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Script 348 for Sunday 26 September 2004CE
2547 Buddhist Era


This script is titled:
Understanding the Real Purpose of Buddhist Meditation Practice

The world today is not what it was half a century ago. Ideas of good and bad are fast changing, attitudes toward moral and immoral conduct are different and the general outlook on men (and women) and things is also very different.

We are living in an age of rush and speed. It is tension, tension everywhere. If you stand at the corner of a busy street and scan the faces of the people hurrying feverishly by, you will notice that most of them are restless. They carry with them an atmosphere of stress. They are mostly pictures of rush and worry. Rarely will you find a picture of calm, content and repose in any of these faces. Such is the modern world.

These introductory words to today’s paper were recorded over a quarter of a century ago in a 1978 lecture given by Piyadassi Thera at the University of Colombo Sri Lanka. The lecture was reproduced in his book ‘Buddhist Meditation - The Way to Inner Calm and Clarity’.

Venerable Piyadassi observed that the world today is characterised by inordinate haste leading to quick decisions and imprudent actions. Some shout when they could speak in normal tones and others talk excitedly at a forced pitch for long periods and finish a conversation almost exhausted. Piyadassi Thera noted that any kind of excitement is a stress in the physiologists sense of the word, and stress causes the speeding up of bodily processes.

He commented it is not seldom that a person driving a vehicle gets agitated on seeing the green colour of the traffic lights giving place to amber.

Today, in 2004, such agitation and anger has grown in its intensity and described variously as ‘road rage’ a term that Venerable Mahinda referred to in a teaching on the power of metta meditation.

Metta, or loving kindness, is the best antidote for such anger.

Metta is the wish for the welfare and happiness of all beings. It has the character of a benevolent friend. Its direct enemy is ill-will or hatred while the indirect or masked enemy is carnal love, sensual attachment or selfish affectionate desire which is quite different from metta.

Meditation forms the very heart and core of the Buddha’s teaching.

One of our Members this week is participating in a seven day meditation retreat taught by Venerable Mahinda at the Australian Buddhist Mission, Peats Ridge NSW. During the retreat students keep five precepts and refrain from speaking.

It was advised by the Buddha for persons visiting a Temple or in the presence of the Sangha that they practice two rules: number one to always speak of the Dhamma and of good and wholesome actions; and number two for all other times to observe Noble silence.

We wish all those participating in the seven day long meditation retreat great success in their Buddha Dhamma practice.

Piyadassi Thera wrote that meditation is not a practice of today or yesterday. From time immemorial people have been practising meditation in diverse ways. Yogis, saints and enlightened ones of all ages have gone on the path of meditation and have attributed all their attainments and achievements to meditation or mental culture.

All religions teach some kind of meditation or mental training for our inner development. It may take the form of silent prayer, reading individually or collectively from some ‘holy scriptures’ or concentrating on some sacred object, person, idea or action such Chan painting.

It is only when we sit down for meditation that we can analyse ourselves seriously without pretence, and then the concept of man or woman disappears. We see only a conflux of mind and body void of any permanent entity, any heart-wood or an indestructible Ego.

Piyadassi Mahathera notes that looked at from this point of view, life is neither oriental nor occidental. Life is just a process that goes beyond the boundaries of caste, colour, creed, race and space.

As William James, that eminent psychologist has said, ‘When ever two people meet, there are really six people present - There is each man or women as he or she sees him or herself; each man or woman as the other person sees him or her; and each man or woman as he or she really is.

Piyadassi Mahathera advised: so try to be straight, transparently straight with yourself, your feelings and thoughts. Try to see as you really are and not as you appear to be. This cannot be done unless you are sincere and have confidence in yourself. Open mindedness or free inquiry is the sine qua non of the Buddhist system of meditation. Without it the beginner cannot lay the foundation on which the super structure has to be built. And as truth is a personal and individual concern, neither information nor instruction can inspire a meditator unless he (or she) is trained in the methods of self-inquiry. He noted, meditation, therefore, is vital, because it is through meditation that the secrets of the mind could be unlocked.

In August 1992 our Teacher John D. Hughes was blessed with a visit to our Centre by Venerable Piyadassi Mahathera. During the visit the Venerable gave a talk on meditation which we shall return to a little later in today’s paper.

In Buddha Dhamma practice meditation forms one eighth of the Noble Eightfold Path expounded by the Buddha.

