The philosophy and practice of
meditation evolved when spiritual fervor of Vedic era gave way to the era of
Upanishads. During the era of
Upanishads, introspection as a mean to attain enlightenment was embraced,
nurtured and perfected.
The
Upanishads contended that the self or the soul of every human being is
potentially divine and that divinity inherently present within can be realized through
meditation.
The Rig Veda (X.53.6), acknowledging
the existence of imperfection and divinity in human beings, says; “Manur Bhava,
Jannya Daivam Janam –become human being; make other divine....”
Throughout
Upanishads the sages have advocated meditation for transforming Atma -the
individual self, which is imperfect, into Param Atma -the universal divine self
which is pure and perfect.
The
Upanishads recognized that we have the capacity deep in us to see many, deal
with many, and welcome many at the same time.
Meditation involves investigating and
enlightening mind and its thought processes.
It brings about mental stability and development, which enables to
become consciously aware and mindful of thought and action.
Meditation is deeply rooted in Yoga
Sutras of Hindu theology, both in philosophy and practice. It is the Dhyana stage of Yoga leading to
Samadhi, a state enlightened existence.
The
rationales for habitually practicing meditation are:
1...Purify mind of all defilements,
2...Still mind and remain calm, free from mental
agitation, fear and worry,
3...Enhance awareness
and become mindful of actions,
4...Promote virtuous qualities and become
positive in life,
5...Fortify will power, increase
self-confidence, and eliminate laxity,
6...Enhance dedication
to duties, self discipline, determination and integrity,
7...Cultivate positive attitude
and commitment for philanthropy,
8...Enhance the ability
to make right judgement and understand others, and
9...Realize divine
nature of: 1) loving-kindness, 2) compassion, 3) altruistic attitude, and 4)
equanimity -the feeling of oneness among individuals and societies.
Living an enlightened life is the
expected result of meditation. It
enables to cultivate positive ethical behaviour that generates positive thoughts
and actions.
By practicing meditation, we are trying
to be aware of things, both externally and internally that are happening in
present moment and be mindful by which only positive thoughts are generated and
positive actions are executed.
Meditation is essentially mental
development. It is a mental exercise. Lord Buddha says; “The mind is
everything. What you think, you
become.”
Meditation engages in having a positive
state of mind. It is with meditation we
are able to culture and develop wholesome spiritual perspective. It nurtures right way of life with right
attitude with stable and pure mind.
The goal of meditation is to be free
from all that causes un-satisfactoriness and suffering.
Practicing
meditation means embracing positive thinking, attitude and behavior. Meditation is an experiential action and not a
scholastic subject.
Meditation
enables us to be analytically mindful of the present moment, be in present
moment and know that we are in the right path and living a right way of
life.
Meditation
enables to remain aware and mindful on what we do, speak or think, and to develop
moral values.
Meditation has two dimensions:
concentration and contemplation.
By concentrating on Lord Buddha, we may
feel Lord Buddha right in front. But by
contemplating on Lord Buddha, our conscious self become one with Buddha.
At the highest level of concentration we are able to discern
our thoughts. We remain aware of arising
thoughts but we are able to dissociate with them. By doing so, there will be reduction in
generation of fleeting thoughts and mind tends to become still.
As the level of stilling our mind advances, there will
be a state when no thoughts are generated.
At that state, the mind generates thoughts only when needed and it
generates wholesome thought and nothing else.
That is the highest level of meditation at which we are in control of
our mind. We are aware of the phenomenon
but the state of our mind is not affected.
At the highest level of concentration, mind remains
pure and serene. We become one with object
of concentration. We
can see the whole universe as one, and do not see our own existence.
Truly, meditation is mind training. In Bhagvad Gita (6.35-36) Krishna says; “It
is true that mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be overcome through regular
practice and detachment.
Those who lack self-control will find
it difficult to progress in meditation, but those who are self controlled,
striving earnestly through right means, will attain the goal.”
In
Diamond Sutra, Lord Buddha says, “Mind is the source of both; happiness and unhappiness. The mind itself is the subject of introspection.
All
phenomena are preceded by mind. When
mind is comprehended, all phenomena are comprehended.”
Meditation is not limited to a formal
structured practice but pervades all aspects of daily life, all activities, in
all places and every moment of time.
The two meditation practices which Lord Buddha
practiced and perfected with which he attained enlightenment and Nirvana are:
(1) Samatha Bhavana -calm abiding, and (2) Vipassana Bhavana -contemplation.
