Suggestion 1: Each week choose an activity to examine, for example, bathing. Bring mindful attention to the mind and body engaged in that pursuit. Each time that you bathe, contemplate the impermanent, unsatisfactory, not-self, or repulsive qualities to whatever elements you may perceive. It could be as simple as observing the material element of temperature changing during the course of your bath.
Suggestion 2: Resolve to clear your mind of obstructive states and refuse to fuel the reproduction of unwholesome states. For example, when you become aware that your mind is entertaining a stream of judging thoughts, mindfully examine the formation called judging. It will probably be composed of the eighteen or twenty mental formations associated with states of hatred. Once you make the decision to not condition hatred, direct your attention in a wholesome way in the next moment. In all likelihood the energy that supports chronic judging will have dissipated through wise examination. Contemplate how rapidly mental states change. If you find your mind wandering into daydreams, analyze the restless drifting mind to recognize the sixteen mental formations that compose general restlessness or the nineteen to twenty-two mental formations that compose conceit. Sense the unwholesome roots of delusion that are inherent in fantasy. Recognize the danger of shamelessness and fearlessness of wrongdoing that arise in conjunction with restlessness. Choose how you will direct your attention in the next moment of experience.
Suggestion 3: Learn how you can live your life continuing to nurture both calmness and clarity. Sensory restraint and basic mindfulness training are essential. Approach your daily meditation practice with the aim of supporting both concentration and insight. You may choose to practice with various objects, stick with just the breath, or integrate many of the exercises gleaned from this book. You might emphasize concentration or the four elements meditation. There is no single correct way to approach your daily meditation. Make a choice as to how you will direct your attention and then notice what your effort produces. Wise reflection will allow you to steer your practice continuously toward liberation.
Although it is certainly possible to sustain jhāna, discern ultimate materiality and mentality, and develop a rigorous insight practice in the context of a contemporary lay lifestyle, most people seem to maintain a daily meditation practice that strengthens mindfulness, concentration, and insight in general ways, and then periodically intensify their practice before, during, and after periodic retreats. A practice that integrates consistent daily sitting, thoughtful contemplation of the Buddha’s teachings, impeccable attention to virtue, joyful engagement with meritorious actions like giving and serving, and periodic intensive retreats will nurture your quest for the deepest happiness and peace of a liberated mind.
Practice can become an ongoing source of joy; it is not a burdensome chore. Whether practice is pleasant and easy or a challenging struggle, don’t let negligence creep into your days. Every moment of your life is a precious opportunity for developing the mind. Is this moment of existence incorporated into your practice of awakening? Every day you can find opportunities to apply the insights that you have gleaned, strengthen mindfulness, and enhance the consistency of wise attention.
The training does not end with a great insight, the accomplishment of jhāna, or even the realization of nibbāna. On one occasion, the Buddha praised Venerable Sariputta’s attainment and remarked that if someone should wish:
“May I often abide in voidness,” he should consider thus: “On the path by which I went to the village for alms, or in the place where I wandered for alms, or on the path by which I returned from alms round, was there any desire, lust, hate, delusion, or aversion in my mind regarding forms cognizable by the eye?”
If by so reviewing, he knows … there was desire, lust, hate, delusion, or aversion in [his] mind regarding forms cognizable by the eye, then he should make an effort to abandon those evil unwholesome states.
But if, by reviewing he knows … there was no desire, lust, hate, delusion, or aversion in [his] mind regarding forms cognizable by the eye, then he can abide happy and glad, training day and night in wholesome states.338
The Buddha encouraged Venerable Sariputta to observe his daily reactions and uproot any residual defilements that might linger. Even after astounding accomplishments, he continued to reflect. You can heed the same advice by observing your mind as you drive to work in the morning, walk to the office, eat lunch, answer the telephone, greet colleagues and clients, pay your taxes, cook dinner, care for a sick friend, launder your clothing, exercise at the park, and meditate. If you uncover unwholesome factors, deal wisely with them. If you recognize wholesome states, be glad, and enjoy the continued cultivation of the pure mind.