Nyanaponika Thera noted in his book The Heart of Buddhist Meditation; that in the Buddhist doctrine, mind is the starting point, the focal point, and also, as the liberated mind of the Saint, the culminating point.

The Dhammapada, an anthology of four hundred and twenty-three verses, and one of the most beautiful and popular books of the Buddhist scriptures opens with the words

Mind precedes all mental states.
Mind is their chief;
they are all mind-wrought.
If with a pure mind
a person speaks or acts,
happiness follows him
like his never departing shadow.

Each Monday evening at 7.30pm meditation is taught in the main hall at our Temple by visiting Monks from the Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara Temple, located in Homestead Road, Berwick Victoria.

On Monday 13 September 2004 Venerable Vimalananda guided the meditation. Prior to commencing the meditation the Venerable explained the purpose and difference between samatha meditation and vipassana or insight meditation.

The Venerable explained that in samatha bhavana or meditation the object of concentration is the breath, keeping the mind focussed on the point where the breath makes contact, on the in-breath and on the out-breath, at the point just below the nose and above the top lip.

He explained that without the practice of samatha bhavana, where the mind becomes peaceful, it is most difficult to progress to the practice of vipassana or insight meditation.

Through meditation the practitioner systematically works to purify themselves.

The process of insight meditation purifies the mind of obstructions.

The Venerable explained the seven stages of the Path to Purification. Each stage is like a platform that forms the base on which to access the next.

The stages are:

1. Purification of Virtue
2. Purification of Consciousness
3. Purification of View
4. Purification of Overcoming Doubt
5. Purification by Knowledge and Vision of What Is and What Is Not Path
6. Purification by Knowledge and Vision of the way
7. Purification by Knowledge and Vision.

Over many years our Teacher created the causes for some of our male members to take robes and experience, as a samanera or novice, life as a Monk.

Some years ago through the kindness of Venerable Ajahn Dhammadaro two of our members took robes for two weeks.

They were resident at Wat Dhammaram at 53 Balmoral Avenue, Springvale. The Abbot of the Temple is Venerable Liv Peo. On the third day they travelled with Venerable Dhammadaro, his teacher Venerable Sanghabodhi and some of the disciples from Wat Buddharam to the Vipassana Centre in Woori Yallock, to participate in a 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat.

The practice required no talk, no reading, no writing, no eye contact with other persons, no communication whatsoever. The daily meditation sessions would begin at 4.30am and conclude at 9.00pm each evening. Students would also listen to a dhamma talk each evening.

The instructions for the meditation were given by pre-recorded tapes of Venerable Goencha. The meditation was guided and also translated into Cambodian by Venerable Sanghabodhi. An audio tape copy of the full vipassana teaching taught by Goencha is held as part of the John D. Hughes Collection at our Centre.

The first three days of the retreat were on samatha bhavana or meditation, also called anapanasatti, meditation on the breath. Calming the mind in preparation for vipassana or insight meditation for the following seven days.

Now we will explore a little further into the role and function of these meditation forms?

Piyadassi Thera gives the following description of Buddhist meditation.

The meditation taught in Buddhism is neither for gaining union with any supreme being, nor for bringing about any mystical experiences, nor is it for any self hypnosis. It is for gaining tranquility of mind (samatha) and insight (vipassana), for the sole purpose of attaining unshakeable deliverance of the mind (akuppa ceto vimutti) - that supreme security from bondage attainable through the total extirpitation of all mental defilements.

All may not be able to reach such heights as unshakeable deliverance of the mind, but failure does not matter so long as we are sincere and pure in our motives. Let us strive on, falter not. It is worth striving for again and again. Some day, if not in this life, we may reach the summit that those who did really strive, have reached.

The task of insight meditation is to sever our attachements by enabling us to pierce through the net of conceptual projections in order to see things as they really are.

In the introduction to ‘The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - A New translation of the Majjhima Nikaya’ by Bhikku Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi they note:

The methods of meditation taught by the Buddha in the Pali Canon fall into two broad systems. One is the development of serenity (samatha), which aims at concentration (samadhi); the other is the development of insight (vipassana), which aims at understanding or wisdom (panna).

In the Buddha’s system of mental training the role of serenity is subordinated to that of insight because the latter is the crucial instrument needed to uproot the ignorance at the bottom of the samsaric bondage.

They note that the attainments possible through serenity meditation were known to Indian contemplatives long before the advent of the Buddha.

