“I think, (therefore) I exist.”
Humans differ from animals in having profoundly deep thought and awareness. Animals can of course possess intelligence, to varying degrees depending on the species, and a certain level of awareness, but no animal has awareness as profound as humans.
Only humans have profound reflections on essence, their own origins, the origins of all species and the universe, and the relationship between themselves and nature… “Who am I? Where do I come from? Where will I go?”
Only humans, with sharp awareness, have developed forms of mathematics, science, art, literature, astronomy, geography, psychology, physiology… and produced many astonishing achievements in humanity's brief existence compared with the lifespan of Earth or this entire Universe. That is evolution at the human level.
All are equal, but each soul's journey has a different program of evolution. Being human means we have already evolved, so we need to learn deeper, more advanced lessons than when we were merely animals.
The key word here is awareness. That is the difference between humans and animals. Only humans know how to meditate.
Meditation can be divided into concentration and insight meditation. Once concentration is attained, we can enter the domain of wisdom through insight meditation, developing profound inner wisdom and progressive understanding of ourselves, others, and the world. Ethical conduct gives rise to Concentration, which gives rise to Wisdom. We gain deep awareness and cultivate depth in our souls, understanding ourselves and therefore others better. We also understand the principles governing nature and the universe more deeply.
In contemplative meditation, moving from contemplation of the body to feelings, mind and phenomena, we continue developing profoundly deep understanding. Contemplating the body, we understand it and become aware of every change in the breath and body. Contemplating feelings, we understand bodily sensations and develop our ability to notice them. Contemplating the mind, we understand it and further enhance our awareness of every mood and emotion. Contemplating phenomena, we understand many truths of life: suffering, its causes, its possible cessation, the path out of suffering, impermanence, non-self and so on. Meditation makes us people with better awareness.
It turns out that meditation helps you become a more profound person. Your awareness will advance.
(Day 19/21 of the Sower of Peace meditation)
