Buddhist Hour
Script No. 416
Broadcast live on Hillside 88.0 FM
11.00 am till 12 midday.
On
Sunday 22 January 2006 CE 2549 Buddhist Era

This script is entitled:
"Applying the Buddha's Teachings to Everyday Life"
Class 9

We now continue with our series "Applying the Buddha's Teachings to Everyday Life" with Class No. 9 presented on the 17 of January 2006 at the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre, Upwey.

Tonight we will give an introduction to the fourth Perfection, the Perfection of Wisdom (panna), and secondly we will talk about Right Concentration (samma-samadhi), the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.

This evening I would like you to consider a view of how your mind behaves which you may never have considered before. It is the view of what your mind is doing second by second, microsecond by microsecond.

At the micro level, second by second, our mind is always doing something, it is always in action and it is always in movement. Where is it moving to? It has six things it can move to.

It can move to each of the five senses, sound, sight, smell, touch or taste and it can move to mental objects, ideas, feelings, memories and so on, which are arising moment by moment. The mind moves from one of these to any other - but always one at a time.

The Buddha described the way the mind moves to each different object is like a person who has been yoked or tied to six different animals. For a little while one animal is stronger, so we are pulled in the direction of that animal, then as that animal tires another animal who is strongest takes over and pulls us in its direction, and so on. So long as we are yoked to these six animals the process goes on endlessly.

In a similar way our mind goes towards any of the six objects according to which has the strongest sensation at any given instant. If we hear a loud noise outside, for example, our mind averts to it - for a moment. Then a thought enters in our mind about the sound. The mind's attention runs to the thought, then a feeling follows triggered by the thought, our mind's attention runs to that feeling. Next a sensation may arise on our leg because we are getting uncomfortable in our seating position in our chair - our mind runs to the sensation in our leg, a thought comes making us scratch the sensation.

The mind moves its attention to the next event, another sensation, maybe taste, maybe sight, another mental event, another feeling. The mind chases them all down, one after the other, many times in each second, moving unceasingly from one to the other, just, merely because one sensation becomes stronger at any particular moment. That is the only reason.

This process can be described as the mind grabbing or grasping onto sense objects, and mental objects. Grabbing each new sensation. The mind cannot hold two of these objects at one time. Therefore it moves from one to the next.

What is the mind running around like this for? Why is it chasing down each sensation? What if the mind didn't move to each sensation but just stopped? If that happened the mind would finally be in peace. We would be truly happy.

This is why Buddhism teaches us that we can never get lasting happiness through grabbing and grasping. Our mind needs to let go to find peace.

What causes the grabbing and grasping to happen in our minds is greed, hate and ignorance, the defilements that arise in our minds. The greed causes our mind to thirst for sensation so our mind chases and grabs the continual flow of sensation. Hate causes or mind to have aversion for sensation so our mind grabs sensations it doesn't like and tries to stop those or push them away. This is a compulsive reaction. The ignorance prevents us from understanding what we are really doing.

It really is ridiculous when you think about it because our mind is attempting to grab things to satisfy its desire and craving. To make the desire or craving go away. But craving doesn't go away, it doesn't stop.

The minds motive is to be happy, the method it is using is to grasp. The first part of this process is okay, we all want to be happy, the second part is the ridiculous bit. The Buddha teaches us the method we are using, grabbing or craving not only can't make us happy, it is the root cause of our suffering. The method we are using to get happy is causing us to be unhappy.

This is something like an alcoholic who compulsively drinks more to overcome the suffering caused by the ongoing consumption of alcohol.

So now we get to meditation. What is the role of meditation in helping us overcome this conundrum? You have already experienced in the meditations we have been doing here each Tuesday night how, by developing one pointed concentration on the breath, we are restricting the habit of the mind to run after the sensations, we are training the mind not to chase and grab each of the sensations or mental objects which arise.

Once the mind has been calmed by this practice and we have developed one pointed concentration (samatha bhavana) then we use our bright clear mind to deal with the real problem - craving (vipassana bhavana). To stop the craving we have to see things as they really are. Only when the mind can see the five senses and the mental objects as they actually are will it stop blindly thirsting for them.

Buddha taught in his very first sermon after he became enlightened that all conditioned mental and physical phenomena have three characteristics. Every type of being, including humans in the human world and all beings in other worlds or places of birth have these same three characteristics. They are impermanence (anicca in Pali language), unsatisfactory (dukkha) and not self (anatta).

Just like the Buddha, we can undertake the training to develop our minds so they become clear and bright enough to see all things are impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self - anicca, dukkha and anatta.

When the mind sees all things are impermanent it stops grabbing, because it knows grabbing something that only lasts for a second or so is futile and can never be satisfying.