The Buddha himself mastered the two highest stages under his early teachers but found that they only led to higher planes of rebirth, not to genuine enlightenment.

However, because the unification of mind induced by the practice of concentration contributes to clear understanding, the Buddha incorporated the techniques of serenity meditation and the resulting levels of absorption into his new system, treating them as a foundation and preparation for insight and as a “pleasant abiding here and now.”

The Definition of Buddhist Meditation is described in a talk by Yogi Chen as: the use of concentrated force to investigate Buddhist philosophic truth and transform it from abstract perception into a concrete inner realisation, whereby liberation from sorrows and false views, embodiment of nirvana, and the functions of salvation are all attained.

In the West, many words are used as translations of the technical Buddhist terminology, the most common being “concentration” and “meditation.” Generally, in Chinese works, the equivalent of the first is used for “dhyana” and of the second, for “samadhi.” In most people’s minds there is no clear distinction between these two English words and with them are mixed “absorption” and “contemplation” ; in addition, they do not know the difference between dhyana and samadhi.

Yogi Chen remarked “that such confusion is not surprising, as in Europe, every philosopher ascribes his own meaning to the terms he uses, which can be very confusing unless one distinguishes carefully. Now it is the same with translators and writers of books on Buddhism: there is not yet, as grew up in China and Tibet, a recognised list of equivalences, so they use their own terminology, a difficulty for beginners who may be confused by this.

In the Buddhist Sanskrit and Pali tradition, it is quite different, each term having exact and recognised meanings, making it much easier for those who want to study and practise.”

The commentary notes five terms of great importance are samatha, samapatti (vipassana), samapanna, dhyana and samadhi.

The first, means the practice which calms the minds disturbances; in this stage thinking is not admitted. This leads onto samapatti, which is investigating the truth using the force of samatha as ones instrument. If one uses the mind to think with at this stage then it is not true samapatti or vipasyana (vipassana or clear insight).

When one attains something close to the truth, this is called samapanna. At that time the mind is not wandering, and examination of truth has become very subtle, as object and subject and very nearly identified. States of consciousness known before the actual attainment of Full Enlightenment samadhi are collectively termed dhyana.

They are all common or worldly concentrations experienced in connection with the first three of the terms used here. They range from the first dhyana of form up to attainment of Arahat.

The latter must be included here since one has not yet experienced Full Enlightenment, and samadhi-states only commence with the possession of this in the Mahayana. Samadhi itself is when the subjective searcher and the objective truth of the Dharmakaya are completely identified - and this comes only with the Full Enlightenment of Buddha.

It is written in the text, that Bhadanta Nagarjuna in his Prajnaparamita Sastra commented that the first four states of concentration are common to all religions. These are the four rupa (or form) dhyanas quite commonly described by Hindu, Sufi and Christian Saints. The second four are called the deeper or higher concentrations (arupa dhyana) and these Nagarjuna calls samadhis.

In ‘Buddhist Meditation - Systematic and Practical, A Talk by the Buddhist Yogi CM Chen’ which was written down by Reverend B. Kantipalo, he wrote regarding the real purpose of Buddhist Meditation that a man (or woman) who desires to practise Buddhist meditation must first obtain a good foundation in Buddhist philosophy. Then having a well-established knowledge of the sutras and so forth, and by the practice of meditation, he (or she) receives the central thought of Buddhism; that is, his (or her) mind never strays from Buddhist philosophy in whatever situation he or she finds (oneself) in. Every action of body, speech, and thought is then guided by a Dhamma-centred thought. This at least is necessary.

He wrote that even if one renounces the world and takes up monastic life, many sorts of worldly thoughts may invade the mind: of money, reputation, lust-such worldly ideas mean that one has not yet developed the mind to centre upon the Buddhas teachings.

Until this is done, perfect understanding of the Dhamma (samyag drsti) cannot develop very much, nor can it find expression in perfect livelihood (samyak ajiva). When this latter is really perfect then we do nothing unrelated to Dharma, and of course, nothing at all opposed to it. With a mind constantly dwelling only upon the Dharma ( a difficult thing for lay people, who have so many worldly activities), this central thought-core is developed and the true meaning of the Buddha’s words becomes clear.

Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi note that: To see things as they really are means to see them in terms of their three characteristics - as impermanent, as painful or suffering, and as not self. Since the three characteristics are closely interlinked, any one of them can be made the main portal for entering the domain of insight, but the Buddha’s usual approach is to show all three together - impermanence implying suffering and the two in conjunction implying the absence of self.

