Shamatha Project

Introductory remarks by Alan Wallace (profile at SBI, profile at Integral Naked) at the beginning of the Shamatha Project, arguably "the most sophisticated scientific study" of this type.



If you're interested in learning more, please listen to this series of podcasts on the Shamatha Project, giving a preliminary report of the findings.

Review of Alan Wallace's Hidden Dimensions

Quote from review by Nathan Senge at the Center for Buddhist Studies Weblog:

There is a quiet revolution afoot. The last century has witnessed Buddhists and quantum physicists quietly moving into perigee, however unwittingly until the last twenty years. In Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Cloth, 176 Pages), B. Alan Wallace gives an incisive portrayal of this merging of minds and argues that these two paths are not just complementary—they are intimately related...

In Astronomy we use a telescope to see distant starts. In a similar way, Buddhists use a mental telescope. Wallace calls this “quiescence”—it refers to a very specific form of introspection. Wallace explains:

“…[A]ny meditator who has not yet achieved it [quiescence] is technically regarded as a novice… Once one has achieved this exceptional level of attention balance, one should be able to effortlessly remain there, with the physical senses totally withdrawn, for at least four hours, with unwavering mindfulness and an extraordinary degree of vividness” (88).

Tall order. And perhaps seemingly impossible to the laymen. Nevertheless, someone untrained in metallurgy, geometry, and optics would be clueless in constructing a telescope. The analogy is sound.

According to Wallace, Buddhists advance a theory of an interdependent reality. This is often described in the context of the doctrines of Dependent Origination and Emptiness. Meditators trained in quiescence (remember the telescope?) probe the nature of mind and reality with a discriminating eye. Each constituent particle is shown to be relational and devoid of intrinsic existence. Wallace calls this realization "contemplative insight." Make no mistake—this is not nihilism. Nor is it an assertion of relativism. The absence Wallace describes is not no-thing, it is merely the lack of some-thing. And that something is the fiction of an independent reality. A something that has never existed, will never exist, but is nonetheless reified by most people. This tendency to reify is at the root of human suffering and is the target of the Buddhist philosophical project.

Read the whole piece.

Wallace at Mind and Reality

First a short interview with B. Alan Wallace on the Mind and Reality conference (only 1o minutes), and then the keynote itself (1 hour 9 minutes). Highly recommended viewing. Enjoy!

Staying Power (4)

With the stage #4 called "close attention" we leave the domain of beginning meditative training and enter the more advanced phases of shamatha which involve the "acquired sign". There's broad agreement across Buddhist traditions that an acquired sign is necessary at this point, since further stages can only be achieved relying on a mental object, not a sensory impression, since now shamatha entails the cultivation of exceptional vividness of attention.

It takes five to ten thousand hours of training in a discipline of eight hours each day for fifty weeks in a year to acquire expertise in a high-level skill, and that is roughly the commitment required to progress along the entire path to the achievement of shamatha. It is vital to maintain a high degree of mindfulness (smrti) and introspection (samprajanya) throughout the day between formal sessions. There is a brief instant of raw perception before concepts and responses overlay it, and to notice that gap we need a high degree of vividness. This window is an opportunity to gain clearer access to the subtle continuum of mental consciousness out of which all forms of perception and conception emerge.

The transition from stage #4 to stage #5, from close attention to tamed attention, presents a great challenge, for now, free from coarse excitation, you must face the problem of coarse laxity. With laxity, your attention tends to disengage by becoming dull; instead of fading out, it fades in, leading to lethargy and sleep. The peace of laxity is often mistaken for quiescence and equipoise. In the fifth stage, you learn to overcome coarse laxity without losing stability by arousing attention and interest in the object of meditation. The emphasis of stage five is balanced vividness achieved through introspection, the ability to monitor the quality of attention.

According to Buddhagosa, "Mindfulness has the characteristic of remembering. Its function is not to forget; it manifests as quarding. Introspection has the characteristic of nonconfusion. Its function is to investigate; it manifests as scrutiny." According to Asanga, "Mindfulness and introspection are taught, for the first prevents the attention from straying from the meditative object, while the second recognizes that the attention is straying."

While most teachers encourage meditators determined to achieve shamatha to continue with one object, some masters have also proposed use of multiple objects, and there are merits to both views. It's easy to get bored, and repeatedly experimenting with different techniques can prevent serious progress in any of them. One option, proposed by Wallace in "The Attention Revolution", is to skip to a more advanced method after stabilizing the fourth stage of close attention. Here he proposes "settling the mind in its natural state" taught in mahamudra and dzogchen (comparable to the Theravadan method of "unfastened mindfulness" or to taza as taught in various Japanese lineages). This method is suited for people with minds prone to excitation and conceptualization, and it is also most suitable for high-strung people with unstable minds who may run into trouble by adopting visualization for developing shamatha. Of course, one can use this method throughout the stages to shamatha, but many people find it difficult at first. The "natural state" features bliss, luminosity, and nonconceptuality. The object of mindfulness in this practice is the space of the mind and whatever arises in that space. The object of introspection is the quality of attention.

Stage #6, called pacified attention or calming, is achieved by the power of introspection, while the resistance to training drops. Through further refinement of attention, you become free of middle excitation and gross laxity. Involuntary thoughts pass through your consciousness, while you're able to witness the entire course of thoughts arising, playing out, and dissolving. By persistently meeting these challenges through many sessions each day, you ascend to the stage #7, called fully pacified attention or thoroughly calming, achieved through the power of enthusiasm. Subtle excitation occurs from time to time, and having overcome medium laxity, subtle laxity remains: while the object appears vividly, yet attention is slightly slack. Wallace says, "No one but a highly advanced meditator is even capable of recognizing such a subtle degree of laxity. It is detected only in relation to the exceptionally high degree of vividness of which the trained mind is capable." When reaching the seventh stage, the sessions may last for two hours and more without major interruptions, and the practice involves less and less.

To be continued...

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...

Staying power (2)

You've perhaps heard of dhyana (pali: jhana) or meditative absorption, traditionally divided into subtle form and formless, each in a set of four stages. The higher stages of absorption are not necessary for insight practice. However, a firm foundation in shamatha IS necessary to effectively practice insight. To cut a long story short, it's necessary to develop staying ability to the point of attaining actual shamatha, i.e. calm abiding. Depending on one's inclination, further stages of meditative absorption may be pursued, or the acquired ability may be used to penetrate the profound truth. The contrast made between calm and insight (shamatha vs. vipashyana) is often taken to extremes, and normally we find Western practitioners ignoring - or being quite ignorant of - effective shamatha practices. It seems necessary to emphasize that preliminaries and shamatha and vipashyana and enlightenment itself are being attained by people as we speak, typically in that order. Besides developing actual ability to stay undistracted with the unfolding immediate experience, the shamatha training provides a lot of insight into relative dynamics of mind's functioning and the manner of phenomena arising, that is crucial for subsequent probing into the ultimate nature of awareness-and-phenomena.

Irrespective of further details, it is essential to acquire correct understanding and good ability in staying with immediate experience. To that purpose, we can benefit from clear instruction and guidance in distinct stages of development. Thus, we will use the nine stages leading to shamatha, the 10th stage, codified by the great Indian master Arya Asanga in his works Shravakabhumi, Abhidharmasamuccaya and Mahayanasutralankara. Those more familiar with Theravada tradition, may find similar instructions in Vishudhimagga, the work of master-scholar Buddhagosa.

Previous to entering explicit shamatha training, one should abide by reasonable ethical standards, complete the preliminary training, receive-and-contemplate the teachings concerning the human birth, impermanence, and dependent arising, in order to develop a resolution to purify one's awareness and develop an ability to remain undistracted. *Various schools propose different preliminaries, but purifying the motivation and developing a deep yearning for awakening is common to all schools.

As to resolution, in Abhidharma we find a group of five determining factors, that function as ascertaining conditions, stabilizing the mind on its way to awakening. These are directly related to meditative cultivation: (1) interest or aspiration (skt. chanda), the wish to obtain a desired quality; (2) strong interest or determination (skt. adhimoksha), the conviction, confidence and certainty concerning the desired quality; (3) mindfulness or remembering (skt. smrti) which protects against forgetfulness and distraction; (4) strong concentration (skt. samadhi), the ability to establish and maintain attention to an intended object; and (5) wisdom (skt. prajna), the discerning of faults and virtues, and the dispelling of doubts regarding the nature of awareness-and-phenomena. The first three factors provide a basis for shamatha, identified here with the fourth factor, samadhi. (For the Abhidharma context, see "Mind and mental factors" by A. Berzin)

The nine stages leading to actual staying power can be subdivided in beginning stages (one to four), intermediate stages (five to seven), and advanced stages (eight to ten). As we move through them, we'll make reference to several methods and objects used in meditation, such as mindfulness of breathing, or moondisk visualization, or the natural state. While each of these methods may be pursued through the stages, because they are increasingly challenging, they may also be used in sequence - each one to upgrade the previous one. Some traditions employ dozens of exercises and techniques to develop good shamatha in the context of intensive training. For an urban practitioner, however, more than 3 or 4 methods might present a source of confusion and cause unfocused practice, as each method and object require some familiarization, and that requires effort and time. Let us, then, start with considering the four beginning stages.

(*If you need a modern, hands-on practical manual, please purchase "The Attention Revolution" by B. Alan Wallace, an excellent guide through the nine stages. If you're interested in further reading at this point, see "A Guide to Shamatha Meditation" by Thrangu Rinpoche.)

To be continued...

Staying power (1)

Sooner or later, one gets distracted. And then, one misses something - something quite significant. Hence, in order to really understand anything at all, developing the ability to remain undistracted is essential. In terms of 1st person awareness, such ability is taken to high levels of sophistication in the Buddhist training of shamatha, or calm abiding.

Intro
Anyone familiar with basics of Buddhism is aware that Buddhist training consists of ethics, meditation and wisdom, i.e. three modes of establishing oneself on the Middle Path (skt. madhyama-pratipad) common to each and every Buddhist lineage. A non-invasive form of following the Path is ethical discipline, coupled with mindfulness (standing here for meditation) and right view (standing here for wisdom). The shortest route to awakening is the Path of wisdom, direct introduction into Suchness, a top-down model of awakening, wherein the steps are pursued post-realization as a method (skt. upaya) of subsequent harmonizing and benefiting other beings. While the former path can be, and indeed should be pursued by everyone considering themselves practitioners of Buddhism in any form, the latter path is accessible only to especially gifted individuals under suitable conditions. Hence, the most effective method in terms of transformation and real-time progress is the Path of meditation. This path is actually an integration of all three aspects, being based on ethical observances plus intention/devotion and framed in right view/understading. In addition, meditation is an accessible form of training for anyone willing to do what's necessary, but general desiderata may be summed up as (1) sincere interest, and (2) relative health of bodymind.

The Path of meditation, so often equated with Buddhism in the West, consists again of three general stages: (1) preliminary training, (2) calm abiding, and (3) special insight. In this series, I will focus on calm abiding. The reason for this will hopefully become clear as we move along.

To be continued...