DHARMA EXPLORATIONS
with Bonni Ross

OVERVIEW OF BUDDHIST MEDITATION (3)

We do this work to expand awareness, deepen wisdom and increase compassion for the benefit of all beings.

Why is it necessary to go to all this effort to learn about meditation? If it is true that the force of Universe is moving all of us in the direction of awakening, why the emphasis on this seemingly artificial "practice"?

The answer is that the "individual" consciousness, associated with a particular body, and the story that develops with it, is subject to many distortions which have accumulated on its journey from beginingless time until now. These distortions have three root causes: intentions and actions arising from hatred; from greed, and from ignorance. Obviously, there are many variations on each of these three themes. If this were not the case, the awakened state would be fully realized, because this transcendence is the fabric upon which our lives are woven. It is only because we carry the screens, blinds and filters created by past unwholesome activity that we are not able to perceive this reality right now.

These negative roots in consciousness create a cycle of difficulties, or hindrances, both in meditation practice and in life. Knowledge and observation of how this cycle feeds upon itself is helpful in understanding how unwholesome patterning repeats itself, thus creating future negative experience. Through this sort of observation we can avoid being blindly caught up in the repetition, and gradually begin to break the chains of habit that perpetuate our suffering.

The first of these hindrances is wanting something to happen, for the meditator this often takes the form of desire for results. If one is happily expectant and open-minded, whatever arises is interesting, even if difficult. When one has ideas about what should be happening, or what one wants to happen, and those ideas do not actually manifest, then the second hindrance makes its presence known: frustration.

The Buddha's definition of suffering was: not getting what you want (greed), and having too much of what you don't want (hatred). One could add: being confused about which is which (ignorance)! This wanting/frustration collusion causes the consciousness to freeze, no movement is possible, and this gives rise to the third hindrance, mental and/or physical exhaustion or collapse. Following on this rather dull state of being, as the flow of Universe continues to work away at the blockage, and states of agitation or disturbance, physical and/or mental begin to arise -- the fourth hindrance. This restlessness creates the opportunity for the fifth hindrance to manifest -- skepticism.

Unlike the curious, questioning, wholesome mind that wonders and speculates and explores, with openness to whatever experiences arise, the skeptical doubter weighs all experience against a pre-determined set of criteria and refuses to put new data or concepts to the test of personal experience. And this feeds directly back into the first hindrance: wanting a particular result or experience. And off we go again . . .

These conditioned, negative states have a terrific hold on us! Their tenacity is the reason the first meditation practices -- to develop calm, or tranquillity -- centre around training the mind to concentrate on one simple object, such as a colour, a natural form or the breath. We spoke last week of the three-stage development of meditative concentration: effort to stabilize and strengthen, steady and intense focus with secondary sensory inputs unable to distract, and complete absorption, or union, with the object.

This state of absorption has specific stages and can be developed with effort and lots of practice. It is important to cultivate for the simple reason that, while absorption is present, those nasty hindrances are temporarily suspended. One has the sense, when emerging from a state of full absorption into normal, waking consciousness again, that for a time all one's burdens have been lifted. There is a sense of what it might feel like to live in an awakened state!

The stages of absorption begin with the initial effort to focus on the object, remembering to return to it again and again when distractions interfere. Then involvement deepens so that less will-power is needed -- there is a natural-feeling, magnetic attraction to the object. When this state is present, one begins to experience the loosening movements of the energy body, or fine material body that we spoke of last week. These loosenings can be extremely pleasurable, full-body experiences of bliss, can be localized tingling and twitching and can also be rather unpleasant manifestations such as diarrhea or vomiting or itching.

As the fine-material energies begin to circulate more freely, beginning to clear blocks in the system, a feeling of wholeness, or well-being establishes itself in consciousness and one feels extremely calm and balanced. Continued resting in this happy state of equanimity leads to the one-pointed, or unitive experience of full absorption.

The first practices that the Buddha gave to train meditators in the development of absorption were very simple discs, called kasinas in the ancient language. These would be sized by each meditator according to hand measurements (the fingers of one hand expanded, plus the four fingers of the other side-by-side) and created with great care and craft to be as perfect as possible using the natural materials that were available at the time.

The first discs were of different colours: blue, yellow, red and white. Each colour has a range of vibration that affects the human organism, regardless of culture, in a specific way. Cool colours (the blue-green range) tend to soothe and slow down, warm colours (red to yellow) tend to activate or speed up -- on the physical, metabolic level. To effect the organism in this direct, visceral way also changes the state of consciousness: blue calms, yellow loosens, red strengthens, white purifies and integrates. Present-day teachers will often begin with a green disc practice for stability -- an attribute that was more or less automatic for beings 2,500 years ago who spent most of their lives in forest or jungle, but is greatly lacking for city-conditioned westerners.

The next category of discs to be studied could be the elements of earth, water, fire and air; the building-blocks of form. Finally, two further practices, bounded space and light, would be added. These are extremely powerful, profound meditations best practiced in a protected, retreat situation under the guidance of an experienced and trusted mentor.

These ten meditations all develop by training the mind to focus, first on the hand-made outer, physical object. When that object can be seen with complete detail and clarity on the inner plane, the concentration is directed unwaveringly to the visualized object. Each of these practices has very specific inner signs that arise in an orderly fashion as concentration develops. The manifestation of these experiences indicates to both teacher and student that the practice is complete.

So, of the 40 practices taught by the Buddha, we have now covered ten! Next week we will go further with our study of tranquility meditations.

May all beings be well and happy! May the energy of our shared exploration benefit the awakening process of all beings!