The Teacher Buddha and His Mission

Lesson 12                      Mindfulness: The Natural Art of Attention   

What is Mindfulness? Normally, when one asks, the reply is vague and often circular. Clearly one does something with the mind. Actually, it is a translation of the Pali word “Sati” and Sati is an activity. Thus we can say that Mindfulness is active and not passive. But what exactly is Mindfulness supposed to do as a natural process?

Certainly it is an interface between the apparent external world and the apparent internal world that one considers as one’s “self”, which we know is illusion. We also know that all that can be known of the world is illusion and that these illusions, including that of a “self”, are  known by way of the process of CONSCIOUSNESS.

With regard to the apparent external world, this Consciousness, as an integral part of the system, detects the presence of the SENSE DOORS (which are the sensors of vision, audition, touch, olfaction and taste) and the MIND DOOR of perception, and reads all the stimulating sensations of these receptors on the SCREEN OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

This SCREEN is actually the apparent site of all CONSCIOUS AWARENESS. It is the apparent source of all the CONSCIOUS INFORMATION which we have about the apparently real world.

When we direct the SENSE DOOR CONSCIOUSNESS in a manner which is efficient so that everything appears within the SCREEN OF CONSCIOUSNESS, then we say that we are using ATTENTION. We can be in a state of attention and at the same time in REPOSE, in which the system is simply resting in an alert condition for any stimulation received by the receptors. When a stimulus impinges upon a receptor, we call this irritation. It is this irritation in its five sense forms which is important in Mindfulness. But although we use the term “mindfulness”, the word “attention” gives a better sense of the natural process we are interested  in.

In psychological terms, we can divide ATTENTION into four parts: REPOSE, MANISIKARA, ADHIMOKKHA and EKAGGHATA. When there is a stimulus which impinges upon the system, there is first a state of immediate special alert which says that a novel stimulus is present. Clearly the system needs to know if that new event is a threat or not. Automatically the system sends a signal that directs the receptors in the direction of the impinging stimulus. This is perfectly natural, because it is essential for the well being of the system that it obtain the most information about the novel event the most rapidly possible.

If you were a rabbit grazing in the fields and saw a moving object it would be essential to know if it were a fox or another rabbit. Nature favors efficient systems so also in the human creature this immediate alert is also operational.  When that first alert occurs the experience of receiving the stimulus is accompanied by an undifferentiated excitation and an innate preparedness o respond, nothing more. 

Manisikara Attention

That rabbit then has to obtain the most information available. In orer to do that it turns, in the case of eyes, ears, nose, mouth and and body (prepared for tact) in the diection of the irrittion.  In the case of seeing, hearing and smelling there is more need for accurate information so nature has evolved a paitr of sensors which are then centred o that the,  vision, sound or smell is equally received by both receptors.

The eyes, for example, which may have received irritation on the periphery, move to capture the stimulus with both eyes. This first turning in the direction of the impinging stimulus is called MANISIKARA  ATTENTION.  It is a universal act, that is to say, it has no specific target; it is simply a turning towards an object with an immediate yoking of higher states.

Attentive Adhimokkha Selection

Once MANISISIKARA ATTENTION has taken place, the system elects a particular target, which hopefully is the stimulus. This is called ATTENTIVE  ADHIMOKKHA  SELECTION. 

Ekagghata Attention

It is now that we enter the phase of SENSE DOOR CONSCIOUSNESS, which is more than the simple knowledge that the sensors exist. This phase starts with a particular event that is called EKAGGHATA CONCENTRATION. It is a natural one pointedness of ATTENTION upon the target.  It is an alerting and yoking of the Mind Door in the correct way with correct energy. Remember this phase, because this is the event that is most important in our examination of Attention.

It is now that the processes of SENSATION enter the picture. There is first an MODALITY IDENTIFICATION (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting) and an impression, which is BARE SENSATION upon the SCREEN of CONSCIOUSNESS.

It is precisely at this point that various sophisticated operations take place. First there is RECOGNITION. This recognition process is a fleeting instant of pure awareness in which a comparison is made between the stimulus and the storehouse of previous stimuli which have been catalogued. It makes a preliminary declaration of either “signal received before” or “signal not received before.”

It is important to understand that these three, Modality Identification, the Bare Sensation and Recognition occur so rapidly that one can discriminate no conscious difference between them.   The rapidity of the earlier responses of Maniimara attention, Adhimokka selection and Ekagghata concentration depends upon the environmental conditions and the task in hand.  It is evident that our rabbit need not respond as rapidly in his burrow than it would have to in open terrain where there might be foxes.

Now when the process of Recognition occurs there is seldom a complete match, so this sophisticated and marvelous animal process makes a “best fit”.  In other words stimulae are grouped on the basis of similarity.

If our rabbit, for example was to see a dog, having assumed that it had never seen one before, it would be placed in the “danger” category being sufficiently similar to a fox to be a peril.

 Having made a best fit, this system is so sophisticated that  in some circumstances, it will change the new signal to the configuration of the old. But although it is sophisticated, it furnishes a superficial, incomplete and often faulty picture of the object.

This RECOGNITION then sends the system into a “dangerous alert stage” or a “calm alert stage” so that it is prepared for any action necessary. You can see that if error occurs at this stage, then the whole system will be ineffective. The first problem then may arise at this “best fit stage”, if the stored information used for the fit is contaminated by Identity presence.

