We are
attached to the world through Craving and Ignorance. It is said that craving is
predominant in our noting as sentients or persons which is the cause for
suffering. The objective in meditation is to separate Name and Matter from Name-Matter
forms (of objects) that we erroneously grasp as persons due to defilements.
Though one may be able to see name matter separately through contemplation, his
defilements and fermentations prevent him from realising it as a fact. It
requires extensive dedication and effort to remove the habits caused by fermentations
and these can’t simply be removed but needs to be spent or wasted away.
To understand
how we form defilements and how fermentations come into play, consider your
foot being trampled by a rock, you will bear the pain and deal with it not
worrying about the rock, however, if it was a person who trampled your leg you
will react with anger instantly, finding fault with that person. If we see
beyond form and refrain from grasping as person there won’t be any difference
in reaction in both instances noted above.
Tathagata
identified dhammas that have to be removed by seeing and those that has to be
removed by meditation. In relation to ten fetters, the first three, Identity
View, Doubt and Ritual Attachment which are considered as wrong views (Ditti) are to be removed by gaining the
right view. The remaining fetters, Sensual Desires, Ill Will, Lust to Material
Existence, Lust to Immaterial Existence, Restlessness, Conceit and Ignorance
are noted as those which need to be removed through meditation.
Tranquillity
(Samatha) meditation aims to supress objects and to subdue formation of
aggregates and to remove fetters such as Sense Desires, Ill Will, Lust to
Material and Immaterial Existences and to an extent, Conceit. Insight (Vidarshana or Vipassana) Meditation aims
to purify mind from defilements totally, by removing remaining conceit and
Ignorance.
Mind (sitha or citta) and mindfulness (sati) are two different things. One can
be mindful while the mind can still wonder about. You may be engaging in some
activity while the mind can drift away following many objects. These two states of
mind are known as conscious and subconscious mind in the West.
Mindfulness or Satipatthana
draws our attention to a fixed point on our face such as tip of the nose or
lips and requires us to focus on that so that our attention is restrained from being
distracted. It further requires us to adopt a technique such as mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati), loving
kindness, disposition of the body (Iriapatha) or foulness meditation (Asubha) which are different forms
of tranquillity meditation techniques to restrain the (inner) mind from
drifting away. Anapanasati helps to
subdue contemplation directly while with the other techniques such as foulness
meditation one subdues unwholesome contemplation by contemplating on
another wholesome object.
Practicing in this manner one is expected to reach one-pointedness
(ekaggata), an advanced state of the
mind that restrains thoughts of greed, ill will and delusion.
The literal meaning of Satipatthana
is fixing (or stationing) the mindfulness, and is integral to Satipatthana meditation. The purpose is
to calm or tranquil the mind so that hindrances are subdued and concentration
is developed. Stillness in the body and the mind can be related to stillness in
water which enables one to see its depth.
Comparing Tranquillity to still and clear water, the state
of Five Hindrances are explained in the commentary through the simile of a
water body. It describes the effect of the five forms of hindrances to
concentration in relation to different states of the water as follows.
Sense desire is related to coloured water, ill will to
boiling water, slop and toper to mouldy water, restlessness to disturbed water
and doubt to muddy water and so on. Clarity in water is not found in any of the
above states and hence one can’t see its depth.
If the mind can be purified, it can see insights similar to
the ability to see the depth in a clear and still water body. Tranquillity
Meditation helps to calm and settle the mind by removing hindrances.
Different Tranquillity meditation techniques are recommended
in accordance with the type of hindrance that is prevalent over the others, say
for instance in terms of Sense Desires, one can practice Foulness Meditation, for Ill will, Loving Kindness and for Restlessness,
Anapanasati and so on.
The practitioner of Tranquillity Meditation will experience
symptoms such as relief from stress, lightness in body, and a feeling of emptiness
as he advances in the process; however, it is not to be mistaken as deliverance
of mind (ceto vimukti).
The purpose of Tranquillity Meditation is to tranquil the
mind with the ultimate aim of achieving one-pointedness. It is noted as reaching
a state of emptiness and hence deliverance, but is not considered as the
absolute emancipation that one achieves by removing defilements but a state of
dispassion (Raga viraga ceto vimukti).
When a practitioner notes that his lustful objects have diminished and he can
remain calm for longer periods of time with no aggression, he would tend to believe
that he has overcome defilements.
However, it is clarified that these are symptoms of one-pointedness
but not due to achieving any of the four stages of enlightenment (marga pala). It is said that the defilements are only
suppressed in this instance which one may retain for long periods of time, even
extending up to eons. However it is also said, that mental concentration
achieved in this manner is not permanent and will fade away eventually, also it
is said that one can lose such state of mental concentration at any moment if
met with unfavourable conditions.
Insight meditation is entirely different. It is built upon
the right view and aims to remove defilements totally. Once the hindrances are curtailed
with Tranquillity Meditation, the ability to see things as they are improves and one will begin to see differently to how a
worldly being see.
The feeling of emptiness achieved through Insight meditation
is called Avidya viraga panna vimukti
where ignorance is removed and wisdom gained, by discarding defilements.
