Practising meditation

However much merit from the past, aspiration for the future and virtue in the present there may be, none of it will ever lead to liberation without one final practice: meditation. Meditation is the last step by which everyone reaches liberation. Each advance in the practice of meditation is a part of liberation coming to light. When the practice of meditation is brought to full completion, that is also the moment the practitioner attains ultimate liberation.

Within the scope of this treatise, we do not have time to describe the practice of meditation in detail; we only set out a few basic concepts to show that meditation is the final causal condition for liberation to bear fruit.

Most of the schools of the East take concentration of the mind as their guiding principle; that is, they take the work of practising meditation as the core method. However, if we study closely what lies inside, we will see differences appearing in layer upon layer. Everyone exalts concentration of the mind, but the methods of concentrating the mind and its purposes are very far apart.

Some schools hold that meditation is practised to send the spirit out to roam the realms. Some hold that it is to attain supernormal powers and miracles. Some seek long life for the body. Even talisman makers, sorcerers and fortune-tellers... need the power of concentration to increase the effectiveness of their work. A fortune-teller who lacks intuition and relies only on numerology and divination charts will tell fortunes poorly. Indeed, once they have inner power of concentration, they tell fortunes better, and their spiritual energy, thoroughly subjective in character, always comes into effect according to the person's will.

In Buddhism the power of concentration is used to reach liberation, and yet the Buddhist schools still have very many different shades, sometimes seeming to contradict one another. The Pure Land school uses the recitation of the Buddha's name to concentrate the mind, with the aim of being reborn in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. The esoteric school uses mantras to concentrate the mind, with the aim of acquiring wondrous powers. The Zen school holds to seeing one's nature and sudden awakening, then relying on the power of awakening to enter concentration and gain wisdom. If asked where the aim of liberation lies, the masters of the schools also put forward many ingenious arguments to show that their school does not contradict the Buddhist ideal of liberation, and that in the end everyone is liberated!

Here we do not go deeply into each school; we stand only on the level of the law of karma to observe which practices must be cultivated in order to have the result of liberation.

An important practice in preparing for the practice of meditation is THE WISDOM THAT BREAKS ATTACHMENT.

The wisdom that breaks attachment is the ability to look into the true nature of all things to see whether, in their essence, there is anything lasting, anything fixed, anything truly existing. The scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism call this ability prajna wisdom.

When we look straight into the nature of all things, we are astonished to see that everything is impermanent, changing, unfixed and empty, existing only in appearance and name without any substance. Concrete things such as a house, a stone, a flowering plant... are all relative, changing and hollow. Abstract things such as space, time and movement are also only relative and do not truly exist. The whole universe appears like a dream!

Seeing this, the practitioner is freed from all clinging; his mind does not cling to things or events, and gradually enters constant, pure, clear awareness. Even though the mind changes for the better, the practitioner still sees that the one who is practising and transforming is still only a person in a dream, practising a dream-like teaching. Thus the practitioner does not cling to his own results (nothing to be attained) and does not become conceited over the results of his practice. This is very necessary, because most meditators, when they reach some initial results, often feel a secret pride arising inside.

Liberation is transcendence of all clinging to self and phenomena (subject and object). Therefore the wisdom that breaks attachment is an important causal condition in the process leading to liberation. Perhaps because of this importance, the Great Prajna scripture of Northern Buddhism runs to almost 600 volumes. Without the preparation of prajna wisdom to break the views and attachments hidden in the unconscious, when we go deep into meditation those attachments will quietly disrupt our practice, because when consciousness sinks into stillness, the unconscious becomes very active. For example, for a long time a monk longed to attain the concentration called the Shurangama samadhi (attachment to a name) and dreamed that celestial maidens would bring heavenly flowers as offerings to him. He left the city to go and seclude himself on the Cấm mountain in the Seven Mountains region. He practised meditation diligently and reached many good results, able to sit in meditation from early morning till evening. But then, because the old dreams in the unconscious had not been cleared away, once during concentration an illusion appeared. He saw a Bodhisattva come and stroke his head, praising him for attaining the Shurangama samadhi. He saw celestial maidens bringing flowers as offerings. One girl came holding a garland, put it round the monk's neck and tightened it, terrifying him. From then on he lost his composure, his personality became disturbed, and after some years of wandering, he finally passed away while still young.

