Namo Thassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddassa. ///
( I pay Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, and the Fully Enlightened One).
A Buddhan. Dhamman, Sanghan,Namassami.
Athapi Sampajano Vineyya Loke Abhijja Domanassan (With the right effort of controlling one’s own Volitional Formation (Sanskara) levels with mindful clear Comprehension(Sati Sampajannaya)leading to the cessation of Craving & Anger).
Dear friends in Dhamma. With Metta I begin to state. That As the primary knowledge of Dhamma we know and we have heard that there are two methods of Meditations namely Samatha and Vipassana. At the first instance I like to mention that these two above mentioned Meditations can be progressively improved by mindfulness or Sathi. If needed one can search this truth stated above in so many Suttas (Eg.,Satipattana Sutta) preached by Lord Buddha.
On this Meditative Journey from the very beginning, the development of Sati ( Mindfulness ), the calmness of the mind (Samatha), the insight wisdom(Vipassana)and the realisation of Impermance. Sorrow and Noself. (Anithya Dukkha. Anathma) are being understood leading to a realisation by us. This realisation is caused by the cultivation of Sathi (Mindfulness) from the beginning. This is what Is called the Bare Attention(Apakshapathie Nirikshanaya).
Therefore the Satipattana Sutta gives its importance to Mindfulness. In the the Vipassana practise the attention of the mindfulness should be given to the instantaneous mind objects appearing via the six senses. But beforehand our mindfull attention was given to objects of our own will and wish (our needs).Now we are taught by Lord Buddha to be freed from our own likes, dislikes,disires etc.,by getting rid of our Sansaric delusion namely “Me” “I'm” or “My Self”. With Lord Buddha’s Sansaric Experience of 4 Asankeyyas or 100,000 Aeons meaning to (Sara Sankya Kalpa Lakshyak)) he teaches us of the Momentaneity existence which leads us to live peacefully meaning live in the present moment with no clinging or attachment.
As an eg., the understanding of the past Present & the future meaning to if we had a Dhamma session prior to mow it is gone to the past. And if there is a Dhamma session tomorrow it is in the future. Both these understandings are Mundane (Lokiya).Also the presnt moment is not stationary process but a changing process between the past & the future (Momentary process)which cannot be owned or held by someone which by Midfulness Sati & Sati Sampajanna gives a clear comprehension of Anatta (Non Self).To achieve this Supermundane status or the ( Lokottara status) Practise of Sati along with Samatha Vipassana or applying it to one’s daily life are the worthy Dhamma preached by Lord Buddha.
The Minute state existing between the past & the future which is forever changing causes Dukkha. When One is mindfull in the present moment, one begins to develop wisdom ( Pragna) to realise the impermanence (Anithya) & therefore (Dukkha) sorrow leading to(Anatta) No Self or the egoless nature of the so called”I”. This Bhavana achieving this with Sathi is called Yugananda or the Samatha Vipassana Bhavana. Samatha gives one pointedness calming the mid with pragna ( wisdom). & Vipassana gives the Clear Comprehension (Insight) developed with Vipassana Sati & Sati sampajanna. By this method one develops impermanant (Anicca) from the start of one’s meditation mainly with sati in the present moment leading to the realisation of the Noble Eightfold path with the main practise of Satipattana .
We will watch and see how the Noble Eightfold path begins to develop. The first goal should begin with a desciplinary life style to train one’s mind to be self sufficient. Secondly one must be quite compact and not go beyond limits in their lives. To begin this Life Style one must be virtuous (Seela). As one becomes virtuous by following the 5 precepts (Pansil) and also protecting us and others against committing Kaya & Vachi Sankara (meaning not to create any bodily or verbal harm which are anyway fabricated by the mind).
With the start of this above mentioned practise it is very easy to be mindful (Sati) by the natural flow of mindfulness diverting itself to the suitable directions solving problems with Pragna (wisdom) inducing discipline to every action & reaction. It is not practically wise to limit the above mentioned practices only to the Meditative exercises. Because then the mind will not adopt to natural mindfulness leading to the path of the Right view ( Samma ditti).
Lord Buddha‘s preaching teaches (( Ekayano Ayam Bikkhave Maggo, Satthanam Visuddhiya , Soka Paridavanam Samathikkmaya, Dukkha Domanassanam Attangamaya, Ghayassa Adhigamaya,Nibbanassa Sacchi Kiriyaya)) meaning as The right path leading to Nibbana is the realisation of proceeding beyond Sorrow & Lamentation, to realise the path of Anithya Dukkha Anathma( Impermanance Sorrow &. Non-self).
