Is Meditation Similar To Self-Hypnosis?

[With English interpretation] Ven. Pomnyun Sunim's (법륜스님) Answer to “Is meditation similar to self-hypnosis?”
A question chosen from the weekly Sunday meditation with Ven. Pomnyun Sunim(법륜스님).

Peace of mind is only one step away.

Transcript

Is meditation similar to a form of self-hypnosis?

No,

That's not it.

There are similar elements to it.

During meditation,

If you are conceptualizing about the future or recalling traumas about the past,

Those are cognitive functions.

But if you let go of all those thoughts and you are understanding that you are singularly focused on your breath,

But if you lose the focus at that moment,

You are basically in the absence of a dominant consciousness.

A lot of the subconscious thoughts tend to rise up.

And that is similar to a state of kind of self-hypnosis because there is a state,

There is an absence of clarity.

But this is a phenomenon that happens if you are not meditating correctly.

Because if you are meditating correctly,

There should be a clear crystal and a clarity of awareness.

That's why it's different in nature from self-hypnosis.