114 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
*From Basic Practice to the Awakening of Awareness*
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*I. The Foundation of Meditation: Value the Basics---Posture, Breath, and Mind*
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To practice meditation well, we need to value the basic training. Although the true mind we seek to realize is inherently complete and requires no deliberate effort of practice, it is veiled by our samsaric habits from beginningless time. We must break through the fog of delusion before we can recognize our true mind.
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Our present body, made up of the five aggregates, is both the field for cultivating Buddhahood and an obstacle to recognizing our true mind. Therefore we need skillful means, wisdom, and methods.
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Sitting meditation is about adjusting the posture, regulating the breath, and calming the mind. Among these, adjusting the body and regulating the breath are very important supportive conditions for awakening awareness and recognizing the true mind. Although it is said, “Chan is not embodied only in sitting meditation,” sitting meditation has always been an important symbol of Buddhist practice---even the Buddha realized enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree.
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In the past, the Chan school did not place emphasis on sitting cross-legged. Because Chan is a method of sudden enlightenment, directly helping practitioners recognize their true mind, it “only speaks of seeing the true mind, not of meditative concentration and liberation.” Yet this requires superior faculties and keen wisdom; if their cloud layer of delusion is too thick, they will lack the capacity to recognize the true mind.
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In Buddhist practice there are sudden teachings and gradual teachings. Sudden teachings point out that the true mind is originally free from all attachment, while gradual teachings emphasize that we, as ordinary beings, need to diligently wipe away the inner dust. People’s faculties are not fixed; even those of dull faculties, if they practice with the right method and diligently wipe away the dust of the mind, can realize the true mind. We need the view of the sudden teaching because it gives us confidence in our practice. It helps us understand that within each of us lies a quality no different from that of all the Buddhas across the past, present, and future, as well as the successive patriarchs. We only need to recognize it. At the same time, we must also make good use of the gradual teaching, creating an “ecology of awakening” in our practice. This environment is created through studying the teachings, applying the “Eight Steps and Three Types of Meditation,” and cultivating refuge and bodhicitta.
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In meditation, adjusting the posture, aligning the body, and regulating the breath all help develop inner awareness. At the heart of aligning the body is learning the seven-point posture of Vairocana.
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*II. The Seven-Point Posture of Vairocana: Seven Essentials of Sitting Meditation*
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The seven-point posture of Vairocana contains seven points:
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First, sitting cross-legged. That is, sitting in the lotus position: full lotus, half lotus, or even simple cross-legged. Each person’s conditions differ; choose a posture that suits you---relaxed, stable, and comfortable.
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Second, forming the Dhyana Mudra with the hands. This mudra is very important; it helps the body and mind settle.
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Third, keeping the spine upright. During sitting meditation, keeping the spine upright and extending upward is especially important.
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Fourth, resting the tongue against the upper palate.
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When these four actions are done well, they are very helpful for meditation. When the body’s posture is correct, qi and blood flow smoothly, and energy within the body can move and circulate freely. As a result, we are able to maintain the vitality and energy needed to support sustained meditation. Otherwise, many people must first overcome two problems when sitting: drowsiness, distraction, and restlessness. Body and mind are closely related; adjusting the posture helps quiet the mind and gives us ample energy to maintain awareness.
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Keeping the spine upright is especially important. In meditation, we advocate the Eight Mindful Exercises for Lotus Posture and the Seven Mindful Exercises for Breathing. This approach aims to address two common issues: the lack of correct posture in the ankles, knees, hip joints, and other areas, as well as the lack of spinal conditioning. Through these movements, the body becomes more supple.
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In these exercises, we not only rely on physical movement but also regulate the breath. During each movement, we bring the breath to every part of the body, allowing qi and blood to flow freely and the body to soften, so that the breath and body can connect. Although we cherish our bodies, most of the time we are merely using them; the mind and body often lack connection. The eight sitting exercises and seven breathing exercises, on the one hand, help establish the connection between breath and body; on the other hand, they help us perform each movement with awareness.
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*III. Mindful Breathing and Abdominal Breathing: From Natural Breath to Deep Connection*
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Most people’s breathing is rather shallow and short, even chaotic and irregular. Through training, the breath becomes deep, long, and subtle. Breath is extremely important to life---life lies in a single breath; human life is between one breath and the next. Training the breath well helps keep the body healthy and supports longevity.
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In the Seven Mindful Exercises for Breathing, we use postures and various body movements to expand the space of breathing, bringing the breath to the chest, abdomen, back, and even the soles of the feet. As long as we practice with dedication for a while, we will sense its value.
