Meditation and Vipassana---4

Meditation and Vipassana---4

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Buddharatana Monastery of Australia

Mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati)

Of all those forty different types of meditation mentioned above, breathing meditation is considered of prime importance, the Blessed One taught this in two different ways; in the Satipatthāna Sutta (MN 10, DN 22) (sati means memorizing) and elsewhere, four steps of practice are given, which also leads one to insights.

1. “Consciously (sato) he inhales; consciously he exhales. Inhaling a long breath, he knows, - ‘ I am inhaling a long breath’. Exhaling a long breath, he knows . ‘I am exhaling a long breath.’ ”

2. “Inhaling a short breath, he knows - ‘I am inhaling a short breath’. Exhaling a short breath, he knows - ‘I am exhaling a short breath.’”

3. “Experiencing the entire (breathing) process (sabbakayapatisamvedt) ‘I will inhale’, thus he trains himself. Experiencing the entire (breathing) process ‘I will exhale’ - thus he trains himself.”

4. “Calming the body of respirations (passambhayam kayasamkharam), ‘I will inhale’ - thus he trains himself. Calming the body of respirations, ‘I will exhale’ - thus he trains himself.” (Satipatthana Sutta)

The 'Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing' (Ānāpānasati Sutta, MN 118) and other suttas have 16 steps of practice, which divide the practice into four groups of four steps. The first three apply to both tranquility (samatha) and insight meditation (vipassana), while the fourth refers to pure insight meditation only. The second and the third group require the attainment of the absorptions (samadhi).

Meditation and Vipassana---3

Meditation and Vipassana---3

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Buddharatana Monastery of Australia

Developing the five faculties

Besides the seven factors mentioned above, there are five other faculties which we need to look at, they are;

1. The faculty of conviction (saddha),
2. The faculty of persistence (indriya),
3. The faculty of mindfulness (sati),
4. The faculty of concentration (samadhi),
5. The faculty of discernment (pañña).

The faculty of conviction relates to our faith, while persistence is the effort of practice, the faculty of mindfulness is the four foundations of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration is the four meditative jhanas, lastly the faculty of discernment is the investigation of dhammas and the practice of vipassana or the training of wisdom.

In SN 47.1.6 the Blessed One said if we were to direct our attention to the external sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations, we are straying into Mara’s territories, and that would be to our perils! In MN 14 a prominent Sakyan called Mahanama (sakadagamin) came to seek advice from the Buddha saying that even though he contemplates the perils of greed, hatred and delusion yet they still invade his mind, the Blessed One said as long as he does not attain to piti and sukha (3rd and 4th jhanas) that are apart from sensual pleasures, and the unwholesome mental states, or to something more peaceful than that, he may still be attracted to sensual pleasures!

In SN 43 and AN2.11.9 mentioned that right view is established through listening to the deliberation of Dhamma and thereafter pondering over the teaching thoroughly (yoniso manasikara), and this will be the prerequisites for one to attain Sotapanna. In SN55.1.2 it mentioned about the ariya Sotapanna as having faith in the Triple Gems, i.e., Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha and also pure morality (sila), without having to attain meditative jhanas. In MN 22 it mentioned that the Sotapanna as having destroyed the first three fetters i.e., doubt(vicikiccha), adhering to wrong rites and ritual or ceremonies (silabbataparamasa), and wrong view of body(sakkaya ditthi); the Sakadagamin as further weaken the remainder three fetters of greed(lobha), hatred(dosa) and delusion(moha). In AN3.85; 9.12 mentioned that both Sotapanna and Sakadagamin require perfect sila; Anagamin requires perfect sila, samadhi and pañña. This means that both Sotapanna and Sakadagamin do not require meditative jhanas whereas the Anagamin and Arahant require jhanas.

Gradually developing the meditative skills

In AN 4.20.194 and MN 52 both stated clearly that to gain liberation, one needs to develop the meditative skills of jhanas.

