Seven benefits of Mindfulness meditation as taught by the Buddha are recorded in the MAHÃ SATIPATTHÃNA SUTTA -- THE DISCOURSE ON THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS. But before I deal with them, I want to explain to you briefly the four aspects of Buddhism. They are:
1. The devotional aspect of Buddhism,
2. The ethical aspect of Buddhism,
3. The moral aspect of Buddhism,
4. The practical aspect of Buddhism (including the experiential aspect).
DEVOTIONAL ASPECT
The devotional aspect of Buddhism is 'rites and rituals', chanting of suttãs and parittas, the offering of flowers and and incense as well as the offering of food and robes. When we perform such good deeds, we do so with sraddha (in sanskrit) or saddhã (in pali). The word saddhã is difficult to translate into English. There is no English equivalent for the pali word 'saddhã'. If we translate saddhã as faith, this does not cover its real sense, nor does translating it as 'confidence' do it justice either. We cannot find a single word in English which can give the complete meaning of saddhã. For me, saddhã can be taken to mean "belief through right understanding of the Dhamma".
When we perform religious ceremonies we do it with a belief in the Tripal Gem (Tiratana). We believe in the Buddha, the Dhamma (his teachings) and the sangha (the Order of buddhist monks). We hold the view that the Buddha has eradicated all defilements through his supreme enlightenment, so he is worthy of respect (an Arahant). He was a Buddha because he had strived and became self-enlightened. He had not learn the Dhamma from any teacher. We believe in the Buddha in this way.
The Buddha taught us to live happily and peacefully. He taught us the way leading to the cessation of all kinds of sufferings. We believe that if we follow his teaching or his way, we are sure to live happily and peacefully, getting rid of suffering. For this reason, we also believe in the Dhamma.
In the same way, we believe in the sangha. When we say sangha, it mainly means the ariya-sangha, the Noble Sangha who have attained any one of the four stages of the path (magga). But in the general sense, it can also refer to the Puthujjana-sangha (those who are still striving to eradicate the defilements). Thus we pay homage to the Triple Gem (Tiratana)--the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
We also believe that by chanting suttas and parittas as taught by the Buddha, we perform meritorious deeds which will be conducive to the cessation of suffering. Performing there meritorious deeds forms the devotional aspect of Buddhism and be free from all kinds of suffering. Therefore, we must proceed with practising the higher aspects.
ETHICAL ASPECT
The second aspect of Buddhism is the ethical aspect. This is in accordance with the Buddha's teaching regarding our actions, speech and mental purification. There are many doctrines concerned with the ethical aspect of Buddhism.
By following these doctrines, we can lead a happy life in this existence as well as the next but we cannot yet be rid of suffering totally. The ethical aspect of Buddhism are:
1. Refraining from all kinds of evil deeds,
2. Performing meritorious or good deeds,
3. Purifying the mind from all kinds of defilements.
These are the three parts of the ethical aspect of what the Omniscient Buddha has taught us. They are also the exhortations of all the Buddhas. If we follow these doctrines, we can lead a happy and peaceful life because Buddhism is founded on the Law of Cause and Effect. If we refrain from all kinds of evil deeds, we will not suffer any bad results.
For the purification of mind from defilements, we have to practise samatha meditation our mind can be purified only while it is engaged in the meditative practice, but when it is not, defilements will attack us again.
If we purify our minds through the realisation of the mind-body processes in their true nature, the defilements will not return. Realisation or insight in to mental and physical phenomena is known as Vipassana-ñaña (insight knowledge). It overcomes some aspects of defilements and reduces defilements such as greed, anger, delusion and so on. Certain defilements which have been destroyed by means of Vipassana-ñaña (penetrative insight) will not be able to attack us again.
In other words, when we have experienced insight knowledge, that experience will not disappear or go away from us. When we reflect on the experience we have had during meditation, the insight that we attained comes to us again, and with this insight, some aspects of defilements abandoned by insight will not arise again. Thus, we can purify our minds from some defilements.
However, if we have enough saddhã, we will put forth greater effort in our practice and attain the Fourth Path, Arahantship. We can then exterminate every defilement. When the defilements have been totally destroyed and the mind completely purified there will not arise any dukkha or suffering. Suffering ceases to exist.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
SILENT AWARENESS
In a meditation retreat, you must not do any action movement quickly. YOU MUST SLOW DOWN ALL ACTIONS AND MOVEMENT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE so that you can apply mindfulness to every minute movement or action of the body.
At home, you need not slow down all these actions and movements, rather, they should be normal, but generally mindful of. All actions and movements must be generally aware of as they really are without mental note or labelling.
However, in a retreat, you must slow down all actions and movements because you have nothing else to do except to be mindful of all your mental and physical activities. YOU MUST NOT TALK, except for few words should also be spoken slowly and softly so that your words do not disturb the concentration of the other meditators.
