Meditation is a practice used to focus or clear one's mind, concentrating on mindfulness and achieving calmness and clarity. It is prominent in most religions to some degree, but is mostly associated with Eastern mysticism, New Age religions, and martial arts.
While there have been some scientifically observable benefits to meditation in terms of stress relief, as well as depression and anxiety reduction, most of the claims of meditation as a physical healing method, including repairing physical damage, illness cure, and acting as a panacea, as well as any metaphysical usage, have yet to be demonstrable using the scientific method.
In TMNT[]
As a franchise dealing much with martial arts and sometimes with Eastern religious concepts, meditation makes an appearance in almost every incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to some degree. The practice is usually associated with Splinter, but the Ninja Turtles and other characters take part in it to some degree in some continuities. Meditation in these cases often is used simply as it is in real life, to achieve clarity and mindfulness. Sometimes, plot resolution is achieved via an epiphany gained from meditation. Meditation is also one of two ways usually used to access the Astral Plane, the other being near-death experiences.
1990 film series[]
In the 1990 film, Splinter suggests that the Ninja Turtles meditate after rescuing April O'Neil from a band of thieves, but the Ninja Turtles dance to loud music instead.
2014 film series[]
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Splinter meditates in the lair for almost 24 hours while listening to a guided meditation recording, one second away from reaching utter spiritual enlightenment and Nirvāṇa, but is disrupted by the Ninja Turtles' entrances before he can complete it, dousing him and his candles with water.
TMNT (console game)[]
In the console and PC game TMNT, the Ninja Turtles are capable of meditating to slowly recover health, if the player leaves the Ninja Turtle idle for a brief moment, and the Ninja Turtle is unaffected by enemy attack or environmental hazards. Leonardo can uniquely pass through gates and grates via meditation by use of a medallion, in a technique known as Shadow Warp.
IDW[]
In the IDW continuity's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series Splinter issue, Hamato Yoshi is instructed by Masato to meditate beside a river to soothe his temper issue.
1987 TV series[]
In the 1987 TV series, Michelangelo tries to meditate in "Teenagers from Dimension X", to ease his nervousness after the Neutrinos are kidnapped by the Shredder, but fails due Donatello unveiling his new invention the Cheapskate. Splinter offers to meditate with the Ninja Turtles in "Divide and Conquer".
2003 TV series[]
In the 2003 TV series, Splinter meditates in "Darkness on the Edge of Town" after being shown the Foot Clan emblem by the Ninja Turtles and retreats to his room to meditate on the revelation. Ch'rell suggests Leonardo meditates on his decision to join the Foot and tell him his answer later in "The Shredder Strikes, Part 1". In "The Monster Hunter", April O'Neil asks Splinter to teach her meditation in order regulate the irritation Casey Jones evokes in her and Splinter later meditates. Oroku Karai attempts to meditate in "Prodigal Son", but is disrupted by Leo damaging her altar. Michelangelo ruins Splinter's meditation as he rummages for his Justice Force comics, hitting his head with one in "Return of the Justice Force" and once the lair becomes too noisy, Splinter demands everyone exit the lair to allow him to continue meditating. In "Legend of the 5 Dragons", the Ninja Turtles struggle to sleep while Splinter and the Ancient One meditate on the future. Kon-Shisho teaches Tora Yoshida, Adam McKay, Joi Reynard, Faraji Ngala, and the Ninja Turtles meditation in "More Worlds Than One" as it allows them to tap into the depths of their spirit, which allow them summon their inner spirits as an avatar, a manifestation of their inner power. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward, Leo teaches Cody Jones how to meditate in the lotus posture in "Home Invasion" and Cody eventually meditates with Donatello, Mikey, and Leo again. Splinter meditates in Cody's penthouse in "The Freaks Come Out at Night". In the "Nightmares Recycled", the Ninja Turtles were to keep mourning the death of the Ninja Tribunal Acolytes and plan to counterattack the Tengu Shredder and Splinter along with the Ancient One were to leave to meditate, concerned for New York City.
2012 TV series[]
In the 2012 TV series, Splinter meditates very frequently either inside his bedroom or in the lair dōjō. Meditation is first mentioned in "Rise of the Turtles, Part 1" when Splinter states he will use meditation to help him choose who will lead the Ninja Turtles. In "I, Monster", Splinter meditates after training the Ninja Turtles as they boast about their improvement in combat and later again after defeating the Rat King. When Squirrelanoids enter the lair in "Invasion of the Squirrelanoids", Splinter is meditating in the dōjō before his trance is broken by a Squirrelanoid's shriek. Splinter meditates in the dōjō in "Follow The Leader" when he is approached by Leonardo two different times, once for leadership advice, and a second time to clarify Karai's claims that Splinter robbed her of her mother. Splinter paralyzes Raphael in "Slash and Destroy" when he complains about cleaning up after Donatello and suggests he should meditate. In "Fungus Humungous", Leo's recurring nightmare impedes his ability to focus while meditating with Splinter. When Splinter begins to have flashback of the Rat King in "Of Rats and Men", he decides that meditation is the only way for him to uncover the source of his discomfort and speaks to the Rat King as he does so. Splinter is still meditating by the time the Ninja Turtles return to the lair from their mission. Splinter is in the midst of meditating before being approached by Leo in "The Manhattan Project, Part 1" and meditates later again before receiving a call from Leo on the Cheese Phone. When he is poisoned by Karai, Splinter meditates in order to heal himself in "The Manhattan Project, Part 2". Splinter meditates for days on end in "A Chinatown Ghost Story" after witnessing Karai's mutation, much to the Ninja Turtles' unease, Leo of the belief that he is "just healing his spirit". Leo orders his brothers to meditate in the woods for three days in "Vision Quest" and later Splinter's spirit tells them to meditate alone in the woods for a day to focus on their personal faults and fears. Karai calls Splinter on the Cheese Phone while he meditates in "The Fourfold Trap". Raph is guided through meditating by Splinter in "The Insecta Trifecta" to overcome his fear of insects and is taught the Japanese mantra "Kore wa nani mo imi shinai" 「これは何も意味しない」, which translates to "This means nothing". Splinter later meditates in the same episode when Raph reports the success of his meditation. The Ninja Turtles and April O'Neil meditate alongside Splinter for only 10 minutes in "The Super Shredder" as he becomes disturbed by his thoughts and ends the session early. Leo meditates at the O'Neil Farm in "Owari", granting him a vision of Splinter's ghost.
Rise of the TMNT[]
In Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, meditation is hardly present and is not something Splinter does. However, it is revealed in "Insane in the Mama Train" that the Ninja Turtles know how to meditate. This expectation is subverted in "The Evil League of Mutants" as Splinter's shadow gives the impression that he is meditating, but he is revealed to actually be napping. Meditation is first shown in "Insane in the Mama Train" when the Ninja Turtles meditate to figure out how to find the Kuroi Yōroi's car while on Big Mama's train. The Ninja Turtles meditate in "End Game" to think of an escape plan while in the Shredder's shrine, however, it is ineffective. In "Goyles, Goyles, Goyles", Lou Jitsu meditates during his entire trip to Baron Draxum's laboratory, but stops once Huginn and Muninn leave the room. Lou Jitsu School of Ninjutsu teaches its students meditation.