Developing a daily life practice is more comprehensive than just sitting in meditation. Skillful practice is embedded in how you relate to life. Through mindfully reviewing the state of your experience, sometimes with meticulous precision in meditation, and sometimes more generally in daily activities, you will gradually purify your mind and transform your life. Like a skilled sailor who adjusts the sails of his boat in order to propel his journey, use your engagement with every activity to develop your path.
May you realize the supreme happiness of nibbāna.
Notes
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
D Dīgha Nikāya, The Long Discourses of the Buddha
A Aṅguttara Nikāya, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha
M Majjhima Nikāya, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
S Saṃyutta Nikāya, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha
Ud The Udana, The Inspired Utterances of the Buddha
It The Itivuttaka, The Buddha’s Sayings
Miln The Questions of King Milinda
Sn Sutta Nipāta
Dhp The Dhammapada
Vism Visuddhimagga, The Path of Purification
Vimm Vimuttimagga, The Path of Freedom
Sam Sammohavinodanī, The Dispeller of Delusion
CITATIONS
D sutta: verse within designated sutta
A numerical collection (chapter): sutta within designated chapter
M sutta: verse within designated sutta
S thematic collection (Saṃyutta): sutta number within designated Saṃyutta, (periodically includes verse reference)
Ud chapter: sutta within designated chapter
It chapter: sutta numbered from beginning of It
Sn chapter: sutta within designated chapter, (verse numbered from beginning of Sn)
Dhp verse numbered from beginning of Dhp
Vism chapter: verse within designated chapter
Vimm fascicle, chapter, section: subsection
Sam chapter: paragraph numbered from beginning of Sam
INTRODUCTION: APPROACHING DEEP CALM AND INSIGHT
1 It. 3:87
2 S. 35:99; S. 35:160; S. 22:5; S. 56:1
3 A. IV:162; A. X:29
4 M. 99:12 Subha Sutta: To Subha
5 A. V:176
6 The Pa-Auk Monastery in Burma (Myanmar) has many qualified teachers in residence year round and welcomes practitioners from around the world. For information regarding retreats and courses led by Shaila Catherine (mostly in the USA) see www.imsb.org.
7 Currently Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw’s publications Knowing and Seeing and Workings of Karma are available online. See www.dhammaweb.net.
8 The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikāya), The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Saṃyutta Nikāya), The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), and A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (Abhidhammattha Sangaha) are important sources that will support this training.
9 M. 107 Gaṇakamoggallāna Sutta: To Gaṇakamoggallāna
CHAPTER 1: CLEARING THE PATH: OVERCOMING THE FIVE HINDRANCES
10 S. 46:31, S. 46:32
11 Vism. VIII:200
12 The Visuddhimagga suggests a few methods of counting as a preliminary practice to bring the attention into connection with the meditation subject of the breath. See
Vism. VIII:190–196.