The process of concentrating on the
object of meditation resulting in a calm and tranquil mind, fully settled in a
state of non-destruction is Samatha Bhavana.
At calm and still mind, there will be
presence of mind being aware of it. It
is the calm and aware mind gain energy for higher level of attainment.
Upon stilling the mind with Samatha Bhavana,
the mind is ready for Vipassana Bhavana -the next level of meditation, which
involves contemplating on the object of concentration.
Samatha and Vipasana are the two successive stages of
meditation and one without the other, the end will be missing. The two together forms the
connecting bridge between the individual self and the universal self.
Samatha
and Vipassana meditations are integral as Samatha meditation gives way to
Vipassana meditation. The fundamental
difference between the two is the purpose of the respective meditations.
The
purpose of Samatha is to stabilize and still the mind while that of Vipassana
is to experience the ever changing phenomena.
Samatha
enables to eradicate the defilements temporarily as the mind is absorbed in the
object of concentration.
Vipassana
enables to understand the truth of impermanence and suffering, and thereby
eradicate the defilements permanently.
The
seamless connectivity between Samatha and Vipassana are established in four
essential stages of Yoga: 1) Bhavana, 2) Dharana, 3) Dhyana, and 4) Samadhi.
The
terms Bhavana and Dharana are often considered to have same meaning but there
exists a difference.
Bhavana
means a good idea or thought, and it is a noun, where as Dharana is volition, aiming
or exercising for a good idea or thought, and it is a verb.
The
term Dhyana implies to incessant flow of good idea or thought on to the object
of concentration. The flow may be inward
or outward. The term Dhyana has been embraced
as Chan in Chinese, and as Zen in Japanese, which affirms Dhyana is the right
root word for meditation.
Samadhi
is the state of experiencing the ecstasy resulting from Dhyana, being one with the
object of Dhyana.
With
Bhavana we wish to purify our mind, and with Dharana we purify our mind. With Dharana we still our mind on to the
object of concentration.
Dharana with love and devotion awakens mental and
emotional power. It releases mental and
emotional energy from the objects of attachment.
The object of concentration can be anything but for
the purpose of mental culture, the object of concentration is spiritual and
divine in nature.
In practicing Dharana, mind alone is not enough. It requires indomitable will or will power of
inner consciousness, more precisely the soul.
When mind and soul are fully concentrating, only the practitioner as
subject and the object of concentration exist.
Eventually the mind and soul dissolves in the
object of concentration, and becomes one with it.
With
Vipassana, things are recognized as they are.
Vipassana enables to realize total detachment, and renunciation of the fruits
of action.
With
Vipassana, the craving and clinging, the root causes of suffering are
destroyed.
Samatha and Vipassana meditations take us to our true
existence deep within us and enable us to enter into inner consciousness. It is there in the inner consciousness we discover
the universal self.
Samatha to Vipassana at their highest level, enable mind
to rest in the core of our inner consciousness.
At that state the wandering thoughts do not disturb the meditating mind.
Practicing
Samatha and Vipassana, Lord Buddha knew the true nature of all that exist and gained
knowledge to ferry across all beings from discord to harmony, from suffering to
happiness, and from Samsara to Nirvana.
The two teachers, Alara Kamala and
Uddaka Ramaputra, had taught eight Dhyana to Lord Buddha. Perfecting the eight Dhyana taught by the two
teachers, Lord Buddha could have only temporary mental peace.
Lord Buddha was not convinced with the
adequacy of the eight Dhyana as the un-satisfactoriness and suffering still persisted
even after accomplishing the eight Dhyana. What Lord Buddha wanted was the permanent
mental peace, happiness and bliss.
Lord Buddha wanted to know beyond eight
Dhyana. At the dawn of his
enlightenment, Lord Buddha had reached fourth Dhyana by practicing Samatha
meditation, and from there he proceeded through to the eighth Dhyana and beyond
with Vipassana meditation.
It was upon proceeding beyond eight
Dhyana; Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, and attained Nirvana.
Beyond eight Dhyana, the truth that Lord Buddha
discovered was that we do not live in our action, in the present moment. We live either in the past or in the future. Though we are doing something now, here, we are
somewhere else in our thoughts, in our imaginary problems and worries. Therefore we remain unsuccessful, discontented
and unhappy.
