Post# 26- Practicing  Buddhist Meditation at Home- SerenityMeditation

We have already seen how Buddha Dhamma can be put into practice by a lay householder. This included   engaging in meritorious acts (Punya Kamma) and developing ethical skills (Kusala Kamma) and more importantly the need to engage in the path of practice towards final liberation. This path of practice was essentially the development of the Noble Eightfold Path for achieving the four stages of Marga Pala with the fruition of Arahanthhood as the goal.

Meditation in context of this Buddha Dhamma practice is in the specific teaching by Buddha which is related to developing the Noble Eightfold Path which was discussed at length from   Post #17 to posts up # 20. The two factors of the Noble Eightfold Path referring to ‘right concentration’ and ‘right mindfulness’, are the ones specifically related to meditation and where meditation fits into the scheme of things.

In Post #22 onward up to Post # 25 we saw how Buddhist meditation was explained by learned practitioners, along with some elaborations on Serenity Meditation and Insight Meditation extracted from the above sources. While they assisted in understanding its meaning, they were still in the domain of knowledge. They were intended mostly to motivate the busy householder to engage in a regular practice of Meditation. What we need now is to see how this knowledge can be put into practice. This Post discusses how we acquire some skills at home.

The practice and achieving some results should therefore be attempted at two levels. Acquisition of some general skills by training and practicing the fundamentals of meditation, perhaps on a daily basis at home will be the first level. You will begin to experience the benefits listed out in the        Post # 24. After that those motivated to go further can look for opportunities at Meditation Retreats to further the skills. .  

To practice meditation at home you have to know the right fundamentals and to employ the right techniques for both body and mind. What I am going to list out below for your benefit are such practices extracted from the above source material. To my understanding they should suffice as the practicable and effective methods to make a start. With that comfort level you may begin your training. You can thereafter make up your own mind as to how they suit your personality and convictions and how you can go forward .

Body Posture: All meditation teachers recommend that you have a comfortable sitting position to practice meditation. They say this sitting position can vary from the full lotus posture to others. The important thing is that the posture should be conducive for a long sitting session. The upper body should be erect with the head held high. Using a cushion to prop your back, hands folded with right hand on top of the left and legs crossed resting on the ground would fit this requirement. When the posture is symmetrical and upper body is erect, the weight is transferred evenly without any tension in the back muscles. The weight is also spread over a larger area of contact with the ground so that the pressure at the points of contact is relatively low. Some women tend to sit in the mermaid posture perhaps due to cultural/modesty reasons. This does not satisfy the above requirements and gives rise to discomfort quickly. If for reasons of age or ill health you cannot sit on the ground, sitting on a low chair or bench would be ok. Eyes may be kept closed to limit external stimulus. Those who tend to feel sleepy when eyes are closed may keep them slightly opened.

This should not be treated as a firm prescription for the body posture but should be treated only as a guide. You should make your own choice about the posture that is best suited for you.

Serenity Meditation (Samatha Bhavana) -Of the forty meditation objects/subjects (Kamattahanas) described in the Visuddhi Magga (the Pali Commentary) to develop concentration, the practitioner may select one meditation object (method) to suit his/her personality and disposition for the practice.  In Samatha meditation to attain Samadhi (one pointed concentrated mind) a meditator may use one such  method like observing in/out breath which is considered suitable for most personalities. Other objects of meditation that are generally suitable for most practitioners are: contemplation on the virtues of Buddha (Buddha-nu-sathi); practicing Loving Kindness (the Brackma Vihara- Metta-nu-Sathi etc.) or a similar Samatha object. The meditator may thus select one such object/method for his/her training.

The first goal in this meditation is developing concentration.  This is the wholesome action of learning to take control of the mental processes, to become master of one’s own mind. This state of Samadhi, or deep concentrated mind, is a unified mind free from discursive thoughts as we said before. Ven Henepola Gunerathane Thero in his talks to the participants of the 9 day retreat in Perth, says that this concentration will become the right concentration  when one sees it in the context of the Noble Eightfold Path where the eight factors support and complement each other. That is all eight factors needs to develop simultaneously. In particular for right concentration, right mindfulness, and right effort must be established with right view conditioning the quality of the concentration. In other words the meditator attains a mind state where greed, hatred and delusion, the roots of the defilements clouding  the penetrative ability of the mind are  suppressed. To begin this meditation targeting right concentration one may as a preliminary preparation, engage in contemplation of the eight factors of the Path as taught in the Dhamma as a platform to build on, to practice the development of serenity meditation. 