It is through practising prajna contemplation deeply (profound prajna), thoroughly and continuously that the practitioner washes away a great many views, attachments and hidden ambitions still lurking in the unconscious. Then, when the practice of meditation bears good results and consciousness quiets down, the unconscious will not raise illusions to break up the practice that is progressing well.

Meditation includes two main methods: right mindfulness and right concentration.

First the practitioner must practise settling the body in the full lotus posture. Sit keeping the body still and supple. Always CLEARLY KNOW the whole body down to each finger, toe and muscle fibre. Gently contemplate this body as impermanent and illusory. Practise very carefully for several months in a row, and do not hurry into settling the mind too early. If the practice of settling the body is not mature, many dangerous troubles will arise later. One must be able to sit still yet supple for more than half an hour before moving on to practising right mindfulness. Later, even after entering higher levels of meditation, settling the body is always still necessary.

Right mindfulness is a mind that is clearly aware, pure and spacious at all times in every moment of life. The mind of right mindfulness is a mind that does not abide, does not cling to any means, does not gather on any topic, does not rest on any object. Although it uses no means, the practitioner still skilfully keeps the mind from being disturbed and constantly stays alert, not being misled by delusive thoughts. As soon as a delusive thought arises, the inner awareness at once sees clearly that the delusive thought (the thinking) is only an external object and is not the true self. Because he sees clearly that the delusive thought is only a false external object, the practitioner does not attend to it, does not chase after it, does not sink into it, does not drift on endlessly after it, and so the delusive thought loses its strength, cannot continue and has to end early. Then another delusive thought arises, is again clearly known by the non-abiding awareness and again ceases. In right mindfulness, the knowing and the thinking are separated into two. The knowing always clearly knows the thinking. A person experienced in controlling the mind will see that delusive thoughts arise from the rear part of the brain, so the practitioner constantly keeps attention on the rear part of the brain to watch the mind.

The Zen master Kuo-an (Quách Am), with his deep and thorough experience of practice, drew ten pictures of herding the ox to express skilfully this process of practising right mindfulness.

In the first picture, the figure of the boy walks forward but with his face turned backward, symbolising inversion and sinking into delusive thoughts.

In the second picture, the boy sees the ox's footprints. It symbolises the stage of beginning practice, when the delusive thought has gone quite far, the practitioner has been carried along for a stretch and only then suddenly wakes up: "Oh no, I've been fooled by a delusive thought all this time!"

In the third picture, the boy sees the ox's tail. It symbolises a stage with a little progress. A thought arises and passes for a stretch, but only at the end of the thought does the practitioner become aware and separate the knowing from the thinking. Still a little late.

In the fourth picture, the boy holds the rope and struggles to hold the ox back; the ox has appeared in full from head to tail. It symbolises a better stage, in which the practitioner tries with all his might to be aware and see clearly from the beginning of a thought to its end, no longer sinking into delusive thoughts.

In the fifth picture, the boy leisurely holds the rope and leads the ox by the head. It symbolises the stage in which the effort has become gentle: a thought that has just begun to stir silently, before becoming words, is already known and ended. The practitioner's inner awareness is very bright. The practitioner sees his mind as a bottomless bucket; delusive thoughts arise and vanish by themselves, and it seems the practitioner does not need to make much effort. The effort is very light and relaxed. Virtue begins to appear. This is the stage of breaking the Five Hindrances.

In the sixth picture, the boy sits on the ox's back, playing the flute at ease. It symbolises the stage in which no effort is made and the mind enters concentration gradually, gradually. The practitioner is completely master of delusive thoughts. Only when something needs to be arranged by thought does he make use of thinking; otherwise delusive thoughts do not arise coarsely, and only very subtle delusive thoughts remain, like fine specks of dust, being gradually dissolved by the constant awareness of the mind. This is the state of realising the first dhyana.

