The Real Values of True Buddhist Meditation

Whoever is desirious of undergoing a course of taining in Buddhist Meditation must go along the Noble Eightfold Path. This Noble Eightfold Path was laid down by the Buddha in his first sermon to the five as- cetics (Panca-vaggiya) as the means to the end, and all the student has to do is to follow strictly and diligently the three steps of Sila, Samadhi and Panna, which form the essence of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Sila (The Precepts)

1. Right Speech

2. Right Action

3. Right Livelihood

Samadhi (Tranquillity of Mind)

4. Right Exertion

5. Right Attentiveness

6. Right Concentration

Panna (Wisdom, Insight)

7. Right Aspiration

8. Right Understanding

Sila

For the first step, Sila, the student will have to maintain a minimum standard of morality by way of a promise to refrain from killing sentient beings, stealing other's property, comitting sexual misconduct, telling lies and taking intoxicating drinks. This promise is not, I believe, detrimental to any religious faith. As a matter of fact, we have noticed good moral qualities in the foreigners who have come to the centre for the course of meditation and a promise of this kind was of no moment to them.

Samadhi

This is the second step, the development of the power of concentration to the degree of one-pointedness of mind. It is a way of training the mind to become tranquil, pure, and strong, and therefore forms the essence of religious life whether one be a Buddhist, a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh. It is, in fact, the greatest common denominator of all religions. Unless one can get the mind freed from impurities (Nivarana) and develop it to a state of purity, he can hardly identify himself with Brahma or God. Although different methods are used by people of different religions, the goal for the development of mind is the same, that is to say, a perfect state of physical and mental calm.

The student at the Centre is helped to develop the power of concentration to one-pointedness by encouraging him to focus his attention on a spot on the upper lip at the base of the nose, synchronizing the inward and outward motion of respiration with the silent awareness of in-breath and out-breath. Whether the energy of life is from mental forces (Sankhara) resulting from one's own actions, as in Buddhism, or from God, as in Christianity, the symbol of life is the same. It is the rhythm, pulsation, or vibration dormant in man. Respiration is, in fact, a reflection of this symbol of life. In the Anapana meditation technique (i.e. respiration mindfulness) which is followed at the Centre, one great advantage is that the respiration is not only natural, but is also available at all times for the purpose of anchoring one's attention to it, to the exclusion of all other thoughts. With a determined effort to narrow down the range of thought waves, first to the area around the nose with respiration mindfulness and gradually, with the wave-length of respiration becoming shorter and shorter, to a spot on the upper lip with just the warmth of the breath, there is no reason why a good student in meditation should not be able to secure one-pointedness of mind in a few days of training.

There are always pointers to the progress of this meditation when steered in the right direction, by way of symbols which take the form of something "white" as opposed to anything "black". They are in the form of clouds or of cotton wool, and sometimes in shapes of white such as smoke or cobwebs or a flower or disc. But when the attention becomes more concentrated, they appear as flashes or points of light or as a tiny star or moon or sun. If these pointers appear in meditation (with the eyes closed, of course), then it should be taken for granted that Samadhi is being established. What is essential, then, is for the student to try after each short spell of relaxation to get back to Samadhi with the pointer of "light" as quickly as possible. If he can do this, he is quite ready to be switched on to Vipassana meditation to gain insight into the Ultimate Truth and enjoy the Great Peace of Nibbana. If he is able to focus his attention on one point at the base of the nose with a minute point remaining stationary for some time, it is all the better, because at that time he reaches Upacara Samadhi or Neighbourhood Concentration.

"Mind is intrinsically pure," the Buddha said. "It becomes polluted however, by the absorption of impurities [Akusala forces]." In the same way that salt water can be distilled into pure water, so too a student in Anapana mediation can eventually get his mind distilled of impurities and brought to a perfect state of purity.

Panna

Panna means insight into what is true of nature which is realized only when one has attained the Noble Paths (Magga) and enjoyed the Fruits (Phala) of one's endeavours in Buddhist Meditation. Meditation is inseparable from the development of the power of mind towards Samadhi and the intimate study of what is true of nature towards the realization of the Truth.

When the student has reached a certain level of Samadhi, preferably Upacara Samadhi, the course of training is changed to Vipassana or Insight. This requires the use of the powerful lens of Samadhi already developed and involves an examination of the inherent tendencies of all that exists within one's own self. He is taught to become sensitive to the on-going processes of his own organism which, in other words, are sub-atomic reactions ever taking place in all living beings. When the student becomes engrossed in such sensations, which are the products of nature, he comes to the realization, physically and mentally, of the Truth that his whole physical being is after all a changing mass. This is the fundamental concept of Anicca in Buddhism--the nature of the change that is ever taking place in everything, whether animate or inanimate, that exists in this universe. The corollary is the concept of Dukkha--the innate nature of suffering or ill--which becomes identified with life. This is true because of the fact that the whole structure of a being is made up of sub-atomic particles (Kalapas in Buddhism), all in state of perpetual combustion. The last concept is that of Anatta. You call a substance whatever appears to you to be a substance. In reality there is no substance as such. As the course of meditation progresses, the student comes to the realization that there is no substantiality in his so-called self, and there is no such thing as the core of a being. Eventually he breaks down the ego-centralism in himself in respect to both mind and body. He then emerges out of meditation with a new outlook--egoless and selfless--alive to the fact that whatever happens in this Universe is subject to the fundamental laws of cause and effect. He knows with his inward eye the illusory nature of the separate self.

VI. By-Products

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