Entering the stream without drowning in a cult, DIY

In the news recently there have been a number of Buddhist organizations and teachers that have closed up shop or changed leadership and have been 'shut down' because of accusations of abuse sexual impropriety and other tomfoolery.  Here I will discuss briefly how we can better deal with the idea of gurus, cults of personality, and our own progress learning about and practicing Buddhism as a way of being. 


In the news recently there have been a number of Buddhist organizations and teachers that have closed up shop or changed leadership and have been 'shut down' because of accusations of abuse sexual impropriety and other tomfoolery. 
The majority mentioned were ousted because of physical and mental abuse.  There are many that also abuse power in other ways, financial, ethical, etc. Each one of these stories are about the personality getting too into themselves and believing they are the bringer of the teachings or the 'chosen' one. 

Some examples are the closing of the Dharma Ocean run by Reggie Ray, The excommunication of Noah Levine from the group that ordained him, Spirit Rock.  Sogyal Rimpoche's sexual abuse claims, Sakyong Mipham Rimpoche's investigations into the same, and the restructuring of Shambala... That is to name but a few!!   (I will put as many links as I can below).
 
Each one turned into it's own personality cult...
The main point I would like to get to is that Buddhism is and has never been designed as a personality cult.  In fact, it was very rare to see a drawing or statue of 'The' Buddha well into the common era.   One must also realize that every Sutra begins with 'Thus I have heard', or 'Thus it was said' thereby taking the speaker out of that limelight of being the originator of that teaching.    I also see many times that some traditions really do not rely on one on one teaching but by having the student realize themselves through study and practice.   Another way to reduce this problem is that monks all have the same uniform and hair cut just for that purpose (in part).  It is also an interesting fact that all of these are mainly related to Vajrayana practice in which the 'Guru' is valued above the teachings and is considered the source of teachings. 


This brings me to one of our (The Centered Path's) main anchors in teaching and practice of the Dharma...  The Advice to the Kalamas.  This is a well known but seemingly rarely practiced sutra.  (The Kalama Sutra)

 Here are the most basic points...
1. Rely on the teachings not the teacher or his or her personality.
2. Rely on what is meant not the words spoken.
3. Rely on the real meaning and intent, not on partial understanding, logic...
4. Rely on your OWN wisdom that you develop, not on your yet-to-be-wise judgement.
5. Do not accept the words on faith...or preconceived notions. 
6. Do not believe them because the teacher said them
7. Do not believe them because it comes from tradition. 
8. Do not believe them because of hearsay.

No need for a guru.  In fact, I would consider it a bit of an insult to be called one and here is why. People believe a guru knows it all, and is the only way to get the info they need. This person needs to be sought out, away from it all... I disagree, I think the only guru is your own mind, developed through practice and meditation. Even His Holiness The Dalai Lama commonly states, 'I am just a simple monk'. This keeps us from thinking he is 'all that'...

(Watts, podcast spiritual authority #1 of 4, min 4:20…

           "If you feel the need for a guru, you may go ahead.  What is the source of a guru’s authority? He can tell you he can speak from experience.  He has experienced states of consciousness which would make him profoundly blissful, or understanding or compassionate or whatever it may be.  And you have his word for it. And you have the word of other people that may agree with him. But each one of them and you in turn agree with him out of your own opinion and by own judgment and so it is you that are the source of the teacher’s authority.  That is true if he is a n individual or the representative of a religion or church. You may even take a book. “They say so, if you follow it, you too say so” What basis does this have weight? “When I was younger, so much younger than today, I didn’t need anyone’s help in any way” But there is a certain feeling of helplessness in a world of happenings …"

Dark Buddhism...

I am not really talking about the book that combines the concepts of Ayn Rand and Zen, or the idea that some seem to have that Buddhism is a dark and pessimistic philosophy.  I am getting at the darkness that can show up in any group. That’s a pretty catchy phrase isn't it? “Dark Buddhism” Seems like something hidden or something at its core has an evil aspect to it.  There is no dark Buddhism and by that, this is what we mean. 

