Post # 45 -The Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga). Part 3

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could visit the 1^st Post to know about this Blog and read Post # 44 before reading on.

I will in this Post continue quoting the descriptions given by Ven Piyadassi on the Seven Factors for Awakening that were given in Post # 44.

 Passaddhi, calm or tranquility, is the fifth factor of enlightenment. Passaddhi is twofold. Kāya passaddhi is calm of body and Cittapassaddhi is the calm of the mind.  Kāya here means all the mental properties rather than the physical body; in other words, calm of the aggregates of feeling (vedanākkhandha), perception (saññākkhandha) and volitional activities or conformations (saṅkhārakkhandha). Cittapassaddhi  or the calm of the mind- is calm of the aggregate of consciousness (viññāṇakkhandha). 
Passaddhi is compared to the happy experience of a weary walker who sits down under a tree in the shade, or the cooling of a hot place by rain. Hard it is to tranquillize the mind; it trembles and it is unsteady, difficult to guard and hold back; it quivers like a fish taken from its watery home. It wanders at will. Such is the nature of this ultra-subtle mind. It is systematic reflection (yoniso manasikāra) that helps the aspirant for enlightenment to quieten the fickle mind. Unless a man cultivates tranquility of mind, concentration cannot be successfully developed. A tranquilized mind keeps away all superficialities and futilities. In the teaching of the Buddha, the self must be subdued and tamed on right lines if it is to become truly well. The Buddha, teaches the Dhamma for the purpose of taming the human heart (danto so Bhagavā damatāya dhammaṃ deseti). It is only when the mind is tranquillized and is kept to the right road of orderly progress, that it becomes useful for the individual possessor of it and for society. A disorderly mind is a liability both to the owner of it and to others. All the havoc wrought in the world is wrought by men who have not learned the way of mental calm, balance and poise. Calmness is not weakness. The calm attitude at all times shows a man of culture. It is not too hard a task for a man to be calm when all things around him are favourable. But to be composed in mind in the midst of unfavourable circumstances is hard indeed, and it is this difficult quality that is worth achieving; for by such control one builds up strength of character. The man who cultivates calm of the mind does not get upset, confused or excited when confronted with the eight vicissitudes of the world (aṭṭha-lokadhamma). He endeavours to see the rise and fall of all things conditioned; how things come into being and pass away. Free from anxiety and restlessness he will see the fragility of the fragile

The sixth enlightenment factor is samādhi or concentration. It is only a tranquilized mind that can easily concentrate on a subject of meditation. The calm and concentrated mind sees things as they really are (samāhito yathābhutaṃ pajānāti). The unified mind brings the five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇāni) under subjugation. Concentration is the intensified steadiness of the mind comparable to an unflickering flame of a lamp in a windless place. It is concentration that fixes the mind aright and causes it to be unmoved and undisturbed. Correct practice of samādhi maintains the mind and the mental properties in a state of balance like a steady hand holding a pair of scales. Right concentration dispels passions that disturb the mind, and brings purity and placidity of mind. The concentrated mind is not distracted by sense-objects; concentration of the highest type cannot be disturbed under the most adverse conditions. One who is intent on samādhi should develop a love of virtue (sīla), for it is virtue that nourishes mental life, and makes it coherent and calm, equable and full of rich content. The unrestrained mind dissipates itself in frivolous activity. Many are the impediments that confront an aspirant for enlightenment, but there are five particular hindrances that hinder concentrative thought or samādhi, and obstruct the way to deliverance. In the teaching of the Buddha they are known as pañca nīvaraṇa, the five hindrances. The Pali term nīvaraṇa denotes - that which hinders or obstructs mental development (bhāvanā). They are called hindrances because they completely close in, cut off and obstruct. The five hindrances are: kāmacchanda—sensual desires, vyāpāda—ill will, thīnamiddha—obduracy of mind and mental factors, uddhaccakukkucca—restlessness and worry, vicikicchā—doubt. Kāmacchanda or sensual desires or intense thirst for either possessions or the satisfaction of base desires is the thirst that binds man to saṃsāra, repeated wandering, and closes the door to final deliverance. What is this sensuality? Where does this craving (taṇhā) arise and take root? According to the discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta) “where there is the delightful and the pleasurable, there this craving arises and takes root.” When forms, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily contacts and ideas are delightful and pleasurable; there this craving arises and takes root. Craving when obstructed by some cause is transformed to frustration and wrath. From craving arises grief, from craving arises fear. To one who is free from craving, there is no grief, no fear.

