What is Meditation? The Lord Buddha's teaching has five objectives:Vipassana
Kammatthana ), in line with the Four Foundations of Mindfulness
(Satipatthana ).
What is Vipassana?
Vipassana means "to see clearly". Vi means
"clearly"; passana means "to see".
To see clearly in regards to what? To see clearly in regards to
our own body and mind, and the whole world around us. To see that,
both inside ourselves and in the whole world around us,anicca );dukkha );anatta ).
What are the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness are:Body :
Noting the body while prostrating, walking, and sitting.Feelings :
Noting pain as "pain", happiness as "happy" and
calm as "calm".Mind : Noting thoughts
about past or future - both good and bad - as "thinking".Dhammas :
Noting hindrances as "liking", "disliking",
"drowsiness", "distraction", and
Why Should We Be Mindful?
"The Four Foundations of Mindfulness are a device that stops
evil, stops bad deeds, stops defilement. 'sati nivaranam settham '
- Mindfulness is an exceptional preventer (of evil states). During
the time when we are mindful, evil won't enter in to reach our
hearts. We will have pure hearts always.
"It is like dark and shining light. Mindfulness is a shining
light; all defilements, all evil states, are like darkness.
When the bright light shines, the darkness disappears. For this
reason, one should be mindful at all times - our mind will shine,
clean and peaceful all of the time."
What are the Fundamentals of Meditation?
When practicing Vipassana in line with the Four Foundations of
Mindfulness, there are some important basics of practice, as follows:
1. One must practice in regards to the present reality.
Whether it be the noting of "rising, falling", or "right
goes thus, left goes thus", one must note in the present
reality. The mind noting "rising" and the belly that rises
must go together; neither one should come before or after the other.
At the moment of noting "right", one must lift the right
foot up right away. At the moment of noting "goes", one
must shift the foot, stepping out right away. At the moment of noting
"thus", one must similarly lower the foot to the floor at
once.
2. One must practice continuously.
When one has finished mindful prostration, one must go on to walk,
then go on to sit according to the set time; the three should be
performed together in a connected sequence. During rest
periods, one must go about noting in regards to the minor postures as
well; for instance, washing one's face, showering, eating food,
urinating or defecating, extending one's arm, flexing one's arm, etc.
Even when lying, one must note "lying, lying", then note
"rising, falling", until one falls asleep. Mindful
prostration is to establish mindfulness to stay with the hand.
Walking meditation is to establish mindfulness to stay with the foot.
Sitting meditation is to establish mindfulness to stay at the front
of the belly, and follow the various points.
3. The practice must include three qualitative factors:
atapi
satima
- having mindfulness, remembering and knowing at the
moment when bodily (rupa) and mental (nama) phenomena arise;
sampajano –
4. One must adjust the faculties / powers (indriya / bala ),
keeping them balanced.
Faith (saddha ) must be balanced with wisdom (pañña ).
Effort (viriya ) must be balanced with concentration
(samadhi ). Mindfulness (sati ) is the faculty
that guards and controls – the more mindfulness one has, the
better. But if faith is high but wisdom low, greed (lobha )
will come to take over. If wisdom is high but faith low, doubt
(vicikiccha ) will
come to take over. If effort is high but concentration low,
distraction (uddhacca ) will come to take over. If
concentration is high but effort low, drowsiness (thina-middha )
will come to take over. Whether the practice will bring fruit slowly
or quickly lies in this adjusting of the faculties / powers.
The Present Reality (paccuppanadhamma )
Why is it necessary to put such great emphasis on the present
reality? This is because, in meditation practice, if one
doesn't note according to the present reality, one's practice will
not bring fruit, since one's moment to moment concentration (khanika
samadhi ) won't be able to collect together. If, however, one
notes according to the present reality, the moments of concentration
will then be able to collect together and the faculties and powers
will have a greater, more mature strength. Noting according to the
present reality is thus an important factor, as it causes moments of
concentration to collect together as one.