You can almost think of the term ‘Dark Buddhism; as a kind of click-bait term that hooks the reader or listener into taking the time to see what is up with a phrase that seems contradictory… darkness and Buddhism…  Many times I have people come to me and ask why Buddhism is so pessimistic… I mean, the first statement that many come across is that ‘All life is suffering’... Well, you can certainly get lost in a pessimism spiral that can really end up disturbing you.  It was the whole idea of the teachings to explain that even though things can seem terrible, that there is no hope, I will get into why and how that happened. (it is one of the same things that kept people going to church in the old days, a story of death, betrayal and damnation with really graphic stories kept people coming in every Sunday for the rest of the story.  Remember, there was no TV and few could even read…) What I want to discuss here for this idea of ‘dark Buddhism’ is some of the problems Buddhism has currently.

 

Sure there are controversies, every group of people that get together eventually have some controversy but because of that it doesn't mean the concept or philosophy is bad.  It is the people in it.

   

Think of the example of a closed box.  It is full of darkness but when you open it it does not fill the room with darkness, on the contrary, it is immediately filled with light.  

That is how it always happens, light will always clear away the darkness.  And even the smallest bit of light can eliminate a great darkness. At least allow those who can do something the ability to see something go so far.

  

The confounding factor is people and greed or craving for what they want, whether that is money or power, influence control.  We see this all the time. Look at politics and the media, someone always stands in the way of the ‘light’ to maintain what they stand for.  They do this to keep it in the darkness. It is only when we move the light or have more points of light do we see what they hide in that shadow. 

  

In recent months some very prominent and influential Buddhist leaders have been brought into the light to show they were predators. They concealed that darkness behind them by being in that spit light and manufactured the way things are in that group so that you didn't even want to look at anything else but them.  This is the personality cult that even the Buddha himself warned about- He said on his ‘deathbed’ … Follow your own minds be an island unto yourselves.. Rely on your own mind as he had done. This is why I do not ascribe to or promoted the idea of a persona guru like we see in some of the traditions. Now don’t get me wrong, having a good teacher is important.  Like having a good trainer for a sport, but although we are thankful and respectful of their work, we do not need them with us forever, eventually we become coaches and teachers and parents ourselves and we have to b the instructor, the guru not only to others but eventually to ourselves.

. 

So how do we put this into action as a regular person (as opposed to the monastic etc…)?   We try to look at things passively at first, just like we look at our breath or thoughts in meditation.  Without judgment, to see them AS THEY ARE. We look to see and understand then we develop understanding and wisdom.  This is the trick. We TRY to be better moment by moment. If we need guidance we use our own minds. We can use the ‘Eight Fold Path’ as our map for these things. 

       

Quote from Buddha at his death. "...be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge." (MahaParinibana Suttra 33)

What that meant, in my opinion, is that we need to look to ourselves for our own salvation. There is no omnipotent or omniscient being that can or will do it for us.

The Buddha found the answers himself and we can too, he just spelled out the formula. This is the exact way we try and approach the Buddha-dharma, we live it as best we can, where we are, how we are. There are certainly many challenges to this, we are not monks, provided for, living in a peaceful place with lots of time for study. We have to make our daily lives study and practice, even when adulting; paying bills, taking care of children and pets, fixing our own meals, having a social life, etc.

If you can read, you can ‘do’ Buddhism.
Remember that Buddhism was largely transmitted by memory, monks had to spend years memorizing the sutras.  Also, most of the people that heard and practiced Buddhism over the past 2500 years did not know how to read and did not have the time to memorize any of the Sutras.  This is one reason there are so many numbers of things in the teachings. Buddhist philosophy was not widely distributed to the west until at least the early 1900s if not the 1950s.  SO it is incredibly young academically in the west. England, Germany and France and Portugal all did send missionaries to Asia to work, some documented Buddhism in the early 1500s, but it took almost 450 years for the first books to be published in the west for public use.  And, in the 1500s there were very few Westerners that could read and write. Especially when you compare to today’s literacy rates. 

When a teacher is useful. 

