[Part 2]
Beauty is Skin Deep
As the discourse
explains, the meditator reflects on this very body encased by the skin and
full of impurities from the soles up and from the hair of the head down
thinking thus: "There are in this body, hair of the head, hair of the
body, nails, teeth, flesh, sinews, bones, etc. Thus he lives contemplating
foulness in this body."
This may not be a
subject of meditation quite agreeable to the Westerner. The young in the
East or West, in particular, do not like to regard the body as foul.
However, whether we like it or not, if we dispassionately review this
"fathom-long body" we will not see anything beautiful in it such
as pearls and gems, etc., but only a heap of repulsive parts. "Beauty
is skin deep." Young or old it is good to understand the real nature
of this body, and the fact that we all confront birth,
ageing and
death. We live, love and laugh, yet our life is dark with ageing,
smothered with death, bound up with change, and these qualities are so
inherent in it -- even as greenness is to grass, and bitterness to quinine
that not all the magic and power of science can ever transform it.
"Like
as the damask rose you see,
Or like the blossom on the tree,
Or like the dainty flower of May
Or like the morning to the day
Or like the sun, or like the shade,
Or like ground which Jonas had-
Even such is man, whose thread is spun,
Drawn out, and out, and so is done.
The rose withers, the blossom blasteth,
The flower fades, the morning hasteth,
The sun sets, the shadow flies,
The gourd consumes; and man he dies.
Even such is man, who lives by breath,
Is here, now there: so life and death.
Even such is man, who heaps up sorrow,
Lives but this day and dies tomorrow.
The song is short, the joumey's so,
The pear doth rot, the plum doth fall,
The snow dissolves, and so must all"
[1]
This view of life is
neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic. Do not think that the
Buddhist outlook on life and the world is a gloomy one, and that the
Buddhist is in low spirits. Far from it, he smiles as he walks through
life.
From the contemplation
of the body (kayanupassana) let
us now proceed to contemplation of feelings or sensations (vedananupassana).
In this meditation we are expected to become mindful of our feelings:
pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. When experiencing a pleasant feeling, the
meditator knows that it is a pleasant feeling because he is mindful of the
feeling. The same with regard to all other feelings. He tries to
experience each feeling as it really is.
Generally, people are
depressed when they are experiencing unpleasant feelings and are elated by
pleasant feelings. This mental exercise of mindfulness helps a man to
experience all feelings with a detached outlook, with equanimity and to
avoid becoming a slave to sensations. Through insight meditation (vipassana) he also learns to realize that there is only a feeling,
a sensation. That, too, is not lasting and there is no permanent entity or
"self" that feels.
The contemplation of
mind (cittanupassana), which is
the third type of mindfulness, speaks to us of the importance of studying
our own mind, of being aware of our diverse thoughts. Thoughts in this
context are those of lust, hatred and delusion, which are the root causes
of all wrong doing, and their opposites that counteract those unwholesome
states of mind. Rather than thoughts of lust it concerns lust as a state
of mind (saragam cittam, etc.).
The meditator tries to
know through mindfulness both the wholesome states of mind and the
unwholesome states of mind. He sees them without attachment or aversion.
This kind of dispassionate discernment of the mind makes a man understand
the real function of his mind, its real nature and behaviour. Those who
practise contemplation of the mind learn to control the mind.
A feature of the modern
world is its superficiality. Modern man will object, but if he makes an
impartial introspection, he cannot deny this. Modern man does not pause to
think deeply. External appearance goes a great way with him. See the
extent to which modern man is influenced by advertisements and shopwindow
exhibitions. If these did not influence him, shopowners would not spend
the enormous sums they do on advertisements. Buddhist meditation has a
cure for this superficiality: cittanupassana,
mindfulness of thought or contemplation of mind.
Modern man does very
little independent thinking. He seldom forms his own views. The style of
dress he adopts, the brand of articles he buys, is decided for him by
advertisers. How easily he is moved by the shouting of slogans. Slogans
and political propaganda mould man's mind, and life tends to be
mechanical; man has become a puppet controlled by others.
Modern man has become
enmeshed in all sorts of ideas, views, opinions and ideologies both wise
and foolish. He is film-fed, television-minded, and radio-trained. Today
what is presented by the newspapers, radio, television, some novels and
pictures, by certain literature on sex, psychology and by sex-ridden films
tend to confuse man, and turn him from the path of rectitude and
understanding. But the man who practises mindfulness will be protected
from the subtle persuasive power of advertisement or the shouts of the
propagandists, or the dramatic effects of mass movements.
Another weakness of
modem man is his desire for change and for quick results. The absence of
calm in him is a great deficiency. Calm begets mental strength. Absence of
calm begets impatience and the impatient man is never satisfied. He always
wants something new and startling. He is disappointed if he takes up the
morning newspaper and finds no banner headlines.
Modem man craves for
variety. He craves for sensations, he is fed on sensations. He continually
yearns for something fresh, for new methods, new machinery, new drugs, a
new way of life, a new ideology. There is no end to this. This modern
attitude is symptomatic of a disease -- the
disease of mental unrest.
Here again the practice
of mindfulness is the much needed cure. Mindfulness leads to calmness, and
calmness gives an even tone to one's life. Trained in calmness, he will
shed a host of unnecessary desires. He will "walk through the uneven
with an even stride" (visame
samam caranti).
[2]
The
contemplation of the mind also makes us realise that what we call mind is
only an ever-changing process consisting of changing mental factors and
that there is no abiding entity called ego or self.
The fourth and the last
type of mindfulness is the contemplation of mental objects or mind
contents (dhammanupassana). This
covers all the essential Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha, most of which
are discussed in The Buddha's
Ancient Path by the present writer.
The contemplation of
mental objects is not mere thinking or deliberation -- rather it goes hand
in hand with mindfulness in discerning mind objects as and when they arise
and cease (samudayavaya). When,
for example, sense desire is present in him the meditator knows:
"There is sense desire in me," or when sense desire is absent,
he knows: "There is no sense desire in me," and so on. The same
with regard to the other hindrances (nivaramani).
[3]
In the same manner he
discerns with mindfulness the five aggregates of clinging (panca-upadanakkhandha)
-- body or material form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and
consciousness.
He discerns with
mindfulness the six internal and the six external sense-bases. Herein the
meditator knows well the eye, the visible form and the fetter
[4]
that arises dependent on both (the eye and form); he knows well
the ear and sounds ... the nose and smells ... tongue and savours ... the
body and tactile objects ... the
mind and mind objects, and knows well the fetter arising dependent on
both. He also knows the ceasing of the fetter.
Similarly he discerns
the seven factors of enlightenment (sattabojjhanga)
[5]
and the Four Noble Truths (cattari
ariyasaccani). The
Four Noble Truths in this context are not intellectual categories to be
cogitated upon, but palpable illustrations of them which the meditator
comes across and identifies.
"Thus
he lives mindfully investigating and understanding the mental
objects. He lives independent, clinging to nothing in the world". The
fourfold mindfulness is a teaching (Dhamma) on which all aspects of the Dhamma converge.
The description of each type of
mindfulness in the discourse ends with the words: "He
lives independent clinging to nothing in the world";
for "everything when clung to fails."
