7th Issue (March, 2008) Mental cultivation through Theravāda meditation techniques By Quyen Ngo Monks, the ending of the fermentations [āsavas] is for one who knows & sees, I tell you, not for one who does not know & does not see.[1] IntroductionEnding the āsavas, to attain enlightenment (Nibbāna) entails developing wholesome mental qualities which can produce a profound change in the person at the deepest mental level. This means the eradication of all unwholesome qualities, including their roots. As such a process requires a great deal of skill, effort, and commitment, the Buddha often took the ‘step-by-step’ approach, starting with teachings on generosity, virtue, heaven, the drawbacks of sensuality, and then moving onto the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path[2] , when the minds of his audience are receptive to such teachings. The Noble Path is a complete mental training system designed to cultivate wholesome mental qualities culminating in Nibbāna. There are three aspects of the Noble Path:
This essay will focus on the various meditation methods employed in Theravāda Buddhism to develop wholesome mental qualities that constitute these three pillars of the Noble Path, and how they interact to culminate in Nibbāna. Methods of bhāvanāThe word bhāvanā in Pali has often been translated into English as ‘meditation’. It means ‘bringing into being’ and it refers to cultivating wholesome mental qualities that conduce to Nibbāna.[3] There are two different emphasis of bhāvanā: it can be towards concentration (samatha) or insight (vipassanā), though neither is exclusive. That is to say, there must be a certain amount of discernment in samatha and certain amount of concentration in vipassanā, as it is said that ‘there is no meditative concentration for him who lacks insight and no insight for him who lacks meditative concentration’[4] . In the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa listed forty techniques used to attain concentration and insight. They include ‘preliminary techniques’, such as keeping good company, reflection on the dangers of sensuality, devotion; recollections of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha; recollections on virtue, gods and Nibbāna contemplation on death, the 32 body parts, repulsiveness of food; meditation on loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity; meditation on the breath, sensation, the mind, and mental contents. Personality typesThe wide range of bhāvanā techniques available to a meditator can be compared to a handyman’s range of tools, at certain times, some tools are more effective. Likewise, at certain times, some bhāvanā techniques are more effective for directing the mind away from the hindrances. For example, thoughts of loving-kindness would be very effective to supplant those of anger and ill-will; and focusing on the breath is recommended to counter discursive thinking. This reflects the need for skill and awareness in mental cultivation, one need to be sensitive and aware of the changing conditions so as to adjust accordingly, to continually steer the mind in the right direction. Buddhism also recognises that people have different inclinations; and some bhāvanā techniques are better suited to deal with certain idiosyncratic tendencies. In the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa also analysed other factors, such as environmental, food, etc., that are considered most conducive for different personality types[5] . Mental qualitiesOf course, exercising these bhāvanā techniques involve wise attention (yoniso manasikāra) which is appropriate direction of attention which prevent unskillful thoughts and increase skilful ones, as well as exercising mindfulness, effort, concentration, diligence, and clear knowing. Furthermore, these techniques cultivate the qualities of faith, joy, happiness, gladness, rapture, concentration, respect & deferential, rectitude of mind, generosity, peaceful faculties, good rebirth, diligence, effort, and disenchantment with becomings.[6] They engender positive emotions such as immense loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity through countering ill-will, resentment, and anger. They develop mindfulness, effort, diligence, joy, concentration, and the bodhi-pakkhiyā dhammās which ultimately lead to insight into anicca, dukkha, and anattā. Essentially, the bhāvanā techniques aim to foster wholesome mental qualities, namely: conviction/faith (saddhā), wholesome desire (chanda), virtue (sīla), mindfulness (sati), effort/energy (viriya), joy/zest (pīti), equanimity (upekkhā), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom/discernment (paññā). These are, in fact some of the major bodhi-pakkhiyā dhammās (factors of dhammas conducive to Awakening). They appear in the seven sets of dhammas conducive to Awakening and they form 31 out of the total 37 dhammas conducive to Awakening. Furthermore, Thanissaro Bhikkhu saw all 37 dhammas conducive to Awakening as belonging to five main mental qualities: conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration and discernment.