Wisdom Wide and Deep

by Shaila Catherine

  If your faith is weak and you are faced with pain or difficulties, doubt can arise. You might wonder if you can really do this practice. You might wonder if you will ever attain jhāna. If conviction slackens, you will need to encourage and inspire yourself. Allowing attention to sink into the meditation object requires a yielding, trusting steadiness. If you don’t trust the practice or your direction, you will remain preoccupied with superficial speculation—criticizing, comparing, anticipating, conceptualizing, and analyzing the meditation before it has matured. If the cohesive force of conviction weakens, then endeavor to strengthen your faith.

  Although faith is indispensable, it is also vulnerable to error. The Buddhist tradition distinguishes between verified faith, which is confirmed through your own experience, and “bright faith,” which is merely aroused from an outside source. Bright faith (sometimes called blind faith) has valuable inspirational properties, but it can be feeble and will not sustain us through obstacles. Verified faith, on the other hand, stands the test of investigation and is not diminished by criticisms. This deeper level of conviction is born out of wise consideration. Because conviction has been confirmed through discernment and personal experience, you can trust it, even when life is hard or pain racks the body. Gradually, by experiencing the benefits of concentration and insight first hand, you will gain confidence that you have the capacity to endure pain with equanimity, that you are able to let go of destructive habits, and that you are worthy of the joy of a deeply tranquil mind. You will test the teachings in your own experience. As you grow and develop, your faith will strengthen. When faith is mature, doubts and questions subside. Energies then focus easily on the task at hand. Eventually, trust grows to a level that merits the designation of a controlling faculty and ushers the mind into deeply settled states.

  Enhancing Faith with Recollections

  One traditional tool to enhance faith is to contemplate objects that are worthy of trust. Reflect on what is worthy to know, such as the four noble truths, the path of release, the law of causes and effects. Reflect on what is worthy to practice, such as kind and compassionate deeds, honesty, generosity, renunciation, patience, integrity, and perseverance in meditation. Reflect on the people who practice sincerely and successfully.

  Reflective meditations can quickly dispel the little agitations that arise in the course of cultivating the mind, thereby soothing unrest, enhancing tranquility, and bringing joy, brightness, and buoyancy to the mind. To develop these contemplations, focus on a subject worthy of respect and continuously dwell with that lovely notion. There are six traditional reflections incorporated into concentration practice; namely, recollections of the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha (community), virtue, generosity, and heavens. Two of these are illustrated below.

  MEDITATION INSTRUCTION 2.1

  Recollection of the Buddha

  Of the six traditional reflections, recollection of the Buddha incorporates most of the qualities highlighted by the other five. Therefore meditators may favor this recollection, focusing one at a time on admirable qualities that the Buddha possessed. Begin by looking at a Buddha image of which you are fond. Then close your eyes and visualize the image. As you focus your attention upon that mental image of Buddha, reflect on a particularly admirable quality possessed by the Buddha. Choose just one attribute at a time—perhaps his extraordinary wisdom, that he discovered the path to nibbāna, that through countless lifetimes he diligently cultivated wholesome qualities, or that he was a man of integrity who spoke the truth. Allow the contemplation of the perfection of Buddha’s conduct, virtue, and knowledge to brighten your mind with delight and happiness.

  MEDITATION INSTRUCTION 2.2

  Reflection on Virtue and Generosity

  You might explore reflective practices with the combined contemplation of virtue and generosity. First, reflect on the spiritual potency of these qualities in general; consider the benefits associated with virtuous and generous acts. Second, think of specific virtuous deeds or generous actions that you have personally performed, and allow attention to dwell on these thoughts. Third, sense that virtue supports your attention, providing a current of joyful wholesome energy that upholds consciousness, making your mind worthy of the happiness of concentration. Sustain the contemplation, repeatedly turning virtuous and generous thoughts over in your mind to massage away underlying feelings of doubt, trepidation, and stinginess.

  ENERGY AND EFFORT (VIRIYA)

  The faculty of effort has the function of consolidating and reinforcing the mind. It supports and drives the required mental faculties to accomplish the task of concentrating on your meditation object. Effort, however, isn’t just a matter of trying harder, for if you are always striving, you may find yourself fatigued rather than strengthened. Supported by faith, the skillful application of effort brings an energetic engagement with meditation that leads to greater mindfulness. Balanced effort is both fully committed and deeply relaxing.

  Although it is possible to strive too forcefully, I more frequently see students procrastinating in their meditation practice, inhibiting the complete engagement that would carry the mind into absorption. Laziness, hesitancy, and partial commitment divert precious energy. There is so much that you actually can do to bring peace into your life. People often underestimate the amount of energy drained by habits, energy that could otherwise be tapped as a resource and strength. As the Buddha exhorted in his final teaching: “All conditioned things are of a nature to decay. Work out your liberation with diligence.”41 Wise and heartfelt persistence nurtures a balance of effort and ease as you give your whole heart and mind to the practice.

  Total Dedication

  In what ways do you offer less than 100 percent dedication to awakening?