[6]
This is the result aimed at by the meditator to be achieved by
the earnest and ever zealous. "Lives independent" means aloof
from craving and wrong views (tanha,
ditthi). Here "world" means the world of being, one's own
psycho-physical organism. He does not cling to this process of mind and
body and regard it as a permanent ego entity or self.
The
Simile of the Raft
It is because of our
greed, our craving, that we cling to people and things. If we can practise
the art of dealing with things with a detached outlook, then we learn to
let go. Our bonds are not in the sense organs or in sense objects. They
are due to our greed that arises when the sense organs come in contact
with sense objects.
[7]
So the problem and solution, the malady and the remedy, lie
within. Learn the art of giving up. It is hard to live clinging to nothing
in the world and our efforts to reach such spiritual heights may appear
impossible. Yet it is possible and worth striving for again and again; for
by dint of effort and hard work, many have attained those heights in this
very life. "Sow a thought and you
reap a deed. Sow a deed, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny
-- for character is destiny."
In this connection it is
interesting to know the Buddha's simile of the raft.
[8]
Let us listen to him:
"Using the simile
of a raft, monks, I teach the Dhamma designed for crossing over and not
for retaining. Listen and attend carefully to what I say."
"Yes, Venerable
Sir," the monks replied. The Buddha continued:
"Monks, a man sets
out on a journey and comes to a vast stretch of water. The near bank is
beset with fears and dangers, the far bank is safe. But no boat goes to
the further shore and there is no bridge. He thinks: 'Vast, indeed, is
this stretch of water, the near bank is unsafe but the further one is
without danger. I had better collect grass, leaves, branches and wood to
make a raft and with its aid using my hands and feet, ferry myself across
to the further shore.'
"Then, monks, that
man having made a raft crosses over safely to the further shore striving
with his hands and feet. Having crossed he thinks: 'This raft has been
very useful, for with its aid I have reached the further bank safely. I
had better carry it on my head or back and go wherever I want.' "What
do you think, monks, if he does this is he acting rightly about the
raft?" "No, indeed, Lord."
"Suppose
that man who has crossed over to the further bank should think:
'This raft has been very
useful, with its aid I have reached the further bank safely. I had better
beach it, or let it float down the vast stretch of water and go wherever I
want.' If he acts thus, monks, he would be acting rightly about the raft. Even
so, monks, using the simile of a
raft have I taught the Dhamma designed for crossing
over, and not for retaining. You, monks, who understand the Dhamma taught by using the simile of the raft, have to give up good things
(dhamma); how much more the evil things (a-dhamma)." It is
interesting to note that the word "dhamma"
here, according to the Commentary, means calm or concentration of mind
(samatha) and insight (vipassana).
Clinging even to such high mental attainments as these should be given
up. Need one speak of evil things?
Subjective
and Objective Looking
In the Satipatthana
Sutta mindfulness is specially concerned with just four things: body,
feelings, mind and mental
objects. The contemplation of the body makes us realise the true
nature of the body, without any pretence, by analysing it right down to
its ultimates, its fundamental elements. This mental scrutiny of our own
body helps us to understand that it is a process without any underlying
substance or core that may be taken as permanent and lasting.
A special feature of
this all-important mental factor of mindfulness is that it involves a
method of looking at things objectively rather than subjectively. So it is
important to know the difference between objective and subjective looking.
The practice of all the four types of meditation on setting up of
mindfulness is done objectively without any subjective reaction. One
should not be an interested observer, but a bare observer, to practise
mindfulness. Then only can one see the object in its proper perspective,
as it really is, and not as it appears to be.
When you observe a thing
subjectively, your mind gets involved in it, you tend to identify yourself
with it. You judge, evaluate, appraise and comment on it. Such subjective
looking colours your observation. So in the practice of the four types of mindfulness, that is, mindfulness
of body, of feelings, of the mind, and of mental objects, one
should contemplate it without any biases, prejudices, likes and dislikes
and other preconceived considerations and notions. In other words,
mindfulness should be practised in an objective way as if you are
observing the object from outside.
When "contemplating
the body in the body" (kaye-kayanupassi) you do not contemplate feelings, states of mind,
or mental objects conceming your body, but only the body itself. In this
connection we should take to heart the precise and clear way the Buddha
taught Bahiya. Bahiya was the leader of a religious sect who assumed
himself to be an Arahat, a consummate one. But later, on the advice of
another, he went to the Buddha to learn the technique, the process,
whereby one can become an Arahat. Knowing that Bahiya was a man of
understanding, the Buddha taught him the technique in these words:
"Bahiya, thus
should you train yourself: 'In
what is seen there should be to
you only the seen; in the heard there should be only the heard; in what is sensed (as smell, taste and touch) there should be
only what is sensed; in the
cognizing there should be only the cognizing.'
"
Here the idea of "I
am seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and cognizing" is
removed. The "I" concept, the ego-illusion, drops away. This
kind of attention removes tension, it calms and relaxes the mind, and that
is the reason why meditators do not need much sleep. Let alone deep
meditation, many do not know the art of seeing even a natural phenomena;
for they have not trained themselves in observing things objectively.
Suppose you are gazing
at a gorgeous sunset. If you start commenting, judging, and observing it
subjectively, then you are not seeing the sunset, you do not really see
its beauty.
But if you view it
objectively with a calm and quiet mind, with complete attention, then you
will see the beauty of the sunset in all its fullness, and also that the
so called beauty is ephemeral, impermanent and ever changing. This applies
to many other things. If you can look at a rose or a lotus objectively
without any subjective reaction, then you will see. If you are a lover of
music and if you listen to music with undivided attention, you may enjoy
the music more than the musician does.
Calm
and Insight
Even the higher practice
of calming concentration (samadhi) does not place the meditator in a position of security;
for the underlying defilements or latent tendencies (anusaya) are not removed. They are in abeyance. At any moment they
may re-appear when circumstances permit, and plague his mind if right
effort, right mindfulness and right concentration wane. As he still has
the impurities, unwholesome impulses latent in his mental make-up, he is
not yet in a state of absolute security. He has gained calm of mind
through samadhi or concentration. However, it is through vipassana,
insight meditation, that the latent defilements are rooted out of his
mind. So the meditator training himself in virtue and concentration,
develops vipassana or insight.
The development of
concentrative calm, samadhi, is
thus never an end in itself. It is only a means to something more sublime
which is of vital importance, namely, insight, vipassana. In other words, it is a means to gain right
understanding, the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Though only a
means to an end, samadhi plays
an important role in the path. It is also known as citta-visuddhi, purity of mind, which is brought about by the
stilling of hindrances.
[9]
The Buddha says: "Develop calm, the disciple who has
gained calm sees things as they really are" (samadhim
bhavetha, samahito yatha bhatam
pajanati).
[10]
"Two things (dhamma),
monks, should be developed for the understanding of lust, hatred and
delusion ... What two? Calm and insight. These two things should be
developed for the abandonment, extinction and cessation of lust, hatred
and delusion ..."
[11]
Further says the Buddha:
"Two things, monks, partake of knowledge (vijja-bhagiya): calm and insight; when calm is developed, mind is
developed; through developed mind, lust is abandoned. When insight is
developed, wisdom is developed. Through developed insight, ignorance is
abandoned. The mind polluted with lust is not liberated. When there is
pollution through ignorance, wisdom is not developed."