At this stage in the human system there is contamination. Imagine that you are attending a party. The door opens and someone enters. It is someone new the normal and correct message from recognition is “signal not received before.”  There is heightened attention. Now if all is natural there is no problem, but if the system has been corrupted the “best fit” does not work any more.  Details now corrupt the system and there are errors.  If, for example (if you are male) and your error filled system has put all feminine figures that have a “sublime figure and a pretty face”  in the category of seen before and fantastic, then instead of making the natural fit which uses  finer discrimination an error will occur.  In this case that natural system of warning will have been corrupted. This is identical to the condition in which, for a rabbit, a dog is placed in the same category as a lettuce. This could be dangerous as you might imagine.

Immediately following this arises a signal that prompts, in the healthy and normal situation, an approach response, a neutral response or an avoidance response. This is the READINESS TO RESPOND stage. It is the EMOTIONAL BASE, sometimes termed as FEELINGS.

Our rabbit will approach if it is a fantastic lettuce blowing in the wind, do nothing if it is a rolling stone and run if it is a fox. But it makes no identifications with its mind because it is not equipped with a sophisticated brain that has words and phrases at its disposal. The human creature, however, has such equipment.

The human responds if it is sane with sensations of attraction, neutrality or repulsion or, if it is a normal human with an Identity contaminated mind with desire, neutrality and disgust.  Do you see the difference? In the second case Mara has loaded the gun. We say in Buddhism that this stage is one of the sensations of pleasure, neutrality and displeasure.

Now comes RECOLLECTION, which identifies the object and obtains from the store of information all that has previously been collected about that stimulus, which includes all previous actions taken, the consequences of those actions and what actions may be taken in the present situation.

You can see perhaps where the second human problem enters. If the store of information is contaminated by previous experiences, then Recollection will provide information which may not be useful or relevant and, in the worst of cases, information which may be detrimental. Unfortunately, this worst of cases is the norm, because the memory is a catalogue of nama (name) and rupa (form), without any cognizance of the Non Dual nature of the contents. This is made worse by the constant presence of Identity.

Do you remember that undifferentiated excitation? Well that same physiological experience can be interpreted and experienced as love in one situation and as hatred in another at this stage. It all depends upon what the mind does with the initial information.

Thus at the drop of a hat love can turn to hate; a loving approach to aggression.

The human mind is complex with great storage capacity, but we have managed to completely corrupt that mind and fill it will faulty information, building huge webs of panic, fears and hostility out of all proportion with reality.

The door to that contamination is opened when Recollection begins and consciousness is filled with noise and the mind becomes aggitated and uncontrolable and the Identities race in, each restoring its own order. Each demanding its own satiation.

What a disaster the human creature has become. This fantastic system has been converted into a biological machine of destruction that is so off the rails that it actually operates in a manner that slowly destroys itself.

Now don’t just nod and say. Yes that’s right the human creature is a disaster. That human creature is a disaster. You are a human creature. If you are not truly on a path of recuperation YOU are a disaster.

There was a magnificent poster printed in either world war one or world was two which showed the upper body of a strong and impressive marine in uniform. His arm was outstretched his finger pointing at the viewer. The legend said, “THE ARMY WANTS YOU”.

Well here in front of you now is a poster of a monster, the worst monster you can imagine disguised in the form of either a beautiful and sexy and attractive man or woman whose eyes sparkle with fantastic promises.  Its finger too points at you. The legend says. “MARA WANTS YOU”. 

You have already been seduced. Think for a moment. You have a choice. You can turn around and find your way back home (to your true nature) or continue on to the recruiting office.

In the practice of Concentration Meditation, we clean out consciousness that is continually tempted by Mara and permit you to come home.  The path starts through minimal but natural activity through one pointed attention. This, apart from leading home to the natural perception of the Primordial state, strengthens the resistance of consciousness to the errors of Recognition and the barrage of Recollections which come in an eternal stream of information with each stimulus.

Consciousness in the normal person who has not recovered his natural state, is full of information which generates confusion and agitation. Those who have acquired social skills can develop a selective attention and avoid much of the confusion and agitation, but this is a mind-generated selection that is invariably filled with errors and is ruled by the Identity.

Thus we have:

REPOSE in a waiting alert state

MANISIKARA  turning towards the stimulus

ADHIMOKKHA  the election of the target

EKAGGHATA  one pointed Attention

RECOGNITION to best fit the stimulus

EMOTIONAL READINESS

RECOLLECTION to begin the process of specific Identification.

PERCEPTION which elaborates the information using Memory

Errors based upon false information of Dual Nature and the Identity Drives start their fatal interference with Recognition and Recollection. It is before this interference then that our special Attention is directed.

The function of Mindfulness in a waking state, apart from meditation, is to develop and permit the natural flow of information without the influence of Identity. It also limits the agitated and confused information that causes the quiet meandering stream of consciousness to become a torrent of savage muddy water or a monstrous mind- constructed dam. It is advisable, therefore, to first cultivate Bare Attention.

Bare Attention

What  is Bare Attention? It is the enlarged focus, in terms of time, upon the state of SENSE DOOR CONSCIOUSNESS (EKAGGHATA CONCENTRATION). It is the natural one pointedness of ATTENTION upon the target, using the sixth sense, Mind, as the generator of the attention and the receiver of the bare stimulus.