One should not limit the wise attention only via meditation. But the practise of Mindfulness should be a daily happening.
If one becomes mindful to achieve Clear Comprehension(Sati Sampajanna) in one’s own life one can easily live a very peaceful life with the acceptance & the realisations of all good & bad of one’s own & others’ lives. Lord Buddha wisely hinted & humbly requested us as if advising a little child , to practise the above mentioned Dhamma leading to a trouble free , Sorrow & Lamentation free healthy life. I am suggesting to my dear friends in Dhamma that sometimes that our speech in conversation with others can get mixed up with our internal & emotional anger , jealousy
Hatred, Pride or any other way of unpleasant verbalisations . Or our talk to others sometimes have a flavour of bad volition(sankara)
Our verbalizations could be mixed with a volitional flavour. As an example In our daily tasks we can face some intolerable situations where our verbalizations are carried on exactly to suit the above mentioned intolerable state. This above mentioned character is our habitual nature. But with Sati or Mindfulness we will begin to develop a progressive awareness, by considering the good & bad of our own verbalizations. This above mentioned goal Sati is the way to achieve Samma Vacha( Right Speech)the 3rd step of the Noble Eightfold path, in the wisdom ( Pragna Section). It is also stat Stated as Virathi Vaca meaning to the deliberate abstaining from wrong speech whenever the occasion arises. Therefore it is my suggestion that whenever we happen to speak out wrong speech with either anger or without far thinking , it is very wise to ask for an apology & correct our wrong speech to a reasonable right speech. This is called an instantaneous of the wrong action to a right action. If not possible to do as above mentioned . One can wisely change the wrong speech to a right speech. This means that one is wisely changing the wrong Mithya (wrong) Noble Eightfold Path to Samma (right ) Noble Eightfold Path. This above mentioned methods are the goals to adopt for one to correct their Long term Wrong doings. These are successfully achieved due to the daily practise of Sati or Mindfulness. Observing carefully to realise that our Contemplation(Meditation) with the 4 foundation of mindfulness(Satipattana) to be successful it has to be practised in our daily lives & not only in the Bhavana Exercises. Bhavana is also part & partial of our daily lives. In this way in our daily life if we give an importance to our speech with mindfulness , our problems will gradually cease. ATHAPI. Means to cease Sankara & to substitute Akusal with Kusal ,now is being taken into practise. This is how one gradually gets into the contemplation of the Noble Eightfold Path. So in daily life it is always best to practise right speech .
As an example When I spoke to my mother in the past I used competitive language with her. After I improved Sati or Mindfulness I deliberately changed my speech into a Sober Noncompetitive language. By this I gained a lot of relief & happiness & I am sure my mother also would realise my change of language. I am sure such examples as mentioned above May have been in your experience too. Never mind due to a young age or ignorance Unwise doings or speech can happen, but it is important to substitute Kusal with Akusal created by the action which should be led to the realisation of the mistake by being admitted & the mindful behaviour of an apology being displayed immediately or later. Lord Buddha preached the above mentioned statement as(Kusalena Peetiyati). Having got adjusted into this above mentioned meritorious behaviour one will think twice before uttering unwise speech.
The answer to the correction of this unwise verbalizations or speech would be directed towards wise verbalizations by our own minds due to the development of Sati or Mindfulness.
The next point is even in our normal conversations with others one should always display a flavour of Sati even by forwarding reasonable examples such as…… to ( Being Aware, being Nonjudgemental,& being Nonreactive). By these above mentioned. examples being some results of Sati would then be one’s habitual quality. If one can encourage others too to the practise of Sati by showing the benefits of this quality Mind such as …….. Also( Self Control with Sati, Objectivity meaning to existing in the real world, btolerance, flexibility, Equanimity, Improved Cocentration, Mental Clarity, Emotional Intelligence, Ability to relate to others & oneself with kindness,Acceptance & Compassion. Also the benefits of mindful verbalizations. At the Same time one should strengthen the positive mind of Sati. This is what Lord Buddha preached as(Ditting Ujung Karoti). By strengthening Sati in mind one will gradually reach the right view or the Samma Ditthi.