The next hindrance is vyāpāda—ill will, hatred or aversion. Man naturally revolts against the unpleasant and the disagreeable, and also is depressed by them. To be separated from the loved is painful, and equally painful is the union with the loathed. Even a disagreeable dish, an unpleasant drink, an unlovely demeanour, or a hundred other trifles, may cause indignation. It is wrong thinking, unsystematic reflection, that brings about hatred. Hatred on the other hand breeds hatred and clouds the vision; it distorts the entire mind and its properties, and thus hinders awakening to truth, blocks the way to freedom. This lust and hatred based on ignorance, the crowning corruption of all our madness (avijjāparamaṃ malaṃ), are indeed the root causes of strife and dissension between man and man, nation and nation.

The third hindrance consists of a pair of evils; thīna and middha. Thīna is lassitude or morbid state of the mind, and middha is a morbid state of the mental properties. Thīnamiddha, as some are inclined to think, is certainly not sluggishness of the body; for even the arahats, the perfect ones, who are free from this pair of evils, also experience bodily fatigue. Thīna-middha retards mental development; under its influence the mind is inert.  Laxity is a dangerous enemy of mental development. Laxity leads to greater laxity until finally there arises a state of callous indifference. This flabbiness of character is a fatal block to righteousness and freedom. It is through viriya or mental effort that one overcomes this pair of evils.

The fourth hindrance also comprises twin drawbacks: uddhacca and kukkucca, restlessness and brooding, or flurry and worry. As a rule anyone who commits evil is mentally excited and restless; the guilty and the impatient suffer from this hindrance. The minds of men who are restless and unstable are like flustered bees in a shaken hive. This mental agitation impedes meditation and blocks the upward path. Equally baneful is mental worry. Often people repent over the evil actions they have committed. This is not praised by the Buddha; for it is useless to cry over spilt milk. Instead of brooding over such shortcomings one should endeavour not to repeat such unwholesome deeds. There are others who worry over the good deeds omitted and duties left undone. This, too, serves no purpose. It is as futile as to ask the farther bank of a river to come over that we may get to the other side. Instead of uselessly worrying over what good one has failed to do, one should endeavour to perform wholesome deeds. This mental unsteadiness (kukkucca) also hinders mental progress.

The fifth and last hindrance is vicikicchā, doubt. One who suffers from perplexity is really suffering from a dire disease, and until and unless one sheds one’s doubts, one will continue to suffer from it. So long as man is subject to this mental itching, so long will he continue to take a cynical view of things which is most detrimental to mental development. The commentators explain this hindrance as the inability to decide anything definitely; it also comprises doubt with regard to the possibility of attaining the jhānas, concentrative thought.

The meditator who attains the jhānas inhibits all five hindrances by five jhānaṅgas, characteristics or factors of jhāna. The attainment of jhānas, however, is not the end that is aimed at. Jhānas should be made to lead to vipassanā, intuitional insight. It is through insight that the meditator eradicates the latent corruptions (anusaya kilesa), and attains perfect purity. So long as impurities or taints (kilesas) exist latent in man’s mind, so long will the arising of pāpa (evil) in him continue. They who are in the practice of jhāna, whose purpose is to attain vipassanā, commits no ill acts because the hindrances are inhibited. But they have the latent impurities in their make-up and therefore, are not yet in a state of absolute security. But the Arahat, the perfect one, wipes out all the latent impurities with their rootlets and brings this repetitive wandering, saṃsāra, to a standstill. He is one whose saṃsāra is indubitably ended; for by him the noble life has been perfected and the task done. For him there is no more rebirth.

Then by the power of samādhi, concentrative thought, thus won, he turns his mind to the understanding of reality in the highest sense. It is at this stage that the meditator cultivates vipassanā, intuitional insight. It is through vipassanā that one understands the real nature of all component and conditioned things. Vipassanā aids one to see things as they truly are. One sees truth face to face and comprehends that all tones are just variations struck on the one chord that runs through all life—the chord which is made up of anicca, dukkha and anattā—impermanence, sorrow and soul-lessness. The meditator gains insight into the true nature of the world he has clung to for so long. He breaks through the eggshell of ignorance to the hyper- cosmic. With that final catharsis he reaches the state where dawns for him the light of Nibbāna, the calm beyond words, the unshakable deliverance of the mind (akuppā cetovimutti); and the world holds nothing more for him.

The seventh and last factor of enlightenment is upekkhā, equanimity. In the Abhidhamma, upekkhā is indicated by the term tatramajjhattatā, neutrality. It is mental equipoise and not indifference. Equanimity is the result of a calm concentrative mind. It is hard, indeed, to be undisturbed when touched by the vicissitudes of life, but the man who cultivates this difficult quality of equanimity is not upset. Amidst the welter of experience (aṭṭha-lokadhammā), gain and loss, good repute and ill repute, praise and censure, pain and happiness, he never wavers. He is firm as a solid rock. Of course, this is the attitude of the arahat, the perfect one. Of them it is said: “Truly the good give up longing for everything. The good prattle not with thoughts of craving. Touched by happiness or by pain, the wise show neither elation nor depression.