[7] The role of each, including that of virtue, is as follows: ConvictionThe Noble Path is seen as the teachings of ALL the Buddhas. Whoever in the past, present, or in the future, attains Nibbāna must do so through practicing the Noble Path.[8] In the Nagara Sutta, the Buddha likened his discovery of the Noble Path to discovering an ancient city lost in the wilderness.[9] Having (re-) discovered it, he revealed it. This clearly illustrates that one needs to have conviction (saddhā) to get on the Path. A Tathāgata appears in the world, worthy & rightly self-awakened. He teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle, admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. A householder or householder's son, hearing the Dhamma, gains conviction in the Tathāgata.[10] This also points to the importance of associating with wise people, as through them one gains knowledge and conviction in the Dhamma (Buddhist teachings).[11] Thanissaro Bhikkhu, in Wings of Awakening, described three aspects of conviction: social, intellectual, and practical. The social aspect - through associating with people who have mastered the process, one can learn and emulate them. The intellectual aspect – associating with good people helps one attain Right View, one learns that good and bad actions have consequences and that one can benefit from developing skills, and thus takes responsibility for one’s actions. The practical aspect is that what one truly believes one would put into practice. This is what Gethin calls ‘affective’ faith (conviction) which refers to trustful confidence in the Buddha and his teachings so one can aspire to the same ideal, as opposed to ‘cognitive’ faith which might be intellectual acceptance in the form of a Buddhist creed (Gethin, 1998: 167). Conviction instills confidence in one’s own ability, like having seen someone leaped across a swollen river.[12] It also has a protective quality like a magical gem, which when thrown into muddied water can cause all the dirt to settle; conviction settles the mind and helps counter the hindrances.[13] It instills gladness, which then gives rise to joy, serenity, happiness, meditative concentration and insight. Insight in turn reinforces conviction by confirming it. Virtue - good conductIn the suttas, when someone has gained conviction in the Buddha and his teachings, typically after a discourse, he/she would take the ‘refuge’.[14] This is formal declaration that one aspires to the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha. Taking the refuge is usually followed by taking the precepts as a lay person, or request to be ordained as monk/nun: A householder or householder's son, hearing the Dhamma, gains conviction in the Tathāgata and reflects: 'Household life is confining, a dusty path. The life gone forth is like the open air. It is not easy living at home to practice the holy life totally perfect, totally pure, like a polished shell. What if I were to shave off my hair & beard, put on the ochre robes, and go forth from the household life into homelessness?[15] A lay person takes on five precepts[16] whilst a monk or nun abides by the 200 plus training rules (pāṭimokkha), ‘seeing danger in the slightest fault’. These rules are designed to curb unwholesome action by following Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. At the same time, following the rules entails exercising mindfulness and clear awareness, thus strengthening them. MindfulnessMindfulness is the second most frequent to occur amongst the seven sets of Awakening factors. It is an important mental quality in that it is required in all wholesome states of mind. It is related to memory; it aids memory in that activities done with greater mindfulness can be recalled more easily. The detached observation attribute of mindfulness has been likened to a gatekeeper, not only this reveals the monitoring quality of mindfulness but also its restraining quality.[17] Through monitoring, mindfulness ensures appropriate deployment of effort. Mindfulness knows how things stand in relation to each other. Thus, it is closely related to wise attention (yoniso manasikāra). Often, merely being mindful of unwholesome activities is enough to dissolve them. Effort/persistence/diligence/ardencyEffort is the most frequent occurring of all mental factors amongst the seven sets of dhammas conducive to Awakening. Without effort and diligence it is hard to achieve even mundane goals. Right effort according to the Buddhist practice is:
