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Chapter Iv Dhyāna in Theravāda and Pure Land

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Chapter Iv Dhyāna in Theravāda and Pure Land CHAPTER IV DHYĀNA IN THERAVĀDA AND PURE LAND TRADITIONS IV.1. DHYĀNA IN THERAVĀDA IV.1.1. Aspects Of Meditation In Theravāda The Sakyāmuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, has attained his enlightenment beneath the Bodhi-tree after practicing meditation for a period of forty days. Thus meditation has a paramount role in Buddhism for indicating man's own ability to release sufferings and attain the final liberation. For the Buddhists, meditation is a system of delving into the true spiritual meaning of life in a way of keeping oneself pure in mind and spirit. According to their teachings and beliefs, meditation is a way of achieving the status of enlightenment and Nibbāna. Therefore in this part of the thesis we deal with the aspects of meditation in Theravāda Buddhism. Meditation can be considered as a part of the path towards enlightenment and Nibbāna. Venerable P. V. Mahāthera rightly resents the important of meditation thus: "Buddhism teaches various methods of meditation practice, but all may be grouped under the two main categories of samatha bhāvanā and vipassanā bhāvanā. The former refers to serenity (samatha) and is a mode of training designed for the specific purpose of cultivating one-pointedness of mind (cittekaggata); the latter refers to insight (vipassanā), the penetrative mental faculty which perceives and understands realities the way they really are.63" 63 P.V. MahāThera, Op. Cit., p. 342. 98 It is clear from the foregoing passage that Samatha is a state of mind characterized by serenity, one-pointedness and undistractedness. It is a practice of mental concentration leading to tranquility through ridding of mental defilements (sense desire, ill-will, etc.). It is one of the two branches of mental development (bhāvanā) and it ultimately leads to mind absorptions (jhāna). Samatha meditation employs concentration on objects, ideas, images things that are external to the body, and so is concerned with the universe outside, made for us through name-calling, designation, conceptualization (Paññatta). P. V. Mahathera has also defined the word Samatha as serenity, stillness, tranquility or calmness 64. Samatha practice involves a sustained, unwavering attentiveness to a single object. Whenever the attention is drawn to other thoughts, sensations or sounds, one has simply to let go of them, and thus his attention will return to the object meditated upon. When one gets into the thick of Samatha, he is considered to have a temporary suspension of the activity of his body and mind. Therefore, the outstanding characteristic of the Samatha meditation is the state of the absence of mental wandering and agitation, when this state is attained, all the mists of passion disappear by being replaced by the clearness of insight. Meanwhile, Vipassanā meditation uses the power of concentration (samādhi) on sensations within the body and so it is concerned with the universe within that is beyond the realm of concept. It purifies the mind to enable it to gain insight (pañña) leading to the right way (magga) of knowledge. It is the main branch of mental development (bhāvanā) to attain liberation (Nibbāna). It is the application of mind over matter (rūpa) using the 64 P.V. MahāThera, Ibid., p.17. 99 two legs of concentration (samādhi) and sensation (vedanā), whereas Samatha uses concentration as its main support. In respect of Vipassanā meditation, the Buddha teaches thus: "The four foundations of mindfulness, what are the four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating feelings as feelings, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind as mind, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world."65 So with this type of meditation, mindfulness is the key factor in the development of insight. This mindfulness is the quality of awareness which is applied to four groups of experiences, namely, those of the body, the sensations, the mind, and the mind-objects. And this is the direct path for the purification of minds, the direct path to surmount all kinds of sorrows and the only path for the realization of Nibbāna. Moreover, with this practice we may bring mindfulness and equanimity to our ordinary experiences, too. As a result of which, we may get a purified mind leading us to ultimate happiness. And we may also get a better insight of things that we deal with in our day to day life. We may also get ultimate freedom and thus we may no longer be dependent on different circumstances that we go through. 65 MN.I.145. 