From the seventh picture onward belongs to right concentration, which will be discussed later.

In this method of right mindfulness, the practitioner uses just one single effort: to separate the knowing and the thinking into two, so that the knowing sees clearly that the delusive thought is a false external object, does not accept the thinking, and so the delusive thought is no longer supplied with strength to continue, and has to end. The practitioner's mind does not rest on any one point, does not depend on any means, and is constantly alert and spacious. Some Chinese Zen masters call this state the true mind, the master, seeing one's nature.

In every moment of life, the practitioner constantly and continuously maintains such a state of awareness. When doing tasks, although he only concerns himself with keeping the mind and pays no heed to the task, the practitioner works very skilfully and thoroughly with few slips because he is not thinking about random things. Without fixing attention on the work, each movement appears clearly because the mind is not wandering in thoughts about other matters. He only keeps the root of the mind's stance, and naturally he is not careless in his work. The work is done very carefully.

When walking, how each step touches the ground is always clearly known, although the practitioner only concerns himself with keeping the mind and does not deliberately attend to his steps.

Some people urge that whatever you do, you should pay attention to that task; this is wrong! Many people who hear this advice concern themselves with paying attention to the task whether they are cutting rice, hoeing the soil or sawing wood. In the evening when they sit in meditation, images of the day's work rise up in successive waves before their eyes, because the attention has etched the work deep into the mind.

A person practising right mindfulness is concerned only with keeping the root of the mind and does not concern himself with paying attention to the work, yet the work is naturally done with remarkable care. In the early stage, when he still has to herd the ox with difficulty and is concerned only with keeping the root of the mind, the practitioner may sometimes be distracted in his work. But do not be afraid; just keep the mind. When the mind has matured, the work will naturally become many times more careful than before.

The second method is right concentration. Right concentration is the final, ultimate stage of the Noble Eightfold Path. The requirements of right concentration are stricter than those of right mindfulness. If right mindfulness only requires clearly knowing delusive thoughts and separating the knowing from them so as not to follow them, the requirement of right concentration is that no delusive thoughts arise at all.

The practitioner must not suppress them, but must do it in a way that is both gentle and attentive, so that delusive thoughts do not arise at all.

Right mindfulness and right concentration always support each other.

Right mindfulness requires practice in every moment of life, whereas right concentration requires practice in the full lotus posture.

Right mindfulness uses the universal mind, without means, whereas right concentration rests the mind on the breath, using a means. The means of resting the mind on the breath makes the power of gathering the mind markedly stronger.

Right mindfulness helps the practitioner enter right concentration easily, and conversely, right concentration helps the practitioner become proficient in right mindfulness in ordinary life. Right mindfulness, watching the mind from behind, helps the practitioner form the initial foundation of Morality. Right concentration, settling on the breath, helps the practitioner go deep into concentration. The practitioner must practise right mindfulness thoroughly to form the Virtue that serves as the foundation for his whole life of practice; he must not hurry to enter the practice of right concentration too early, or it will collapse later.

With the method of right concentration, the practitioner can pass beyond the Five Aggregates in a shorter time than by using right mindfulness alone.

In the method of right concentration, the practitioner must practise settling the body in the full lotus posture. He must make the body sit still, without moving, yet gentle and comfortable, with the back not sagging. Not a single finger or muscle fibre may move or be tensed. Still and gentle. When settling the body, the practitioner checks the whole body himself, constantly watching the lower back so that it does not tire and sag, watching the two shoulders to see whether they are crooked and whether they hang evenly and gently, watching each arm and calf muscle and the fingers to see whether they move or tense, and whether the eyes look down at one spot or still dart about. The practitioner must be able to control the body in the full lotus posture like this for 30 minutes, meeting all the above requirements completely, before he begins to practise gathering the mind on the breath to start practising right concentration. If the practice of settling the body is not yet firm, the practitioner will later suffer some meditation sicknesses. After ending the session, the practitioner massages the whole body. This can be combined with abdominal breathing to strengthen inner power. Breathe in, letting the belly swell out; breathe out, drawing the belly in.

