Staying power (3)
The only way to really understand the effects and benefits of meditation is through direct experience. According to the Tibetan oral tradition (*B. A. Wallace), among those who are well qualified to enter shamatha training, "those of sharpest faculties may be able to achieve all ten stages within three months; those with medium faculties may take six months; and those with dull faculties may require nine months". Of course, this assumes a contemplative environment and full-time devotion to training, while the "faculty" refers to the natural talent and ability in sustained attentional balance, ability in using mindfulness and intelligence. But even for a regular meditator, applying the simple, straightforward instructions is a time-tested method of developing the hightened ability of sustained attention.
*Body points. Posture adopted for training in calm abiding should allow three qualities of relaxation, rest, and vigilance. It may be either sitting posture, such as 7-point vairochana posture, or the comfortable supine position (I suggest alternating, to enhance one's skill in basics). Beginners should learn to relax in such a way as to enhance presence.
Stages 1-4
The beginning 4 stages of developing shamatha are as folows:
1. Directed attention or directing
2. Continuous attention or continuously directing
3. Resurgent attention or resetting
4. Close attention or staying closely
*Sanskrit terms for nine stages: 1 cittasthapana, 2 samsthapana, 3 cittapratiharana, 4 cittopasthapana, 5 cittadamana, 6 cittashamana, 7 cittavyupashamana, 8 cittaikotikarana, 9 samadhana.
The purpose of grouping the first four stages together is pragmatic, since they form a subcycle in developing calm abiding. Let's see what happens.
The sign of reaching the stage of directed attention is when you're able to place the mind on the intended object for at least a few seconds. Depending on the object, this may require several weeks, or it may be achieved at first attempt. At this stage we naturally notice how chaotic our minds are, and how little control we really exert. The lessons of this stage are to relax again and again into a sense of ease, to breathe naturally, to sustain and renew our effort while not trying too hard. The problem with this stage is lack of attentional continuity due to excitation. If exhaustion comes quickly, it's better to meditate in short sessions of ten minutes each. The emphasis of stage #1 is on relaxing.
In the second stage, one experiences short periods of staying or continuity, but mind is still mostly lost in thoughts and distractions. Now and again one remains centered and present, but then one again forgets completely the intended object. Since thinking remains unchecked at this stage, counting the breath or using other forms of connecting the thought to the object may help. The sessions may be 20-30 minutes. The second stage is reached when you're able to maintain staying for a minute or so. The emphasis of stage #2 is on stability.
If you're practicing only once or twice each day, it may prove difficult to move beyond the second stage. Further training will require some serious commitment, such as devoting 7 or 10 days to intensive training where you can have multiple sessions each day. By the time you reach third stage, resurgent attention or resetting, the mind is set on the object most of the time in every session, though it is still quite patchy. While you may increase the duration of the sessions, it's crucial that you keep working with the quality of attention through diligent application of mindfulness and intelligence, in order to maintain the balance of relaxation and vigilance both in posture and in minding the object. If you develop bad habits in sitting, these become harder and harder to break. Regular practice strenghtens whatever you're doing, so be sure you're maintaining good quality. Thoughts, images, sounds and appearances still emerge, though with less frequency and force, carrying you away less and less. Do not block them or force them out, simply let them go as soon as possible and refocus on your intended object. The emphasis of stage #3 is on vividness.
In previous three stages restlessness, effort and frustration may be the prevailing mode of experience. The next stage is close attention or staying closely. Due to enhanced mindfulness, you no longer forget the intended object, such as sensations of breath at your nostrils, or the visualized moondisk, or the open-space quality of the natural state. Sessions may last an hour or longer, and during each of them your attention cannot be drawn away from the indended object involuntarily. You are free of coarse excitation, while medium excitation and coarse laxity persist, but your mindfulness is now strong enough to begin functioning as basis for samadhi.
The achievement of stage #4 is significant. If you haven't gained a conceptual understanding of the entire shamatha path, you might think that you have reached its culmination, but this is only the first of three steps. What makes the stage of close attention significant is the emergence of the "acquired sign". When beginning shamatha training, practitioners attend the coarse qualities in the intended object, whether breath sensations, or visualized moondisk, or natural state of mind. With progress, however, these coarse qualities drop away and the more subtle qualities are attended to, until a shift occurs in the object, making it appear in a rather different fashion. Wallace: "To different people, acquired signs associated with the breath practice may appear like a star, a cluster of gems or pearls, a wreath of flowers, a puff of smoke, a cobweb, a cloud, a lotus flower, a wheel, or the moon or sun. The various appearances are related to mental dispositions of individual meditators." It is a special mental image resulting from sustained attention protected by the power of mindfulness. The acquired sign at first emerges sporadically, but eventually more steadily and regularly. Once the acquired sign appears, you shift your attention to it. This acquired object will serve you well along the rest of the stages leading to calm abiding.
*While a method such as visualized moondisk introduces an object placed within the awareness directly, the effort of visualization will strain the mind of those prone to excessive conceptualization - which is most people - causing exhaustion and stress over time, even when the sessions are kept shorter. Visualization for shamatha is best practiced in combination with mantra recitation (in its esoteric form), which reduces such negative effects. That's why, as taught in the early scriptures, the Buddha suggested mindfulness of breathing for practitioners prone to conceptual excess, as a method of developing the staying power based on ease and balance. On the other hand, a method such as setting the mind in the natural state also directly induces a special object, identical in form and aspect to the mind itself, but for most beginners this sort of object is easily lost before the stage of close attention, due to its subtle nature.
The duration of sessions is now increased for as long as you're able to maintain your attention free of laxity and excitation. The emphasis of stage #4 is on further enhancing vividness, now attending to the acquired sign. The lasting achievement of vividness depends on relaxation and stability, so guard them well.
To be continued...
*Body points. Posture adopted for training in calm abiding should allow three qualities of relaxation, rest, and vigilance. It may be either sitting posture, such as 7-point vairochana posture, or the comfortable supine position (I suggest alternating, to enhance one's skill in basics). Beginners should learn to relax in such a way as to enhance presence.
Stages 1-4
The beginning 4 stages of developing shamatha are as folows:
1. Directed attention or directing
2. Continuous attention or continuously directing
3. Resurgent attention or resetting
4. Close attention or staying closely
*Sanskrit terms for nine stages: 1 cittasthapana, 2 samsthapana, 3 cittapratiharana, 4 cittopasthapana, 5 cittadamana, 6 cittashamana, 7 cittavyupashamana, 8 cittaikotikarana, 9 samadhana.
The purpose of grouping the first four stages together is pragmatic, since they form a subcycle in developing calm abiding. Let's see what happens.
The sign of reaching the stage of directed attention is when you're able to place the mind on the intended object for at least a few seconds. Depending on the object, this may require several weeks, or it may be achieved at first attempt. At this stage we naturally notice how chaotic our minds are, and how little control we really exert. The lessons of this stage are to relax again and again into a sense of ease, to breathe naturally, to sustain and renew our effort while not trying too hard. The problem with this stage is lack of attentional continuity due to excitation. If exhaustion comes quickly, it's better to meditate in short sessions of ten minutes each. The emphasis of stage #1 is on relaxing.
In the second stage, one experiences short periods of staying or continuity, but mind is still mostly lost in thoughts and distractions. Now and again one remains centered and present, but then one again forgets completely the intended object. Since thinking remains unchecked at this stage, counting the breath or using other forms of connecting the thought to the object may help. The sessions may be 20-30 minutes. The second stage is reached when you're able to maintain staying for a minute or so. The emphasis of stage #2 is on stability.
If you're practicing only once or twice each day, it may prove difficult to move beyond the second stage. Further training will require some serious commitment, such as devoting 7 or 10 days to intensive training where you can have multiple sessions each day. By the time you reach third stage, resurgent attention or resetting, the mind is set on the object most of the time in every session, though it is still quite patchy. While you may increase the duration of the sessions, it's crucial that you keep working with the quality of attention through diligent application of mindfulness and intelligence, in order to maintain the balance of relaxation and vigilance both in posture and in minding the object. If you develop bad habits in sitting, these become harder and harder to break. Regular practice strenghtens whatever you're doing, so be sure you're maintaining good quality. Thoughts, images, sounds and appearances still emerge, though with less frequency and force, carrying you away less and less. Do not block them or force them out, simply let them go as soon as possible and refocus on your intended object. The emphasis of stage #3 is on vividness.
In previous three stages restlessness, effort and frustration may be the prevailing mode of experience. The next stage is close attention or staying closely. Due to enhanced mindfulness, you no longer forget the intended object, such as sensations of breath at your nostrils, or the visualized moondisk, or the open-space quality of the natural state. Sessions may last an hour or longer, and during each of them your attention cannot be drawn away from the indended object involuntarily. You are free of coarse excitation, while medium excitation and coarse laxity persist, but your mindfulness is now strong enough to begin functioning as basis for samadhi.
The achievement of stage #4 is significant. If you haven't gained a conceptual understanding of the entire shamatha path, you might think that you have reached its culmination, but this is only the first of three steps. What makes the stage of close attention significant is the emergence of the "acquired sign". When beginning shamatha training, practitioners attend the coarse qualities in the intended object, whether breath sensations, or visualized moondisk, or natural state of mind. With progress, however, these coarse qualities drop away and the more subtle qualities are attended to, until a shift occurs in the object, making it appear in a rather different fashion. Wallace: "To different people, acquired signs associated with the breath practice may appear like a star, a cluster of gems or pearls, a wreath of flowers, a puff of smoke, a cobweb, a cloud, a lotus flower, a wheel, or the moon or sun. The various appearances are related to mental dispositions of individual meditators." It is a special mental image resulting from sustained attention protected by the power of mindfulness. The acquired sign at first emerges sporadically, but eventually more steadily and regularly. Once the acquired sign appears, you shift your attention to it. This acquired object will serve you well along the rest of the stages leading to calm abiding.