Once one practices on to reach the fourteenth stage of knowledge
(magga-ñana ), the faculties and powers, which have
become strong, mature through the collected moments of
concentration, will perform the task of abandoning the
defilements automatically, such that there is, from then on, no need
to go about troubling oneself in any way; it is enough that one has
practiced correctly according to the fundamentals that have been
expounded herein.
Noting is the heart of the practice of Vipassana. It is the
function of mindfulness to continue to note, continue to stay aware
at all times; this is what allows one to let go of all existential
phenomena. Repeated and continuous noting will strengthen and mature
one's concentration and, just like stopping up a leaking hole, will
prevent evil from flowing in to reach the heart, as it will bring one
to see only the arising and ceasing of rupa and nama at all times.
At the time when one is noting and aware, this is when life has real
worth.
What are the Benefits of Meditation?
Translated from the Thai teachings of Phra Dhammadhirarajamahamuni (Jodok Nyanasiddhi PDh. 9)
It brings one to understand the truth, both theoretically and practically, on a deeper level, for instance understanding mind, matter, the three characteristics, rapture, happiness, etc. as they really are.
It gives the mind stronger motivation, effort, patience and contentment than before.
It makes the mind able to sacrifice much more for the greater good of all, working without worrying about fatigue, happy to work, just the opposite of before practicing meditation.
It makes one want to learn about the truth, reading books and listening to teachings more and more without feeling bored.
It allows one to explain the truth much better and in greater precision than before, because one is able to explain theory, practice and fruition, each being more profound than the last, just like the great ocean.
It improves recollection and memory, allowing one to memorize things well, not forgetting or confusing things that one has committed to memory.
It is great wholesomeness, creating goodness every moment in which one commits to practicing or teaching someone else.
It makes one not negligent, because one is recollecting of both, body and mind most of the time.
It means the cultivation of morality, concentration and wisdom according to the Buddha’s teaching.
It means following the middle way, the eightfold noble path.
It means following the one way, that way which has no other.
It means cultivating excellence in this life, preparing one for death before one has to die.
It makes one smart, understanding the fundamentals of reality, and understanding the fundamentals of everyday life better than before.
It allows one to realize supramundane reality, not being stuck in mere concepts and constructs, which are merely the playground of worldlings.
It makes people love one another, live in harmony together, be comfortable and friendly with each other, just like close relatives.
It makes people kind and compassionate towards one another, caring, sympathetic, rejoicing and congratulating others when good comes to them, not bearing jealousy towards each other.
It makes people people, better than people, more outstanding than people, more exceptional than people, more noble than people. It makes people special.
It stops people from oppressing each other, competing with each other, and envying or withholding from each other.
It makes people easy to admonish, not conceited or opinionated, not holding themselves up or being arrogant.
It brings people to know themselves, knowing how to maintain themselves on every occasion.
It sets one firmly in gratitude and appreciation, making one grateful and appreciative.
It causes people to reunite, because of lowering their respective egos and opinions allowing them to live together in harmony and peace.
It purifies one's thoughts, speech and deeds, making one respectful, cool and calm.
It allows one to obtain the seven types of happiness – human happiness, divine happiness, meditative happiness from insight, happiness from the noble path, happiness from the fruit of the path, and happiness from nibbana, according to one’s own practice or according to one’s own particular character and level of excellence.
It allows one to escape sorrow, lamentation and despair of all kinds.
It gives one the wisdom to overcome suffering in both body and mind.
It causes people to walk the right path, to know the right way to live their lives, to not get lost, intoxicated or negligent.
It enables one to attain the noble path, noble fruition and complete and final freedom from suffering.
Even if one practice only until basic or beginner knowledge, if one works hard to keep it up and practice again and again, it can still protect one from the danger of states of loss.
If one practices until attaining udayabbayañana, seeing nāma-rῡpa arising and ceasing, seeing the three characteristics clearly 50%, one is said to be someone who has an exceptional life. It is held that if they die on that day, they are still better than someone who never practiced but lived for 100 years.