13 Ud. 4.3
14 It. 4:111
15 D. 22:13 Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness
16 A. V:77
17 A. V:193
18 S. 23:2
19 A. VI:63
20 M. 91:14 Brahmāyu Sutta: Brahmāyu
21 M. 145 Punnovada Sutta: Advice to Punna
22 M. 102:17 Pañcattaya Sutta: The Five and Three
23 Vism. IX:38
24 Vism. XIV:167
25 Sn. 4:15(942) Attadaṇḍa Sutta
26 Vism. VIII:153
27 M. 19:8 Dvedhāvitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought
28 S. 9:11(787–788)
29 Sn. 3:8(588) Salla Sutta: The Dart
30 Ud. 4:1
31 M. 32:9 Mahāgosinga Sutta: The Greater Discourse in Gosinga
32 M. 20:7 Vitakkasaṇṭhāna Sutta: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts
33 S. 5:5(532–535)
34 S. 46:2
35 M. 15:8 Anumāna Sutta: Inference
36 D. 2:69–74 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
37 D. 2:75 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
CHAPTER 2: LEADING THE WAY: ENHANCING FIVE CONTROLLING FACULTIES
38 Sn. 3:1(424) Pabbajja Sutta: The Going Forth
39 A. VIII:63; Thanissāro Bhikkhu, trans. Handful of Leaves (San Diego: Mettā Forest Monastery, 2002)
40 A. VII:67
41 D. 16 Mahāparinibbāna: The Great Passing
42 Joanne Lauck, The Voice of the Infinite in The Small (Mill Spring: Swan-Raven & Co., 1998, p. 224)
43 A. VI:55
44 Vism. IV:67–73
45 Vism. IV:67–73
46 Vism. XXII:39–40
47 Vism. IV:34
48 A. X:15
49 A. II, i, 5
50 M. 111 Anupada Sutta: One by One as They Occurred
51 A. IV:117
52 See Bhikkhu Bodhi’s introduction to vol. 2 of The Saṃyutta Nikāya (Boston: Wisdom Publications, p. 1507).
53 A. III:30
54 M. 149 Mahasalayatanika Sutta: The Great Sixfold Base
55 M. 117:3 Mahācattārīsaka Sutta: The Great Forty
56 For a fuller discussion of this point, see Analayo, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization (Birmingham: Windhorse Publications, 2004, p. 74).
57 Vism. XVI:96–98
58 The Pali term kusala may be translated as profitable, wholesome, or skillful. It refers to conditions that lead to the production of meritorious action.
59 S. 48:10
60 M. 19 Dvedhāvitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought
61 M. 19:6 Dvedhāvitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought
62 M.19.8 Dvedhāvitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought
63 Vism. IV:45–49
64 S. 48:52
CHAPTER 3: ELEVEN SUPPORTS FOR DEVELOPING CONCENTRATION
65 S. 1(59–60)
66 Vism. IV:42–66. Here the list of ten skills for absorption is described. Chapter IV, paragraph 61, contains a similar list for the development of the enlightenment factor of concentration that adds one additional item—the reflection on the peaceful attainments. Hence, combining the lists, I have presented eleven supports for concentration. A similar list is included in Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1.
67 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1: Ten Ways and Simile of the Horse Chariot
68 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1
69 The Visuddhimagga (IV:51–56) offers multiple strategies for arousing the enlightenment factors of investigation, energy, and rapture.
70 The Visuddhimagga (IV:57–62) offers multiple strategies for arousing the enlightenment factors of tranquility, concentration, and equanimity.
71 Vism. IV:64
CHAPTER 4: BEYOND DISTRACTION: ESTABLISHING JHĀNA THROUGH MINDFULNESS WITH BREATHING
72 It. 4:110; It. 4:111; A. IV:11
73 Vism. IV:92
74 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1: Simile of Chariot and Army
75 Vism. IV:88–91
76 Vism. IV:88–91
77 Vism. IV:90; Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1
78 Vism. IV:90
79 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1
80 Vism. VIII:214–315
81 Vism. VII:212–213
82 Vism. VIII:208
83 M. 148:29–33 Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sets of Six
84 Vism. IV:33
85 See Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed., A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Acariya Anuruddha (Seattle: Buddhist Publication Society, 2000, p. 331).
86 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1: Fixed Meditation-Jhāna
87 S. 28:1
88 D. 2:75–76 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
89 Vism. IV:129
90 M. 66 Laṭukikopama Sutta: Simile of the Quail
91 A. IX:35
92 S. 28:2
93 D. 2:78 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
94 For reflections on disadvantages and advantages of each jhāna, see the Vimuttimagga, Fascicle V, chap. VIII, sect. 2: Entrance into the Second Meditation; The Third Meditation, Jhāna; The Fourth Meditation, Jhāna; The Sphere of Infinite Space; and so on.
95 S. 28:3
96 D. 2:80 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
97 S. 28:4
98 D. 2:82 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
99 D. 2:97 Sāmaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Homeless Life
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION II: CONCENTRATION BEYOND THE BREATH
100 M. 101:44 Devadaha Sutta: At Devadaha
101 Vism. VIII:155
102 Commentary to Dhammapada verse 285
CHAPTER 5: EMBODYING YOUR WORLD: CONTEMPLATING THIRTY-TWO PARTS OF THE BODY
103 Ud. 3:5
104 Dispeller of Delusion (I:1053–1212) includes forty-four pages of detailed descriptions and instructions for this meditation practice.