When the noble disciple see all the factors of being as stamped with these three marks, he (or she) no longer identifies with them, no longer appropriates them by taking them to be mine, I, or self. Seeing thus, he (or she) becomes disenchanted with all formations. When he (or she) becomes disenchanted, his (or her) lust and attachment fade away and his (or her) mind is liberated from the taints.

In Venerable Takpo Tashi Namgyal book Mahamudra - The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation is written: The precision and accuracy of meditation allow us to rest in our natural state of being, and out of that we are able to realise that hopes and fears and emotions of all kinds no longer need to be regarded as obstacles or highlights.

Meditation may be thought of in the following analogy: The moon is the brightest source of light at night, and it is the light from the moon that illuminates the darkness.

The Buddha pointed to the way forward with the words: “Spiritual sons, I have shown you the way to liberation. Understand that its achievement will depend on you!”

It is said that a person of enduring mindfulness and self-control will make a good meditator.

The main purpose of this fundamental spiritual training is the taming of the mind and all its forces.

Therefore, the test of the student’s immediate attainment must necessarily be seen in his morality, calmness, sensitivity, and insight.

This inner transformation is marked by a new awakening into the “voidness” (nonselfhood) of his (or her) stream of consciousness.

Venerable Nyanaponika Thera wrote that: If mind is the very nearest to us, it because through mind alone are we aware of the so-called external world including our own body. As is written in the Ratnamegha Sutra from Mahayana Buddhism. ‘If mind is comprehended, all things are comprehended’.

Mind is the fount of all the good and evil that arises within and befalls us from without. This is declared precisely in the first two verses of the ‘Dhammapada’, and, among many other instances, in the following words of the Buddha:

‘Whatsoever there is of evil, connected with evil, belonging to evil-all issues from the mind.
Whatsoever there is of good, connected with good, belonging to good-all issues from mind.’ Anguttara Nikaya I.

From the Gandavyuha Sutra it is written:

‘Thus it is our mind that should be established in all the Roots of the Good; it is our own mind that should be soaked by the rain of truth; it is our own mind that should be purified from all obtrusive qualities; it is our own mind that should be made vigorous by energy.

Hence, Nyanaponika Thera wrote, the message of the Buddha consists just in the help it gives to the mind. None, save he, the Exalted One, has given that help in such a perfect, thorough and effective way.

The Buddha-Message, as a Doctrine of the Mind, teaches three things:

to know the mind, - that is so near to us, and yet is so unknown;
to shape the mind, - that is so unwieldy and obstinate, and yet may turn so pliant;
to free the mind, - that is in bondage all over, and yet may win freedom here and now.

Now let us return to the visit to our Centre by Venerable Piyadassi Mahathera in 1992.

Piyadassi Mahathera was recognised by Buddha Dhamma practitioners throughout the world as a leading figure of Buddhism. He was renowned as an authority and scholar on Buddhist Teachings and meditation. A monk for over 50 years, the Venerable travelled the world on many occasions giving lectures, dhamma talks and guidance in Buddha Dhamma teachings and how this discipline can be applied to living in the world at this difficult time.

The following is an excerpt from a dhamma talk given by the Venerable during his visit to our Centre, at which time he gave his kind permission for it to be recorded and published. The full text is printed in the Buddha Dhyana Dana Review Volume 2. No. 4 published December 1992.

‘The word meditation we use for want of a better word, for bhavana. Bhavana is the word used by the Buddha both in Pali and Sanskrit, the same word.

If you consult a good dictionary, you will find several meanings to the word meditation. Thinking, thinking quietly, thinking seriously, contemplation. These are the meanings attached to the word meditation. Now the word bhavana means mind development.

What is it that we cultivate and develop?

It is mind development, and mind culture. It is better to understand these two words. Now it is everywhere, they use the word meditation, but we have no other word. Bhavana means mind culture or mind development.

You know in this world, people want to keep physically fit. To keep fit, to do physical exercise, physical culture, what do they do?

I ask you, in Australia, in Canada, in America, anywhere, what do they do? They are running, jogging, bending, twisting - all sorts of doing with the physical body. But the interesting thing is for mental training, mental exercise, just the opposite.

You sit down for your meditation. You see that your mind is running faster than your body. Your mind is running, jogging, twisting, bending, very fast. But to have mental training, mental culture, you must drop all of that.

