October 2004 Edition
"Since
he is endowed with the part of the Way
consisting of
noble and virtuous conduct as a foundation,
he experiences within himself the happiness in blamelessness."
- Majjhima
Nikaya 38
Our Next Course
Vipassana Fellowship's online meditation courses have been offered since 1997 and have proven helpful to meditators in many countries around the world. Registration is now available for the January course. The main text is based on a tried and tested format and serves as a practical introduction to samatha (tranquility) and vipassana (insight) techniques from the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. Intended primarily for beginners, the 90 day course is also suitable for experienced meditators who wish to explore different aspects of the tradition. The emphasis is on building a sustainable and balanced meditation practice that is compatible with lay life. The course has been significantly revised for 2005: the course software and the support site have been redesigned to improve user-friendliness. The CD version includes newly recorded guided meditations. The course is led by Andrew Quernmore, an experienced meditation teacher based in England.
Registration details are available at:
Metta, head and heart
A course participant writes:
I understand that lovingkindness is a deep feeling which comes in mind and in heart. When I meditate to radiate metta to self, friend, and all sentient beings it seems that this feeling is coming only from the brain. I find it difficult to radiate metta from the heart rather than the mind. Please indicate how I should work with this. How can I know that my goodwill (metta) is reaching the person on whom I focus?
Andrew replies:
When we begin any of these practices, there is initially quite a lot of mental activity: thinking about the sections, selecting subjects, remembering incidents which inform our understanding of the people we have chosen, trying to recapture facial expressions and conversations that allow us empathize with each individual. All of these processes are usually necessary for newcomers to metta (lovingkindness) meditation. There is no escaping the need for mental activity as preparation for opening the heart. Even the phrases and images with which we begin the practice are primarily of the "head" rather than the "heart". This is not a problem - it is the only way that we can operate until we develop the skill of directly accessing lovingkindness. As we become more adept at the practice, over months and years, there will be less need for these supportive preliminaries. All meditation, in its early stages, is a process of skill acquisition. No one can fully radiate metta in its pure, strong and universal glory without substantial and sustained effort. We should look upon the mental strategies as helpers; they need to be employed for as long as they are useful. Metta, for most meditators, is inconsistent and often very weak at first. The mental strategies (such as repeating phrases and remembering incidents) help us to make a connection with the person or other sentient being so that lovingkindness for them can seem possible. If even the slightest degree of empathy can be felt for another sentient being, we have something to work with. The steady application of the practice will strengthen and develop our ability to radiate metta.
The practice of metta has two primary outcomes: it changes the meditator and it has the potential to positively affect the beings on whom the meditator focuses. The first of these outcomes is usually noticed earliest. Most meditators who have been practising metta for a reasonable period will notice changes in their own attitudes and behaviour. Because these changes affect our interactions with others, there is often a tangible improvement in our relationships with other people. If we treat people well - with consideration and kindness - there is often (though not always) a reciprocal feeling that arises in them. The act of radiating metta, in formal meditation and whenever else we choose, can also have very positive effects on the person or being receiving it. This is beyond any conventional psychological effect arising from our outward behaviour. These direct actions of metta are more difficult to measure - but then we are not radiating metta to get a response; we do it because it is part of Right Action. We show lovingkindness for other sentient beings because it is skilful to do so. It is a characteristic of all Enlightened beings; a state to which we aspire.
With metta
Andrew
Distraction
A course participant writes:
I just can't seem to concentrate! It is when I try to meditate that all the problems in the world seem to come into my head. Is there any way by which I could make my mind calmer so that I would be able to go about with my meditation?
Andrew replies:
If the mind is very distracted and flighty, even before a sitting, it can be useful to do some extra preparation to ensure that we are ready to meditate. Traditionally, it has been the practice that many people perform a small ceremony (or puja) before meditating. This focuses the mind more clearly on the specific spiritual purpose of our session. It is not important that such ceremonies conform to particular cultural expressions, merely that they be heartfelt and allow us to consider the Path that we are attempting to walk. Spending some time reflecting on the teachings, the Buddha and those who have walked this Path can enhance our own commitment. Some meditators like to begin their sessions with a few of the many traditional chants (in Pali or their own language) or to spend time reading one of the excellent translations of the suttas. One of the main practical functions of such practices is to make a clear break between our mundane concerns and the higher work that constitutes our spiritual practice. The concentrated time that we set aside for meditation is very special. Trying to ensure that our mind is prepared well for the precise activity we have chosen is most valuable.
The most important support for meditation and a peaceful mind is to make sure that we incorporate the precepts into our daily lives. The Five Precepts are covered in detail a little later in the course. They provide the sound ethical base out of which all skilful action can arise. If we really embrace sila (virtue, ethics) the mind will be relieved of the burden of regret, guilt and many of the worries that plague us in modern life. The choice to live by the precepts is a way of ensuring that our whole life becomes a series of skilful spiritual acts. This will impact in a profound way on our formal meditation sessions, too.
When we begin a samatha technique (like that we are currently using) the best way to approach distraction is to regard it as inevitable. It will arise. In the same way that we might humour a naughty child, we can accept its presence but not let it dictate our course of action. Treat it with lightness: "Ah, there you are. I'm spending time with my chosen object. 'Bye for now." If you are resolute in returning to the meditation object EVERY TIME, there will be a sharp reduction in the number of interruptions after a while. If you allow the distraction to rule your mind, rather than putting it gently in its place, you will have very little contact with the meditation object and progress will be hindered. Don't get annoyed by the interruptions; they are part of the landscape for most meditators for a long time. Simply recognize that they are not the meditation object - which needs all our attention - and so there is no spare time to devote to them during the session.
With metta
Andrew
How
to Overcome
Sleepiness Once
the Exalted One spoke to
the Venerable Maha Moggallana thus: "Are you drowsy, Moggallana? Are
you drowsy, Moggallana?" "Yes, venerable sir." (1) "Well then,
Moggallana, at whatever thought torpor has befallen you, to that thought
you should not give attention, you should
not dwell on it frequently. Then it is possible that,
by so doing, torpor will disappear. (2) "But if,
by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should think and
reflect within your mind about the Dhamma as you have heard and learnt it, and
you should mentally review it. Then it is possible that,
by so doing, torpor will disappear. (3) "But
if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should learn by heart the
Dhamma in its fullness, as you have heard and learnt
it. Then it is possible ... (4) "But if,
by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should shake your ears,
and rub your limbs with the palm of your
hand. Then it is possible ... (5) "But if,
by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should get up
from your seat, and after washing your eyes with water, you should look around
in all directions and look upwards to the stars in the
sky. Then it is possible ... (6) "But if,
by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should firmly establish
the (inner) perception of light: as
it
is by day, so also by night;
as it is by night, so also by day. Thus with a mind clear and
unobstructed, you should develop a consciousness which is full of
brightness. Then it is possible ... (7) "But if,
by so doing, that torpor does not
disappear, you should, conscious of that which is before and behind, walk up
and down, with your senses turned inwards, with your mind not going
outwards. Then it is possible ... (8) "But if,
by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you may lie down on your right
side, taking up the lion's
posture, covering foot with foot_mindful, clearly conscious,
keeping in mind the thought of rising. Having awakened again, you should quickly
rise, thinking: 'I won't indulge in the enjoyment of lying down and
reclining, in the enjoyment of sleep!' "Thus, Moggallana,
you should train yourself!"
(Excerpt from: Anguttara Nikaya 7:58)
News
A new Buddhist organisation, that will be known as the Federation of Sri Lanka Sasana, has been founded by lecturers at the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies at Sri Jayawardenapura University. Its aim is to protect and nurture the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka.
Ven. Magammana Pannananda, one of the founder members, said that their principal concern was to promote the Buddhist discipline in the country as it seemed to have suffered mainly due to prolonged neglect and lack of understanding by both laymen and Bhikkhus. He emphasized that rather than concerning themselves with the practice or teachings of other schools of religion they felt it more important for the Buddhists to correct themselves than to attempt to correct others. Explaining their approach to other faiths, the Thera said: "We will exercise the Buddhist way of tolerance to other religions."
"The need for establishing the Federation was felt by us on considering the extent to which the Buddhist Vinaya or discipline has been damaged .... We simply want the Buddhist public to gather round to live their lives according to the Buddha's teachings."
The Vipassana Fellowship Newsletter is published about 10 times each year and is sent only on request and to previous participants of our courses. Vipassana Fellowship is an organisation dedicated to the dissemination of accurate and useful information on Buddhist meditation practices as found in the Theravada tradition. Our next mailing will be in November. Our site can be accessed via the vipassana.com and vipassana.org domains.
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