*While a method such as visualized moondisk introduces an object placed within the awareness directly, the effort of visualization will strain the mind of those prone to excessive conceptualization - which is most people - causing exhaustion and stress over time, even when the sessions are kept shorter. Visualization for shamatha is best practiced in combination with mantra recitation (in its esoteric form), which reduces such negative effects. That's why, as taught in the early scriptures, the Buddha suggested mindfulness of breathing for practitioners prone to conceptual excess, as a method of developing the staying power based on ease and balance. On the other hand, a method such as setting the mind in the natural state also directly induces a special object, identical in form and aspect to the mind itself, but for most beginners this sort of object is easily lost before the stage of close attention, due to its subtle nature.
The duration of sessions is now increased for as long as you're able to maintain your attention free of laxity and excitation. The emphasis of stage #4 is on further enhancing vividness, now attending to the acquired sign. The lasting achievement of vividness depends on relaxation and stability, so guard them well.
To be continued...
Labels: meditation, shamatha
5 Comments:
Hey Hokai. Thanks for writing about this subject. I've read a little of The Attention Revolution and I was wondering if you could say if and how the 10 steps in the book correspond with the 8 Shamatha jhanas.
Thanks,
Lloyd
Hi Lloyd. As I mentioned in the part 1 of this series, the 10 steps taught by Asanga/Maitreya describe the training up until the attainment of first shamatha dhyana, i.e. the 1st rupadhyana. These ten refer to the stages of developing shamatha, while the rupa and arupa dhyana refer to the stages of mastery in shamatha. In short, the eight dhyanas (or, in Pali, jhanas) arise as a continuation of shamatha training after the 10 steps I'm dealing with in this series. An additional note of caution, if you use the terminology of Pali sources and Theravada tradition, do not confuse the "samatha-jhanas" with "vipassana-jhanas". If you're note sure, please consult Dan Ingram's book, "Mastering the core teachings of the Buddha".
Hey Hokai. Thanks for your reply. I must admit to being a little confused about this issue. I have read Dan's book, and it seems that you both agree that the first Shamatha jhana is the minimum level of concentration required for insight practice. And yet Dan is constantly praising Mahasi Sayadaw and his book Practical Insight Meditation, which, to my knowledge, makes little if any reference to concentration practice but seems to advise going directly to insight practice. In addition, I just got back from a 10 day Goenka (Vipassana) retreat and we only spent three days doing Anapana meditation as preparation for Vipassana. If it takes three months of continuous practice for even the most gifted student to learn the first jhana, then how can anyone expect novices to jump right into Vipassana after only three days? Perhaps my confusion has arisen because I'm not considering the extent to which Shamatha and Vipassana can be cultivated simultaenously. Bill Hamilton talks a bit about this in his book but doesn't explain how it is done. Anyway thanks for any advice you can give.
Lloyd
Dear Lloyd, you're welcome. Let me see if I can help, though vipassana is not my turf. There is an approach, recognized also by Daniel Ingram, in which you develop necessary shamatha through applying the vipassana method of inquiry. For some people in some circumstances, the intensely pursued investigation will produces the requisite level of concentration that will keep all coarse distractions at bay, sufficiently to develop some insight, and then these two will keep enhancing each other etc. One of the theories behind this says you're using a "momentary concentration", but I don't like that theory very much. More broadly, the Yogacara school of Mahayana speaks of yuganadha meditation, meaning "joined" shamatha and vipashyana. Further on, the Mahamudra system, one of most sophisticated in the Buddhist plethora, builds many relative insights on the initial stages of shamatha (the ones I'm describing). And, finally, the esoteric schools often use symbolically expressed insights as objects of meditation straight from beginning.
What I'm trying to say is that there are obviously different ways of presenting this dual approach of calm and insight, but the actual dynamic is unquestionable: flashes of insight may indeed happen, but anything resembling realization will depend on prolonged, sustained work, and such sustained work will be limited by its inner stability and ability to hold ease, balance and vividness dispite apparent and non-apparent difficulties. Such an ability is shamatha. So, yes, do your insight practices, but know that the more shamatha you have, the better. Learn about this stuff, talk to others, see what is happening, and bring your decisions based on your experience.
Godspeed,
Hokai
Thanks a lot Hokai - that makes sense.
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