Post # 18 - The  Direct Path to Enlightenment; Samadhi Part 

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could read the 1^st Post to know about this Blog. In Post # 16 we discussed the Noble Eightfold Path and how the development is done in three parts of Seela, Samadhi and Panna. In Post 17 we dealt with the Seela Part. This Post will deal with the Samadhi Part in more detail.

The Direct Path to Enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path, is made up of eight factors. These eight factors are grouped into three parts, as the Seela (Moral Restraint) Part, Samadhi (Concentrated Mind) Part, and the Panna (Wisdom) Part. The Seela part was already discussed.  

Included in the Samadhi (Concentrated Mind) Part is ‘right effort’ (samma wayamma); ‘right mindfulness’ (samma sathi) and ‘right concentration’ (samma samadhi). We saw while discussing the Seela Part, how the factor ‘right effort’ (samma wayamma) was developing in the process. Let us therefore discuss the other two factors of Samadhi Part in this Post.

The next factor of the Path is related to right concentration (samma samadhi).This is developed by resorting to the Bhawana practice referred to as samatha bhawana (serenity meditation).

Serenity meditation is for development of Samadhi, a deep state of concentrated mind. This is a state of mind that is unified and free from discursive thoughts.  As concentration develops through samatha bahawana, the practitioner reaches a state referred to as Upachara Samadhi (access concentration). Moving ahead in meditation the practitioner attains the next higher level, the first material jhana or a high state of concentrated and absorbed mind. This is characterized by five jhana factors or factors of absorption.  They are, initial application- Vittakka (applying the factors of the mind to the subject or strike the mind again and again at the subject), sustained application- Vichara (keeping the mind anchored on the subject or keep the mind examining the object), happiness (Peethi), rapture (Sukha), and collected and one pointed mind (Ekkaggatha). It may be useful to share here an explanation I heard in a Dhamma Talk about the Peethi  and Sukha referred to above. It was mentioned that if a very thirsty man walking in a jungle quite lost and desperately looking for some water to drink hears nearby the sound of a running brook, he would immediately react to the sound. On hearing this sound he feels the said happiness, or experiences the peethi mentioned. When he reaches the brook and rushes in and starts drinking the water, he feels the rapture  or experiences the sukha that is mentioned. This is the subtle difference between the two that has to be understood. 

Beyond this first material Jhana, there are three other levels of higher concentration culminating in 4^th material Jhana. The jhana factors experienced at the 4^th level are Uppekka (neutral state of perceptions and feelings, a state of mental equi-poise) and Ekkaggatha (collected and one pointedness of mind).

By engaging in the practice as described before, of developing the factors of the Path, Samma Wayama and Samma Sankappa and that part of Right View along with the factors of the Seela part described before, the practitioner has properly conditioned his mind to engage in serenity meditation for attaining Samma Samadhi (right concentration). This qualification makes Samma Samadhi different from samadhi (serenity meditation) advocated in other faiths.

A practitioner achieving access concentration or any other level of higher jhana, and first establishing the five jhana factors of  Vittakka, Vichara, Peethi, Sukha, and Ekkaggatha.  will have the five hindrances that inhibit our realisation of nibbana, suppressed in the mind and a suitably collected and concentrated mind, to proceed to insight meditation for achieving Yatha Bhutha Nanaya, the wisdom of seeing the true nature of things. This is essentially achieving Samma Samadhi or right concentration. The Buddha attained this state in the first watch of the night in his quest for enlightenment. 

Right mindfulness’ (samma sathi) is developed by resorting to the Bhawana (meditation) practice of Satara Sattipattana - the four foundations of mindfulness. Right mindfulness helps to develop insight knowledge by understanding the nature of experience as it unfolds from moment to moment in the present.

Bhikkhu Bodhi describes this as - "the experience in the present moment is a compounded form of materiality and mentality". In his talks he goes on to say that- "the present moment experience of materiality and mentality is associated with present moment experience of the body and mind.

Separating body and mind as aggregates is the first level of disaggregation in vippassana for true understanding of the living being. The Sathara Sathi Pattana Bhawana, the four foundations of mindfulness, enables us to develop this subtle but quality awareness of present moment experience. That is by having mindfulness of body, feelings, states of mind and dhammas (mind objects/phenomena)".

There are many discourses on this subject given by learned monks. Many engage in meditation retreats for intensive practice on this. The golden rule about meditation is that you should have a good teacher. But for our purpose in this Blog, let us look at some basic aspects of this meditation practice to make a start. These basics are also taught in those special situations in meditation retreats under a good teacher. However we must understand that these basics are no substitutes for the intensive practices followed in those meditation retreats.

Results of this meditation manifests at three levels. At the 1^st level the meditator develops the skills required to be aware, be mindful and have clear comprehension (sihiya, sathiya, and sathi sammpa-janya).  Usually the experiences of the present moment, prompt a person to react in the way he/she has got accustomed to. Our past life experiences/mental formations (Sankara) determine the nature of our reaction. These Sankaras have their own conditioning root causes. When the root causes are flavored by unwholesome traits the Sankaras are unwholesome in quality and vice versa.