I found that these elaborate descriptions by this very learned monk gives us an in depth understanding of Buddha’s teaching and the relevance of what is given in this Blog as a practice for attaining of full realization and perfect wisdom. I suggest therefore that you should read the Posts on the Seven Factors for  Awakening posted in the Blog several times to realize the best benefit.

Please await a Post on the Seven Stages of Purification to complete this understanding.

Post # 44 -The Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga). Part 2

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could visit the 1^st Post to know about this Blog and read Post # 43 before reading on.

In the book titled ‘The Seven Factors of Enlightenment Satta Bojjhaṅga’ published by the Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy, Sri Lanka, Ven. Piyadassi goes on to describe the seven factors in detail as follows:

The first is sati, mindfulness. It is the instrument most efficacious in self-mastery, and whosoever practices it has found the path to deliverance. It is fourfold: mindfulness consisting of contemplation of the body (kāyānupassanā); feeling (vedanānupassanā); mind (cittānupassanā); and mental objects or mind contents (dhammānupassanā).

The man lacking in this all-important quality of mindfulness cannot achieve anything worthwhile. The Buddha’s final admonition to his disciples on his death bed was this: “Transient are all component things. Work out your deliverance with heedfulness!” (vaya-dhammā saṅkhārā, appamādena sampādetha)”.

Man cannot be heedful unless he is fully aware of his actions, whether they are mental, verbal or physical, at every moment of his waking life. Only when a man is fully awake to and mindful of his activities can he distinguish good from bad and right from wrong. It is in the light of mindfulness he will see the beauty or the ugliness of his deeds. The word appamāda throughout the Tipiṭaka is used to denote sati, mindfulness; pamāda is defined as absence of mindfulness.

Says the Buddha in the Aṅguttara Nikāya: “Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of good thoughts if not yet arisen, or to cause the waning of evil thoughts if already arisen, as heedfulness. In him who is heedful, good thoughts not yet arisen do arise, and evil thoughts, if arisen, do wane.” “The man who delights in mindfulness and regards heedlessness with dread is not liable to fall away. He is in the vicinity of Nibbāna.”

The second enlightenment factor is dhammavicaya - keen investigation of the Dhamma. It is the sharp analytical knowledge of understanding the true nature of all constituent things, animate or inanimate, human or divine. It is seeing things as they really are; seeing things in their proper perspective. It is the analysis of all component things into their fundamental elements, right down to their ultimate. Through keen investigation one understands that all compounded things pass through the inconceivably rapid moments of uppāda, ṭhiti and bhaṅga; or of arising, reaching a peak, and ceasing, just as a river in flood sweeps to a climax and fades away. The whole universe is constantly changing, not remaining the same for two consecutive moments. All things in fact are subjected to causes, conditions, and effects (hetu, paccaya and phala). Systematic reflection (yoniso manasikāra) comes naturally through right mindfulness, and it urges one to discriminate, to reason and investigate. Shallow thinking, unsystematic reflection (ayoniso manasikāra), makes people muddleheaded, and then they fail to investigate the nature of things. Such people cannot see cause and effect, seed and fruit, the rise and fall of compounded things. Says the Buddha: “This doctrine is for the wise and not for the unwise.”“As the wise test the purity of gold by burning, cutting and examining it by means of a piece of touchstone, so should you accept my words after examining them and not merely out of regard and reverence for me.”

 Thus blind belief is condemned in the analytic teaching (vibhajjavāda) of the Buddha. The truth of the Dhamma can be grasped only through calm concentrative thought and insight (samatha and vipassanā) and never through blind faith. One who goes in quest of truth is not satisfied with surface knowledge. He wants to delve deep and see what is beneath. That is the sort of search encouraged in Buddhism. That type of search yields right understanding.

He that cultivates dhammavicaya -investigation of the Dhamma, focuses his mind on the five aggregates of grasping, the pañcupadānakkhandhā, and endeavours to realize the rise and fall or the arising and passing away (udaya-vaya) of this conglomeration of bare forces (suddha-saṅkhāra-puñja), this conflux of mind and matter (nāma-rūpa-santati). It is only when he fully realizes the evanescent nature of his own mind and body that he experiences happiness and joyous anticipation. Therefore, it is said: Whenever he reflects on the rise and fall of the aggregates, he experiences unalloyed joy and happiness. To the discerning one that (reflection) is deathless Nibbāna.

