Analytical Meditation

Analytical meditation (chegom-དཔྱད་སྒོམ།) is a form of meditation that examines reality, whether that’s the inner world, the external world, or the relationship between the two. Rather than simply resting in the mind, it uses reasoning to see things clearly and as they truly are.

It also reflects our innate capacity to investigate through careful analysis, which is one of the mind’s key abilities, alongside the ability to rest in single-pointed focus.

This meditation is necessary because the mind will remain agitated and restless until it has realized the true nature of things. Therefore, it’s important to seek out and arrive at that reality through analytical reasoning.

We tend to react, resist, or suppress destructive experiences, which only fuels more negative thoughts, emotions, and judgments. Trying to stop these experiences is like trying to stop the waves of the ocean. It’s impossible.

Analytical meditation introduces a different approach. Instead of reacting, you begin to look into the experience itself and learn how to surf the waves rather than fight them.

You ask yourself questions like, “Where is this experience? What caused it? And am I exaggerating it or seeing it clearly?”

As you sit with these questions, something starts to change. What once felt solid and overwhelming begins to feel more open and less fixed. You shift from being caught inside the experience to seeing it from a clearer place.

Things are rarely as solid or as true as they first appear. This is one of the key insights of analytical meditation.

Gradually, you start to see that what appears in your mind is not necessarily true to what actually happened. The experience itself is more like the reflection of the moon in water. It looks real, but it’s not the moon itself.

You can examine almost any experience in this way. For beginners, it helps to start with something personal or familiar, such as a thought, an emotion, or a difficult experience such as stress, anxiety, or anger.