Results: mindfulness and clear awareness, overcoming the five hindrances and attaining the four jhanas
From Meditation guideAbout 1 min read
The first result of meditation is mindfulness with clear awareness: the mind is joyful and spacious, and you can clearly control body and mind.
Mindfulness and clear awareness
The Teacher advises against regarding this state as the true mind or Buddha-nature, because understanding it that way easily makes a practitioner fall back. Health also needs to be kept steady through qigong. In this stage, whenever a wandering thought arises, draw the mind back at once and do not let it grow.
Breaking the five hindrances
| Hindrance | Sign that it has been overcome |
|---|---|
| Craving and desire | No longer attracted to the opposite sex |
| Anger | Calm in the face of adversity |
| Sluggishness | Stays alert even when up late |
| Restlessness | The body is completely still |
| Doubt | Firm faith in the Three Jewels and in the path of practice |
Attaining the four jhanas
Practise until you are fluent, and only then reach the first jhana, followed by the second, third and fourth. The first jhana is separation from unwholesome states, with initial and sustained thought still present; the body is very soft and relies only on the breath.