1.  To become a sounding board to get some info on the practice and how to best amend it for our own tastes and personalities.

2.  To offer details on the teaching, as well as guidance on what to practice and how.

3. As a reference for readings and other modes to get information on the subject.

4.  As an example of what to be or not to be like. (even the fallen teachers can still offer a lesson)

What the Buddha says about that...
The Buddha explained that the Dharma should be taught in certain ways...
1. Spoken step by step,
2. Having the sequence of cause and effect explained
3. Spoken from compassion
4. Not to be spoken for material reward (Although, then life was different, there were far fewer bills to pay. Consider helping your teacher, center or temple with donations of time or money)
5. Is taught without talking down others or oneself.

Now, here is a list of what a teacher should NOT do or those to avoid. ... (it's a doozy)
1. Avoid those that state their own enlightenment.
2. Avoid those unable to discuss issues with the group or take criticism.
3. Avoid anyone that denies accountability for their part in an issue.
4. Avoid teachers that focus too much on enlightenment, nirvana, or some unattainable end goal and not the process and practice.
5. Avoid those that do not practice what they preach, or are over insulated from accountability.
6. Avoid anyone that takes credit for a system or technique. (It has pretty much all been done before, they should at least tell you where they got it from)
7. Avoid those that require you prostrate before them or encourages or permits adoration from followers and those that demand love and devotion for themselves.
8. Avoid teachers that live in opulence, Not supposed to do this for money remember? Also beware of those that are flashy, fashionable or glamorously portrayed.
9. Avoid those that run expensive miracle, abundance, or enlightenment seminars or courses.
10. Avoid anyone that takes sexual advantage of others, flatters you or others and tells YOU you are special to get you closer to them.
11. Avoid those with self given titles, or false claims of lineage.
12. Avoid those that have access only through a hierarchy, or upon a completion of a class.
13. Avoid those with many angry ex-followers, easy to find on the web these days.
14. Avoid those that need you to buy anything while on the process of practice. There are, of course tools that may help, but they should not be mandatory.
15. Avoid those that are paranoid or angry often. Crazy Wisdom is a thing for stories to learn not to abuse people.
16. Avoid those that promote an 'us vs. them' attitude, or any paranoia in or out of the group.
17. Avoid public shaming, verbal abuse, any physical abuse whatsoever
18. Avoid those that disparage another system or religion. Focus on what YOU do.
19. Avoid those that promote any means to justify an end. Especially violence.
20. Avoid those that are too fundamental and read teachings too literally.

The argument that the teacher.gives the lesson the student needs to hear is a poor excuse for any abuse or misbehavior. I think that they can be told as allegories but do not have to be experienced by the student directly. (think of the woman that lost her child and came to the Buddha to revive him). This goes for 'crazy wisdom' and many people's interpretations of some 'zen' teachers that have been sketchy or downright abusive. There is no place for it in the modern study of Buddhism.

Be your own teacher, we can study together. Buddhism really is a 'serve your self' religion/spiritual path/philosophy Think of teachers more like tutors, that way you know they are not the original source, but a way to better understand the lesson.

Now go study...

Sean

     

https://info-buddhism.com/Abuse_and_Buddhism-Behind_the_Smiling_Facade-Anna_Sawerthal.html

  https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/karmapa-ogyen-trinley-successor-to-the-dalai-lama-faces-money-laundering-charges-in-india-234627.html

  
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30327286


https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/dharma-ocean-closing/

https://www.dharmaocean.org/about/teachers-2/

https://medium.com/@nosecretsinthevillage/open-letter-on-abuse-in-dharma-ocean-4715da445bf8

https://www.lionsroar.com/against-the-stream-confirms-sexual-misconduct-by-noah-levine-centers-to-shut-down/

https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sakyong-levine-teaching

https://www.spiritrock.org/teacher-ethics-and-reconciliation

https://jezebel.com/leaked-internal-report-famous-buddhist-leader-noah-lev-1829873134

https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/against-the-stream-closes-doors/

http://www.dreichel.com/Checklist_of_Cult_Characte.htm

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/01/obituaries/sogyal-rinpoche-dies.html

https://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/page/advice-to-the-kalamas

https://www.themindfulword.org/2013/believe-nothing-10-teachings-from-the-kalama-sutta-to-defend-against-intellectual-dependence
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http://the-wanderling.com/wise.html

http://the-wanderling.com/false_guru.html

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Meditation practice and classes