The Blessed One taught forty different types of meditation:
1. Ten topics on Anussati (recollection of Buddhist teachings),
2. Ten topics on Kasinas (basic elements and colour light),
3. Ten topics on impurities (asubha, decaying corpse and 32 bodily parts),
4. Four topics on formless realms (arupavacara),
5. Four topics on loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity (appamanna),
6. One topic on the four elements in our body (catudhatuvavatthana),
7. One topic on the contemplation of food consumption (ahare patikkhulasanna).

The most commonly taught is the Anapanasati which is mindfulness on the breaths, this is the best of all methods for anyone, it helps to calm the mind, bring the mind into focus, and when a meditator contemplates about the breaths, he knows clearly that the body is dependent on the breaths, it cannot be my body!

There are four meditative stages; i.e., jhanas:

1. The first jhana requires at least two ingredients: Vitakka and vicara, it means initial attention and sustained attention on the subject of meditation.
2. The second jhana requires at least on ingredient: piti, it means joy.
3. The third jhana requires at least one ingredient: sukha, it means bliss.
4. The fourth jhana requires at least one ingredient: samadhi, it means single pointed mind, or ekaggata, it means single-ness. The other factor is upekkha, it means equanimity. The training on Anapanasati can lead the meditator to all these four jhanas.

The Blessed One said clearly in Samadhi Sutta (SN 3.363): Monks! You must develop your meditative power, a monk with such power can rightly see the truth. What does he know? He knows rightly: ‘this is suffering’; he knows rightly: ‘this is the origin of sufferings’; he knows rightly: ‘this is the cessation of sufferings’; he knows rightly: ‘this is the path leading to the cessation of sufferings’. Therefore meditative skill is an indispensable factors in the Buddhist liberation.

Besides, a meditator should also be able to master the following five skills:
1. Switching jhanas at will; move from one jhana to the other (avajjana vasi).
2. Entering jhanas at will. Move from outside of jhana into jhana (samapajjana vasi).
3. Staying in jhana at will (adhitthana vasi).
4. Leaving jhana at will (vutthana vasi).
5. Examining the factors of jhanas at will (paccavekkhana vasi).

Meditation and Vipassana---2

Meditation and Vipassana---2

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Buddharatana Monastery of Australia

Understanding ourselves

From the previous chapters, where we have discussed how to put in efforts to subdue or remove our hindrances or obstacles (Nīvarana); they are;
1. Sensual desire (kāmacchanda),
2. Ill will (Vyāpāda),
3. Sloth and drowsiness (thīna, middha),
4. Restlessness and anxiety (uddhacca, kukkucca), and
5. Doubt or uncertainty (vicikīcchā).

These are the bad or negative tendencies in ourselves, therefore we have to identify them and have them subdued and removed gradually, because these are the hurdles and obstructions to our progress on the spiritual path.

Promoting our good qualities

From the traditional view, the factors that one should try to promote are the thirty seven stages of practice (bodhipakkiya); i.e., the four foundations of mindfulness, four persistent efforts, four miraculous powers, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of enlightenment, and the eightfold noble path.

We will certainly come to realize that in fostering the seven factors of enlightenment (Satta bojjhangāni), we will make progress in our spiritual practice, and make our spiritual journey much smoother. These factors are;
1. Mindfulness (sati),
2. Investigation of the Dhamma (Dhammavicaya),
3. Energy or persistent effort (Viriya),
4. Rapture or joy (Piti),
5. Calm or meditative calm abiding (Passaddhi),
6. Meditative concentration (Samādhi), and
7. Equanimity (Upekkā) or letting go.

Mindfulness is none other than the four Foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana), ie; mindfulness on the body, mindfulness of the feelings, mindfulness on the mental states, and mindfulness on the Dhamma.

Investigation of the Dhamma is the applying of the medicines for our ills, in the word of the Blessed One, applying loving kindness for our anger and dislike; applying compassion for our hatred and ill will; applying sympathetic joy for our jealously; applying mindfulness on the breath for our wandering mind; applying persistent effort for our laziness; applying faith in the triple gems for our doubts; applying mindfulness of the illumination for our sloth and torpor; applying mindfulness on the impurities and death for our sensual desires; applying mindfulness on the impermanency for our wrong view of permanency; applying mindfulness on the sufferings for our wrong view of pleasantness; applying mindfulness on Dependent Origination for our wrong view of self and ego.

