This eBook is offered freely. If you wish, you may donate and help us continue offering our services. May you be happy! To make a donation, please visit: www.pariyatti.org PARIYATTI 867 Larmon Road Onalaska, Washington 98570 USA 360.978.4998 www.pariyatti.org Pariyatti is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the world by: v Disseminating the words of the Buddha v Providing sustenance for the seeker’s journey v Illuminating the meditator’s path THE QUIET MIND JOHN E. COLEMAN PARIYATTI PRESS ONALASKA, WASHINGTON III THE QUIET MIND Pariyatti Press 867 Larmon Road Onalaska, WA 98570, USA � First Edition 1971, Rider & Company, London First American Edition 1971, Harper and Row, New York © 1971, 2000 by John E. Coleman Second Edition, 2000 Published by Pariyatti Press, 2000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Pariyatti Press, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. ISBN-10 1-928706-06-1 ISBN 978-1-928706-06-9 (Print) ISBN 978-1-928706-55-7 (PDF) 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Coleman, John E., 1930- The quiet mind / John E. Coleman.-- 2nd ed. p. cm. ISBN 1-928706-06-1 (pbk.) 1. Meditation. 2. Peace of mind--Religious aspects--Buddhism. 3. Buddhism--Doctrines. 4. Parapsychology. 5. Coleman, John E., 1930- I. Title. BL627 .C65 2000 294.3’44--dc21 00-056659 Printed in the United States of America IV CONTENTS PUBLISHER’S PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION: A QUESTION OF CONFLICT xi 1. HYPNOSIS OR SOMETHING ELSE? 1 A temple in Bangkok, a creepy supernatural experience. The author’s first encounter with the Oriental mind. The search begins. 2. THE UNKNOWN SIDE OF THE MIND 11 An incident is staged – and the experiment is a flop. Author visits the parapsychology laboratory of Duke University, North Carolina. A game of cards with a sceptic has unexpected results. 3. THE PRINCE WHO SEARCHED FOR “TRUTH” 21 The young man who founded the philosophy and religion of Bud- dhism. Do asceticism, fasting, self-denial lead to peace of mind? What was it the “Enlightened One” discovered under a bodhi tree twenty-five centuries ago? 4. ARELIGION OR A WAY OF LIFE? 27 The teaching and principles of Buddhism. Is man’s destiny trace- able to former deeds? The search for nirvana, the state where igno- rance and desire are dispelled and suffering ceases. 5. BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE: HARROWING EXPERIENCE 33 In the heart of the beautiful The King and I country the author takes the plunge and signs on for a meditation course at Wat Mahatai temple. And signs off again before the gruelling course is completed. 6. U BA KHIN—dYNAMO WITH PEACE OF MIND 41 In Rangoon the author meets a man who holds the elusive secrets of the quiet mind and is willing to share them. But can the message get across? V THE QUIET MIND 7. “A SORT OF PHILOSOPHER” 49 Chance meeting with a man who for forty years has held audiences all over the world spellbound with his simple wisdom. A plane journey with Krishnamurti who was once hailed as the Messiah reborn. 8. INTO THE TENT OUT OF THE RAIN 57 The other side of the flowers and the clouds. Further talks with Krishnamurti who explains his philosophy to the author. 9. JOURNEY TO THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 73 Visit to Darjeeling and a meeting with Sherpa Tenzing. On to Gantok for lamas’ New Year festival. Author stays with a remote mission run by British women. Trouble with border authorities. Lunch with the Maharaja of Sikkim. Discussion with a lama who was not all he seemed to be. Visit to a Tibetan meditation monas- tery. 10. NEPAL, LAND OF GODS—AND BEATNIKS 87 Investigation of religious traditions in Kathmandu, including sexual practices and erotic symbolism. Talks with a high lama. 11. TANTRISM: AN ON THE SPOT INVESTIGATION 99 More about Tibetan and Hindu Tantric practices. Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first teaching. Guest at the Thai temple of Bodh Gaya. 12. AMONTH IN THE FOREST 107 Back in Thailand the author stays at a remote forest monastery run by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Thailand’s leading Buddhist monk. The life and habits of the inmates. 13. WITH SUZUKI IN JAPAN 115 What is Zen? One of the last interviews with its most important exponents, Dr. Suzuki, shortly before he died. Suzuki explains the basic differences between the Western and Oriental minds. The Chinese mind today – and why the West has reason to be cautious. 