You should do everything as noiselessly as possible. You must not thump around by walking sluggishly and heavily. If you are mindful of the movements of your foot, you won't make any sound at all when walking.
YOU MUST BE MINDFUL OF WHATEVER ARISES IN YOUR BODY AND MIND. You must be aware of any activity of your mind and body as it really is. As your are eating, you must be mindful of all the actions and movements involved in eating. When you are taking a bath, dressing or drinking water, you must slow down all your actions and observe the movements. When you sit down, you should do it very slowly, being aware me the whole movement of sitting. When you stand up, this must also be done very slowly being aware of every movement involved. This is because you need to realise every movement involved. This is because you need to realise every mental or physical processes in their true nature. All mental and physical processes are ever-changing__appearing and disappearing, arising and vanishin. You need to realise this as the true nature of mental and physical processes. Therefore, it is important to slow down all actions and movements as much as possible.
Mindfulness and concentration will pave the way for insight to unfold. When mindfulness becomes continues, the concentration naturally becomes deeper. When the concentration becomes deeper, insight will unfold by itself. We should, therefore, strive to have constant and continuous mindfulness.
At home, you need not slow down all these actions and movements, rather, they should be normal, but generally mindful of. All actions and movements must be generally aware of as they really are without mental note or labelling.
However, in a retreat, you must slow down all actions and movements because you have nothing else to do except to be mindful of all your mental and physical activities. YOU MUST NOT TALK, except for few words should also be spoken slowly and softly so that your words do not disturb the concentration of the other meditators.
You should do everything as noiselessly as possible. You must not thump around by walking sluggishly and heavily. If you are mindful of the movements of your foot, you won't make any sound at all when walking.
YOU MUST BE MINDFUL OF WHATEVER ARISES IN YOUR BODY AND MIND. You must be aware of any activity of your mind and body as it really is. As your are eating, you must be mindful of all the actions and movements involved in eating. When you are taking a bath, dressing or drinking water, you must slow down all your actions and observe the movements. When you sit down, you should do it very slowly, being aware me the whole movement of sitting. When you stand up, this must also be done very slowly being aware of every movement involved. This is because you need to realise every movement involved. This is because you need to realise every mental or physical processes in their true nature. All mental and physical processes are ever-changing__appearing and disappearing, arising and vanishin. You need to realise this as the true nature of mental and physical processes. Therefore, it is important to slow down all actions and movements as much as possible.
Mindfulness and concentration will pave the way for insight to unfold. When mindfulness becomes continues, the concentration naturally becomes deeper. When the concentration becomes deeper, insight will unfold by itself. We should, therefore, strive to have constant and continuous mindfulness.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
WALKING MEDITATION
The Buddha said that mindfulness must be applied to the four postures of the body, i.e. walking, standing, sitting and lying down.
While you are walking, you must be mindful of it as it is__
while you are standing, you must be mindful of it as it is__
while you are sitting, you must be mindful of it as it is__
while you are lying down, you must be mindful of it as it is.
So, in every posture, there must be mindfulness.
We instruct meditators to practise walking and sitting meditation alternately so that they can concentrate more easily and hence attain insight in to the walking and sitting processes. Every session of sitting must be preceded by walking because in walking meditation, the movement of the foot it is more distinct than the abdominal movements when sitting.
When your meditation practice matures, you may then need sitting meditation for a longer period than walking. When you have reached the sixth stage of inside knowledge, you may practise sitting meditation longer than walking. When you have reached the sixth stage of insight knowledge, you may practise sitting meditation longer than walking; you may sit for two or three hours and walk one hour. At that stage, your concentration is good, deep and strong enough to realise the dissolution of nama and rupã (mental and physical phenomena). But in the beginning of the practice, you need walking meditatio to be longer than sitting because you are not wet able to sit for as long as you can walk. You can attain some degree of concentration more easily in walking than in sitting. So first of all, you should practise walking meditation by being aware of stepping. When you make a left step, note it as 'left'. When you make a right step, not it as 'right'. In this way note 'left' right, left, right, or just 'stepping, stepping'. Labelling or naming is not so important as the mind that observer the movement of the foot. You should lay stress on awareness, sharp awareness of the movement of the foot.
However, in the begining of the practice we have to use labelling or mental note such as: 'rising, falling' 'left, right' to help the mind to focus on the object attentively and precisely. When the meditative experience is in an advanced stage, labelling or mental noting may be dropped because the mindfulness has become sharp and powerfull.
When you practise walking meditation, you must not close your eyes. Instead, your eyes must be half-closed (which means, relax and keep your eyes normal). You should look at a place on the floor about six feet in front of your foot.
