DN 22
Maha-satipatthana Sutta
The Great Frames of Reference
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Translator's Introduction
The word "satipatthana" is the name for an approach to meditation aimed at establishing sati, or mindfulness. The term sati is related to the verb sarati, to remember or to keep in mind. It is sometimes translated as non-reactive awareness, free from agendas, simply present with whatever arises, but the formula for satipatthana doesn't support that translation. Non-reactive awareness is actually an aspect of equanimity, a quality fostered in the course of satipatthana. The activity of satipatthana, however, definitely has a motivating agenda: the desire for Awakening, which is classed not as a cause of suffering, but as part of the path to its ending (see SN 51.15). The role of mindfulness is to keep the mind properly grounded in the present moment in a way that will keep it on the path. To make an analogy, Awakening is like a mountain on the horizon, the destination to which you are driving a car. Mindfulness is what remembers to keep attention focused on the road to the mountain, rather than letting it stay focused on glimpses of the mountain or get distracted by other paths leading away from the road.
As a compound term, satipatthana can be broken down in two ways, either as sati-patthana, foundation of mindfulness; or as sati-upatthana, establishing of mindfulness. Scholars debate as to which is the proper interpretation, but in practice both provide useful food for thought.
The first interpretation focuses on the objects of the meditation practice, the focal points that provide mindfulness with a foundation — or, to use the more idiomatic English phrase adopted here, a frame of reference. Altogether there are four: the body in and of itself; feelings in and of themselves; mind in and of itself; and mental qualities in and of themselves. The "in and of itself" here is crucial. In the case of the body, for instance, it means viewing the body on its own terms rather than in terms of its function in the context of the world (for in that case the world would be the frame of reference). Dropping any concern for how the body's beauty, agility, or strength fits into the world, the meditator simply stays with the direct experience of its breathing, its movements, its postures, its elementary properties, and its inevitable decay. A similar principle applies to the other frames of reference.
The second interpretation of satipatthana — sati-upatthana — focuses on the process of the meditation practice, on how a frame of reference is established. This sutta gives three stages for this process, applied to each frame of reference. The first stage, as applied to the body, is this:
The monk remains focused on the body in and of itself — ardent, alert, and mindful — putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world.
"Remaining focused" refers to the element of concentration in the practice, as the meditator holds to one particular frame of reference amid the conflicting currents of experience. "Ardent" refers to the effort put into the practice, trying to abandon unskillful states of mind and develop skillful ones in their stead, all the while trying to discern the difference between the two. "Alert" means being clearly aware of what is happening in the present. "Mindful," as mentioned above, means being able to keep the frame of reference continually in mind. As these qualities work together, they bring the mind to a solid state of concentration. Although satipatthana practice is often said to be separate from the practice of jhana, a number of suttas — such as MN 125 (not in this collection) and AN 8.63 — equate the successful completion of this first stage with the attainment of the first level of jhana. This point is confirmed by the many suttas — MN 118 among them — describing how the practice of satipatthana brings to completion the factors for Awakening, which coincide with the factors of jhana.
The second stage of satipatthana practice is this:
One remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the body, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the body, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to the body.
The "phenomena of origination and passing away" covers events either directly or indirectly related to one's chosen frame of reference. "Directly" means changes in the frame of reference itself. For instance, when focused on the body, one may notice the arising and passing away of breath sensations within it. "Indirectly," here, means events in any of the other three frames of reference as they relate to the body. For example, one might notice the arising and passing away of feelings of pleasure or mental states of irritation in connection to events in the body. Or one might notice lapses of mindfulness in one's focus on the body.
In each of these cases, if the origination and passing away is of neutral events such as the aggregates, one is directed simply to be aware of them as events, and to let them follow their natural course so as to see what factors accompany them and lead to their comings and goings. However, when skillful or unskillful mental qualities — such as the factors for Awakening or the Hindrances — arise and pass away, one is encouraged to foster the factors that strengthen jhana and eliminate the factors that weaken it. This means actively getting engaged in maximizing skillful mental qualities and minimizing unskillful ones. One thus develops insight into the process of origination and passing away by taking an active and sensitive role in the process, just as you learn about eggs by trying to cook with them, gathering experience from your successes and failures in attempting increasingly difficult dishes.
As this process leads to stronger and more refined states of concentration, it makes one sensitive to the fact that the grosser one's participation in the process of origination and passing away in the mind, the grosser the level of stress that results. This leads one to let go of increasingly refined levels of participation as one is able to detect them, leading to the third and final stage in satipatthana practice:
Or his mindfulness that 'There is a body (feeling, mind, mental quality)' is maintained [simply] to the extent of knowledge & recollection. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world.
This stage corresponds to a mode of perception that the Buddha in MN 121 terms "entry into emptiness":
Thus he regards it [this mode of perception] as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: "there is this."
This is the culminating equipoise where the path of the practice opens to a state of non-fashioning and from there to the fruit of Awakening and release.
At first glance, the four frames of reference for satipatthana practice sound like four different meditation exercises, but MN 118 makes clear that they can all center on a single practice: keeping the breath in mind. When the mind is with the breath, all four frames of reference are right there. The difference lies simply in the subtlety of one's focus. It's like learning to play the piano. As you get more proficient at playing, you also become sensitive in listening to ever more subtle levels in the music. This allows you to play even more skillfully. In the same way, as a meditator get more skilled in staying with the breath, the practice of satipatthana gives greater sensitivity in peeling away ever more subtle layers of participation in the present moment until nothing is left standing in the way of total release.
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying in the Kuru country. Now there is a town of the Kurus called Kammasadhamma. There the Blessed One addressed the monks, "Monks."
"Lord," the monks replied.
The Blessed One said this: "This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference. Which four?
"There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings... mind... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
A. Body
"And how does a monk remain focused on the body in & of itself?
[1] "There is the case where a monk — having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building — sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore [lit: the front of the chest]. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.
"Breathing in long, he discerns that he is breathing in long; or breathing out long, he discerns that he is breathing out long. Or breathing in short, he discerns that he is breathing in short; or breathing out short, he discerns that he is breathing out short. He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to the entire body and to breathe out sensitive to the entire body. He trains himself to breathe in calming bodily fabrication and to breathe out calming bodily fabrication. Just as a skilled turner or his apprentice, when making a long turn, discerns that he is making a long turn, or when making a short turn discerns that he is making a short turn; in the same way the monk, when breathing in long, discerns that he is breathing in long; or breathing out short, he discerns that he is breathing out short... He trains himself to breathe in calming bodily fabrication, and to breathe out calming bodily fabrication.
"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or externally on the body in & of itself, or both internally & externally on the body in & of itself. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the body, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the body, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to the body. Or his mindfulness that 'There is a body' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[2] "Furthermore, when walking, the monk discerns that he is walking. When standing, he discerns that he is standing. When sitting, he discerns that he is sitting. When lying down, he discerns that he is lying down. Or however his body is disposed, that is how he discerns it.
"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[3] "Furthermore, when going forward & returning, he makes himself fully alert; when looking toward & looking away... when bending & extending his limbs... when carrying his outer cloak, his upper robe & his bowl... when eating, drinking, chewing, & savoring... when urinating & defecating... when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, & remaining silent, he makes himself fully alert.
"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[4] "Furthermore... just as if a sack with openings at both ends were full of various kinds of grain — wheat, rice, mung beans, kidney beans, sesame seeds, husked rice — and a man with good eyesight, pouring it out, were to reflect, 'This is wheat. This is rice. These are mung beans. These are kidney beans. These are sesame seeds. This is husked rice,' in the same way, monks, a monk reflects on this very body from the soles of the feet on up, from the crown of the head on down, surrounded by skin and full of various kinds of unclean things: 'In this body there are head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine.'
"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[5] "Furthermore... just as a skilled butcher or his apprentice, having killed a cow, would sit at a crossroads cutting it up into pieces, the monk contemplates this very body — however it stands, however it is disposed — in terms of properties: 'In this body there is the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.'
"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[6] "Furthermore, as if he were to see a corpse cast away in a charnel ground — one day, two days, three days dead — bloated, livid, & festering, he applies it to this very body, 'This body, too: Such is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable fate'...
"Or again, as if he were to see a corpse cast away in a charnel ground, picked at by crows, vultures, & hawks, by dogs, hyenas, & various other creatures... a skeleton smeared with flesh & blood, connected with tendons... a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood, connected with tendons... a skeleton without flesh or blood, connected with tendons... bones detached from their tendons, scattered in all directions — here a hand bone, there a foot bone, here a shin bone, there a thigh bone, here a hip bone, there a back bone, here a rib, there a breast bone, here a shoulder bone, there a neck bone, here a jaw bone, there a tooth, here a skull... the bones whitened, somewhat like the color of shells... piled up, more than a year old... decomposed into a powder: He applies it to this very body, 'This body, too: Such is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable fate.'
"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or externally on the body in & of itself, or both internally & externally on the body in & of itself. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the body, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the body, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to the body. Or his mindfulness that 'There is a body' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
(B. Feelings)
"And how does a monk remain focused on feelings in & of themselves? There is the case where a monk, when feeling a painful feeling, discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling. When feeling a pleasant feeling, he discerns that he is feeling a pleasant feeling. When feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he discerns that he is feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.
"When feeling a painful feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling of the flesh. When feeling a painful feeling not of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling not of the flesh. When feeling a pleasant feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a pleasant feeling of the flesh. When feeling a pleasant feeling not of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a pleasant feeling not of the flesh. When feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling of the flesh. When feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling not of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling not of the flesh.
"In this way he remains focused internally on feelings in & of themselves, or externally on feelings in & of themselves, or both internally & externally on feelings in & of themselves. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to feelings, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to feelings, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to feelings. Or his mindfulness that 'There are feelings' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on feelings in & of themselves.
(C. Mind)
"And how does a monk remain focused on the mind in & of itself? There is the case where a monk, when the mind has passion, discerns that the mind has passion. When the mind is without passion, he discerns that the mind is without passion. When the mind has aversion, he discerns that the mind has aversion. When the mind is without aversion, he discerns that the mind is without aversion. When the mind has delusion, he discerns that the mind has delusion. When the mind is without delusion, he discerns that the mind is without delusion.
"When the mind is restricted, he discerns that the mind is restricted. When the mind is scattered, he discerns that the mind is scattered. When the mind is enlarged, he discerns that the mind is enlarged. When the mind is not enlarged, he discerns that the mind is not enlarged. When the mind is surpassed, he discerns that the mind is surpassed. When the mind is unsurpassed, he discerns that the mind is unsurpassed. When the mind is concentrated, he discerns that the mind is concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated, he discerns that the mind is not concentrated. When the mind is released, he discerns that the mind is released. When the mind is not released, he discerns that the mind is not released.
"In this way he remains focused internally on the mind in & of itself, or externally on the mind in & of itself, or both internally & externally on the mind in & of itself. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the mind, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the mind, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to the mind. Or his mindfulness that 'There is a mind' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the mind in & of itself.
(D. Mental Qualities)
"And how does a monk remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves?
[1] "There is the case where a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five hindrances. And how does a monk remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five hindrances? There is the case where, there being sensual desire present within, a monk discerns that 'There is sensual desire present within me.' Or, there being no sensual desire present within, he discerns that 'There is no sensual desire present within me.' He discerns how there is the arising of unarisen sensual desire. And he discerns how there is the abandoning of sensual desire once it has arisen. And he discerns how there is no future arising of sensual desire that has been abandoned. (The same formula is repeated for the remaining hindrances: ill will, sloth & drowsiness, restlessness & anxiety, and uncertainty.)
"In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in & of themselves, or externally on mental qualities in & of themselves, or both internally & externally on mental qualities in & of themselves. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to mental qualities, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to mental qualities, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to mental qualities. Or his mindfulness that 'There are mental qualities' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five hindrances.
[2] "Furthermore, the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five clinging-aggregates. And how does he remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five clinging-aggregates? There is the case where a monk [discerns]: 'Such is form, such its origination, such its disappearance. Such is feeling... Such is perception... Such are fabrications... Such is consciousness, such its origination, such its disappearance.'
"In this way he remains focused internally on the mental qualities in & of themselves, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five clinging-aggregates.
[3] "Furthermore, the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the sixfold internal & external sense media. And how does he remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the sixfold internal & external sense media? There is the case where he discerns the eye, he discerns forms, he discerns the fetter that arises dependent on both. He discerns how there is the arising of an unarisen fetter. And he discerns how there is the abandoning of a fetter once it has arisen. And he discerns how there is no future arising of a fetter that has been abandoned. (The same formula is repeated for the remaining sense media: ear, nose, tongue, body, & intellect.)
"In this way he remains focused internally on the mental qualities in & of themselves, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the sixfold internal & external sense media.
[4] "Furthermore, the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the seven factors for Awakening. And how does he remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the seven factors for Awakening? There is the case where, there being mindfulness as a factor for Awakening present within, he discerns that 'Mindfulness as a factor for Awakening is present within me.' Or, there being no mindfulness as a factor for Awakening present within, he discerns that 'Mindfulness as a factor for Awakening is not present within me.' He discerns how there is the arising of unarisen mindfulness as a factor for Awakening. And he discerns how there is the culmination of the development of mindfulness as a factor for Awakening once it has arisen. (The same formula is repeated for the remaining factors for Awakening: analysis of qualities, persistence, rapture, serenity, concentration, & equanimity.)
"In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in & of themselves, or externally... unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the seven factors for Awakening.
[5] "Furthermore, the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the four noble truths. And how does he remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the four noble truths? There is the case where he discerns, as it has come to be, that 'This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of stress.'
[a] "Now what is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful; separation from the loved is stressful; not getting what one wants is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
"And what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] spheres of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth.
"And what is aging? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness, graying, wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called aging.
"And what is death? Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break up of the aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called death.
"And what is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, sadness, inward sorrow, inward sadness of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called sorrow.
