The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
Mindfulness of Breathing
15] “Monks, when mindfulness of breathing is developed
and cultivated, it is of great fruit and great benefit. When
Mindfulness of Breathing is developed and cultivated, it
fulfills the “Four Foundations of Mindfulness”. When the
“Four Foundations of Mindfulness” are developed and
cultivated, they fulfill the “Seven Awakening Factors”. When
the “Seven Awakening Factors” are developed and cultivated,
they fulfill true knowledge and deliverance.
Please observe that the “Four Foundations of Mindfulness” are
in this sutta and they are fulfilled through the practice of Jhàna
and “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation” (TWIM) which lead
to wise meditative states of mind.
This is decidedly different from the current theory that you
can’t observe the “Four Foundations of Mindfulness” while
experiencing Jhànas [meditative stages of understanding].
The Buddha only taught one kind of meditation and that is
serenity/insight or tranquility/insight meditation. That is
Samatha/Vipassanà meditation or you can say he taught Samàdhi
which literally means “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM).
16] And how, monks, is mindfulness of breathing developed
and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit?
17] “Here a monk, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or
an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set
his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him,
ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.
The phrase “gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or an empty
hut” means that you go to a reasonably quiet place where there
will be few distractions while learning the meditation. A suitable
location would be a place that is away from road noises, loud and
persistent music or sounds of people, as well as animals.
The thing that happens with many absorption concentration
practitioners is that even the smallest sound turns into a “thorn
in their side”. This occurs because concentration is out of
balance with your mindfulness. Many students complain about
a fan being on and how it makes noise, or when someone opens
and shuts a door. The absorption practitioner will jump because
the noise kind of shocks them. Again, this occurs because the
meditators mindfulness is weak and their concentration is out
of balance. This is one of the disadvantages of doing absorption
concentration.
During the time of the Buddha, most people sat on floor. Hence,
the phrase “sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, sets
his body erect”. But today, sitting on the floor can be very
painful and a trying experience because people mostly sit on
chairs, stools, or couches. If you want to sit on the floor, it may
help if you sit on a cushion high enough so there is no pain in
your back or knees.
In actual fact, it is far more important to observe what is happening
in mind than it is to sit with uncomfortable or painful sensations.
Remember that there is no magic in sitting on the floor. The
magic comes from a clear, calm mind that has fun watching how
mind’s attention moves from one thing to another and learning
to 6R any distraction and gently be at ease, as much as possible.
Thus, if sitting on the floor is a very painful experience, then, it
is alright to sit on a stool or a chair.
However, if you do sit on a chair, there is an extremely important
factor to consider. You need to sit without leaning hard against
the back of the chair. Leaning is good for sleeping but not for
meditation! “Sets his body erect” means you sit with a nicely
straight back which is not rigid and uncomfortable. A nicely
straight back has all of the vertebrae stacked one upon another.
This is to ensure that energy can flow up and down the back
without any blockages. Leaning into a chair can stop the energy
flow and can cause sleepiness to arise. Thus, please do not lean
against anything when sitting. Very often, when you first start
out, your back is not used to being straight and some of the
muscles can rebel and complain. However, with patience and
perseverance, these unused muscles will gradually adjust and
they will strengthen.
There is another important aspect to sitting meditation. You must
not move! You must sit without moving the body for any reason.
Please do not wiggle the toes or fingers or move the hands to rub
or scratch or change the posture in any way until after the sitting
is over. Any movement breaks the continuity of the practice and
this can cause you to have to start all over again.
Some meditation teachers tell their students that it is quite alright
to move as long as they are “mindful”. But if the students are
truly mindful, they would be able to watch mind and its dislike
of the sensations and then, let go of the sensation and relax mind
around them. Thus, there would be no reason to move!
Mindfulness also means to lovingly-accept what is happening in
the present moment, without trying to control, resist or change
it. To be truly mindful means to open up and allow whatever
presents itself in the present moment. While sitting, if you move,
this means that you are not being mindful at that time. When
you “give in” to the desire to move, you are identifying with that
desire and there is no mindfulness at that time .
Thus, when you are ready and begin to meditate, you must remain
still and keep relaxing mind whenever there is a distraction. To sit
as still as a Buddha image is the best! Actually the only allowable
movement during meditation is to straighten the back when it
starts to curve or slump, as long as it is not done too often.
The phrase “establishing mindfulness in front of him” means
that you put aside all other worldly affairs and involvement with
sensual pleasures. Then you softly close your eyes and whenever
there is a distracting sound, smell, taste, sensation, or thought,
you are aware of that and simply let it go. You then relax the
tightness in your head, smile and redirect mind’s attention back
to the object of meditation and relax.
“Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.”
This tells us the way to practice mindfulness of breathing. Being
aware of the breath means to know when you are experiencing
the in-breath, then relaxing, and to know when you are
experiencing the out-breath and relaxing. You use the breath as a
reminder to relax on both the in and out-breath. It simply means
to open up your awareness and to be attentive to the breath as
much as possible and at the same time, relax the tightness in the
head (this will be explained more thoroughly in a little while).
Meditation Instructions
18] “Breathing in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long’; or
breathing out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long.’
Breathing in short, he understands: ‘I breathe in short’; or
breathing out short he understands ‘I breathe out short’.
The words “he understands” is emphasized to show that you
do not focus with strong attention on the breath to the exclusion
of everything else. You merely ‘understand’ what the breath
is doing in the present moment. That’s all there is to this! You
simply know when you breathe in long or short! There is no
controlling of the breath at any time. Instead, there is only
understanding of what you are doing in the present moment.
If you try to “over-focus” or “concentrate” on the breath to the
exclusion of anything else, you will develop a headache due to
this “wrong concentration”.
Whenever you hold tightly onto the meditation object and try to
force mind to “concentrate” or push away distractions, the head
will develop a very tight and painful tension. This tightness or
tension in the head also occurs when the meditator attempts to
control the sitting by throwing down any distracting thoughts
and feelings and quickly rushing back to the meditation object.
This happens with ‘momentary concentration’ as well as any
other kind of ‘absorption concentration’ technique. This doesn’t
happen when you relax on the in-breath and on the out-breath.
Many meditation teachers tell their students to put their attention
right in the middle of the sensation and see its true nature. This
will cause a few different things to occur.
Firstly, you will develop a stronger pain and this becomes
a distraction instead of an investigation. It is because these
meditation teachers tell their students to stay with that pain until
it goes away. Unfortunately, this can take an unbelievably long
time. In addition, you naturally need to tighten and toughen
mind in order to observe the sensation.
Actually, this tightening and toughening of mind is not being
mindful. You begin to develop a mind that hardens itself when
pain arises. It is only natural for this to happen as it takes a lot
of courage and fortitude to watch pain in this way. At that time,
a type of aversion is naturally developed and this hardening of
mind is not being noticed as anicca, dukkha, anattà or the links
of Dependent Origination and you are not noticing the craving
which is this tightening of mind and body.
Consequently, even when you are not meditating, this suppression
can cause personality hardening, and that causes true problems
to arise. Without the relax step, mind has a tendency to become
critical and judgmental and the personality development of the
meditator becomes hard.
Many people say they need to do a Loving-kindness retreat
after doing other types of meditation because they discovered
that they do and say things in daily life which are not so nice
to other people. When this happens, there appears a question,
“Is this really a type of meditation technique which leads to my
happiness and to the happiness of others?” If the answer is yes,
then why do I need to practice another form of meditation to
balance my thinking?”
Eventually you are able to suppress this aversion by practicing
‘concentration’, which is considered to be the “correct method”
by most meditation teachers. But the method taught by the
Buddha was never to suppress anything. His method was to
keep mind open and relaxed and to allow everything that arises
in the present moment.
Thus, whenever a painful sensation arises in the body, you first
recognize that mind’s attention has gone to the sensation and
you begin to think about that feeling. You then let go of any
thoughts about that sensation, open mind and let go of the tight
mental fist that is wrapped around the sensation, or you can let
the sensation be there by itself without any mental resistance or
aversion to it. This is done by telling yourself, “Never mind, it is
alright for this pain to be there.”
Next, relax the tightness in the head ... feel mind expand and
become calm ... then smile and re-direct mind’s attention back to
the object of meditation i.e. the breath and relaxing on both the
in and out-breath.
If you get caught by thinking about the sensation or pain, the
sensation will get bigger and become more intense. Eventually,
you can’t stand it anymore and you feel like you have to move.
This thinking or internal verbalizing about the sensation and
wishing it would go away, is the ‘ego identification’ and the very
beginning of craving and clinging. This getting involved with, ...
trying to control, ... fighting with the sensation, ... resisting the
sensation etc., is only fighting with the Dhamma, which is the
Truth of the present moment.
Whenever you fight and try to control or harden mind to the
“Dhamma of the present moment”, you cause yourself undue
suffering and pain. Another way of fighting with the Dhamma
is by taking the sensation personally and trying to control feeling
with your thoughts. This worsens the pain and, as a result, it
hurts even more. Thus, you must learn to open and lovingly-
accept the present moment without that ‘ego-identification’ and
the thinking or internal verbalization about it, or taking it as “I
am that”.
By letting go and relaxing, then smiling, this is how you gain
calmness and collectedness of mind as well as equanimity, full
awareness, and mindfulness. The Buddha taught us three kinds of
actions while meditating or during our daily activities. They are,
“Love Where We Are At…
Love What We Are Doing in the Present Moment…
and Love Who We Are With”.
These simple explanations allow you to be completely accepting
of the present moment. “To Love Where We Are At” means to
accept the fact that when you are sitting in meditation, things are
not always like you want them to be.
“To Love What We Are Doing” means to open up mind and allow
whatever arises in the present moment to present itself without
our getting attached to it (craving) or criticizing ourselves for not
being as good as we think we should be.
A good acronym for this is “DROPSS” which means “Don’t
Resist Or Push. Soften and Smile”. Whatever arises, do not resist
or push. Just soften into it and smile, open mind and accept it. In
other words “Love What We Are Doing”.
“To Love Who We Are With”, means to love yourself enough so
that you see and let go of all kinds of attachments which cause
pain to arise in your body and mind.
The recognition that you cause your own suffering is a major
realization. When you truly love yourself, you will see the pain and
sorrow and lovingly let it go, then relax and smile. This is done by
letting go of the thinking about. Thus, you will eventually let go of
the attachment (craving) and the ego identification with it.
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing the whole
body’;
he trains thus ‘I shall breathe out experiencing the whole
body’’;
This part of the sutta means that you know when the breath is
starting and stopping on the in-breath, then relax. You don’t have
to over-focus mind or ‘concentrate’ on the breath, or take this
breathing as the object of extreme ‘absorption concentration’.
You simply know what the breath is doing in the present moment
and relax on both the in and out-breath. Your mindfulness is
sharp enough to know what the breath and relaxing is doing at
all times, without controlling the breath in any way.
Just let the breath and relaxing become a natural process!
“He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in tranquilizing the bodily
formation’;
he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out tranquilizing the bodily
formation’.”
This simple statement is the most important part of the meditation
instructions. It instructs you to notice the tightness which arises
in the head with every arising of a consciousness and to relax
that tightness while on the in-breath and out-breath. Then you
feel your mind open up, expand, relax, become tranquil. and
then you smile.
This process occurs because there is a membrane that is wrapped
around the brain called the “meninges”. This membrane tightens
every time a thought, feeling, or sensation arises. Every time you
see that mind is distracted away from the breath and relaxing,
you simply let go of the distraction by not keeping mind’s
attention on it, then relax the tightness in the head or brain, feel
mind become open and expanded. Feel it become relaxed, calm
and clear.
Next, you softly smile and re-direct mind’s attention back to
the breath. On the in-breath relax, feel it expand and become
calm. On the out-breath relax, feel the meninges expand, feel
mind become alert, and pure. In this way the tension in the head
(meninges, brain) and mind gently goes away.
For example, when a thought arises, just let the thought go. Don’t
continue thinking, even if you are in mid-sentence. Just softly let
go of the thought. If the distraction is a sensation, firstly open
mind and let go of the aversion to the sensation and relax the
tightness caused by that distraction. Then feel open and expand
before smiling and then re-direct mind’s attention back to the
breath and relaxing. This opening up, relaxing and letting go of
the tightness in the head is actually letting go of the subtle ‘ego
identification’ (craving) which attaches itself to everything as it
arises.
Thus, in this way, when you let go of this tension, you are actually
letting go of all craving and ignorance which causes rebirth.
This is the actual experience of the “Third Noble Truth” or the
cessation of suffering.
Many times a teacher of ‘absorption concentration’ will tell their
students that this last part of the instructions means that you
become tranquil when you focus mind’s attention just on the
breath. But, this is not the way this is to be read. The Pàli presents
us with the word “pas-sambaya”. This word is interesting
because it can be a verb, an adverb, a noun, or an adjective. Words
which preceed it or follow it change the meaning of this word.
The words before this state “He trains thus:”. This means that
this Pàli word is an “action verb”. This makes sense because you
are relaxing (letting go of subtle craving) in the body and mind
on both the in and out-breaths.
When you follow this sutta’s instructions, this small step
of relaxing in the instructions actually says that when you
meditate, you are not strongly focusing just on the breath itself
to the exclusion of everything else. You are using the breath to
remind yourself to relax on both the in and out- breaths. This
changes the entire meditation moving it away from “absorption
concentration” and instead, developing the “Tranquil Wisdom
Insight Meditation” (TWIM)!