The real life we actually live is the present moment;
not the memories of the past which is dead and gone, nor the dreams of the
future which is not yet born. One who
lives in the present moment lives the real life, and he is happy. This does not mean that we should not think
of the past or the future at all. Whenever we think of past or future we should think
of them in relation to the present moment, the present action of ours.
Lord Buddha learnt Smatha Bhavana from his teachers
and perfected it, but the Vipassana Bhavana was rediscovered by Lord Buddha in its
entirety and perfected on his own, which was lost in its perfection.
After Lord Buddha's Pari Nirvana
numerous meditation practices were developed, but all of them fall in either of
the two categories: Samatha and Vipassana, which are to be practiced in
sequence.
Lord Buddha practiced Samatha and
Vipassana meditations to culture his mind, to cleanse it, to control it, to
make it one-pointed and direct it to know Yatha Bhuta Nana -the true nature of
existence.
Lord
Buddha offered Samatha and Vipassana meditations to the humanity for eradicating
suffering. These two meditations have
higher relevance in today’s world for having balanced thinking and mental
attitudes among young generations in whom reasoning has overtaken the faith and
devotion.
With meditation we discipline our mind
and nurture Bodhi Citta -enlightened mind, from which Karuna –the loving
kindness and compassion, is born.
Shantideva
(685-763 AD) says; “Once
Bodhi Citta is firmly grounded, there emerge the thoughts of Bodhi Paranidhi Citta
-the thought of vow to grasp virtues, and Bodhi Prasthana Citta -the thought of
vow for departure on the path of realization.
With these two thoughts, one should
proceed with Papa Deshana -reflection upon the evils and the recognition that,
given the innumerable previous births, one can not presume to dissociate
oneself from any of it.
One should confess that whatever evil
was committed or was caused to be committed, and whatever was enjoyed
foolishly, ending in self destruction, that evil I confess with remorseful
feeling.”
Once all negative Karma of past and
present and connection with every other being has been honestly established, we
can authentically rejoice in everything that is good by realizing Punya Anumodana
-the mirror image of Papa Deshana.
With Papa Deshana and Punya Anumodana,
comes the capacity to fulfil Bodhisattva vow, the basis and substance of Bodhi
Citta Parigraha -cultivating the mind of enlightenment. It is an enlightened mind that activates whole
of our consciousness and translate into wholesome action leading to Nirvana.
Samatha meditation brings about
enlightenment that delivers wisdom while Vipassana meditation brings about
Nirvana which delivers the end of suffering.
This was what Lord Buddha was actually looking for.
In Buddha Dharma, the dominant philosophy
is Sunyata. It advocates that Samsara
continues to perpetuate because of its very nature of impermanence.
Samsara has no inherent independent
existence. It is Sunya because it has a
Dependent Origination devoid of independent and permanent existence. It is in that Sunya there is the potential
for immanence, where the Buddha Nature is found.
Buddha Nature is the seed potential of
goodness. It is pure, un-influenced and
eternal. It neither increases nor decreases; neither destroyed nor corrupted.
Buddha Nature is the potential to
become Buddha and it pervades in all beings.
It is at the centre stage of all potentials.
Besides Buddha Nature, which is pure,
perfect and permanent, all other aspects of our being are impure, imperfect and
impermanent.
Buddha Nature is subject rather than
object for it is uncreated unborn potential for goodness.
Buddha Nature can be realized and
cherished which inherently exists in every being.
In parallel to the philosophy of Sunyata,
there exists a philosophy of Alaya consciousness, the total sum of
consciousness, which says it is in the Alaya consciousness there is seed potential
for anything and everything.
The Alaya consciousness possesses all
the seeds of defilements as well as of Nirvana.
The Alaya consciousness carries
imprints of all the past Karma, like an archive and all the potentials of the
future. All our thoughts and emotions
originate and end in the Alaya consciousness.
It is the essence of all phenomena.
But it is not absolute and independent.
It is the resultant entity of interdependence and impermanence.
When wholesome Dharma is done, the
defilements, appropriations, and spiritual corruptions are annulled and the
pure consciousness prevails in the whole of the Alaya, as a result the future
rebirth in Samsara is either eliminated or transformed.
It is within the expanse of Alaya
consciousness the potential of goodness, devoid of all imperfections exists, which
is uncreated and unborn. That potential
for goodness, the pure consciousness devoid of all imperfection is Buddha
Nature.
In either case, when Buddha
Nature, the divine nature, is realized, the suffering ends without having to
exert. And realising that divine nature
is all about meditation.