"And what is lamentation? Whatever crying, grieving, lamenting, weeping, wailing, lamentation of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called lamentation.
"And what is pain? Whatever is experienced as bodily pain, bodily discomfort, pain or discomfort born of bodily contact, that is called pain.
"And what is distress? Whatever is experienced as mental pain, mental discomfort, pain or discomfort born of mental contact, that is called distress.
"And what is despair? Whatever despair, despondency, desperation of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called despair.
"And what is the stress of association with the unbeloved? There is the case where undesirable, unpleasing, unattractive sights, sounds, aromas, flavors, or tactile sensations occur to one; or one has connection, contact, relationship, interaction with those who wish one ill, who wish for one's harm, who wish for one's discomfort, who wish one no security from the yoke. This is called the stress of association with the unbeloved.
"And what is the stress of separation from the loved? There is the case where desirable, pleasing, attractive sights, sounds, aromas, flavors, or tactile sensations do not occur to one; or one has no connection, no contact, no relationship, no interaction with those who wish one well, who wish for one's benefit, who wish for one's comfort, who wish one security from the yoke, nor with one's mother, father, brother, sister, friends, companions, or relatives. This is called the stress of separation from the loved.
"And what is the stress of not getting what one wants? In beings subject to birth, the wish arises, 'O, may we not be subject to birth, and may birth not come to us.' But this is not to be achieved by wishing. This is the stress of not getting what one wants. In beings subject to aging... illness... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair, the wish arises, 'O, may we not be subject to aging... illness... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair, and may aging... illness... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair not come to us.' But this is not to be achieved by wishing. This is the stress of not getting what one wants.
"And what are the five clinging-aggregates that, in short, are stress? Form as a clinging-aggregate, feeling as a clinging-aggregate, perception as a clinging-aggregate, fabrications as a clinging-aggregate, consciousness as a clinging-aggregate: These are called the five clinging-aggregates that, in short, are stress.
"This is called the noble truth of stress.
[b] "And what is the noble truth of the origination of stress? The craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there — i.e., craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
"And where does this craving, when arising, arise? And where, when dwelling, does it dwell? Whatever is endearing & alluring in terms of the world: that is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
"And what is endearing & alluring in terms of the world? The eye is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
"The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect...
"Forms... Sounds... Smells... Tastes... Tactile sensations... Ideas...
"Eye-consciousness... Ear-consciousness... Nose-consciousness... Tongue-consciousness... Body-consciousness... Intellect-consciousness...
"Eye-contact... Ear-contact... Nose-contact... Tongue-contact... Body-contact... Intellect-contact...
"Feeling born of eye-contact... Feeling born of ear-contact... Feeling born of nose-contact... Feeling born of tongue-contact... Feeling born of body-contact... Feeling born of intellect-contact...
"Perception of forms... Perception of sounds... Perception of smells... Perception of tastes... Perception of tactile sensations... Perception of ideas...
"Intention for forms... Intention for sounds... Intention for smells... Intention for tastes... Intention for tactile sensations... Intention for ideas...
"Craving for forms... Craving for sounds... Craving for smells... Craving for tastes... Craving for tactile sensations... Craving for ideas...
"Thought directed at forms... Thought directed at sounds... Thought directed at smells... Thought directed at tastes... Thought directed at tactile sensations... Thought directed at ideas...
"Evaluation of forms... Evaluation of sounds... Evaluation of smells... Evaluation of tastes... Evaluation of tactile sensations... Evaluation of ideas is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
"This is called the noble truth of the origination of stress.
[c] "And what is the noble truth of the cessation of stress? The remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.
"And where, when being abandoned, is this craving abandoned? And where, when ceasing, does it cease? Whatever is endearing & alluring in terms of the world: that is where, when being abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.
"And what is endearing & alluring in terms of the world? The eye is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where, when being abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.
"The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect...
"Forms... Sounds... Smells... Tastes... Tactile sensations... Ideas...
"Eye-consciousness... Ear-consciousness... Nose-consciousness... Tongue-consciousness... Body-consciousness... Intellect-consciousness...
"Eye-contact... Ear-contact... Nose-contact... Tongue-contact... Body-contact... Intellect-contact...
"Feeling born of eye-contact... Feeling born of ear-contact... Feeling born of nose-contact... Feeling born of tongue-contact... Feeling born of body-contact... Feeling born of intellect-contact...
"Perception of forms... Perception of sounds... Perception of smells... Perception of tastes... Perception of tactile sensations... Perception of ideas...
"Intention for forms... Intention for sounds... Intention for smells... Intention for tastes... Intention for tactile sensations... Intention for ideas...
"Craving for forms... Craving for sounds... Craving for smells... Craving for tastes... Craving for tactile sensations... Craving for ideas...
"Thought directed at forms... Thought directed at sounds... Thought directed at smells... Thought directed at tastes... Thought directed at tactile sensations... Thought directed at ideas...
"Evaluation of forms... Evaluation of sounds... Evaluation of smells... Evaluation of tastes... Evaluation of tactile sensations... Evaluation of ideas is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where, when being abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.
"This is called the noble truth of the cessation of stress.
[d] "And what is the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress? Just this very noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
"And what is right view? Knowledge with regard to stress, knowledge with regard to the origination of stress, knowledge with regard to the cessation of stress, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: This is called right view.
"And what is right resolve? Aspiring to renunciation, to freedom from ill will, to harmlessness: This is called right resolve.
"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
"And what is right action? Abstaining from taking life, from stealing, & from illicit sex. This is called right action.
"And what is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood: This is called right livelihood.
"And what is right effort? There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, arouses persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen... for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen... for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen... (and) for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen: This is called right effort.
"And what is right mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is called right mindfulness.
"And what is right concentration? There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities — enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity, is mindful & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This is called right concentration.
"This is called the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.
"In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in & of themselves, or externally on mental qualities in & of themselves, or both internally & externally on mental qualities in & of themselves. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to mental qualities, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to mental qualities, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to mental qualities. Or his mindfulness that 'There are mental qualities' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the four noble truths...
(E. Conclusion)
"Now, if anyone would develop these four frames of reference in this way for seven years, one of two fruits can be expected for him: either gnosis right here & now, or — if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance — non-return.
"Let alone seven years. If anyone would develop these four frames of reference in this way for six years... five... four... three... two years... one year... seven months... six months... five... four... three... two months... one month... half a month, one of two fruits can be expected for him: either gnosis right here & now, or — if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance — non-return.
"Let alone half a month. If anyone would develop these four frames of reference in this way for seven days, one of two fruits can be expected for him: either gnosis right here & now, or — if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance — non-return.
"'This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference.' Thus was it said, and in reference to this was it said."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Meditation on Breathing
Anapana Sati
Meditation on Breathing
by
Ven. Mahathera Nauyane Ariyadhamma
Anapana sati, the meditation on in-and-out breathing, is the first subject of meditation expounded by the Buddha in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta, the Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. The Buddha laid special stress on this meditation, for it is the gateway to enlightenment and Nibbana adopted by all the Buddhas of the past as the very basis for their attainment of Buddhahood. When the Blessed One sat at the foot of the Bodhi Tree and resolved not to rise until he had reached enlightenment, he took up anapana sati as his subject of meditation. On the basis of this, he attained the four jhanas, recollected his previous lives, fathomed the nature of samsara, aroused the succession of great insight knowledges, and at dawn, while 100,000 world systems trembled, he attained the limitless wisdom of a Fully Enlightened Buddha.
Let us then offer our veneration to the Blessed One, who became a peerless world-transcending Buddha through this meditation of anapana sati. May we comprehend this subject of meditation fully, with wisdom resplendent like the sun and moon. Through its power may we attain the blissful peace of Nibbana.
The Basic Text
Let us first examine the meaning of the text expounded by the Buddha on anapana sati. The text begins:
"Herein, monks, a monk who has gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to an empty place, sits down cross legged, holding his back erect, arousing mindfulness in front of him."
This means that any person belonging to the four types of individuals mentioned in this teaching — namely, bhikkhu (monk), bhikkhuni (nun), upasaka (layman) or upasika (laywoman) — desirous of practicing this meditation, should go either to a forest, to the foot of a secluded tree, or to a solitary dwelling. There he should sit down cross-legged, and keeping his body in an erect position, fix his mindfulness at the tip of his nose, the locus for his object of meditation.
If he breathes in a long breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness. If he breathes out a long breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness. If he breathes in a short breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness. if he breathes out a short breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness.
"He breathes in experiencing the whole body, he breathes out experiencing the whole body": that is, with well-placed mindfulness, he sees the beginning, the middle and the end of the two phases, the in-breath and the out-breath. As he practices watching the in-breath and the out breath with mindfulness, he calms down and tranquilizes the two functions of in breathing and out-breathing.
The Buddha illustrates this with a simile. When a clever turner or his apprentice works an object on his lathe, he attends to his task with fixed attention: in making a long turn or a short turn, he knows that he is making a long turn or a short turn. In the same manner if the practitioner of meditation breathes in a long breath he comprehends it as such; and if he breathes out a long breath, he comprehends it as such; if he breathes in a short breath, he comprehends it as such; and if he breathes out a short breath, he comprehends it as such. He exercises his awareness so as to see the beginning, the middle and the end of these two functions of breathing in and breathing out. He comprehends with wisdom the calming down of these two aspects of in-breathing and out-breathing.
In this way he comprehends the two functions of in-breathing and out-breathing in himself, and the two functions of in breathing and out-breathing in other persons. He also comprehends the two functions of in-breathing and out-breathing in himself and in others in rapid alternation. He comprehends as well the cause for the arising of in-breathing and out-breathing, and the cause for the cessation of in breathing and out-breathing, and the moment-by-moment arising and cessation of in-breathing and out-breathing.
He then realizes that this body which exercises the two functions of in-breathing and out-breathing is only a body, not an ego or "I." This mindfulness and wisdom become helpful in developing greater and more profound mindfulness and wisdom, enabling him to discard the erroneous conceptions of things in terms of "I" and "mine." He then becomes skilled in living with wisdom in respect of this body and he does not grasp anything in the world with craving, conceit or false views. Living unattached, the meditator treads the path to Nibbana by contemplating the nature of the body.
This is an amplified paraphrase of the passage from the Maha-satipatthana Sutta on anapana sati. This meditation has been explained in sixteen different ways in various suttas. Of these sixteen, the first tetrad has been explained here. But these four are the foundation for all the sixteen ways in which anapana sati can be practiced.
The Preliminaries of Practice
Now we should investigate the preliminary stages to practicing this meditation. In the first place the Buddha indicated a suitable dwelling for practicing anapana sati. In the sutta he has mentioned three places: the forest, the foot of a tree, or an isolated empty place. This last can be a quiet restful hut, or a dwelling place free from the presence of people. We may even consider a meditation hall an empty place. Although there may be a large collection of people in such a hall, if every one remains calm and silent it can be considered an empty place.
The Buddha recommended such places because in order to practice anapana sati, silence is an essential factor. A beginning meditator will find it easier to develop mental concentration with anapana sati only if there is silence. Even if one cannot find complete silence, one should choose a quiet place where one will enjoy privacy.
Next the Buddha explained the sitting posture. There are four postures which can be adopted for meditation: standing, sitting, reclining and walking. Of these the most suitable posture to practice anapana sati at the beginning is the seated posture.
The person wishing to practice anapana sati should sit down cross-legged. For bhikkhus and laymen, the Buddha has recommended the cross-legged Position. This is not an easy posture for everyone, but it can be gradually mastered. The half cross-legged position has been recommended for bhikkhunis and laywomen. This is the posture of sitting with one leg bent. It would be greatly beneficial if the cross legged posture recommended for bhikkhus and laymen could be adopted in the "lotus" pattern, with the feet turned up and resting on the opposite thighs. If that is inconvenient, one should sit with the two feet tucked underneath the body.
In the practice of anapana sati, it is imperative to hold the body upright. The torso should be kept erect, though not strained and rigid. One can cultivate this meditation properly only if all the bones of the spine are linked together in an erect position. Therefore, this advice of the Buddha to keep the upper part of the body erect should be clearly comprehended and followed.
The hands should be placed gently on the lap, the back of the right hand over the palm of the left. The eyes can be closed softly, or left half-closed, whichever is more comfortable. The head should be held straight, tilted a slight angle downwards, the nose perpendicular to the navel
The next factor is the place for fixing the attention. To cultivate anapana sati one should be clearly mindful of the place where the incoming and outgoing breaths enter and leave the nostrils. This will be felt as a spot beneath the nostrils or on the upper lip, wherever the impact of the air coming in and out the nostrils can be felt most distinctly. On that spot the attention should be fixed, like a sentry watching a gate.
Then the Buddha has explained the manner in which anapana sati has to be cultivated. One breathes in mindfully, breathes out mindfully. From birth to death this function of in-breathing and out-breathing continues without a break, without a stop, but since we do not consciously reflect on it, we do not even realize the presence of this breath. If we do so, we can derive much benefit by way of calm and insight. Thus the Buddha has advised us to be aware of the function of breathing.
The practitioner of meditation who consciously watches the breath in this manner should never try to control his breathing or hold back his breath with effort. For if he controls his breath or holds back his breath with conscious effort, he will become fatigued and his mental concentration will be disturbed and broken. The key to the practice is to set up mindfulness naturally at the spot where the in-breaths and the out-breaths are felt entering and leaving the nostrils. Then the meditator has to maintain his awareness of the touch sensation of the breath, keeping the awareness as steady and consistent as possible.
The Eight Steps
To help practitioners in developing this meditation, the commentators and meditation masters have indicated eight graduated steps in the practice. These eight steps will first be enumerated, and then they will be explained in relation to the actual meditative process.
The eight steps are named: counting (ganana); following (anubandhana); contact (phusana); fixing (thapana); observing (sallakkhana); turning away (vivattana), purification (parisuddhi); and retrospection (patipassana). These eight cover the whole course of meditative development up to the attainment of arahantship.