In his book, “The Heart of Buddhist Meditation”, Nyanaponika Thera has explained Bare Attention very clearly. His other work which is shorter and very “user friendly” is “The power of mindfulness”, which is recommended for everyone.  It is available through the Buddhist Publication Society in Sri Lanka.

“Bare Attention is the clear and single minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us, at the successive moments of perception. It is called 'bare', because it attends just to the bare facts of a perception as presented either through the five physical senses or through the mind which, for Buddhist thought, constitutes the sixth sense.

When attending to that sixfold sense impression, attention or mindfulness is kept to a bare registering of the facts observed, without reacting to them by deed, speech or by mental comment, which may be one of self reference (like, dislike, etc), judgement or reflection. If during the time, short or long, given to the practice of Bare Attention, any such comments arise in one's mind, they themselves are made objects of Bare Attention, and are neither repudiated nor pursued, but are dismissed, after a brief mental note has been made of them.

This may suffice here for indicating the general principle underlying the practice of Bare Attention…

It is, however, only by one's own personal experience gained in the course of persistent practice, that this initial confidence and understanding will find final and indubitable confirmation.

Thoroughness

Every effort of worth requires thoroughness if it is to achieve its purpose; particularly so if the work is as lofty and arduous as that mapped out by the Buddha in the Noble Eightfold Path, leading to the Extinction of Suffering. Among the eight factors of that Path, it is Right Mindfulness that represents that indispensable element of thoroughness, though Right Mindfulness has many other aspects in addition. In the Buddhist scriptures one of the qualities attributed to Right Mindfulness is called 'non superficiality', and this is, of course, just a negative way of expressing our positive term 'thoroughness'.

It is obvious that the practice of Right Mindfulness itself will have to employ thoroughness of procedure, to the highest extent. The absence or neglect of it would be just the opposite of a quality deserving the name of Mindfulness and would deprive the method of its chances of success. Just as detrimental consequences must result from an unstable and carelessly laid foundation, so the blessings of a solid and reliable one will extend far into the future.

Therefore, Right Mindfulness starts at the beginning. In employing the method of Bare Attention, it goes back to the seed state of things. Observation reverts to the very first phase of the process of perception, when mind is in a purely receptive state, and when attention is restricted to a bare noticing of the object.

That phase is of a very short and hardly perceptible duration, and, as we have said, it furnishes a superficial, incomplete and often faulty picture of the object. It is the task of the next perceptual phase to correct and to supplement that first impression, but this is not always done. Often the first impression is taken for granted, and even new distortions, characteristic of the more complex mental functions of the second stage, are added.

Here starts the work of Bare Attention, being a deliberate cultivation and strengthening of that first receptive state of mind, giving it a longer chance to fulfil its important task in the process of cognition. Bare Attention proves the thoroughness of its procedure by cleansing and preparing the ground carefully for all subsequent mental processes. By that cleansing function, it serves the high purpose of the entire Method set forth in the Discourse: 'for the purification of beings . . .', which is explained as the purification, or cleansing, of mind.”

By the cultivation of Bare Attention then, we can, over time, eliminate the habit strength of inappropriate Recognition, which often thrusts inefficient and inadequate data upon us, and prevent the chain of Recollection and Perception from sending a stream of inadequate data to consciousness.

This period of Bare Attention is in its natural form brief, so brief that it is undetectable. But in order to purify the system, we can prolong the state and the experience.

Mindfulness

At this moment, you are using the subtle process of Mindfulness. You are not aware of it, nor of its contaminated state, but that does not make either the process or the contamination less real.

A natural question then is whether the "fleeting instant of pure awareness" corresponds to the object of that awareness. We know that neither words nor brain “impressions”, whether they be internal or external phenomena, are the thing itself. The fleeting instant of pure awareness is a flowing unobtrusive moment in which a natural discrimination takes place without the mind attachment of form or words. This experience, which is normally not consciously experienced, is like the impression of an image upon the face of a mirror. It is neither the object which was the fount of the image, nor the impression in the mirror, nor even the face of the mirror itself.

Think of this as being a fine onion skin layer on the face of the mirror.

It is an experience of a softly flowing moment of pure awareness that is interwoven with the other natural processes, not separated from them. At this moment of awareness, there is a knowing that is closer to the truth of the stimulus than any later part of the process, and it is lost as soon as you focus your mind and objectify the stimulus into name and form.

Thus Mindfulness (Sati) is mirror-thought. It reflects only what is presently happening and in exactly the way it is happening. There is no stain and no interference, no judgmental observation.

Instead of using Mindfulness, however, we have developed the habit of squandering our time and energy on all the remaining steps, focusing on recollection and perception, cognizing the perception and labeling it erroneously. What is most debilitating, is that we then engender a long and uncontrolled stream of conscious thought, the components of which we attend to, crave and cling to.

We have said that recollection begins with a basic and useful response. Biologically, that response tells us that the stimulus is either a threat, neutral, or a benefit. In terms of natural experience, this is received by consciousness as agreeable, neutral or disagreeable. However, the Identities pollute this natural sensation and label these events as Pleasurable, Neutral or Unpleasurable. Naturally, as far as the Identities are concerned, there are few neutral events.