When the mind sees all things are unsatisfactory or dukkha it stops grabbing. Through vipassana meditation the mind sees we are comprised of five parts, or groups or aggregates. Then the mind knows these five as they really are.

1. Our body (rupa in Pali) will rot and die;

2. Our feelings (vedana in Pali) can't be relied upon, they can be pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. There is no such thing as a permanent pleasant feeling;

3. Our memories and perceptions (sanna in Pali) are unreliable, and cause us to loose our clarity of the present moment if we dwell on them;

4. Our thoughts and self-images (sankhara in Pali) are just arising and passing away. We have thousands of thoughts each day. They are just thoughts, some wholesome, some unwholesome. They can't be relied upon as always being the correct view. If we hold onto thoughts how will we develop wisdom, which comes from not grabbing.

5. The various types of consciousness (vinnana in Pali) that we may experience are unreliable and come and go according to past causes.

Finally when the mind sees things as not-self (anatta) it stops grabbing because it knows none of the components which we think of and call "us" are an everlasting self.

There is no everlasting part of us that is an unchanging self or a soul. Every part of us and all types of consciousness we can develop are impermanent. There is no single part of us which remains unchanged from when we were a child. We are constantly changing with nothing remaining immune to change. In other words there is no component of us outside of the law of cause and effect which has independent existence.

There is one particular mind the Buddha found, and he was the first person in this age to discover this mind, a mind that knows anicca, dukkha and anatta of all things simultaneously at one time. It is called nibbana (nirvana in Sanskrit). It is the object of the Buddhist Eightfold Path. The stage of the training during which a person develops their minds so they can see nibbana for themselves is called Right Concentration.

Right Concentration

Right Concentration, or samma-samadhi in Pali, is the eighth factor in the Noble-Eightfold Path. It is the practice of calming the mind and developing sharp, clear one-pointed focus by concentrating the mind on a single object, such as one's breath.

"The perfectly concentrated mind is not distracted by sense objects, for it sees things as they really are." (Piyadassi)

"Meditation in Buddhism is divided into two systems, concentration of mind or calm (samadhi, samatha) and insight (vipassana)." (Piyadassi)

We will discuss samatha meditation first as it is the preliminary meditation which leads and prepares the mind for insight vipassana meditation.

First we will examine what the pre-requisites are for ‘good’ meditation. Venerable Narada Thera says:

"Securing a firm footing on the ground of morality, the aspirant then embarks upon the higher practice of Samadhi…." (Narada)

Concentration, sometimes called meditative absorption, cannot be achieved by a mind that is disturbed by the effects of an immoral life, just as a tree cannot grow in barren earth. For example, if you are in the habit of lying to people your mind will be disturbed by restless thoughts, "What if they find out the truth? What will they think of me then?" and so on. Because of your lying you become restless and unable to develop concentration.

Also a mind that lies creates the kamma to not be able to recognise truth or see things as they really are. You should then, make efforts to keep the precepts purely.

The second part of the sentence, "…the aspirant then embarks upon the higher practice of Samadhi,…" means that morality should always be a precursor to meditation. If we keep our precepts we can access wholesome minds that are suitable for developing concentration. Because concentration can only be developed properly after morality, it is called a "higher practice".

As you can see, the most important pre-requisite for developing concentration is being a good person, by keeping the five precepts. By avoiding blameworthy actions you will free yourself from restlessness and regret, and instead develop peace and joy.

We have already had some experience of how to meditate through our Tuesday evening classes instructed by Venerable Vimilananda. When you start to practice meditation at your home you will be more successful if you begin by preparing a suitable environment in which to meditate. If you try to meditate in unsuitable conditions, your meditation will most likely be unsuccessful. Therefore, we you suggest the following five preliminary instructions.

(1) Find a suitable place that is free from bright lights, loud noises, cool drafts and other distractions. If you have a mobile phone, switch it off, and if you live with other people politely let them know what you are doing and ask them to remain quiet for the duration of your meditation. Also, ask them only to disturb you in the case of an emergency.

(2) If you have a Buddhist altar, mindfully make offerings of water, candles, incense, Dhamma books, and other suitable items to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. You can say it out loud or in your mind, for example, "I offer flowers to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha." Do the same with light, water and so on.

(3) Sit in a comfortable position, whether it be on the floor or in a chair. The most important thing is that your back is straight and upright, and that your body is not strained. You should be naturally relaxed and without tension in your muscles.

(4) Next, you should prepare your mind and clean your mind to help establish the meditation. Chanting the ‘Vandana for Buddha’, the Five Precepts, and the Triple Gem Refuge has this effect. Try it out and see what happens. Doing so recalls the wholesome minds that are associated with your past Buddhist practices. For example, if you have faith and admiration for the Buddha and his teachings, chanting will recall them. If you require a chanting sheet do not hesitate to ask as we have plenty.