Therefore you try to collect, collect, collect, stop your running, stop your jogging, stop your bending, twisting. You have to get calm - just the opposite. You get this understanding not from books. You sit down, you are doing meditation.

Observe you are seeing how your mind works. Now when you experience that, it is not book work, it is not listening to a talk, or reading a book. You experience it, see how your mind works. Now comes thought it disappears, reappears. You see, you are experiencing all that. In Buddhism this is the heart. If you remove meditation from Buddhism, you remove the very heart.

On the evening of Friday 17 September two new students attended our Centre. Our Abbot Anita Hughes gave a short teaching on samatha or tranquility meditation after which the students sat in the main hall for meditation.

She explained the fundamentals of Buddhist practice and the keeping of five or more precepts as the base. When paying respect to an image of the Buddha one needs to be mindful that it is to the qualities of the Buddha that one is bowing.

Before meditation the students chanted the Vandana for Buddha.

Om Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

The English translation is:

Salutation to the Buddha, Honour to Him the Blessed One, The Worthy One, The Fully Enlightened One, that one pays respect.

This was followed by chanting the Five Precepts. Chanting of the five precepts provides a pure mind platform on to take Triple Gem Refuge in Buddha Dhamma Sangha, the chanting of which is repeated three times.

We share the merits with all beings near or far.

The offering is completed by wishing May all beings be well and happy and the chanting of Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu. Well done to all beings who have practiced to come out of suffering going right back to the time of the Buddha.

Once the chanting was completed students were then guided in samatha meditation.

When sitting for meditation one ought to maintain an upright and straight body with legs crossed and hands resting comfortably at waist height right sitting in the left and facing upwards. It is important to be at ease and sitting away from any drafts or doorways.

Concentrate at the tip of the nose feeling the breath on entering and on leaving the body on the very inside point of the nostrils. Noting the inhalation of the breath as one breath, and the exhalation of breath as one breath. Letting thoughts arise and pass away. Noting the breath only. looking at the qualities of the breath.

When the breath is long, know the breath is long.
When the breath is short, know the breath is short.
When the breath is deep, know the breath is deep.
When the breath is shallow, know the breath is shallow.
When the breath is hot, know the breath is hot.
When the breath is cold, know the breath is cold.

It is expounded in the Ratana Sutra (the Discourse on the Jewels) that:

‘Meditation, which cleans (the mind), has the praise of the Excellent One.

All wise men talk of meditation which brings effective, immediate results.

There is nothing comparable to meditation.

This Dhamma is a gem that cannot be compared with any other gem.

By this truth may there be happiness.’

We conclude Understanding the Real Purpose of Buddhist Meditation Practice with the words of Piyadassi Mahathera.

“Even if we fail to attain full enlightenment, we will surely be rewarded in our efforts.

A fast moving society needs a little meditation to ease the stress and tension and to withstand the vicissitudes of life.

Through meditation we can overcome most of our psychological or psychomatic problems and anxiety disorders, emotions and impulses, and gain the mental calm and peace we aspire to”.

May you come to understand and experience the real benefits of meditation for your self.

May your own mind be purified of all obtrusive qualities.

May you gain mental calm and peace through your meditation.

May you know the Buddha Dhamma path, realise the Buddha Dhamma path and follow the Buddha Dhamma path.

May your Buddha Dhamma practise be a blessing to many beings.

May you be well and happy.

This script was prepared, written and edited by Julian Bamford, Frank Carter, Anita Hughes and Lisa Nelson.


References.

Piyadassi Mahathera. Venerable Piyadassi Mahathera’s Visit to the B.D.C. (U) Ltd. Buddha Dhyana Dana Review Volume 2. No. 4 Dec 1992

Nyanaponika Thera. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. Rider and Company. 1962. London UK.

Venerable Sri Acharya Buddharakkhita. Dhammapada. A Practical Guide to right living. Sukhi Hotu Dhamms

- The Way to Inner Calm and Clarity. Buddhist Publication Society (BPS). Sri Lanka 1978.

Bhikku Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi’s. Translation of The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - A New translation of the Majjhima Nikaya. Wisdom Publications, Boston USA 1995.

Chen, Yogi. CM Buddhist Meditation - Systematic and Practical, A Talk by Buddhist Yogi CM Chen. Written down by Reverend B. Kantipalo. Reprint 1980 USA.

Mahamudra, The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation, Takpo Tashi Namgyal translated and annotated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa (1986) Shambala




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