We can say then, that consciousness receives corrupted signals of the visceral sensations of pleasure or displeasure, the emotional experiences of pleasure or displeasure, or the mental passionate experiences of pleasure or displeasure, together, of course, with the neutral experiences.

Apart from the corruption of Recollection, Recognition itself may also be corrupted, so that we are disposed to press the panic button at a moment’s notice. This is rather like a pre-preparation for pleasure or displeasure which is signaled incorrectly. All in all, true and natural experiences are replaced by erroneous experiences and bring unfortunate consequences that lead to suffering.

You are reminded that there is nothing incorrect in the presence of the stream of thoughts when it is not corrupted. It is a natural phenomenon that the system can effectively handle, just as a waiting cat can observe everything and be only launched into action by the presence of mouse or a rabid dog.

The solution presented by Mindfulness is to extend the time limit of one-pointed attention.  At first in practice this extension of the space between the bare sensory impression and Recognition begins to expand from imperceptibility to bare perceptibility. Perhaps it will at first only last for a second.  That is fantastic progress. In a session of fifteen minutes to get a few seconds of true one pointed attention and develop that “still” space is fantastic. Slowly with diligent and dedicated practice it will expand to the point where it can really be used to advantage.

When this Mindfulness (Sati) is prolonged by using proper techniques, the experience is profound and it changes your whole view of the universe. This state of original one-pointedness is natural, but its extension must be learned and therefore takes regular practice.

The Mind State

It is psychologically impossible for us to objectively observe what is going on within us if we do not at the same time accept the occurrence of our various states of mind. This is especially true with unpleasant states of mind. In order to observe our own fear, we must accept the fact that there is an apparent vehicle of that fear, our own Identity. We can't examine our apparent personal fear, panic, aggression, depression, irritation or any other mental experience without accepting the apparent presence of someone who is experiencing  But it is essential at the same time to see that it is the experience which defines the person and not the person who defines the experience.

Thus in a state of correct Mindfulness, for whatever experience may apparently exist, Mindfulness is generated as a simple receiver. Every reception is to be considered as another phenomenon of awareness without any mental gyrations. What is there is there, that is all. Nothing then is denied or rejected.

The mind must let go of the apparent good and not avoid the apparent bad. They are both, like life and death, impostors.

Note too that Mindfulness operates in that empty zone which awaits higher operation, but it does not open the door to the erroneous comparisons of Recognition or the Identity ridden analysis of reflection and memory. It is  nonconceptual awareness.

Note also that it is devoid of time concepts. The events are not past, present or future; they are momentary present-time awareness. The mind is perpetually moving on the crest of the oncoming waves of sensory information.

As such, it is also non expectative. It is a goal-less awareness. There are no objectives to be realized. This is exceedingly important to remember. One sets the mind on a one-pointed direction and then lets it go on its own path, providing brakes and acceleration when it is natural to do so.

But although there is neither time nor objectives within Mindfulness, the maintenance of the sense of change is essential. One is then aware of the rise of mind moments and their decay and there is a constant awareness of transience or impermanence. This is momentary, timeless and changing awareness.

One must recognize that the apparent changes consist in momentary perceived elements and that there is not really a continuation of the previous moment. This is like the successive frames of a motion picture. It must be recognized that it is the mind that provides the continuity. It is the task of Mindfulness to be aware of the kaleidoscope of internal and external bare sensations and, in certain conditions, the mental additions and interpretations which the mind attempts to impose.

While we say that the Mindfulness is the mirror image of events, the practice must be seen as a wakeful process, except when the gentle force of mindfulness is pre- directed at penetrating beyond the mirror image to the primordial state.

This trained attention has the effect of uncovering, or laying bare, things as they really are. It is the 'primary' attention that sees through the mind contents to the underlying process. In exposing the first contact of the psychophysical phenomena, the salient characteristics are revealed without interference.

The art of this 'bare' attention is to go further than simply mark the extended passing of this process; it is to register the predominant object in one's experience.

In Buddhism, we do not either resist, nor retreat from phenomenon of the mind, so if there is a reaction during the observation, --as is natural for the untrained mind--, then that too must be noted. This way of seeing has the potential to uncover the true nature of the phenomenon observed and the way in which there is interference.

This non-reactive unconditioned awareness, when acquired, brings liberating 'internal seeing’ of the process and of the mind interference or natural reaction. Thus we call it “insight knowledge”.

In its elementary form, it is a strategy of being fully aware of all your activities through a conscious orientation to the five senses and the 'sixth sense' - the mind.

Naturally Mindfulness is not a practice that is confined to sitting meditation. It is a dynamic practice, which means it is applicable in sitting meditation, active meditation, such as mindfulness of walking, continual daily mindfulness, and the mindfulness which in the Vajrayana path is termed “continual oration”.

We said that SENSE DOOR CONSCIOUSNESS starts with EKAGGHATA CONCENTRATION. This is a natural one pointedness of ATTENTION upon the target which, in this case, is not upon the sense doors themselves, but the five kinds of consciousness associated with those doors: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, etc. and the mind consciousness.

Effectively then, the practice is to be consciously attentive at the predominant moment of mind consciousness, which is “seeing, hearing etc”, precisely when that consciousness is first activated by the entry of a stimulus at the mind door. It as if you were placing guardians at the mind door to observe all that enters and further observe your mind reactions.