Energy or persistent effort is the applying of effort on four aspects of our activities;
1. Restraining the appearance of negative tendencies,
2. Subduing the appeared negative acts,
3. Fostering the appearance of virtuous tendencies,
4. Developing the appeared virtuous acts.

Rapture or joy is the cultivation of four meditative jhanas.

Calm and meditative calm abiding is the cultivation of four meditative jhanas.

Meditative concentration is the cultivation of meditative jhanas.

Equanimity or the letting go is the realization of the selflessness.

These factors must be cultivated and developed, because with these factors well developed, it leads us to full realization, to wisdom and to Nibbana.

Meditation and Vipassana---1

Meditation and Vipassana---1

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Buddharatana Monastery of Australia

Why meditate?
We have to do our training of observing the code of conduct (Sila) first, this gives rise to a clean life, and it forms the basis for meditation practice.
Meditation involves both the body and the mind. In meditation we keep our body still and train our mind so that it becomes peaceful and focused (samatha and samadhi), meditation or mind training means simply aware of our being, not judging, not thinking, just being simply aware of ourselves.

Mind training consists of two areas, the Tranquility (Samatha) meditation and the Contemplation (Vipassana) meditation. Samatha means mental tranquility, when mental purity is attained through samatha, it is very sharp and see thing as it is clearly, the developed mind then abandons lust and so the mind is free of entanglement. It also has other auxiliary abilities like clairvoyance, transforming and changing objects, remembering pass lives etc.
In meditation we achieve three things: (1) Our mind become pure and luminous; (2) This pure mind is used as a tools for penetrating to the truths of phenomena; (3) It leads to the spiritual paths and attainments.
The Blessed One said in Anguttara Nikaya: “Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is defiled by incoming defilements. The uninstructed ordinary person doesn't discern that it actually is present, which is why I tell you that -- for the uninstructed ordinary person -- there is no development of the mind." {I,vi,1}
"Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is freed from incoming defilements. The well-instructed disciple of the noble ones discerns that it actually is present, which is why I tell you that -- for the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones -- there is development of the mind." {I,vi,2}
The training of wisdom is the third training which leads a practitioner to liberation and freedom. This involves the contemplation (vipassana) of the characteristics of phenomena, they are all impermanent, subject to decay and destruction, and therefore is of the nature of imperfection and suffering, and if these phenomena are such, it naturally leads a meditator to come to investigate whether there is such a person called ‘me’ or ‘I’, for those keen meditator, you can take the advice of the Blessed One that there is no me or I.

The arising of insight or wisdom requires the purification of the morality (Silavisuddhi), and mind (Cittavisuddhi) as its roots. Purification of the morality is the adherence of the Five precepts (panca sila), the stricter Eight precepts (atthanga sila), and the novices’ Ten precepts (dasa sila), and the fourfold virtue of the ordained sangha, i.e., purity of Pātimokkha, restraint of the senses, purity of livelihood, purity in the use of the four requisites of robes, almsfood, lodging and medicine. Purification of mind is the attainment of the four rupa and the four arupa jhanas. Besides, it requires the inhibition of the five hindrances, i.e., sensual desires, ill-will, restlessness, sloth and torpor, and doubts. The insight would not arise if the virtue is not purified and the mental quiescence is not developed.

Vipassana is made up of two words, ‘vi’ is a prefix meaning separation, and ‘passana’ is to see, to observe; combining the two words means to observe and separate from our wrong view. Contemplative meditation is seeing the phenomena as they are, ie. impermanence, unsatisfactory, and selfless, and gaining insights into them so that our attachment and our ignorance to those phenomena around us could be abandoned, and gaining freedom by wisdom. (AN 2.3.10)

In meditation one deepens one’s practice through the practice of the four foundations of Satipatthana, which means the four foundations of mindfulness---mindfulness of the body, feelings, mental states, and the dhammas. With its perfection one develops the mind to a level it cuts off the tendency to fray into thinking easily, and with the purified mind ie. the attainment of meditative jhanas, one can see intuitively and clearly the selfless nature of the five aggregates, which then leads to Enlightenment and ultimately to Nibbana.