Meditation and Mindfulness:  One of the best solutions to better manage stress and learn to adapt and overcome all sorts of mental and physical troubles!  We offer group classes each week and individual sessions by appointment.  Each week a different aspect of meditation will be focused on.  These can help you make your life better and reduce your personal suffering, whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Learn the basics of meditation practice and the when’s, how’s, why’s and what’s of meditation and mindfulness practice. 

Benefits of meditation and mindfulness...

Benefits of meditation are cumulative and does not lose effectiveness over time.  This means you can pick up right where and when you left off.   Meditation is a practice that it takes effort and time in order to see improvement.  It is just like practicing to worry.  Many of us do that on a daily basis and we become very good at it. 

ü  Reduces stress and worry

ü  Reduce anger and resentment

ü  Decreased muscle tension

ü  Improved performance on all levels

ü  Control emotions and recognize feelings

ü  Slows the aging process

ü  Builds compassion and wisdom

ü  Deepens understanding of the self

ü  More self-control

ü  A sense of connectedness

ü  Reduced heart rate and blood pressure

ü  Increased ability to concentrate

ü  Harmonizes the endocrine and neurological systems

ü  Helps in healing

ü  Greater spiritual and mental calmness and confidence

ü  The realization that now is your greatest gift

ü  You decide…

Services/meditation class topics:

Metta. Loving Kindness

Gratitude

Mantra for personal use

Silent sitting

Bigger thinking

Healing body scan

Pain and suffering

Death and dying

Pranayama and specialty breath work

Vipassana insight meditation

Mala work

Beginner’s meditation

Success and accomplishment

Tactical mindfulness for first responders

Half day workshop on Meditation and Mindfulness:

Eating meditation

Sitting meditation

Walking meditation

Body scan for healing and wholeness

Chakra balance

Movement meditation

Mantra meditation

What can meditation and mindfulness help?

Depression, anxiety, nightmares, over active mind, worry, aggression problems, recurrent troubling or bad thoughts, pessimism, loneliness, and mood disorders, poor self-esteem, Chronic pain, impulsiveness, fear, stress, lack of focus, scattered mind, memory, ADHD, PTSD, IBS, High blood pressure, rapid heart rate, inflammatory disorders, Panic disorder, loss of focus, asthma, PMS, menopausal symptoms,  chronic disease processes…

Why meditation and mindfulness? 

In practice for over 25 years, I have been able to dramatically change not only my own life but the lives of every student that has continued with personal and group practice.

Check us out on line for more!  We post daily somewhere and send out videos and emails to help you in your personal quest for great health.

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Dr. Sean H. Thompson (Reverend) has taught meditation and mindfulness for over fifteen years. 

Founder and board member of the International Order of Buddhist Ministers as well as a Delegate of the United Nations Day of Vesak Conferences, he began his practice in martial arts over 35 years ago and continued on to a more philosophical approach which lead him to mindfulness and meditation practice and his Buddhist journey on the Centered Path. 

He is a fully ordained and classically trained Buddhist Minister, Dharma name: Dhammajivaka.  He practices a non-denominational Buddhist practice of ‘Chan’ which is the precursor to modern Zen.  His teachers are: Ven. Bhante Chao Chu, LABU Abbot of Rosemead Buddhist Monastery (Mahayana), Ven. Dr. Walpola Piyananda, (Theravada) Abbot of Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara, and Rimpoche Jigme Dorje, Abbot of Khawalung Monastery (Vajrayana)

The bad trip in meditation.

Recent articles describe over a quarter of people that practice meditation have bad experiences.

Here's my take.