This orientation to any sense door brings awareness of what is happening during any sense impression and, what is most important, in the non-meditative practices to monitor the sensations, emotions and thoughts that arise.

You will have noticed then that there are two types of bare attention: the natural attention, which is brief and correct, and the altered attention which is intentionally prolonged. These two types of attention have their corollary in meditation, where there is natural meditation, which is an automatic process of the system, and the directed concentration meditations (the meditations which are Buddhist practices) that are is used to retrain the system and liberate it from bondage.

We can consider then that the application of attention is non-volitionally directed in the natural state or volitionally directed in the conscious state of concentration.

We can note then three distinct strategies with respect to Mindfulness.

1:   Observation  of this time/space of initial awareness which allows the natural system to implement that which is uncontaminated by the stained mind

2:    Notation of the events that impinge upon this space of initial consciousness in various forms.

3:    Passive Resistance to the strong antagonistic forces of external disturbance, mental defilements and stray streams of thought in consciousness

4:    Contemplation, which attends to nothing but that space of consciousness so that the mind may penetrate beyond that state and beyond the mirror impression to the primordial sensations.

I prefer to call these four types of mindfulness by three different names:

1:    Wakeful Mindfulness, which is used as a daily state of mind as a constant companion in the normal waking state.

2:     Mental Attention, which can be used to eliminate impeding thoughts and order the mind.

3:     Non Resisting Attention, which neither Resists nor Retreats.

4:     Correct One-pointed Attention, which is used in all gradual meditation practices.

To these I would then add:

5:     Expanded Attention, which paradoxically is a one-pointed attention on the totality of experience without a particular focus. It is thus both Total Discernment and Penetration beyond the particular.

It has been explained then that the actual method is to observe, to note or to contemplate the successive occurrences of seeing, hearing, etc., at the moment of first consciousness at the six sense doors.

However, it is not possible for a beginner to follow up all successive incidents as they occur, because personal Mindfulness, Concentration and Spiritual Knowledge (sati, samadhi and nana) have still not been completely developed.

There is another complication that exists for beginners. The irritations of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell occur with great rapidity as one stimulus follows another. While many stimuli appear to occur simultaneously, in fact, the neurological system is so rapid that in reality there is only a set of single reception and transmission in one stream.

Initially those who practice will not be able to observe all these incidents singly as they occur in serial order. Therefore he or she must begin with one modality at a time in practice sessions.

1:   Examples of Wakeful Mindfulness as Clear Comprehension

Every day we are called upon to interact with society in the world of the senses. We are bombarded with thousands of stimuli which generate an agitated and troubled mind. By the application of one’s attention to what one is actually doing, one can learn to adjust to the messages of one’s natural sensitivity, discrimination and intelligence that is not Identity bound.

However, Wakeful Mindfulness is not just noting what one is doing. In Chan one hears such expressions as “when one is sitting, just sit, when one is walking, just walk”. This is interpreted as only do and attend to what you are doing, thinking etc. This is an oversimplification. What is meant is that one must focus one’s attention upon the sense signals related to that activity at precisely that level where the mind is not present, in the space between the senses and the sensations.

This clearly also refers to “thinking” which is an act of great importance. The thinking aspect is difficult to understand, but it is essential within the Buddhist Path to apply this art of attention to the thinking process as well as to physical acts.

Walking Meditation, more correctly termed Walking with Mindfulness, is a practice where the stepping or foot movements in walking are noted in detail and the attention is focused on the movements as the primary object. This is another essential practice for the art of attention in daily life.

Samyutta Nikaya XXXVI.7  Gelañña Sutta

"And how, O monks, is a monk clearly comprehending? He applies clear

comprehension in going forward and going back; in looking straight on and in looking elsewhere; in bending and in stretching (his limbs); in wearing the robes and carrying the alms bowl; in eating, drinking, chewing and savoring; in obeying the calls of nature; in walking, standing sitting, falling asleep waking, speaking and being silent -- in all that he applies clear comprehension.

So, monks, is a monk clearly comprehending.

Thus we see the basis of daily Correct Mindfulness, which in great part is directed at actions.

In a specially prepared environment, Walking with Mindfulness may be converted in a true Walking Meditation, an alternative Meditation in Action, which is a mode in Insight meditation.

2:  Examples of Mental Attention:

a:  The application of Mental Attention and Naming in Meditation

A useful device to support meditative attention is naming or labelling the various events during the observation of your state of attention to each of the factors of the Eightfold Path. One can, in this way, monitor one’s view, intentions, attitudes, actions, speech etc. Used judiciously, it is a very useful tool for focusing and sustaining the attention.

This labelling can begin by making a mental note of whatever arises as a body/mind experience during one-pointed attention. For example, seeing’, 'hearing', 'hearing', 'thinking', ‘hearing ‘, 'thinking', 'touching', 'touching', creating a chain of labels which interrupts the flow of experiences.

This is a powerful aid to help establish bare attention, especially at the beginning of the practice, when it is vital to systematically note or label as much as possible to establish the attention.

Having succeeded in sustaining the attention, then the mental noting can be dropped, especially if the noting has become mechanical or is itself becoming an interference with the attention.