If one doesn’t yet attain the noble path, fruition and release in this life, it will be a condition for attainment in future lives as follows:
If one develops insight in the first stage of life, from 7 to 25 years, it will be a condition for attainment in the middle stage, 25 to 50 years.
If one doesn’t yet succeed in the middle stage of life, it will be cause for attainment in the last stage of life, 50 to 75 years.
If one doesn’t yet succeed in the last stage of life, it will be a condition for attainment in the maraṇasamaya, the time of death.
If one doesn’t yet succeed at the time of death, it will be cause for the mind to be pure and be born in heaven, as accords with Pāli saying “citte asaṅkiliṭṭhe sugati patikaṅha” – when the mind is undefiled and pure, a good rebirth is to be expected without a doubt. Once born in heaven, it will be support for allowing one to hear the truth before the end of the Buddha's dispensation when the bone relics of the lord Buddha will come together as one Buddha image and expound the truth for 7 days and 7 nights. Listening to and practicing the teaching at that time, one will attain path, fruition and release then.
If one doesn’t yet succeed then one will be born in time for the Noble Lord Metteyya or a disciple of his or one will attain the state of private enlightenment in a suññakappa, a world period without a perfectly enlightened Buddha, realizing path, fruition and release privately.
It causes defilements – greed, anger, delusion, conceit and views, etc. to decrease.
It makes one totally and completely mindful, just like a car with good brakes.
It improves memory, allowing one to study well, and is a great benefit for students and scholars.
It can cause sickness and disease of all sort to disappear.
It causes one to be born in heaven.
It gives one firm and lasting faith and conviction in the triple gem.
It is helpful in regards to governance, in that those who have obtained training in Vipassana are easily governed, not making trouble for their peers or society at large.
It protects against stupidity, since mindfulness is the tool used to fix delusion, which is stupidity, since delusion is indeed the most important kind of stupidity that exists in every individual.
It makes one mindful in daily life and also at the time of death.
It makes people virtuous, cultured, civil and well-behaved; most practitioners will come to keep five precepts strictly at all times.
Students with poor memory or who do not well at school will find their memory improve and that they do much better at school as a result of practice.
It is very good for fixing bad attitudes; those who used to be foolish unruly, once they have gone through the practice of Vipassana meditation will once again behave themselves well.
Once one has good concentration one is assured good mental health.
It can be rightly said that one has paid homage to the Lord Buddha by way of the highest form of homage, according to his own words “even if the four assemblies (monks, nuns, lay men and lay women) take to paying homage to us with flowers and scents of all sorts, it is still not said to be true homage to us: as for those assemblies who have practiced the dhamma in order to realize the truth, only they can be said to have paid us true homage”.
It can be rightly said that we have worked together to preserve the good dhamma so that it doesn’t fade away.
It can be rightly said that we have worked together to spread the Buddha’s teaching, making it flourish and become well established for a long time to come, following the Lord Buddha’s reflection that “truly, for as long as these four assemblies continue to pay homage to us through the practice, so long will our teaching flourish like the full moon floating clearly in the middle of the night sky”.
It can be rightly said that one has seen the Lord Buddha, since one has seen the truth, as the Lord said, “one who sees the truth see me; one who sees me is said to be the one who sees the truth”.
It can be rightly said that one has undertaken a great and powerful heap of goodness as the Lord said, “O monks, when one is to speak of a heap of goodness, one must speak of the four foundations of mindfulness in order to be said to be speaking correctly”.
It can be rightly said that one has done away with doubt about whether the noble path, noble fruition and release still can be attained in this day and age, according to the Lord Buddha’s words, “O Subhadda, as long as they who see the danger in samsara practice correctly together, this world will not be void of enlightened beings”.
It can be rightly said that we have practiced according to all three parts of the Lord Buddha’s teaching, vis. the Vinaya, the Suttanta and the Abhidhamma, as was said, ”truly, the three parts of the Lord Buddha’s teaching in their entirety - that is, not leaving out one word that was passed on by those who have spread the Buddha’s teaching - can be summarized under a single teaching: to not be negligent.” And the heart of not being negligent is to never be bereft of mindfulness. And one who cultivates the four foundations of mindfulness is the very same one who is practicing Vipassana meditation.