The Four foundations of Mindfulness (sathara satipattana) is the meditation which Buddha recommended as
the practice that directs one towards the goal of final emancipation. The teachings
outline how both the Tranquillity and Insight meditation has to be practiced
alternatively in this regard. The former helps with gaining necessary
concentration which is essential for insight meditation & Wise Attention (Yoniso Manasikara).
The four foundations preached by the Buddha are known as Contemplation on the Body, Contemplation
on Sensations, Contemplation on Thoughts and Contemplation on Dhammas[1].
Practice of the former two states releases one from attachment to corporeal,
being the matter part of the name matter composite. The latter two states address
the Name component of the said composition.
Buddha has referred to two types of characters in terms of
pursuing the four states of this meditation, firstly, the one with Craving character
(Tanha Caritha) who begins with Contemplation on the Body and Contemplation
on Sensations and secondly, the one having the character of View (Ditti Carita) who can pursue Contemplation on Thoughts and Contemplation on
Dhammas directly. It is clarified that the one with Craving character
has to work hard to release from his attachments in the sensual world hence has
to seek release from body and sensations first, to be free from craving on form.
The others with the character of View are usually free from bodily attachments
and only need to seek release from Name (Nama),
through Contemplation on Thoughts and Contemplation on
Dhammas to remove ignorance. Craving is said to be the cause for Matter and
ignorance for Name.
The sutra begins with describing prerequisites such as appropriate
environment and required conditioning to meditate, firstly, choosing a conducive
and serene environment free from disruptions[2]
. One should sit upright, cross
legged and focus on the tip of the nose or lips and be aware of the breath
whether it is inhalation or exhalation, a long breath or short breath and so on;
however it is strictly advised, not to follow the breath but to be aware of it,
though it has been interpreted that way by many teachers. The former helps to
hold the mindfulness in place and the latter, having awareness of the breath,
helps to prevent the (inner) mind from drifting away. If more attention is
drawn to the breadth the mindfulness could get slipped away. It has been
explained through an example of a carpenter working on a piece of timber. Here
the carpenter focuses on a spot on the timber piece he has to plane while being
fully aware of the movement of the planer, moving back and forth past that
spot. He never takes his eyes off the spot but wouldn’t lose the awareness of
the movements of the planer either.
The Sutra further says, ‘tame defilements to be free from
thoughts of greed and ill will through mindfulness with clear comprehension’[3].
Once the mind is tranquil, Buddha instructs, one must concentrate on internal
as well as external forms[4],
analysing both, your own body and of the others, as a formation of aggregates
or four elements and dependent on edible foods. The mind inhabits the body and makes it conscious while
being responsible for its movements.
One needs to meditate in this manner for some time and
switch to Ananpanasati again when he
feels that concentration is sluggish. After few minutes of practice when he
feels the concentration has improved, he should return to insight meditation
and continue this process switching between the two techniques as long as the
notion of ‘body is me’ fades away.
The Buddha has referred to the simile of a blacksmith
forging a knife to explain the above process. The blacksmith first heats the piece
of steel until it glows before he flattens it on the anvil, repeating the
sequence over and over again, switching between heating and shaping , until he
is satisfied with the final product, a knife. Here, the act of heating the
steel to required temperature is compared to calming the mind through a tranquillity
meditation technique, to required level of concentration, and shaping of the
knife to insight meditation.
The practitioner should also concentrate on external forms
in the same way, for e.g. when a thought comes to his mind about a friend or
relative. It is said the more you practice in this manner your attachment to
body fades away bringing a feeling of lightness and one may even feel like a
floating feather.
The exercise of cultivating the mind through tranquillity
technique is ably supported by Moral conduct (Sila) as it helps to restrain speech and action. Moral conduct
helps concentration (Samadi) which in
turn helps to see things as they are (Panna).
As the hindrances are completely removed it will bring about
pleasantness that will culminate to a state of joy or rapture followed by
relaxation & tranquillity developing ultimate concentration. (Bojjanga dharma)
One who is free from hindrances is compared to being cured
from a deadly decease, freed from prison or to finding an oasis when stranded
in the desert searching for water.
When one reaches such level of concentration he begins to
see things as they really are, i.e., the arising and ceasing nature of conditioned
phenomena. Reaching this state of the Right View will remove ignorance and he
will be released from the notions of permanence and wholesomeness and hence will
see nothing that he can grasp as me mine and myself. Being disillusioned he
will gradually detach from things that he used to grasp and when detached no
more craving and he is said to be free from suffering.
Furthermore, constant practice is highly recommended by the
Buddha in our day to day activities as it helps with instant sighting of the
true nature of objects, which is the arising ceasing nature by subduing the ability
of defilements & fermentations
taking control. The
hindered mind can only see the state of arising and the cessation is concealed.
What occurs here is that the mental consciousness fills in at the state of
cessation and let us experiences continuity. While in the state of deep concentration
this does not occur and hence one is able to see cessation.
It is to be noted that impermanence (in Noble) sense cannot
be seen from a personality point of view. It’s something that arises as an
insight. The vision is only perfected when the phenomenon of “being non-existent
it arises due to conditions and ceases when the conditions cease to exist“, is
realised through concentration. This cannot be beheld but needs to be sighted,
it is said.
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