Lord Buddha’s advise is to explain Sati ( Mindfulness) & it’s worthy effects to all our near& dear ones, This is taught in the Suttas of Anguttara Nikaya. If one likes the Supermundane happiness of others such is the person directing them with correct guidance of Satipattana.
To practise Sati Or Mindfulness in one’s normal life I ( Ven Medhavi ) suggest. While being mindful in one’s normal life it is ideal to acknowledge thoughts & the mind objects via six senses ,as by doing that we naturally will belong to the present moment by becoming part & partial of all happenings in the moment, which means to be mindful of every aspect of the present moment. For Example when sweeping the floor with the broom or the Ekel broom , instead of doing it with a disturbed ( preoccupied) mind , if one can fully focus on the sweeping sounds as well, it could be accepted, as full awareness & mindfulness of the sweeping task done at the present moment. Another way of being mindful is when one is carrying on a task it is best to focus on every movement of one’s body & mind leading to lifting & bending & stretching etc ., movements of the hands & the body , feeling of the weights of lifting, the sensational feeling of the Cold or the warmth of the habitat leading to a bonding of nature & the oneself with mindfulness. It is best to try & be at the present moment as much as. Possible. It is understood that this mindfulness cannot be performed 100/- at the beginning . It is welcoming to be in the present moment with Sati or Mindfulness at your best ability & the Capability. It is with great responsibility ,I am stating that our discussion of mindfulness here & now is the SAMMA KAMMANTHA the 4th view of the Noble 8thfoldPath ( Right Bodily Action) stated in Morality (Seela) in the Noble Eight Fold Path. Secondly one has to try the best convert Mithya KAMMANTHA into Samma KAMMANTHA every time leading to the ptactise of the Noble Eight Fold Path. Next stated as Mindfulness is the realisation of Anithya. Dukkha. Anathma (Impermanance, Sorrow & Noself) of the mind & the Mind Objects. For the realisation of this thought process one has to be mindful to a great extent & not be pre occupied. Also however much one thinks that one’s thought process is correct . It is alright but should never have a preoccupation of another thought process completely different to the thought process one is dealing with Here & Now Which means the mindfulness or Sati in the present moment. As an example Sometime back I had a habbit of getting preoccupied while consuming or eating Dhana( lunch ). But gradually I got rid of that habbit by the recollection of Dhamma of Mindfulness. By this I also learnt to practise the Motto “ One Job at a Time”.The other point was that the mindfulness of mixing food & planning for the next mouthful were not panned.Later it was observed & planned in a gradual process & led to a great success.
,Like how it was stated before I practised the Mindful method of taking Dhana ( or the Alms round) . Then in the time space between the mixing of food & the chewing of food , the distraction of the interfering thoughts got less to a great extent. So the advise give you (dear Dhamma friends)is to be fully mindful at meal times. But I also know that most people are involved in a tight schedule of work. But because these goals will direct people to the realisation of Anithya Dukkha. Anathma or the cessation of the Sansaric journey my advise is to start practising these goals of Mindfulness at least little by little. If one is in the habbit of watching Television or talking over the phone at meal times, I humbly advise one to omit all those habits for one’s own development of the cessation of the Sansaric journey. I would advise one again to follow the Noble Eight Fold Path mindfully as mentioned above, always knowing what & how one enjoys the mealtimes mindfully. Otherwise one will only be reminded of the meal time when one accidentally bites into a tiny pebble of sand or bites one’s own tongue. In our Forest Hemitages we are taught, to have a fully mixed meal by even crushing the individual grains of rice. Unlike us the time limitations of lay people are beyond expression.
However it is rather wise to live very closely to one’s own tasks & deeds mindfully. If supposing one wants to concentrate on something else other than what one is doing at the present moment, one should stop the task of the present moment & spend sometime on the other needed concentration. Then one can mindfully do that concentration seperately & plan to finish the other task to one’s own satisfaction. Then one can return to the previous task peacefully. If one trains the mind as mentioned above one can be positively aware of what needs concentration & what does not need constration & then one can do work relaxingly without much effort due to the experienced awareness & Mindfulness. One should learn the difference between diving into concentration & doing things without much effort relaxingly by applying mindfulness. This application of right effort leads to SAMMA. SANKAPPA according to Lord Buddha’s teaching which is the 2nd view of the Noble Eightfold Path(Right Thought) belonging to the Wisdom Section(Pagna) which results as thoughts free from sensual desire, from ill will & Cruelty.
