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).