While mindfulness-based and compassion-focused meditation practices are well-known in psychological and scientific circles, trust-based approaches have not yet received much consideration. One reason might be that they are not so readily extracted from their spiritual, Buddhist context. Usually practiced within different Vajrayāna traditions, they also tend to be less accessible. Nevertheless, I decided to include them here, because of their importance for one of the largest branches of Buddhism and also because the principle of trust is relevant for meditation more generally. In my 2010 book “Flourishing” (sorry this was only published in German), I outline how the interplay between mindfulness, compassion and trust leads to an upward spiral of development.
Within Vajrayāna or Diamond Way Buddhist traditions, the cultivation of trust in one’s Buddha nature is crucial. The meaning of Buddha nature is too profound for me to explain, but I think it is fair to say that these trust-based approaches aim to strengthen a deeply rooted certainty that awareness itself – the ability to experience, regardless of the specific content of an experience – is by its very nature fulfilling and harbours deep inner wealth in itself. Although this incredibly profound approach to meditation is hardly accessible without a direct “taste” of the experience indicated above, it shall be briefly mentioned here.