(i) Counting
Counting is intended for those who have never before practiced anapana sati. It is not necessary for those who have practiced meditation for a considerable period of time. However, as it is expedient to have a knowledge of this, counting should be understood in the following manner.
When the meditator sits down for meditation, he fixes his attention at the tip of his nose and consciously attends to the sequence of in-and-out breathing. He notes the breath as it enters, and notes the breath as it leaves, touching against the tip of the nose or the upper lip. At this time he begins to count these movements.
There are a few methods of counting. The easiest is explained thus: The first breath felt is counted as "one, one"; the second as "two, two"; the third as "three, three"; the fourth as "four, four"; the fifth as "five, five" and so on up to the tenth breath which is counted as "ten, ten." Then he returns to "one, one" and continues again up to "ten, ten." This is repeated over and over from one to ten.
The mere counting is not itself meditation, but the counting has become an essential aid to meditation. A person who has not practiced meditation before, finding it difficult to understand the nature of his mind, may think he is meditating while his mind runs helter skelter. Counting is an easy method to control the wandering mind.
If a person fixes his mind well on his meditation, he can maintain this counting correctly. If the mind flees in all directions, and he misses the count, he becomes confused and thus can realize that his mind has wandered about. If the mind has lost track of the count, the meditator should begin the counting over again. In this way he should start the counting again from the beginning, even if he has gone wrong a thousand times.
As the practice develops, there may come a time when the in-breathing and out breathing take a shorter course and it is not possible to count the same number many times. Then the meditator has to count quickly "one," "two," "three," etc. When he counts in this manner he can comprehend the difference between a long in-breath and out-breath and a short in-breath and out-breath.
(ii) Following
"Following" means following the breath with the mind. When the mind has been subdued by counting and is fixed on the in-breathing and out-breathing, the counting is stopped and replaced by mentally keeping track of the course of the breath. This is explained by the Buddha in this manner:
"When the meditator breathes in a long breath, he comprehends that he is breathing in a long breath; and when he is breathing out a long breath, he comprehends that he is breathing out a long breath."
Herein, one does not deliberately take a long in-breath or a long out-breath. One simply comprehends what actually takes place.
The Buddha has declared in the next passage that a meditator trains himself thinking: "I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body, and I shall breath out experiencing the whole body." Here, what is meant as "the whole body" is the entire cycle of breathing in and breathing out. The meditator should fix his attention so as to see the beginning, the middle and the end of each cycle of in-breathing and out-breathing. It is this practice that is called "experiencing the whole body."
The beginning, middle and end of the breath must be correctly understood. It is incorrect to consider the tip of the nose to be the beginning of the breath, the chest to be the middle, and the navel to be the end. If one attempts to trace the breath from the nose through the chest to the belly, or to follow it out from the belly through the chest to the nose, one's concentration will be disrupted and one's mind will become agitated. The beginning of the in-breath, properly understood, is the start of the inhalation, the middle is continued inhalation, and the end is the completion of the inhalation. Likewise, in regard to the out breath, the beginning is the start of the exhalation, the middle is the continued exhalation, and the end is the completion of the exhalation. To "experience the whole body" means to be aware of the entire cycle of each inhalation and exhalation, keeping the mind fixed at the spot around the nostrils or on the upper lip where the breath is felt entering and leaving the nose.
This work of contemplating the breath at the area around the nostrils, without following it inside and outside the body, is illustrated by the commentaries with the similes of the gatekeeper and the saw.
Just as a gatekeeper examines each person entering and leaving the city only as he passes through the gate, without following him inside or outside the city, so the meditator should be aware of each breath only as it passes through the nostrils, without following it inside or outside the body.
Just as a man sawing a log will keep his attention fixed on the spot where the teeth of the saw cut through the wood, without following the movement of the teeth back and forth, so the meditator should contemplate the breath as it swings back and forth around the nostrils, without letting his mindfulness be distracted by the breath's inward and outward passage through the body.
When a person meditates earnestly in this manner, seeing the entire process, a joyous thrill pervades his mind. And since the mind does not wander about, the whole body becomes calm and composed, cool and comfortable.
(iii) Contact and (iv) Fixing
These two aspects of the practice indicate the development of stronger concentration. When the mindfulness of breathing is maintained, the breathing becomes more and more subtle and tranquil. As a result the body becomes calm and ceases to feel fatigued. Bodily pain and numbness disappear, and the body begins to feel an exhilarating comfort, as if it were being fanned with a cool gentle breeze.
At that time, because of the tranquillity of the mind, the breathing becomes finer and finer until it seems that it has ceased. At times this condition lasts for many minutes. This is when breathing ceases to be felt. At this time some be come alarmed thinking the breathing has ceased, but it is not so. The breathing exists but in a very delicate and subtle form. No matter how subtle the breathing becomes, one must still keep mindful of the contact (phusana) of the breath in the area of the nostrils, without losing track of it. The mind then becomes free from the five hindrances — sensual desire, anger, drowsiness, restlessness and doubt. As a result one becomes calm and joyful.
It is at this stage that the "signs" or mental images appear heralding the success of concentration. First comes the learning sign (uggaha-nimitta), then the counterpart sign (patibhaga-nimitta). To some the sign appears like a wad of cotton, like an electric light, a sliver chain, a mist or a wheel. It appeared to the Buddha like the clear and bright midday sun.
The learning sign is unsteady, it moves here and there, up and down. But the counterpart sign appearing at the end of the nostrils is steady, fixed and motionless. At this time there are no hindrances, the mind is most active and extremely tranquil. This stage is expounded by the Buddha when he states that one breathes in tranquilizing the activity of the body, one breathes out tranquilizing the activity of the body.
The arising of the counterpart sign and the suppression of the five hindrances marks the attainment of access concentration (upacara-samadhi). As concentration is further developed, the meditator attains full absorption (appana-samadhi) beginning with the first jhana. Four stages of absorption can be attained by the practice of anapana sati, namely, the first, second, third and fourth jhanas. These stages of deep concentration are called "fixing" (thapana).
(v) Observing — (viii) Retrospection
A person who has reached jhana should not stop there but should go on to develop insight meditation (vipassana). The stages of insight are called "observing" (sallakkhana). When insight reaches its climax, the meditator attains the supramundane paths, starting with the stage of stream-entry. Because these paths turn away the fetters that bind one to the cycle of birth and death, they are called "turning away" (vivattana).
The paths are followed by their respective fruitions; this stage is called "purification" (parisuddhi) because one has been cleansed of defilements. Thereafter one realizes the final stage, reviewing knowledge, called retrospection (patipassana) because one looks back upon one's entire path of progress and one's attainments. This is a brief overview of the main stages along the path to Nibbana, based on the meditation of anapana sati. Now let us examine the course of practice in terms of the seven stages of purification.
The Seven Stages of Purification
The person who has taken up the practice begins by establishing himself in a fitting moral code. If he is a layman, he first establishes himself in the five precepts or the ten precepts. If he is a bhikkhu, he begins his meditation while scrupulously maintaining the moral code prescribed for him. The unbroken observance of his respective moral code constitutes purification of morality (sila-visuddhi).
Next, he applies himself to his topic of meditation, and as a result, the hindrances become subjugated and the mind becomes fixed in concentration. This is purification of mind (citta-visuddhi) — the mind in which the hindrances have been fully suppressed — and this includes both access concentration and the four jhanas.
When the meditator becomes well established in concentration, he next turns his attention to insight meditation. To develop insight on the basis of anapana sati, the meditator first considers that this process of in-and-out breathing is only form, a series of bodily events — not a self or ego. The mental factors that contemplate the breathing are in turn only mind, a series of mental events — not a self or ego. This discrimination of mind and matter (nama-rupa) is called purification of view (ditthi-visuddhi).
One who has reached this stage comprehends the process of in-and-out breathing by way of the conditions for the arising and cessation of the bodily and mental phenomena involved in the process of breathing. This knowledge, which becomes extended to all bodily and mental phenomena in terms of their dependent arising, is called the comprehension of conditions. As his understanding matures, all doubts conceived by him in respect of past, future and present times are dispelled. Thus this stage is called "purification by the transcending of doubt."
After having, understood the causal relations of mind and matter, the meditator proceeds further with insight meditation, and in time there arises the wisdom "seeing the rise and fall of things." When he breathes in and out, he sees the bodily and mental states pass in and out of existence moment after moment. As this wisdom becomes clearer, the mind becomes illumined and happiness and tranquillity arise, along with faith, vigor, mindfulness, wisdom and equanimity.
When these factors appear, he reflects on them, observing their three characteristics of impermanence, suffering and egolessness. The wisdom that distinguishes between the exhilarating results of the practice and the task of detached contemplation is called "purification by knowledge and vision of the true path and the false path." His mind, so purified, sees very clearly the rise and cessation of mind and matter.
He sees next, with each in-breath and out-breath, the breaking up of the concomitant mental and bodily phenomena, which appears just like the bursting of the bubbles seen in a pot of boiling rice, or like the breaking up of bubbles when rain falls on a pool of water, or like the cracking of sesamum or mustard seeds as they are put into a red-hot pan. This wisdom which sees the constant and instantaneous breaking up of mental and bodily phenomena is called "the knowledge of dissolution." Through this wisdom he acquires the ability to see how all factors of mind and body throughout the world arise and disappear.
Then there arises in him the wisdom that sees all of these phenomena as a fearsome spectacle. He sees that in none of the spheres of existence, not even in the heavenly planes, is there any genuine pleasure or happiness, and he comprehends misfortune and danger.
Then he conceives a revulsion towards all conditioned existence. He arouses an urge to free himself from the world, an all consuming desire for deliverance. Then, by considering the means of releasing himself, there arises in him a state of wisdom which quickly reflects on impermanence, suffering and egolessness, and leads to subtle and deep levels of insight.
Now there appears in him the comprehension that the aggregates of mind and body appearing in all the world systems are afflicted by suffering, and he realizes that the state of Nibbana, which transcends the world, is exceedingly peaceful and comforting. When he comprehends this situation, his mind attains the knowledge of equanimity about formations. This is the climax of insight meditation, called "purification by knowledge and vision of progress."
As he becomes steadfast, his dexterity in meditation increases, and when his faculties are fully mature he enters upon the cognitive process of the path of stream-entry (sotapatti). With the path of stream-entry he realizes Nibbana and comprehends directly the Four Noble Truths. The path is followed by two or three moments of the fruit of stream-entry, by which he enjoys the fruits of his attainment. Thereafter there arises reviewing knowledge by which he reflects on his progress and attainment.
If one continues with the meditation with earnest aspiration, one will develop anew the stages of insight knowledge and realize the three higher paths and fruits: those of the once-returner, non-returner, and arahant. These attainments, together with stream-entry, form the seventh stage of purity, purification by knowledge and vision. With each of these attainments one realizes in full the Four Noble Truths, which had eluded one throughout one's long sojourn in the cycle of rebirths. As a result, all the defilements contained within the mind are uprooted and destroyed, and one's mind becomes fully pure and cleansed. One then realizes the state of Nibbana, wherein one is liberated from all the suffering of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.
Conclusion
Births like ours are rare in samsara. We have been fortunate to encounter the Buddha's message, to enjoy the association of good friends, to have the opportunity to listen to the Dhamma. As we have been endowed with all these blessings, if our aspirations are ripe, we can in this very life reach the final goal of Nibbana through its graduated stages of stream-entry, once-returner, non-returner and arahantship. Therefore, let us make our life fruitful by developing regularly the meditation of anapana sati. Having received proper instructions on how to practice this method of meditation, one should purify one's moral virtue by observing the precepts and should surrender one's life to the Triple Gem.
One should choose a convenient time for meditation and practice with utmost regularity, reserving the same period each day for one's practice. One may begin by briefly reflecting on the abundant virtues of the Buddha, extending loving-kindness towards all beings, pondering the repulsiveness of the body, and considering the inevitability of death. Then, arousing the confidence that one is walking the very road to Nibbana walked by all the enlightened ones of the past, one should proceed forth on the path of meditation and strive with diligent effort.
---- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyadhamma/bl115.html
Meditation on Breathing
by
Ven. Mahathera Nauyane Ariyadhamma
Anapana sati, the meditation on in-and-out breathing, is the first subject of meditation expounded by the Buddha in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta, the Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. The Buddha laid special stress on this meditation, for it is the gateway to enlightenment and Nibbana adopted by all the Buddhas of the past as the very basis for their attainment of Buddhahood. When the Blessed One sat at the foot of the Bodhi Tree and resolved not to rise until he had reached enlightenment, he took up anapana sati as his subject of meditation. On the basis of this, he attained the four jhanas, recollected his previous lives, fathomed the nature of samsara, aroused the succession of great insight knowledges, and at dawn, while 100,000 world systems trembled, he attained the limitless wisdom of a Fully Enlightened Buddha.
Let us then offer our veneration to the Blessed One, who became a peerless world-transcending Buddha through this meditation of anapana sati. May we comprehend this subject of meditation fully, with wisdom resplendent like the sun and moon. Through its power may we attain the blissful peace of Nibbana.
The Basic Text
Let us first examine the meaning of the text expounded by the Buddha on anapana sati. The text begins:
"Herein, monks, a monk who has gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to an empty place, sits down cross legged, holding his back erect, arousing mindfulness in front of him."
This means that any person belonging to the four types of individuals mentioned in this teaching — namely, bhikkhu (monk), bhikkhuni (nun), upasaka (layman) or upasika (laywoman) — desirous of practicing this meditation, should go either to a forest, to the foot of a secluded tree, or to a solitary dwelling. There he should sit down cross-legged, and keeping his body in an erect position, fix his mindfulness at the tip of his nose, the locus for his object of meditation.
If he breathes in a long breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness. If he breathes out a long breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness. If he breathes in a short breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness. if he breathes out a short breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness.