When the stability has been established, one can note interruptions as sensation, emotion, thought, thus extending the range of monitoring.

b:  The application of Naming and Mental Attention in Daily life

Every waking hour is impregnated with the confused strands of the mental process. The activity of dwelling for as long as possible in the Bare Attention phase permits the naming of the mental processes which impinge upon the pure state. It is this naming which cuts long streams of useless conscious thought and allows a quieter reflection and the entry of thoughts which are more stable and ordered.

The appearance of unarticulated thoughts which are impediments are therefore diminished and there is a weakening of the habits of defilement. This allows the automatic entry of more noble and correct thoughts, which in turn assists in the development of the Buddha Dharma path.

This method permits the greater development of naming so that one can, for example, identify each thought as “There is an experience of the enlightenment factor of attention”, “there is the inappropriate experience of emotions,” “there is present an inappropriate sensation of craving”, “there is an inappropriate lustful emotion in this mind” etc.

3:  The application of Non Resisting Attention in the elimination of inutile force generated against impediments.

In this life it is incorrect to lock oneself away in isolation, but when one walks within the ambit of this worlds of great greed, one cannot avoid the forces which inhibit natural function. These forces vary from sensory “noise” to “temptations of great strength”. This second aspect of mental attention that is against the use of force and misdirected energy, is of great importance, because mental resistance against impediments or the making of forceful resolutions has actually the reverse effect to the one desired. This Non Resisting, Non Retreating Attention is known as Satipatthana.

All resistance, from a light pushing away to an aggressive rejection, results in a hardening of the Identity position. When quiet and gentle attention dwells within the space of the pure sensation and simply notes both the intruding thoughts and the tendency to fight against those thoughts, there arises a beautiful passive resistance which engenders tranquility. This tranquility in itself is sufficient to destroy the intrusive streams of thoughts which normally provoke resistance.

Similarly, this peaceful resistance, an unfailing watchfulness which accepts the presence of intrusive events as natural, prevents mere adaptation or evasion of the intruding thoughts, emotions or sensations, which only drives the unwelcome intruders to the unconscious where they increase habit strength and force for future engagement. Thus this strategy is one of No Response, --neither Retreat nor Forceful Resistance. It is the condition which Nyanaponika Thera terms Non Coercive Attention.

But the strategy of mere tranquil observance is not always immediately successful. So a second stage may be applied in which one firms one’s intent to be distanced from the intrusions without escaping them. Shantideva’s advice may be taken here, “treat all intrusions with the indifferent politeness of a gentleman.”

If that does not bring the desired results, then one hardens Passive Resistance. One neither retreats nor demonstrates an iota of active resistance; one simply says “No”. Used with with determination and the persistence of attention, this “No” is a refusal to be diverted from one’s course.

It is this state of non coercive attention which sets the tranquil stage for Mahamudra

4:    Examples of One pointed Attention:

a.    One Pointed Attention Applied to Dependent Origination

You will, I trust, remember the cycle of Dependent Origination, and will be able to see that the focus of attention in Mental Attention, Correct Mindfulness, Non Resistant Mindfulness and Correct One-pointed Attention is upon the space between the Sensations and the six sense Bases that are its condition.

In Mental Attention, one names all the successive conditions which are seen to impinge upon the system, naming them as sensation, emotion, or thought, knowing them to be inappropriate for the task at hand.

In correct Mindfulness, one performs mental attention while being conscious of incorrect and natural responses. Without resistance or retreat, slowly new conditioning is implemented and watched.

In correct Non Resistant Attention there is a watching without response.

In correct One-pointed Attention, one penetrates beyond the successive stages to the mirror reception of the bases. In this meditation, the focus is upon the internal processes that are perceived and not upon the direct perception of the five external senses. The meditation focus may be any one of the internal mental conditions.

 In the Theravadin path, the conditions are primarily Craving and Clinging. In the Direct paths, the condition is Ignorance (Duality). In the Vajrayana Path, all the conditions are considered important, leading to the elimination of Duality.

Look now at this important cycle of Dependent origination.

1: With Mentality/Materiality (nama/rupa) as a condition, the Six Sense Bases arise;

2: With The Six Sense Bases as a condition, Sensations (sense impressions)

arise;

3:  With Sense Impressions as a condition, Emotions (vedana) arise;

4:  With Emotions as a condition, Craving arises;

5:  With Grasping as a condition, Clinging arises;

6:  With Clinging as a condition, Becoming (discrimination) arises;

7:  With Clinging as a condition, Birth (Identity attachment to the discriminated)  arises;

8:  With Birth as a condition, pain, old age and death arise, i.e. conditioned suffering;

9:  With Conditioned Suffering as a condition, Ignorance (Duality) arises;

10: With Ignorance as a condition, Karmic Formations or Volition arise;

11:  With Volition as a condition, Consciousness arises;

12:  With Consciousness as a condition, Mentality/Materiality arises;

This strategy of being present at a sense-door is consistent with the basic meditative and practical application of Attention to Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppada).

As you experience the series of causal events, you can intercept them at any link in the cycle. The ability to do this with one-pointed attention in a variety of different modes in different paths allows one to dissolve the conditioned cycle of suffering that most people are trapped in.

Look at this famous dialogue between Buddha and Ananda.

Ananda mentioned that he considered Dependant Origination an easy thing to understand.  Look at Buddha’s reply:

'Not so Ananda, don't ever say such a thing. It's because people do not understand origination, that they are not able to penetrate it, that their minds are befuddled. Just as a ball of twine becomes all tangled up and knotted, just so are beings ensnared and unable to free themselves from the wheel of existence, the conditions of suffering and states of hell and ruin'.