  Learn what drains and diminishes your effort. Notice the effect of daily habits and entertainments on your meditation. Observe the effects that watching TV, engaging in gossip, or surfing the Web might have on your concentration. If you discover that an activity increases distraction or reduces your energy, you can do something different—engage in more supportive pursuits. Confront any obstacles that sap your strength and determination for practice.

  Enhancing Effort: A Tiger’s Patience, a Spider’s Diligence

  Tigers are powerful and patient hunters. They are well adapted to pounce on their prey, but only from relatively short distances—they must wait patiently for prey to get close before striking. Naturalists have discovered that tigers succeed in less than one out of every twenty attempts at the hunt; they need forbearance to keep trying without discouragement. You too need patience to keep making the effort, to continue returning to your meditation object, even when it seems redundant and nothing appears to be happening. There may be periods that are calm to the point of dullness and others that are excruciatingly restless. Meditation will not always be exciting or blissful, but a skillful meditator will apply ardent resolve and open ease, diligently continuing to practice.

  In the early 1990s, NASA sent a spider into space in an experiment on the effects of zero gravity on web building.42 Without her body weight as a guide, the spider wove misshapen webs for the first three days. On the fourth day, she spun a near perfect web. Like web-spinning, jhāna does not need perfect conditions, but it does require diligence. You may not enter jhāna in your first attempt, or your first retreat, but like spiders, you will learn if you just keep trying.

  Skillful Effort Is “Just Enough”

  Effort is not a static quality. You can’t rely upon a single decision to be aware and expect that to bring calm or insight. Skill is needed to adjust the quality and quantity of your effort in each meditation session. Like a well-tuned instrument, your effort should be neither too tight nor too loose.43

  The ability to adjust the quality and quantity of effort is an important meditation skill. For thousands of years teachers have used daily life examples to describe the intuitive adjustments that we make as our attention meets the meditation object. Balanced effort is compared to the way su
rgery pupils train to use a scalpel by cutting on a lotus leaf that is floating in a dish of water. An arrogant student may cut it in two or submerge it with overconfident, pushy, and forceful energy. A fearful student is too afraid to touch it and will not make the cut. But a student who applies balanced effort makes a precise and careful scalpel stroke on the leaf.

  Similarly, a zealous skipper may decide to hoist his sail in a high wind and so send his ship adrift. A hesitant skipper may decide to lower his sail in a light wind and so will not navigate the waters. But “one who hoists full sails in a light wind, takes in half his sails in a high wind, and so arrives safely at his desired destination”44 demonstrates the correct application of effort. As the Visuddhimagga states:

  Adjusting the Quality of Effort

  Notice in your meditation how much effort it takes to bring attention to meet the breath. If your energy is low, how does the attention respond? If there is too much effort, how do you recognize that force of striving? Experiment by first reducing the effort, then intensifying the meditation with more vigorous effort. What is the result of each adjustment? When is a strong and powerful energy needed, and when is a light touch more appropriate?

  To consume a meal, you must apply the right amount of effort for your fork to pierce a potato. If you exert too much force, the fork will smash through the potato. If there is a deficiency of energy, the potato will not be firmly gripped and could slip off the fork and mess up your clothes. Notice how naturally you adjust the application of strength in daily tasks, and consider what amount of effort is required to settle the mind on the breath.

  Just as with these similes, so too … one bhikkhu forces his energy, thinking “I shall soon reach absorption.” Then his mind lapses into agitation because of his mind’s overexerted energy and he is prevented from reaching absorption. Another who sees the defect in overexertion slacks off his energy, thinking, “What is the absorption to me now?” Then his mind lapses into idleness because of his mind’s too lax energy and he too is prevented from reaching absorption. Yet another who frees his mind from the idleness even when it is only slightly idle and from agitation when only slightly agitated … with balanced effort, reaches absorption. One should be like this last named.45

  Four Applications of Energy/Effort

  The Buddha described four kinds of effort, each of which has an important function in practice: (1) the effort to avoid or prevent unwholesome states that have not yet arisen; (2) the effort to abandon unwholesome states if they have arisen; (3) the effort to cultivate wholesome states that have not yet arisen; and (4) the effort to maintain wholesome states that have already arisen.

  1. The effort to avoid or prevent unwholesome states that have not yet arisen. To prevent relapse, an alcoholic may spend the evening at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting rather than a local bar. To avoid sloth and torpor, a meditator may begin the meditation in an upright posture rather than reclining in bed. Using concentration practice, you prevent the arising of hindrances by occupying your attention with the breath.

  You can also avoid unwholesome states by learning from others’ mistakes. The Visuddhimagga suggests that when seeing an unprofitable state in someone else, you may strive, thinking, “I shall not behave as he has done in whom this state has now arisen, and this state will not arise in me.”46 Thus you can circumvent many common errors by observing others.