100 To develop a sense of happiness independent of all kinds of circumstances is quite challenging, but actually, to have such a sense of happiness is like having half of the spiritual path traveled. The other half of the path left to travel deal with what we are going to do for the benefit of the mankind. In addition to Vipassanā mindfulness, one also cultivates states of Loving Kindness and Compassion, and tries to translate these subjective states into objective actions that are meant for the benefits to others. So we may conclude that Samatha and Vipassāna meditations were known prior to the establishment of Buddhism, but they were refined and standardized in the Buddhist systems of practice. Nevertheless, in itself, it does not lead to the extinction of dukkha and the realization of Nibbāna, although it may be useful to a certain extent in respect of mental development. Before enlightenment, the Buddha himself practiced with some highly accomplished teachers of his time, and he attained the very final stage of absorption, the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, but very soon, he discovered that it was an unsatisfactory and inadequate means for achieving the highest spiritual realization. Concentration may be instrumental for a happy life, but it is only Vipassāna meditation and nothing else that really enables one to purify one's mind and realize Nibbāna. IV.1. 2. Ānāpānasati Meditation Ānāpānasati meditation is the basic method of meditation taught by the Buddha himself. With the method of mindfulness (sati) of breathing (anapana), Ānāpānasati meditation is considered as the first and the most important tenchnique which can be practiced in both samatha and vipassanā meditation. According to Harcharn Singh Sobti, Ānāpānasati (Pāli) or ānāpānasmṛti (Sanskrit) means "mindfulness of breathing" and it is regarded 101 as the original subject of Kammaṭṭhāṇa meditation recorded in Pāli literature. The world 'Ānāpānasati' has three component parts such as Āna + Apana + Sati. Āna means inhaled breath or inbreathing, Apana means exhaled breath or out breathing and Sati stands for mindfulness or awareness. Thus, the world Ānāpānasati means mindfulness on in-breathing and out-breathing.66 In the book of Satipaṭṭhāna: The direct path to realization, Anālayo describes this meditation thus: "Ānāpānasati comprises both the Samādhi and Vipassanā meditation. The discourses present mindfulness of breathing in a variety of ways. The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta describes four steps of the practice, to which the Ānāpānasati Sutta adds another twelve, thereby forming a scheme of altogether sixteen steps. Elsewhere the discourses speak of mindfulness of breathing as cognition (saññā), and as a concentration practice." 67 These various presentations demonstrate the multifunctional character of the process of breathing as a meditational object. They also address the benefits of Ānāpānasati meditation applied in both Samatha and Vipassanā meditation. As a meditation practice, mindfulness of breathing has a peaceful character and leads to stability of both postures that we make and our mind. The mental stability brought about through mindfulness of breathing acts in particular as an antidote to distractions and discursive thoughts. Awareness of the breath can also become a stabilizing factor at the time of death, ensuring that even one's last breath will be a mindful one. According to the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, we find the practice of mindfulness of breathing mentioned as follow: 66 Harcharn Singh Sobti, Vipassanā: The Buddhist Way, Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 2003, p.66. 67 Anālayo, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 2003, p.125. 102 "Herein, monks, a monk who is forest-gone or gone to the root of a tree or gone to an empty place, sits down cross-legged, holding his back erect, arousing mindfulness in front of him. Mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Whether he is breathing in a long (breath) he comprehends, 'I am breathing in a long (breath)'; or whether he is breathing out a long (breath) he comprehends, 'I am breathing out a long (breath); or whether he is breathing in a short (breath) he comprehends, 'I am breathing in a short (breath)'; or whether he is breathing out a short (breath), he comprehends, 'I am breathing out a short (breath)'. He trains himself, thinking: 'I shall breathe in tranquillizing the activity of the body'. He trains himself, thinking: 'I shall breathe out tranquillizing the activity of the body."68 Having described the appropriate environment and posture, the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta instructs the meditator to breathe in and out mindfully. Next, the meditator should become aware of the length of each breath as "long" or "short". The point here is to be aware of long and short breaths, not consciously to control the length of the breath. Nevertheless, the progression from knowing longer breaths to knowing shorter breaths reflects the fact that the breath naturally becomes shorter and finer with continued contemplation, owning to increasing mental and physical calmness.
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