Thus deliverance of the
mind (ceto vimutti) is due to
the mind being cleansed from lust. Deliverance through wisdom (panna-vimutti)
is due to the mind being cleansed from ignorance.
[12]
From the foregoing it is
obvious that calm and insight, in other words, right concentration and
right understanding of the path, cannot be separated. Together they
support each other. Without a certain measure of concentrative calm, no
insight can be developed and without some measure of insight, no
concentration can be developed. They are inseparable; this fact is
explained by the Buddha thus:
"No
concentration is there for the unwise,
No wisdom in one who lacks concentration;
In whom there is concentration and wisdom,
He truly is in Nibbana's neighbourhood.
[13]
Understanding
Ourselves
The meditator who gains
deep concentration of mind through mindfulness of in-and-out-breathing,
now directs his thoughts to insight meditation (vipassana
bhavana). In this context vipassana,
or insight, means understanding things as they really are, that
is seeing the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-substantial (non-self)
nature of the five aggregates of clinging. In plain language it is
understanding ourselves. It is not easy for us to understand ourselves
because of our wrong concepts, baseless illusions, perversions and
delusions. It is so diffcult to see the real person. Through vipassana
one endeavours to
remove the illusions (maya), concepts
(pannatti) and
perversions (vipallasa) and see ourselves as we really are.
When the meditator has
advanced in his breathing meditation, when his mind is calmed through
stilling the hindrances, he can see the impermanent nature of his own breath: its rise and fall like the waves of the sea. Now based on the
impermanent breath, he endeavours to understand the impermanent nature of the five aggregates of clinging. The analysis of the so called being
into the five ever-changing aggregates makes it clear that there is
nothing abiding, nothing eternally conserved in this so called being --
this process of mind and body. One has also to take to heart the sequence
between mindfulness (sati), analysis
of the Dhamma (dhamma-vicaya), effort (viriya) and so
forth, in the factors of enlightenment, mentioned in the fourth type of
mindfulness (dhammanupassana). Mindfully
one analyzes the dhamma. Here "dhamma"
means one's mind and body. For this one needs determination and the
fourfold effort
[14]
to have a clear picture of the function of the mental factors,
to overcome the unwholesome and maintain the wholesome thoughts. As the
meditator proceeds with indefatigable zeal analysing the mind and body,
seeing with insight what is beyond the naked eye, there arises unalloyed
joy (araddha viriyassa uppajjati piti niramisa).
[15]
Change or impermanence (anicca)
is the essential characteristic of phenomenal existence.
We cannot say of
anything, animate or inanimate, "this is lasting"; for even
while we say this, it is undergoing change. The aggregates are compounded
and conditioned, and therefore ever subject to cause and effect.
Unceasingly does mind and its factors change, and just as unceasingly,
though at a lower rate, the physical body also changes from moment to
moment. "He who sees clearly that the impermanent aggregates are
impermanent, has right understanding."
[16]
The Buddha gives five
very striking similes to illustrate the impermanent nature of the five
aggregates of clinging. He compares material form or body to a lump of
foam, feeling to a bubble, perception to a mirage, mental formations or
volitional activities to a plantain trunk which is pithless, without
heartwood and consciousness to an illusion. He asks:
"What essence,
monks, could there be in a lump of foam, in a bubble, in a mirage, in a
plantain trunk, in an illusion?" Continuing, the Buddha says:
"Whatever material
form there be whether past, future or present; internal or external; gross
or subtle; low or lofty; far or near; that material form the meditator
sees, meditates upon, examines with systematic and wise attention (yoniso
manasikara), he thus seeing, meditating upon, and examining with
systematic and wise attention, would find it empty, unsubstantial and
without essence. What essence, monks, could there be in material
form?" The Buddha speaks in the same manner of the remaining
aggregates and asks: "What essence, monks, could there be in feeling,
in perception, in mental formations and in consciousness?"
Thus we see that a more
advanced range of thought comes with the analysis of the five aggregates
of clinging. It is at this stage that right understanding, insight (vipassana)
begins to work. It is through this insight that the true nature of the
aggregates is grasped and seen in the light of the three signs or
characteristics (ti-lakkhana), namely: impermanence,
suffering or unsatisfactoriness and not-self. The Master explains it thus:
"The five
aggregates, monks, are impermanent (anicca);
whatever is impermanent, that is dukkha,
unsatisfactory; that is without self
(anatta), that is not mine, that I am not, that is not my self. Thus
should it be seen by perfect wisdom (sammappannaya)
as it really is. He who sees by perfect wisdom as it really is, his
mind not grasping, is detached from taints, he is liberated."
[17]
It
is not only the five aggregates that are impermanent, unsatisfactory and
without a self, but the causes and conditions that produce the aggregates
are also impermanent, unsatisfactory and without a self. This point the
Buddha makes clear:
"Material form,
feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness, monks, are
impermanent; whatever causes and conditions there are for the arising of
these aggregates, they too are impermanent. How, monks, could aggregates,
arising from what is impermanent be permanent?"
[18]
"What is impermanent is not worth rejoicing, not worth
approval, not worth clinging to ..."
[19]
We actually live for one
moment only, and the next moment, it is another life. Thus the duration of
life, in the ultimate sense, is for one moment only. This is sometimes
referred to as the instantaneousness of life. There is a living and dying
every moment. Today is the tomorrow we spoke of yesterday. The meditative
mind unrelated to the past and to the future is capable of living with
clarity and reason in the world.
The essence of vipassana
meditation is in
the experience, not in sermons and books on meditation, though they
have their advantages. Do not cling to any goal or results of meditation.
This is a practice without any attachment to anything material, mental or
spriritual; for all things when clung to fail. Be ever vigilant and
mindful. The Discourse on Setting Up of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta)
repeats the saying: "He lives independent, clinging to nothing in the
world" (anissito ca viharati na ca kinci loke upadiyati). This is the
result a meditator gains.
Removing
Perversions
It is always when we
fail to see the true nature of things that our views become clouded.
Because of our likes and dislikes, we fail to see the sense organs and
sense objects objectively and in their proper perspective and go after
mirages, illusions and deceptions. The sense organs delude and mislead us
and then we fail to see things in their true light as a result of which
our way of seeing things becomes perverted.
The delusion of mind
mistakes the unreal for the real, the passing shadows for permanence, and
the result is confusion, conflict, disharmony and perpetual sorrow.
When a man is caught up
in these illusions, he perceives, thinks and views incorrectly.
He perceives permanence
in the impermanent; pleasure in pain; self in what is not self; beauty in
the repulsive. He thinks and views in the same erroneous manner. Thus each
perversion works in four ways,
[20]
and leads man astray, clouds his vision and confuses him. He is
deluded by his own senses. This is due to unwise reflection, unsystematic
attention (ayoniso-manasikara). He
who cannot see the true nature of this world, its ways, its tendencies,
the inevitable fruit of actions, and he who cannot see that life is not
permanent and lacking in true happiness, and who, therefore, still clings
to the world, is too young yet in life. He has to mature in right
understanding before the Buddhadhamma
has a message for him. His veils of lust, self-conceit and delusion
are thick and strong. The terrible dangers of the world of life lay in the
understanding of life; for everything here pertaining to world changes;
there is no exception, one can rely on nothing.