I have taught meditation for over 15 years now and have practiced for well over 40 years.  I have had bad experiences or bad trips while meditating and because of meditating.  I have had many of my 'students'  (I think of people that practice with me as more of a colleague than a student even though I am going through the steps of how, when, where, why and what to meditate about.) report difficulties, bad trips and unpleasant experiences.  This is how I help people through and past those times. 

I read four different articles from four different sources that turn out to be the same article, lightly massaged to appear different and had different titles. This seemed to become a big topic around 2018 or so.  Now there are even associations that can help you if you have had bad experiences with mediation.  Here are the links to those articles.

https://www.dailysabah.com/…/study-meditation-might-lead-to…

https://www.newscientist.com/…/2202323-a-quarter-of-people…/

https://cosmosmagazine.com/…/meditation-is-a-bad-trip-for-2…

https://www.newsweek.com/meditation-good-you-25-have-unplea…

In the training and practice that I do, meditation is a part of daily life. So it only makes sense that 25% of meditation and life is going to have unpleasant experiences. Meditation is designed to help us effectively deal with 'bad trips', unpleasantness, and... you guessed it... suffering. This is the whole idea of the Buddha dharma or the teachings and truth of Buddhism itself.  The idea of practice is to get ready for something. No one goes to practice thinking it is the real deal, the end of suffering. You need plenty of coaching, guidance, re-dos and discussion to really get the process. You cannot just sit down for 20 minutes and expect your mind to do what you want it to. You have spent your whole life training to be reactionary.  It is going to take practice, effort, time and patience to just see it IS reactionary much less train it to not be reactionary. 

QUICK FIX

The problem with meditation as it is taught currently by some is that it is somehow taught as a destination rather than a journey. We all want a quick fix without putting in any real work.  Time and time again I hear people say to me 'I need to start meditating' , they may show up a couple times and then say they cannot practice for what ever reason.  We seem to want a quick and intensive training to get years of practice into just a couple days.  Look at how many seminars and workshops offer weekend transformational 'life changing' techniques.   Occasionally some find huge benefit from them and it does indeed change their lives but the vast majority just go back to the rut of their 'normal lives' within a few days of the retreat. 

Regular meditation

One of the articles even specifically mentioned 'regular meditators' which was a good distinction from those that are just starting out or those that occasionally 'try' meditation. However, many that are regular meditators are not really even meditating, they are ruminating.   I had a "Meetup" group for over five years, with over a thousand 'members'.  Most never showed up.  Less than five percent became regular at their meditation and of those only about one percent of the thousand progressed to at least notice when they were ruminating.  

Ruminating is re-chewing something over and over. Cows are called ruminants because they 'chew their cud'. They belch up stomach contents to re-chew it for digestive purposes. Many people do the same thing, running it over and over in the mind, trying to find another answer, or simply just attempting to think the problem to death. This is what I see many do in their minds when they stop to meditate. They sit and think over everything that the day was about, all the stuff they need to do and all kinds of junk they are worrying about. Here is the main problem with this- They are practicing worry. They are training their minds to ruminate, to worry, to fret, to be agitated. Sooner or later, they will be very adept at it.

I had a client come in for some work and we discussed meditation, he said he had been practicing TM for over 30 years and had to stop because it stopped working for him. With a little prodding it came clear. This guy was a high end executive and had a very stressful work life. When he would get stressed he would sequester himself away for 20 minutes and chant his mantra, he would meditate. The only problem was, he would only meditate when he was stressed so he started to link and anchor stress to his time meditating and also linked in his body mind his mantra to stress. No wonder it didn't work for him.

Being good at it

So here is the problem. You will become good at what you practice. Practice happiness you will become happy, practice gratitude, you will be more thankful. Your mind will look for ways to continue that feeling if it is beneficial.   If you practice meditation or mindfulness at the right time, place etc.  You will get better at it.  But we have to ask, better at what?  That depends on your intention or reason for meditating in the first place.  We have to decide what our 

I teach people to have as many anchors as they can when they meditate, I also tell them to find a specific time to meditate. What is an anchor you ask?  A meditation anchor is anything you purposefully use routinely in a meditation where over time, this becomes part of the meditation and helps you to get to a place of your intent.  These can be place, time, a color, sound, smell or any sensory aspect of your meditation.  This way, when they have many specific links to relaxation, or even the intent of focus on calm, that is what you will do, focus on calm then they will become good at it. So when a stressful event occurs their set point is better, they see the stress coming and can choose to act differently. This takes time, study, discussion and practice. Without any discussion or study, you are merely sitting there in your own cesspool mind, practicing exactly what you are thinking... stress, clinging, worry, agitation...