One meditation teacher illustrated the concentrated mind by the simile of the ‘flash light’. He said that if one were to attempt to see outside at night one would need a flashlight (torch). If the flashlight has its head unscrewed the light from the naked bulb would be dispersed all round and part of it falls on what you want to see. You will discern some details of the object. The rest of the light dispersed around appears to travel to a limited distance only. When you screw back the head (reflector) the dispersed light now gets concentrated into a beam and the beam now falling on the object under examination shows a lot more details and more of the real nature of the object. When moved to other parts of the surroundings, the beam and its light travel to great distances enabling you to see many more objects far away which were not discernible before although its the same bulb and same batteries. This he said is similar to a concentrated mind compared to a roving or dispersed mind. The collected and concentrated mind is like the light gathered to a beam in the above example. This mind when directed to a chosen object is able to discern more details which otherwise a dispersed mind would not see. The mind is thus able to see the true nature of the object.

Most teachers advocate keeping attention on the breath as the meditation object, quoting the Ana-pana Sutta and advising the meditator to keep attention on the touch sensation of the breath, as it flows in and out at the tip of the nose or on the skin of the upper lip. This way the practitioner is able to gradually have a one pointed and collected mind focused on the breath. During this exercise however the mind will stray to many thoughts, sounds etc. which is quite normal. This should not disturb the meditator. This is a habitual trait cultivated from the past. When this happens the practitioner has to quickly recognize that the mind is straying and bring it back to the breath. That is initial application (Vittakka), which is applying the mind to the subject or bringing the mind again and again to the subject.  Ven Henepola Gunerathne calls this initial thought.

To attain Initial Concentration by breathing meditation, a meditator will focus attention on the breath as it is first felt entering at the tip of the nose (or upper lip), ie starts inflow, then notes how inflow continues and then how it ceases and how outflow starts, stays and ceases. This is called sustained application of mind (Vi-chara) on the object.  Henepola Gunerathne Thero calls this sustained thought. That is keeping the mind anchored or keeping the mind examining the object. Some meditation teachers advocate noting the expansion and contraction of either the chest or belly as an alternative, because some beginners are unable to discern the subtle sensation of the breath as it impinges on the nose.  

Meditation teachers differ on the technique of how to keep the mind focused on the breath. Some teachers advise you to resort to an exercise of counting to gain concentration. In this technique you start by making a determination that I will using/employing initial application (Vittakka) and sustained application of mind (Vi-chara), stay focused on the breath as it arises, stays and ceases up to five breaths, counting from the starting breath up to five breaths as each breath comes in and out. After that, starting again you make a determination that I will stay focused up to six breaths from a beginning breath. Thereafter in turn up to seven breaths, eight breaths and so on up to say ten breaths progressively. The breathing being thus noted should not be forced or deliberate. It should be natural and at its own rhythm. Once the initial concentration is thus established, the meditator can drop the counting and keep the attention only on the touch sensation of the breath to maintain samadhi. The meditator will thus stay on initial concentration  up to a determined duration,  say up to two minutes then coming out and then up to three minutes and coming out and so on similarly up to a chosen duration.

The meditator who continues to note the breath as above will find that the touch sensation of breath that was experienced up to then will gradually cease. Ven Dhamajeewa says that  at the beginning the breath is coarse but with time, if the meditator is able to keep the breath in focus, it will become indistinct and subtle. The experience at this stage upon reaching this Samadhi is described by meditation teachers as a state of tranquility of mind and body (chitta kaya pas-saddiya).   A mind in this state of Samadhi is said to release its participation in mind and body sensations. In reality as the mind has released experiencing body sensations what is now experienced are chitta passadiya - the release from experiencing consciousness and kaya passadiya (chitta kaya) the release from other mind related experiences as feelings, perceptions and thoughts (sankaras). Continuing on, it is said that the meditator will once again start to discern the in and out breath. Ven Henepola Gunarathne says that this happens when the mind recalls the memory impression of the breath that was there before reaching the state of tranquility of mind and body referred to above. This he says is called Pattibha Nimmitha, a memory object of breath meditation, similar to its counterpart in Kasinna Bhavana. It is said that this is a mind that is fully collected and its powers fully mobilized to be used for seeing the true nature of things. This is Upachara Samadhi or Access Concentration. As the mind has released experiencing body sensations and the release from other mind related experiences as feelings, perceptions,  thoughts (sankaras) and consciousness, the experiences of the mind are only those of high tranquility and burden free state. This mind then experiences only the meditation related initial application (Vittakka), sustained application of mind (Vi-chara), a one pointed and collected mind focused on the breath ekaggatha, happiness and rapture (pithi and sukka) and no other. These mental attributes are named as Jhana Anngas ( Jhana factors) and act to suppress the five hindrances, see Post # 24,  for realizing Nibbana that are embedded in our minds. Bhikku Bodhi describes this as a mind that is now in a suburb or neighbourhood of Jhana (Arpana Samadhi).