"He breathes in experiencing the whole body, he breathes out experiencing the whole body": that is, with well-placed mindfulness, he sees the beginning, the middle and the end of the two phases, the in-breath and the out-breath. As he practices watching the in-breath and the out breath with mindfulness, he calms down and tranquilizes the two functions of in breathing and out-breathing.
The Buddha illustrates this with a simile. When a clever turner or his apprentice works an object on his lathe, he attends to his task with fixed attention: in making a long turn or a short turn, he knows that he is making a long turn or a short turn. In the same manner if the practitioner of meditation breathes in a long breath he comprehends it as such; and if he breathes out a long breath, he comprehends it as such; if he breathes in a short breath, he comprehends it as such; and if he breathes out a short breath, he comprehends it as such. He exercises his awareness so as to see the beginning, the middle and the end of these two functions of breathing in and breathing out. He comprehends with wisdom the calming down of these two aspects of in-breathing and out-breathing.
In this way he comprehends the two functions of in-breathing and out-breathing in himself, and the two functions of in breathing and out-breathing in other persons. He also comprehends the two functions of in-breathing and out-breathing in himself and in others in rapid alternation. He comprehends as well the cause for the arising of in-breathing and out-breathing, and the cause for the cessation of in breathing and out-breathing, and the moment-by-moment arising and cessation of in-breathing and out-breathing.
He then realizes that this body which exercises the two functions of in-breathing and out-breathing is only a body, not an ego or "I." This mindfulness and wisdom become helpful in developing greater and more profound mindfulness and wisdom, enabling him to discard the erroneous conceptions of things in terms of "I" and "mine." He then becomes skilled in living with wisdom in respect of this body and he does not grasp anything in the world with craving, conceit or false views. Living unattached, the meditator treads the path to Nibbana by contemplating the nature of the body.
This is an amplified paraphrase of the passage from the Maha-satipatthana Sutta on anapana sati. This meditation has been explained in sixteen different ways in various suttas. Of these sixteen, the first tetrad has been explained here. But these four are the foundation for all the sixteen ways in which anapana sati can be practiced.
The Preliminaries of Practice
Now we should investigate the preliminary stages to practicing this meditation. In the first place the Buddha indicated a suitable dwelling for practicing anapana sati. In the sutta he has mentioned three places: the forest, the foot of a tree, or an isolated empty place. This last can be a quiet restful hut, or a dwelling place free from the presence of people. We may even consider a meditation hall an empty place. Although there may be a large collection of people in such a hall, if every one remains calm and silent it can be considered an empty place.
The Buddha recommended such places because in order to practice anapana sati, silence is an essential factor. A beginning meditator will find it easier to develop mental concentration with anapana sati only if there is silence. Even if one cannot find complete silence, one should choose a quiet place where one will enjoy privacy.
Next the Buddha explained the sitting posture. There are four postures which can be adopted for meditation: standing, sitting, reclining and walking. Of these the most suitable posture to practice anapana sati at the beginning is the seated posture.
The person wishing to practice anapana sati should sit down cross-legged. For bhikkhus and laymen, the Buddha has recommended the cross-legged Position. This is not an easy posture for everyone, but it can be gradually mastered. The half cross-legged position has been recommended for bhikkhunis and laywomen. This is the posture of sitting with one leg bent. It would be greatly beneficial if the cross legged posture recommended for bhikkhus and laymen could be adopted in the "lotus" pattern, with the feet turned up and resting on the opposite thighs. If that is inconvenient, one should sit with the two feet tucked underneath the body.
In the practice of anapana sati, it is imperative to hold the body upright. The torso should be kept erect, though not strained and rigid. One can cultivate this meditation properly only if all the bones of the spine are linked together in an erect position. Therefore, this advice of the Buddha to keep the upper part of the body erect should be clearly comprehended and followed.
The hands should be placed gently on the lap, the back of the right hand over the palm of the left. The eyes can be closed softly, or left half-closed, whichever is more comfortable. The head should be held straight, tilted a slight angle downwards, the nose perpendicular to the navel
The next factor is the place for fixing the attention. To cultivate anapana sati one should be clearly mindful of the place where the incoming and outgoing breaths enter and leave the nostrils. This will be felt as a spot beneath the nostrils or on the upper lip, wherever the impact of the air coming in and out the nostrils can be felt most distinctly. On that spot the attention should be fixed, like a sentry watching a gate.
Then the Buddha has explained the manner in which anapana sati has to be cultivated. One breathes in mindfully, breathes out mindfully. From birth to death this function of in-breathing and out-breathing continues without a break, without a stop, but since we do not consciously reflect on it, we do not even realize the presence of this breath. If we do so, we can derive much benefit by way of calm and insight. Thus the Buddha has advised us to be aware of the function of breathing.
The practitioner of meditation who consciously watches the breath in this manner should never try to control his breathing or hold back his breath with effort. For if he controls his breath or holds back his breath with conscious effort, he will become fatigued and his mental concentration will be disturbed and broken. The key to the practice is to set up mindfulness naturally at the spot where the in-breaths and the out-breaths are felt entering and leaving the nostrils. Then the meditator has to maintain his awareness of the touch sensation of the breath, keeping the awareness as steady and consistent as possible.
The Eight Steps
To help practitioners in developing this meditation, the commentators and meditation masters have indicated eight graduated steps in the practice. These eight steps will first be enumerated, and then they will be explained in relation to the actual meditative process.
The eight steps are named: counting (ganana); following (anubandhana); contact (phusana); fixing (thapana); observing (sallakkhana); turning away (vivattana), purification (parisuddhi); and retrospection (patipassana). These eight cover the whole course of meditative development up to the attainment of arahantship.
(i) Counting
Counting is intended for those who have never before practiced anapana sati. It is not necessary for those who have practiced meditation for a considerable period of time. However, as it is expedient to have a knowledge of this, counting should be understood in the following manner.
When the meditator sits down for meditation, he fixes his attention at the tip of his nose and consciously attends to the sequence of in-and-out breathing. He notes the breath as it enters, and notes the breath as it leaves, touching against the tip of the nose or the upper lip. At this time he begins to count these movements.
There are a few methods of counting. The easiest is explained thus: The first breath felt is counted as "one, one"; the second as "two, two"; the third as "three, three"; the fourth as "four, four"; the fifth as "five, five" and so on up to the tenth breath which is counted as "ten, ten." Then he returns to "one, one" and continues again up to "ten, ten." This is repeated over and over from one to ten.
The mere counting is not itself meditation, but the counting has become an essential aid to meditation. A person who has not practiced meditation before, finding it difficult to understand the nature of his mind, may think he is meditating while his mind runs helter skelter. Counting is an easy method to control the wandering mind.
If a person fixes his mind well on his meditation, he can maintain this counting correctly. If the mind flees in all directions, and he misses the count, he becomes confused and thus can realize that his mind has wandered about. If the mind has lost track of the count, the meditator should begin the counting over again. In this way he should start the counting again from the beginning, even if he has gone wrong a thousand times.
As the practice develops, there may come a time when the in-breathing and out breathing take a shorter course and it is not possible to count the same number many times. Then the meditator has to count quickly "one," "two," "three," etc. When he counts in this manner he can comprehend the difference between a long in-breath and out-breath and a short in-breath and out-breath.
(ii) Following
"Following" means following the breath with the mind. When the mind has been subdued by counting and is fixed on the in-breathing and out-breathing, the counting is stopped and replaced by mentally keeping track of the course of the breath. This is explained by the Buddha in this manner:
"When the meditator breathes in a long breath, he comprehends that he is breathing in a long breath; and when he is breathing out a long breath, he comprehends that he is breathing out a long breath."
Herein, one does not deliberately take a long in-breath or a long out-breath. One simply comprehends what actually takes place.
The Buddha has declared in the next passage that a meditator trains himself thinking: "I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body, and I shall breath out experiencing the whole body." Here, what is meant as "the whole body" is the entire cycle of breathing in and breathing out. The meditator should fix his attention so as to see the beginning, the middle and the end of each cycle of in-breathing and out-breathing. It is this practice that is called "experiencing the whole body."
The beginning, middle and end of the breath must be correctly understood. It is incorrect to consider the tip of the nose to be the beginning of the breath, the chest to be the middle, and the navel to be the end. If one attempts to trace the breath from the nose through the chest to the belly, or to follow it out from the belly through the chest to the nose, one's concentration will be disrupted and one's mind will become agitated. The beginning of the in-breath, properly understood, is the start of the inhalation, the middle is continued inhalation, and the end is the completion of the inhalation. Likewise, in regard to the out breath, the beginning is the start of the exhalation, the middle is the continued exhalation, and the end is the completion of the exhalation. To "experience the whole body" means to be aware of the entire cycle of each inhalation and exhalation, keeping the mind fixed at the spot around the nostrils or on the upper lip where the breath is felt entering and leaving the nose.
This work of contemplating the breath at the area around the nostrils, without following it inside and outside the body, is illustrated by the commentaries with the similes of the gatekeeper and the saw.
Just as a gatekeeper examines each person entering and leaving the city only as he passes through the gate, without following him inside or outside the city, so the meditator should be aware of each breath only as it passes through the nostrils, without following it inside or outside the body.
Just as a man sawing a log will keep his attention fixed on the spot where the teeth of the saw cut through the wood, without following the movement of the teeth back and forth, so the meditator should contemplate the breath as it swings back and forth around the nostrils, without letting his mindfulness be distracted by the breath's inward and outward passage through the body.
When a person meditates earnestly in this manner, seeing the entire process, a joyous thrill pervades his mind. And since the mind does not wander about, the whole body becomes calm and composed, cool and comfortable.
(iii) Contact and (iv) Fixing
These two aspects of the practice indicate the development of stronger concentration. When the mindfulness of breathing is maintained, the breathing becomes more and more subtle and tranquil. As a result the body becomes calm and ceases to feel fatigued. Bodily pain and numbness disappear, and the body begins to feel an exhilarating comfort, as if it were being fanned with a cool gentle breeze.
At that time, because of the tranquillity of the mind, the breathing becomes finer and finer until it seems that it has ceased. At times this condition lasts for many minutes. This is when breathing ceases to be felt. At this time some be come alarmed thinking the breathing has ceased, but it is not so. The breathing exists but in a very delicate and subtle form. No matter how subtle the breathing becomes, one must still keep mindful of the contact (phusana) of the breath in the area of the nostrils, without losing track of it. The mind then becomes free from the five hindrances — sensual desire, anger, drowsiness, restlessness and doubt. As a result one becomes calm and joyful.
It is at this stage that the "signs" or mental images appear heralding the success of concentration. First comes the learning sign (uggaha-nimitta), then the counterpart sign (patibhaga-nimitta). To some the sign appears like a wad of cotton, like an electric light, a sliver chain, a mist or a wheel. It appeared to the Buddha like the clear and bright midday sun.
The learning sign is unsteady, it moves here and there, up and down. But the counterpart sign appearing at the end of the nostrils is steady, fixed and motionless. At this time there are no hindrances, the mind is most active and extremely tranquil. This stage is expounded by the Buddha when he states that one breathes in tranquilizing the activity of the body, one breathes out tranquilizing the activity of the body.
The arising of the counterpart sign and the suppression of the five hindrances marks the attainment of access concentration (upacara-samadhi). As concentration is further developed, the meditator attains full absorption (appana-samadhi) beginning with the first jhana. Four stages of absorption can be attained by the practice of anapana sati, namely, the first, second, third and fourth jhanas. These stages of deep concentration are called "fixing" (thapana).
(v) Observing — (viii) Retrospection
A person who has reached jhana should not stop there but should go on to develop insight meditation (vipassana). The stages of insight are called "observing" (sallakkhana). When insight reaches its climax, the meditator attains the supramundane paths, starting with the stage of stream-entry. Because these paths turn away the fetters that bind one to the cycle of birth and death, they are called "turning away" (vivattana).
The paths are followed by their respective fruitions; this stage is called "purification" (parisuddhi) because one has been cleansed of defilements. Thereafter one realizes the final stage, reviewing knowledge, called retrospection (patipassana) because one looks back upon one's entire path of progress and one's attainments. This is a brief overview of the main stages along the path to Nibbana, based on the meditation of anapana sati. Now let us examine the course of practice in terms of the seven stages of purification.
The Seven Stages of Purification
The person who has taken up the practice begins by establishing himself in a fitting moral code. If he is a layman, he first establishes himself in the five precepts or the ten precepts. If he is a bhikkhu, he begins his meditation while scrupulously maintaining the moral code prescribed for him. The unbroken observance of his respective moral code constitutes purification of morality (sila-visuddhi).
Next, he applies himself to his topic of meditation, and as a result, the hindrances become subjugated and the mind becomes fixed in concentration. This is purification of mind (citta-visuddhi) — the mind in which the hindrances have been fully suppressed — and this includes both access concentration and the four jhanas.
When the meditator becomes well established in concentration, he next turns his attention to insight meditation. To develop insight on the basis of anapana sati, the meditator first considers that this process of in-and-out breathing is only form, a series of bodily events — not a self or ego. The mental factors that contemplate the breathing are in turn only mind, a series of mental events — not a self or ego. This discrimination of mind and matter (nama-rupa) is called purification of view (ditthi-visuddhi).
One who has reached this stage comprehends the process of in-and-out breathing by way of the conditions for the arising and cessation of the bodily and mental phenomena involved in the process of breathing. This knowledge, which becomes extended to all bodily and mental phenomena in terms of their dependent arising, is called the comprehension of conditions. As his understanding matures, all doubts conceived by him in respect of past, future and present times are dispelled. Thus this stage is called "purification by the transcending of doubt."
After having, understood the causal relations of mind and matter, the meditator proceeds further with insight meditation, and in time there arises the wisdom "seeing the rise and fall of things." When he breathes in and out, he sees the bodily and mental states pass in and out of existence moment after moment. As this wisdom becomes clearer, the mind becomes illumined and happiness and tranquillity arise, along with faith, vigor, mindfulness, wisdom and equanimity.
When these factors appear, he reflects on them, observing their three characteristics of impermanence, suffering and egolessness. The wisdom that distinguishes between the exhilarating results of the practice and the task of detached contemplation is called "purification by knowledge and vision of the true path and the false path." His mind, so purified, sees very clearly the rise and cessation of mind and matter.
He sees next, with each in-breath and out-breath, the breaking up of the concomitant mental and bodily phenomena, which appears just like the bursting of the bubbles seen in a pot of boiling rice, or like the breaking up of bubbles when rain falls on a pool of water, or like the cracking of sesamum or mustard seeds as they are put into a red-hot pan. This wisdom which sees the constant and instantaneous breaking up of mental and bodily phenomena is called "the knowledge of dissolution." Through this wisdom he acquires the ability to see how all factors of mind and body throughout the world arise and disappear.
Then there arises in him the wisdom that sees all of these phenomena as a fearsome spectacle. He sees that in none of the spheres of existence, not even in the heavenly planes, is there any genuine pleasure or happiness, and he comprehends misfortune and danger.
Then he conceives a revulsion towards all conditioned existence. He arouses an urge to free himself from the world, an all consuming desire for deliverance. Then, by considering the means of releasing himself, there arises in him a state of wisdom which quickly reflects on impermanence, suffering and egolessness, and leads to subtle and deep levels of insight.
Now there appears in him the comprehension that the aggregates of mind and body appearing in all the world systems are afflicted by suffering, and he realizes that the state of Nibbana, which transcends the world, is exceedingly peaceful and comforting. When he comprehends this situation, his mind attains the knowledge of equanimity about formations. This is the climax of insight meditation, called "purification by knowledge and vision of progress."
As he becomes steadfast, his dexterity in meditation increases, and when his faculties are fully mature he enters upon the cognitive process of the path of stream-entry (sotapatti). With the path of stream-entry he realizes Nibbana and comprehends directly the Four Noble Truths. The path is followed by two or three moments of the fruit of stream-entry, by which he enjoys the fruits of his attainment. Thereafter there arises reviewing knowledge by which he reflects on his progress and attainment.
If one continues with the meditation with earnest aspiration, one will develop anew the stages of insight knowledge and realize the three higher paths and fruits: those of the once-returner, non-returner, and arahant. These attainments, together with stream-entry, form the seventh stage of purity, purification by knowledge and vision. With each of these attainments one realizes in full the Four Noble Truths, which had eluded one throughout one's long sojourn in the cycle of rebirths. As a result, all the defilements contained within the mind are uprooted and destroyed, and one's mind becomes fully pure and cleansed. One then realizes the state of Nibbana, wherein one is liberated from all the suffering of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.
Conclusion
Births like ours are rare in samsara. We have been fortunate to encounter the Buddha's message, to enjoy the association of good friends, to have the opportunity to listen to the Dhamma. As we have been endowed with all these blessings, if our aspirations are ripe, we can in this very life reach the final goal of Nibbana through its graduated stages of stream-entry, once-returner, non-returner and arahantship. Therefore, let us make our life fruitful by developing regularly the meditation of anapana sati. Having received proper instructions on how to practice this method of meditation, one should purify one's moral virtue by observing the precepts and should surrender one's life to the Triple Gem.
One should choose a convenient time for meditation and practice with utmost regularity, reserving the same period each day for one's practice. One may begin by briefly reflecting on the abundant virtues of the Buddha, extending loving-kindness towards all beings, pondering the repulsiveness of the body, and considering the inevitability of death. Then, arousing the confidence that one is walking the very road to Nibbana walked by all the enlightened ones of the past, one should proceed forth on the path of meditation and strive with diligent effort.
---- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyadhamma/bl115.html
Eight Consciousnesses, What is and isn't Yogacara
Eight Consciousnesses
-----Quotation from Dan Lusthaus’ article on “What is and isn’t Yogacara”
The most famous innovation of the Yogācāra school was the doctrine of eight consciousnesses. Standard Buddhism described six consciousnesses, each produced by the contact between its specific sense organ and a corresponding sense object. When a functioning eye comes into contact with a color or shape, visual consciousness is produced. When a functioning ear comes into contact with a sound, auditory consciousness is produced. Consciousness does not create the sensory sphere, but on the contrary is an effect of the interaction of a sense organ and its proper object. If an eye does not function but an object is present, visual consciousness does not arise. The same is true if a functional eye fails to encounter a visual object. Consciousness arises dependent on sensation. There are altogether six sense organs (eye, ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind) which interact with their respective sensory object domains (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental spheres). Note that the mind is considered another sense since it functions like the other senses, involving the activity of a sense organ (manas), its domain (mano-dhātu), and the consciousness (mano-vijñāna) resulting from the contact of organ and object. Each domain is discrete, which means vision, audition, and each of the remaining spheres function apart from each other. Hence deaf can see, and blind can hear. Objects, too, are entirely specific to their domain, and the same is true of the consciousnesses. Visual consciousness is entirely distinct from auditory consciousness, and so on. Hence there are six distinct types of consciousness (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousness). These eighteen components of experience - viz. six sense organs, six sense object domains, and six resulting consciousnesses - were called the eighteen dhātus. According to standard Buddhist doctrine these eighteen exhaust the full extent of everything in the universe, or more accurately, the sensorium.
Early Buddhist Abhidhamma, focusing on the mental and cognitive aspects of karma, expanded the three components of the mental level - mind (manas), mental-objects (mano-dhātu), and mental-consciousness (mano-vijñāna) - into a complex system of categories. The apperceptive vector in any cognitive moment was called citta. The objects, textures, emotional, moral, and psychological tones of citta's cognitions were called caittas. Caittas (lit.: "associated with citta") were subdivided into numerous categories that varied in different Buddhist schools. Some caittas are "universal," meaning they are components of every cognition (e.g., sensory contact, hedonic tone, attention, etc.); some are "specialized," meaning they only occur in some, not all, cognitions (e.g., resolve, mindfulness, meditative clarity, etc.). Some caittas are wholesome (e.g., faith; lack of greed, hatred, or misconception; tranquility; etc.), some unwholesome, some are mental disturbances (kleśa) (appropriational intent, aversion, arrogance, etc.) or secondary mental disturbances (anger, envy, guile, shamelessness, etc.), and some are karmically indeterminate (torpor, remorse, etc.).
As Abhidharma grew more complex, disputes intensified between different Buddhist schools along a range of issues. For Yogācāra the most important problems revolved around questions of causality and consciousness. In order to avoid the idea of a permanent self, Buddhists said citta is momentary. Since a new citta apperceives a new cognitive field each moment, the apparent continuity of mental states was explained causally by claiming each citta, in the moment it ceased, also acted as cause for the arising of its successor. This was fine for continuous perceptions and thought processes, but difficulties arose since Buddhists identified a number of situations in which no citta at all was present or operative, such as deep sleep, unconsciousness, and certain meditative conditions explicitly defined as devoid of citta (āsaṃjñī-samāpatti, nirodha-samāpatti). If a preceding citta had to be temporally contiguous with its successor, how could one explain the sudden restarting of citta after a period of time had lapsed since the prior citta ceased? Where had citta or its causes been residing in the interim? Analogous questions were: from where does consciousness reemerge after deep sleep? How does consciousness begin in a new life? The various Buddhist attempts to answer these questions led to more difficulties and disputes.
Yogācārins responded by rearranging the tripartite structure of the mental level of the eighteen dhātus into three novel types of consciousnesses. Mano-vijñāna (empirical consciousness) became the sixth consciousness (and operated as the sixth sense organ, which previously had been the role of manas), surveying the cognitive content of the five senses as well as mental objects (thoughts, ideas). Manas became the seventh consciousness, redefined as primarily obsessed with various aspects and notions of "self," and thus called "defiled manas" (kliṣṭa-manas). The eighth consciousness, ālaya-vijñāna, "warehouse consciousness," was totally novel. The Warehouse Consciousness was defined in several ways. It is the receptacle of all seeds, storing experiences as they "enter" until they are sent back out as new experiences, like a warehouse handles goods. It was also called vipāka consciousness: vipāka means the "maturing" of karmic seeds. Seeds gradually matured in the repository consciousness until karmically ripe, at which point they reassert themselves as karmic consequences. Ālaya-vijñāna was also called the "basic consciousness" (mūla-vijñāna) since it retains and deploys the karmic seeds that both influence and are influenced by the other seven consciousnesses. When, for instance, the sixth consciousness is dormant (while one sleeps, or is unconscious, etc.), its seeds reside in the eighth consciousness, and they "restart" when the conditions for their arising are present. The eighth consciousness is largely a mechanism for storing and deploying seeds of which it remains largely unaware. Cittas occur as a stream in ālaya-vijñāna, but they mostly cognize the activities of the other consciousnesses, not their own seeds. For Yogācāra 'ignorance' (avidya) in part means remaining ignorant of what is transpiring within one's own ālaya-vijñāna. In states devoid of citta, the flow of cittas are repressed, held back, but their seeds continue to regenerate without being noticed, until they reassert a new stream of cittas. Warehouse Consciousness acts as the pivotal karmic mechanism, but is itself karmically neutral. Each individual has its own Warehouse Consciousness which perdures from moment to moment and life to life, though, being nothing more than a collection of ever-changing "seeds," it is continually changing and therefore not a permanent self. There is no Universal collective mind in Yogācāra.
Enlightenment consists in bringing the eight consciousnesses to an end, replacing them with enlightened cognitive abilities (jñāna). Overturning the Basis turns the five sense consciousnesses into immediate cognitions that accomplish what needs to be done (kṛtyānuṣṭhāna-jñāna). The sixth consciousness becomes immediate cognitive mastery (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna), in which the general and particular characteristics of things are discerned just as they are. This discernment is considered nonconceptual (nirvikalpa-jñāna). Manas becomes the immediate cognition of equality (samatā-jñāna), equalizing self and other. When the Warehouse Consciousness finally ceases it is replaced by the Great Mirror Cognition (Mahādarśa-jñāna) that sees and reflects things just as they are, impartially, without exclusion, prejudice, anticipation, attachment, or distortion. The grasper-grasped relation has ceased. It should be noted that these "purified" cognitions all engage the world in immediate and effective ways by removing the self-bias, prejudice, and obstructions that had prevented one previously from perceiving beyond one's own narcissistic consciousness. When consciousness ends, true knowledge begins. Since enlightened cognition is nonconceptual its objects cannot be described. Thus Yogacarins provide no descriptions, much less ontological accounts, of what becomes evident in these types of enlightened cognitions, except to say they are 'pure' (of imaginative constructions). One more Yogācāra innovation was the notion that a special type of cognition emerged and developed after enlightenment. This post-enlightenment cognition was called pṛṣṭhalabdha-jñāna, and it concerned how one who has understood things as they actually become (yathā-bhūtam) now engages the world to assist other sentient beings in overcoming suffering and ignorance.
------see http://www.acmuller.net/yogacara/articles/intro-uni.htm
-----Quotation from Dan Lusthaus’ article on “What is and isn’t Yogacara”
The most famous innovation of the Yogācāra school was the doctrine of eight consciousnesses. Standard Buddhism described six consciousnesses, each produced by the contact between its specific sense organ and a corresponding sense object. When a functioning eye comes into contact with a color or shape, visual consciousness is produced. When a functioning ear comes into contact with a sound, auditory consciousness is produced. Consciousness does not create the sensory sphere, but on the contrary is an effect of the interaction of a sense organ and its proper object. If an eye does not function but an object is present, visual consciousness does not arise. The same is true if a functional eye fails to encounter a visual object. Consciousness arises dependent on sensation. There are altogether six sense organs (eye, ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind) which interact with their respective sensory object domains (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental spheres). Note that the mind is considered another sense since it functions like the other senses, involving the activity of a sense organ (manas), its domain (mano-dhātu), and the consciousness (mano-vijñāna) resulting from the contact of organ and object. Each domain is discrete, which means vision, audition, and each of the remaining spheres function apart from each other. Hence deaf can see, and blind can hear. Objects, too, are entirely specific to their domain, and the same is true of the consciousnesses. Visual consciousness is entirely distinct from auditory consciousness, and so on. Hence there are six distinct types of consciousness (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousness). These eighteen components of experience - viz. six sense organs, six sense object domains, and six resulting consciousnesses - were called the eighteen dhātus. According to standard Buddhist doctrine these eighteen exhaust the full extent of everything in the universe, or more accurately, the sensorium.
Early Buddhist Abhidhamma, focusing on the mental and cognitive aspects of karma, expanded the three components of the mental level - mind (manas), mental-objects (mano-dhātu), and mental-consciousness (mano-vijñāna) - into a complex system of categories. The apperceptive vector in any cognitive moment was called citta. The objects, textures, emotional, moral, and psychological tones of citta's cognitions were called caittas. Caittas (lit.: "associated with citta") were subdivided into numerous categories that varied in different Buddhist schools. Some caittas are "universal," meaning they are components of every cognition (e.g., sensory contact, hedonic tone, attention, etc.); some are "specialized," meaning they only occur in some, not all, cognitions (e.g., resolve, mindfulness, meditative clarity, etc.). Some caittas are wholesome (e.g., faith; lack of greed, hatred, or misconception; tranquility; etc.), some unwholesome, some are mental disturbances (kleśa) (appropriational intent, aversion, arrogance, etc.) or secondary mental disturbances (anger, envy, guile, shamelessness, etc.), and some are karmically indeterminate (torpor, remorse, etc.).