When you have a place to meditate that is away from your regular stressors, with scents, colors, items, pictures, statues and even routine that is only used when you are setting your mind and body for meditation and calm, then you can really get the essence of the art of mediation, that it is a practice for when stuff comes up OFF the meditation cushion. That is when the rubber hits the road. You cannot check the air pressure, brakes and tread in the middle of a hard skidding stop. That should have been done before. That is why we call it PRACTICE.

This is probably the main reason I am not fond of the mindfulness movement. It has taken Buddhist meditation practice and secularized it, thinking that if they took out the moral training and study it would somehow make it less 'religious'. It doesn't work. S.N. Goenka did it with Vipassana, and it works lovely. There is hardly a mention of the Buddha. Instead, in my opinion, he was able to teach it as the Buddha intended. Approachable and doable by all, not just those that paid homage to him. No ceremony, no dogma, just insight meditation.

I was taught in the Buddhist Chan and Theravada traditions, so there is plenty of dogma and ceremony. I found it useful for me at times, other times, I did not so I let it go. I was able to see how my study of psychology and mental well being really meshed with that training and I have been able to transmogrify Buddhist (Eastern thought) into a more palatable form for Westerners.

The hard part is to slow people down with meditation and mindfulness. They want too much too fast. It was not designed to be that w

ay and is in no way a panacea.

So, let go. Just sit. Comfortably... breathe. You can do this. If you can decide to sit you can decide to change the way you react to your mind.

See you on the mat.

Dr. Rev. Sean H. Thompson (Dhammajivaka)