You must not bend your head too low. If you do this, you will soon feel tension in your neck or shoulders. Also, you may develop a headache or dizziness. You must not look at your foot. If you do, you cannot concentrate well on the movement. Nor must you look around here and there. Once you look around, the mind goes with the eyes, then your concentratio breaks. You may have a tendency or desire to look around when you feel that someone is coming towards you or passing in front of you. That tendency or desire to look around must be very attentively observed and noted as 'tendency' or 'wanting to look' until it has disappeared. When the tendency or desire has disappeared, you won't look around. Then you can maintain your concentration. So, please be careful not to look around so that you can both maintain your concentration and make progress in concentration and insight during walking meditation. Your games should be locked together in front or behind. If you feel you are not yet able to sit for as long as you can walk. You can attain some degree of concentration more easily in walking meditation by being aware of stepping. When you make a left step, note it as 'left'. When you make a right step, note it as 'right'. In this way, note 'left, right, or just stepping, stepping'. Labelling or naming is not so important as the mind that observer the movement of the foot. You should lay stress on awareness, sharp awareness of the movement of the foot.
However, in the beginning of the practice we have to use labelling or mental note such as: 'rising, falling' 'left, right' to help mind to focus on the object attentively and precisely. When the meditatiod experience is in an advanced stage, labelling or mental nothing may be dropped because the mindfulness has become sharp and powerful.
When you practise walking meditation, you must not close your eyes. Instead, your eyes must be half-closed which means, you should change the position of your hands, you may do so, but mindfully.
While you are walking, you must be mindful of it as it is__
while you are standing, you must be mindful of it as it is__
while you are sitting, you must be mindful of it as it is__
while you are lying down, you must be mindful of it as it is.
So, in every posture, there must be mindfulness.
We instruct meditators to practise walking and sitting meditation alternately so that they can concentrate more easily and hence attain insight in to the walking and sitting processes. Every session of sitting must be preceded by walking because in walking meditation, the movement of the foot it is more distinct than the abdominal movements when sitting.
When your meditation practice matures, you may then need sitting meditation for a longer period than walking. When you have reached the sixth stage of inside knowledge, you may practise sitting meditation longer than walking. When you have reached the sixth stage of insight knowledge, you may practise sitting meditation longer than walking; you may sit for two or three hours and walk one hour. At that stage, your concentration is good, deep and strong enough to realise the dissolution of nama and rupã (mental and physical phenomena). But in the beginning of the practice, you need walking meditatio to be longer than sitting because you are not wet able to sit for as long as you can walk. You can attain some degree of concentration more easily in walking than in sitting. So first of all, you should practise walking meditation by being aware of stepping. When you make a left step, note it as 'left'. When you make a right step, not it as 'right'. In this way note 'left' right, left, right, or just 'stepping, stepping'. Labelling or naming is not so important as the mind that observer the movement of the foot. You should lay stress on awareness, sharp awareness of the movement of the foot.
However, in the begining of the practice we have to use labelling or mental note such as: 'rising, falling' 'left, right' to help the mind to focus on the object attentively and precisely. When the meditative experience is in an advanced stage, labelling or mental noting may be dropped because the mindfulness has become sharp and powerfull.
When you practise walking meditation, you must not close your eyes. Instead, your eyes must be half-closed (which means, relax and keep your eyes normal). You should look at a place on the floor about six feet in front of your foot.
You must not bend your head too low. If you do this, you will soon feel tension in your neck or shoulders. Also, you may develop a headache or dizziness. You must not look at your foot. If you do, you cannot concentrate well on the movement. Nor must you look around here and there. Once you look around, the mind goes with the eyes, then your concentratio breaks. You may have a tendency or desire to look around when you feel that someone is coming towards you or passing in front of you. That tendency or desire to look around must be very attentively observed and noted as 'tendency' or 'wanting to look' until it has disappeared. When the tendency or desire has disappeared, you won't look around. Then you can maintain your concentration. So, please be careful not to look around so that you can both maintain your concentration and make progress in concentration and insight during walking meditation. Your games should be locked together in front or behind. If you feel you are not yet able to sit for as long as you can walk. You can attain some degree of concentration more easily in walking meditation by being aware of stepping. When you make a left step, note it as 'left'. When you make a right step, note it as 'right'. In this way, note 'left, right, or just stepping, stepping'. Labelling or naming is not so important as the mind that observer the movement of the foot. You should lay stress on awareness, sharp awareness of the movement of the foot.
However, in the beginning of the practice we have to use labelling or mental note such as: 'rising, falling' 'left, right' to help mind to focus on the object attentively and precisely. When the meditatiod experience is in an advanced stage, labelling or mental nothing may be dropped because the mindfulness has become sharp and powerful.
When you practise walking meditation, you must not close your eyes. Instead, your eyes must be half-closed which means, you should change the position of your hands, you may do so, but mindfully.
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