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These exercises are not merely physical adjustment and breath training; what is more important is that every movement is carried out with awareness. Although the Eight Mindful Exercises for Lotus Posture and the Seven Mindful Exercises for Breathing are called “supportive mindfulness practices,” they are, in a sense, the actual practice of mindfulness cultivation. As long as we engage in each action with concentration and awareness, even daily activities can become the actual practice of meditation---whether we are getting dressed, eating, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, interacting with others, or handling daily affairs.
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Through the seven mindful exercises for breathing, we can better establish two connections: first, the connection between breath and body; second, the connection between awareness and breath (that is, between mind and breath). Once these are well trained, meditation becomes much easier.
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In the Seven Mindful Exercises for Breathing, the main goal is to help us learn abdominal breathing. Through repeated practice, we gradually master it and make it a habit. In other words, we learn to breathe in and out by allowing the abdomen to rise and fall.
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We can practice like this: bring your attention to the abdomen and use it as an anchor. As you breathe in, feel the abdomen rise and expand. As you breathe out, feel it fall and move inward. Throughout the practice, simply stay aware.
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The Satipatthana Sutta does not emphasize abdominal breathing. Instead, it begins with the natural breath and teaches us to be aware of it just as it is: when the breath is long, we know it is long; when it is short, we know it is short; when it is coarse, we know it is coarse; and when it is subtle, we know it is subtle. In essence, the principle is the same.
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In practice, we can practice both abdominal breathing and natural breathing. When we are able to practice abdominal breathing, we simply do it. When we feel tired, we simply return to the natural breath. Later, when we feel ready, we can gently practice abdominal breathing again. We don’t need to force anything.
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*IV. Concentration and Awareness: The Two Core Powers of Meditation*
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Mindfulness cultivation develops two powers: concentration and awareness.
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Cultivating concentration requires an “object of focus” (anchor). In the ten elements of mindfulness meditation, the practice of Samatha contains three elements, and the first is having an object of focus. This object can be the breath, walking, the Tai Chi Mindfulness Ball, or the movements of Baduanjin.
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We need to rest the mind on the object of focus---Samatha means settling the mind on an object. How can we settle? We need attention. The mental factor of attention is characterized by “alertness as its nature, leading the mind toward its object as its function”---it alerts us when the mind has wandered, leading the mind toward the object and settling there.
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In the process of meditation, restlessness, distraction, and drowsiness are normal states that we all face. We need to come out of drowsiness and avoid falling into distraction. When the mind wanders, we gently bring it back, allowing it to settle in awareness and rest on the object of focus. In this process, we need to keep alert: when we realize that the mind has wandered off or grown drowsy, we bring it back. The mind may wander again and again; through vigilance and awareness we bring it back again and again. Without attention and awareness, we may remain unconsciously in drowsiness and distraction for long periods.
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The purpose of cultivating concentration is to awaken awareness. People who are good at what they do usually have some concentration, but they have not received training in awareness. So when they concentrate on something, they may unconsciously become attached to it. However, in Buddhist meditation, we use concentration to ultimately awaken awareness.
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*V. Awareness: The Key to Awakened Nature*
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The Satipatthana Sutta says that during breathing we should keep everything clear---like a pool of clear water that can clearly see all that occurs in the sky of the mind. When breathing in, we know clearly that we are breathing in; when breathing out, we know clearly that we are breathing out. When the mind wanders off, maintain awareness and bring it back. Wander again and again, bring it back again and again.
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Awareness is the key to awakened nature. Please do not underestimate this awareness. When many people first begin meditating, they have no understanding of awareness, because we are used to being unaware and cannot feel the power of inner awareness. But this power has always been there; it is only veiled by ignorance. Through continuous training, we are constantly recognizing and becoming familiar with the power of awareness.
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As we keep training, awareness becomes clearer and clearer, like a pool of muddy water slowly becoming clear. We can be clearly aware of all that is happening in our body and mind. At the same time, awareness grows stronger and stronger, so that we no longer habitually fall into delusive thoughts.
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In the sky of our mind, thoughts come and go like the ceaseless flow of vehicles on a highway. Without awareness, we unconsciously see cars coming one after another. Every day we are busy getting on and off, shuttling back and forth among all kinds of thoughts. As a result, we feel very exhausted.
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Awakening awareness is like sitting by the roadside: we can keep a distance from thoughts. With awareness, we can see all kinds of vehicles coming and going, without falling into the whirlpool of thoughts or being controlled or swayed by them. All thoughts are empty in nature, just as all waves are in essence water. But if we lack awareness, we will be controlled by these thoughts. When we have no awareness, thoughts are just delusive; when we have awareness, these thoughts are in essence awakened nature and will not have a negative effect on our life.
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Among the ten elements of mindfulness there is a self-checklist to help us examine ourselves: Have we truly awakened awareness? Can we recognize the characteristics of awareness? When we possess awareness, what is the relationship between awareness and thoughts?
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*VI. Acceptance, Non-judgment, and Right View: The Right Attitude toward Thoughts*
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In the part on awareness, the ten elements speak of four elements: awareness, acceptance, non-judgment, and right view.
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Acceptance---during meditation, besides awakening awareness, we also need to face the various thoughts and images in our mind. Acceptance means accepting them.
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Non-judgment---do not judge any good or bad, any thought, any image. Because when we judge, we enter the system of the discriminating mind. Why not judge? Because we are using awareness, not reason. In mindfulness meditation, practice of the “Eight Steps and Three Types of Meditation” helps us use the discriminating mind well; mindfulness meditation itself, however, is to help us transcend the discriminating mind, go beyond reason, and open the infinite wisdom of non-discrimination within us.
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This approach also aligns with Chan thought. Just as the Third Patriarch Sengcan said in the *Faith in Mind*: “The Great Way is not difficult; it simply avoids picking and choosing. Without love or hate, one sees things as they truly are.” Once we fall into judgment and discrimination, we are using the system of the discriminating mind. When we do not discriminate or judge, we need to awaken awareness. Of course, if ordinary people do not discriminate but do not know how to awaken awareness, their non-discrimination may not become the true one we need.
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For us, we need to awaken awareness, abide in awareness, and not judge the various thoughts and images---these images are like dreams and illusions in the sky of the mind. When we remain in awareness without judgment, these thoughts will naturally dissolve and fade away.
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Right view---helps us understand the thoughts, images, and aware mind within us. The commonly used right views are:
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- No-self: helps us realize that all thoughts are merely thoughts, not self. Do not label these thoughts with “I.” Thoughts simply arise and cease according to conditions; they follow the principle of dependent origination and are inherently without a self.
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- Impermanence: It helps us understand that thoughts arise and cease. With awareness, we can observe them coming and going without seeing them as permanent.
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- Emptiness: It helps us observe what thoughts are and what the mind really is. As we observe them, we begin to experience the mind’s open, vast nature and realize that “the mind is nowhere to be found.”
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This is how Bodhidharma guided Huike, the Second Patriarch. Huike said, “My mind is not at peace.” Bodhidharma replied, “Bring me your troubled mind, and I will put it at peace”---that is, bring me the mind that is not at peace, and I will bring it peace. Huike turned inward and observed what this restless mind really was. As he observed it, the restless mind naturally vanished. This is called “the mind is nowhere to be found.” We need to experience what it means for the mind to be nowhere to be found. At the same time, we need to recognize the mind that clearly knows and observe what this clearly aware mind really is.
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Through these different views, on the one hand we see through the deluded mind, and on the other hand we recognize the true mind and experience our original mind.
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*VII. From Primary to Advanced: The Gradual Path of Meditation*
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The ten elements of mindfulness meditation, from the Eight Mindful Exercises for Lotus Posture and the Seven Mindful Exercises for Breathing to the ten elements of mindfulness meditation, span the whole process of adjusting the body, regulating the breath, and then Samatha and Vipassana. We only need to follow this process step by step, first doing well in primary mindfulness meditation, then entering intermediate, and then advanced.
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Once we have built a solid foundation in primary mindfulness meditation and understand what awareness is, we can bring that awareness into daily life and develop it further. This takes us into intermediate mindfulness meditation. Then, we move from intermediate to advanced practice. It means shifting from directing our attention to no longer needing to direct it, and from contrived practice to non-contrived practice. This process is actually not as difficult as it may seem.
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Whether practice is difficult or easy is relative---just as with anything we do in life. With the right method, it is not difficult; without the right method, it is difficult. We already have such methods. As long as we follow them and train step by step, meditation will become easier and easier.
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Meditation is divided into seated meditation and off-cushion practice. Primary practice is mainly training two powers: concentration and awareness. Through the training of the Eight Mindful Exercises for Lotus Posture and the Seven Mindful Exercises for Breathing, in seated meditation we take the breath as an anchor and train abdominal breathing. As we breathe in and out, we use the breath as an anchor to cultivate concentration. As the breath becomes deeper and longer, the training of concentration becomes easier. At the same time, maintain awareness during breathing. When we breathe in, we clearly know that we are breathing in; when we breathe out, we clearly know that we are breathing out.
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Seated meditation and meditation in daily life, as well as meditation in stillness and in motion, complement each other. When starting out, we may choose different methods, but if we practice seated meditation diligently, it will certainly help us go deeper in our meditation practice.
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