Mind training and meditation are fundamentally self examination and self reflection. Indeed, they aim at improving oneself spiritually in order to develop wisdom.
In Buddhist contemplation, the practitioner observes minute changes in his/her body, feelings (sensations), thoughts, and all phenomena (internal and external) from second to second as long as s/he is awake. This observation practice helps to develop a detachment attitude necessary to investigate all phenomena, and to cultivate an awareness of the unstable, hence empty, nature of reality. Gradually, after years of mind training and observation, the practitioner's view of all phenomena will be fundamentally transformed. S/he will see things as they really are. S/he is no longer trapped in the clouds (veils) of wrong views so common among human beings.
In Buddhism the cultivation of the right view is the first and foremost condition for spiritual development. It is certainly difficult to develop a view against that of the multitude. That's why genuine Buddhists are actually those who go against the flow. They see things quite differently from others, because they see the true nature of reality.