Right understanding or
insight alone removes these illusions and helps man to cognize the real
nature that underlies all appearance. It is only when man comes out of
this cloud of illusions and perversions that he shines with true wisdom
like the full moon that emerges brilliant from behind a black cloud.
When discussing the
three-fold training: virtue, concentration and wisdom, leading to final
deliverance and complete mental purity, it is important to understand how
man's latent or underlying tendencies function.
When the defilements lie
dormant in the recesses of man's mind, they are called latent, underlying
or hidden (anusaya).
[21]
"They are
dormant so long as they are not fed. The five sense organs with the mind
as the sixth, provide the necessary food in the form of visible objects,
sounds, smell, taste, touch and mental objects. These six kinds of food
can be either agreeable or offensive. In either case, sense objects act as
stimulants, and no sooner are the latent tendencies thus stimulated than
they rise to the surface. This uprising of the tendencies is known as pariyutthana
or samudagata. When they are thus awakened and aroused, they tend to
escape, and seek an outlet. If man fails to exercise systematic wise
attention (yoniso-manasikara) and
calm down the risen tendencies, they escape either through the doors of
speech or deed or through both, and that is called transgression or going
beyond (vitikkama).
Of these three stages of
the tendencies, the third, that is the "transgression stage," is
coarse, the second, the "risen stage,"is fine, and the first, or
the "latent stage," is still finer. The three weapons to
overcome them and to deliver the mind from their grip are virtue,
concentration and
wisdom.
Through virtue or sila
all bodily and verbal ill actions are brought under control, and the
transgression stage is checked. It is true, even for training verbal and
physical acts a certain measure of mental discipline is needed, though not
necessarily intense and serious meditation.
Man may, through sila,
be calm and composed verbally and physically, but not in mind; he
lacks concentration, samadhi. Virtue
cannot control the mind, though it is an asset to mental calm.
Concentration with the aid of wise attention subdues the second type of
tendencies thus preventing them from escaping. Concentration, however, is
incapable of removing the latent tendencies. It is through wisdom, which
is insight, vipassana, that all impulses, all tendencies are completely
eradicated. And then no more can a man be confused by the terrible, or
swept off his feet by the glamour of things ephemeral. No more is it
possible for him to have a clouded view of phenomena; for he has
transcended all capacity for error through perfect immunity which vipassana
alone can grant. And this is deliverance
(vimutti), the stepping out (nissarama)
from the vicious circle of
samsara, repeated existence.
Let us now call to mind
the proclamation of the Buddha in the opening lines of the Satipatthana
Sutta:
Satipatthana
is the one and only way for the purification of beings,
for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the abandoning of pain and grief, for reaching the right path and realising
Nibbana.
Summing
Up
As we discussed earlier,
the starting point in the Dispensation of
the Buddha (Buddha-sasana) is
sila, virtuous behaviour. Standing on the firm ground of sila,
the meditator should endeavour to discipline the fickle mind. The
Buddha pointed out to his disciples ways and means of overcoming verbal
and physical ill behaviour. By taming his tongue, controlling his bodily
actions, and making himself pure in the way he earns his living, the
meditator establishes himself well in moral habits. While thus restraining
himself in word and deed, he tries to guard the doors of the senses; for
if he lacks control over his senses, unhealthy thoughts are bound to fill
his mind. He maintains his balance putting away all likes and dislikes.
This control of the senses he practises with zest. He eats moderately and
mindfully and is devoted to wakefulness.
Now if he is earnest and
mindful, he will advance without faltering and start the more difficult
task of meditation. Taking up a subject of meditation that suits his
temperament and continuing with it without stopping, he gains
concentrative calm by overcoming the hindrances which obstruct the
meditation. Thus the meditator who strives mindfully gains control over
his fickle mind. With his speech, actions and sense organs subjugated and
his mind under control, he has now gained self-mastery.
Thus training himself in
virtue and concentration (sila-sikkha and
samadhi-sikkha), he now tries to gain true wisdom or insight by seeing
all things as they really are (yathabh|tam).
Viewing things as they really are implies, as we have discussed above,
seeing the transient, unsatisfactory and selfless nature of all
conditioned and component things. To such a meditative disciple of the
Buddha, the "world" is not the external or empirical world, but
the human body with its consciousness -- the world of the five aggregates
of clinging. It is this that he tries to understand as impermanent,
unsatisfactory and without self or ego entity. It is to this world of body
and mind that the Buddha referred when he said to Mogharaja: "Ever
mindful, Mogharaja, see the world as void (sunna) –having given
up the notion of a self (underlying it) -- so may one overcome Mara
(death.)"
[22]
The vipassana method implies gaining knowledge by direct observation.
It goes beyond the intellect, beyond theory, beyond conceptual
interpretation, to the actual experiencing of life itself.
Thus comprehending
things as they really are, thus realising the true nature of the five
aggregates of clinging, by washing out the impurities of his mind, he
"lives independent, clinging to nothing in the world."
The reader will note
that in this self-purification and self-mastery for final deliverance,
there is no coercion or compulsion by any external agency, there are no
rewards or punishments for deeds done or left undone. Deliverance from
mental taints lies absolutely and entirely in one's own hands, not in
someone else's -- be it human or divine. The door is free of all bolts and
bars except those that man himself has made. Not even a supreme Buddha can
deliver a man from the fetters of existence except by showing him the
path. The path is virtue, concentration and wisdom.
All life's problems can
be reduced to one single problem, that of dukkha,
suffering or unsatisfactoriness. And the solution put forward by the
Buddhas or Enlightened Ones of all ages is the Noble Eightfold Path. The
efficiency of this path lies in the practice of it. The Buddha's
meditation path, which is the Noble Eightfold Path, still beckons the
weary pilgrim to the haven of Nibbana's security and peace. "The
journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" and as the old
saying goes: "Some run swiftly; some walk; some creep painfully; but
all who keep on will reach the goal."
-ooOoo-
ADDENDUM
I
Thus Have I Heard
Then a certain monk
visited the Buddha, saluted him and sat on one side. Having saluted, he
said to the Buddha: "They say, Lord, 'Living according to the Dhamma'
(dhamma-vihari). Lord, how does
a monk live according to the Dhamma?"
1. "Here, 0 monk, a
monk masters the Dhamma (the teaching of the Buddha) and spends the day in
that mastery, does not go into solitude, does not practise mind
concentration. That monk is said to be intensely bent on study, but he
lives not according to the Dhamma.
2. "Again, 0 monk,
a monk teaches others the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it, as he has
mastered it; he spends the day convincing others of the Dhamma, does not
go into solitude, does not practise concentration of mind. That monk is
said to be intent on convincing others, but he lives not according to the
Dhamma.
3. "Again, 0 monk,
a monk repeats the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it, as he has mastered
it, he spends the day in that repetition, does not go into solitude, does
not practise mind concentration. That monk is said to be intent on
repeating, but he lives not according to the Dhamma.
4. "Again, 0 monk,
a monk turns his mind to the Dhamma, ponders over it, reflects on it, as
he has heard it, as he has mastered it; he spends the day in thinking
about the Dhamma, but he lives not according to the Dhamma.
5. "But, 0 monk, a
monk masters the Dhamma, but does not spend the day in that mastery; he
goes into solitude and practises mind concentration. Verily, 0 monk, such
a monk lives according to the Dhamma.