What is impermanent and not lasting he sees as sorrow-fraught. What is impermanent and sorrow-fraught, he understands as void of a permanent and everlasting soul, self, or ego entity. It is this grasping, this realization of the three characteristics or laws—transiency (anicca), sorrow (dukkha), and no-self or soullessness (anattā)—which is known to Buddhists as vipassanā-ñāṇa or penetrative insight, and which, like the razor-edged sword, entirely eradicates all the latent tendencies (anusaya). With it, all the varied ramifications of sorrow’s cause are finally destroyed. A man who ascends to this summit of vision is an arahat, a perfect one, whose clarity of vision, whose depth of insight, penetrates into the deepest recesses of life and cognizes the true nature that underlies all appearance.

The third enlightenment factor is viriya or energy. It is a mental property (cetasika) and the sixth limb of the Noble Eightfold Path, there called sammā vāyāma or Right Effort.

Buddhism is for the sincerely zealous, strong and firm in purpose, and not for the indolent (āraddhaviriyassāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo kusītassa).

In the words of the Buddha, each individual has himself to put forth the necessary effort, and work out his own deliverance with diligence

A follower of the Buddha should not under any circumstances relinquish hope and effort; for the Buddha was one who never gave up courage and effort even as a Bodhisatta. As an aspirant for Buddha-hood, he had as his motto the following inspiring words: mā nivatta, abhikkama, “Falter not, advance”. The man who is mindful (satimā) and cultivates keen investigation should next put forth the necessary effort to fight his way out. The function of viriya or energy is fourfold. It is defined as: the effort to eradicate evils that have arisen in the mind; the effort to prevent the arising of unarisen evil; the effort to develop unarisen good; and the effort to promote the further growth of good already arisen.

Thus the path of purification is impossible for an indolent person. The aspirant for enlightenment (bodhi) should possess unflinching energy coupled with fixed determination. Enlightenment and deliverance lie absolutely and entirely in his own hands. “Man must himself by his own resolute efforts rise and make his way to the portals of liberty, and it is always, at every moment, in his power so to do.

The fourth enlightenment factor is pīti, rapture or happiness. This, too, is a mental property (cetasika) and is a quality which suffuses both the body and mind. The man lacking in this quality cannot proceed along the path to enlightenment. There will arise in him sullen indifference to the dhamma, an aversion to the practice of meditation, and morbid manifestations. It is, therefore, very necessary that a man striving to attain enlightenment and final deliverance from the fetters of saṃsāra should endeavour to cultivate the all-important factor of happiness. No one can bestow on another the gift of happiness; each one has to build it up by effort, reflection and concentrated activity. As happiness is a thing of the mind it should be sought not in external and material things, though they may in a small way be instrumental. Contentment is a characteristic of the really happy individual. The ordinary worldling seems to think that it is difficult to cultivate and develop contentment; but by dint of courage, determination, systematic attention and thought about the things that one meets with in everyday life, by controlling one’s evil inclinations, and by curbing the impulses, the sudden tendencies to act without reflection, one can keep the mind from being soiled, and experience happiness through contentment. In man’s mind arise conflicts of diverse kinds, and if these conflicts are to be controlled, while still not eliminated, man must give less rein to inclinations and longings; in other words, he must cultivate contentment. Hard it is to give up what lures and holds us in thrall; and hard it is to exorcise the evil spirits that haunt the human heart in the shape of ugly and unwholesome thoughts.

When discussing happiness in the context of sambojjhaṅgas, we must bear in mind the vast difference between pleasure and happiness. Pleasure—pleasant feeling—is something very momentary and fleeting. Is it wrong to say that pleasant feelings are the prelude to pain? What people hug in great glee in this moment turns to be a source of pain in the next. “The desired is no more there when the outstretched hand would grasp it or being there and grasped, it vanishes like a flake of snow.”

Unlike the animal whose sole purpose is to derive a feeling of pleasure from any source, at any cost, man should endeavour to gain real pīti or happiness. Real happiness or rapture comes not through grasping or clinging to things animate or inanimate, but by giving up (nekkhamma). It is the detached attitude toward the world that brings about true happiness. The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, speaks of pleasant worldly feeling (sāmisa sukha) and pleasant unworldly feeling (nirāmisa sukha). Nirāmisa sukha is far superior to sāmisa sukha.

Due to the need to limit the space per blog post I will stop the descriptions at this point. Please await the next post # 45 -The Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga)- Part 3, for further descriptions on this teaching.