This reaction, by way of thought, word or deed gets impressed in our mind as a new life experience. This joins the past ones to get established as a new Sankara. These sankaras condition our Bhava (the determining condition (power?) that gives rise to re-becoming. This Bhava, conditions our rebirth in Samsara.

As our objective is to limit the Samsaric process, we have to control the Bhava forming Sankaras. As we saw in an earlier post, it is possible to intervene to control our reactions, which go to form our life experiences.  The skills developed to be aware, be mindful and have clear comprehension (sihiya, sathiya, and sathi sammpa-janya ) by this meditation (The four foundations of mindfulness) will be used to exercise Yoniso Manasikara (acting mindfully and wisely according to Dhamma) to intervene as necessary in the present moment. This is Samma Sathi in practice. The skill and practice you acquire by this means helps you to be more successful in worldly/daily life as well, by getting about your chores efficiently and mindfully. On the spiritual side these endeavours will help us to progress in reaching world transcending states (marga pala).

Due to limitation of space I will not elaborate any further on Samma Sathi in this blog Post. I hope to dedicate a special post on Buddhist Meditation in due course where I hope to elaborate on some of the general methods followed by lay followers in Vippassana meditation, that I have been reading about.  However in the paragraphs to follow I will touch on how the Vippassana wisdom unfolds when you engage in this meditation, as some pointers to create sufficient motivation.

At the 2^nd level one sees the present moment experiences or nature of existence as arising in an aggregation of form (rupa), an aggregation of feelings (vedana), aggregation of perception (sanna), of thoughts/mental formations (sankara) and of consciousness (vinnana). These aggregations we saw are the bases for the arising of a being. Thus the being is seen as a composite of five groups of factors or aggregates. This process of contemplation and the resulting realization is known to be the initial Vippassana  Bhavana  practice.

This way we learn to look at present moment experience with focused attention on the experience itself using the skills we developed during the practice of serenity meditation and dissecting these experiences into constituent parts to understand their true nature, or to see them as they really are and not the way they appear to be. This is developing Yatha Bhutha Nanaya, the wisdom of seeing the true nature of things.

For example in this meditation, on being mindful of the body as a body, one's awareness is fixed on what the body, feels, knows, and experiences etc. in the present moment. With this awareness deepening and treating each experience analytically and dissecting into its factors, the understanding we have of a body is really seen to be a composite of many components.  In Pali it is referred to as Rupa-skanda (heap of body composites) acting together. This experiential realization is the opening to Vippassana Panna or insight wisdom. In a similar way the present moment experience as applicable to perceptions (Sanna), feelings (Vedana), volitional formations (Sankara) and consciousness (Vinnana), also manifests as heaps of respective composites referred to in Pali as Sanna Skanda, Vedana Skanda, Sankara Skanda, Vinnana Skanda. The five aggregates. Further this present moment experiences do not render any other factor such as I or me, establishing that there is only the five aggregates and nothing else that is undergoing such experiences.

Further due to avidyaya (not knowing) we tend to develop some wrong views about these aggregates, such as –these aggregates are mine; they are me or I exist in them etc. Dhamma describes these views as arising from the unwholesome roots of Thanna (craving), Manna (ego), Ditti (wrong view), resulting in a Sakkaya Ditti, a concept of I/Me/Mine. This Sakkaya Ditti gives rise to desire, attachment and clinging, to these aggregates. The being thus manifests as the five aggregates of clinging (Pancha Upadana Skanda).  

You will therefore realize that this is a very important meditation exercise related to the essence of Buddha Dhamma that we can engage in during the development of the Noble Eightfold Path. 

The 3^rd level of contemplation of the present moment experience is where one realizes that these experiences are constantly subject to change (viparinama). This is seen as impermanence (annitta) as taught in the Dhamma. Because this state of change happens due to causes and conditions and not due to a wish or will of a being who has them in his/her control, it is seen as non-self (annatta). As this present moment experiences or living occurs only in the five aggregates of clinging which are impermanent (annitta) and non-self (Annata) and without the participation of a I or Me, it is seen to be  unsatisfactory or Dukka as referred to in Dhamma.  

In turn therefore one begins to realize that the five aggregates, the Rupa Skanda, Sanna Skanda, Vedana Skanda, Sankara Skanda, and Vinnana Skanda are always in a state of flux or change (annitta), a state that is non self (annata) and  a state that is unsatisfactory or Dukka which the Dhamma describes as thrilakshana as the true nature. This is the most fundamental of Buddha’s teaching and has to be fully realized. Let us discuss the process of achieving this realization in more detail in another Post.

I have thus discussed the Samadhi (Concentrated Mind) Part. 

In the next post I will discuss the Panna (Wisdom) Part.