[fnordpiglet]

Meditation in Buddhism is practice for living life in the present. It in itself is nothing, although it can be a pleasant experience and that’s nothing to dismiss. There are a ton of different uses of meditation and I won’t diminish any of them. However vipassana meditation is NOT meant to be an end or a goal, nor is it meant to be an excuse to avoid the world. It’s practicing building awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and physical state without becoming entangled and lost in them as we spend most of our lives. In fact, bridging the practice into day to day life is the ultimate goal. Buddhism definitely does not teach avoidance of the world, in any of its experiences good or bad. Quite the exact opposite - it teaches you to be entirely present in what actually is in the present happening. Finally Buddhism emphasizes a moderate path in everything. Meditating all the time is not good. Neither is constant activity. If you find yourself getting so attached to the pleasures you feel from meditation, you’ve entirely missed the point. It’s a tool, a method, a practice of isolating the inner mind, the awareness, from being enmeshed in illusions such as the chatter of your mind or the feelings of anxiety or depression or the pain of your cancer.