"O monk, thus,
indeed, have I declared: one intent on study, one intent on convincing
others, one intent on repeating, one intent on thinking and one who lives
according to the Dhamma.
"What
should be done by a teacher for his disciples out of love and compassion,
that has been done by me for you. Here are tree-roots, empty places;
meditate, 0 monks, do not be heedless, do not have any regrets afterwards:
This is my exhortion to you"
(Anguttara Nikaya,
Pancaka Nipata 73).
ADDENDUM
II
The Art of Noble Living
(Brahma-vihara)
Brahma-vihara
is another subject of meditation that is beneficial to practise. The
word "brahma" can be rendered as excellent, lofty, sublime or
noble, and vihara, "as
states of living." Brahma-vihara,
therefore, means sublime states; some call it "divine abodes."
It can also be called "the art of noble living."
There are four brahma-viharas,
namely:
Loving-kindness
or universal love (metta),
Compassion (karuma),
Sympathetic joy, altruistic or appreciative joy (mudita),
Equanimity (upekkha).
These are excellent
virtues conducive to noble living. They banish selfishness and disharmony
and promote altruism, unity and brotherhood. They are also known as
boundless states or illimitables (appamannayo)
because they are virtues to be extended towards all beings, without
exception, irrespective of race, caste, colour, community, creed, East or
West.
Subha-vimokkha
is another term by which these qualities of the heart are known. It
means deliverance of the mind (vimokkha)
through recognition of the good (subha) in others. Instead of seeing the evil in others, the
meditator sees the good in them and cultivates the four sublime states.
Latent in the human mind
are defilements of diverse type, so it is natural for man to entertain
unwholesome thoughts. However, each and every defilement has its opposite
virtue; thus it is possible to develop a virtue to overcome and eliminate
a defilement. When developing the sublime states no living being is to be
excluded. These qualities make no distinction between man and man as high
and low, rich and poor, strong and weak, wise and unwise, dark and fair,
brahmin and candala, or as Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, etc.;
for these sublime states, as we saw above, are boundless, and no sooner do
we try to keep men apart on the basis of false distinctions, than the
feeling of separateness creeps in and these boundless qualities become
limited, contrary to the high ideals they represent.
The
brahma-vihara can also be taken as subjects of meditation, then they
are called "brahma-vihara bhavana," "the meditative developments
of the sublime states." By cultivating these positive virtues one can
maintain a calm and pure mind.
When practising
meditation on the brahma-viharas, it
is easier to start with oneself. For instance, when meditating on love,
proceed thus: "May I be well, may I be happy; may I be free from
illness, may no harm come to me," and so forth. Then think of a
teacher, a friend, an indifferent person and lastly an enemy (if any, but
one should not create an enemy), and radiate thoughts of love towards
them. It may appear very difficult to extend love to an enemy, but this
difficult thing one has to do to remove discrimination. Love should be
extended to all without any compromising limitations.
You may ask why love
should be radiated to oneself. Is it not selfish to do so? Seemingly it
may be, but by doing so it becomes easier to extend our love to others:
"I like to be well and happy, so let other beings also be well and
happy." "As I am so they are: as they are so am I," thus
comparing self with others cultivate love towards all.
[23]
Verse number 130 of the
Dhammapada reads:
"All
tremble at punishment,
To all life is dear.
Comparing others with oneself,
One should neither kill nor cause to kill."
I- Loving-kindness (Metta)
Metta
(Skt. maitri) is the
wish for the welfare and happiness of all beings, making no restriction
whatsoever. It has the character of a benevolent friend. Its direct enemy
is ill will or hatred while the indirect or masked enemy is carnal love,
sensual attachment or selfish affectionate desire (pema)
which is quite different from metta.
Carnal love when disguised as metta
can do much harm to oneself and others. We have to be on our guard
against this masked enemy, sensuality and greedy possessiveness. If the
feeling of love is the direct result of attachment and clinging, then it
is not really metta.
To love someone means to
develop an attachment to the loved one, and when the latter is equally
fond of you, a bond is created, but when you are separated or when the
dear one's affection towards you wanes, you become miserable and may even
behave foolishly. In his formulation of the Noble Truth of Suffering, the
Buddha says: "Association with the unloved is suffering, separation
from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering."
Metta, however, is a very pure sublime state which, like
quicksilver, cannot attach itself to anything.
It is difficult to love
a person dispassionately, without clinging, without any idea of self, me
and mine; for in man the notion of "I" is dominant, and to love
without making any distinction between this and that, without barriers
between persons, to regard all as sisters and brothers with a boundless
heart, may appear to be almost impossible. But those who try even a little
will be rewarded; it is worthwhile.
Vicious thoughts of
animosity and hatred are most detrimental and harmful to those who harbour
them. When people are angry, they can behave very much as the other
animals do. They growl and bite, or cringe and fawn. This is due to man's
ignorance. This is as true on the personal as it is on the international
level.
Metta
is the best antidote for anger in ourselves. It is the best medicine
for those who are angry with us. Let us extend love to all who need it
with a free and boundless heart. Love is the language of the heart, a
language that comes from the heart and goes to the heart. Love is a force
linking heart with heart to heal, and uniting us in true companionship.
Highly developed thoughts of metta seem
to possess magnetic power. By radiating such sublime thoughts it is
possible to influence and win over people.
Through love one adds to
the fund of human happiness, one makes the world brighter, nobler and
purer and prepares it for the good life better than in any other way.
There is no ill-luck worse than hatred it is said, and no safety from
others' hostility greater than the heart of love, the heart in which hate
is dead. Love is an active force. Every act of
metta is done with the stainless mind to help, to succour, to cheer,
to make the paths of others easier, smoother, and more adapted to the
conquest of sorrow, the winning of the highest bliss.
The way to develop love
is through thinking out the evils of hate, and the advantages of non-hate;
through thinking out according to actuality, according to kamma, that
really there is none to hate, that hate is a foolish way of feeling, which
breeds more and more darkness, that obstructs right understanding.
Hatred restricts; love
releases. Hatred strangles; love liberates. Hatred brings remorse; love
brings peace. Hatred agitates; love quietens, stills, calms. Hatred
divides; love unites. Hatred hardens; love softens. Hatred hinders; love
helps. Thus one can use a correct study and appreciation of the effects of
hatred and the benefits of love, as a basis for developing the meditation
on loving-kindness.
Love
As
a mother loves her child,
An only child,
With love that knows no limit,
Spreading wide,
Measureless and immense --
And, for it, will sacrifice
Her very life --
So let your love for all beings,
East and west, north and south,
Below, above --
Extending and extending wide,
Be immeasurable, exhaustless. Unfathomable.
Chaste is such love,
Not clinging -- and so to fools
'Tis incomprehensible;
But the Seers understood,
And understanding, knew full well
Its golden worth.
(after Metta Sutta, trans. Kassapa Thera)
II-
Compassion (Karuma)
Karuma
is defined as "the quality which makes the heart of the good man
tremble and quiver at the distress of others," "the quality that
rouses tender feelings in the good man at the sight of others'
suffering." Cruelty or violence is the direct enemy of karuma
while homely grief is the indirect or masked enemy. Though the latter
may appear in the guise of a friend, it is not true karuma,
but false sympathy; such sympathy is deceitful and one must try to
distinguish true from false compassion. The compassionate man who refrains
from harming and oppressing others and endeavours to relieve them of their
distress, gives the gift of security to one and all, making no distinction
whatsoever.
Karuma
is loving-compassion. It is that sublime quality which makes the
hearts of the noble quiver at the suffering of the world. Karuma
has the characteristic of a mother whose thoughts, words and deeds
tend to relieve the distress of her babe. It has the property of not being
able to tolerate the sufferings of others, and the manifestation of
perfect non-violence. Its consummation is the eradication of all cruelty.
Its proximate cause is the sight of the forlorn state of those in
distress.
By precept and example
the Buddha was the Great Compassionate One (Mahakarumika).
He radiated his great compassion towards all beings, and never
encouraged wrangling, animosity and violence. Addressing the disciples he
once said: "I quarrel not with the world, it is the world that
quarrels with me. An exponent of the Dhamma does not quarrel with anyone
in the world."
[24]
The entire dispensation of the Buddha is permeated with this
sublime quality of karuma.
Goodness and violence
cannot co-exist; goodness constructs while violence destroys. Compassion
cannot be cultivated by one who is obsessed with thoughts of selfishness.
It is the self-sacrificing man who fills his heart with pure thoughts of
pity and wishes to help and serve others. The selfish cannot be of real
service to others for their selfish motives prevent them from doing good.
No sooner do they become selfish and self-possessed than they fail to
soften their hearts. Hard-heartedness is overcome by pity, by sympathy. If
you remove compassion from the teachings of the Buddha, you remove the
heart of Buddhism; for all virtues, all goodness and righteousness have
compassion as their basis, as their matrix (karuma
nidhanam hi silam).
All the virtues (paramita)
that a Bodhisatta, one bent on Enlightenment, cultivates are initiated
by compassion. Compassion is guided by wisdom and wisdom by compassion.
They go hand in hand, they are the backbone of Buddhism, the guiding
principles.
Compassion is surely not
a flabby state of mind. It is a strong enduring thing. When a person is in
distress, it is compassion that spurs us to action and incites us to
rescue the distressed. And this needs strength of mind.
People are fascinated by
a study of the various types of machinery which science has invented. What
is urgently needed is a study of the machinery of the human mind. It is
this study that can help to clear the misunderstanding between man and
man.
As the poet says:
"Life
is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone:
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in our own."
III- Sympathetic Joy (Mudita)
Gladness at others'
success is the third sublime state, known as mudita. It is not mere sympathy but sympathetic, altruistic or
appreciative joy. Its direct enemy is jealousy and the indirect enemy is
exhilaration. Jealousy is a vice that defiles our hearts and makes us
unhappy.
When others are in
distress we show our compassion, we sympathize with them and try to
relieve them of their distress. But to appreciate another's success we
need sympathetic joy. It is this quality of the heart that makes us
rejoice over the success of others as we rejoice over our own. Jealous
people cannot feel happy when others are progressing, but they rejoice
over the failures and misfortunes of others. Some parents feel jealous
when others' children are doing well while their own are not successful.
This is meaningless, and bears unpleasant fruit.
Jealousy is a vice
shared by people of different walks of life -- intellectuals, politicians
and even men of large calibre. If that is so, need one speak of the poor
and the illiterate? However, at times, the latter are more co-operative
and unselfish.
Instead of entertaining
thoughts of jealousy, we should work hard with determination to surmount
obstacles and fulfil our hopes. Let us also bear in mind that our kamma,
or moral causation also has a role to play in our lives.
Mudita
is the congratulatory attitude of a person, it removes aversion.
Through meditation and the study of the vicissitudes of life, we can
cultivate this sublime virtue of appreciating others' happiness, welfare
and progress. When we learn to rejoice with the joy of others, our hearts
get purified, serene and lofty.
Seeing a starving man we
offer him food out of compassion (karuma). When we see that he has eaten, that his hunger has ceased,
and that he feels happy, then we too feel happy and pleased. Such selfless
action really brings us unalloyed joy, sympathetic joy (mudita). You will now see how these sublime states function
together supporting one another.
IV- Equanimity (Upekkha)
The fourth and the last
sublime state is equanimity, upekkha. It is "even-mindedness," mental equipoise and not
hedonic indifference. Equanimity is the result of a calm concentrative
mind. The four sublime states are interrelated and interdependent, but it
is equanimity that guards the rest: love, compassion and sympathetic joy.
Equanimity is the most essential quality, deep and difficult to cultivate.
Life is not a bed of
roses. One needs much patience, energy and determination to cultivate
these qualities without being selfish or partial. Equanimity or balance of
mind guides the other three qualities and keeps the meditator in a place
of security. It brings about self-reliance.
We are all confronted
with the eight vicissitudes of life (attha loka dhamma): gain
and loss, good repute and ill repute, praise and censure, pain and
pleasure. It is hard to be undisturbed when touched by this welter of
experience. But the man who cultivates equanimity is not upset. He does
not waver. Amidst blame and praise, success and failure, he is firm as a
solid rock. This, of course, is the attitude of the Arahats, the
Consummate Ones. Of them it is said: "Truly the good give up longing
for everything. They prattle not with thoughts of craving. Touched by pain
or happiness, the wise show neither elation nor depression.
[25]
People of lesser
attainment who understand the nature of human life and its ups and downs,
who cultivate equanimity, can also face the vicissitudes of life with a
brave heart. They see things in their proper perspective, how things come
into being and pass away. Free from anxiety and restlessness, they can see
the fragility of the fragile. Quiet minds ... go on, in fortune or
misfortune, at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.
[26]
The proximate cause of
equanimity is the understanding that all beings are the result of their
actions (kamma). The direct
enemy of upekkha is attachment
and the indirect or the masked enemy is callousness or unintelligent
indifference.
Understanding the
working of kamma, action or moral causation, and how kamma comes to
fruition (kamma-vipaka), is very
necessary to cultivate equanimity. In the light of kamma one will be able
to keep a detached attitude toward all beings, even inanimate things.
Upekkha
puts aside both attachment (anurodha)
and resentment (virodha). They
are two extremes. The meditator who follows the Middle Path is neither
attracted by the pleasant nor repelled by the unpleasant. He keeps a
balanced mind without temper, tantrums, depression or anxiety.
As Wordsworth observed:
"Strongest minds are often those of whom the noisy world hears
least," and 2,500 and more years ago the Buddha said:
"Yes, emptiness is
loud, but fullness calm;
The fool's a half-filled
crock; the sage a lake."
[27]
Metta
embraces all beings; karuma
embraces those who are suffering; mudita embraces the prosperous;
and upekkha embraces both the
good and bad, the loved and the unloved, the pleasant and the unpleasant,
the ugly and the beautiful, without making any discrimination.
"... The meditator
experiences joy, being joyful, the mind is concentrated. He dwells
suffusing one direction with his heart filled with loving-kindness (metta).
Likewise the second, the third, and the fourth direction, so above, below
and around; he dwells suffusing the whole world everywhere and equally
with his heart filled with loving-kindness, abundant, grown great,
measureless, without enmity, without ill will. He dwells with a heart full
of compassion (karuma) ...
sympathetic joy (mudita) ...
equanimity (upekkha) ... without
enmity, without ill will.