The practitioner is advised to be very careful when this experience unfolds. It’s a common mistake to label a state of slumber, dullness or drowsiness during serenity meditation, as having attained access concentration. On the contrary, access concentration is a state where the mind is very alert and sharp, free from involvement in mind and body sensations with the five hindrances suppressed, and capable of discerning true nature of things.

Moving ahead in meditation the practitioner attains the next higher level, Arpana Samadhi - the first material jhana or a high state of concentrated and absorbed mind. After that practicing progressively the practitioner achieves still higher Jhanas, and experiences the super natural abilities described in Post # 24. This is  right concentration that is referred to in the practice of developing the Noble Eight Fold Path.

A meditation teacher also describes the state of Jhanas as a means of seeing the true nature of this experience as a method of attaining enlitenment quoting the Satara Sathipattana Sutta (Four Foundations of Mindfulness). He says that this state of jhana is arising due to causes and conditions and only a fabrication of the mind and not real and therefore if the causes and conditions are not there Jhanas do not arise. By contemplating on this basis meditator uses the vehicle of impermanence (one of the many ports), as a means to attain Nibbana. I will leave this comment only for you to note that there are other points of view and for you to make up your own mind whether you would wish to investigate them any further.

I will not take this discussion of developing serenity meditation any further. My knowledge and practice is limited to explain any further training exercises. For our purpose I believe achieving initial concentration or access concentration would be sufficient as a state of mind to move on to insight meditation.

Please see a similar account of the initial training to develop insight meditation skills at home in Posts # 27 and # 28.  With this training you are now on a steady course on meditation practice at home level experiencing the worldly benefits and ready to move on to higher achievements.  

Post # 25-Meditation as advocated in Buddhist  Practice- Part 4- Insight Meditation

In Post # 24 we discussed serenity meditation as a platform for developing Vippasana (insight meditation).

What the Buddha taught for liberation was a path; the Noble Eightfold Path. It is a practice of eight inter-related factors. It is a path of insight into the nature of reality, a path of truth realization. We must learn to recognize superficial or apparent reality, and also to penetrate beyond appearance so as to perceive subtler truths, then ultimate truths, and finally to experience the truth of freedom from suffering.

In Post #22 and Post # 23 we discussed some reference made to Meditation by learned practitioners. I have, to the best of my ability, extracted from the discourses made by these learned teachers  the main points contained in them to share with you. I will in this Post attempt to highlight some salient points on Insight (Vipassana) Meditation.  Vipassana is the oldest of Buddhist meditation practices. The method comes directly from the Satipatthana Sutta, a discourse attributed to Buddha himself. Vipassana is a direct and gradual cultivation of mindfulness or awareness. It is an ancient and codified system of sensitivity training, a set of exercises dedicated to becoming more and more receptive to your own life experience.

Mindfulness is the English translation of the Pali word Sati. Sati is an activity. When you first become aware of something, there is a fleeting instant of pure awareness just before you conceptualize the thing, before you identify it. That is a stage of Mindfulness. Ordinarily, this stage is very short. It is that flashing split second just as you focus your eyes on the thing, just as you focus your mind on the thing, just before you objectify it, clamp down on it mentally, and segregate it from the rest of existence. Mindfulness is mirror-thought. It reflects only what is presently happening and in exactly the way it is happening. There are no biases. 

The object of Vipassana practice is to learn to pay attention. Vipassana is a form of mental training that will teach you to experience the world in an entirely new way. You will learn for the first time what is truly happening to you, around you and within you. It is a process of self discovery, a participatory investigation in which you observe your own experiences while participating in them, and as they occur. It is attentive listening, total seeing and careful testing. We learn to smell acutely, to touch fully and really pay attention to what we feel. We learn to listen to our own thoughts without being caught up in them.  The practice must be approached with this attitude. The experience would be viewed with a focussed and concentrated mind, disaggregating it to its components to see what they really are and thus understanding the true nature of the experience. 