Do I have to be Buddhist to practice Vipassana Meditation?
No. Meditators are asked to respect the meditation practice as given, as well as the customs and regulations of the center, including paying respect to the Teacher and the Teaching. No background in Buddhism or Buddhist meditation is expected, but meditators should be aware that our center follows a very old, very traditional Buddhist monastic way.
Meditators are required to undergo a traditional opening and closing ceremony before and after each course. Persons unwilling to participate in the ceremonial chanting, offering of flowers and paying respect (bowing down) are advised to seek an alternative center.
Can I practice other forms of meditation, yoga, or martial arts while at this centre? No. In order to gain a good understanding of what is Vipassana meditation, to achieve positive results from the practice, and to allow proper assessment of one's practice by the instructor, meditators are required to put aside other forms of meditation, yoga, martial arts, etc. for the duration of the course.
What is the schedule for meditators? The courses offered in Vipassana meditation at our center are intensive in nature. Students are instructed to sleep at most six hours at night, practice many hours of formal meditation each day, and to maintain mindfulness throughout the day. Meditators are required to meet with their instructor every day to discuss their practice, and meet in a group each week to retake the eight precepts and listen to a discourse on the meditation practice. Our current daily schedule for meditators is as follows:
4:00 AM
day begins
4:30 AM
group meditation
7:30 AM
breakfast
11:00 AM
lunch
3:00 PM
individual reporting with the teacher
7:00 PM
Dhamma talk (English or Thai) *
7:30 PM
group meditation
10:00 PM
day ends
* the Dhamma talk is in Thai on odd calendar days, and in English on even calendar days.
Apart from the set times above, one is expected to partake solely in the practice of Vipassana meditation at all times. Further instruction on the schedule may be given at the center.
Can beginner meditators practice at your center? How much attention is given to meditators? Teachers and staff are always available to accommodate the needs of beginning students. Meditators undergoing a Foundation Course are not required to have any background in meditation, but are required to put sincere effort into the practice, and be prepared for a challenging, life-changing experience. Persons concerned about their practice or special needs are advised to request further attention or consult with their teacher.
Can people on medication, or with prior mental illnesses, practice at this center? Persons suffering from mental illness are absolutely required to inform their teacher of their condition. Vipassana cannot be used as a replacement for psychiatric treatment. Persons with prior mental illness must necessarily have their practice adjusted accordingly, due to the intensive nature of the course.
Persons on medication or with prior drug or alcohol addiction are also required to inform their teacher of their condition. According to the 5th precept, recreational drugs and alcohol are absolutely forbidden at the center. Meditators are also asked to abstain from smoking cigarettes and drinking caffeine beverages.
Misc. Questions
What rules / customs will I have to follow while at this center? Meditators must observe the Eight Buddhist Precepts during their entire stay.meditators must abstain from talking with other meditators during their stay. Advisors and instructors are always available to discuss problems or answer questions during the course - there is no need to disturb other meditators. Whereas there are many ways to hurt one's own practice, this is the only common way to destroy someone else's. Persons unable to keep this or any other of the eight precepts are advised to seek an alternate center.
Please ensure that all personal affairs are settled prior to attending the center .
How much do the courses cost? The courses at our centre are completely free of charge, following the ancient Buddhist tradition of offering teachings freely without expecting payment. The staff will never ask meditators for donations, nor instruct them on donating, either directly or indirectly, as this is considered wrong livelihood in a monastic setting.
Since our meditation center relies on donations to run, however, persons wishing to offer support to our centre may do so at any time, irrespective of services rendered by the centre or staff. Interested persons should see our page on how to support us .
Is there anything else I need to know? In summary of some of the requirements above, meditators at the meditation center at Wat Thai of Los Angeles must: