareness and mindfulness - tools to find peace from within the thought processes.

"Vipassana is a unique teaching based on Buddhist principles, and the consciousness one finds through this kind of meditation can help one deal with life's difficulties without having to go berserk," explains Pongpun, who himself seeks inner peace at work through meditation.

"Also, when a person can relieve stresses through meditation, he or she will have a glowing complexion and better health - all because of a better, cleaner and wiser mind," Pongpun says.

For those unfamiliar with Vipassana meditation, it involves quiet contemplation of one's breathing. Every breath in and out is carefully pondered.

Every step a practitioner takes is acknowledged. This slows people down, making them aware of themselves and their minds in particular, which are usually jumping from one topic to another.

"Mindfulness is a very important tool we can use to deal with any problem in the world, especially those we face at work," says Pongpun.

"Once we have a problem, our mindfulness will lead us to think with logic, not temper. Remember, we are slower in our thoughts once we have practised meditation. With suitable logic, we are in a much better position to tackle the problems efficiently.

"You know, decisions based on temper are usually deadly and most of us still do that because we don't know how to deal with ourselves.

"Once we have logic to guide us through each problem, meditation will also give us a strength to create compassion or sympathy for others,too," Pongpun says.

Sympathy makes people forgive those who treat them unfairly or in ways they do not expect, Pongpun explains. "Usually we become filled with rage because those who mistreat us are not our siblings or our relatives, but compassion makes the world go 'round.

"You have to forgive and forget and clear your mind and focus on doing the best with the tasks at hand."

If you think meditation is only for the elderly, Pongpun says more people are now craving inner peace, and the meditation courses at the Young Buddhists Association of Thailand are always full.

"Meditation has become a compulsory course for students in stressful professions like nursing," he explains. "Everyone has to know how to meditate in order to graduate. Some kindergartens include meditation courses in their regular classes and have found good results among the youngsters.

"I'd say that meditation is a tool you can use all though your life and in all professions. The earlier you learn about it, the better, because you want to be equipped with the right tools when you are out tackling the world, right?"

The Young Buddhists Association of Thailand organises meditation courses for young people and adults. Visit www.ybat.org for more details, and remember that best things in life are free - meditation is one of them.

By Sirin P Wongpanit

Special to The Nation