When the meditation instructions here are followed closely,
there will be no ‘sign or nimitta’ arising in mind. A nimitta is a
kind of mind-made object, which arises when one is practicing
‘absorption concentration meditation’. In the practice of TWIM,
the Mind naturally becomes calm and your understanding of
HOW mind’s attention actually moves continues to develop.
This also means that you will be able to discern how the links
of Dependent Origination occur and this is where deep insights
and understanding really happen.
You need not “try” to force mind to stay on the object of
meditation through strong concentration which can cause tension
and pain (craving) in the head and body. Eventually you begin to
realize the true nature of all phenomenon as being impermanent
(anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha), and not-self (anattà) as well as
beginning to see for yourself how the impersonal process of
Dependent Origination occurs.
Thus, when you practice “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM), you are aware of the in-breath and at the same time, the
relaxation of the tension caused by craving in your head because
of the tightening of the meninges, the membrane around the
brain, and you feel this tightening in your mind as well. You
are also aware of the out-breath and again, at the same time, the
relaxation of the tension in the head and mind.
Please use the breath as your reminder to relax all tightness
because then you are letting go of the craving, which always
manifests as tension and tightness in both mind and body.
This is actually an incredibly easy practice and a simple way to
develop mind. It is alright if you happen to miss one in-breath or
one out-breath at first. You should not put unnecessary pressure
on yourself or criticize yourself. This might cause you to think
how difficult this practice is. It does take some getting used to
before your practice becomes proficient. Thus, if you occasionally
miss the in-breath and relaxing, or, an out-breath and relaxing,
just let it go and catch the next in-breath or out-breath. Simple
and easy, isn’t it?
At first, the breath may seem to be very fast and difficult
to notice. However, as you continue with your practice, the
meditation becomes easier and you will not miss the in-breath
and relaxing or the out-breath and relaxing that much. After all,
this is a gradual training. There is no need to put undue pressure
on yourself, so, have fun and smile more. This is the way to gain
the fastest results. Please remember that the Buddha teaches us
to have a happy wholesome uplifted mind all of the time! Simply
relax into the meditation and smile. Smiling is a way to have an
alert uplifted mind!
When you practice “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM), the breath does not become subtle and difficult to
observe. If this happens, then the meditator is ‘concentrating’ too
much on the breath and not smiling enough. Also, the tightness in
the head is not relaxed enough. If the breath seems to disappear
again, the meditator is focusing their ‘concentration’ and not
tranquilizing mind enough.
The Jhànas (meditation stages of understanding) will appear by
themselves as mind becomes calm and peaceful. You do not have
to push, force, or ‘concentrate with a fixed mind’. Actually, the
Buddha taught this most natural form of meditation to work for
every type of personality or individual.
19] “He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing joy’;
He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out experiencing joy’.”
This refers to the attainment of the first two Jhànas (meditation
stages of understanding). The description of these stages is a set
formula that is repeated many times in the suttas.[12] We will
now look into the description of these first two Jhànas:
Here, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, ...
When you start your meditation session, you first close your
eyes. This is being secluded from the sensual pleasure of seeing.
Whenever a sound distracts mind, the instructions are to let the
sound be there by itself, without thinking about whether you like
the sound or not. Simply let the sound go. Let go of the mental
fist around the sound. Relax the craving or tightness in the head
and feel mind become calm and at ease. Now smile and redirect
(happy) mind’s attention back to the object of meditation, i.e.,
the breath. Relax the tightness in the head, feel mind open up,
expand, and become tranquil. Smile and on the in-breath, relax
the tightness in the head on the out-breath, feel mind become
alert, peaceful, and pure because there is no more craving in it.
You stay with the breath and relax the tension in mind until the
next distraction appears by itself.
As a meditator you do this with smelling, tasting, bodily
sensations, and thoughts or any kind of sensual pleasure which
distracts mind’s attention away from the breath and relaxing.
Whenever there is a distraction at one of the sense-doors you
simply and softly let it go, relax that mental fist around the
distraction, relax the tightness in the head, feel mind expand,
and redirect mind’s attention back to the breath and relaxing
again. It doesn’t matter how many times the sensual pleasure
arises. You have to allow it to be there every time it arises. Just
remember to let it go, relax the tightness in the head, feel mind
expand and smile, then come back to the breath and relaxing.
secluded from unwholesome states...
When mind’s attention is distracted from the breath and
relaxing, and it begins to think about a feeling that arises, then
there is a tendency for mind to like or dislike that feeling. This
thinking about and trying to control feeling by thinking about
what arises, causes the feeling to get bigger and more intense.
Thus, more pain arises.
Showing posts with label The Breath of Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Breath of Love. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Breath of Love - 5 Faculties & 5 Powers
The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
The Five Faculties
“Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to
develop the five spiritual faculties. Here a monk develops the
faculty of faith which leads to peace, leads to awakening.”
The faculty of faith is also called the faculty of confidence. As you
become interested in letting go of the pain of living, your curiosity
becomes stronger. Thus, you begin to look for a meditation teacher.
If you are fortunate enough to learn from a competent guide, you
will begin to see some slight changes in the way you perceive
the world. As you begin to see this through direct practice, your
confidence begins to grow. As a result, enthusiasm towards the
practice increases so that you will want to practice more!
“He develops the faculty of energy, which leads to peace, leads
to awakening.”
When your confidence grows, you will naturally put more
energy into your practice. You begin to sit a little longer and
mind becomes a little clearer. For the beginner it is recommended
to sit not less than 30-45 minutes at a time.
When a sitting is good, please stay with that sitting for as long
as it lasts. A good sitting might last for one hour, one hour-ten
minutes, or longer. It is good to sit progressively for longer periods
of time and not worry about becoming attached to the sitting.
The only way you become attached is by the thinking about
the meditation instead of doing the meditation in the correct
manner. There is nothing wrong in sitting for long periods of
time as long as you do not hurt yourself physically and you have
enough exercise.
Sitting for one or two or three hours is fine only when you are
ready to sit comfortably for such long periods. If you sit in a
way which causes pain to arise every time, then you are causing
yourself unnecessary physical discomfort. This is not a wise
thing to do, because the sitting posture should be comfortable. It
is alright if you use a stool or chair, as long as you do not lean too
much into anything. Leaning is good for sleeping and dullness,
but not for meditating! Thus, the more confidence you have, the
more energy you put into your practice. Your enthusiasm will
naturally increase as you continue practicing.
“He develops the faculty of mindfulness which leads to peace,
leads to awakening.”
As your energy improves, your awareness and mindfulness will
naturally become stronger. This is a very natural “non-forced”
process. Let’s take a look at the mind of an ordinary person, a
person like you or me. What you find is a grasshopper mind, a
butterfly mind, or one could also say, a mad monkey mind. It
is always moving, ever-jumping around. It changes its fantasies
and impulses at every moment.
Mind’s attention is prey for all stimuli and its own emotional
reaction to them. This is actually a reaction that is mostly re-
acting to conditions the way you always act when a certain stimuli
arises. It is a chain of linked associations, hopes, fears, memories,
fantasies, or regrets that are streaming constantly through mind.
These are triggered by memories of the outside world.
Mind’s attention is blindly moving, never-stopping, never-
satisfied in its search for pleasure and satisfaction. It is no wonder
that mind becomes so crazy and filled with un-satisfactoriness
and was described by the early monks as a restless mad monkey
swinging from branch-to-branch in the quest for satisfying fruit
through the endless jungle of conditional events.
Thus, when you first begin to meditate, mind’s attention
naturally runs all over the place and it stays away from the object
of meditation for a long time. Sometimes it even takes two or
three minutes before you are able to recognize that it is being
pulled away and then, you gently let it go, relax the tension in
the head, calm mind, smile and re-direct mind’s attention back
to the breath and relaxing.
When this happens, this is only natural, because mind is used to
running wherever it likes to go. When it does happen, please don’t
criticize yourself or beat yourself up because mind’s attention
is so unruly. Instead, release the distraction, relax, smile as you
return back to the object of meditation and continue on.
As your practice develops and you are able to recognize and let
go more quickly, your mindfulness gradually becomes sharper.
Mind might only stay away from the breath and relaxing for
one minute before recognizing that it is not on the breath and
relaxing. It then lets go, relaxes, smiles, and comes back to the
breath and relaxes again.
At this time mind’s attention begins to stay on the breath
and relaxing for longer periods of time, perhaps, as long as
thirty seconds, before it goes off again. However, you are now
becoming better at seeing when mind’s attention goes away. Your
mindfulness becomes sharper and you are able to recognize
what mind is doing. Thus, when your confidence becomes better,
energy improves, and as a result, the alertness of mind naturally
develops and this is sharpening your mindfulness. One of the
most important parts of this meditation is to realize that the
‘breath and relaxing’ should be your re-centering point for each
cycle.
“He develops the faculty of collectedness or stillness, which
leads to peace, leads to awakening.”
When your mindfulness of the present moment improves,
mind will naturally stay on the object of meditation for much
longer periods of time. Most people would describe this as
‘concentration’ but this is not an accurate description because
this is not that kind of concentration. Mind is not absorbed into or
fixed on just the breath. Instead, it is very still, relaxed, composed
and stays on the breath and relaxing very well. Remember that
the breath is the reminder for the RELAX step and that is very
important.
At this time a strong feeling of joy arises and the body becomes
very light and this feels like floating. When joy fades away, a
powerful feeling of tranquility, equanimity, and comfort arises.
Due to your sharp awareness, you do not become involved with
these feelings. But if you begin to think or internally verbalize
about how nice this state is, and how much you like it, you will
lose that state and sleepiness very often comes into mind. This
is because you are caught by the attachment to those feelings
(craving and clinging) and it slips off the object without coming
back to the breath and relaxing.
Mindfulness fades away when you start to think or internally
verbalize about things and you become involved in wanting
to control these things and thoughts. This also happens when
you crave for the experience of joy and tranquility to arise. This
desire makes mind try too hard so that it can’t get back to that
experience!. But when you try harder and put in more energy,
the restlessness becomes bigger. Often times, you will put even
more energy into overcoming this hindrance when what is really
needed is to put in less energy and relax and smile more. Turn
your meditation into a fun game to play with instead of making
the hindrance an enemy to fight with.
These arising combinations of hindrances will stop all spiritual
practice from occurring because the desire for things to be in
a particular way (craving) makes all the spiritual development
fade away. Therefore, you must be more mindful of the thoughts
about these pleasant abidings.
As your confidence and smiling increases, your energy grows
naturally. This improves your mindfulness which enables the
collectedness and stillness of mind to become stronger and last
longer.
“A monk develops the faculty of wisdom (or understanding
of how Dependent Origination occurs), which leads to peace,
leads to awakening . And thereby many disciples of mine
abide having reached the consummation and perfection of
direct knowledge.”
As your mind becomes more calm and still, you are able to see the
true nature of things. This development of wisdom or intelligence
is gained by personally seeing things arise and pass away by
themselves. For instance, even while you are sitting in a Jhàna [a
meditation stage of understanding] you see how joy arises. It is
there for a while, then fades away. You then see how tranquility
and happiness arise. You are there for a while and then, they
fade away. You are able to see the true nature of impermanence,
even in the beginning of your practice, by observing thoughts
arising and passing away.
You begin to observe feeling and emotions arising and passing
away. You will also notice that these things that arise and pass
away are un-satisfactory and these feelings and emotions
are a form of suffering, especially when they don’t behave
in the way you want them to. When you see how truly un-
satisfactory this process is, you can then clearly see that it is an
“impersonal process” (anattà). No one controls the appearance
and disappearance of these things.
Even while in Jhàna [a meditation stage of understanding] you
have no real control over joy arising because joy arises when
the conditions are right for it to come up. At the same time, you
simply cannot force joy to stay because it will fade away when
the conditions are right. Whatever arises, passes away.
This causes more un-satisfactoriness to arise, because joy is such
a nice feeling! In this way, you are able to see the characteristics
of existence very clearly, i.e. anicca (impermanence), dukkha
(suffering), and the impersonal nature of these things (anattà).
This is how to develop wisdom which gradually leads us to the
seeing of Dependent Origination both arising and ceasing (that
is, seeing and realizing The Four Noble Truths). An interesting
observation found in the Vinaya is that you can see the three
characteristics of existence without ever seeing the links
of Dependent Origination, but you can never see the links of
Dependent Origination without seeing the three characteristics
of existence (i.e., impermanence, suf fering and the impersonal
nature of everything) at the same time. We will discuss this in
more detail at a later time.
The Five Powers
“Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to
develop the Five Spiritual Powers.
Here a monk develops the Power of Faith, which leads to peace,
leads to awakening.
He develops the Power of Energy, which leads to peace, leads
to awakening.
He develops the Power of Mindfulness, which leads to peace,
leads to awakening.
He develops the Power of Collectedness, which leads to peace,
and leads to awakening.
He develops the Power of Wisdom (which means seeing and
understanding the links of Dependent Origination), which
leads to peace, and leads to awakening.
And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the
consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.”
These are the same as the five faculties but, they are called powers
because of their ability to purify mind and make it wholesome
and clean.
We will now continue with the ânàpànasati Sutta.
14] “In this saïgha of monks there are monks who abide devoted
to the development of loving-kindness ... of compassion ... of
joy ... of equanimity ... of the meditation of foulness ... of the
perception of impermanence—such monks are there in this
saïgha of monks. In this saïgha of monks there are monks
who abide devoted to the development of mindfulness of
breathing.
Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity are known
as the Four “Brahmà Vihàras” or the Four Boundless states of
mind, or the Limitless or Immeasurable states of mind. This is
because there are no boundaries or limitations on mind when
they are practiced.
The meditation of foulness is suitable for those who have a strong
affinity for lust arising in their minds. It is practiced by reflecting
on the elements and the disgusting nature of our body parts. For
example, when you look at a beautiful person and thoughts of lust
arise, you can imagine how desirable that person would be if all
of their body parts were to be turned inside-out! Will your mind
then think, “Oh! what a lovely intestine or liver!” or “Wow! What
beautiful bile, pus and phlegm that person has!” How much lust
is there in mind at that time? Thus, this meditation helps people
with a lustful personality to come more into balance.
The perception of impermanence does not actually refer to sitting
down and thinking about how everything changes. (Remember,
“Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation” (TWIM) is about seeing
with a silent and spacious mind). It is referring to the meditation
states of “infinite space” and “infinite consciousness” where mind
sees just how fleeting these mental and physical phenomenon
truly are and you realize just how unsatisfactory this is. Plus,
the biggest insight is when you realize all states of existence are
just a part of an impersonal process. In other words, you see and
understand that there is no controller and that there is no self-
making these things to arise. They arise by themselves. They are
there for a brief moment and they go away without you having
any control over what happens.
We will now proceed to the next section of the sutta which speaks
about “Mindfulness of Breathing”.
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
The Five Faculties
“Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to
develop the five spiritual faculties. Here a monk develops the
faculty of faith which leads to peace, leads to awakening.”
The faculty of faith is also called the faculty of confidence. As you
become interested in letting go of the pain of living, your curiosity
becomes stronger. Thus, you begin to look for a meditation teacher.
If you are fortunate enough to learn from a competent guide, you
will begin to see some slight changes in the way you perceive
the world. As you begin to see this through direct practice, your
confidence begins to grow. As a result, enthusiasm towards the
practice increases so that you will want to practice more!
“He develops the faculty of energy, which leads to peace, leads
to awakening.”
When your confidence grows, you will naturally put more
energy into your practice. You begin to sit a little longer and
mind becomes a little clearer. For the beginner it is recommended
to sit not less than 30-45 minutes at a time.
When a sitting is good, please stay with that sitting for as long
as it lasts. A good sitting might last for one hour, one hour-ten
minutes, or longer. It is good to sit progressively for longer periods
of time and not worry about becoming attached to the sitting.
The only way you become attached is by the thinking about
the meditation instead of doing the meditation in the correct
manner. There is nothing wrong in sitting for long periods of
time as long as you do not hurt yourself physically and you have
enough exercise.
Sitting for one or two or three hours is fine only when you are
ready to sit comfortably for such long periods. If you sit in a
way which causes pain to arise every time, then you are causing
yourself unnecessary physical discomfort. This is not a wise
thing to do, because the sitting posture should be comfortable. It
is alright if you use a stool or chair, as long as you do not lean too
much into anything. Leaning is good for sleeping and dullness,
but not for meditating! Thus, the more confidence you have, the
more energy you put into your practice. Your enthusiasm will
naturally increase as you continue practicing.
“He develops the faculty of mindfulness which leads to peace,
leads to awakening.”
As your energy improves, your awareness and mindfulness will
naturally become stronger. This is a very natural “non-forced”
process. Let’s take a look at the mind of an ordinary person, a
person like you or me. What you find is a grasshopper mind, a
butterfly mind, or one could also say, a mad monkey mind. It
is always moving, ever-jumping around. It changes its fantasies
and impulses at every moment.
Mind’s attention is prey for all stimuli and its own emotional
reaction to them. This is actually a reaction that is mostly re-
acting to conditions the way you always act when a certain stimuli
arises. It is a chain of linked associations, hopes, fears, memories,
fantasies, or regrets that are streaming constantly through mind.
These are triggered by memories of the outside world.
Mind’s attention is blindly moving, never-stopping, never-
satisfied in its search for pleasure and satisfaction. It is no wonder
that mind becomes so crazy and filled with un-satisfactoriness
and was described by the early monks as a restless mad monkey
swinging from branch-to-branch in the quest for satisfying fruit
through the endless jungle of conditional events.
Thus, when you first begin to meditate, mind’s attention
naturally runs all over the place and it stays away from the object
of meditation for a long time. Sometimes it even takes two or
three minutes before you are able to recognize that it is being
pulled away and then, you gently let it go, relax the tension in
the head, calm mind, smile and re-direct mind’s attention back
to the breath and relaxing.
When this happens, this is only natural, because mind is used to
running wherever it likes to go. When it does happen, please don’t
criticize yourself or beat yourself up because mind’s attention
is so unruly. Instead, release the distraction, relax, smile as you
return back to the object of meditation and continue on.
As your practice develops and you are able to recognize and let
go more quickly, your mindfulness gradually becomes sharper.
Mind might only stay away from the breath and relaxing for
one minute before recognizing that it is not on the breath and
relaxing. It then lets go, relaxes, smiles, and comes back to the
breath and relaxes again.
At this time mind’s attention begins to stay on the breath
and relaxing for longer periods of time, perhaps, as long as
thirty seconds, before it goes off again. However, you are now
becoming better at seeing when mind’s attention goes away. Your
mindfulness becomes sharper and you are able to recognize
what mind is doing. Thus, when your confidence becomes better,
energy improves, and as a result, the alertness of mind naturally
develops and this is sharpening your mindfulness. One of the
most important parts of this meditation is to realize that the
‘breath and relaxing’ should be your re-centering point for each
cycle.
“He develops the faculty of collectedness or stillness, which
leads to peace, leads to awakening.”
When your mindfulness of the present moment improves,
mind will naturally stay on the object of meditation for much
longer periods of time. Most people would describe this as
‘concentration’ but this is not an accurate description because
this is not that kind of concentration. Mind is not absorbed into or
fixed on just the breath. Instead, it is very still, relaxed, composed
and stays on the breath and relaxing very well. Remember that
the breath is the reminder for the RELAX step and that is very
important.
At this time a strong feeling of joy arises and the body becomes
very light and this feels like floating. When joy fades away, a
powerful feeling of tranquility, equanimity, and comfort arises.
Due to your sharp awareness, you do not become involved with
these feelings. But if you begin to think or internally verbalize
about how nice this state is, and how much you like it, you will
lose that state and sleepiness very often comes into mind. This
is because you are caught by the attachment to those feelings
(craving and clinging) and it slips off the object without coming
back to the breath and relaxing.
Mindfulness fades away when you start to think or internally
verbalize about things and you become involved in wanting
to control these things and thoughts. This also happens when
you crave for the experience of joy and tranquility to arise. This
desire makes mind try too hard so that it can’t get back to that
experience!. But when you try harder and put in more energy,
the restlessness becomes bigger. Often times, you will put even
more energy into overcoming this hindrance when what is really
needed is to put in less energy and relax and smile more. Turn
your meditation into a fun game to play with instead of making
the hindrance an enemy to fight with.
These arising combinations of hindrances will stop all spiritual
practice from occurring because the desire for things to be in
a particular way (craving) makes all the spiritual development
fade away. Therefore, you must be more mindful of the thoughts
about these pleasant abidings.
As your confidence and smiling increases, your energy grows
naturally. This improves your mindfulness which enables the
collectedness and stillness of mind to become stronger and last
longer.
“A monk develops the faculty of wisdom (or understanding
of how Dependent Origination occurs), which leads to peace,
leads to awakening . And thereby many disciples of mine
abide having reached the consummation and perfection of
direct knowledge.”
As your mind becomes more calm and still, you are able to see the
true nature of things. This development of wisdom or intelligence
is gained by personally seeing things arise and pass away by
themselves. For instance, even while you are sitting in a Jhàna [a
meditation stage of understanding] you see how joy arises. It is
there for a while, then fades away. You then see how tranquility
and happiness arise. You are there for a while and then, they
fade away. You are able to see the true nature of impermanence,
even in the beginning of your practice, by observing thoughts
arising and passing away.
You begin to observe feeling and emotions arising and passing
away. You will also notice that these things that arise and pass
away are un-satisfactory and these feelings and emotions
are a form of suffering, especially when they don’t behave
in the way you want them to. When you see how truly un-
satisfactory this process is, you can then clearly see that it is an
“impersonal process” (anattà). No one controls the appearance
and disappearance of these things.
Even while in Jhàna [a meditation stage of understanding] you
have no real control over joy arising because joy arises when
the conditions are right for it to come up. At the same time, you
simply cannot force joy to stay because it will fade away when
the conditions are right. Whatever arises, passes away.
This causes more un-satisfactoriness to arise, because joy is such
a nice feeling! In this way, you are able to see the characteristics
of existence very clearly, i.e. anicca (impermanence), dukkha
(suffering), and the impersonal nature of these things (anattà).
This is how to develop wisdom which gradually leads us to the
seeing of Dependent Origination both arising and ceasing (that
is, seeing and realizing The Four Noble Truths). An interesting
observation found in the Vinaya is that you can see the three
characteristics of existence without ever seeing the links
of Dependent Origination, but you can never see the links of
Dependent Origination without seeing the three characteristics
of existence (i.e., impermanence, suf fering and the impersonal
nature of everything) at the same time. We will discuss this in
more detail at a later time.
The Five Powers
“Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to
develop the Five Spiritual Powers.
Here a monk develops the Power of Faith, which leads to peace,
leads to awakening.
He develops the Power of Energy, which leads to peace, leads
to awakening.
He develops the Power of Mindfulness, which leads to peace,
leads to awakening.
He develops the Power of Collectedness, which leads to peace,
and leads to awakening.
He develops the Power of Wisdom (which means seeing and
understanding the links of Dependent Origination), which
leads to peace, and leads to awakening.
And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the
consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.”
These are the same as the five faculties but, they are called powers
because of their ability to purify mind and make it wholesome
and clean.
We will now continue with the ânàpànasati Sutta.
14] “In this saïgha of monks there are monks who abide devoted
to the development of loving-kindness ... of compassion ... of
joy ... of equanimity ... of the meditation of foulness ... of the
perception of impermanence—such monks are there in this
saïgha of monks. In this saïgha of monks there are monks
who abide devoted to the development of mindfulness of
breathing.
Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity are known
as the Four “Brahmà Vihàras” or the Four Boundless states of
mind, or the Limitless or Immeasurable states of mind. This is
because there are no boundaries or limitations on mind when
they are practiced.
The meditation of foulness is suitable for those who have a strong
affinity for lust arising in their minds. It is practiced by reflecting
on the elements and the disgusting nature of our body parts. For
example, when you look at a beautiful person and thoughts of lust
arise, you can imagine how desirable that person would be if all
of their body parts were to be turned inside-out! Will your mind
then think, “Oh! what a lovely intestine or liver!” or “Wow! What
beautiful bile, pus and phlegm that person has!” How much lust
is there in mind at that time? Thus, this meditation helps people
with a lustful personality to come more into balance.
The perception of impermanence does not actually refer to sitting
down and thinking about how everything changes. (Remember,
“Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation” (TWIM) is about seeing
with a silent and spacious mind). It is referring to the meditation
states of “infinite space” and “infinite consciousness” where mind
sees just how fleeting these mental and physical phenomenon
truly are and you realize just how unsatisfactory this is. Plus,
the biggest insight is when you realize all states of existence are
just a part of an impersonal process. In other words, you see and
understand that there is no controller and that there is no self-
making these things to arise. They arise by themselves. They are
there for a brief moment and they go away without you having
any control over what happens.
We will now proceed to the next section of the sutta which speaks
about “Mindfulness of Breathing”.
The Breath of Love - The Anapanasati Sutta
The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
The Anàpànasati Sutta
Introductory Section
1] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was
living at Savatthi in the Eastern Park, in the Palace of Migara’s
Mother, together with many very well-known elder disciples—
the Venerable Sàriputta, the Venerable Mahà Moggallana, the
Venerable Mahà Kassapa, the Venerable Mahà Kaccana, the
Venerable Mahà Kotthita, the Venerable Mahà Kappina, the
Venerable Cunda, the Venerable Anuruddha, the Venerable
Revata, the Venerable Ananda, and other very well known
elder disciples.
2] Now on that occasion elder monks had been teaching and
instructing new monks; some elder monks had been teaching
and instructing ten new monks, some elder monks had been
teaching and instructing twenty... thirty... forty new monks.
And the new monks, taught and instructed by the elder monks,
had achieved successive stages of high distinction.
3] On that occasion—the Uposatha day of the fifteenth, on the
full-moon night of the Pavarana ceremony, [9] The Blessed One
was seated in the open surrounded by the ‘samgha of monks’.
Then, surveying the silent ‘samgha of bhikkhus’, he addressed
them thus:
4] “Monks, I am content with this progress. My mind is
content with this progress. So, arouse still more energy to
attain the unattained, to achieve the unachieved, to realize the
unrealized. I shall wait here at Savatthi for the Komudi full
moon of the fourth month.”
The monks can still practice their meditation or make new robes
and prepare to go out wandering or teaching the Dhamma to
other monks and laypersons during this extra month. The
Kathina Ceremony is also held during this month. This is the
time for laymen and laywomen to make extra merit by practicing
their generosity by giving robes and other requisites to the
samgha members.
5] The monks of the countryside heard: “The Blessed One will
wait there at Savatthi for the Komudi full moon of the fourth
month.” And the monks of the countryside left in due course
for Savatthi to see the Blessed One.