http://www.thecenteredpath.org

Meditation and Suicide, articles reviewed

I was reading about Buddhism and Meditation and suicide.  (see the articles below)
I have had experience with suicide for many years, both as a peer counselor, health care provider, Medic and Buddhist Minister.  I have known people that have wanted to kill themselves, I know people who have.  I have talked people out of it,  I have seen people in the process of attempting to kill themselves, I have even (like everyone) have had thoughts of it for myself as well.  I do not have extensive experience, nor any 'formal' training.  (I'll tell you why in a moment).  As a Buddhist Minister, meditation trainer/coach and natural health care provider I see some very interesting patterns in this mindfulness, McMindfulness and McMeditation trend.   I have been trained to practice Buddhism, and to relate that to "modern" psychological practices, to compare them.  To look at them from the outside...
As things like death, dis-ease and aging come more into focus since I notice myself aging, I find myself thinking and meditating on death more frequently.  Not to just ponder, but to become more familiar.  I get to looking up stuff and reading.  I have been a practicing and studying Buddhist Minister for nearly ten years, I have practiced meditation in one form or another for over 25 years, and in that time I have seen lots of advice and articles on all kinds of things 'meditation' and 'Buddhism'.  What I see again and again, is watered down Buddhist thought and practice.  Failure to use the work, the construct of Buddhist practice in dealing with any problem.  I see (or perceive) a fear of getting Buddhist philosophy/practice entangled with anything psychological.  However, Buddhist practice is ALL about the mind, ALL psychology.  Not Jungian, Freudian... Human.
In college I was a psychology major for a while, this was the mid 80's.  I really wanted to get to help people, maybe become a counselor or psychologist.  Here is the reason I stopped.  I was in my first upper division psychology class.  I think it was experimental psych or clinical psychology or something.  There was about thirty in the class, the professor was a well published and experienced man, a good role model and great teacher.  The first day he had us each stand and tell why we are choosing this line of work.  I was in the third seat back.  I was, at that time, very introverted and nervous about speaking in public so I did not hear the two preceding me.  When it was my turn I explained how I wanted to help people and understand the way the mind works, etc... simple and sincere.  No fluff.  I then noticed that almost every other person in the class was crazy!  They all were suicide survivors, addicts, rape survivors, real damaged goods.  Most seemed to think that by being though something made them better qualified to care for others.  Some seemed to think that they would get 'free' counseling and be able to work on themselves while getting a degree to help others.  I just saw a whole group of people that were suffering and in no way able or capable of helping themselves or others.  I completed the class, appalled by the dysfunction of these would be therapists.  It scared me.  I chose to look within...  That is when I found deeper meditation.  I also had the misconception that all these people were nuts.  Like having a blind person tell you they were going to help you look for a street sign.   Little did I understand that not only are we all suffering, but it is a vital part of that experience that we learn to help and be helped by anyone.  Everyone can be the teacher, student, guru, savior and victim.  It is all essential.  As Ram Das says, we are all just walking each other home...
In the articles I have listed, and many others I see TALK about how meditation and mindfulness can help, but only in a limited way.  (Mindfulness as a non-Buddhist way of talking about meditation so that people who are afraid/leery of Buddhists or are of some other Religious construct would not be scared off...)   There are few concepts that are missing in the discussion, that surprise me.  Now, practice is NOT easy, it takes effort and time.  People who are suicidal do not always have those conveniences.  One quick act will end the whole conversation.  Just like a person in a 12 step program cannot be around their 'demon' especially in the beginning otherwise they can fall back into the sickness and addiction activity again.
So here is what seems too light or missing in the following (and other articles)
Non-self (the Anattakhalana)  The practice, discussion and realization that your thoughts are not you, your consciousness, etc are all not YOU.  There is no independent you or 'I' or 'me'.
Impermanence, a more difficult one I think.  One that is easy to logically grasp but not easy to hold onto.  W
Sila (Morality) This is the main one that I find missing in every article about meditation.  So many say that meditation does not really work for this or that, but fail to make sure that moral conduct is included.  That is a main premise in Buddhist practice.  How to live right and well.   You cannot do that just by sitting by yourself quietly.  You need the social construct of community and the support of those that are wiser, so you can follow them and become wiser yourself.  Not as a servant but as a student, to excel and eventually sit with the 'wise ones' and speak at the same level.  Discuss death, impermanence, loss, non-self, interdependence, and other concepts that give meditation structure and depth.  Sit and you just sit... A chicken sits.  A frog sits.  Are they gaining by it?  One cannot hope to do the same without some kind of thought process.  Yes, the beginning of meditation is to quell the thoughts, slow them down, but that is to get a chance to really see them and evaluate them, see how the mind and thoughts act.  Not to medicate and sedate.  That is (in my opinion) a very bad long term choice.  Short term, fine.
I like the article from 'Living from the Heart' it gives advice on watching what the mind does and picking apart the process of breath (as one breath is merely one life)  It also helps you associate impermanence with the breath. This, with some guidance and study can help you achieve a little more understanding of the frailty of the self, how the end of the breath can be the end.