"It is as if there
were a lovely lotus pond with clear water, sweet water, cool water,
limpid, with beautiful banks; and a man were to come along from the east,
west, north or south, overcome and overpowered by the heat, exhausted,
parched and thirsty. On coming to that lotus pond he might quench his
thirst with water and quench his feverish heat. Even so ... one who has
come into this doctrine and discipline (dhamma-vinaya)
taught by the Buddha, having thus developed loving-kindness,
compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity, attains inner calm -- I say it
is by inner calm that he is following the practices fitting for recluses
(meditators)." (M. 40/I, 284)
ADDENDUM
III
Right Effort
The function of right
effort is fourfold: to prevent, abandon, develop and maintain.
[28]
1. What is the
effort to prevent?
"Herein a meditator
puts forth his will to prevent the arising of evil, of unwholesome
thoughts that have not yet arisen. He strives, develops energy and
strengthens his mind (to this end).
"Herein a
meditator, seeing a form, hearing a sound, smelling an odour, tasting a
flavour, feeling some tangible thing or cognizing a mental object,
apprehends neither signs nor particulars (that is, he is not moved by
their general features or by their details). In as much as coveting and
dejection, evil and unwholesome thoughts break in upon one who dwells with
senses unrestrained, he applies himself to such control, he guards over
the senses, restrains the senses. This is called the effort to
prevent."
2.
What is the effort to abandon?
"Herein
a meditator puts forth his will to abandon the evil, unwholesome thoughts
that have already arisen. He strives, develops energy and strengthens his
mind (to this end).
"Herein a meditator
does not admit sense desires that have arisen, but abandons, discards and
repels them, makes an end of them and causes them to disappear. So also
with regard to thoughts of ill will and of harm that have arisen. This is
called the effort to abandon."
3.
What is the effort to develop?
"Herein a meditator
puts forth his will to produce and develop wholesome thoughts that have
not yet arisen. He strives, develops energy and strengthens his mind (to
this end).
"Herein a meditator
develops the factors of enlightenment based on seclusion, on dispassion,
on cessation that is deliverance, namely: mindfulness, investigation of
the Dhamma, energy, rapturous joy, calm, concen-tration and equanimity.
This is called the effort to develop."
4. What is the
effort to maintain?
"Herein a monk
maintains a favourable object of concentration (meditation). This is
called the effort to maintain."
These then are the four
efforts:
The unwholesome thoughts
referred to here are the three root causes of evil namely: thoughts of
lust (craving), hatred and delusion (lobha, dosa, moha). All other passions gather round these three
root causes, while wholesome thoughts are their opposites.
The
sole purpose of this fourfold effort is success in meditation. The four
right efforts are the requisites for concentration. As we saw above, right
effort is included in the groups of samadhi
or concentradon. As such, right effort functions together and
simultaneously with the other two factors of the group, namely right
mindfulness and right concentration. Without right effort the hindrances
[29]
to mental progress cannot be overcome. Right effort removes the
evil and unhealthy thoughts that act as a barrier to the calm of
absorption, and promotes and maintains the healthy mental factors that aid
the development of concentration.
ADDENDUM
IV
Hindrances (Nivarama)
"There are, monks
these five hindrances which cause blindness, loss of vision, and
non-knowledge, which take away one's insight, are associated with pain and
do not lead to Nibbana."
[30]
"Nivarama"
means those states which hinder and obstruct mental development. They
are called hindrances because they completely close in,
cut off and obstruct. They close the door to deliverance. What are the
five?
1.
Sense desire (kamacchanda),
2. Ill will (vyapada),
3. Sloth and torpor (thina-middha),
4. Restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca)
5. Sceptical doubt (vicikiccha).
1. Kamacchanda
is lust for sense objects. Sensual thoughts definitely retard mental
development. They disturb the mind and hinder concentration. Sensuality is
due to non-restraint of the senses, which when unguarded gives rise to
thoughts of lust so that the mind-flux is defiled. Hence the need for the
meditator to be on his guard against this hindrance which closes the door
to deliverance.
2.
The next is ill will. As in the case of sense-desire, it is unwise and
unsystematic attention that brings about ill will. When not checked, ill
will propagates itself, saps the mind and clouds the vision. It distorts
the entire mind and thus hinders awakening to truth, blocks the path to
freedom. Lust and ill will, based on ignorance, not only hamper mental
growth, but act as the root cause of strife and dissension between man and
man and nation and nation.
3.
The third hindrance is sloth and torpor, a morbid state of the mind and
mental properties. It is not, as some are inclined to think, sluggishness
of the body; for even the Arahats, the Consummate Ones, who are free from
this ill, also experience bodily fatigue. This sloth and torpor, like
butter too stiff to spread, makes the mind rigid and inert. It thus
lessens the yogi's enthusiasm and earnestness for meditation so that he
becomes mentally sick and lazy. Laxity leads to greater slackness until
finally there arises a state of callous indifference.
4. The fourth hindrance
is restlessness and worry, another disadvantage that makes progress
difficult. When the mind becomes restless like flustered bees in a shaken
hive, it cannot concentrate. This mental agitation prevents calmness and
blocks the upward path. Worry is just as harmful. When a man worries over
one thing and another, over things done or left undone, and over
misfortunes, he can never have peace of mind. All this bother and worry,
this fidgeting and unsteadiness of mind, prevent concentration. Hence
these two drawbacks, restlessness and worry, are included in the five
hindrances that retard mental progress.
5.
The fifth and the last hindrance is sceptical doubt. The Pali word "vi
+ cikiccha" means literally "without (vigata)
medicine (cikiccha)." The
commentators explain this hindrance as the inability to decide anything
definitely; it includes doubt with regard to the possibility of attaining
the jhana, mental absorption.
Perplexity is really a dire disease, and unless we shed our doubts, we
will continue to suffer from it. As long as we continue to take a
sceptical view of things, sitting on the fence, this will be most
detrimental to mental development.
The mind that is
obsessed by these five hindrances cannot concentrate successfully on any
object of a wholesome nature. It is true that a man can concentrate on an
object with thoughts of lust or ill will, etc.; but that is wrong
concentration (micchasamadhi). As
long as impurities or passions (kilesa)
exist in man, evil and unwholesome thoughts will continue to arise.
The meditator who practises samadhi,
however, is incapable of committing any evil; for the hindrances are
under control.
To overcome the
hindrances, one has to develop five psychic factors known as factors of jhana
(jhana~ga). They are: vitakka,
vicara, piti, sukha, and
ekaggata. It is these psychic factors that raise the meditator from
lower to higher levels of mental purity. The consciousness that is
associated with them becomes known as jhana.
These psychic factors, in order, step by step, subdue the hindrances
that block the path of concentration. Each is the exact opposite of a
specific hindrance.
Sense desire is subdued
by ekaggata, one-pointedness or
unification of the mind; ill will, by joy (piti); sloth and torpor, by applied thought (vitakka); restlessness and worry, by happiness (sukha);
and doubt, by sustained thought (vicara).
