Silent Meditation and Tea, a program offered by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, presents a calm environment in a world full of distractions.
Keith Wilson, a local Zen Buddhist monk, started the program as a volunteer after noticing there was not a similar meditation group on campus.
“I looked and there wasn’t anything else here like that,” Wilson said. “So I just thought, ‘Maybe there’s a gap. Maybe I can offer it.'”
The session, which occurs weekly in Hogg Hall, begins with a 40-minute seated meditation, where one tries to focus on exhaling fully and inhaling.
“This meditation is a search within yourself for what’s called ‘Buddha nature,’ or true self — true nature that is not conditioned,” Wilson explained.
“If your mind wanders, it’s not a mistake at all, it’s actually an indication that sitting is doing something,” he continued. “The point is to become aware of what those thoughts are and what they’re trying to tell you.”
After the seated meditation, there’s a 10-minute walking meditation break, followed by another 40-minute seated meditation session. To close out the meditation, students are presented with a cup of green tea and a date, an exercise in experience devoid of any other stimuli.
“We’re trying to show contrast. When you sit for a while and you drink the tea, you’re probably more likely to be with the tea versus with whatever homework you have that night,” Wilson said. “It’s very similar to sitting still and watching what happens to your mind. It’s ‘do this normal thing of drinking something,’ but with a different mindset.”
Chris Murphy ‘27, who participated in a session of Silent Meditation and Tea, felt that it helped him calm down after a hectic day.
“I got a lot of perspective on what tends to stress me out the most throughout my day and the meditation helped me combat that,” Murphy said. “I left feeling like I had just my brain cleaned free of any stress from the day.”
“The tea at the end of the meditation was an incredible, grounding experience that brought me back to reality,” Murphy continued. “I couldn’t recommend it enough for anyone unable to slow down and stop thinking.”
“Spending time focusing on spiritual and emotional well-being is good for college students and helps to manage stress and anxiety,” Director of Religious & Spiritual Life Alexandra Hendrickson said. “[Meditation] is also important to our DEI practices, as it provides spiritual support for those interested in Buddhist practices.”
One does not need to be Buddhist to participate, however. The silent meditation is open to everyone — including students, faculty and community members — and everything needed for the meditation is provided by Lafayette.
“I’m introducing this way of practicing to Lafayette, to the community, hoping to plant seeds that if people don’t ever come back again, at least they’ve done it once, and they’ll know what’s there,” Wilson said. “If they get out in their lives later, when they leave Lafayette and they see a meditation center, they might be a little more willing.”
