Mindfulness Yoga
Page 29
“When the practitioner can observe and investigate every dharma in a sustained, steadfast way, without being distracted, the third Factor of Awakening will be born and developed in him or her, the factor of energy. When this factor is developed, it will come to perfection.
“When the practitioner has reached a stable, imperturbable abiding in the stream of practice, the fourth Factor of Awakening will be engaged and developed in him or her, the factor of the great nonsensual joy untainted by craving. When this factor is developed, it will come to perfection.
“When the practitioner can abide undistracted in the state of the great joy, the practitioner will feel his or her body and mind to be light and at peace. At this point, the fifth Factor of Awakening will be engaged and developed, the factor of ease. When this factor is developed, it will come to perfection.
“When both body and mind are at ease, the practitioner can enter into concentration. At this point the sixth Factor of Awakening will be born and developed in him or her, the factor of concentration. When this factor is developed, it will come to perfection.
“When the practitioner is abiding in concentration with deep calm, he or she will cease discriminating subject from object and comparing. At this point, the seventh Factor of Awakening is released, engaged, and further developed, the factor of letting go. When this factor is developed, it will come to perfection.
“This is how the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, if developed and continuously practiced, will lead to perfect abiding in the Seven Factors of Awakening.”
Section Five
“How will the Seven Factors of Awakening, if developed and continuously practiced, lead to the perfect realization of true understanding and complete liberation?
“If the practitioner follows the path of the Seven Factors of Awakening, living in silent seclusion, observing and contemplating the disappearance of craving, he or she will develop the capacity of letting go. This will be a result of following the path of the Seven Factors of Awakening and will lead to the perfect realization of true understanding and complete liberation.”
Section Six
This is what the Buddha, the Awakened One, said; and everyone in the assembly felt gratitude and rejoiced at having heard his teachings.
(Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 118)
APPENDIX C:
ESTABLISHING YOUR SEAT
Seated Postures for Meditation
SEATED POSTURES include the classic postures used for sitting meditation. Physically, they help to open up the hips, draw our awareness into our center, and lead to a calmer mind—if we remember the basic principles of asana. To be true asana, we need to establish stability and ease. In order for this to happen, we need to be aligned with gravity, relaxed in our body and mind, and keep letting go of all aversion and craving.
In the classic cross-legged postures of meditation, we are truly grounded, with a much larger base of support than when standing. The first chakra, Muladhara, which means “foundation” or “support,” is located at the perineum, between the anus and the genitals, and relates to the earth element and the energy of stability and solidity. It is the stability of the earth element that we use to help steady our breath and our mind.
Because we usually sit in chairs, many in the West find the seated postures difficult. Yet sitting in chairs has led to a whole host of problems from backaches to constipation. I encourage you to work with these postures at least a little each day. Try to bring them into your daily life, sitting on the floor as much as you are able, and even folding your legs under you when you are sitting in a chair, at least for some of the time. With continued practice, you will find your hips, knees, and ankles all becoming less stiff, and your back stronger.
Simple Cross-Legged Sitting Posture
Sit with your legs crossed at your ankles, with your feet underneath your knees. Notice which shin you naturally place over the other, and alternate when practicing. Sit on the forward points of your sitting bones (avoid rolling the pelvis backward and rounding the lower back). With your hands beside your hips, feel the sitting bones grounding down as the crown of your head rises up, lengthening the spine. Feel where in your body you sense your weight as it presses down into the earth.
Now place your hands on your knees, and with your eyes closed, open to the feeling tone of “just sitting.” Then begin to rock side to side, letting the quality of your breath show you where center is. The breath will grow more relaxed, smoother, and the feeling tone will be one of ease in which you may feel the tension in your upper back and shoulders melt. Without needing any external reference, our body and breath will guide us to our center. Let your breath be the guru.
When choosing to sit in this posture for longer periods of time, use a blanket or a cushion to elevate your hips higher than your knees and open your groins. You may even wish to place some support under your knees.
Half-Lotus Posture
In HALF LOTUS, the legs are crossed, but only one foot rests on the opposite thigh while the other foot stays on the floor, under its opposite thigh. This posture is not as steady as FULL LOTUS, since it is asymmetrical. If you use this posture, adjust your cushion to make up for the inherent imbalance of this posture. The mudra pictured here is chin mudra, or the gesture of consciousness. It is one of the two main mudras used in hatha yoga when seated in meditation. The three extended fingers represent the three gunas of sattva, rajas, and tamas, and the closed circle of the thumb and index finger symbolizes the union that is the goal of yogic practice.
Full Lotus Posture
This is the classic sitting meditation posture. There is no need to contort yourself into this if there is pain in the knees or hips. Most Westerners have difficulty with this posture because we spend so much of our time sitting in chairs. As in SIMPLE CROSS-LEGGED POSTURE, and in all seated meditation postures, the most important thing is to maintain a straight but relaxed spine. In FULL LOTUS the legs are crossed, with each foot resting on the opposite thigh. If both knees are not touching the ground, support the knee that is elevated with a blanket or cushion. It is pictured here with jnana mudra, the gesture of knowledge. It is the other main hatha-yoga meditation mudra, but Buddhist iconograpy knows it as vitarka mudra, the gesture of discussion when held at the heart. It represents the knowledge of the teachings.
