The Dhamma Rebellion

Coming to a vipassanā retreat is like staging a rebellion against the government inside our mind. So our teacher told us. And indeed it does seem so.

The mind that has been left untrained for innumerable lifetimes has been strongly ingrained in the many defiled habits that has kept us bound to saṃsāra (the rounds of birth and death) and the suffering that accompany it. These habits such as covetousness, clinging, obsession, conceit, hatred, jealousy, avariciousness, restless searching, mistaken-views, etc., are habits that are so strongly influenced by Māra (the Buddhist personification of evil) who delights in keeping beings trapped in saṃsāra and unable to break free from his clutches.

Over the long period of our journey through saṃsāra, through having fallen repeatedly under the enticing and deluding spells and charms of Māra, we have all grown fond of him, drawn near him, opened ourselves up to him, delighted in and adopted his ways, even worshipped him. Unwittingly we have invited and welcomed Māra into our minds and he has surreptitiously annexed our mind and added it to his domain. And in doing so he has set up his government within our minds to dominate over us.

Is Slowing Down Natural? and the Benefits of Satipatthana Vipassana Meditation

Satipaṭṭhāna Vipassanā meditation involves a very deep and thorough investigation of dhammas or natural phenomena in order to uncover their true nature of impermanence, suffering, and non-self. To aid this investigation one very helpful attitude to have is what the Buddha called appamāda. This word appamāda has been variously translated as vigilance, diligence, heedfulness, earnestness, and even mindfulness. In truth this single quality of appamāda denotes all these qualities and others as well. One who possesses appamāda is a person who carries out the practise of the Dhamma respectfully, carefully, diligently, vigilantly, meticulously, earnestly, and, as with all wholesome practises, with mindfulness and proper-attention (yoniso manasikāra).

And so we find that in the practise of Satipaṭṭhāna Vipassanā meditation, meditators who possess this quality of appamāda are those who very respectfully, carefully, diligently, vigilantly, meticulously, earnestly, and with proper-attention, apply mindfulness and clarity of mind to the investigation of the dhammas moment after moment, continuously, and relentlessly. And in the Vipassanā meditation technique as taught by the late Ven. Mahāsi Sayādaw of Burma, in order to step up this quality of appamāda during the time of intensive meditation retreat, meditators are even encouraged to slow down all their physical movements so that they may be able to observe and investigate the dhammas or phenomena involved in the movements more carefully and meticulously.

However, this very sound instruction of the late Ven. Mahāsi Sayādaw has sometimes been met with criticism from some quarters, the criticism being that such deliberate slowing down of physical activities is not natural because this is not the way we normally go about our usual daily life outside of a meditation retreat.

Metta and the Transformative Power of Meditation

Mettā or loving-kindness is a positive mental state that appears as the genuine wish for the welfare of other beings. At its best its scope is universal, it's kind thoughts reach out to all beings, and is unbounded by any consideration of race, gender, religion, country, or any other artificial categories, including even the category that discriminate between human and non-human, which self-serving men have come up with to discriminate against their fellow beings.

Mettā as taught by the Buddha is expressed through mental thoughts as well as verbal and physical actions. It involves not only passive expression of friendliness to other beings but also active work of kindness, within one own means, to alleviate the suffering of one's fellow beings. In the case of the latter mettā works hand in hand with another positive mental quality, karuṇā or compassion, which is a close aide of mettā. Compassion is the movement (or quivering) in the mind at the sight of others' suffering. It is that which moves the heart to take action to alleviate that suffering.

But when it comes to the practice of mettā, Theravāda Buddhists have sometimes been criticized for being armchair (or meditation seat) practitioners.

Be Yourself

Just be yourself – Don't we often get this advice from others? It is perhaps one of the most popular self-help catchphrases of all times. And it is not a bad idea actually. It is better than betraying ourselves by changing ourselves into somebody we are not, and probably not comfortable with, just to please others, to win their approval, admiration, or favor, or simply to fit in. We should all have more self-respect than that.

But while being oneself is all good and nice we certainly need to exercise some discretion as to which part of ourselves we want to be. There are some who take the idea of being oneself as a license to set loose all their defilements. “Aren't they (i.e. the defilements) part of me?” they might justify. It does not take much to figure out that this isn't exactly what being oneself really means. It is in fact an abuse of a very wonderful idea, and moreover, for Buddhist, it is not in accordance with the principles of the Dhamma.

Dhamma Work and Politics

Politics, and by that we mean that social affair that takes place when people in an organization vie for authority and control even to the extent of employing crafty machination and maneuvering to achieve their aims, exists everywhere in our human society. It exists at the office (the infamous office politics), in social clubs, association, and cliques, in schools (among students and educators alike), even at home. Wherever there is a group of humans present, right there is a possibility for dirty politics to surface. Politics finds its way even into spiritual organizations like temples, monasteries, ashrams, churches, mosques, etc. As uninspiring as this may sound, we all know too well that it happens.

Yes, not even the sacred sanctity of our spiritual institutions, Buddhist ones not exempted, is spared from this poison of politics. While it may be true that all Buddhist organizations (we hope) started off with the noblest of intention, many soon find themselves, to a larger or lesser extent, embroiled in some kind of politics.

Right Concentration

In the suttas, whenever the Noble Eightfold Path is analyzed, right concentration is usually defined as the four jhānas. For example in Vibhaṅga Sutta in Magga Saṃyutta (Saṃyutta-Nikāya, Maggasaṃyutta, Sutta 8):

“And what, bhikkhus, is right concentration? Here, bhikkhus, (1) completely secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which has initial-application, and sustained-application, with joy and bliss that are born of seclusion; (2) With the subsiding of initial-application and sustained-application, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna which has inner clarity and unification of mind, which is without initial-application and sustained-application, which has joy and bliss born of concentration; (3) With the fading away as well of joy he dwells equanimous, mindful and clearly comprehending, and he experiences bliss with the body; he enters and dwells in the third jhāna of which the Noble Ones declare ‘He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells in bliss;’ (4) With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of happiness and unhappiness, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna which is without pain and pleasure, a [state of] purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. This, bhikkhus, is called right concentration.”

From this and similar passages (e.g. Dīgha-Nikāya Sutta 22, Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 141, Vibhaṅga Saccavibhaṅga) it seems that right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path must necessarily consists of the four jhānas. But is this always the case? Can right concentration be some concentration other than these samatha jhānas?

Is Satipatthana the Only Way?

There is a difference in opinion among teachers, scholars, and translators of Buddhist texts on whether Satipaṭṭhāna is the only way for the realization of Nibbāna. This difference revolves around the interpretation of the word ekāyana used by the Buddha in the Suttas to describe Satipaṭṭhāna. In the opening passage of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta for example the Buddha said:

“Bhikkhus, this path is the ekāyana for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for reaching the Noble Path, for the realization of Nibbāna, namely, the four Satipaṭṭhāna.”

~ Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta 10

Ekāyana has mostly been rendered as “the only way” (or something along that line) by traditional, orthodox teachers. According to them then, Satipaṭṭhāna is the only way for the realization of Nibbāna. There has, however, been some argument over whether ekāyana should be rendered as “the only way”. Some prefer to translate it literally as “The one way” while there are some who are of the opinion that it should be interpreted as “The direct way”. So is Satipaṭṭhāna the only way for realizing Nibbāna or is it not?

Satipatthana - Directing Towards Insight

In the last post we discussed about the basics of the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna meditation. To recap sati or mindfulness is not a superficial kind of awareness but is a deep and thorough awareness that arises out of firm and continuous perception of the object, an awareness that confronts the object squarely, keeps a close watch over it, not allowing it to go out of sight, that descends and plunges into the object and spreads over it, and that guards the mind from any intrusion by the mental defilements.

Satipaṭṭhāna means the practice for the firm establishment of mindfulness. In the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna one can contemplate the body, feeling, consciousness, or dhammas as object. The work of contemplation is driven by ardent intense energetic effort to arouse mindfulness and direct it precisely and continuously onto the object of contemplation. Through continuous and precise application of mindfulness on the object concentration develops which in turn leads to clear comprehension of the nature of the object contemplated. But as we mentioned at the end of the previous post this is still not the complete description of the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna yet. It is enough, though, for one to begin the practice and even to bring it all the way to completion. But there is more to be said about the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna.

Satipatthana - The Basics

At the heart of Buddhist meditation practice is a method which the Buddha called Satipaṭṭhāna. And the Buddha had called Satipaṭṭhāna the only way (ekāyano) for the realization of Nibbāna, the ultimate goal of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. Therefore it is not surprising that sammā-sati (right-mindfulness), one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, is also defined as the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna (Saṃyutta Nikāya, Maggasaṃyutta, Sutta 8). In fact, so integral is Satipaṭṭhāna to the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path that if one is to practice Buddhist meditation effectively one must have a good understanding of what Satipaṭṭhāna is.

So what exactly is Satipaṭṭhāna?

The Place of Vipassana Among the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path

In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya, Mahāvagga, Saccasaṃyutta, Sutta 11), the Buddha declared for the first time the basic foundation of his teaching: the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths.

The first noble truth is the noble truth of suffering (dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ). In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta the Buddha gave a list of things which are suffering: birth, ageing, sickness, death, meeting with people and things that are displeasing, separation from people and things that are pleasing, and not to have one’s wish fulfilled. We can also add to this list sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. But at the end of the list in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta the Buddha said: “In short the five-aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.”

So the truth of suffering is, in short, these five-aggregates subject to clinging: the aggregate of materiality, feeling, perception, mental-formations, and consciousness, subject to clinging. If we simplify them we can say that they are mundane mental and physical phenomena (nāma-rūpa). They are the truth of suffering because they have the nature of being subjected to suffering.

The second noble truth is the noble truth of the cause of suffering (dukkha-samudayaṃ ariyasaccaṃ). The Buddha traced the cause of suffering to craving that leads to renewed existence or rebirth, that is accompanied by delight and lust, that finds delight here and there in one existence or another. It is this craving that compels and propels beings, at the time of death, to seek rebirth and so be embroiled into yet another cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, another cycle of suffering. And as long as craving is present the cycle of suffering will go on and on from one birth to another, each birth marking the beginning of another cycle of suffering.

The third noble truth is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering (dukkha-nirodhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ). Here the Buddha gave us hope. Even though there is suffering in the world there can also be an end to it. Suffering ceases, according to the Buddha, when there is the complete fading away and cessation of its cause i.e. craving.

Not only did the Buddha said that suffering can cease, he even gave us the way of practice, the method to bring suffering to an end. This is the fourth noble truth, the noble truth of the way that leads to the cessation of suffering (dukkha-nirodha-gāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṃ). This is the Noble Eightfold Path consisting of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

The Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths, these are the basic foundation of the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha taught in ancient Northern India for forty five years and all the discourses that he delivered during this time were, one way or another, based on the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. But given that these are the basic foundation of the Buddha’s teaching, where does vipassanā comes in? Where can we place vipassanā in the scheme of the Noble Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths?

Asking Questions About Dhamma

Note: This post is a follow-up from the previous post Doubt and Wrong-View.

Raising questions about the Dhamma regarding matter which is not clear or which one is not certain about, with the purpose of seeking clarification, should not be construed as doubt (vicikicchā) or wrong-view (micchā-diṭṭhi). The Buddha’s teaching is not some unquestionable dogma that must be accepted by it’s devotees without question. There is room for “healthy doubt” in the Buddha’s teaching. This is not the same as the doubt which constitute one of the hindrances to the practice of meditation nor has the questioner fallen into wrong-view. He simply wants to know the truth.

Doubt and Wrong-View

Buddhists tend to get doubt (vicikicchā) and wrong-view (diṭṭhi) mixed-up, or confused one with the other. For many Buddhist when somebody holds wrong-view that person must also have doubt. And vice versa, when a person has doubt he must have also fallen into wrong-view. But actually doubt and wrong view are very different one from the other. They have very different nature.

Attaining Enlightenment While Listening to Dhamma

In the Pāḷi Texts we find many instances of people during the Buddha’s time who attained the various stages of enlightenment even while listening to the Buddha teaching the Dhamma. How is this possible? In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta the Buddha had said that satipaṭṭhāna or the establishing of firm mindfulness is the only way for the realization of Nibbāna. If so, how is it that these people attained enlightenment and realized Nibbāna by listening to the Dhamma instead of practicing satipaṭṭhāna? Two questions arise: (1) What exactly happened in the minds of these people as they sat there listening to the Dhamma that led to their attainment of enlightenment? And (2) why is it that we no longer hear of people attaining enlightenment in this way anymore nowadays?

The Spirit of Vesak

Somewhere along the process of evolution human developed the faculty of thinking and the capacity for self-awareness. Since then man had began to wonder about the natural world that he lives in and its effect on his awareness. He had strived to understand and make sense of the many natural phenomena that he experiences around him and their impact on his consciousness. In the process of doing so man had come out with many different explanations for their common experience of these phenomena.

But there are two things that many among the human race share in common as a result of their attempt to understand their experience of the world. Firstly, they realized that the world is plagued with suffering and is unsatisfactory; and, secondly, they share a feeling or a sense of something beyond their experience that is greater than themselves, something that is ever present, that transcends and is untouched by the unsatisfactoriness of their world. This something, they believe, they must seek, and finding it, they believe, will deliver them from the unsatisfactoriness, the suffering, of their earthly existence. This belief had given birth to many of the world’s major and minor religious and spiritual traditions that we have today.

Rituals and the Practice of the Dhamma

In so far as the teaching of the Buddha deals primarily with the training and disciplining of the mind in order to achieve mind’s liberation from the shackles of dukkha, it is a spiritualistic rather than a ritualistic teaching.

There is little that is ritualistic in the teaching of the Buddha. Although there are certain recommended procedures and guidelines given in the Vinaya for carrying out certain function of the Saṅgha, these are practical advices which are meant for the Saṅgha to use in a very real world of human beings, to address very real human problems and needs. They are not ritualistic procedure that must be rigidly adhered to, and the failure to do so does not entail a violation of some sacred ceremony or ritual purity that may incur the wrath of some unseen being.

But after the Buddha’s passing away his teaching gradually became institutionalized into a religion called Buddhism (Buddha – ism). And together with this came the accompanying rites and rituals that usually adorn religions. Simple teaching of the Buddha such as going for refuge and observing the precepts which was originally recommended as personal spiritual undertaking, forming part of the foundation of the training on the spiritual path leading to liberation from dukkha, was turned into religious rituals to be carried out by the assembled devotees in every religious ceremony and meeting.