The first level of disaggregation in vippassana for true understanding of the living being, is the present moment experience of materiality and mentality, by separating body and mind as aggregates for observation.  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) as experienced in the present moment.

Ven.Dhammajiva says that -“if we recount how many thoughts our mind experiences with or without any intention we will realize that more than 90% of thoughts are stray, unintended and unrelated to any substantial mind related process. These are unintentional or uninvited thoughts, yet they give us pain of mind and other emotional upheavals. The untrained mind suffers a great deal due to these. Therefore cultivating a balanced mind is essential so that we can face these and to know these formations as and when they appear".

We investigate the truth about ourselves not out of intellectual curiosity but rather with a definite purpose. We become aware of the conditioned reactions, the prejudices that cloud our mental vision, that hide reality from us and produce suffering. We recognize the accumulated inner tensions that keep us agitated, miserable, and we realize they can be removed. Gradually we learn how to allow them to dissolve and for our minds to become pure, peaceful, and happy.   

If we are to benefit from the truth, we have to experience it directly. Only then can we know that it is really true. The only way to experience truth directly is to look within, to observe oneself. All our lives we have been accustomed to look outward - what is happening outside, what others are doing. We have rarely, if ever, tried to examine ourselves, our own mental and physical structures, our own actions, and our own mentally created world that we live in.

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 sammpajanya) of experiences of the present moment, as they unfold.  Usually these experiences of the present moment, prompt the person to react in the way he/she has got accustomed to. Our past life experiences/mental formations (Sankara) determine the nature 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 Bhawa (the determining cause that gives rise to re-becoming). This Bhawa, conditions our rebirth in Samsara ( the eternal cycle of rebirths)..

As our objective is to limit the Samsaric process, we have to control the Bhawa forming Sankaras. We saw in an earlier post, that it is possible to intervene to control our reactions, which go to form our life experiences.  The skills developed by this meditation will be used first to exercise Yoniso Manasikara (acting mindfully and wisely with clear comprehension according to Dhamma) to intervene as necessary in the present moment to control the Bhawa forming Sankaras. This is Samma Sathi ( Right Mindfullness) in practice. The skill and practice you acquire by this means helps you to be more successful in worldly/daily life, by getting about your chores mindfully. On the spiritual side these endeavors will help you to progress in reaching world transcending states (marga pala).

At the 2^nd level, after developing the skills required to be aware, be mindful and have clear comprehension of experiences, as they unfold, we learn to look at present moment experience with focused attention on the experience itself. We open the way to see the real nature of the present moment experiences or nature of existence by being mindful of the body as a body. That is one's awareness is fixed on what the body, feels, knows, and experiences etc. in the present moment. Similarly one keeps awareness on what the mind  feels, knows, and experiences etc. in the present moment This is developing Yatha Bhutha Nanaya, the wisdom of seeing the true nature of things.

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 of the mind as it is applicable to perceptions (Sanna), feelings (Vedana), volitional formations (Sankara) and consciousness (Vinnana) , also manifests as heaps of respective parts referred to in Pali as Sanna Skanda, Vedana Skanda, Sankara Skanda, Vinnana Skanda. The five aggregates. Thus the being is seen as a composite of five groups of factors or aggregates. One also sees that this present moment experiences do not render any other factor such as I or me, establishing that there are only the five aggregates and nothing else that is undergoing such experiences.

Further due to avidya (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. This is seen as impermanence (annitta). These experiences arise not due the will or determination of a 'Being' experiencing them but happen due to causes and conditions. Thus they are seen as non-self (annatha) as taught in the Dhamma. In turn therefore one begins to realize that the experiences in the present moment or living as we experience the present moment, takes place only in the five aggregates, the Rupa Skanda, Sanna Skanda, Vedana Skanda, Sankara Skanda, and Vinnana Skanda without the participation of a I or me. Because this ‘living’ as we experience in the present moment is always in a state of change (viparinama) and happens due to causes and conditions and not due to a will of a 'being' who has them in his/her control, it is seen as unsatisfactory or Dukka  as referred to in Dhamma.   Thus this total state is recognized in Buddha Dhamma as, the impermanent, un-satisfactory and non self nature (thilakshana) as the true nature of things. This is the most fundamental of Buddha’s teaching and has to be fully realized. This meditation method is a unique discovery by the Buddha. Let us discuss the process of achieving this realization in another Post.