The other articles emphasize the need for medical help.  I have seen and explored chemical imbalance and although an important part of well being, I believe we do not have a good enough grasp on chemical reactions in the body and the mind to really help people.  The vast majority of medications do nothing for the mind, they make you dull and heedless.  The fact that many people on these 'balancing' drugs often commit suicide does nothing to deal with inner or mind turmoil and lack of understanding and control of the five aggregates. Of course people will be upset with that, but people that are on anti-psychotics, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressants are never 'alright'  they will tell you.  They know.  They feel dull, sedated.  Sure that keeps them from overt outbursts, but maybe that is what they needed.  For sure, the mind and heart are complex.  There is no one answer, medication is not THE answer, meditation is not THE answer.  Not without some structure.  Not without some understanding of the self.    Hoping to just sit on a cushion will never help you if you have no plan, no process of thought.  Let the thoughts go wild and they will oblige.  They will give you all kinds of terrible things to dwell on.  Have a focus and you will naturally go for that.  The mind loves that kind of stuff.  Not just focusing on happy kittens and funny stuff but on understanding the conditions and accepting that there are all kinds of feelings and they are alright.  They are ok, it depends on how attached you become to them and how you can practice on letting those go.  Understanding your process and way of thinking and refining it wisely.  Only then you can see your suffering, only then you can do something about it.  Or, medicate and zombie out.
Unfortunately medicine (psychiatry and psychology) have gotten a hold of meditation and have stripped it to fit a clinical model.  ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), and the like have all kinds of people thinking about thinking, not thinking about thinking, thinking about not thinking, or just sitting and breathing.  Breathing is a great start, but never picking apart or using a construct of moral self care or understanding which is essential to the practice is like watering it down in my opinion.  They talk about self awareness as if they are dealing with a machine.  As soon as the light goes on you take your medicine or do a breathing exercise.  Never do they approach the thought with some insight, how does it fit into any of the many constructs of practice?  The eight fold path, the five hindrances, the five aggregates, even the four noble truths...  et al.  Perhaps, and this is my assumption, is that Buddhist practice is too often considered a religious ceremonial process and not a way of being...  There are too many that would take any of the Buddhist concepts (I am talking the basic Buddhist stuff) and apply all kinds of bells, drums, esoteric chants, dances, smells, hats and other paraphernalia to somehow legitimize it and make sure that people have the idea that if you do not do it this specific way it will not work because you were not doing this or that in a specific way with a bell ring or certain hand motions.   Nonsense in my mind.  But wait... For Tibetans, Tibetan practice works, for Japanese, Japaneses practice works.  For everyone else?  Find what works.  For you.
One of the articles actually addresses that and expands by rightfully saying not to go it alone.  Your mind is a scary and weird place.  Without a guide or a friend that can help you or even just 'Be' with you.  My best advice, get closer to yourself in meditation, get closer to your teachers and therapists.  Discuss getting away from the medications in a slow and logical way.  It can and has been done many times.  Remember medication is not supplementation.  Those are completely different.  If you have a chemical imbalance you need to supplement the chemical, the co-factors, an enzyme of some thing else.  Medication is to quiet you down so you do not feel what you may need to feel.  Not to experience what you need to experience, not to think.  You need to guide your mind, train it, learn about it.  Get to know you.  You have the answer.  I just might be in meditation... Stop trying it by yourself, find a group, a guru a teacher.  No 'bi-neural' beats or subliminal music.  That is a distraction.  No chemicals no drugs, no videos and no music.  Those are all distractions.  (good to start a practice but not to get deep).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lodro-rinzler/meditation-isnt-enough-a-_b_5672580.html
https://iamheart.org/Puran_Bair/column/43suicide.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3383812/
http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/071514
http://www.madinamerica.com/2013/05/using-mindfulness-meditation-to-cope-with-suicidal-thoughts-and-feelings/

THE BASIC BUDDHIST ON THE CENTERED PATH

About Dhammajivaka and The Centered Path.

Reverend Sean Hugh Thompson was fully ordained as a Buddhist Minister in 2006 under both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions.  He practices, studies and teaches based on the Chan style of Buddhism, the precursor to Zen and Sohn practices.  Reverend Sean was given the Dharma name of ‘Dhammajivaka’ after not only the meaning of the word ‘Good son of the Dhamma’ but also after Jivaka, the physician of the Buddha.  Since Rev. Sean is a holistic health provider, chiropractor and acupuncturist, he is able to apply and teach concepts of Buddhism in his holistic healthcare practice for his patients.   Rev. Sean also teaches contemplative, calming and insight meditation weekly.

The Centered Path is a church organization, registered as a 501c3 non-profit organization with the purpose of diminishing suffering for all beings as best we can.  Each week, Rev. Sean of the Centered Path presents topics like this in his Sunday morning class.  If you are in the Parker Colorado area on a Sunday, feel free to stop by.  Mediation and discussion are always free. 

You can, however, donate to help this project develop and continue.  Please contact me directly at thebasicbuddhist@gmail.com

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