After a period of mature practice of settling the body, the awareness becomes strong and full. The practitioner begins to be able to separate the Knowing and the Thinking from each other. Thoughts that arise are detected in time and become illusory external objects. The mind is always alert and clearly knows delusive thoughts, no longer deceived by them and led away to wander. This is the accomplishment of Right Mindfulness. But the practitioner needs to continue to abide in this Right Mindfulness for a long time to be strong enough to eliminate the Five Hindrances. He should not hurry to gather the mind deeply into concentration.

While abiding in Right Mindfulness, the practitioner must skilfully apply attention to eliminate sensual desire, ill will and conceit. Do not think that arousing attention disturbs the mind. Right attention gives very good support to long-term practice later on.

One must arouse right attention to dissolve the bad habits that still remain in one's mind.

After a long period of abiding in Right Mindfulness and eliminating the Hindrances, the power of the practice of Settling the Body continues to grow, making the awareness, the Knowing, many times brighter than before. Delusive thoughts seem no longer to arise. At this moment, the breath appears!

Naturally the practitioner Clearly Knows the Breath bit by bit. Breathing in, he clearly knows he is breathing in; breathing out, he clearly knows he is breathing out; a long breath, he knows it is long; a short breath, he knows it is short.

When breathing in, there is still the sensation of the whole body from the practice of Settling the Body; when breathing out, there is still the sensation of the whole body from the practice of Settling the Body. In the Nikaya scriptures, the Buddha taught the practice of the breath as follows: "I breathe in experiencing the whole body; I breathe out experiencing the whole body..." The practitioner must always gently and clearly know his whole body however he is applying effort. This clear knowing of the whole body creates the mental strength that helps gather the mind.

The practitioner is always alert, clearly knowing the whole body, knowing the breath, and not losing the breath.

The more clearly one knows the breath, the deeper the mind goes into concentration. First: "Breathing in, I clearly know I am breathing in; breathing out, I clearly know I am breathing out," but without interfering with the breath. This is the Middle Way.

The practitioner is alert and passive, observing the breath going in and out clearly but not interfering, not deliberately controlling the breath. At first the breath will certainly not be even throughout the sitting. The secret disturbances of the deep inner mind will influence the breath, making it sometimes strong, sometimes weak, sometimes long, sometimes short. When the inner mind is quiet, the breath is gentle and longer. When the inner mind is in conflict, even silently, the breath will be stronger and shorter. If the practitioner is patient, after a period of knowing the breath going in and out clearly, the power of awareness naturally increases, he feels refreshed and comfortable, and the mind clearly settles with each breath. Keep the breath like this as you advance in practice, and always remember not to lose the breath.

If the practitioner does not clearly know the breath, later, when the mind begins to enter concentration, the breath will stop passively and the practitioner will be stuck there, unable to go deeper into the other levels of concentration. Therefore one must clearly know the breath going out and coming in, how long it is and how gentle it is, knowing it just as it is without controlling it, until the day the process of practice is brought to completion.

Do not listen to some people who say you must try to breathe in until your belly and lungs are quite full. That will cause dizziness. Here there is no suppression and no elimination of Delusive Thoughts; there is only clearly knowing the breath, and knowing the whole body, and delusive thoughts automatically do not arise. This is an important secret.

Neuropsychiatrists also confirm this point: when the nerves of breathing are in a state of excited concentration, the other nerve regions go into a resting state.

The meaning of right concentration is that no delusive thoughts arise at all while one is gathered on the breath.

The scope of this work does not allow us to go too deeply into the practice of meditation. The above are the basic outlines, to sow the affinity for those who wish to create karmic causes that go beyond the world, since meditation is the final causal condition, like fruit on a tree that still needs a little nourishment and sunlight to ripen and fall. Without the practice of meditation, however much merit one has made, one still cannot be liberated.