In this Post and Post # 24. I have presented what was extracted from the text referred to earlier. These to my mind are the salient points about Buddhist Meditation. Although this is not exhaustive they should serve as motivators to practice Meditation. I will in the next Post discuss “Practicing Buddhist Meditation at Home” 

Post # 24-Meditation as advocated in Buddhist  Practice -Part 3-- Serenity Meditation

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could check out the archives and read the 1^st Post to know about this Blog, and read the rest in sequence.

In Post #22 and Post # 23 we saw some reference made to Meditation by learned practitioners. This was provided as a background for understanding its meaning. They were also presented to motivate the busy householder to engage in a regular practice of Meditation.

Meditation in Buddhism is recognized as the means of developing the wisdom needed to attain enlightenment. The skill and practice you acquire by meditation helps you to be more successful in worldly/daily life, by getting about your chores mindfully and efficiently. On the spiritual side these endeavours will help us to progress in reaching world transcending states (marga pala).

The most often mentioned worldly benefits from meditation are : stress relief or overcoming stress which scientists are finding out is the root cause of almost all the mind-body ailments and dysfunctions; providing deep relaxation and rest resulting in reduction in body and mind overreacting to stressful situations; higher work efficiency such as effectiveness,  job satisfaction, physiological stability and  general health; better school performance such as increases in general intellectual and cognitive performance, reduced school-related stress, anxiety and depression; improved intelligence such as ability to successfully reason in new situations, speed of information processing and balanced use of cognitive and volitional traits such as comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and risk calculations. - These are worthy of note but can only be verified through actual experience from results of meditation.

We also saw that there are basically two types of meditation practices advocated in Buddha Dhamma. They are the samatha bhawana (serenity meditation) and vippasana bhawana (insight meditation).

The golden rule about meditation is that you should have a good teacher who can guide you through the process and clarify doubts and resolve issue as you experience them during meditation practice. You will realize that it is not always possible to get a good teacher, and such opportunities are available usually at meditation retreats. Therefore to make the best of an opportunity at a retreat and the presence of a good teacher, we should do some preliminary work and acquire some skills so that we can optimize the opportunity when it arises. This way as the popular saying goes ‘you hit the road running’ when you attend a meditation retreat and utilize the full period available for gaining the intended benefits.

In context, meditation fits into a pattern of Buddhist Practice. This pattern-the Noble Eightfold Path, is integrated and operates in harmony, and the constituents grouped into Seela, Samadhi and Panna, complement each other. Defilements accumulated by us operate at three layers. These layers are anusaya (latent) state, pariuttana (manifestation/arising) state, and the third layer is veethikkama (transgression into action) state.  To deal with them existing at these separate layers one needs different tools. The three steps in the Buddhist practice designed to counteract these three stages are as follows. Transgression state is counteracted by the seela (moral restraint) skills; Manifestation state is counteracted by samadhi (serenity meditative) skills; and in Latent state defilements are eliminated by insight meditative skills.

The practice of Bhavana (meditation) begins with concentration. This is the wholesome action of learning to take control of the mental processes, to become master of one’s own mind. Meditation related to right concentration (samma samadhi) is developed by resorting to the Bhawana practice referred to as samatha bhawana (serenity meditation). By engaging in the practice of developing the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, the practitioner has properly conditioned his/her mind to engage in serenity meditation advocated in Buddha Dhamma for attaining Samma Samadhi (right concentration).

The state of Samadhi, is 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 bawana, the practitioner reaches a state referred to as Upachara Samadhi (access concentration). Moving ahead in meditation the practitioner attains the next higher level, Arpana Samadhi - 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 direct 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); Peethi - happiness; Sukha - rapture; and Ekkaggatha - collected and concentrated mind.  Peethi and  Sukha in this situation have subtle but distinct meaning and  are symbolised in an example in the text as follows. It refers to a very thirsty man nearly dying of  thirst  walking through a jungle and hears the noise of a running stream. He then experiences peethi. Then when he finds the water and start to drink he experiences sukha.

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 in terms of what they really are and not on what they appear to be) and Ekkaggatha (collected and concentrated mind). Those practitioners motivated for still higher levels can target the four immaterial jhanas, characterized by higher levels of absorption, assisted by a focused concentration on an immaterial object.

A practitioner achieving access concentration or any other level of higher jhana, will have the five hindrances suppressed in the mind. The five hindrances - pancha neewarana are, sensual desire; ill will or 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).This is 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. The Buddha attained these states of concentration in the first watch of the night in his quest for enlightenment. 

