18.
Contemplating the danger that
Danger from
my greed for clothes and food can
greediness
bring about, I breathe in.
Letting go of the greed, I breathe out.
Letting go
19.
Contemplating the suffering that
Suffering from
my greed for clothes and food
greediness
can bring about, I breathe in.
Letting go of the greed, I breathe out.
Letting go
20.
Contemplating the hardship
Hardship from
that my greed for clothes and
greediness
food can bring about, I breathe in.
Letting go of the greed, I breathe out.
Letting go
21.
Contemplating an indolent life,
Indolent life
I breathe in.
Seeing the danger of an indolent life,
Danger
I breathe out.
22.
Contemplating letting go, I breathe in.
Letting go
Contemplating letting go, I breathe out.
Letting go
This exercise helps us to see the impermanence as well as the dangers, complications, and hardships of our endless pursuit of material and sensual pleasure—whether that pleasure takes the form of a beautiful man or woman, riches and possessions, fame, or other objects of desire. We suffer countless agonies large and small in order to enjoy these sensual pleasures. We could waste our whole lives chasing after them without there being any guarantee that we would attain them. Even if we did attain them, we would discover that they are not only short-lived but also dangerous to the well-being of the body and mind.
Real happiness cannot exist when we are not totally free. Burdened by so many ambitions, we are not able to be free. We are always grasping at something; there are so many things we want to do at the same time, and that is why we do not have the time to live. We think that the burdens we carry are necessary for our happiness, that if they are taken from us we will suffer. However, if we look more closely, we shall see that the things at which we grasp, the things that keep us constantly busy, are in fact obstacles to our being happy. The practice of this meditation exercise should be followed by the practice of exercises that help us to let go, like the following one. In letting go, we learn that true happiness can only come by way of freedom, an awakened life, and the practice of love and compassion.
Exercise Seven
No Birth, No Death
Looking Deeply
1.
Aware of my in-breath, I breathe in.
Aware of in-breath
Seeing my in-breath no longer there,
In-breath
I breathe out.
no longer there
2.
Aware of the birth of my in-breath,
Birth of in-breath
I breathe in.
Aware of the death of my in-breath,
Death of in-breath
I breathe out.
3.
Seeing my in-breath born from
Birth of in-breath
conditions, I breathe in.
conditional
Seeing my in-breath die from
Death of in-breath
conditions, I breathe out.
conditional
4.
Seeing my in-breath comes from
Breath from
nowhere, I breathe in.
nowhere
Seeing my in-breath goes nowhere,
Breath going
I breathe out.
nowhere
5.
Seeing my in-breath without birth
Breath without
and death, I breathe in.
birth-death
Seeing my in-breath free from birth
Free from
and death, I breathe out.
birth-death
6.
Aware of my eyes, I breathe in.
Aware of eyes
Seeing my eyes born from conditions,
Eyes conditional
I breathe out.
7.
Seeing my eyes come from nowhere,
Eyes from nowhere
I breathe in.
Seeing my eyes go nowhere,
Eyes going nowhere
I breathe out.
8.
Seeing my eyes have no birth
Eyes without
and death, I breathe in.
birth-death
Seeing my eyes free from birth
Eyes free from
and death, I breathe out.
birth-death
9.
Aware of my body, I breathe in.
Aware of body
Seeing my body born from conditions,
Body conditional
I breathe out.
10.
Seeing my body comes from nowhere,
Body from nowhere
I breathe in.
Seeing my body goes nowhere,
Body going
I breathe out.
nowhere
11.
Seeing my body has no birth
Body without
and death, I breathe in.
birth-death
Seeing my body free from birth
Free from
and death, I breathe out.
birth-death
12.
Aware of my consciousness,
Aware of
I breathe in.
consciousness
Seeing my consciousness born
Consciousness
from conditions, I breathe out.
conditional
13.
Seeing my consciousness comes
Consciousness
from nowhere, I breathe in.
from nowhere
Seeing my consciousness goes
Consciousness
nowhere, I breathe out.
goes nowhere
14.
Seeing my consciousness has no
Consciousness
birth and death, I breathe in.
without birth-death
Seeing my consciousness free from
Free from
birth and death, I breathe out.
birth-death
This exercise helps us to realize that nothing comes and nothing goes, nothing is born and nothing dies. This is one of the most wonderful practices of meditation in Buddhism.
To start with, we try to see the presence of each breath in order to be aware of the birth and the death of that breath. As we begin to breathe in, we see the in-breath being born, and as we begin to breathe out, we see the in-breath has died. Birth and death are two marks of a breath. As we continue the meditation, we see that the occurrence of our in-breath is dependent on various causes and conditions: the lungs, the respiratory muscles, the body, the atmosphere, the nose, the bronchial tubes, being alive, and so on. As we breathe out, we see that the ending of the in-breath is also due to causes and conditions, and we become physically aware of those conditions. For example, the lungs are now full of air and are not able or do not want to breathe in anymore. As we meditate, we see that when the causes and conditions are right, the breath is born, and when the right causes and conditions are not present, it dies. We see that our breath at its birth does not come from anywhere and at its death does not go anywhere. There is no place in space where it comes from when it is born, and there is no place in space it goes to when it dies. Then we see the not-coming, not-going marks of the breath. Looking more deeply, we see that a breath is not born and does not die but only manifests itself or lies hidden. Being born usually means that something comes into existence that did not exist before. Dying usually means something that has existed ceases to exist. But our breath is not like that. We
cannot say that it did not exist before, only that because the conditions are sufficient and right it can manifest itself. If one of those conditions is absent, the breath goes into hiding. It is with regard to our perception that we talk about manifesting and failing to manifest. Manifest does not mean that something exists and not manifest does not mean that something fails to exist. Marks like birth and death, being and nonbeing are assigned to the breath by our perception. The real marks of the breath are no-birth, no-death, no-existence, no-nonexistence. The realization of this arises with our willingness to persevere in looking deeply into causes and conditions.