(5) Breathe deeply three times and think, "Now I am going to practice meditation. May I develop Right Concentration so I can see things as they really are." This ensures your motive for your practice is correct. Meditation can be used for many things but in Buddhism our goal is to get to wisdom.

Now we move onto samatha-bhavana practice, the calm-abiding meditation. We have already been given instructions on how to practice samatha-bhavana by Venerable Vimilananda, so we will not present them here again. We will explain, however, the stages of meditation and how they are achieved. In brief, we will explain how to remove the five mental hindrances which prevent concentration, and then how to cultivate the higher levels of meditative absorption, called the rupa-jhanas in Pali.

The process of samatha-bhavana can be likened to cleaning thick dust off the surface of a mirror. As we scrub the surface, layer upon layer of dust falls away, gradually revealing the untainted surface of the mirror. This can be likened to our own mind. Ordinarily our mind is afflicted with many types of bad thoughts and dispositions, which prevent us from developing concentration. These bad dispositions are like the dust on the mirror. Specifically, there are five unwholesome mental qualities called the 'five hindrances', or nivaranas, which distract the mind and prevent tranquillity and focus from arising. From The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma, by Dr. Mehm Tin Mon:

"Our mind is not ordinarily tranquil or calm. It is constantly agitated by five hindrances (nivaranas); namely; (1) sensuous desire (kammacchanda), (2) ill-will (vyapada), (3) sloth-and-torpor (thina- middha), (4) restlesness and remorse (uddhacca-kukkucca) and sceptical doubt (vicikiccha)." (Mon)

Venerable Narada now provides us with a clear picture of each of the five hindrances:

"1. Kammacchanda means sensual desires or attachment to pleasurable sense objects such as form, sound, odour, taste and contact." (Narada)

When sensual desire is present in our minds, we become disturbed and flustered. Unable to remove our mind from the object of our desire, we can't focus on the object of meditation, such as our breath.

"2. Vyapada is illwill or aversion. A desirable object leads to attachment, while an undesirable one leads to aversion." (Narada)

Aversion is having disturbing thoughts about someone or something we don't like. We are intent to find fault with whatever we don't like, and our mind continually criticises it, filling our heart with anger and leaving our bodies tense and uncomfortable.

"3. Thina or Sloth is explained as a morbid state of the mind, and Middha as a morbid state of the mental states. Sloth and torpor should not be understood as bodily drowsiness, because Arhats, who have destroyed these two states, also experience bodily fatigue. These two promote mental inertness..." (Narada)

Sloth and torpor are the states of mind that are too lazy to do anything, let alone practice meditation. An example of this is when someone asks us to remember a telephone number, but we are too lazy to retrieve the information. We may shrug, or just say "I don't know", when we full well know the number. This is sheer laziness and drowsiness of the mind.

"4. Uddhacca is mental restlessness or excitement of the mind. It is a mental state associated with all types of immoral consciousness. Kukkucca is worry. It is either repentance over the committed evil or over the unfulfilled good." (Narada)

Restlessness and excitement are the states of mind that are agitated and unable to settle down. Restlessness can be seen often in children, saying "I'm bored! Let's do something!" The child is unable to remain calm and seems averse to being quiet or settled.

Excitement is the over-energised state of mind that has the quality of being extremely emotional and quick to passion. Both severely inhibit tranquillity and focus.

Worry is another hindrance to concentration. Throughout our day we may have done or said things that we now regret. Worry is the state of mind that cannot let go of the past mistake and blows up the problem to titanic proportions. We also worry about missed opportunities, even to the extreme where we might miss another because we aren't paying attention to what's happening now.

"5. Vicikiccha is doubt or indecision. That which is devoid of the remedy of wisdom is vicikiiccha (vi = devoid; cikiccha = wisdom). It is also explained as vexation due to perplexed thinking." (Narada)

Sceptical doubt, or indecision, usually manifests as ‘perplexed thinking’, an uneasy state of mind that continually observes a particular topic but is unable to find a solution or outcome. Usually we think that if we keep analysing like this we will find a solution, but actually it is better to let go of the worry and come back to the problem when we have a clear mind. It is not that no answer can be found, but rather that the state of mind, Vicikiccha, cannot find one.

The first step in attaining increasing levels of concentration (jhana in Pali), is to temporarily inhibit each of the five hindrances by developing their opponent forces, the factors of absorption (jhananga), which are explained below by Dr. Mehm Tin Mon in his book The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma:

1. Vitakka is initial application that directs the mind towards the object - and is the opponent force of sloth and torpor (thina-middha).