It is said that reaching samadhi (Concentrated Mind) through the 16 prescribed ways of ana pana sathi (one pointed and concentrated mind focused on breathing) to high levels, one  develops some extraordinary abilities or superpowers such as Irdhi Prathihara (some divine like abilities) and  Diyana Abbinna (a divine eye, divine ear etc.). The most often mentioned powers and abilities that can be acquired when meditating are: knowledge of past lives - witnessing forms, personalities and events that one has lived through in past existences; the ability to “read” the minds of other people and know, even across great distances, what they are thinking and feeling; hearing conversations in different languages, and events from this and other worlds; single-pointed and concentrated mind where no pain, hunger or thirst, whether physical or mental, will reach.  Although these powers have been used by the Buddha and other Arahants (Noble Ones) to convince non believers about the ‘Teaching’, they have never been advocated by the Buddha as necessary for the lay follower to reach liberation.

I have thus discussed the Samadhi (Concentrated Mind) Part. In the next post I will touch on how the Vippassana wisdom unfolds when you engage in insight meditation, as some pointers to create sufficient motivation.

Post # 23-Meditation as advocated in Buddhist  Practice- Part 2

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could check out the archives and read the 1^st Post to know about this Blog before reading on.

We saw in Post 22 a brief introduction to Buddhist Meditation and extracts from teachings of some learned Meditation teachers and practitioners. In this post we will look at some more of such references made by other learned teachers. So continuing on with the quotes from Meditation teachers:-

ix. The meditation teacher -Joseph Goldstein co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society USA in his talk on Guided Meditation on Mindfulness says- “Explore the practice of Vippasana or insight meditation for awakening.  These meditations are rooted in one discourse of the Buddha- The Satipattana Sutta, the four ways of establishing mindfulness”

He quotes the Buddha in the Sutta as “This is the direct path for the purification of beings; for the surmounting of sorrow; for the disappearance of pain and grief; for attainment of a true way for the realization of Nibbana”…. “Given the magnitude and importance by these declarations, Buddha has placed a great value on Meditation”. He says therefore that- “the quality of mind it refers to has tremendous transforming power in our lives”.

 x. Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw the meditation teacher/monk from Myanmar in his book on ‘Fundamentals of Vippassana Meditation’ says- “There are two kinds of meditation; meditation to develop calm and meditation to develop insight. The forty subjects described in the Visuddhi Magga (the Pali Commentary) develop calm and concentration. Out of these forty subjects only respiration meditation and analysis of elements has to do with insight. If you want insight you will have to work further.

On the question on how we develop insight- the answer is by meditating on the five aggregates of grasping. The mental and material qualities inside beings are aggregates of grasping. They may be grasped with delight by craving or grasped wrongly by wrong views. You have to meditate on them to see them as they really are; otherwise you grasp them with craving and wrong views. Once you see them as they really are, you no longer grasp them. This is the way to develop insight”.

xi. Ven. Ajahn Chah the Thai monk of the ‘forest monk’ tradition in his talk on Meditation says – “Seekers of goodness, please listen in peace. Listening to the Dhamma in peace means to listen with a one-pointed mind, paying attention to what you hear and then letting go… While listening to the Dhamma we are encouraged to firmly establish both body and mind in Samadhi. Why you are gathered here to practice meditation is because your hearts and minds do not understand what should be understood. When we know our own mind, when there is Sati to look closely at the mind there is wisdom”.

xii. S N Goenka (Jee) the Vipssana teacher from India, in his book on, The Art of Living, says – “All of us seek peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives. We all want to be happy; we regard it as our right. Yet happiness is a goal we strive towards more often than attain it. At times we all experience dissatisfaction in life- agitation, irritation, disharmony, and suffering. Even if at this moment we are free from such dissatisfactions, we can all remember a time when they afflicted us and can foresee a time when they may recur.

Our personal dissatisfactions do not remain limited to ourselves; instead, we keep sharing our suffering with others. In this way individual tensions combine to create the tensions of society. This is the basic problem of life; its unsatisfactory nature. Things happen that we do not want; that we want do not happen. And we are ignorant of how and why this process works, just as we are each ignorant of our own beginning and end.  

We do not realize how harmful this ignorance is, how much we remain the slaves of forces within ourselves of which we are unaware.  Therefore the Buddha showed a path of introspection, of self observation. The path is also a path of purification. Because the problem originates in the mind, we must confront it at the mental level. We must undertake the practice of Bhavana – literally mental development or in common language Meditation”.