We can untangle the tangle by 'insight' into Dependent Origination through one- pointed attention at a sense door.

b.   Example of One pointedness upon the Four spheres of Mindfulness

Let us then look at one of the most important functions of Mindfulness in Meditation. We have already touched upon them when discussing meditation; it is the four point Meditation of Shine in Tibetan Buddha Dharma and the Four Spheres of Mindfulness in the Theravadin path.

Samyutta Nikaya XXXVI.7  Gelañña Sutta

Once the Blessed One dwelt at Vesali, in the Great Forest, at the Gabled House.

In the evening, after the Blessed One had risen from his seclusion, he went to the sick room and sat down on a prepared seat. Being seated he addressed the monks as follows:

"O monks, mindfully and clearly comprehending should a monk spend his time! This is my injunction to you!

"And how, O monks, is a monk mindful?

He dwells practicing body-contemplation on the body (sensations), ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world.

He dwells practicing feeling-contemplation on emotions, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world.

He dwells practicing mind-contemplation on the mind, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world.

He dwells practicing mind-object-contemplation on mind-objects (the thought contents of the mind), having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world.”

Thus we see the base of Insight Meditation on the four Spheres of Mindfulness.

The four spheres of attention are structures or frames of reference used to support all practice.

1:   Attention to the Body Sensations

Directed to apprehending the primary sensations of the body: hardness, softness, temperature, fluidity and also the movement within the body and/or awareness of the various body postures, movements and actions in meditation. This includes the Mindfulness of Breathing which is in reality a sensation of tact.

2.      Attention to Emotions

Noting the qualities of feelings as either pleasant, unpleasant or neutral while being careful to differentiate the primary feeling from the emotional interpretations that follow.

3.       Attention to the Consciousness and Mind-States

The consciousness is the 'knowing' of anything (e.g. a physical sensation and the knowing of it are distinct). Particular attention is paid to the mind-states, such as happiness, sadness, agitation and seeing their arising and passing away. In practice, it is wisest to place this in fourth position.

4.      Attention to the Mental Content

This is not analysing mental events or classifying them, but using the attention to register the things of the mind - thoughts, ideas and concepts - as a witness, without commentary, without the presence of a watcher.

These four may also be applied, as your experience mounts, to your everyday Mindfulness.

In continuation, we will see the way in which mindfulness of emotion is addressed by Buddha as one of the elements of the cycle of dependent origination. Clearly here we have a combination of the act of meditative one-pointedness and the analytical evaluation which accompanies such observations.

One must remember that the emotions as we erroneously perceive them are interpretations of the emotive states, not the emotive states themselves, which are pleasant, unpleasant and neutral (not to be confused with equanimity).

"If a monk is thus mindful and clearly comprehending, ardent, earnest and

resolute, and a pleasant feeling arises in him, he knows: 'Now a pleasant

feeling has arisen in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by

what? Even by this body it is conditioned.

And this body, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this pleasant feeling that has arisen, is conditioned by the body which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen; how could such a pleasant feeling be permanent?'

"In regard to both body and the pleasant feeling, he dwells contemplating

impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to lust in regard to body and pleasant feeling vanishes.

"If a painful feeling arises in him, he knows: 'Now a painful feeling has arisen

in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what?

Even by this body it is conditioned. And this body, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this painful feeling that has arisen is conditioned by the body which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could such a painful feeling be permanent?'

"In regard to both the body and the painful feeling he dwells contemplating

impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to resistance in regard to the body and painful feeling vanishes.

"If a neutral feeling arises in him, he knows: 'Now a neutral feeling has arisen

in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what?

Even by this body it is conditioned. And this body, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this neutral feeling that has arisen is conditioned by the body which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could such a neutral feeling be permanent?'

"In regard to both the body and the neutral feeling he dwells contemplating

impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to body and neutral feeling vanishes.

"If he experiences a pleasant feeling, he knows it as impermanent; he knows, it

is not clung to; he knows, it is not relished. If he experiences a painful feeling... a neutral feeling, he knows it as impermanent; he knows, it is not clung to; he knows, it is not relished.

"If he experiences a pleasant feeling, he feels it as one unfettered by it. If he experiences a painful feeling, he feels it as one unfettered by it. If he experiences a neutral feeling, he feels it as one unfettered by it.

"When having painful feelings endangering the body, he knows: 'I have a painful

feeling endangering the body.' When having painful feelings endangering life he

knows: 'I have a painful feeling endangering life.' And he knows: 'After the

dissolution of the body, when life ends, all these feelings which are unrelished, will come to final rest, even here.'

"It is like a lamp that burns by strength of oil and wick, and if oil and wick

come to an end, the flame is extinguished through lack of nourishment. Similarly

this monk knows: 'After the dissolution of the body, when life ends, all these

feelings which are unrelished will come to (final) rest, even here.'"

“So, monks, is a monk mindful.”

c. One-pointedness in Vajrayana or Tien Tai Visualization

In the perception of the meditation image, either as a full visualization or as an essence of the deity, one-pointed attention is first directed at the figure or the essence. This figure or its essence becomes then the target for attention. What most people do not realize is that one cannot simply race on like a runaway train in the practices. If this occurs, one is simply degenerating the magnificent practices to the level of rites and ceremonies which Buddha opposed.