As Abhidharma grew more complex, disputes intensified between different Buddhist schools along a range of issues. For Yogācāra the most important problems revolved around questions of causality and consciousness. In order to avoid the idea of a permanent self, Buddhists said citta is momentary. Since a new citta apperceives a new cognitive field each moment, the apparent continuity of mental states was explained causally by claiming each citta, in the moment it ceased, also acted as cause for the arising of its successor. This was fine for continuous perceptions and thought processes, but difficulties arose since Buddhists identified a number of situations in which no citta at all was present or operative, such as deep sleep, unconsciousness, and certain meditative conditions explicitly defined as devoid of citta (āsaṃjñī-samāpatti, nirodha-samāpatti). If a preceding citta had to be temporally contiguous with its successor, how could one explain the sudden restarting of citta after a period of time had lapsed since the prior citta ceased? Where had citta or its causes been residing in the interim? Analogous questions were: from where does consciousness reemerge after deep sleep? How does consciousness begin in a new life? The various Buddhist attempts to answer these questions led to more difficulties and disputes.
Yogācārins responded by rearranging the tripartite structure of the mental level of the eighteen dhātus into three novel types of consciousnesses. Mano-vijñāna (empirical consciousness) became the sixth consciousness (and operated as the sixth sense organ, which previously had been the role of manas), surveying the cognitive content of the five senses as well as mental objects (thoughts, ideas). Manas became the seventh consciousness, redefined as primarily obsessed with various aspects and notions of "self," and thus called "defiled manas" (kliṣṭa-manas). The eighth consciousness, ālaya-vijñāna, "warehouse consciousness," was totally novel. The Warehouse Consciousness was defined in several ways. It is the receptacle of all seeds, storing experiences as they "enter" until they are sent back out as new experiences, like a warehouse handles goods. It was also called vipāka consciousness: vipāka means the "maturing" of karmic seeds. Seeds gradually matured in the repository consciousness until karmically ripe, at which point they reassert themselves as karmic consequences. Ālaya-vijñāna was also called the "basic consciousness" (mūla-vijñāna) since it retains and deploys the karmic seeds that both influence and are influenced by the other seven consciousnesses. When, for instance, the sixth consciousness is dormant (while one sleeps, or is unconscious, etc.), its seeds reside in the eighth consciousness, and they "restart" when the conditions for their arising are present. The eighth consciousness is largely a mechanism for storing and deploying seeds of which it remains largely unaware. Cittas occur as a stream in ālaya-vijñāna, but they mostly cognize the activities of the other consciousnesses, not their own seeds. For Yogācāra 'ignorance' (avidya) in part means remaining ignorant of what is transpiring within one's own ālaya-vijñāna. In states devoid of citta, the flow of cittas are repressed, held back, but their seeds continue to regenerate without being noticed, until they reassert a new stream of cittas. Warehouse Consciousness acts as the pivotal karmic mechanism, but is itself karmically neutral. Each individual has its own Warehouse Consciousness which perdures from moment to moment and life to life, though, being nothing more than a collection of ever-changing "seeds," it is continually changing and therefore not a permanent self. There is no Universal collective mind in Yogācāra.
Enlightenment consists in bringing the eight consciousnesses to an end, replacing them with enlightened cognitive abilities (jñāna). Overturning the Basis turns the five sense consciousnesses into immediate cognitions that accomplish what needs to be done (kṛtyānuṣṭhāna-jñāna). The sixth consciousness becomes immediate cognitive mastery (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna), in which the general and particular characteristics of things are discerned just as they are. This discernment is considered nonconceptual (nirvikalpa-jñāna). Manas becomes the immediate cognition of equality (samatā-jñāna), equalizing self and other. When the Warehouse Consciousness finally ceases it is replaced by the Great Mirror Cognition (Mahādarśa-jñāna) that sees and reflects things just as they are, impartially, without exclusion, prejudice, anticipation, attachment, or distortion. The grasper-grasped relation has ceased. It should be noted that these "purified" cognitions all engage the world in immediate and effective ways by removing the self-bias, prejudice, and obstructions that had prevented one previously from perceiving beyond one's own narcissistic consciousness. When consciousness ends, true knowledge begins. Since enlightened cognition is nonconceptual its objects cannot be described. Thus Yogacarins provide no descriptions, much less ontological accounts, of what becomes evident in these types of enlightened cognitions, except to say they are 'pure' (of imaginative constructions). One more Yogācāra innovation was the notion that a special type of cognition emerged and developed after enlightenment. This post-enlightenment cognition was called pṛṣṭhalabdha-jñāna, and it concerned how one who has understood things as they actually become (yathā-bhūtam) now engages the world to assist other sentient beings in overcoming suffering and ignorance.
------see http://www.acmuller.net/yogacara/articles/intro-uni.htm
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Basic Ideas of Yogacara
BASIC IDEAS OF YOGACARA BUDDHISM
by Roger Zim
A Paper Prepared for Philosophy 772 "Yogacara Buddhism" San Francisco State University Fall, 1995
If we do not have in ourselves the Buddha mind, then where are we to seek Buddha?
INTRODUCTION: The Yogacara school, also known as the "consciousness-only" school, is a fourth century outgrowth of Mahayana Madhyamika Buddhism. The Yogacaras, "by establishing a systematic presentation of mind,...a world-view based on their three-nature theory...and...a path system..." of Buddhist practice, conceived a new philosophical system that "brought Mahayana thought to its full scope and completion." Yogacara itself is not a specific meditative practice, but is meant to be applied as a descriptive tool to understand situations of action and intention. The final goal is the complete clarification of consciousness into wisdom. As Harvey says: The intention of the school...is not to propound a mere philosophical viewpoint, but to develop a perspective which will facilitate enlightenment. This paper is intended as a simple survey of Yogacara. Its purpose is to give a general schema and overview of Yogacara with a minimum of doctrinal analysis. Therefore, details of Yogacara history and the context of its development have not been included. Sanskrit terms also have been avoided, except where there is no equivalent term in English. The paper is divided into numbered sections which describe the components of Yogacara theory. Since the components of Yogacara are like blocks that together make a unified structure, their order within the paper is arbitrary (ideally you should read all the sections simultaneously). The components are presented beginning with the simplicity of enlightenment through the increasing complexity of the process of consciousness. Terms, or components, not previously explained or defined are followed by a number in brackets [ ] that indicates a section with more information.
1/ THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT The purpose and goal of human life is to reach enlightenment. Yogagcara considers enlightenment a state of True Suchness, or Thusness, meaning that it is the ultimate nature of all things. In reality enlightenment is the only truly existent state. In the perfect clarity of enlightenment there is total awareness and complete understanding. There is no discrimination between inside and outside, or internal and external. In enlightenment there is only the singular total truth of unity, which subsumes the "I" of the ego-differentiated self. After enlightenment the mind's process of seeking outside itself ceases, as does the process of sending energy out (in the form of attachments to the external conditional world). Rather, the mind is now contemplative absorbing energy for the benefit of itself and humanity, like a flower absorbing the rays of the sun.
2/ ENLIGHTENED WISDOM Although the enlightened mind is one, it is useful to classify its activities into four types of enlightened wisdom which are the functions of the Buddhic mind. These reflect the transformation of the eight consciousnesses [8] into fundamental wisdom [3] : 1. The five perceptual consciousnesses [13] become the wisdom of Successful Performance. "This wisdom is characterized by pure and unimpeded functioning (no attachment or distortion) in its relation to the (sense) organs and their objects." 2. The sixth consciousness [10] becomes the wisdom of Wonderful Contemplation which "has two aspects corresponding to understanding of the emptiness of self and of the emptiness of dharmas [7]." With this wisdom the Buddha knows all dharmas, without distortion or obstruction, and, in that way knowing the mental and physical condition of all beings,...[can] teach them most effectively." 3) The seventh consciousness [9] becomes the wisdom of Equality. which "understands the nature of the equality of self and other and of all beings." 4) The eighth consciousness becomes the Great Mirror wisdom. This wisdom reflects the entire universe without distortion. Although the four wisdoms do not manifest completely until enlightenment, aspects of Wonderful Contemplation and Great Mirror wisdom begin to function in a lesser degree before enlightenment.
3/ THREE BUDDHIC BODIES The Buddha is said to have three bodies. Only the third, the Dharma body, is real. The Transformation and Enjoyment bodies are emanations of the Dharma body, and are relative expedient bodies corresponding to unenlightened consciousness. 1) The Transformation body, also called the Body of Self Mastery, refers to a physical body in the phenomenal world. This body is necessary for the Buddha to teach humanity the path to enlightenment. The Wisdom of Successful Performance is employed in this body so the Buddha can "function perceptually within that body." 2) The Enjoyment body is a luminescent, subtle, limitless form that the Buddha uses to teach Bodhisattvas, the beings at the final stage prior to enlightenment. There are many Enjoyment bodies, each having a heaven, or Pure Land, outside the normal world system, where "it is easy to hear and practice the dharma." The wisdom of Equality corresponds to this body. 3) The Dharma body has two aspects: a) The knowledge body, which is the inner nature shared by all Buddhas, manifests as omniscient knowledge, perfect wisdom, and the highest spiritual qualities. b) The self-existent body representing the ultimate nature of reality, thusness and emptiness. It is the transformed storehouse-consciousness [8] and is the body that is realized on attaining enlightenment. This body is equated with Great Mirror wisdom.
4/ THREE WISDOMS 1) Before enlightenment there is only applied wisdom which is discursive and is used in the everyday world. Once this knowledge is focused towards enlightenment, it becomes a preparation for acquiring fundamental wisdom. In the state of enlightenment there is only pure wisdom which has two aspects; fundamental wisdom and subsequently-attained wisdom. 2) Fundamental wisdom is the foundation. It is insight without distinction-making and is non-discriminative, so it is knowledge without subject/object duality. This is wisdom that is beyond words and concepts; it is pure contemplation that knows True Suchness is the basis of reality. Fundamental wisdom brings forth:
3) Subsequently-attained wisdom is a pure form of knowledge that flows out of non-distinction making, so it is "purified mundane knowledge." This is an expedient wisdom that can analyze dharmas without becoming attached, so it can "eliminate confusion about phenomena..." Although this discriminative knowledge is at a lower level than fundamental wisdom, it is used by the Buddha for the purpose of benefiting others; all the Buddha's teaching is attained wisdom. This kind of wisdom explains how, in enlightenment, a person can still deal with relative appearances in the everyday world.
5/ CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness is awareness of a "self". The fundamental doctrine of the Yogacara school is "that all phenomenal existence is fabricated by consciousness." Consciousness is the basis of all activities from birth to attaining enlightenment; "...all is based upon the coming into being and the ceasing to be of consciousness, i.e., of distinctions in the mind." Consciousness is the distinction making activity of the mind, both in making and having distinctions, including the states we consider the conscious as well as the unconscious. Consciousness, in making distinctions between self and other, becomes the subject which treats everything else as object. Consciousness itself is real. It exists as a series, or stream, of successive momentary awareness of events, each immediately replaced by consciousness in the next moment. Consciousness "has no substantiality ...and is dependent on the consciousnessof the preceding instant."
Since everything, until the attainment of wisdom in enlightenment, is consciousness, all objects in the external world are just "representations" in our consciousness. Since everything is just an aspect of consciousness, all phenomenal existence is without intrinsic nature . Therefore, the "I" is illusory and there is no "self" to be found; everything is just a phenomenon of consciousness. Eventually, consciousness that is attached to these representations and makes distinctions has to be clarifiedinto wisdom which is free of all attachments.
There is nothing separate or independent from consciousness. The world is our perceptual construct and an analysis of the unenlightened mind will show different levels of perception which are based in a storehouse consciousness [8] containing the karmic seeds [6] of former actions.
6/ KARMA
The result of our intentional actions is karma. The consequences of these actions remain as traces or seeds planted in the storehouse consciousness. These seeds germinate over time and generate more seeds. Therefore, our lives, are driven by past actions which compel us to decisions about future actions. The theory of karma accounts for the "continuity of personality through death, or unconsciousness..." Once a seed produces its fruit, it is used up. However, new seeds come to fruition in each moment. Until the time of enlightenment, while we continue to believe in the reality of our perceptual framework, this process "...creates seeds that will ripen into further delusion."
Because of the similarity of karmic seeds, and the corresponding delusions they produce, our perception of the world matches that of other people. Consequently, in our samsara (the cycle of existence and rebirth that is the cause of suffering), we are usually in agreement with others about the external sensible world. We also experience interaction via our streams of mental phenomena, since one person's mental representations can effect those of another.
The karmic process has three stages: 1) Giving rise to delusion has one root in the sixth consciousness [10], whose actionslead to activity and therefore karma. 2) Creating karma involves planting seeds in the eighth consciousness [8]. The ongoing cycle of life, death, and rebirth draws the eighth consciousness back into the six levels of existence [15]. 3) Finally, undergoing retribution is the germination of karmic seeds; we reap what we have sown.
7/ DHARMAS
"Dharmas are the ultimate factors that support 'existence'...." They are basic interdependent patterns within the overall nature of reality. Each dharma is a mental-construct with a specific process that consists of a stream of momentary events. Dharmas are attachments to an illusory reality. In terms of process and events dharmas interact with all eight consciousnesses.
Yogacara posits one hundred dharmas, which can be categorized according to the three natures [14], since dharmas lack any real self-existence. There are five categories of dharmas (in descending order): First; the eight mind dharmas are supreme and manifest as the eight consciousnesses. Second; the fifty-one dharmas interactive with the mind supplement the mind dharmas and are subdivided into six categories: 1) five universally interactive (attention, conceptualization, etc.), 2) five particular states (desire, concentration, etc.), 3) eleven wholesome (faith, shame, renunciation, etc.), 4) six fundamental afflictions (greed, anger, etc.), 5) twenty derivative afflictions (deceit, jealousy, torpor, lack of shame, etc.), and 6) four unfixed (sleep, regret, etc.). The afflictions and wholesome dharmas represent further categorizations of distinctions in the sixth consciousness. Third; the eleven form dharmas (sounds, flavors, objects of touch, etc.) are shadows of the first and second categories. Fourth; the twenty-four dharmas not interactive with the mind (time, birth, distinction, etc.) are positions not found in the first, second, or third categories. Fifth; the six unconditioned dharmas (empty space, extinction of feeling, thinking, etc.) are dharmas revealed by the first four categories.
