Summary: There are three basic stages to meditation, as I teach it. The first stage is calm abiding. This is primarily the mindfulness of breathing meditation. This is to build concentration and help calm the mind. The second stage is one-pointedness. This is where the mind is able to follow the breath without distraction. And the third stage is discerning observation. This is where you carefully observe, without attachment or aversion, the phenomena of the body, feeling tone, and thoughts and images in the mind. These map onto Buddhist meditation as samatha, jhana, and vipassana.