When we meditate on our eyes, we see that our eyes too are manifested dependent on conditions and go into hiding dependent on conditions. Our eyes do not come from anywhere and do not go away to any place. Eyes manifesting does not mean that eyes exist, and eyes going into hiding does not mean that eyes fail to exist. We cannot say that our eyes are born because they manifest, and we cannot say that they die because they fail to manifest. The same is true of our bodies and our consciousness. The true nature of the five aggregates (body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness) is no-birth, no-death, no-existence, and no-nonexistence. Birth and death are both illusory. To be, or not to be: that is not the question.
Exercise Eight
Looking Deeply
1.
Seeing my eyes, I breathe in.
Seeing my eyes
Smiling to my eyes, I breathe out.
Smiling
2.
Seeing my eyes are brought about
Eyes made of
by the coming together of the
four elements
four elements, I breathe in.
Seeing my eyes cease to be with the
Elements dissolved,
dissolution of the four elements,
eyes cease
I breathe out.
3.
Seeing my eyes containing the
Eyes contain
sunshine, I breathe in.
sunshine
Seeing my eyes containing the cloud,
Eyes contain clouds
I breathe out.
4.
Seeing my eyes containing the earth,
Eyes contain earth
I breathe in.
Seeing my eyes containing the air,
Eyes contain air
I breathe out.
5.
Seeing my eyes containing the
Eyes contain
whole cosmos, I breathe in.
cosmos
Seeing my eyes present in everything
Eyes in
in the cosmos, I breathe out.
everything
6.
Seeing that my eyes do not exist
Eyes interare
separately from other realities,
I breathe in.
Seeing nothing in the cosmos exists
All in cosmos
separately from other realities,
interis
I breathe out.
7.
Seeing the all in the one,
All in one
I breathe in.
Seeing the one in the many,
One in all things
I breathe out.
8.
Seeing the one as basic to the all,
One as basis of all
I breathe in.
Seeing all things as basic to the one,
All things as
I breathe out.
basis of one
9.
Seeing the birthless nature of
Eyes birthless
my eyes, I breathe in.
Seeing the deathless nature of
Eyes deathless
my eyes, I breathe out.
This exercise is a continuation of the previous exercise. Its purpose is to help us look deeply at the conditional arising of all things, as well as the interdependence and interpenetration of all that exists. All that exists is impermanent. If something is born it must die, and this birth and death is taking place in every instant (in Sanskrit, ksana, or the shortest instant of time). We realize this each time we meditate on impermanence. However, if we look deeper still, we shall see that impermanence means all things arise in dependence on each other. All that exists comes to be, endures, and disappears because of certain causes and conditions: This is because that is. This is not because that is not. This is born because that is born. This ceases to be because that ceases to be. This is the principle of dependent arising which is taught in the Madhyama and Samyukta Āgamas. When we look deeper still, we see that because everything arises in dependence on something else, there is no such thing as a separately existing self-nature. We come to see that all things are in essence empty: This contains that and that contains this—the principle of interpenetration. This is that and that is this—the principle of interbeing. Time contains time, and time contains space. Space contains space, and space contains time. Space is itself time. Space and time cannot exist separately from each other. One ksana (point instant) contains infinite time, and the smallest particle contains limitless space. This is the principle of all is one and one is all. When we understand that principle, the phenomena we have spoken of as birth, death, being, and nonbeing are seen to be illusions. We are able to see into the birthless and deathless nature of reality, which is sometimes called dharmadhātu (the true nature of the phenomenal world), tathata (suchness), nirvana (extinction of illusion and sorrow), and perfected truth. Concepts of birth, death, one, many, coming, going, purity, defilement, increasing, and decreasing thus cannot be used to describe reality. Only when we realize the birthless and deathless nature of reality will we overcome the fears and sorrows that fetter us. That realization is a liberation.
Exercises seven and eight in this chapter need to be practiced diligently, not just during times of sitting meditation but throughout our daily lives.
Exercise Nine
Looking Deeply
1.
Aware of a wave on the ocean,
Wave on
I breathe in.
the ocean
Smiling to the wave on the ocean,
Smiling
I breathe out.
2.
Aware of the water in the wave,
Water in wave
I breathe in.
Smiling to the water in the wave,
Smiling
I breathe out.
3.
Seeing the birth of a wave,
Birth of a wave
I breathe in.
Smiling to the birth of the wave,
Smiling
I breathe out.
4.
Seeing the death of a wave,
Death of a wave
I breathe in.
Smiling to the death of the wave,
Smiling
I breathe out.
5.
Seeing the birthless nature of the
Birthless water
water in the wave, I breathe in.
in wave
Smiling to the birthless nature of the
Smiling
water in the wave, I breathe out.
6.
Seeing the deathless nature of the
Deathless water
water in the wave, I breathe in.
in wave
Smiling to the deathless nature of the
Smiling
water in the wave, I breathe out.
7.
Seeing the birth of my body,
Birth of
I breathe in.
my body
Smiling to the birth of my body,
Smiling
I breathe out.
8.
Seeing the death of my body,
Death of my body
I breathe in.
Smiling to the death of my body,
Smiling
I breathe out.
9.
>
Seeing the birthless nature of
Body birthless
my body, I breathe in.
Smiling to the birthless nature of
Smiling
my body, I breathe out.
10.
Seeing the deathless nature of
Body deathless
my body, I breathe in.
Smiling to the deathless nature of
Smiling
my body, I breathe out.
11.
Seeing the birthless nature of my
Consciousness
consciousness, I breathe in.
The Blooming of a Lotus Page 9