2. Vicara is the sustained application that examines the object again and again - and is the opponent force of sceptical doubt (vicikiccha).

3. Piti is joy or pleasurable interest in the object of meditation and is the - opponent force of ill-will (vyapada).

4. Vedana is feeling, sensation. There are two kinds of feelings that occur in meditative absorption which are:

a) Sukha - pleasant or agreeable feeling, or bliss, and is the opponent force of restlessness and remorse (udhacca-kukucca).

b) Uphekka - neutral feeling or equanimity and is the opponent force of sensual desire (kamacchanda).

5) Ekkagata is one-pointedness, samadhi,(concentration). (Mon) *

*This presentation has been slightly modified to include descriptions of what each jhana factor inhibits.

When you have developed the five factors of concentration, the five hindrances temporarily subside and you have attained the first of the five meditative absorptions, called the rupa-jhanas.

The first jhana has all five jhana factors present. As you continue your meditation, the mind then begins shedding (or replacing) each of the jhana factors one by one, until only one-pointedness and equanimity remain. This is like a snake shedding it's skin.

Dr. Mehm Tin Mon describes the process of how the higher jhanas are achieved:

"In the first jhana, all the five jhana factors are present. Then by meditating further and eliminating the lower jhana factors one by one, a person can attain the higher jhanas. He attains second jhana when vittaka (initial application) is eliminated, the third jhana when vicara (sustained application) is further eliminated, the fourth jhana when piti (joy or pleasurable interest) is eliminated, and finally the fifth jhana when sukha (bliss) is replaced by uphekkha (equanimity)." (Mon 1995, p.46)

The result of developing the rupa-jhanas is that the mind becomes one-pointed and still; it is perfectly focused and tranquil.

We will now briefly discuss the second type of meditation, vipassana-bhavana, or insight meditation, which can follow on once the mind is prepared through calm-abiding meditation.

Samatha-bhavana only temporarily inhibits the unwholesome hindrances. After we finish meditating, we can still get angry and upset, and we still don't understand the deep and subtle principles which govern our experience. It is only through insight that we can understand the causes of hate, greed and ignorance and remove them.

To investigate the subtle dhamma or the subtle nature of the way things really are we have now prepared our mind into a perfect tool through jhana concentration. Similar to how a microscope is a suitable tool to examine matter in fine detail, we can use jhana minds to examine thing as they actually are in vipassana meditation.

"The word vipassana means, by derivation, seeing in an extraordinary way …. seeing beyond what is ordinary, clear vision. It is not surface seeing or skimming, not seeing mere appearances, but seeing things in their proper perspective, that is in terms of the three characteristics or signs of phenomenal existence, vis: impermanence or change; suffering or unsatisfactoriness; and non-self or egolessness (anicca, dukkha, anatta). It is this insight meditation … that enables the (meditator) to purge his (or her) mind of all defilements, to remove the ego delusion and to see reality and experience nibbana." (Piyadassi)

As Venerable Ambewela Pasanna Manana wrote:

"Once the Buddha said –

Yoga ve jayathi bhuri,
Ayogi bhuri sankhayo.

By meditating (developing the mind), wisdom increases
By neglecting meditation, wisdom decreases." (Pasanna)

It is difficult for a person who does not meditate to see the real essence of the Buddha Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha. The Dhamma can only be understood by the wise and not by the foolish. Wisdom does not refer to ones learning, but ones ability to ‘see’ the Dhamma.

May you develop the Perfection of Wisdom.

May you cultivate Right Concentration.

May you be well and happy

May all beings be well and happy.

This script was prepared and edited by Anita Carter, Frank Carter, David Ley, and Alec Sloman.

1. Venerable Piyadassi Mahathera. The Spectrum of Buddhism. Published by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 11th Floor, 55, Hang Chow S. Rd., Sec 1, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 1991.

2. Narada, Thera. The Buddha and His Teachings. Published by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 11th Floor, 55, Hang Chow S. Rd., Sec 1, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 1998

3. Dr. Mehm Tin Mon. The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma. Published by Mehm Tay Zar Mon, Yadanar Min Literature (3455), 15/19 U Wisara Qr., Dagon, Yangon. 1995

4. Venerable Piyadassi Mahathera. Buddhist Meditation, The Way to Inner Calm and Clarity. Published by the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS), 54 Sangharaja Mawata, P.O. Box 61, Kandy, Sri Lanka. 1978

5. Venerable Pasanna Manasa. What is Meditation For? Publisher Unknown. Translated by Venerable Ambewela Pasanna Manasa and Rasika Wijayaratne.

Word count: 3,632

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