6] And the elder monks still more intensively taught and
instructed new monks; some elder monks taught and instructed
ten new monks, some elder monks taught and instructed
twenty... thirty... forty new monks. And the new monks, taught
and instructed by the elder monks, achieved successive stages
of high distinction.
7] On that occasion—the Uposatha day of the fifteenth,
the full-moon night of the Komudi full moon of the fourth
month—the Blessed One was seated in the open surrounded
by the ‘samgha of monks’. Then, surveying the silent ‘samgha
of monks’, he addressed them thus:
8] “Monks, this assembly is free from prattle; this assembly is
free from chatter.[10] It consists purely of heartwood.
Such is this ‘samgha of monks’, such is this assembly. Such an
assembly as is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy
of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, an incomparable
field of merit for the world—Such is this assembly. Such an
assembly that a small gift given to it becomes great and a great
gift becomes greater—such is this ‘samgha of monks’, such is
this assembly.
Such an assembly as is rare for the world to see—such is this
‘samgha of monks, such is this assembly. Such an assembly as
would be worthy journeying many leagues with a travel-bag
to see—such is this ‘samgha of monks’, such is this assembly.
9] “In this ‘samgha of monks’, there are monks who are Arahats
with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what
had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal,
destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated
through final knowledge—such monks are there in this
‘samgha of monks’.
This is the stage where all of the fetters are destroyed such that
they will not ever arise anymore.
The ten fetters (samyojana) are:
1.Belief in permanent self or soul (sakkàyaditthi),
2.Doubt in the correct path (vicikicchà),
3.Belief that chanting, or rites and rituals lead one to Nibbàna
(silabbatapàràmàsa),
4.Lust or greed (kàmaràga),
5.Hatred or aversion (patigha),
6.Greed for fine-material existence (ruparàga),
7.Greed for immaterial existence (aruparàga),
8.Conceit or pride (màna),
9.Restlessness or agitation of mind (uddhacca),
10.Ignorance (avijjà).
The final stage of an Arahat is described as follows:
(Taken from the Majjhima Nikàya sutta number 70, section 12.)
#12] “They are the ones who have lived the Holy Life,
laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed
the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through
final knowledge, they have done their work with diligence;
they are no longer capable of being negligent”
Anàpànasati Sutta:
10] “In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who, with
the destruction of the five lower fetters, are due to reappear
spontaneously (in the pure abodes) and there attain final
Nibbàna, without ever returning from that world—such monks
are there in this ‘samgha of monks’.
This stage of sainthood is called Anàgàmi where lust and hate no
longer even arise in one’s mind. The five lower fetters have been
destroyed but there is still work to be done.
11] “In this ‘samgha of monks there are monks who, with the
destruction of three fetters and with the attenuation of lust,
hate and delusion, are once-returners, returning once to this
world to make an end of suffering—such monks are there in
this ‘samgha of monks’.
This stage of sainthood is called being a Sakadàgàmi or once-
returner. They have given up the belief in a permanent self, belief
that one can attain enlightenment by chanting and practicing rites
and rituals, and they have given up doubt in the path. Also, the
person who has attained this stage has tremendously weakened
lust and hatred, together with all of the other fetters.
12] “In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who, with the
destruction of the three fetters, are stream-enterers, no longer
subject to perdition, bound [for deliverance], headed for
awakening—such monks are there in this ‘samgha of monks’.
The person who has attained this stage of awakening is called a
Sotàpanna or stream-enterer. They have given up the three lower
fetters mentioned above; they are never going to be reborn in a
low existence again. Their lowest rebirth will be as a human being,
and the most lives that they will experience before attaining final
Nibbàna, is seven.
13] “In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who abide
devoted to the development of the four foundations of
mindfulness [11]—such monks are there in this ‘samgha of
monks’. In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who abide
devoted to the four right kinds of strivings (efforts)... to the
four bases for spiritual power... to the five faculties... to the
five powers... to the seven enlightenment factors... to the
Noble Eightfold Path—such monks are there in this ‘samgha
of monks’
The four right kinds of striving, the four bases for spiritual power,
the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening factors and
the Noble Eightfold Path are described in Mahàsakuludayi Sutta,
sutta number 77, section 16 of the Majjhima Nikàya. This shows
us how to develop wholesome states. (This sutta describes the
qualities of Buddha which his disciples repeat to honor, respect,
revere and venerate him and live in dependence on him.)
We will now look into the meanings of these terms. The Four
Foundations of Mindfulness, the Seven Awakening Factors and
the Noble Eightfold Path will be discussed later in the sutta.
The Four Right Kinds of Striving
“Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way
to develop the four right kinds of striving. A monk awakens
enthusiasm, for the non-arising of unarisen evil unwholesome
states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind,
and strives.”
Besides enthusiasm, the Pàli word “chanda” also means joyful
interest or enthusiasm. A mind which points towards a
wholesome object like joy has this quality of joyful interest.
Thus, the first right kind of striving is to cultivate a mind that has
joyful interest and enthusiasm so that mind becomes clear and
free from unwholesome states. Joy grows when mind is smiling
and happy during our daily life as well as during meditation.
As a result, mind will be uplifted and wholesome at that time.
Nowadays, these four kinds of striving are usually called the four
right efforts. Some meditation teachers request the meditator to
put out strenuous effort to note what is happening in the present
moment. But this sutta clearly shows us that this is not that kind
of mindfulness.
Mindfulness of joyful interest and enthusiasm, i.e., having a
smiling mind leads to a mind which is light, open, accepting,
and without any tension. This is the proper definition of right
effort and according to the sutta, it actually has nothing to do
with noting a phenomena until it goes away.
“He awakens enthusiasm for the abandoning of arisen evil
unwholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy,
exerts his mind, and strives.”
The second right kind of right striving teaches one to abandon
heavy emotional states like anger, sadness, jealousy, anxiety,
stress, depression, fear, etc., and replace them with a smiling
mind which relaxes away even the subtlest tension. This is the
wholesome state of joyful interest and enthusiasm. By cultivating
such a smiling mind, one overcomes the ego-identification with
these states as being “Mine”. A good sense of humor about
oneself is a skillful tool to develop when treading the spiritual
path.
“He awakens zeal for the arising of unarisen wholesome
states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind,
and strives.”
This means seeing that mind brings up joyful interest and
enthusiasm when these wholesome states are not in mind. In
other words, the cultivation of mindfulness means cultivating joy
and a smiling mind. Even when there is a neutral mind that is
merely thinking this and that, this is the time to practice smiling
in mind and experiencing joyful interest and enthusiasm.
“He awakens enthusiasm for the continuous, non-disappearance,
strengthening, increase, and fulfillment by development of
arisen wholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy,
exerts his mind, and strives. And thereby many disciples of
mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection
of direct knowledge.”
The fourth right kind of striving refers to a continuous practice,
not only during the formal practice of meditation but also during
the daily activities.
At one time the author was approached by some questioning
students asking: “How can one attain Nibbàna by practicing
smiling and having joyful interest?” They thought that they had
made a very profound statement because they think Nibbàna is
attained by looking at pain and suffering all of the time. These
students are not practicing how to be light and happy as taught
by the Buddha. The author replied to them by asking some cross
questions: “How can you get to Nibbàna without smiling and
having joyful interest in your mind?
Isn’t joy one of the awakening factors? Didn’t the Buddha say
‘We are the Happy Ones’?
Here you can see the importance of developing a mind that smiles
and has joyful interest. There arises a true change of perspective
in your mind when you have joyful interest and a smile. You are
not so heavy and grumpy when things become difficult. This is
because there is not so much ego-attachment and the meditator
can see a situation clearly.
When mind does not smile and has no joyful interest, everything
becomes heavy and all mental states and thoughts become
depressing. Mind becomes overly serious and takes everything
negatively.
For example, let’s say that you are very happy and I come along
and give you a rose. You might take that rose and admire the
color, the shape, and the fragrance. You think, “What a beautiful
flower! Just seeing it makes me even happier”. But, if you are
in a depressed or angry mood and I come along and gave you
that same rose, your mind would see the thorns instead. You
might even think, “Ugh! This rose is so ugly. I hate it!” At that
time, all that is seen is the thorns. But, in actual fact, the rose is
the same. The only difference is your mood. Joyful interest and
smiling helps to make the world around you a better place to
live. This, however, is not to say that we won’t go through trials
and tribulations. We will! However, the perspective of having joy
in mind changes a big problem into a small one.
The Four Bases for Spiritual Power
“Again, Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way
to develop the four bases for spiritual power. Here a monk
develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in composure
of mind, due to joy and determined striving.”
The first spiritual power refers to joy. It is as explained above.
“He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting of
collectedness (here meaning stillness) due to energy and
determined striving.”
This is the second spiritual power energy. You cannot slack or
become lazy when you are on the Buddha’s Path. It takes a lot of
energy to stay on the path especially when you realize that this
is a lifetime practice! This is talking about the energy that it takes
to recognize when your mind is tight and tense, followed by the
energy to let go of the thinking and relax the tightness in the
head and mind, before coming back to the breath.
“He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting of
collectedness (here meaning serenity) due to purity of [i.e. no
craving] mind and determined striving.”
The third spiritual power refers to the purity of mind which is
developed when one stays on the object of meditation as long
as possible. Whenever a hindrance arises and knocks you out of
the meditation, you simply allow the hindrance to be, without
getting involved with the thinking mind. You proceed to run the
6R’s cycle. That is RECOGNIZING you are not on your object
of meditation, RELEASING your distraction by not keeping
your attention on it, RELAXING the tension and tightness in
your head caused by that distraction, SMILING to lighten up
mind and sharpen awareness, and RETURNING to your object
of meditation. Then you REPEAT this cycle as needed and you
develop this cycle into one flowing motion that mind learns to
do.
It doesn’t matter how many times mind goes back to that
distraction or hindrance. If mind’s attention is pulled away, you
then run this cycle.
You simply repeat the 6R’s, allowing, relaxing, and coming back to
the breath and relaxing again. This is the method to purify mind
of all defilements and hindrances. Remember, meditation is not
about thinking. It’s about expanding your understanding mind
and awareness into the present moment and then going beyond
that to the true expression of loving acceptance. Meditation is the
silence when thoughts—with all their images and words have
entirely stopped pulling mind’s attention away. But meditation
is not now, nor, has it ever meant to be ‘concentration’ in the
conventional sense.
‘Concentration’, the one-pointed or absorption type, contracts
mind and is a form of exclusion, a type of cutting off, a
suppression of hindrances, a resistance. It is also a kind of
conflict. A meditative mind can be very still and composed, and
yet, not have exclusion or suppression, or resistance in it. An
absorbed concentrated mind cannot meditate according to the
Buddhist practice.
“He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in
collectedness (here meaning composure of mind, or serenity)
due to investigation and determined striving.”
The habit of investigation of one’s experience is a very important
aspect of your spiritual growth. When you are caught by a
hindrance, a pain, or any distraction, you must be able to see how
mind’s attention reacts to that particular situation. For example,
sleepiness arises while you are meditating. The way to overcome
sleepiness is by staying more attentive, with joyful interest, on
the object of meditation. You must try to see directly how your
mind’s attention slips back to the sleepiness.
In other words, you must put more effort and energy into the
practice so that you see how things happen. When you notice
how mind first starts to be caught by the hindrance, you will let
go of it more quickly and not be caught for too long a time.
However, if you are totally caught by sleepiness, it may take
some time to overcome this hindrance because this is the last
thing mind wants to do! Thus, mind may ‘ping pong’ back and
forth from the meditation object back to the sleepiness. The more
light and joyful interest towards how mind’s attention works,
the more quickly you will let go of the hindrance and begin to
meditate again.
Similarly, when pain arises, you do not direct mind’s attention
into the pain. You can see how mind has resistance to that
sensation only when your attention is pulled to the pain. If you
start to think about the pain, it will get bigger and more intense.
So, first you let go of the thinking mind, which verbalizes about
the distraction (pain, hindrance, heavy emotion etc.).
Next, relax mind and release the tight mental knot around the
sensation, relax the tightness in the head, calm mind, and then
smile before redirecting mind’s attention back to the object of
meditation. This is done continually until the pain doesn’t pull
mind’s attention to it again.
This is decidedly different from some other meditation
instructions where meditators are told to put their attention into
the middle of the pain and note it as ‘pain... pain... pain’. All the
while, they are trying to see it’s true nature and watch it change.
But pain, by nature, is repulsive and thus, the meditators have
the tendency to tighten and harden mind so that they are able to
continue watching the pain. This hardening of mind’s attention
is never noted by the meditators. This is never seen clearly
when it arises. The meditators will eventually develop enough
concentration (fixed attention) to be able to overcome the pain.
However, this is achieved by suppressing and tightening mind.
You can clearly observe that the spiritual base of investigation of
your experience (Dhamma-vicaya) is to purify mind by allowing
everything that happens in the present moment to be there
without trying to fight it, control it, or even disturb it in any
way. Loving-acceptance and patience (as defined in the English
dictionary means ‘non-aversion’) of the present moment. This
is the way to attain Nibbàna. It is not attained by absorption
concentration, tightness, or suppression.
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
The Anàpànasati Sutta
Introductory Section
1] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was
living at Savatthi in the Eastern Park, in the Palace of Migara’s
Mother, together with many very well-known elder disciples—
the Venerable Sàriputta, the Venerable Mahà Moggallana, the
Venerable Mahà Kassapa, the Venerable Mahà Kaccana, the
Venerable Mahà Kotthita, the Venerable Mahà Kappina, the
Venerable Cunda, the Venerable Anuruddha, the Venerable
Revata, the Venerable Ananda, and other very well known
elder disciples.
