In the past, Meditation is practiced solely for the purpose of Enlightenment and Liberation. In the present era, this lofty ideal have been reduced to that of other lower purposes. Now, among other stuffs, Meditation have been marketed for purposes such as for the improvement of memory and enhancement of creativity. Which is quite a shame, really.
If used for the purpose of liberation and Enlightenment, the Meditation Teacher must be Realised himself or herself. He or she must have understood and directly realised Insights into the truth of the world and his/her own perception and mind. He or she must have realised No-self and directly experienced Deathlessness. Unfortunately, many Meditation Teachers fall short of this requirement.
Concentration is a type of meditation whereby there is an object for the mind to focus. This object can be something as ubiquitous as one’s own breathe. Concentration has the power of focusing the mind to a high degree.
However, there is another type of meditation call Insight Meditation. This latter type of meditation is the crucial type that enables the Meditator to have direct Insights or experiences into the way things really are. Insight meditation is the type of meditation that will break the meditators’ ingrained assumptions of what he or she understood and allow him or her to directly experience the truth of things.
If the Meditation Teacher do not have real experiences from Concentration and Insight Meditation, he or she is unable to guide the students properly. As this manner of work greatly influences a persons’ state of being and understanding, the responsibility of a Meditation Teacher is great. Such a job and career should not be taken lightly.