Burmese
If the hips are open enough to allow for opening the knees out to the side, this may very well be one of the more comfortable seated meditation postures, since there is no crossing of one leg over another, which is often a major source of discomfort for those trying the cross-legged postures.
In BURMESE, the thighs are spread out so the knees can rest on the floor, with both feet tucked in next to each other on the floor, one inside the other. It is pictured here with dhyani mudra, the gesture of meditation, also known as the cosmic or universal mudra.
APPENDIX D:
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF POSES
Bent-Knee Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana), 116-117
Bow Pose (Dhanurasana), 168, 233, 295-296
Cat/Cow Pose (Bidalasana), 101, 149, 202, 269-270
Child Pose (Balasana), 121-122, 169-170, 235, 296-297
Cobbler (Baddha Konasana), 171-172, 237
Cobra (Bhujangasana), 167
Corpse Pose (Shavasana), 94-95, 129-130, 145-146, 182, 263-264, 305
Crescent Moon (Ardha Chandrasana I), 110, 210
Crocodile (Makarasana), 234
Cross-Legged Forward Bend (Sukhottanasana), 98-99, 267-268
Diamond Pose (Vajrasana), 170-171, 236, 297-298
Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Shvanasana), 102-103, 150-151, 203, 270-271
Eight-Point Posture (Astanganamasker), 217, 219
Extended Side Angle Stretch (Utthita Parsvakonasana), 277-278
Extended Standing Forward Bend (Utthita Uttanasana), 213-214
Fierce Posture (Utkatasana), 222, 227
Half Locust (Arha Shalabhasana), 117-118
Half-Lotus Posture (Ardha
Padmasana), 322
Hanging Forward Bend (Uttanasana I), 105-106, 153-154, 207, 273
Knees-to-Chest Pose (Pavanamuktasana), 96, 147, 180, 265
Locust Pose (Shalabhasana), 119-120, 164-166, 232-233, 294-295
Lord-of-the-Fishes Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana), 176-177, 241-243, 301-302
Lotus Preparation (Padmasana), 148
Lunge, 103-104, 204, 271-272
Lunge into Standing Lunge (Virgbhandrasana I), 151-153, 205-206
Mountain/Balanced Standing Pose (Tadasana/Sama-sthiti), 108-109, 156-157, 184-185, 209, 275-276
One-Legged Forward Bend (Janu Shirshansana), 124-125, 174-175, 240-241, 299-300
Reclined Spinal Twist (Jathara Parivritti), 128-129, 181
Reverse Plank Pose (Purvottanasana), 127-128, 179-180, 244-245, 304
Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana), 126-127, 178-179, 243-244, 302-303
Seated Side Stretch (Parshva Sukhottanasana), 100, 268-269
Simple Cross-Legged Sitting Pose (Sukhasana), 97, 201, 266, 321-322
Spinal Roll, 106-107, 154-155, 208, 274-275
Staff Pose (Dandasana), 122-123, 298-299
Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana II), 112-113
Standing Lunge (Virabhadrasana I Variation), 151-153, 205-206
Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskara), 214-226, 279-287
Swan Dive into Standing Forward Bend, 112-113, 212-213
Tree Pose (Vrikshasana), 113-115, 162-164, 293-294
Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana), 157-158, 276-277
Warrior One (Virabhadrasana I), 159-160, 205-206
Warrior Two (Virabhandrasana II), 161-162
Warrior Vinyasa (Virabhandrasana), 227-231, 287-292
Wide-Angle Forward Bend (Upavishta Konasana), 172-173, 238-239
NOTES
Introduction
The books I had read throughout high school were Alan Watts, The Spirit of Zen (New York: Grove Press, 1958); D. T. Suzuki, Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism (New York: Schocken Books, 1963); What is Zen? (New York: Perennial Library, 1972); D.T. Suzuki, Zen Buddhism (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1956); Christmas Humphreys, The Buddhist Way of Life (London: Unwin Books, 1969); and Christmas Humphreys, Concentration and Meditation (Baltimore: Penguin, 1968). What finally got me to the zendo was Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1970).
Georg Feuerstein’s Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga (Boston: Shambhala, 2000) and his treasure trove of knowledge, The Yoga Tradition (Prescott, Az.: Hohm, 1998), are two books every yogi and yogini should have on their library shelf. Their influence on this text is most evident here and throughout Part One.
I quote from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Our Appointment with Life: The Buddha’s Teaching on Living in the Present (Berkeley: Parallax, 1990).
Throughout the text I have utilized The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, edited by Stephan Schuhmacher and Gert Woerner (Boston: Shambhala, 1994) for definitions and historical context.
For books and tapes on the various forms of hatha yoga, please see Suggested Resources.
1. The Buddha’s Yoga
For my research into the early Indus/Sarasvati civilization, I utilized Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, and David Frawley, In Search of the Cradle of Civilization (Wheaton, IL.: Quest Books, 1995), as well as Feuerstein, The Yoga Tradition.
For the life of the Buddha the following sources were all valuable: Thich Nhat Hanh, Old Path, White Clouds (Berkeley: Parallax, 1991); H. W. Schumann, The Historical Buddha (London: Arkana, 1989); John S. Strong, The Buddha (Oxford, One World, 2001); Bhikkhu Nanamoli, The Life of the Buddha, 3rd. ed. (Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1992). The quotes from the Buddha come from Nanamoli, Life, p. 14, and Sherab Chodzin Kohn, The Awakened One (Boston: Shambhala, 2000) pp. 24-25.
For further information regarding the possibility that the experience of nirvana is “hard-wired” into our human nature, see Andrew Newberg, Eugene D’Aquili, and Vince Rause, Why God Won’t Go Away (New York: Ballantine Books, 2001).
The psychological aspects of the Buddha’s insights can be pursued in Mark Epstein, Thoughts Without a Thinker (New York: Basic Books, 1995), and for the ideas about how we might think about the Buddha’s enlightenment experience, besides Schumann’s Historical Buddha, see Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism With- out Beliefs (New York: Riverhead Books, 1997).
For S. N. Goenka’s quote regarding the difference between the Buddha’s direct realization and the scientists’ intellectual understanding, see S. N. Goenka, The Discourse Summaries (Dhammagiri, Igatpuri, India: Vipassana Research Institute, 1987), p. 14.
For a wonderful study of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakarika, see The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, translated by Jay L. Garfield (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
And for the quote from Shunryu Suzuki, see To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki (New York: Broadway Books, 2001), p. 3.
2. The Yoga Practice of the Four Noble Truths
The teaching regarding the four kinds of nutriments is influenced by Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching (Berkeley: Parallax, 1998).
While the rendering from the Dhammapada, verses 1-2, is mine, two of my favorite translations are by Thomas Byron (Boston: Shambhala, 1993) and by Balangoda Ananda Maitreya (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1995).
“Suffering Is Not Enough” is the title of chapter 1 of Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1987).
3. The Eightfold Paths
The practices of right thinking, as well as insight on the Four Noble Truths as practice, come from Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching.
Insight into Patanjali’s classical yoga system comes from Feuerstein, The Yoga Tradition, as well as his translation and commentary, The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali (Rocheste, VTr: Inner Traditions, 1979), and his Philosophy of Classical Yoga (Rochester,VT: Inner Traditions, 1996).
I came across the Li Po poem in Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are (New York: Hyperion, 1994). I failed to note the source of quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
For my treatment of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, Thich Nhat Hanh’s For a Future to Be Possible (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1993) proved very helpful; Philip Kapleau’s To Cherish All Life: A Buddhist Case for Becoming Vegetarian (New York: Harper and Row, 1982) provided much food for thought.
4. What Is Mindfulness?
The statement by Thich Nhat Hanh on “the essence of these two sutras” comes from Breathe! You Are Alive (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1996), Thich Nhat Hanh’s wonderful translation and commentary on the Anapanasati Sutta.
The story of Ichu’s “attention!” is an old Zen teaching story that Charlotte Joko Beck relates in Nothing Special: Living Zen (San Francisco: Harpers, 1993).
The gatha presented here from the Bhaddekaratta Sutta is from Nhat Hanh, Our Appointment with Life. And Thay’s sharing of the Zen story about the man on the horse is found in his Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching.
This chapter also owes much to Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English (Boston: Wisdom, 1991).
5. Beginning Mindfulness Meditation
The suggestions for developing a mindfulness meditation practice arise from my own experience and from my study with many teachers. Some of the specifics found in this chapter come from Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English, and from Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness (Boston: Beacon Press, 1975).
The quotation of the Buddha is from Nhat Hanh, Breathe! You Are Alive.
6. An Introduction to the Sutras
The three translations and commentaries on the Anapanasati Sutta, to which I refer here and in the rest of this book, are Nhat Hanh, Breathe! You Are Alive; Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Mindfulness with Breathing (Boston: Wisdom, 1988); and Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath (Boston: Shambhala, 1998).
The two translations and commentaries on the Satipatthana Sutta that I referred to in writing this book are Thi
ch Nhat Hanh, Transformation and Healing (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1990), and U Shilananda, The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Boston: Wisdom, 1990).
7. Body as Body
The observation that the practitioner’s whole body—not merely the “breath body”—is to be observed in exercises 3 and 4 comes from Nhat Hanh, Breathe! You Are Alive.
There are many lovely translations and renderings of Lao Tsu’s Tao Te Ching. Jerry O. Dalton’s Backward Down the Path (New York: Avon Books, 1994) is one of my favorites.