14. THE SECRETS OF ZEN 125 At a Zen monastery in Japan the author hears the routine, beliefs and practices of the students. VI 15. TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION VERSUS “POT” 133 The rise of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who, with the aid of the Beatles, popularized meditation. A visit to his mountain retreat at Rishikesh, mecca of yogis and other Indian religious leaders. 16. THE GOLDEN SILENCE 147 Author settles in Britain and joins a meditative organization in London. Inquiries at Nashdom Abbey, Bucks, description of the Quaker approach to contemplative practice and an uncanny brush with Spiritualism. 17. THREE WISE MEN: THE SEARCH IS OVER 165 A return to Burma and the end of the search. The secret of the quiet mind–so simple yet so elusive–emerges. 18. THE ONLY ANTIDOTE TO CONFLICT 181 Current research to determine the nature of the “transcendental” state. The use and abuse of drugs. Was the search worthwhile? Does meditation and a quiet mind have something unique to offer the world today? The author sums up. 19. THE QUIET MIND—a POSTSCRIPT 189 The author describes events since the first edition of The Quiet Mind. How he was persuaded to begin teaching Vipassan± meditation. A Burmese prediction. U Ba Khin’s life, and the spread of the teachings of the Buddha to the West in the last three decades. GLOSSARY 201 VII THE QUIET MIND LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS MAP 1 SOUTHEAST ASIA 3 WAT MAHATAI, BANGKOK 35 Where the author was first introduced to Buddhist meditation. THE AUTHOR WITH HIS FIRST MEDITATION TEACHER 38 SAYAGYI U BA KHIN 46 Burmese government official and leading teacher of meditation, whose example inspired the author to go on trying KRISHNAMURTI 65 A twentieth-century saint? Krishnamurti caught in contemplative mood by the author’s camera in the grounds of his college in the heart of the English countryside. MAP 2 PRINCIPLE PLACES VISITED BY THE AUTHOR 75 DR. SUZUKI 123 The third of the Three Wise Men from whom the author sought guidance in his quest THE INTERNATIONAL MEDITATION CENTRE 170 The eight-sided shrine at U Ba Khin’s International Meditation Centre where the search ended and the author discovered the supreme experience THE AUTHOR AND SAYAGYI U BA KHIN 179 VIII Publisher’s Preface Nearly thirty years have passed since the first edition of The Quiet Mind appeared in print. Many of the individuals encountered in the author’s search are no longer with us. Why then reissue this book, when many of its potential readers were not even born at the time of the events portrayed? The search for a quiet mind is a universal search. The tools for the search are universal tools, and the answers are universal answers. Since this book was originally published, there seems to have been a flood tide of interest in “the search.” The Quiet Mind remains a testament to this search, and offers the hope and the inspiration that the goal can be reached. This second edition expands on the original edition with the addition of a postscript, which tells the story of the author’s experi- ence since the events in the book, and describes how the tools for find- ing a “quiet mind” have spread to the West since the first edition. A note on terminology Many of the terms used by the author come from the rich complex of languages of the Indian subcontinent. P±li is used in the Therav±din, or southern Buddhist tradition of the author’s primary teachers. For readability however, the author has used the more familiar Sanskrit forms for words such as karma, rather than the P±li kamma, and nirvana rather than the P±li nibb±na. Less common words, such as s²la, anatt±, and dukkha have been left in P±li. When quoting teachers directly, the original P±li language has been left unchanged. Also to be noted are two distinct uses of the phrase “transcen- dental meditation.” When used to refer specifically to the technique taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the words are capitalized; when used to refer in general to meditation whose goal is to “transcend” ordinary reality, the phrase is left in small letters. IX THE QUIET MIND Since the writing of The Quiet Mind, the name of Burma has changed to Myanmar, and its capital, formerly Rangoon, is now known as Yangon. The original usages have not been changed for this edition. X Introduction A Question of Conflict N all life there is conflict. A plant has to thrust its way through the soil to reach daylight, a newborn baby has to yell to fill its Ilungs with oxygen. A wild animal must kill to eat or go hungry: either way there is conflict for the animal. As human beings we meet it every day and in everything we do, for conflict is part of living. And as humans we are very accomplished at providing ourselves with various forms of relaxation or diversion to help us ease up on the pressure.