Post # 43 -The Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga). Part 1

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could visit the 1^st Post to know about this Blog and then read the others in sequence.  

We saw in  Post # 41 and Post # 42 that the Buddha has referred to 37 factors that assist in realizing the world transcending wisdom which in the Pali language are termed as sath tiss bodhipakkhiya-dhamma. It is the ultimate wisdom known as Awakening.

I will in this Post list out some details on the Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga), which is one of the seven sets consisting of the 37 factors that assist in realizing the world transcending wisdom

Ven. Pitigala Gunerathane Thero explaining Sabbasawa Sutta - says that when one talks of Buddhist Meditation for realizing Nibbana you talk about insight meditation for the development of the Bojjanga Dhamma. That is one part of the 37 factors  that develops in the process of attaining Nibbana.  The Bojjanga Dhamma or the Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga), develops while engaging in mindfulness meditation. They are:  mindfulness as a factor for Awakening (sati-sambojjhanga);  analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening (dhamma-vicaya-sambojjhanga); persistence or effort as a factor for Awakening (viriya-sambojjhanga); rapture or joyful interest as a factor for Awakening (piti-sambojjhanga); tranquility or serenity as a factor for Awakening (passaddhi-sambojjhanga); concentration as a factor for Awakening (samadhi-sambojjhanga); and equanimity as a factor for Awakening (upekkha-sambojjhanga).   

Therefore you will see the context in which we will be discussing the Seven Factors for Awakening, the subject dedicated to this Post. What I realize is that developing these factors does not need a separate and dedicated effort but they develop while we engage in the other Buddhist practices that we have discussed in this blog.

Ven. Piyadassi Thera in his book titled ‘The Seven Factors of Enlightenment Satta Bojjhaṅga’ published by the Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy, Sri Lanka, gives the following descriptions related to these seven factors:

“The Tipiṭaka, the Buddhist canon, is replete with references to the factors of enlightenment— bojjhaṅga—expounded by the Enlightened One on different occasions. In the Book of the Kindred Sayings, (Saṃyutta Nikāya Mahā Vagga) we find a special section under the title Bojjhaṅga Saṃyutta, wherein the Buddha discourses on the bojjhaṅgas in diverse ways. The term bojjhaṅga is composed of bodhi + aṅga. Bodhi denotes enlightenment; to be exact, insight, concerned with the realization of the four Noble Truths, and Aṅga means factors or limbs. Bodhi + aṅga (bojjhaṅga), therefore, means the factors of enlightenment, or the factors for insight wisdom.

In one of the discourses on the bojjhaṅgas mentioned above, the Buddha visiting Venerable Mahā Kassapa, who was ill said- “Kassapa, the seven factors of enlightenment are well expounded by me, and when cultivated and much developed they conduce to full realization, perfect wisdom, to Nibbāna”.

“Verily, Blessed One, they are factors of enlightenment! uttered Mahā Kassapa. Mahā Kassapa rejoicing welcomed the utterances of the Worthy One. And the Venerable Mahā Kassapa rose from that illness.

Ven. Piyadassi Thera says man’s mind tremendously and profoundly influences and affects the body. If allowed to function viciously and entertain unwholesome and harmful thoughts, mind can cause disaster, even kill a being; but mind also can cure a sick body. When concentrated on right thoughts with right understanding, the effects mind can produce are immense.

In another reference to the Seven Factors of Enlightenment in the web a learned monk  says how one systematically cultivates the seven Bojjanga Dhamma. “It involves first establishing sati (moral mindfulness) based on anicca (impermanence), dukkha (un-satisfactoriness), anatta (non-self). It is important to clarify what sati is. Many people think sati is “concentr ation” or just “paying attention”. It is much more than that. It is “paying attention” with a frame of mind based on some understanding of anicca, dukkha, anatta: One has to contemplate on the “big picture” in the Buddha’s teaching, with 31 realms and a rebirth process that has led to much suffering in the long run. Even though one may be enjoying life right now, one knows that it will be of negligible duration compared to the sansaric time scale.

During the whole time of the Bojjanga bhavana, sati must be there; that frame of mind must be there. 'Dhammavicaya' is critical evaluation of a given dhamma concept. One can choose a topic or two for a given session and then contemplate on it. One could do this not only in a formal way, but also just while reading a web post or a book on the subject. Each individual is different, so one needs to figure out which is more suitable”.

I brought these references to The Seven Factors for Awakening (satta bojjhanga) by these learned monks, so as to give some background to the subject and to establish the source or references to these in the pali canon (Thripitaka).

I will in the next post  # 44, bring out more detailed descriptions of the seven factors extracted from these source material in order that we may get a better understanding of this teaching.