2] Now on that occasion elder monks had been teaching and
instructing new monks; some elder monks had been teaching
and instructing ten new monks, some elder monks had been
teaching and instructing twenty... thirty... forty new monks.
And the new monks, taught and instructed by the elder monks,
had achieved successive stages of high distinction.
3] On that occasion—the Uposatha day of the fifteenth, on the
full-moon night of the Pavarana ceremony, [9] The Blessed One
was seated in the open surrounded by the ‘samgha of monks’.
Then, surveying the silent ‘samgha of bhikkhus’, he addressed
them thus:
4] “Monks, I am content with this progress. My mind is
content with this progress. So, arouse still more energy to
attain the unattained, to achieve the unachieved, to realize the
unrealized. I shall wait here at Savatthi for the Komudi full
moon of the fourth month.”
The monks can still practice their meditation or make new robes
and prepare to go out wandering or teaching the Dhamma to
other monks and laypersons during this extra month. The
Kathina Ceremony is also held during this month. This is the
time for laymen and laywomen to make extra merit by practicing
their generosity by giving robes and other requisites to the
samgha members.
5] The monks of the countryside heard: “The Blessed One will
wait there at Savatthi for the Komudi full moon of the fourth
month.” And the monks of the countryside left in due course
for Savatthi to see the Blessed One.
6] And the elder monks still more intensively taught and
instructed new monks; some elder monks taught and instructed
ten new monks, some elder monks taught and instructed
twenty... thirty... forty new monks. And the new monks, taught
and instructed by the elder monks, achieved successive stages
of high distinction.
7] On that occasion—the Uposatha day of the fifteenth,
the full-moon night of the Komudi full moon of the fourth
month—the Blessed One was seated in the open surrounded
by the ‘samgha of monks’. Then, surveying the silent ‘samgha
of monks’, he addressed them thus:
8] “Monks, this assembly is free from prattle; this assembly is
free from chatter.[10] It consists purely of heartwood.
Such is this ‘samgha of monks’, such is this assembly. Such an
assembly as is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy
of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, an incomparable
field of merit for the world—Such is this assembly. Such an
assembly that a small gift given to it becomes great and a great
gift becomes greater—such is this ‘samgha of monks’, such is
this assembly.
Such an assembly as is rare for the world to see—such is this
‘samgha of monks, such is this assembly. Such an assembly as
would be worthy journeying many leagues with a travel-bag
to see—such is this ‘samgha of monks’, such is this assembly.
9] “In this ‘samgha of monks’, there are monks who are Arahats
with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what
had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal,
destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated
through final knowledge—such monks are there in this
‘samgha of monks’.
This is the stage where all of the fetters are destroyed such that
they will not ever arise anymore.
The ten fetters (samyojana) are:
1.Belief in permanent self or soul (sakkàyaditthi),
2.Doubt in the correct path (vicikicchà),
3.Belief that chanting, or rites and rituals lead one to Nibbàna
(silabbatapàràmàsa),
4.Lust or greed (kàmaràga),
5.Hatred or aversion (patigha),
6.Greed for fine-material existence (ruparàga),
7.Greed for immaterial existence (aruparàga),
8.Conceit or pride (màna),
9.Restlessness or agitation of mind (uddhacca),
10.Ignorance (avijjà).
The final stage of an Arahat is described as follows:
(Taken from the Majjhima Nikàya sutta number 70, section 12.)
#12] “They are the ones who have lived the Holy Life,
laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed
the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through
final knowledge, they have done their work with diligence;
they are no longer capable of being negligent”
Anàpànasati Sutta:
10] “In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who, with
the destruction of the five lower fetters, are due to reappear
spontaneously (in the pure abodes) and there attain final
Nibbàna, without ever returning from that world—such monks
are there in this ‘samgha of monks’.
This stage of sainthood is called Anàgàmi where lust and hate no
longer even arise in one’s mind. The five lower fetters have been
destroyed but there is still work to be done.
11] “In this ‘samgha of monks there are monks who, with the
destruction of three fetters and with the attenuation of lust,
hate and delusion, are once-returners, returning once to this
world to make an end of suffering—such monks are there in
this ‘samgha of monks’.
This stage of sainthood is called being a Sakadàgàmi or once-
returner. They have given up the belief in a permanent self, belief
that one can attain enlightenment by chanting and practicing rites
and rituals, and they have given up doubt in the path. Also, the
person who has attained this stage has tremendously weakened
lust and hatred, together with all of the other fetters.
12] “In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who, with the
destruction of the three fetters, are stream-enterers, no longer
subject to perdition, bound [for deliverance], headed for
awakening—such monks are there in this ‘samgha of monks’.
The person who has attained this stage of awakening is called a
Sotàpanna or stream-enterer. They have given up the three lower
fetters mentioned above; they are never going to be reborn in a
low existence again. Their lowest rebirth will be as a human being,
and the most lives that they will experience before attaining final
Nibbàna, is seven.
13] “In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who abide
devoted to the development of the four foundations of
mindfulness [11]—such monks are there in this ‘samgha of
monks’. In this ‘samgha of monks’ there are monks who abide
devoted to the four right kinds of strivings (efforts)... to the
four bases for spiritual power... to the five faculties... to the
five powers... to the seven enlightenment factors... to the
Noble Eightfold Path—such monks are there in this ‘samgha
of monks’
The four right kinds of striving, the four bases for spiritual power,
the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening factors and
the Noble Eightfold Path are described in Mahàsakuludayi Sutta,
sutta number 77, section 16 of the Majjhima Nikàya. This shows
us how to develop wholesome states. (This sutta describes the
qualities of Buddha which his disciples repeat to honor, respect,
revere and venerate him and live in dependence on him.)
We will now look into the meanings of these terms. The Four
Foundations of Mindfulness, the Seven Awakening Factors and
the Noble Eightfold Path will be discussed later in the sutta.
The Four Right Kinds of Striving
“Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way
to develop the four right kinds of striving. A monk awakens
enthusiasm, for the non-arising of unarisen evil unwholesome
states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind,
and strives.”
Besides enthusiasm, the Pàli word “chanda” also means joyful
interest or enthusiasm. A mind which points towards a
wholesome object like joy has this quality of joyful interest.
Thus, the first right kind of striving is to cultivate a mind that has
joyful interest and enthusiasm so that mind becomes clear and
free from unwholesome states. Joy grows when mind is smiling
and happy during our daily life as well as during meditation.
As a result, mind will be uplifted and wholesome at that time.
Nowadays, these four kinds of striving are usually called the four
right efforts. Some meditation teachers request the meditator to
put out strenuous effort to note what is happening in the present
moment. But this sutta clearly shows us that this is not that kind
of mindfulness.
Mindfulness of joyful interest and enthusiasm, i.e., having a
smiling mind leads to a mind which is light, open, accepting,
and without any tension. This is the proper definition of right
effort and according to the sutta, it actually has nothing to do
with noting a phenomena until it goes away.
“He awakens enthusiasm for the abandoning of arisen evil
unwholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy,
exerts his mind, and strives.”
The second right kind of right striving teaches one to abandon
heavy emotional states like anger, sadness, jealousy, anxiety,
stress, depression, fear, etc., and replace them with a smiling
mind which relaxes away even the subtlest tension. This is the
wholesome state of joyful interest and enthusiasm. By cultivating
such a smiling mind, one overcomes the ego-identification with
these states as being “Mine”. A good sense of humor about
oneself is a skillful tool to develop when treading the spiritual
path.
“He awakens zeal for the arising of unarisen wholesome
states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind,
and strives.”
This means seeing that mind brings up joyful interest and
enthusiasm when these wholesome states are not in mind. In
other words, the cultivation of mindfulness means cultivating joy
and a smiling mind. Even when there is a neutral mind that is
merely thinking this and that, this is the time to practice smiling
in mind and experiencing joyful interest and enthusiasm.
“He awakens enthusiasm for the continuous, non-disappearance,
strengthening, increase, and fulfillment by development of
arisen wholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy,
exerts his mind, and strives. And thereby many disciples of
mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection
of direct knowledge.”
The fourth right kind of striving refers to a continuous practice,
not only during the formal practice of meditation but also during
the daily activities.
At one time the author was approached by some questioning
students asking: “How can one attain Nibbàna by practicing
smiling and having joyful interest?” They thought that they had
made a very profound statement because they think Nibbàna is
attained by looking at pain and suffering all of the time. These
students are not practicing how to be light and happy as taught
by the Buddha. The author replied to them by asking some cross
questions: “How can you get to Nibbàna without smiling and
having joyful interest in your mind?
Isn’t joy one of the awakening factors? Didn’t the Buddha say
‘We are the Happy Ones’?
Here you can see the importance of developing a mind that smiles
and has joyful interest. There arises a true change of perspective
in your mind when you have joyful interest and a smile. You are
not so heavy and grumpy when things become difficult. This is
because there is not so much ego-attachment and the meditator
can see a situation clearly.
When mind does not smile and has no joyful interest, everything
becomes heavy and all mental states and thoughts become
depressing. Mind becomes overly serious and takes everything
negatively.
For example, let’s say that you are very happy and I come along
and give you a rose. You might take that rose and admire the
color, the shape, and the fragrance. You think, “What a beautiful
flower! Just seeing it makes me even happier”. But, if you are
in a depressed or angry mood and I come along and gave you
that same rose, your mind would see the thorns instead. You
might even think, “Ugh! This rose is so ugly. I hate it!” At that
time, all that is seen is the thorns. But, in actual fact, the rose is
the same. The only difference is your mood. Joyful interest and
smiling helps to make the world around you a better place to
live. This, however, is not to say that we won’t go through trials
and tribulations. We will! However, the perspective of having joy
in mind changes a big problem into a small one.
The Four Bases for Spiritual Power
“Again, Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way
to develop the four bases for spiritual power. Here a monk
develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in composure
of mind, due to joy and determined striving.”
The first spiritual power refers to joy. It is as explained above.
“He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting of
collectedness (here meaning stillness) due to energy and
determined striving.”
This is the second spiritual power energy. You cannot slack or
become lazy when you are on the Buddha’s Path. It takes a lot of
energy to stay on the path especially when you realize that this
is a lifetime practice! This is talking about the energy that it takes
to recognize when your mind is tight and tense, followed by the
energy to let go of the thinking and relax the tightness in the
head and mind, before coming back to the breath.
“He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting of
collectedness (here meaning serenity) due to purity of [i.e. no
craving] mind and determined striving.”
The third spiritual power refers to the purity of mind which is
developed when one stays on the object of meditation as long
as possible. Whenever a hindrance arises and knocks you out of
the meditation, you simply allow the hindrance to be, without
getting involved with the thinking mind. You proceed to run the
6R’s cycle. That is RECOGNIZING you are not on your object
of meditation, RELEASING your distraction by not keeping
your attention on it, RELAXING the tension and tightness in
your head caused by that distraction, SMILING to lighten up
mind and sharpen awareness, and RETURNING to your object
of meditation. Then you REPEAT this cycle as needed and you
develop this cycle into one flowing motion that mind learns to
do.
It doesn’t matter how many times mind goes back to that
distraction or hindrance. If mind’s attention is pulled away, you
then run this cycle.
You simply repeat the 6R’s, allowing, relaxing, and coming back to
the breath and relaxing again. This is the method to purify mind
of all defilements and hindrances. Remember, meditation is not
about thinking. It’s about expanding your understanding mind
and awareness into the present moment and then going beyond
that to the true expression of loving acceptance. Meditation is the
silence when thoughts—with all their images and words have
entirely stopped pulling mind’s attention away. But meditation
is not now, nor, has it ever meant to be ‘concentration’ in the
conventional sense.
‘Concentration’, the one-pointed or absorption type, contracts
mind and is a form of exclusion, a type of cutting off, a
suppression of hindrances, a resistance. It is also a kind of
conflict. A meditative mind can be very still and composed, and
yet, not have exclusion or suppression, or resistance in it. An
absorbed concentrated mind cannot meditate according to the
Buddhist practice.
“He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in
collectedness (here meaning composure of mind, or serenity)
due to investigation and determined striving.”
The habit of investigation of one’s experience is a very important
aspect of your spiritual growth. When you are caught by a
hindrance, a pain, or any distraction, you must be able to see how
mind’s attention reacts to that particular situation. For example,
sleepiness arises while you are meditating. The way to overcome
sleepiness is by staying more attentive, with joyful interest, on
the object of meditation. You must try to see directly how your
mind’s attention slips back to the sleepiness.
In other words, you must put more effort and energy into the
practice so that you see how things happen. When you notice
how mind first starts to be caught by the hindrance, you will let
go of it more quickly and not be caught for too long a time.
However, if you are totally caught by sleepiness, it may take
some time to overcome this hindrance because this is the last
thing mind wants to do! Thus, mind may ‘ping pong’ back and
forth from the meditation object back to the sleepiness. The more
light and joyful interest towards how mind’s attention works,
the more quickly you will let go of the hindrance and begin to
meditate again.
Similarly, when pain arises, you do not direct mind’s attention
into the pain. You can see how mind has resistance to that
sensation only when your attention is pulled to the pain. If you
start to think about the pain, it will get bigger and more intense.
So, first you let go of the thinking mind, which verbalizes about
the distraction (pain, hindrance, heavy emotion etc.).
Next, relax mind and release the tight mental knot around the
sensation, relax the tightness in the head, calm mind, and then
smile before redirecting mind’s attention back to the object of
meditation. This is done continually until the pain doesn’t pull
mind’s attention to it again.