  2. The effort to abandon unwholesome states if they have arisen. Anytime you notice that aversion, ill will, greed, lust, doubt, restlessness, laziness, or any unwholesome state has arisen, you have a choice—you can entertain that state or abandon it. When you focus your attention in meditation, you have abandoned all other objects to attend to the simple perception of your meditation object. When your attention wanders off the meditation object, you can practice letting go of distraction. In daily activities, notice where your attention dwells and steer it away from patterns that disrupt clarity or happiness.

  3. The effort to cultivate wholesome states that have not yet arisen. The Buddha encouraged his disciples to examine the mind and cultivate wholesome states, day and night. This practice develops many wholesome states such as loving-kindness, generosity, compassion, equanimity, wise attention, insight, happiness, tranquility, concentration, and the five factors that are the focus of this chapter—faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.

  Cultivating Wholesome States

  Choose a quality that you would like to develop. Decide how you will remind yourself of that quality and what you will do to strengthen it. Create simple daily projects for yourself. For example, if you wish to cultivate good will, you might remind yourself of loving-kindness by taping a note with a phrase such as May you be happy and well on the bathroom mirror and resolve to recite the phrase as you comb your hair each day. If you’d like to strengthen concentration, you might decide to forsake television and movies, and reduce newspaper reading, in order to add a little more time for meditation each day. If you want to refine honesty, you might carry a small notebook and write down every exaggeration, white lie, deception, or inaccurate statement to discover how dishonesty creeps into your speech.

  Decide what you’d like to improve, and actually do something about it. Apply your effort.

  4. The effort to maintain wholesome states that have already arisen. Once you have experienced a flicker of calmness, how do you nourish its continuance? When you have done a generous action, do you reflection it to allow the motivation to mature? After you have cleared your mind of the hindrances, how do you maintain that purity? Once you have experienced jhāna, do you maintain access to deep tranquility for the next sitting meditation, the next day, and throughout your life? The ability to maintain wholesome states is a subtle and essential mode of effort for jhāna practitioners. Students sometimes experience a brief immersion in jhāna, but then wander about with senses unrestrained, sabotaging the gains they have made. Once jhāna has been established, a gentle yet steady application of interest and energy is required to maintain the concentration. You can develop a continuity of attention, not only in the sitting meditations, but also throughout the day. Just as a young pregnant woman would consider the well being of her baby while going about her activities—protecting it from harm while she worked, thinking of it while sitting, considering its nourishment while eating—a wise meditator will guard the meditation object in all activities and at all times.47 For instance, if you are using the breath as your meditation object, also bring awareness to the breath as you walk, eat, bathe, and work. Gently but consistently nurture your contemplation throughout daily life, and then intensify that focus during formal sitting periods.

  Wise effort is a simple development toward what is fruitful and away from what brings suffering. A Tibetan proverb says, “With a stout heart a mouse can lift an elephant.” At times you will need courage, commitment, and a stout heart as you apply wise effort to prevent or abandon unwholesome states and to cultivate or maintain wholesome states.

  Determination to Reach the Goal

  You will only succeed if you apply yourself toward your goals: “Whatever wholesome states there are, they are all rooted in diligence, converge upon diligence, and diligence is reckoned the best of them all.”48 The Buddha had great strength of determination. He remarked:

  Two things, O monks, I came to know well: not to be content with good states of mind so far achieved, and to be unremitting in the struggle for the goal. Unremittingly, indeed, did I struggle, and I resolved: “Let only my skin, sinews, and bones remain; let the flesh and blood in my body dry up; yet there shall be no ceasing of energy till I have attained whatever can be won by manly strength, manly energy, manly effort!” … Through diligence have I won enlightenment, through diligence have I won the unsurpassed security from bondage.49

  Arousing Energy When You Feel Lax

  1. Articulate and reflect upon your intention, purpose, and aim.

  2. When you sit for meditation, straighten your spine and maintain an upright
posture.

  3. Quickly recognize dullness, laziness, or sleepiness as forms of suffering, and dispel them as instinctively as you would withdraw your hand from a flame.

  4. Make a clear decision to be awake and energetic. Instruct yourself to stop wandering and pull your energy together, as you energetically lift your mind up to the meditation object.

  5. Reflect on death to rouse spiritual urgency. No one has the luxury to procrastinate.

  6. Tap the energy of rapture and joy. Delight that you have the opportunity to practice meditation.

  7. If dullness threatens to overtake your meditation, open your eyes, roll your eyeballs for a moment, and take a deep breath and hold it before letting it slowly release. If sleepiness frequently overcomes you during meditation, then stretch, walk, or do some other physical activity before you sit in meditation.

  Strong determination is needed to turn away from the sensual sphere and enter jhāna. Without this mental energy, concentration would be impossible. Let nothing deter your resolve. Make your focus unwavering, entertain no sidetracks in your pursuit of liberation.

  MINDFULNESS (SATI)

  Meditation teachers use a variety of terms to describe mindfulness, awareness, attention, and concentration. Some use strongly directive language to describe mindfulness, such as “penetrative attention,” “attention that is thrust upon an object,” or “awareness that sinks into the object.” Other teachers describe mindfulness as a “receptive, relaxed, nonjudgmental observation,” and reserve the more forceful language for descriptions of concentration.