THE LEVELS OF PROCESSING
Let's begin with a model of the Meditation Series which coincides with the natural processing of the system that are the impediments mentioned in the Fire sermon.
You will see that all the elements of the Fire Sermon are present.
ATTENTION to a particular IRRITATION, a stimulus, is followed by
1. SENSATION
2. DISCRIMINATION
3. PERCEPTION
4. VOLITION perceived through THE CONTENTS OF MIND
5. MIND itself as CONSCIOUSNESS
We repeat: A complete and profound understanding of this sutra is essential to all meditation. Furthermore, one cannot successfully (particularly in this complex 21st-century world) proceed efficiently even to the first meditations on Tara, Vajrasattva and Avalokiteshvara in Vajrayana, the first meditations of Pure, or the first elementary processes of preparation for Mahamudra, or Chan (including Japanese Zen) without a mastering of the meditations of this Sutra.
THE PATH OF THE INITIAL PROCESSING
The flow of processing is from the IRRITATION (stimulus) to the screen of Consciousness, which presents us with the illusion that a mind is present.
Now we have said that meditation begins with SENSATION, but you will see that other important factors are involved.
What is, is unknown and the only information our system has of interacting with that unknown of which we are a part is through our sense bases, which are the very eye, ear, tongue, nose and body that the sutra spoke of. Let us begin by speaking of the Body, which really in the sutra is representative of all the tactile senses of the body which include pressure, pain, heat, proprioception, etc.
That body, like all of the other sense receptors, is best considered as a mirror. If that mirror is turned to the Irritation, we know that the reflection will not be the same as the irritation. That is because it is the qualities and characteristics of the mirror surface which determine what is picked up.
Now that irritation is not separate from the total boundless infinite energy available, and we are, ourselves, an undifferentiated part of that energy. Actually, our differentiation is artificial and is due to the particular capacity to be conscious of its apparent self that this energy bundle possesses.
It should also be clear that the body of the mirror is in no way identical with the image reflected on the surface. Fine, so far.
Now this mirror has a fantastic property: an image also appears on the back of the mirror, although the distortion and reforming into a new form ensures that it is not the same as the mirror, the mirror image, or the irritation.
We call that Image on the back of the mirror a Pure Sense Image or a Pure Sensation. It is pure because, although it is not the same as any of the prior process images, there is at least no Identity Contamination.
NOW LET US SEE THE RELATION BETWEEN
THE PURE SENSE IMAGE AND SENSATION
The Mirror trio can be manipulated in many ways by the system, but its function is to to detect any Irritations in the ambit of the organism. Its functional interest is in those irritations that may be useful and those that might be a peril. It does not need to know what those irritations are. It is sufficient that there is a correct response to them.
The way in which the mirror operates we call ATTENTION
The STATE OF ALERT (APPAMADA) is quite important for that state opens wide the detectors to the totality of the apparent external world and to the state of sense-door reception.
This PREDISPOSITION FOR THAT STATE of ALERT is sent to the RIGHT HEMISPHERE as READINESS (USSAHA). This signals the correct function of READINESS. But remember it is not a readiness for anything.
This is followed after Environmental IRRITATION, by an ORIENTATION (MANASIKARA) of the sense doors and mind towards the novel event.
Then the object is not known with conscious thought but by unconscious thinking which is DETERMINED to be with SPECIFIC FORM. We call this operation CAPTURE (VITAKKA).
This is immediately followed by ONE-POINTEDNESS (EKAGGATA) upon that form.
Then ATTENTION is first APPLIED and then SUSTAINED consciously, so that there is a continuing exercise of the mind (VICARA) upon the object.
Remember that these processes are extremely rapid and below the threshold of any possible normal distinguishing of time and consequently order.
So we have the process of ATTENTION as:
1. REPOSE (PASSADDHI) the RESTING STATE
2. ALERT (APPAMADA)
An intervening state of IRRITATION my occur here
3. ORIENTATION (MANASIKARA)
4. CAPTURE (VITAKKA), generates the Mindfulness of a named form.
5. ONE-POINTEDNESS, CONCENTRATION (EKAGGATA), which also means tranquility of mind, suggesting perhaps the terminal point of the ALERT.
6. Attention is then APPLIED and then SUSTAINED consciously, so that there is a continuing exercise of the mind (VICARA) upon the object.
The idea of the series is of course to gather the most information available of the Irritation.
Now the first three states -Repose, Alert and Orientation- are different operations in which the Pure Sensation is unchanged but the state and orientation of the mirror is changed.
Because there is no Consciousness at that moment we call those three states of “the Becoming of Consciousness.”
In those states, consciousness records the non-differentiated Touch sensations in our example. In other words, it receives all Tactile signals but does not discriminate one from another.
CAPTURE (VITAKKA)
But in state 4, capture, the condition changes and one particular element within the Becoming of Consciousness is selected and this, in consciousness, is separated (by Perception) from the background and given a name, which is retrieved from memory.
ONE-POINTEDNESS, CONCENTRATION (EKAGGATA)
Now we come to the important point. In the meditation upon the sensation of Touch, the instructions are to fixate one-pointedly upon the target. For beginners this is usually the sensation of touch at the nostrils in the operation of breathing.
It is a common mistake to concentrate on the breath itself, which is concentration upon a concept, not the sensation of tact.
The other prime error in this meditation is mentally immediately directing the one-pointedness of State 4 upon the object. The result is that this unidirectionality is in competition with the Identity sensations, the discrimination sensations and the perceptual thoughts of Volition.
As a result there is a perpetual ebb and flow in which there is never really a constant unidirectional focus. The meditator is constantly aware of the interruptions and worst of all, expectations that cannot be met.
The correct meditation is to prepare oneself with a pre-preprogramation which clearly states that the object of the uni-directionality is the Touch sensation at the nostrils of the breath. Then one simply allows that simple concentration to fall into the background undisturbed. The pre-program will automatically direct the attention unidirectionally to the touch at the nostrils.
It is the next task to turn one's attention to the Becoming of the second stage.
In the case of Touch this is a complete attention on all tactile reception of the body without a single element of that touch coming to the fore.
When there is a generalized and continual experience of the whole body, including heat and pain, and it is sustained, there may be an ebb and flow of attention, not between the distractions of the mind and the unidirectional attention, but between the general state of the becoming of consciousness and the unidirectional attention to the sensation of touch.
While it was difficult for the unidirectional attention to compete with the distractions of the higher system you find that the attention can, with slight energy, be redirected to the correct focus again and again, until it is sustained with that focus.
That is the first stage of the Meditation on the tactile SENSATION of the breath, which is a precursor for the meditation which eliminates the "fire" at the different levels mentioned in the Sermon.