Here with we are being specifically trained to practise the Noble Eight Fold Path leading to cease Akusal ( Unwholesome Deeds)or substitute Akusal to Kusal (Wholesome Deeds). Dear Dhamma Friends now one must be understanding that developing Mindfulness is the goal mainly leading to the development of the Noble Eight Fold Path. Although I do not explain the other ways leading to the same development as mentioned above , now one understands how much the quality of Mindfulness helps to cease the Sansaric ( Cycle of Existence) journey. In order to practise the meditation of Mindfulness Lord Buddha humbly requests one to choose a quiet place with an undisturbed environment . For example not to choose a place where people watch Television or listening to music or a Play ground, instead to choose a quiet environment suitable for meditation. Also one must always see oneself as a beginner when starting the meditation programme. One can either do the sitting or the walking meditation to one’s preference. In sitting meditation one must plan(only) to be in that position suited to one’ s ability. It is preferable to wear light & comfortable clothes when meditating. Also it is better to do walking meditation prior to sitting meditation. I suggest the above mentioned method of walking meditation as priority to Sitting down Meditation If one really likes to do so. Walking meditation has to be done in a simple manner such as walking just a few steps forwards & backwards as a beginner. While walking one will begin to feel the sensations of one’s clothing touching one’s body, hearing outside noises or sounds or even one might feel the sensations of one’s own footsteps. Whatever it is one has to let go one’s own concrete ideas, needs, Planning,expectations,& be aware of only the present moment of what U hear & see “ Know only the knowing” & “ Seeing only the seeing”. One’s main quetions & worry are as that one cannot feel the breath at the tip of the nose, the breath cannot be felt at times, Cannot sit in the same position for a long time, etc., but in Buddhism these above mentioned strict rules were never preached by Lord Buddha. Unlike in a war battalion ,strict rules of concrete behaviours are not recommended in Buddhism. Buddhism is not a practise mainly to physical exercise only,but Buddhism teaches to develop mindfulness. Enjoying mindfulness will result only after one let’s go of all the above mentioned wrong beliefs. When walking one should walk light heartedly with no worries (at least for the time being), then one will begin to realise the freedom felt in the mind. After finishing the walk freely one should recall the experiences noted in the walking meditation.Then begin to keep a record of it daily. This is called the preparation of the Kammatthana. The written record should be how one’s feelings were while walking, how many times the walking steps were felt, or whether it was not felt, or what else noted should be written & kept as a record or. A kammatthana. This Kammatthana or the written record should be as follows————-Whether one felt the sensations of the walk, one had mindfulness only for 2. Or. 3. Steps of walking, Sometimes one felt the mind got distracted to outside objects . Then one felt this trial of meditation was of no use, started cursing one’s ownself, Again having tried to be mindful one got quite disturbed with the unsteady nature of mindfulness. But all these above mentioned incidents are OK. Actually that was a very good Kammatthana procedure. Because remembering all those actions & reactions itself was due to mindfulness. In addition it is best to allocate a comfortable time limit before one sits for meditation calculating the time limit in seconds rather than in hours in order to give a relaxed invitation to the mind for meditation. One has to have quite a free mind meaning to not have a rigid forceful attitude towards meditation. One should be quite carefree with a letting go attitude for the time being if one cannot perform well in meditation. Otherwise one adopts to have one’s own wishful thinking such as wanting a speedy success in meditation or expecting unusual meditative results in a great hurry etc .,then the meditation would not be successful. But if one really becomes aware of the reality of the above mentioned preparations & start the meditation accordingly there will be a success to one’s intention.
Sometimes when one sits for meditation after doing the walking meditation the mind could be directed to one’s own body , gets distracted to external objects and noises or to a feeling of pain in the body or to the thought process. Whatever they are my suggestion is to welcome them with Metta without rejecting them with anger or disappointment. One must accept all those distractions with kindness, be with them & watching them letting go gradually which one eventually would understand the Impermanant or ( Anithya) nature of the Samsara or the cycle of existence & then return to the main meditation object. When experiencing sounds or noises while meditating one should tolerate them with genuine kindness to realise that it is OK.,instead of developing inner curse towards the distractions. One should never think negatively such as———“these distractions always happen to disturb my ( one’s) meditation “ which leads to inner development of taints ( Kileshas) via disappointment. Whatever the good & bad disturbing one’s meditation , all those have to be accepted with Metta & Karuna (Kindness) leading to not developing (kileshas ) unwholesome thoughts or taints in the mind. I f one is disturbed with perspiring one should find out where on the body it is happening & try to attend to it calmly with no anger. Never mind the thoughts getting distracted, let it happen , be with it & then quietly come back to one’s own meditation.