Other teachers and practitioners of meditation are many, and they all have their own articulation of the method. Although they all refer to both Tranquility and Insight meditation, the common thread of emphasis of all the teachers is Vippassana or insight meditation - the way to attain liberation through meditation. They all refer to attaining Samadhi - the one-pointed and concentrated mind- first, as this is a mind that can realize the truth and then encourages the meditator to shift to Vippassana thereafter for the full realization.

The above brief references to the work of these great scholars of Buddhism do not do full justice to them or to the elaborate content compiled by them in each of their discourses. However these extracts were only presented to serve the purpose of giving the reader some inspiration about meditation as practiced in Buddhism and motivate him/her to engage in the practice.

I will share with you in the next Posts, my attempt at extracting from these sources a practicable sequence on Buddhist meditation.

Post # 22-Meditation  as  advocated in Buddhist  Practice- Part 1

 Are you visiting  this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could check out the archives and read the 1^st Post to know about this Blog, and thereafter read the posts in sequence for the best benefit.

In Post 15 we discussed Kusala Kamma which are the skills one employs to destroy or overcome tendencies for unwholesome or unethical acts. Skills associated with Kusala Kamma are developed by the basic practices of Dana (benevolence and giving up), Seela (practices in moral discipline) and Bhawana (meditative practices). 

Meditative practice 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 (Meditation) now.

Meditation is one of the most discussed and referred to subjects in Buddhist practice. Discourses, talks, discussions and written text are numerous on this subject. Therefore any student wishing to learn this subject would not have a dearth of material to study from. Attempting to read this enormous collection would be quite a task although very rewarding. What I found was that most of this resource material espoused much the same thing except for the emphasis they place on different aspects of meditative practice and bringing out some different author bias. Further, studying as many of the available material itself over and over on this subject will not be commensurate with the effort made. Therefore I found that learning the basics from a few discourses and texts (sourced from reliable authors) was sufficient to prepare this outline on Meditation practice.

In this Post you will find my effort at extracting some essential points and facts from this source material to get some understanding of the subject. These extracts will show the beginner what Meditation in Buddhist practice really means and have the confidence that these descriptions are authentic and comes from the most learned and experienced Meditation Teachers and Practitioners. However these extracts by themselves will not be sufficient and the keen learner in order to gain the full benefit must necessarily seek out more elaborate explanations on this very important subject from the base material referred to above.

As there are many expounders of Meditation worthy of mention in this regard, I will list out only some of them in this Post due to the space restriction per Post in the Blog.  I will continue the reference to some more meditation teachers in the next one as well to make it as complete as possible.

i.  Ven. Katukurunde Nanananda Thero - meditation teacher/monk asks the question –“What is meditation?”; and gives an answer as –“It is an exercise to train the mind. The objective is spiritual development”  Next he asks –“Why Meditate?”; and answers –“With meditation one develops mindfulness, concentration and clear comprehension. Mind trained and developed on these lines is capable of acquiring wisdom to realize the true nature of phenomena and experience, the four noble truths, and realize Nibbana”.

Then he explains the benefits of Meditation grouped into two as- Worldly benefits and World Transcending benefits. He also explains how Buddhism addresses the two major types of meditation practices. In Pali, the original language of Theravada literature, they are called 'Vipassana' and 'Samatha'. 

ii. Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, meditation teacher based in US in his book on ‘Mindfulness in Plain English’ says that- “the distinction between Vipassana Meditation and other styles of meditation is crucial and needs to be fully understood. 'Samatha' can be translated as 'concentration' or 'tranquility'. It is a state in which the mind is brought to rest, focused only on one item and not allowed to wander. When this is done, a deep calm pervades body and mind, a state of tranquility which must be experienced to be understood. Most systems of meditation emphasize the Samatha component. The meditator focuses his mind upon some items, such as an object, breath etc., and excludes all other thoughts and perceptions from his consciousness. The result is a state of rapture which lasts until the meditator ends the session of sitting. It is beautiful, delightful, meaningful and alluring, but only temporary.

'Vipassana' can be translated as 'insight'. A clear awareness of exactly what is happening as it happens. The Vipassana meditator uses his concentration as a tool by which his awareness can chip away at the wall of illusion which cuts him off from the living light of reality. It is a gradual process of ever-increasing awareness of the inner workings of reality itself. It takes years, but one day the meditator chisels through that wall and tumbles into the presence of light. The transformation is complete. It's called liberation, and it is permanent. Liberation is the goal of all Buddhist systems of practice. But the routes to attainment of the end are quite diverse”. 

iii. Bhikku Bodhi the scholar monk from US says that- “Insight knowledge is developed by understanding the nature of experience as it unfolds from moment to moment in the present. The experience in its compounded form of materiality and mentality and their impermanence, un-satisfactory nature and the nature of non self, has to be fully understood. The meditation practice for this is the ‘sathara sathipattana bhawanawa’ (the four foundations of mindfulness).  They are mindfulness of body, of feelings, of states of mind and of dhammas (mind objects/phenomena)”.

iv. Ven. Uda Eriyagama Dhammajiwa  Maha Thero- meditation teacher/monk in his addresses at the meditation retreats at  Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya says – “Meditation is not simply a sitting practice, but  encompasses a broader spectrum of Samatha and Vipassana meditation.  In Samatha meditation to attain Samadhi (one pointed-ness) a meditator will use a simple method like noting in/out breath. During this process everyone has to wage a battle with the hindrances (Nivaranas) and try to identify the breath as distinct from hindrances. At the beginning the breath is coarse but with time if the yogi (meditator) is able to keep the breath in focus, he will find it becoming indistinct and subtle. The mind from being coarse at the beginning becomes refined and this refined mind is able to note the subtle and almost indiscernible breath.

When a yogi is able to stay with the breath longer than before and note the finer characteristics of the breath, this yogi will gradually be mastering the technique (Insight) of using a sharpened Sati (mindfulness) to keep noting the breath while being in the midst of sounds, thoughts and pain.  This technique is alive and sharply differs from Samatha. Whilst a Samatha practitioner will stop at the initial stage where the hindrances are suppressed, Vippassana meditation allows the yogi the freedom to adjust and improvise as and when new experiences are faced.

Buddha has taught that Suttamaya Nana (theoretical knowledge) by coming directly into contact with Buddha’s teachings through listening and reading the suttas, and  Cintamaya Nana (deductive or inferential knowledge)   and Bhavanamaya Nana (meditative knowledge) are all essential for realization of Nibbana”.

v. Ven. Ajahn Brahm (Brahmavamso) from Australia in his book on ‘The Basic Method of Meditation’  says that- “Meditation is the way to achieve letting go. In meditation one lets go of the complex world outside in order to reach the serene world inside….The goal of this meditation is the beautiful silence, stillness and clarity of mind”.

Ajahn Brahm in his book on Jhana (an Absorbed Mind) further says that ....”Jhana designates meditation proper where the meditator's mind is stilled from all thoughts secluded from all five sense activity and is radiant with other worldly bliss. In ‘Pasadika Sutta’ (DN  29,25) the Buddha  has said that- one who indulges in the pleasures of Jhana may expect only one of four consequences; Stream winning; Once returning; Non returning or Full enlightenment”. 

vi. The most venerable Na-uyane’ Ariya Dhamma Thero says in his book on Meditation – “When one calms the discursive mind and suppresses the five hindrances it is Serenity Meditation and when a mind destroys concepts and remains in reality and sees the impermanence of the name and form and the aggregates and treads the path to Nibbana, it is Vippassna Meditation”

vii. Ven. Nyanaponika Thera in his book on ‘The Heart of Buddhist Meditation’ says that – “this book is issued in the deep conviction that the systematic cultivation of Right Mindfulness, as taught by the Buddha in his discourse on Sathipattana, still provides the most simple and direct, the most thorough and effective, method for training and developing the mind for its daily tasks and problems as well as for its highest aim; mind’s own unshakable deliverance from greed hatred and delusion.

viii. Ven Ajahn Sumedho of UK Amarawathi  fame in his book on ‘ Don’t Take Your Life Personally’ says  “Compose your mind, look inwards and become aware of here and now-the body, the breath, mental state, the mood you are in- without trying to control or judge or do anything, just allow everything to be what it is”  ….the word meditation covers many mental experiences, but the goal of Buddhist Meditation is to see things as they really are; it is a state of awakened attention. And this is a very simple thing”

Please see the next post for references to Meditation made by Joseph Goldstein co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society; Ven.Mahasi Sayadaw the meditation teacher/monk from Myanmar; Ven. Ajahn Chah the Thai monk of the ‘forest monk’ tradition and S N Goenka Jee the Vipssana teacher from India