When placed side by
side, they stand thus:
Kamacchanda
<--> Ekaggata
Vyapada <--> Piti
Thina-middha <--> Vitakka
Uddhacca-kukkucca <--> Sukha
Vicikiccha <--> Vicara
ADDENDUM
V
Sona, the Earnest Meditator
There is the story of a
monk, the Venerable Sona-kolivisa,
[31]
who was making a violent but unsuccessful effort to exert
himself physically and mentally. Then the following thought occurred to
him while in solitude: "The disciples of the Blessed One live with
zealous effort and I am one of them. Yet my mind is not free of taints. My
family has wealth; I can enjoy my riches and do good; what if I were to
give up the training and revert to the low life, enjoy the riches and do
good?"
The Blessed One reading
his thoughts approached him and asked: "Sona, did you not think: 'The
disciples of the Blessed One live with zealous effort (as before) ... and
do good?' "Yes, Venerable Sir."
"And what do you
think, Sona, were you not skilful at the lute before when you were a
layman?" "Yes Venerable Sir."
"And, what do you
think, Sona, when the strings of your lute were overstrung, was it then in
tune and playable?" "No, indeed, Venerable Sir."
"And what do you
think, Sona, when the strings of your lute were too slack, was it then in
tune and playable?" "No, indeed, Venerable Sir."
"But when, Sona,
the strings of your lute were neither overstrung nor too slack but keyed
to the middle pitch was it then in
tune and playable?" "Surely, Venerable Sir."
"Even so, Sona,
effort when too strenuous leads to flurry and when too slack to indolence.
Therefore, Sona, make a firm determination thus: Understanding the
equality of the faculties," I shall grasp at the aim by uniformity of
effort." "Yes, Venerable Sir."
The Venerable Sona
followed the instructions of the Blessed One and in due course attained
perfection and was numbered among the Arahats.
[32]
ADDENDUM
VI
The Removal of Distracting Thought
The twentieth discourse
of the Majjhima Nikaya (Vitakka-samthana Sutta) gives practical
instructions on how to keep away distracting thoughts, and is
indispensable to a meditator. The gist of it is as follows.
[33]
The Buddha addressing his disciples said:
"Monks, the
meditator who is intent on higher thought should reflect on five things
from time to time. What five?
1.
If through reflection on an object, evil, unwholesome thoughts associated
with desire, hate and delusion arise in a meditator, he should (in order
to get rid of them) reflect of another object which is wholesome. Then the
evil, unwholesome thoughts are removed; they disappear. By their removal
the mind stands firm and becomes calm, unified and concentrated within
(his subject of meditation).
"As a skilled
carpenter or his apprentice knocks out and removes a coarse peg with a
fine one, so should the meditator get rid of that evil object by
reflecting on another object which is wholesome. Then the evil unwholesome
thoughts associated with desire, hate and delusion are removed, they
disappear. By their removal the mind stands firm ... within.
2. "If the evil
thoughts still arise in a meditator who reflects on another object which
is wholesome, he should consider the disadvantages of evil thoughts thus:
'Indeed, these thoughts of mine are unwholesome, blameworthy, and bring
painful consequences.' Then his evil thoughts are removed, they disappear.
By their removal the mind stands firm ... within.
3. "If the evil
thoughts still arise in a meditator who thinks over their disadvantages,
he should pay no attention to, and not reflect on those evil thoughts.
Then the evil thoughts are removed, they disappear. By their removal the
mind stands firm ... within.
4. "If the evil
thoughts still arise in a meditator who pays no attention to and does not
reflect on evil thoughts, he should reflect on removing the root of those
thoughts. Then the evil unwholesome thoughts are removed, they disappear.
By their removal the mind stands firm ... within.
5. "If the evil
thoughts still arise in a meditator who reflects on the removal of their
root, he should with clenched teeth, and tongue pressed against his palate
restrain, overcome and control the (evil) mind with the (good) mind. Then
the evil thoughts are removed, they disappear. By their removal the mind
stands firm ... within.
"If through a
meditator's reflection on a wholesome object, thinking over disadvantages
of evil thoughts, paying no attention to and not reflecting on evil
thoughts, reflecting on the removal of their root, restraining,
overcoming, and controlling the (evil) mind with the (good) mind with
clenched teeth and tongue pressed against his palate, evil thoughts are
removed, and the mind stands firm and calm, becomes unified and
concentrated within (its subject of meditation) that meditator is called a
master of the paths along which thoughts travel. He thinks the thought
that he wants to think; he thinks not the thought that he does not want to
think. He has cut off craving and removed the fetter fully; mastering
pride he has made an end of suffering."
-ooOoo-
[1]
From The Centuries Poetry. Vol. 2,
pp 153-155.
[4]
There are ten fetters: 1, sense desire, 2.
ill will. 3. pride, 4. speculative opinion or wrong view, 5. doubts, 6.
lust for existence, 7. indulgence in wrong rites, rituals and
ceremonies, 8. envy, 9. avarice, 10. ignorance. These fetters arise
depending on both eye and forms, ear and sounds, etc. The Commentary
explains how these fetters arise. Read Soma Thera, The Way of
Mindfulness (Kandy BPS) p. 132.
[5]
1) Mindfulness, 2) investigation of the
dhamma (mind and matter), 3) energy, 4) rapture, 5) calm, 6)
concentration, 7) equanimity.
[6]
Sabbe dhamma nalam abhinivesayati, Majjhima
Nikaya i. 251
[7]
Samyutta Nikaya, i, 39.
[10]
Samyutta Nikaya ii, 13.
[11]
Anguttara Nikaya, i. 100
[15]
Majjhima Nikaya 118/ III 85.
[16]
Samyutta Nikaya iii, 23
[17]
Samyutta Nikaya iii, 44.
[18]
Samyutta Nikaya iii, 23.
[19]
Majjhima Nikaya 106/ II. 263
[20]
Anguttara Nikaya ii, 52, Catukka Nipata
49; Anguttara Nikaya, Part I translation by Nyanaponika
(Kandy: BPS) Wheel 155/158, p. 86
[21]
There are seven latent tendencies: 1.
sense desire, 2. ill will, 3. wrong view, 4. doubt, 5. pride, 6. lust
for continued existence, 7. ignorance (kama-raga, patigha, ditthi,
vicikiccha, mana, bhava-raga, avijja) -- D.iii, 11.12.
[24]
Majjhima Nikaya 40/ I. 284.
[28]
Samvara, pahana, bhavana, anurakkhana
[30]
Samyutta Nikaya v. 97.
[31]
Vinaya Pitaka II. I ff; Anguttara Nikaya
iii 374-5.
[32]
This episode occurs in the Commentary
to the Theragatha: "He received a subject of study from the
Master, but was unable to concentrate, owing to his meeting people while
he stayed in Cool Wood. And he thought: "My body is too delicately
reared to arrive happily at happiness. A recluse's duties involve bodily
fatigues.' So he disregarded the painful sores on his feet gotten from
pacing up and down, and strove his utmost but was unable to win. And he
thought: 'I am not able to create either path or fruit. Of what use is
this religious life to me? I will go back to lower things and work
merit. Then the Master discerned, and saved him by the lesson on the
Parable of the Lute, showing him how to temper energy with calm. Thus
corrected, he went to Vulture's Peak, and in due course won
Arahatship." Psalms of the Brethen by Mrs Rhys Davids (PTS)
p. 275.
[33]
For brewity's sake all the similes but one
are omitted. For a detailed account read: The Removal of Distracting
Thoughts, trans. by Soma Thera (Kandy: BPS), Wheel 21.