Meditation is not just a simple research object. The rising and popular field of meditation research or contemplative science as it is called has a much larger impact on modern science and on our society as we assume at the first glance. This is because meditation is not only a fascinating research object but also quite a challenge for our current scientific practice. The content of this volume, which summarizes presentations and discussions of an expert meeting in Freiburg, Germany, documents the many facets and implications of meditation research. In this introduction we will touch on a few of them.