One has to maintain the raw sensation of the deity with this one-pointed attention and the minimal energy necessary to maintain that image or essence, enlarging the natural span of attention. In this state, the previous explanations regarding the deity, filter into the subconscious uninterrupted by mental defilements or preconceived ideas.

Once established, the same attention must be directed at the flow of words that the Sadhana contains. But it is likewise an error to repeat the Sadhana like a parrot. Each word, each phrase, has its profound significance. This must be permitted to enter the subconscious free of the stained mind’s contamination. This means that the practice must be gradually developed,  incrementing with certainty each component with the same one-pointed attention.

Only then will the relation between the inner attribute and the deity be perceived and internalised and a penetration facilitated, beyond the mirror reception, to the primordial state.

Transference of Attention

There will be occasions when the Attention which neither Resists nor Retreats, or the Correct One-pointed Attention, which is used in meditation, fails. That is the time to employ another strategy. One simply shifts Attention from the primary target to the intruding stimulus.

In the case of an experience of Sensation or Emotion thatcannot be dissolved, one simply focuses the Attention on that experience. Once that experience dissolves, one can return to the original target.

In the case of a stream of thoughts, one can direct attention at the stream itself, avoiding contact with the content. Or one can elect one important word in the stream and direct one’s attention upon that word concept.

The Application of Attention in Discernment and Penetration

There is, in addition to the Application of Attention in the meditative art of one- pointed focusing, a later more advanced Discernment, which is the subtle non- intellectual wisdom that sees the true nature of mind and existence. This is directed subtle one-pointed attention with its energy transformed, with constancy, into  natural undirected attention and subtle energy. This method used in the Direct practices permits the opening of the Dharma door and acceptance of the primordial state of Awakening.

There is a temptation to believe that this Direct Contemplation is divorced from one-pointed Attention, but this is not the case. The only difference is really that the one-pointed Attention of Contemplation waits with complete stillness, encompasses the totality of experience and is paradoxically directed without limit and thus is non directed.

While the system of Concentration may be likened to a funnel through which one looks purposefully, the Contemplation method uses the funnel in reverse so that the one-pointedness is expanded and the gaze is without purpose whatsoever.

This attention is an all embracing tranquil vision of “everything” without a noting of any particular element, rather than a restricted vision of the particular events which enter the space where attention is applied. The essence of these practices is the stillness of the mind (sankharanam vipasamo) and a complete dwelling in the empty space between the bases and the sensations.

All these Attention processes possess several dimensions

Attention directed at maintaining and developing the natural and correct elements that enter the empty space,

Attention directed at watching, understanding and dissolving intrusive elements in the empty space,

Attention directed and maintained upon one selected element which enters the empty space,

Attention that is “tranquil” and watchful in the empty space,

Attention that is “still” and “expanded” in the empty space and penetrates beyond the pure onion skin reception of the stimulus.

Naturally, in all these practices, in order to develop them correctly, a much more detailed set of instructions is necessary. This would include the development of  initial restraints in order to achieve a natural balance and harmony as a base. But at least here, one can see the extreme importance of Attention  and understand why Buddha declared in the Aguttara Nikaya, the eights, 83, “all things can be mastered by Mindfulness.”

The question is how to achieve this mastery of the expansion of this moment of natural Bare Attention. A student once asked me how one can explain the unexplainable. The reply is that one cannot, but one can experience it with diligence and practice. The same is true with Correct Attention, which must always be applied with Correct Energy (Intention).

There is a delightful story of Bahiya, called the wooden robed one. Originally he was a merchant who, when travelling from one port to another, was shipwrecked and cast ashore naked. Being astute, he covered his nakedness with tree bark, and finding an old cast off bowl, went into the villages searching for food. The natives who saw him thought he was an ascetic wanderer and those near and far quickly heard of him.

Bahiya, his ego enhanced by their adulation and respect, which he had never received as a merchant, continued the deception. His reputation grew even more, so that one day, when he was being tested by being offered beautiful new robes, he saw that accepting them would ruin his game.

He refused and in short order was installed in a temple and worshipped as an Arahant (an Awakened One). So successful was his role, that he himself began to believe that he was indeed awakened. Gradually he did, however, change for the better and developed his meditation, but without great access.

As he was sitting in meditation one day, from his consciousness arose a visualization of a Deva. This Deva questioned his sincerity and finally, auto-convinced, he saw his error. Thereupon, upon having heard of Buddha, he undertook the long journey to see him.

Buddha then gave Bahiya a brief set of instructions, which were, however, direct and to the point:

“Bahiya, you should train yourself in this way:

With the seen, there will be just the seen; with the heard, there will be just the heard; with the sensed (touched, tasted, smelt) there will be just the sensed; with the cognized, there will be just the cognized.

When for you, Bahiya, there is merely the seen, heard, sensed and cognized, then you will not be therein. Then you, Bahiya, will be neither here nor there nor within both - this is itself the end of suffering.”

Through this brief instruction, Bahiya captured the essence of the no dual and  thus became an Arahant.

Exercise 12

This exercise is a little different. What I would like you to do is choose a day and be completely mindful with Wakeful Mindfulness for that entire day and then write and tell me all the problems you encountered in that exercise.