The Tushita Kadampa Buddhist Center in Thousand Oaks presents four reasons why persons should try meditation. •Meditation makes a person happy and positive: The purpose of meditation is to make the mind calm and peaceful.

If the mind is peaceful, people will be free from problems and worries and experience true happiness. Eventually, people will be able to stay happy and positive all the time, even in the most difficult circumstances. •Meditation reduces stress: So much of the stress and tension that is experienced daily comes from the mind, and many of the problems experienced are caused or aggravated by this stress.

Just by doing breathing meditation for 10 minutes a day, people can significantly reduce stress, cause the tension in mind and body to dissipate, and experience a calm, spacious feeling in the mind. •Meditation brings balance into one's life. During meditation, people cultivate clarity and create a mental buffer between themselves and the busy world. This helps put things into perspective. What is truly important in life regains its significance and what isn't so important doesn't consume thinking and cause stress.

As a result, difficult situations become easier to deal with, relationships improve, and persons become more peaceful, positive, and proactive. •Meditation makes one more mindful: Many people go through life on "automatic pilot."

Often, people get so wrapped up in daily routine that they miss what's going on.

Meditation helps one become more aware of the joy and happiness that is possible in every moment of life and in this way, may make the most of it

Tushita Kadampa Buddhist Center is at 889 Pierce Court in Thousand Oaks.

Open to everyone, the center offers meditation classes, introductory and advanced courses, chanted prayers, and retreats.

For more information, call (818) 508-7665 or visit www. meditateinthousandoaks.org.