Meditation is one of the practices that many religious and non-religious people use today. In Christianity, meditation is seen as a form of prayer. When someone prays to God, they are meditating on their thoughts towards God. In Islam, meditation is similar to Christianity. For them, meditation is reciting the Quran five times a day, which helps them get closer to God. In Hinduism, they practice meditation by sitting and reciting mantras, or in other forms known as yoga. Hindu meditation focuses more on physical needs and getting closer to Brahman. All of these meditation practices seem to focus on focusing on getting closer to a higher being. This is what makes meditation in Buddhism so much more unique. When they meditate, they focus their attention on the thought as if it were their breath. In this sense, they hope to achieve awareness and freedom from the circle of life and death. This is what makes Buddhist meditation so unique (www.news-medical.net). Some might say that meditation was what really started the Buddhist religion. It all started with a prince named Siddhartha Gautama who had never even seen all the bad things the outside world had in store for him. One day he went out of the palace to see what the outside world was like and saw four crossed signs that shook him with fear (old age, illness, death and a religious beggar). After seeing these signs he ran away from his palace to find a way to escape his fear of suffering and death in this world. He met many wise religious teachers and practiced all their teachings. He was not satisfied with his results, so he went to search for his own methods of finding enlightenment. He tried to hold his breath for…half of the paper…things about the Buddha and those who are just trying to improve their lives (Bishop 2004, 230-41). Work cited "Meditation, Spirituality and Religion." Meditation, spirituality and religion. Accessed October 10, 2013.http://www.news-medical.net/health/Meditation-Spirituality-andReligion.aspx.Robinson, Richard H., and Willard L. Johnson. The Buddhist Religion. Encino, California; Belmont, CA: Dickenson Publ. Comp, 1977. “Buddhist Meditation.” - Religious facts. Accessed October 10, 2013. http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/practices/meditation.htm. “What is awareness?” Mindfulnet.org: the independent MindfulnessInformation website -. Accessed October 10, 2013. http://www.mindfulnet.org/page2.htm.Bishop, S.R. “Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition.” Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 11, no. 3 (2004): 230-41. doi:10.1093/clipsy/bph077.