The realization that all dharmas are nothing but mental-constructs is an essential step on the path to enlightenment. In that final state the wisdom of Wonderful Contemplation "understands without distortion the individual and universal dharmas...."
8/ EIGHTH CONSCIOUSNESS
In Yogacara theory everything is "mind only" and this consciousness is divided into eight sections. The principal part of consciousness is the alaya or "storehouse consciousness" which is the basis of the seven other consciousnesses. All eight comprise the mind dharmas and the fifty dharmas that interact with the mind.
The alaya consciousness is also known as the "repository of impressions." From the alaya arise all of our ideas of self, ego, and their respective functions in the external world. If the alaya is imagined as a vast ocean, then the seven other consciousness are waves on its surface. The seven are not separate from the eighth, nor do they disturb the stillness of its depths; all eight are essentially one.
The eighth consciousness is "beyond the dualisms of subject and object, or existence and non-existence," so it does not have any purposive activity and is unaware of objects. Since it does not make distinctions, and is neither good or bad, the eighth consciousness is said to have the state of equanimity.
The alaya consciousness is the "karmic" storehouse which contains seeds generated by our unenlightened actions. Although it does not create karma, the alaya functions as the subject of retribution for past intentional activities. The process of ripening of seeds, thinking, and perception of objects is all subjective and "neither the process nor its results have any real existence." Because of the "...karmic activity of the seven consciousnesses" the alaya continues developing karmic seeds which, in their fruition, influence future attachments and activities via the three realms [16] and the nine grounds [17].
Final freedom from the samsaric process occurs when all "the defiled seeds are replaced by pure seeds created by pure deeds." The alaya also contains "intrinsically pure seeds" which are the source of our motivation towards enlightenment. Upon enlightenment the eighth consciousness becomes empty of ripening seeds and is transformed into the Great Mirror wisdom.
The alaya has two divisions; the perceiving (the subject) and the perceived (the object). The former is linked to the seventh consciousness [9], while the latter is linked to the sixth consciousness [10] and the five perceptual consciousnesses [13]. When the perceived division is transformed during enlightenment it becomes subsequently-attained wisdom [3].
9/ SEVENTH CONSCIOUSNESS The seventh consciousness obscures a person's true nature with the ego concept of "I". It is also known as the "defiling/transmitter consciousness" because it is the home of the illusory "...ego individuality with which it defiles the first six consciousnesses..." by obscuring them with its concepts of self. The seventh consciousness also defiles the eighth consciousness by attributing to it characteristics of a real "self" that exists in space and time.
The seventh's mode of knowledge is fallacy [11] caused by its innate attachments [21]. Since the seventh consciousness bases its decisions on relative, defiled knowledge from the dharma of judgment, it is built on false assumptions which give it four types of delusion; pride of self, self-love, self-delusion, and self-conceit. It also supports the eight major-grade derivative afflictions (laziness, distraction, lack of faith, etc.).
10/ SIXTH CONSCIOUSNESS Cognition and perception take place in the sixth consciousness. The sixth, along with the five perceptual consciousnesses [13], perceives worldly phenomena. The sixth takes "manifestations of the five aggregates (the five "heaps" of dharmas) as object...[and] generates various non-continuous concepts of self." This process also includes its interaction with the fifty-one dharmas interactive with the mind.
The sixth consciousness distinguishes between good and evil and makes moral determinations about the input of the five perceptual consciousnesses. It also uses the dharmas of the basic and subsidiary afflictions along with the three natures [14] and the three modes of knowledge [11] which pervade the three states [12]. In these processes the sixth consciousness creates karma by its examination and decisions which then lead to physical activity.
In the eighth ground [17] "the sixth's...attachment to the perceiver division of the eighth...consciousness...is abandoned, so there is no longer attachment to self, only dharmas."
by Roger Zim
A Paper Prepared for Philosophy 772 "Yogacara Buddhism" San Francisco State University Fall, 1995
If we do not have in ourselves the Buddha mind, then where are we to seek Buddha?
INTRODUCTION: The Yogacara school, also known as the "consciousness-only" school, is a fourth century outgrowth of Mahayana Madhyamika Buddhism. The Yogacaras, "by establishing a systematic presentation of mind,...a world-view based on their three-nature theory...and...a path system..." of Buddhist practice, conceived a new philosophical system that "brought Mahayana thought to its full scope and completion." Yogacara itself is not a specific meditative practice, but is meant to be applied as a descriptive tool to understand situations of action and intention. The final goal is the complete clarification of consciousness into wisdom. As Harvey says: The intention of the school...is not to propound a mere philosophical viewpoint, but to develop a perspective which will facilitate enlightenment. This paper is intended as a simple survey of Yogacara. Its purpose is to give a general schema and overview of Yogacara with a minimum of doctrinal analysis. Therefore, details of Yogacara history and the context of its development have not been included. Sanskrit terms also have been avoided, except where there is no equivalent term in English. The paper is divided into numbered sections which describe the components of Yogacara theory. Since the components of Yogacara are like blocks that together make a unified structure, their order within the paper is arbitrary (ideally you should read all the sections simultaneously). The components are presented beginning with the simplicity of enlightenment through the increasing complexity of the process of consciousness. Terms, or components, not previously explained or defined are followed by a number in brackets [ ] that indicates a section with more information.
1/ THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT The purpose and goal of human life is to reach enlightenment. Yogagcara considers enlightenment a state of True Suchness, or Thusness, meaning that it is the ultimate nature of all things. In reality enlightenment is the only truly existent state. In the perfect clarity of enlightenment there is total awareness and complete understanding. There is no discrimination between inside and outside, or internal and external. In enlightenment there is only the singular total truth of unity, which subsumes the "I" of the ego-differentiated self. After enlightenment the mind's process of seeking outside itself ceases, as does the process of sending energy out (in the form of attachments to the external conditional world). Rather, the mind is now contemplative absorbing energy for the benefit of itself and humanity, like a flower absorbing the rays of the sun.
2/ ENLIGHTENED WISDOM Although the enlightened mind is one, it is useful to classify its activities into four types of enlightened wisdom which are the functions of the Buddhic mind. These reflect the transformation of the eight consciousnesses [8] into fundamental wisdom [3] : 1. The five perceptual consciousnesses [13] become the wisdom of Successful Performance. "This wisdom is characterized by pure and unimpeded functioning (no attachment or distortion) in its relation to the (sense) organs and their objects." 2. The sixth consciousness [10] becomes the wisdom of Wonderful Contemplation which "has two aspects corresponding to understanding of the emptiness of self and of the emptiness of dharmas [7]." With this wisdom the Buddha knows all dharmas, without distortion or obstruction, and, in that way knowing the mental and physical condition of all beings,...[can] teach them most effectively." 3) The seventh consciousness [9] becomes the wisdom of Equality. which "understands the nature of the equality of self and other and of all beings." 4) The eighth consciousness becomes the Great Mirror wisdom. This wisdom reflects the entire universe without distortion. Although the four wisdoms do not manifest completely until enlightenment, aspects of Wonderful Contemplation and Great Mirror wisdom begin to function in a lesser degree before enlightenment.
3/ THREE BUDDHIC BODIES The Buddha is said to have three bodies. Only the third, the Dharma body, is real. The Transformation and Enjoyment bodies are emanations of the Dharma body, and are relative expedient bodies corresponding to unenlightened consciousness. 1) The Transformation body, also called the Body of Self Mastery, refers to a physical body in the phenomenal world. This body is necessary for the Buddha to teach humanity the path to enlightenment. The Wisdom of Successful Performance is employed in this body so the Buddha can "function perceptually within that body." 2) The Enjoyment body is a luminescent, subtle, limitless form that the Buddha uses to teach Bodhisattvas, the beings at the final stage prior to enlightenment. There are many Enjoyment bodies, each having a heaven, or Pure Land, outside the normal world system, where "it is easy to hear and practice the dharma." The wisdom of Equality corresponds to this body. 3) The Dharma body has two aspects: a) The knowledge body, which is the inner nature shared by all Buddhas, manifests as omniscient knowledge, perfect wisdom, and the highest spiritual qualities. b) The self-existent body representing the ultimate nature of reality, thusness and emptiness. It is the transformed storehouse-consciousness [8] and is the body that is realized on attaining enlightenment. This body is equated with Great Mirror wisdom.
4/ THREE WISDOMS 1) Before enlightenment there is only applied wisdom which is discursive and is used in the everyday world. Once this knowledge is focused towards enlightenment, it becomes a preparation for acquiring fundamental wisdom. In the state of enlightenment there is only pure wisdom which has two aspects; fundamental wisdom and subsequently-attained wisdom. 2) Fundamental wisdom is the foundation. It is insight without distinction-making and is non-discriminative, so it is knowledge without subject/object duality. This is wisdom that is beyond words and concepts; it is pure contemplation that knows True Suchness is the basis of reality. Fundamental wisdom brings forth:
3) Subsequently-attained wisdom is a pure form of knowledge that flows out of non-distinction making, so it is "purified mundane knowledge." This is an expedient wisdom that can analyze dharmas without becoming attached, so it can "eliminate confusion about phenomena..." Although this discriminative knowledge is at a lower level than fundamental wisdom, it is used by the Buddha for the purpose of benefiting others; all the Buddha's teaching is attained wisdom. This kind of wisdom explains how, in enlightenment, a person can still deal with relative appearances in the everyday world.
5/ CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness is awareness of a "self". The fundamental doctrine of the Yogacara school is "that all phenomenal existence is fabricated by consciousness." Consciousness is the basis of all activities from birth to attaining enlightenment; "...all is based upon the coming into being and the ceasing to be of consciousness, i.e., of distinctions in the mind." Consciousness is the distinction making activity of the mind, both in making and having distinctions, including the states we consider the conscious as well as the unconscious. Consciousness, in making distinctions between self and other, becomes the subject which treats everything else as object. Consciousness itself is real. It exists as a series, or stream, of successive momentary awareness of events, each immediately replaced by consciousness in the next moment. Consciousness "has no substantiality ...and is dependent on the consciousnessof the preceding instant."
Since everything, until the attainment of wisdom in enlightenment, is consciousness, all objects in the external world are just "representations" in our consciousness. Since everything is just an aspect of consciousness, all phenomenal existence is without intrinsic nature . Therefore, the "I" is illusory and there is no "self" to be found; everything is just a phenomenon of consciousness. Eventually, consciousness that is attached to these representations and makes distinctions has to be clarifiedinto wisdom which is free of all attachments.
There is nothing separate or independent from consciousness. The world is our perceptual construct and an analysis of the unenlightened mind will show different levels of perception which are based in a storehouse consciousness [8] containing the karmic seeds [6] of former actions.
6/ KARMA
The result of our intentional actions is karma. The consequences of these actions remain as traces or seeds planted in the storehouse consciousness. These seeds germinate over time and generate more seeds. Therefore, our lives, are driven by past actions which compel us to decisions about future actions. The theory of karma accounts for the "continuity of personality through death, or unconsciousness..." Once a seed produces its fruit, it is used up. However, new seeds come to fruition in each moment. Until the time of enlightenment, while we continue to believe in the reality of our perceptual framework, this process "...creates seeds that will ripen into further delusion."
Because of the similarity of karmic seeds, and the corresponding delusions they produce, our perception of the world matches that of other people. Consequently, in our samsara (the cycle of existence and rebirth that is the cause of suffering), we are usually in agreement with others about the external sensible world. We also experience interaction via our streams of mental phenomena, since one person's mental representations can effect those of another.
The karmic process has three stages: 1) Giving rise to delusion has one root in the sixth consciousness [10], whose actionslead to activity and therefore karma. 2) Creating karma involves planting seeds in the eighth consciousness [8]. The ongoing cycle of life, death, and rebirth draws the eighth consciousness back into the six levels of existence [15]. 3) Finally, undergoing retribution is the germination of karmic seeds; we reap what we have sown.
7/ DHARMAS
"Dharmas are the ultimate factors that support 'existence'...." They are basic interdependent patterns within the overall nature of reality. Each dharma is a mental-construct with a specific process that consists of a stream of momentary events. Dharmas are attachments to an illusory reality. In terms of process and events dharmas interact with all eight consciousnesses.
Yogacara posits one hundred dharmas, which can be categorized according to the three natures [14], since dharmas lack any real self-existence. There are five categories of dharmas (in descending order): First; the eight mind dharmas are supreme and manifest as the eight consciousnesses. Second; the fifty-one dharmas interactive with the mind supplement the mind dharmas and are subdivided into six categories: 1) five universally interactive (attention, conceptualization, etc.), 2) five particular states (desire, concentration, etc.), 3) eleven wholesome (faith, shame, renunciation, etc.), 4) six fundamental afflictions (greed, anger, etc.), 5) twenty derivative afflictions (deceit, jealousy, torpor, lack of shame, etc.), and 6) four unfixed (sleep, regret, etc.). The afflictions and wholesome dharmas represent further categorizations of distinctions in the sixth consciousness. Third; the eleven form dharmas (sounds, flavors, objects of touch, etc.) are shadows of the first and second categories. Fourth; the twenty-four dharmas not interactive with the mind (time, birth, distinction, etc.) are positions not found in the first, second, or third categories. Fifth; the six unconditioned dharmas (empty space, extinction of feeling, thinking, etc.) are dharmas revealed by the first four categories.
The realization that all dharmas are nothing but mental-constructs is an essential step on the path to enlightenment. In that final state the wisdom of Wonderful Contemplation "understands without distortion the individual and universal dharmas...."
8/ EIGHTH CONSCIOUSNESS
In Yogacara theory everything is "mind only" and this consciousness is divided into eight sections. The principal part of consciousness is the alaya or "storehouse consciousness" which is the basis of the seven other consciousnesses. All eight comprise the mind dharmas and the fifty dharmas that interact with the mind.
The alaya consciousness is also known as the "repository of impressions." From the alaya arise all of our ideas of self, ego, and their respective functions in the external world. If the alaya is imagined as a vast ocean, then the seven other consciousness are waves on its surface. The seven are not separate from the eighth, nor do they disturb the stillness of its depths; all eight are essentially one.
The eighth consciousness is "beyond the dualisms of subject and object, or existence and non-existence," so it does not have any purposive activity and is unaware of objects. Since it does not make distinctions, and is neither good or bad, the eighth consciousness is said to have the state of equanimity.
The alaya consciousness is the "karmic" storehouse which contains seeds generated by our unenlightened actions. Although it does not create karma, the alaya functions as the subject of retribution for past intentional activities. The process of ripening of seeds, thinking, and perception of objects is all subjective and "neither the process nor its results have any real existence." Because of the "...karmic activity of the seven consciousnesses" the alaya continues developing karmic seeds which, in their fruition, influence future attachments and activities via the three realms [16] and the nine grounds [17].
Final freedom from the samsaric process occurs when all "the defiled seeds are replaced by pure seeds created by pure deeds." The alaya also contains "intrinsically pure seeds" which are the source of our motivation towards enlightenment. Upon enlightenment the eighth consciousness becomes empty of ripening seeds and is transformed into the Great Mirror wisdom.
The alaya has two divisions; the perceiving (the subject) and the perceived (the object). The former is linked to the seventh consciousness [9], while the latter is linked to the sixth consciousness [10] and the five perceptual consciousnesses [13]. When the perceived division is transformed during enlightenment it becomes subsequently-attained wisdom [3].
9/ SEVENTH CONSCIOUSNESS The seventh consciousness obscures a person's true nature with the ego concept of "I". It is also known as the "defiling/transmitter consciousness" because it is the home of the illusory "...ego individuality with which it defiles the first six consciousnesses..." by obscuring them with its concepts of self. The seventh consciousness also defiles the eighth consciousness by attributing to it characteristics of a real "self" that exists in space and time.
The seventh's mode of knowledge is fallacy [11] caused by its innate attachments [21]. Since the seventh consciousness bases its decisions on relative, defiled knowledge from the dharma of judgment, it is built on false assumptions which give it four types of delusion; pride of self, self-love, self-delusion, and self-conceit. It also supports the eight major-grade derivative afflictions (laziness, distraction, lack of faith, etc.).
10/ SIXTH CONSCIOUSNESS Cognition and perception take place in the sixth consciousness. The sixth, along with the five perceptual consciousnesses [13], perceives worldly phenomena. The sixth takes "manifestations of the five aggregates (the five "heaps" of dharmas) as object...[and] generates various non-continuous concepts of self." This process also includes its interaction with the fifty-one dharmas interactive with the mind.
The sixth consciousness distinguishes between good and evil and makes moral determinations about the input of the five perceptual consciousnesses. It also uses the dharmas of the basic and subsidiary afflictions along with the three natures [14] and the three modes of knowledge [11] which pervade the three states [12]. In these processes the sixth consciousness creates karma by its examination and decisions which then lead to physical activity.
In the eighth ground [17] "the sixth's...attachment to the perceiver division of the eighth...consciousness...is abandoned, so there is no longer attachment to self, only dharmas."
11/ THREE MODES OF KNOWLEDGE Distinction making, which is used by the sixth consciousness, involves subject and object. The subject has three types of knowledge: 1) Direct veridical perception, functioning with the five perceptual consciousnesses, gives a truthful picture of reality, for example: The apple is red.
2) Inference is assumptions based on perception: The apple will taste good.
3) Fallacious knowledge is our dreams, imaginings, and hallucinations: This apple will cure my dandruff.
12/ THREE KINDS OF STATES
The second part of distinction making, refers to the objects of perception:
1) The natural state is perceived aspects of consciousness undistorted by attachments to self, others, or dharmas. This stateis unconditioned by mental causation and corresponds to the perceptual consciousnesses, for example: You see a dog.
2) State of solitary impressions refers to imagined categories in the sixth consciousness: It is a good dog.
3) State of transposed substance are the distortions of false thinking generated by the concept of "self": The dog likes my good vibes.
13/ PERCEPTUAL CONSCIOUSNESSES
The fifth through first consciousnesses are the perceptual consciousnesses. They comprise the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile senses. These senses arise from the perceived division of the eighth consciousness. Each organ of perception has two parts: 1) its physical substance (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, or body) and the nerves connecting it to the perceived division and 2) its mental component. They can appear in any order or all at once, depending on the situation; for instance, an illness or shock can stop their operation. The five perceptual consciousnesses interact with the thirty-one dharmas interactive with the mind and work in conjunction with the sixth consciousness which processes their input to construct a mental picture of reality. After perceptions from the first five consciousnesses are assimilated in the sixth consciousness, they are introduced into the seventh consciousness, which puts these cognitions into the eighth as though the latter were a real "self". This continual process plants more karmic seeds in the eighth consciousness.
None of the five perceptual consciousnesses contain the potential for making moral distinctions, so they are of indeterminate nature [19]. All five function on the first of the nine grounds, while eyes, ears, and body also occupy the second ground. None of them arise after the second ground - the first dyhana [17]. The five perceptual consciousness are:
Fifth consciousness: This is consciousness of the body, or tactile feeling. It perceives through contact, i.e.; touch.
Fourth consciousness: Tongue consciousness or tasting also perceives through contact. After the second ground this perception ceases to function.
Third consciousness: Nose consciousness, or smelling, perceives through contact. After the second ground this perception also ceases.
Second consciousness: Ear consciousness or hearing perceives at a distance.
First consciousness: Eye consciousness or seeing perceives at a distance.
14/ THREE NATURES
The theory of the three natures is one of the central concepts of Yogacara philosophy. Although there is just one world it can be perceived in three ways, hence three natures also known as the "three characteristics". The three natures are a perspective on experience "...both a type of real or supposed knowledge, and a degree of reality that this knowledge relates to." All three natures are involved in direct perception and "...represent all states of entities without exception."
1) The imaginary nature is constructed of subject/object discriminations. It is the nature that accepts the reality of the "self". In Yogacara theory all objects, internal and external, are constructs which only exist as part of our awareness, so their nature is imaginary. There is no reality in this nature, it is just illusion. This nature accepts the validity of the illusory, i.e., that happiness depends on having a new car. The imaginary nature believes in the reality of the the water in a mirage.
2) The other-dependent or interdependent nature is the basis from which the imaginary nature arises and the perfected nature appears. The other-dependent nature is produced by "...the flow of changing mental phenomena...that arise from causes and conditions." These dharmas are real (as conditional things), but "because we impose an imaginary 'self-existence' upon our experience of them, we come up with distorted images...[of] things...." This causes suffering (samsara), since our mental constructs do not match reality. The other-dependent nature is the mirage itself.
3) The perfected or fulfilled nature is the ultimate nature; the only one that is absolutely real. However, it is "...neither the same as, nor different..." from the other-dependent. The perfected nature is devoid of duality and sees the world as "representation only". Since it is always exactly the same, it is the "thusness" of all. The perfected nature knows it is seeing a mirage.
To see the inter-relationship of our mind processes (i.e.; the other-dependent nature) as being without real objective qualifications of their own (imaginary nature) is to be enlightened (perfected nature). Once the false concept of "I" and "object" is removed, the result is "things-as-they-are", which is nirvana.
15/ SIX LEVELS OF EXISTENCE Depicted as the wheel of existence, the six destinies, or the Wheel of Becoming, these are the possible types of reincarnation:
1) Gods - residing in heaven
2) Asuras - spirits or titans
3) Humans
4) Animals
5) Hungry ghosts - spirits of suffering
6) Beings in hell
16/ THREE REALMS
The distinctions made by the sixth consciousness cause the manifestation of the six levels of existence in the three realms:
1) Realm of Desire
2) Realm of Form - the four dhyanas
3) Formless Realm - four samadhis [17]
17/ NINE GROUNDS The nine bodhisattva grounds are stages, within the three realms, of spiritual attainment:
REALM OF DESIRE
First ground: This is the phenomenal world which includes the destinies of the six levels of existence and the six desire "heavens".
REALM OF FORM
Second ground: The Joyful Stage of Leaving Production is the first dhyana, a level of deep awareness, contemplative calm, and one-pointed concentration. The four dhyanas are meditative techniques which produce a state of mental emptiness (samadhi). This is the first formal level on the path to enlightenment and is marked by happiness, joy, clear reasoning, and the state of investigation and examination.
Third ground: The Joyful Stage of the Arising of Samadhi is the second dhyana of joy and pleasure, but now free of investigation and examination. At this stage sexual desire has ceased.
Fourth ground: The Stage of Wonderful Bliss of Being Apart from Joy is the third dhyana of happiness and equanimity, but now without joy.
Fifth ground: The Stage of Renouncing Thought is the fourth dhyana which is the purity of equanimity without pain or pleasure.
FORMLESS REALM
The Four Stations of Samadhi, or emptiness:
Sixth ground: Infinite Space. Meditation with characteristics was used until this point but now meditation without characteristics becomes predominant, and continues in the next three grounds.
Seventh ground: The Far-Reaching Ground or Infinite Consciousness. At this level the seventh consciousness breaks its attachment to the eighth consciousness as being the "self" and is transformed into the wisdom of Equality. In the first through seventh grounds, "...the sixth and seventh consciousnesses [are being] transformed into their respective wisdoms."
Eighth ground: The Unmoving Ground or Nothing Whatsoever. Here all outflows "from the sixth and seventh consciousnesses [stop]... and the wisdom of Wonderful Contemplation proceeds spontaneously...."
Ninth ground: Neither Cognition nor Non-cognition. In this ground is the samadhi of the extinction of feeling and cognition.
18/ THREE KINDS OF FEELING These three typify the basic emotional and perceptual experiences we undergo, so they are an "analysis of experiential effect." Any experience must fall into one of these categories:
1) Pleasure 2) Pain 3) Neutral feelings
19/ THREE MORAL NATURES
The activities of the sixth consciousness can be characterized as having one of the three moral natures which are "an analysis of causal activity" and change from moment to moment.
1) If an action is beneficial it is considered to be wholesome. It is the result of the fruition of "good" karmic seeds from wholesome activity in the past. Wholesome activity is accompanied by the eleven wholesome dharmas.
2) The opposite is true for unwholesome action; it will generate further unwholesome seeds, so "...the dharmas of affliction arise in conjunction with it."
3) Indeterminate actions are neutral; they are neither beneficial nor not beneficial. These actions are found in the five perceptual consciousnesses.
20/ THE PROCESS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Enlightenment is not achieved through only "conceptual understanding." Since everything prior to wisdom is consciousness, enlightenment requires an internal transformation of consciousness. Initially, if we can begin to distinguish that there is a difference between the constructs of the relative, conditioned mind and the pure, absolute enlightened mind, then we can "...leave the former and dwell in the latter." For to "...ascend to the wisdom of enlightenment necessitates negating samsaric reality, while aspiring to the nirvanic ideal."
The process of the transformation of consciousness is threefold:
1) The seeds of past actions automatically ripen into the form of mental phenomena which we believe to be external events. This is the retribution process that occurs in the eighth consciousness. The ongoing sprouting of karmic seeds gives us belief in the "reality" of our senses, of our body, and the external world which we "know" via a process of five mental operations: 1) the connection between the exterior object and the sense organ, 2) the mind focusing on the object, 3) our experience of the object, 4) recognizing and categorizing the object, and 5) making a judgment about the object.
2) The seventh consciousness, which deals with cognition and mentation, believes in a "self" represented by the eighth consciousness. Since the eighth contains all the seeds, the seventh takes it as its object.
3) The six other consciousnesses are responsible for perception via the five modes of perception and their mental assimilation.
21/ TYPES OF ATTACHMENT TO SELF We have attachments to self and to dharmas which create obstacles that prevent realization. Attachments are divided into two types:
1) Innate attachments are present at birth. They are subtle and exist in all sentient beings. Innate attachments are found in both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. When the state of no outflows (enlightenment) is reached innate attachments are eliminated.
2) Distinguished attachments are learned. They are less subtle and more obvious than innate attachments and come from the distinction making process of the fifth and sixth consciousnesses.
22/ FIVE STAGE PATH
Yogacara recognizes a five stage process, or path, to enlightenment:
1) Resources, or gathering provisions, is the stage of subduing the phenomenon of duality based on learned attachments toself and dharmas. This helps us see our life experience with increased understanding, so we can act in ways that lead us in the direction of enlightenment. By applying Yogacara theory to everyday activities we can replace subjective concepts with more objective information about consciousness. In this stage, and the next, applied or provisional wisdom, which is dependent on mental constructs, is utilized. For example, the dharmas of resolution (remorse and shame) and the dharmas interactive with the mind help us deal with our conditioned nature.
2) Application is the stage of using meditations to enter into the four dhyanas. This process is completed when the seeds in the eighth consciousness, that ripen into concepts of subject and object, are eliminated. Neither in resources nor applicationis there a manifestation of pure wisdom.
3) Vision is the beginning of the transformation of consciousness into wisdom. This process begins with entrance into the first of the nine Bodhisattva grounds where conditional applied wisdom, that is dependent upon distinctions, is gradually superseded by fundamental and attained wisdom.
4) Meditational development covers the eight remaining grounds while eliminating all the seeds of the innate attachments to self and to dharmas. In the second through seventh grounds all three types of wisdom are still used; applied wisdom to deal with attachments still present, subsequently-attained wisdom in meditation that have characteristics, and fundamental wisdom in meditations without characteristics. In the last three grounds just fundamental wisdom (in meditation) andsubsequently attained wisdom (for actions) are utilized.
5) Perfection is the final stage of completion. There one resides in the state of contemplation of pure wisdom and enlightenment.
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------http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Yogacara/basicideas.htm
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