This is decidedly different from some other meditation
instructions where meditators are told to put their attention into
the middle of the pain and note it as ‘pain... pain... pain’. All the
while, they are trying to see it’s true nature and watch it change.
But pain, by nature, is repulsive and thus, the meditators have
the tendency to tighten and harden mind so that they are able to
continue watching the pain. This hardening of mind’s attention
is never noted by the meditators. This is never seen clearly
when it arises. The meditators will eventually develop enough
concentration (fixed attention) to be able to overcome the pain.
However, this is achieved by suppressing and tightening mind.
You can clearly observe that the spiritual base of investigation of
your experience (Dhamma-vicaya) is to purify mind by allowing
everything that happens in the present moment to be there
without trying to fight it, control it, or even disturb it in any
way. Loving-acceptance and patience (as defined in the English
dictionary means ‘non-aversion’) of the present moment. This
is the way to attain Nibbàna. It is not attained by absorption
concentration, tightness, or suppression.
The Breath of Love - The 6R
The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
The 6R’s
The 6R’s are steps which evolve into one fluid motion
becoming a new wholesome habitual tendency that
relieves any dis-ease in mind and body. This cycle begins
when MINDFULNESS remembers the 6R’s which are:
RECOGNIZE
RELEASE
RELAX
RE-SMILE
RETURN
REPEAT
Development of mindfulness (your observation power) observes
each step of the practice cycle. Once you understand what
the purpose of mindfulness is, keeping it going all the time is
no longer a problem, and this makes the meditation easier to
understand, plus, it is much more fun to practice. It becomes a
part of happy living and this brings up a smile. Remembering
the 6r’s leads you to having a wholesome up-lifted mind.
This remembering by mindfulness is very important. Before
practicing the 6R’s you have to REMEMBER to start the cycle!
That’s the trick! You have to remember to gas-up the engine, so
it can run smoothly!
Then we begin to:
RECOGNIZE: Mindfulness remembers how you can recognize
and observe any movement of mind’s attention from one thing
to another. This observation notices any movement of mind’s
attention away from an object of meditation, such as the breath,
sending out Mettà or, doing a task in daily life. You will notice a
slight tightness or tension sensation as mind’s attention barely
begins to move toward any arising phenomena.
Pleasant or painful feeling can occur at any one of the six sense
doors. Any sight, sound, odor, taste, touch, or thought can cause
this pulling sensation to begin. With careful non-judgmental
observation, the meditator will notice a slight tightening
sensation. RECOGNIZING early movement is vital to successful
meditation. You then continue on to;
RELEASE: When a feeling or thought arises, you RELEASE it, let
it be there without giving anymore attention to it. The content of
the distraction is not important at all, but the mechanics of HOW
it arose are important! Just let go of any tightness around it; let
it be there without placing attention on it. Without attention, the
tightness passes away. Mindfulness then reminds you to;
RELAX: After releasing the feeling or sensation, and allowing it
to be there without trying to control it, there is a subtle, barely
noticeable tension within mind/body. This is why the RELAX
step [“TRANQUILIZATION” step as stated in the suttas] is
being pointed out by the Buddha in his meditation instructions.
PLEASE, DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! It would be like not putting
oil in a car so the motor can run smoothly. The important Pàli
word here is ‘pas’sambaya’. This word specifically means ‘to
tranquilize’ and appears as ‘an action verb to be performed’
as described in the suttas and is not ‘a general kind of relaxing
that is included within other release steps found in other kinds
of meditation. This point is sometimes mis-understood in
translation which then changes the end result!
Without performing this step of relaxation every time in the
cycle, the meditator will not experience a close-up view of the
ceasing (cessation) of the tension caused by craving or the feeling
of relief as the tightness is relaxed. Note that craving always first
manifests as a tightness or tension in both one’s mind and body.
You have a momentary opportunity to see and experience the
true nature and relief of cessation of tightness and suffering
while performing the RELEASE/RELAX steps.
Mindfulness moves on by remembering to;
RE-SMILE: If you have listened to the Dhamma talks at www.
dhammasukha.org you might remember hearing about how
smiling is an important aspect for the meditation. Learning to
smile with mind and raising slightly the corners of the mouth
helps mind to be observant, alert and agile. Getting serious,
tensing up or frowning causes mind to become heavy and your
mindfulness becomes dull and slow. Your insights become
more difficult to see, thus slowing down your understanding of
Dhamma.
Imagine for a moment, the Bodhisatta resting under the rose
apple tree as a young boy. He was not serious and tense when he
attained a pleasant abiding [Jhàna] and had deep insights with a
light mind. Want to see clearly? It’s easy!
Just lighten up, have fun exploring and smile! Smiling leads us
to a happier more interesting practice. If the meditator forgets to
Release/Relax, rather than punishing or criticizing yourself, be
kind, re-smile and start again. Keeping up your humor, sense of
fun exploration and recycling is important.
After re-smiling, mindfulness recalls the next step.
RETURN or RE-DIRECT: Gently re-direct mind’s attention back
to the object of meditation (that is the breath and relaxing, or
Mettà and relaxing) continuing with a gentle collected mind and
use that object as a “home base”. In daily life, having been pulled
off task, this is where you return your attention back to releasing,
relaxing, and re-smiling into the task.
Sometimes people say this practice cycle is simpler than expected!
In history, simple things can become a mystery through small
changes and omissions! Doing this practice develops better focus
on daily tasks with less tension and tightness. Mind becomes
more naturally balanced and happy. You become more efficient
at whatever you do in life and, actually, you have more fun doing
all of the things that used to be a drudgery. Nearing the end of
the cycle.
Mindfulness helps with the final remembering to;
REPEAT: REPEAT your meditation on your object and keep it
going as long as you can and then repeat this entire practice
cycle as needed to attain the results the Buddha said could be
reached in this lifetime!
Repeating the “6R’s cycle” over and over again will eventually
replace old habitual suffering as we see clearly for ourselves what
suffering actually is; notice the cause of it and how we become
involved with the tension and tightness of it; experience how
to reach a cessation of that suffering by releasing and relaxing;
and discover how we can exercise the direct path to that same
cessation of suffering. We achieve this cessation each time we
Release an arising feeling, Relax and Resmile. Notice the Relief!
In summary, Mindfulness (Sati) is very relevant to Buddhist
meditation and daily life. Sharpening your skill of mindfulness
is the key to simple and smooth meditation. The process
of remembering keeps the six steps of the practice moving.
Practicing this meditation as close to the instructions (found
in the suttas) as possible will lighten life’s experience. A very
similar practice was taught to people in the time of the Buddha.
It was taught as Right Effort. Within the 6R’s we have added a
couple more steps to make things a little easier to understand.
The remarkable results of doing the meditation in this way are
“immediately effective” for anyone who diligently and ardently
embraces these instructions. When you have an attachment arise
this practice will eventually dissolve the hindrance, but it does
take persistent use of the 6R’s to have this happen.
When you practice in this way, because it is found to be so
relevant in daily life, it changes your perspective and leads
you to a more successful, happy, and peaceful experience. As
mindfulness develops, knowledge and wisdom grow naturally
as you see HOW things work by witnessing the impersonal
process of Dependent Origination.
This leads to a form of happiness the Buddha called
“Contentment”. Contentment is the by-product of living the
Buddhist practice. This meditation leads to balance, equanimity,
and the dissolution of fear and other dis-ease. With less fear
and dread you find new confidence. Then Loving-kindness,
Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity can grow in our lives.
Your degree of success is directly proportional to how well you
understand mindfulness, follow the precise instructions, and use
the 6R’s in both your sitting practice and daily life. This is the
way to the end of suffering. It’s interesting and fun to practice
this way and certainly it helps you smile while changing the
world around you in a positive way.
When you are practicing “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM), you do not suppress anything. Suppression means we
would push down or push away or not allow certain types of
experience. This would temporarily stop hindrances from arising.
Instead, when a hindrance arises, you must work to open your
mind by seeing clearly anicca (impermanence, it wasn’t there
and now it is), dukkha (suffering or un-satisfactoriness, you see
that when these distractions arise they are painful), and anattà
(not taking it personally, seeing the hindrances in the true way as
being an impersonal process that you have no control over and
not taking these hindrances as “I am that”).
You then let go of this obstruction, relax the tightness in the
head, calm mind and finally, redirect your craving-free attention
back to the practice of ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’.
As a result, you begin to see clearly how mind works and this
leads to the development of wisdom. Instead of identifying
with them, when you allow them and relax, these hindrances,
will naturally fade away. Mind becomes more clear and bright.
Every time you let go of the ego attachment of “I am that”, mind
naturally becomes more expanded, alert, and mindful.
Thus, one of the main reasons for this book is to show that
whenever you suppress anything, you are not purifying
mind, or experiencing things as they truly are. At the time of
suppression, you are pushing away or not allowing part of your
experience. Thus, mind is contracted and pulls the tension even
tighter instead of expanding and opening. As a result, this is
not purifying mind of ignorance and craving. You are actually
stopping the purification of mind!
It is impossible to experience the unconditioned state of the
supramundane Nibbàna when one does not let go of everything
that arises, and in that way, purify mind of the ego belief of “I
am that”.
The Buddha never taught suppression of any experience nor
did he teach a meditation that causes mind to fix on or become
absorbed into the meditation object. Remember, he rejected
every form of ‘concentration meditation’ as not being the correct
way. Actually, any kinds of pain, emotional upset, physical
discomfort, and even death must be accepted with equanimity,
full awareness or strong attention without identifying with these
states or taking pain personally.
Real personality change occurs when you open and expand
your mind and let go of any kinds of hindrances, pain, suffering
and tension even in your daily lives. This means that you open
and expand your awareness so that you can observe everything
with a silent mind free from tightness and all ego-attachment.
You gradually lead a happy and calm life without a lot of mind
chatter, especially during your daily activities.
When you practice “concentration meditation”, you will feel very
comfortable and happy while in the deep meditation. But, when
you get out of these exalted stages, your personality remains
the same. Old anger, fears, or anxiety remain. This means when
the hindrances attack you, you do not recognize them and open
your mind and allow the hindrance to be there without taking it
personally. Thus, you contract your mind and become even more
attached! You might even become prideful and critical! This is
because whenever a hindrance arises during the meditation,
you let it go and immediately go back to the object of meditation
again. You do this without calming and relaxing the tightness
caused by the distraction. While in meditation, your mind tends
to close or contract and tighten around that experience until
mind becomes more deeply ‘concentrated’.
As a result, although this suppresses the hindrance, you have not
completely let go of the ego-attachment to that distraction. Your
mind is also tight and tense because you are not seeing clearly.
You are not opening and allowing, but, instead you are closing
and fighting with that distraction.
This explains why nowadays meditators complain that they have
huge amounts of tension in their head. Actually, if you truly let
go of any distraction, there will not ever be any tension in the
head. It is as a result of this suppression that there is no real
purifying of mind, and thus, personality change does not occur.
Talking About Words
Now, we are almost ready for the ânàpànasati Sutta. But, before
we go into that, let’s look at some words which have been
simplified so that their meanings in the texts become clearer.
For instance,
The word ‘rapture’ is replaced by ‘joy’.
The word ‘pleasure’ is changed to ‘happiness’.
The word ‘concentration’ is replaced by ‘stillness’, ‘collectedness’,
or ‘unified mind’.
The phrase ‘applied and sustained thoughts’ is replaced by
‘thinking and examining thoughts’ which seems to be more
immediately understood.
The word ‘contemplation’ has, in most cases been changed to
‘observation’.
When you practice according to the Buddha’s instructions, as
described here, afterwards, you will be able to confirm your
experiences by reading the suttas. As a result, there will arise a
better understanding of these profound texts.
One last note: In these few opening chapters, the author has
touched on some controversial views about the practices of
absorption or fixed concentration (appanà samàdhi), access
concentration (upacàra samàdhi) and momentary concentration
(khanika samàdhi). Thus, the author would appreciate it very
much if the reader finds any mistake; they should indicate the
suttas which mentioned these various concentration practices by
e-mailing the Author.
When you practice “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM) there is only opening, expanding of mind, and allowing;
then relaxing the tightness caused by the hindrance or distraction,
before going back to the object of meditation again. This opening
and allowing helps you to be more aware of the things which
cause pain and suffering so that you can open up and expand
even further. With this kind of awareness, there is personality
change and only then can you fulfill the Buddha’s admonition
of “We are the Happy Ones”.
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
The 6R’s
The 6R’s are steps which evolve into one fluid motion
becoming a new wholesome habitual tendency that
relieves any dis-ease in mind and body. This cycle begins
when MINDFULNESS remembers the 6R’s which are:
RECOGNIZE
RELEASE
RELAX
RE-SMILE
RETURN
REPEAT
Development of mindfulness (your observation power) observes
each step of the practice cycle. Once you understand what
the purpose of mindfulness is, keeping it going all the time is
no longer a problem, and this makes the meditation easier to
understand, plus, it is much more fun to practice. It becomes a
part of happy living and this brings up a smile. Remembering
the 6r’s leads you to having a wholesome up-lifted mind.
This remembering by mindfulness is very important. Before
practicing the 6R’s you have to REMEMBER to start the cycle!
That’s the trick! You have to remember to gas-up the engine, so
it can run smoothly!
Then we begin to:
RECOGNIZE: Mindfulness remembers how you can recognize
and observe any movement of mind’s attention from one thing
to another. This observation notices any movement of mind’s
attention away from an object of meditation, such as the breath,
sending out Mettà or, doing a task in daily life. You will notice a
slight tightness or tension sensation as mind’s attention barely
begins to move toward any arising phenomena.
Pleasant or painful feeling can occur at any one of the six sense
doors. Any sight, sound, odor, taste, touch, or thought can cause
this pulling sensation to begin. With careful non-judgmental
observation, the meditator will notice a slight tightening
sensation. RECOGNIZING early movement is vital to successful
meditation. You then continue on to;
RELEASE: When a feeling or thought arises, you RELEASE it, let
it be there without giving anymore attention to it. The content of
the distraction is not important at all, but the mechanics of HOW
it arose are important! Just let go of any tightness around it; let
it be there without placing attention on it. Without attention, the
tightness passes away. Mindfulness then reminds you to;
RELAX: After releasing the feeling or sensation, and allowing it
to be there without trying to control it, there is a subtle, barely
noticeable tension within mind/body. This is why the RELAX
step [“TRANQUILIZATION” step as stated in the suttas] is
being pointed out by the Buddha in his meditation instructions.
PLEASE, DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! It would be like not putting
oil in a car so the motor can run smoothly. The important Pàli
word here is ‘pas’sambaya’. This word specifically means ‘to
tranquilize’ and appears as ‘an action verb to be performed’
as described in the suttas and is not ‘a general kind of relaxing
that is included within other release steps found in other kinds
of meditation. This point is sometimes mis-understood in
translation which then changes the end result!
Without performing this step of relaxation every time in the
cycle, the meditator will not experience a close-up view of the
ceasing (cessation) of the tension caused by craving or the feeling
of relief as the tightness is relaxed. Note that craving always first
manifests as a tightness or tension in both one’s mind and body.
You have a momentary opportunity to see and experience the
true nature and relief of cessation of tightness and suffering
while performing the RELEASE/RELAX steps.
Mindfulness moves on by remembering to;
RE-SMILE: If you have listened to the Dhamma talks at www.
dhammasukha.org you might remember hearing about how
smiling is an important aspect for the meditation. Learning to
smile with mind and raising slightly the corners of the mouth
helps mind to be observant, alert and agile. Getting serious,
tensing up or frowning causes mind to become heavy and your
mindfulness becomes dull and slow. Your insights become
more difficult to see, thus slowing down your understanding of
Dhamma.
Imagine for a moment, the Bodhisatta resting under the rose
apple tree as a young boy. He was not serious and tense when he
attained a pleasant abiding [Jhàna] and had deep insights with a
light mind. Want to see clearly? It’s easy!
Just lighten up, have fun exploring and smile! Smiling leads us
to a happier more interesting practice. If the meditator forgets to
Release/Relax, rather than punishing or criticizing yourself, be
kind, re-smile and start again. Keeping up your humor, sense of
fun exploration and recycling is important.
After re-smiling, mindfulness recalls the next step.
RETURN or RE-DIRECT: Gently re-direct mind’s attention back
to the object of meditation (that is the breath and relaxing, or
Mettà and relaxing) continuing with a gentle collected mind and
use that object as a “home base”. In daily life, having been pulled
off task, this is where you return your attention back to releasing,
relaxing, and re-smiling into the task.
Sometimes people say this practice cycle is simpler than expected!
In history, simple things can become a mystery through small
changes and omissions! Doing this practice develops better focus
on daily tasks with less tension and tightness. Mind becomes
more naturally balanced and happy. You become more efficient
at whatever you do in life and, actually, you have more fun doing
all of the things that used to be a drudgery. Nearing the end of
the cycle.
Mindfulness helps with the final remembering to;
REPEAT: REPEAT your meditation on your object and keep it
going as long as you can and then repeat this entire practice
cycle as needed to attain the results the Buddha said could be
reached in this lifetime!
Repeating the “6R’s cycle” over and over again will eventually
replace old habitual suffering as we see clearly for ourselves what
suffering actually is; notice the cause of it and how we become
involved with the tension and tightness of it; experience how
to reach a cessation of that suffering by releasing and relaxing;
and discover how we can exercise the direct path to that same
cessation of suffering. We achieve this cessation each time we
Release an arising feeling, Relax and Resmile. Notice the Relief!
In summary, Mindfulness (Sati) is very relevant to Buddhist
meditation and daily life. Sharpening your skill of mindfulness
is the key to simple and smooth meditation. The process
of remembering keeps the six steps of the practice moving.
Practicing this meditation as close to the instructions (found
in the suttas) as possible will lighten life’s experience. A very
similar practice was taught to people in the time of the Buddha.
It was taught as Right Effort. Within the 6R’s we have added a
couple more steps to make things a little easier to understand.
The remarkable results of doing the meditation in this way are
“immediately effective” for anyone who diligently and ardently
embraces these instructions. When you have an attachment arise
this practice will eventually dissolve the hindrance, but it does
take persistent use of the 6R’s to have this happen.
When you practice in this way, because it is found to be so
relevant in daily life, it changes your perspective and leads
you to a more successful, happy, and peaceful experience. As
mindfulness develops, knowledge and wisdom grow naturally
as you see HOW things work by witnessing the impersonal
process of Dependent Origination.
This leads to a form of happiness the Buddha called
“Contentment”. Contentment is the by-product of living the
Buddhist practice. This meditation leads to balance, equanimity,
and the dissolution of fear and other dis-ease. With less fear
and dread you find new confidence. Then Loving-kindness,
Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity can grow in our lives.
Your degree of success is directly proportional to how well you
understand mindfulness, follow the precise instructions, and use
the 6R’s in both your sitting practice and daily life. This is the
way to the end of suffering. It’s interesting and fun to practice
this way and certainly it helps you smile while changing the
world around you in a positive way.
When you are practicing “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM), you do not suppress anything. Suppression means we
would push down or push away or not allow certain types of
experience. This would temporarily stop hindrances from arising.
Instead, when a hindrance arises, you must work to open your
mind by seeing clearly anicca (impermanence, it wasn’t there
and now it is), dukkha (suffering or un-satisfactoriness, you see
that when these distractions arise they are painful), and anattà
(not taking it personally, seeing the hindrances in the true way as
being an impersonal process that you have no control over and
not taking these hindrances as “I am that”).
You then let go of this obstruction, relax the tightness in the
head, calm mind and finally, redirect your craving-free attention
back to the practice of ‘Mindfulness of Breathing’.
As a result, you begin to see clearly how mind works and this
leads to the development of wisdom. Instead of identifying
with them, when you allow them and relax, these hindrances,
will naturally fade away. Mind becomes more clear and bright.
Every time you let go of the ego attachment of “I am that”, mind
naturally becomes more expanded, alert, and mindful.
Thus, one of the main reasons for this book is to show that
whenever you suppress anything, you are not purifying
mind, or experiencing things as they truly are. At the time of
suppression, you are pushing away or not allowing part of your
experience. Thus, mind is contracted and pulls the tension even
tighter instead of expanding and opening. As a result, this is
not purifying mind of ignorance and craving. You are actually
stopping the purification of mind!
It is impossible to experience the unconditioned state of the
supramundane Nibbàna when one does not let go of everything
that arises, and in that way, purify mind of the ego belief of “I
am that”.
The Buddha never taught suppression of any experience nor
did he teach a meditation that causes mind to fix on or become
absorbed into the meditation object. Remember, he rejected
every form of ‘concentration meditation’ as not being the correct
way. Actually, any kinds of pain, emotional upset, physical
discomfort, and even death must be accepted with equanimity,
full awareness or strong attention without identifying with these
states or taking pain personally.
Real personality change occurs when you open and expand
your mind and let go of any kinds of hindrances, pain, suffering
and tension even in your daily lives. This means that you open
and expand your awareness so that you can observe everything
with a silent mind free from tightness and all ego-attachment.
You gradually lead a happy and calm life without a lot of mind
chatter, especially during your daily activities.
When you practice “concentration meditation”, you will feel very
comfortable and happy while in the deep meditation. But, when
you get out of these exalted stages, your personality remains
the same. Old anger, fears, or anxiety remain. This means when
the hindrances attack you, you do not recognize them and open
your mind and allow the hindrance to be there without taking it
personally. Thus, you contract your mind and become even more
attached! You might even become prideful and critical! This is
because whenever a hindrance arises during the meditation,
you let it go and immediately go back to the object of meditation
again. You do this without calming and relaxing the tightness
caused by the distraction. While in meditation, your mind tends
to close or contract and tighten around that experience until
mind becomes more deeply ‘concentrated’.
As a result, although this suppresses the hindrance, you have not
completely let go of the ego-attachment to that distraction. Your
mind is also tight and tense because you are not seeing clearly.
You are not opening and allowing, but, instead you are closing
and fighting with that distraction.
This explains why nowadays meditators complain that they have
huge amounts of tension in their head. Actually, if you truly let
go of any distraction, there will not ever be any tension in the
head. It is as a result of this suppression that there is no real
purifying of mind, and thus, personality change does not occur.
Talking About Words
Now, we are almost ready for the ânàpànasati Sutta. But, before
we go into that, let’s look at some words which have been
simplified so that their meanings in the texts become clearer.
For instance,
The word ‘rapture’ is replaced by ‘joy’.
The word ‘pleasure’ is changed to ‘happiness’.
The word ‘concentration’ is replaced by ‘stillness’, ‘collectedness’,
or ‘unified mind’.
The phrase ‘applied and sustained thoughts’ is replaced by
‘thinking and examining thoughts’ which seems to be more
immediately understood.
The word ‘contemplation’ has, in most cases been changed to
‘observation’.
When you practice according to the Buddha’s instructions, as
described here, afterwards, you will be able to confirm your
experiences by reading the suttas. As a result, there will arise a
better understanding of these profound texts.
One last note: In these few opening chapters, the author has
touched on some controversial views about the practices of
absorption or fixed concentration (appanà samàdhi), access
concentration (upacàra samàdhi) and momentary concentration
(khanika samàdhi). Thus, the author would appreciate it very
much if the reader finds any mistake; they should indicate the
suttas which mentioned these various concentration practices by
e-mailing the Author.
When you practice “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation”
(TWIM) there is only opening, expanding of mind, and allowing;
then relaxing the tightness caused by the hindrance or distraction,
before going back to the object of meditation again. This opening
and allowing helps you to be more aware of the things which
cause pain and suffering so that you can open up and expand
even further. With this kind of awareness, there is personality
change and only then can you fulfill the Buddha’s admonition
of “We are the Happy Ones”.
The Breath of Love - TWIM
The Breath of Love
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
Prelude to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM)
Before you start practicing the meditation, it is very important
to build a strong foundation of morality (sãla). If you don’t even
practice the five precepts, you will lose interest and finally stop
meditating, because you think that the technique is incorrect.
Actually the Buddha’s technique works very well. This is just a
case of not having the complete practice and not doing it in the
correct way. Keeping the precepts is essential to the development
and purity of mind. If you break any of these precepts, you will
experience a lot of restlessness, remorse, and anxiety due to your
guilty feelings. This causes mind to be tight and clouds your
thoughts.
These precepts are absolutely necessary for any spiritual
attainments. They support your general mindfulness and
awareness to help you to have a peaceful mind that is clear from
any remorse due to wrong doing. A peaceful calm mind is a
mind that is tension-free and clear.
Thus, it is a very good idea to take these precepts every day,
not as some form of rite or ritual, but as a reminder for your
practice. Taking the precepts every day helps to keep your mind,
speech, and actions uplifted. There are people who recite these
precepts in the Pàli language. However, it can turn into an empty
exercise if you don’t completely understand Pàli. For the earnest
meditator it is best to recite these precepts daily in a language
that you understand so that the meanings are clear without a
doubt.
These precepts are:
1.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from killing or
harming living beings on purpose.
This precept includes non-killing of beings like ants, mosquitoes,
wasps or cockroaches, etc.
2.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from taking what
is not given.
This covers any forms of stealing which even includes taking a
pencil from work without permission or using equipment like
copy machines for personal use.
3.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from wrong sexual
activity.
Basically, it means not having any sexual activity with another
person’s partner, or having sexual activity with someone that is
still under the care of a family member. It also means that one
must follow the sexual laws of the land.
Any sexual activity that causes undue pain to another being will
cause one to have remorse and guilty feelings to arise.
4.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from telling lies,
using harsh speech, slandering others, and speaking gossip or
nonsense talk.
This means abstinence from any type of speech which is not
true or helpful to others. It also includes abstinence from telling
white lies.
5.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from taking drugs
and alcohol which dulls mind.
Many people think that drinking one glass of beer or one social
glass of wine or smoking a joint of marijuana would not affect
their mind. But this is not true! If you are seriously practicing
meditation, you become very sensitive and will notice the effects
of even taking something as harmless as aspirin. It can dull your
mind for a whole day. How much more will this happen with
alcohol and other drugs?
However, when you are sick and the doctor says that you must
take a certain drug as medicine, then please take the medicine.
This precept refers to taking drugs or alcohol in order to relax
and escape from the stress of the day.
As soon as you realize that you have broken a precept, you
should first forgive yourself and acknowledge that you are not
perfect. This helps you to free your mind a little. You then retake
the precepts as soon as possible and make a determination not
to break the precepts again.
Taking the precepts again will help to re-purify mind. Over
a period of time, you will become more aware and naturally
abstain from breaking them because you realize these harmful
effects.
Please practice only one meditation technique at a time because
mind will become confused if you try to mix and match various
meditations. Mixing and matching only stops your progress.