My suggestion is not to develop inner anger and by understanding , realising & seeing it with the Mind Eye ( Pragna) so as to how much it is processively producing unwholesome thoughts leading to bad Karma (fate). This above mentioned phase is the 2nd step in meditation which Lord Buddha preached as ( Parimukang Sathing Upattapetva) meaning to give the first place in life to Sati or Mindfulness. Which will develop not by planning but processively into practise Sati with what ever or who ever one comes in contact with in life.
In meditation there are a few questions arising as follows————(1). What is the best timing in life. ? & the answer is the present moment. (2). What is the best task in life? & the answer is what is being done at the present moment (3) Who is the best person in life ? & the answer is one’s own self .
But Buddhism teaches the cessation of self ego which means the meaning of the above mentioned 3rd question means is to be mindful with one’s surroundings & to be mindfully understood the nature of other people & the surroundings leading to a peaceful atmosphere and to a wholesome life.
If one recalls one’s past one had never tried to keep the mind away from wandering. One was always running after beautiful clothing, beautiful people, tasty food, & also one was always in the habbit of getting rid of the unpleasant things and such was the ignorant training that one always gave the mind. Also though one wants the Ana Pana Sati meditation to achieve the stage of inner physical sensations, it will not happen in a hurry. One also cannot appreciate the breath meditation at the beginning, due to the wandering nature of the mind. But it is alright let the breath meditation take its own pace to calm down. One must accept the changing nature of the breath & once one familiarizes with the changing nature of the breath one will not be bored with it. Hearing noises also would be tolerated with the time factor. Ven. Ajan Cha’s teaching was that as long as one did let go of outside disturbances, they would not disturb one, which means that one gets familiar with it. Once one familiarizes with the disturbances towards meditation one will tolerate it. According to Dhammic analysis of nature the disturbances or hearing noises depict no existence , therefore it is one’s lack of Sati only sees them as a hindrance. But it is better accepting the above mentioned hindrances by continuously developing Sati or Mindfulness.
In this way one will understand that Sati or mindfulness may have settled internally or externally within one’s reach. If the mindfulness has settled internally in the body one might feel some kind of a pain, or discomfort, a feeling of lightness, or even the breath body within the physical body , or one’s posture,or Itchy feelings, or crawling of ants on the body, etc., when one is walking, one feels the Lowering & lifting of the feet & the sensation of one’s own clothing on the body ,or sometimes one might feel the in & out breath depicting the Ana Pana sati meditation. But one should not be clinging to it (Ana Pana) in excitement) at that particular moment. Instead one should see it as only an in & out breath. Then only one really understands the present moment with insight , as Sati or Mindfulness with Bare attention, which will not get into speedy expectations leading to immaturely major decisions but will be satisfied with what one experiences at the present moment. The classic truth behind a true meditator is as the proverb saying “Slow & Steady wins the Race”. As it was stated when one learns to tolerate the wandering mind with an understanding one will learn to live with external habitat peacefully. This achievement being peaceful with others does actually mean that “one lives peacefully by oneself.” Practising mindfulness or Sati must be regular at least by 5 mins. daily practise even at the most difficult times. Written recording of Kammatthana has to be done at the earliest convenience before forgetting. Also one should always read the previously written record of Kammatthana before starting the next day meditation & will be subjected to a group discussion conducted by Ven. Medhavi. As stated before when one gets desciplined with the MIND. BODY. &.SPEECH & practices mindfulness, One would realise that the cessation of Dukkha is the result of the above mentioned right conduct. We will discuss it gradually in the future. As the initial instructions of the Satipattana contemplation I humbly expects that the above mentioned Bhavana instructions will be of great help in Dhamma for the cessation of the Sansaric Journey (Cycle of Existence).
“Jinam Wandama Gotaman”.
Theruan Saranai.
Sadhu. Sadhu. Sadhu
(Support for the Translation by Mrs.Kusuma Jayasinhe Sunday Dhamma Discussion Group)
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