105 Color of the body part can be used to generate four jhānas with color kasiṇas; the repulsive perception can cultivate the first jhāna, and the discernment of space leads to the meditation on material elements. See Vimm. Fascicle VII, chap. VIII, sect. IV: Thirty-Two Parts of the Body.
106 The body parts are listed in M. 10:10 Satipatthana Sutta: Foundations of Mindfulness; A. X:60; and M. 286 Mahāhatthipadopama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint.
107 M. 10:10 Satipatthana Sutta: Foundations of Mindfulness
108 I have chosen to follow Bhikkhu Bodhi’s use of the term diaphragm. Alternatives include membrane and pleura, which may be more accurate translations, but more difficult for many people to visualize or recognize.
109 Some lists of body parts found in the suttas do not include the brain. The brain appears to be a later addition to the list of thirty-two parts of the body.
110 This method makes great use of the mental light that arises in conjunction with concentration and insight meditation. Brief references to the light of wisdom can be found in the A. IV:141–145. This brief discourse mentions four lights: the light of the moon, sun, fire, and wisdom.
111 Vimm. Fascicle VII, chap. VIII, sect. IV
112 Vism. VIII:140
113 Sam. 7:1198
CHAPTER 6: EXPANDED PERCEPTIONS: TEN KASIṆA CIRCLES
114 A. III:100(1–10)
115 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1: Meaning of Kasiṇa
116 D. 33 sect. 3.1(10–11) Sangīti Sutta: The Chanting Together
117 Vimm. Fascicle IV, chap. VIII, sect. 1
118 This color has been interpreted differently by various teachers and texts. The Visuddhimagga uses the term blue to describe it (V:12). The Vimuttimagga uses the term blue-green (Fascicle V, chap. VIII, sect. II: The Blue-Green Kasiṇa). When I was given the instruction, the word black was used.
119 The Vimuttimagga (Fascicl
e V, chap. VIII, section II: The Air Kasiṇa) mentions that the air kasiṇa can be grasped either through sight or through touch.
120 Vism. IV:30
121 Vism. XII:2–7
CHAPTER 7: INFINITE PERCEPTIONS: FOUR IMMATERIAL JHĀNAS
122 Sn. 3:12(736–737) Dvayatānupassanā Sutta: Origination and Cessation
123 D. 9:14 Poṭṭhapāda Sutta: About Poṭṭhapāda. Translated by John Kelly. I have modified the translator’s use of the term “forms” to “materiality” in order to conform with Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw’s use of terminology and maintain consistency throughout this book.
124 D. 9:15 Poṭṭhapāda Sutta: About Poṭṭhapāda. Translated by John Kelly
125 D. 9:16 Poṭṭhapāda Sutta: About Poṭṭhapāda. Translated by John Kelly
126 Vism. X:46
127 Vism. X:51
128 Vism. X:54
129 M. 106:11 Āneñjasappāya Sutta: The Way to the Imperturbable
CHAPTER 8: BOUNDLESS HEART: LOVING-KINDNESS, COMPASSION, APPRECIATIVE JOY, AND EQUANIMITY
130 Sn. 1:8(143–151) Mettā Sutta: Loving-Kindness
131 Sn. 1:8(143–151) Mettā Sutta: Loving-Kindness
132 M. 127 Anuruddha Sutta: Anuruddha; S. 46:54
133 M. 52 Aṭṭhakanāgara Sutta: The Man From Aṭṭhakanāgara. This is one of the rare discourses in which the divine abidings are explicitly presented as a basis for insight.
134 A. 1:vi(3–5)
135 Vism. IX:2
136 Vism. IX:1
137 Vism. IX:2
138 Vism. IX:23
139 A. III:99
140 Sn. 1:8(143–152) Mettā Sutta: Loving-Kindness
141 Vism. IX:9–10
142 Vism. IX:102
143 Vism. IX:102
144 Vism. IX:111
145 Sam. 13:1881–1904
146 Vism. 9:103
147 Vism. IX:104
148 A. V:57
149 Vism. IX:111
CHAPTER 9: REFLECTIONS ON DEATH: CONTEMPLATING THE CORPSE
150 A. VIII:73
151 S. 48:41
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