Post # 15 - Why    engage in Dhamma Practice?- Kusala Kamma - 

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 and reading Post # 14 for an introduction to ‘Why engage in Dhamma Practice’,  before attempting to read this Post.

We saw in the earlier Post that ethical practices of Buddha Dhamma can be grouped for our purpose, into three parts. They are engaging in punya kamma (meritorious acts) as the 1^st part, practice of kusala kamma (developing ethical skills) as the 2^nd part, and following the marga prathi padawa (the direct path to liberation) as the 3^rd part.

In Post # 14 the practice of punya kamma  was discussed.We will discuss the practice of kusala kamma (acts forming ethical skills) in this Post.

We have heard in Dhamma talks about a possible definition for a Kusala Kamma. They are the skills one employs to destroy or overcome akusal kriya (unwholesome or unethical acts). These talks refer to dasa akusala kriya (ten unethical acts). There are three of them done physically – prana gatha (killing), adatha dana (stealing), kamma michachara (sexual misconduct). Four others are done verbally – musawada (lies), pisuna wacha (falsehood), parusa wacha (harsh words), sammappralapa (gossip). Three more are done mentally –abbijja (extreme greed for possessions of others), viyapada (hatred/ill will), mithya ditti (wrong view). They are generated due to common hindrances led by greed, hatred and delusion. 

Therefore kusala kamma intended  for eliminating them have to be basically conditioned by three ethical characteristics such as – Aloba (benevolence), Adosa (loving kindness), Amoha (knowledge of the  Four Noble Truths) 

We see people who over indulge in seeking sensual pleasures. These practices when taken beyond a certain point become an extreme behavior which manifests like a culture or religion. It then becomes a ritual, which is certainly an unwholesome ritual becoming an obstacle in the path to liberation. Similarly addiction to commonly accepted meditative practices as achieving higher  Jhanas (achieving high concentration levels), which is a byproduct of normal meditation, can become a distraction veering one away from the direct path to gaining enlightenment. It fixes you at a place in the path, making you unable to go forward like having a flat tyre !

It is important for us to therefore be clear as to what practices are relevant and practical given our own  particular  circumstances.

Kusala Kamma is generated by the basic practices of Dana (practice of benevolence), Seela (practices in moral discipline) and Bhawana (meditative practices).  

We saw in the earlier post that dana in punya kamma was motivated by compassion and desire for the well being of the recipient of our act. However dana in kusala kamma is more conditioned and motivated by the desire to develop our ability to ‘let go’. It is focused more on our perceptions and our attitudes regarding what we consider as belonging to us. An inherent trait in most of us is the attachment we have for our worldly possessions. This attachment manifests as desire and a clinging and becomes a hindrance to our liberation. A defilement, that ties us down to the cycle of re-becoming.

This teaching should not be misunderstood. Buddha dhamma does not advocate a lay follower to give up all his/her possessions. Buddha in his discourses has explained as to how one may manage ones possessions.  He has taught us how to apportion our wealth into different parts and use them respectively to meet our household needs and only allocate what we can for the practice of dana. The volition to set aside a part of what we earn  for dana is the virtuous skill (kusala) and the action of giving that to another is the meritorious deed (punya kamma).

This ability of being able to ‘let go’ starting in a small way can be progressively developed to higher levels. It then becomes a habitual trait and stays with you. Buddha Dhamma teaches that such practices gets entrenched in our minds and gets carried over to future births as paramithas.

The next quality we need to develop under kusala kamma is Seela (moral discipline). The five precepts that every Buddhist vows to uphold is the minimum or sufficient qualitative virtues for him/her to uphold in lay life. In this process the follower of the practice vows to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and consuming intoxicants. I am giving here the meaning literally for the moment. But each has a greater depth in meaning.  This practice will be expressed as a skill when the follower is able to refrain from such acts, when confronted by prompting situations in daily life. Some devotees are in the habit of expanding these to eight vows (arjeewa astamaka seela) on a daily basis or as opositha seela eight precepts observed on poya (full moon) occasions or up to ten in other special situations.

For example a mosquito bite is a very distasteful, painful experience for us. We don’t like it and are really averse to it. We develop a natural hatred to the creature who is responsible for it. Our normal tendency for a mosquito bite is to squash the creature to revenge the pain inflicted on us. By this natural tendency we are enriching such unwholesome traits as hatred and revenge, to accumulate in our minds. We also commit an act of killing. If the seela skill is sufficiently developed in us, we will be able to halt the natural tendency of squashing the creature. We would pause and realise that the creature was not intending to harm me. All he was looking for is some food which happen to be under my skin and had no intention to cause me pain. When this realization becomes dominant we would  instead chase him away rather than looking for revenge, thus sparing ourselves of enriching unwholesome traits and committing an act of taking a life.

These skills will hold one in good stead in this life and will be carried over to the next life as a paramitta (an accumulated/developed ethical skill).

The other category of kusala kamma that one has to practice is Bhawana (meditative practices). This is a very extensive subject and to do justice to it in a blog post is very difficult. However to make our discussion more complete let us take up some salient points on Bhawana now.

Meditation in Buddhist practice is recognized as the means of developing the wisdom needed to attain enlightenment .There are basically two types of bhawana practices advocated in Buddha Dhamma. They are the samatha bhawana (serenity meditation) and vippasana bhawana (insight meditation)

Serenity meditation is for development of Samadhi, a deep state of concentrated mind, a mind that is unified and free from discursive thoughts.  As concentration develops through samatha bawana, the practitioner reaches a state referred to as Upachari 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. Beyond this first material Jhana, there are three other levels of higher concentration, culminating in the 4^th material Jhana.

Those practitioners motivated for still higher levels can target the four immaterial jhanas, beyond this level, characterized by still higher levels of absorption, assisted by a focused concentration on an immaterial object.

A practitioner achieving access concentration or any other level of higher material jhana, will have the five hindrances (pancha neewarana) suppressed in the mind, The five hindrances are sensual desire, ill-will (hatred), dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and worry (remorse or regret), and doubt (inability to accept the Buddha as a teacher and the efficacy of his Dhamma)- which inhibit our achievement of enlightenment. Such a mind with the five hindrances suppressed, suitably collected and concentrated, is capable of developing wisdom. Wisdom is realized by proceeding thereafter  in insight meditation.

Insight meditation is aimed at gaining direct insight into the nature of things. This insight helps us to understand things just as they are and wipe out any misconceptions or delusions ingrained in our minds from past experiences. This meditation method is a unique discovery by the Buddha.

With attaining the highest level of concentration either in material jhanas or immaterial jhanas, the hindrances which are the obstacles of attaining enlightenment is only suppressed and not eliminated. Why they are still present in dormant form is due to ignorance, a kind of spiritual blindness to the true nature of things. To eradicate the hindrances we have to get rid of their supports. Ignorance is this support. Ignorance is eliminated by developing wisdom or understanding of the true nature of things. Hindrances we cultivated due to lack of understanding, like the clinging to the five aggregates are eliminated by contemplating on the factors of mind and body to understand their true nature.

Insight knowledge is developed by understanding the nature of experience as it unfolds from moment to moment in the present. In Dhamma talks we hear that experience is noted/contemplated upon,  in its compounded form of nama-rupa, (mentality and materiality) and recognize their impermanence, their unsatisfactory nature and their nature of non self.

The meditation practice as mentioned in Dhamma desanas (talks), to achieve this is the sathara sathipattana bhawana (the four foundations of mindfulness).  They are the mindfulness of body, feelings, states of mind and dhammas (mind objects/phenomena).

In context, meditation fits into a certain pattern of Buddhist practice. This pattern consists of integrated parts and operates in harmony and complements each other. These integrated parts serve the following purposes. Defilements accumulated by us from the past operate at three layers/states. These layers are anusaya (latent) state,  pariuttana (manifestation/arising) state, and a third layer of veethikkama (transgression) state. 

To deal with them, existing at three separate layers, one needs different tools. The three parts in the Buddhist practice designed to counteract these three layers are as follows. Transgression state is counteracted by seela skills described earlier; and manifestation state is counteracted by samadhi (serenity meditation) skills. Defilements existing in the latent state are eliminated by insight meditation skills. More detailed discussion on Meditation will follow in  a later Post.

Lookout for the next Blog Post on a discussion on the Marga Prathipadawa - the path of practice to gain liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth