There are many traditions that also have an eyes-open approach. I'm constantly amazed by this propagation in the West of the idea that meditation has anything to do with the mind 'wandering off' (or not wandering off, e.g. extreme concentration or 'awareness' as is the current buzzword).
This is unfortunate because it tends to make practice feel difficult, as our minds naturally wander, and then come back, etc. People connect their perceived success at this with their experience of practice, and quit or go off on very strange and contrived tangents. The notion of success/failure is typically irrelevant in many traditional meditation practices.
This is unfortunate because it tends to make practice feel difficult, as our minds naturally wander, and then come back, etc. People connect their perceived success at this with their experience of practice, and quit or go off on very strange and contrived tangents. The notion of success/failure is typically irrelevant in many traditional meditation practices.