How do you find a good teacher? The best way is to pick only one
teacher who truly understands the meditation and can explain
things clearly and precisely.
The way to select a good teacher is by seeing if the teacher is
teaching you about how to know and recognize the links of
Dependent Origination and the Four Noble Truths. Then,
stay with that teacher for a period of time and see for yourself
whether your mind becomes more happy and peaceful; not just
while meditating, but in daily life as well. This is ultimately the
best way to choose.
Does your awareness of mind states become clearer and easier to
recognize, can you let go of them, relax and smile during your
daily activities as well as during the sitting practice? If not, check
with the teacher and the suttas to see if what is being taught
agrees with them. As your practice deepens and the meditation
becomes better, the suttas get easier to understand. This always
happens when the teacher is using the suttas as their guide.
The Hindrances
Lastly, it is very important for the meditator to recognize
whenever the five hindrances” arise. They are:
1.Lust or greed,
2.Hatred or aversion,
3.Sloth and torpor or sleepiness and dullness,
4.Restlessness or remorse, anxiety or scatteredness, and
5.Doubt.
A hindrance is an obstacle or a distraction because it completely
blocks your progress during sitting meditation or it can make
things difficult during your daily activities. It keeps you from
seeing things clearly in the present moment. It also causes you
to take an impersonal process, personally.
Whenever these hindrances arise, you identify with them very
strongly and you take them personally i.e., “I am sleepy, I am
restless, I like and I want, I dislike and I hate, I have doubt”.
These hindrances completely cloud your mind and stop you
from seeing clearly whatever happens in the present moment
due to the ego involvement of “I am that”.
When you are practicing “fixed absorption concentration’ you
let go of any distraction and then redirect your mind’s attention
back to the meditation object. On the other hand, while you are
practicing “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation” (TWIM), you
let go of the distraction, and this part is exactly the same as the
‘fixed absorption concentration’, but then, you relax the tightness
in the head and feel mind become open, expanded and calm.
Now, you smile. Only then do you redirect mind’s attention back
to the object of meditation.
Over the past fifteen years, the author has developed a training
aid to assist the student to practice this technique which is in
line with the suttas and which improves mindfulness very much.
This is called “The 6R’s”. The small difference of relaxing mind
and feeling it open and calm, changes the whole meditation from
a ‘fixed absorption concentration’ to a more flowing, tranquil
kind of awareness, that doesn’t go as deep as the absorption
types of meditation. As a result, the meditator becomes more in
tune with the teachings in the suttas.
In Buddhist meditation, have the questions ever come up, “What
is mindfulness (Sati), really?”… “Exactly how do you practice
being mindful?”… “Can mindfulness really lighten up my
perspective and help bring joy, happiness and balance into every
aspect of my life?”
If mindfulness is observing how mind’s attention moves when
a distraction arises and pulls you away from whatever you are
doing, then by doing this practice, life becomes easier and more
stress free, doesn’t it seem like a useful tool to develop?
To clearly understand this connection, you first have to start with
a precise definition of Meditation (Bhàvanà) and Mindfulness
(Sati). Seeing this will help you gain a new harmonious perspective
(Samma Ditthi) of exactly how mind works and teaches the
meditator ‘HOW’ to change old painful habits that cause great
suffering into a new way of having a contented, balanced mind.
This is the point of all of the Buddha’s teachings, isn’t it?
Meditation (Bhàvanà) is “observing how mind’s attention
moves moment-to-moment in order to see precisely ‘HOW’ the
impersonal (anattà) process of Dependent Origination (Pañicca-
Samuppàda) occurs and to completely understand the Four Noble
Truths.”
Seeing and understanding ‘HOW’ mind’s attention moves from
one thing to another and understanding that everything is
an impersonal process is what the main thrust is in Buddhist
Meditation! This is why Dependent Origination is so important
to see and understand. It helps us to develop an impersonal
perspective with all arising phenomena and leads you to see for
yourself the true nature of all existence.
Why is this important? Because concerning awakening, it has
been said by the Blessed One: in Majjhima Nikàya Sutta 28, section
28, “One who sees Dependent Origination sees the Dhamma;
one who sees the Dhamma sees Dependent Origination.”
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness (Sati) is “remembering to observe HOW mind’s
attention moves moment-to-moment and remembering what to
do with any arising phenomena!” Successful meditation needs a
highly developed skill of Mindfulness. The 6R’s training taught
at Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center is a reclaimed ancient
guidance system which develops this skill.
The first R is to RECOGNIZE but before we do it, the meditator
must remember to use their observation power [mindfulness]
for the meditation cycle to start running. Mindfulness is the fuel.
It’s just like gas for an engine. Without Mindfulness, everything
stops!
Being persistent with this practice will relieve suffering of all kinds.
To begin this cycle “smoothly” you must start the engine and
have lots of gas (mindfulness) in the tank!
Meditation (Bhàvanà) helps you to let go of such difficult
delusional states in life as fear, anger, tension, stress, anxiety,
depression, sadness, sorrow, fatigue, condemnation, feelings of
helplessness or whatever the “catch (attachment) of the day”
happens to be. (Delusional means here, taking things that arise
personally and identifying with them to be “I”, “Me”, “Mine”
or “atta” in Pàli). These states result in suffering that we cause
ourselves. This suffering comes from a lack of understanding in
how things actually occur.
Author
Most Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi Mahàthera
Prelude to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM)
Before you start practicing the meditation, it is very important
to build a strong foundation of morality (sãla). If you don’t even
practice the five precepts, you will lose interest and finally stop
meditating, because you think that the technique is incorrect.
Actually the Buddha’s technique works very well. This is just a
case of not having the complete practice and not doing it in the
correct way. Keeping the precepts is essential to the development
and purity of mind. If you break any of these precepts, you will
experience a lot of restlessness, remorse, and anxiety due to your
guilty feelings. This causes mind to be tight and clouds your
thoughts.
These precepts are absolutely necessary for any spiritual
attainments. They support your general mindfulness and
awareness to help you to have a peaceful mind that is clear from
any remorse due to wrong doing. A peaceful calm mind is a
mind that is tension-free and clear.
Thus, it is a very good idea to take these precepts every day,
not as some form of rite or ritual, but as a reminder for your
practice. Taking the precepts every day helps to keep your mind,
speech, and actions uplifted. There are people who recite these
precepts in the Pàli language. However, it can turn into an empty
exercise if you don’t completely understand Pàli. For the earnest
meditator it is best to recite these precepts daily in a language
that you understand so that the meanings are clear without a
doubt.
These precepts are:
1.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from killing or
harming living beings on purpose.
This precept includes non-killing of beings like ants, mosquitoes,
wasps or cockroaches, etc.
2.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from taking what
is not given.
This covers any forms of stealing which even includes taking a
pencil from work without permission or using equipment like
copy machines for personal use.
3.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from wrong sexual
activity.
Basically, it means not having any sexual activity with another
person’s partner, or having sexual activity with someone that is
still under the care of a family member. It also means that one
must follow the sexual laws of the land.
Any sexual activity that causes undue pain to another being will
cause one to have remorse and guilty feelings to arise.
4.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from telling lies,
using harsh speech, slandering others, and speaking gossip or
nonsense talk.
This means abstinence from any type of speech which is not
true or helpful to others. It also includes abstinence from telling
white lies.
5.] I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from taking drugs
and alcohol which dulls mind.
Many people think that drinking one glass of beer or one social
glass of wine or smoking a joint of marijuana would not affect
their mind. But this is not true! If you are seriously practicing
meditation, you become very sensitive and will notice the effects
of even taking something as harmless as aspirin. It can dull your
mind for a whole day. How much more will this happen with
alcohol and other drugs?
However, when you are sick and the doctor says that you must
take a certain drug as medicine, then please take the medicine.
This precept refers to taking drugs or alcohol in order to relax
and escape from the stress of the day.
As soon as you realize that you have broken a precept, you
should first forgive yourself and acknowledge that you are not
perfect. This helps you to free your mind a little. You then retake
the precepts as soon as possible and make a determination not
to break the precepts again.
Taking the precepts again will help to re-purify mind. Over
a period of time, you will become more aware and naturally
abstain from breaking them because you realize these harmful
effects.
Please practice only one meditation technique at a time because
mind will become confused if you try to mix and match various
meditations. Mixing and matching only stops your progress.
How do you find a good teacher? The best way is to pick only one
teacher who truly understands the meditation and can explain
things clearly and precisely.
The way to select a good teacher is by seeing if the teacher is
teaching you about how to know and recognize the links of
Dependent Origination and the Four Noble Truths. Then,
stay with that teacher for a period of time and see for yourself
whether your mind becomes more happy and peaceful; not just
while meditating, but in daily life as well. This is ultimately the
best way to choose.
Does your awareness of mind states become clearer and easier to
recognize, can you let go of them, relax and smile during your
daily activities as well as during the sitting practice? If not, check
with the teacher and the suttas to see if what is being taught
agrees with them. As your practice deepens and the meditation
becomes better, the suttas get easier to understand. This always
happens when the teacher is using the suttas as their guide.
The Hindrances
Lastly, it is very important for the meditator to recognize
whenever the five hindrances” arise. They are:
1.Lust or greed,
2.Hatred or aversion,
3.Sloth and torpor or sleepiness and dullness,
4.Restlessness or remorse, anxiety or scatteredness, and
5.Doubt.
A hindrance is an obstacle or a distraction because it completely
blocks your progress during sitting meditation or it can make
things difficult during your daily activities. It keeps you from
seeing things clearly in the present moment. It also causes you
to take an impersonal process, personally.
Whenever these hindrances arise, you identify with them very
strongly and you take them personally i.e., “I am sleepy, I am
restless, I like and I want, I dislike and I hate, I have doubt”.
These hindrances completely cloud your mind and stop you
from seeing clearly whatever happens in the present moment
due to the ego involvement of “I am that”.
When you are practicing “fixed absorption concentration’ you
let go of any distraction and then redirect your mind’s attention
back to the meditation object. On the other hand, while you are
practicing “Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation” (TWIM), you
let go of the distraction, and this part is exactly the same as the
‘fixed absorption concentration’, but then, you relax the tightness
in the head and feel mind become open, expanded and calm.
Now, you smile. Only then do you redirect mind’s attention back
to the object of meditation.
Over the past fifteen years, the author has developed a training
aid to assist the student to practice this technique which is in
line with the suttas and which improves mindfulness very much.
This is called “The 6R’s”. The small difference of relaxing mind
and feeling it open and calm, changes the whole meditation from
a ‘fixed absorption concentration’ to a more flowing, tranquil
kind of awareness, that doesn’t go as deep as the absorption
types of meditation. As a result, the meditator becomes more in
tune with the teachings in the suttas.
In Buddhist meditation, have the questions ever come up, “What
is mindfulness (Sati), really?”… “Exactly how do you practice
being mindful?”… “Can mindfulness really lighten up my
perspective and help bring joy, happiness and balance into every
aspect of my life?”
If mindfulness is observing how mind’s attention moves when
a distraction arises and pulls you away from whatever you are
doing, then by doing this practice, life becomes easier and more
stress free, doesn’t it seem like a useful tool to develop?
To clearly understand this connection, you first have to start with
a precise definition of Meditation (Bhàvanà) and Mindfulness
(Sati). Seeing this will help you gain a new harmonious perspective
(Samma Ditthi) of exactly how mind works and teaches the
meditator ‘HOW’ to change old painful habits that cause great
suffering into a new way of having a contented, balanced mind.
This is the point of all of the Buddha’s teachings, isn’t it?
Meditation (Bhàvanà) is “observing how mind’s attention
moves moment-to-moment in order to see precisely ‘HOW’ the
impersonal (anattà) process of Dependent Origination (Pañicca-
Samuppàda) occurs and to completely understand the Four Noble
Truths.”
Seeing and understanding ‘HOW’ mind’s attention moves from
one thing to another and understanding that everything is
an impersonal process is what the main thrust is in Buddhist
Meditation! This is why Dependent Origination is so important
to see and understand. It helps us to develop an impersonal
perspective with all arising phenomena and leads you to see for
yourself the true nature of all existence.
Why is this important? Because concerning awakening, it has
been said by the Blessed One: in Majjhima Nikàya Sutta 28, section
28, “One who sees Dependent Origination sees the Dhamma;
one who sees the Dhamma sees Dependent Origination.”
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness (Sati) is “remembering to observe HOW mind’s
attention moves moment-to-moment and remembering what to
do with any arising phenomena!” Successful meditation needs a
highly developed skill of Mindfulness. The 6R’s training taught
at Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center is a reclaimed ancient
guidance system which develops this skill.
The first R is to RECOGNIZE but before we do it, the meditator
must remember to use their observation power [mindfulness]
for the meditation cycle to start running. Mindfulness is the fuel.
It’s just like gas for an engine. Without Mindfulness, everything
stops!
Being persistent with this practice will relieve suffering of all kinds.
To begin this cycle “smoothly” you must start the engine and
have lots of gas (mindfulness) in the tank!
Meditation (Bhàvanà) helps you to let go of such difficult
delusional states in life as fear, anger, tension, stress, anxiety,
depression, sadness, sorrow, fatigue, condemnation, feelings of
helplessness or whatever the “catch (attachment) of the day”
happens to be. (Delusional means here, taking things that arise
personally and identifying with them to be “I”, “Me”, “Mine”
or “atta” in Pàli). These states result in suffering that we cause
ourselves. This suffering comes from a lack of understanding in
how things actually occur.
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