In cultivating mental qualities, one not only has to apply effort, but it has to be combined with skill and awareness, as one can make things worse if goes about it the wrong way.[21] Effort applied in the Buddhist practice has to combine with mindfulness and knowledge. The Sabbasava Sutta[22] describes seven ways in which exertion can be used to abandon unskillful qualities: seeing, restraining, using, tolerating, avoiding, destroying, and developing. Clearly, choosing which of the way requires knowledge and awareness. In other words, effort has to be ‘right’ effort. For example, in practicing sense-restraint, one has to know what to direct attention to and what not to direct attention to, in order to avoid assailing the mind with sensual objects. One needs to assess why attention to certain themes increase or decrease wholesome or unwholesome thoughts. In meditation, one has to stick relentlessly with the theme of the meditation and return to it as soon as the mind wanders and to resist the temptation to get involved and be carried away by arising thoughts. This reveals the three aspects of effort: effort to observe, effort to understand, and effort to abandon.[23] Right concentration and JhānasRight concentration (sammā-samādhi) is an essential factor for the arising of insight and full Awakening.[24] The suttas make frequent mention of jhānas, and in some cases they have been equated with Right Concentration.[25] However, there is controversy over what constitutes sammā-samādhi, and whether jhāna is necessary to attain Nibbāna. This issue has been taken up by a number of authors.[26] According to Anālayo, sammā-samādhi doesn’t just refer to the depth of concentration, but whether it is developed in conjunction with other path factors.[27] He asserts that the first experience of Nibbāna, at stream-entry, requires a state of mind that is free of the hindrances; however, this does not necessarily imply jhāna, as there are documented cases of people attaining stream-entry whilst listening to discourses; some seemingly knew little about meditation, let alone jhānas. Though for full Awakening, absorption (jhānas) is required.[28] According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, sammā-samādhi refers to jhāna, and the controversy over whether or not jhāna is required for Awakening seems to have originated from the differences between the suttas’ and the commentarial description of jhāna. Though the ‘first jhāna can be a sufficient basis for the discernment leading to Awakening’.[29] The mind emerged from the fourth jhānas is said to be ‘concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability’.[32] This description conjures up two important notions; firstly, it conjures up the notion that the mind is intrinsically pure, like pure gold that has been separated from the impurities. In the same way, the mind is said to be naturally bright and shining but is covered by defilements that later arrived.[33] The second notion is that once impurities have been removed from gold[34] , its value is clearly evident - pure gold is bright, unblemished, pliant and malleable, which can be used to make all kinds of valuable objects. Similarly, samādhi suspends the defilements to uncover the radiant quality of the mind; upon emerging from the fourth jhāna, the mind is poised for developing supernatural powers, such as clairvoyance, mind reading, remembering past lives, and to attain liberating insight. Thus, concentration plays a vital role in Awakening, without sufficient concentration the mind cannot attain full and complete knowledge required for Awakening, in the same way that if gold is not properly refined, it cannot be used to make certain kinds of items. Attaining jhānas entail nurturing and balancing mental factors of vitakka (initial mental application), vicāra (sustained mental application), pīti (joy/zest), sukha (happiness), and citta-ekaggatā (one-pointedness). This requires a great deal of skill and mindfulness; as tensing or slacking of certain mental quality will not allow the mind to attain or settle in jhāna. Jhānic states are free of greed, hatred and delusion; and is close to that of an enlightened mind[35] . Albeit jhānas are temporary states, and thus the freedom from greed, hatred and delusion is only temporary. Knowledge/discernment/wisdomAwakening comes not from philosophising or intellectualising, but from actual knowledge. It is seeing that give rise to knowledge, and knowledge in turn enables one to see things as they really are. For seeing to give rise to knowledge one needs to observe phenomena to see their manifestation, their causal relations, how they arise and pass away; to realize that all phenomena are inconstant, liable to bring about suffering, and not-self. Only when one has reached this stage does disenchantment sets in. Without disenchantment one is not able to let go, even forceful attempts through denial or repression do not work. This is best illustrated with Buddhaghosa’s snake simile[36] : when a man realised that he is holding a snake instead of a fish, he would have no hesitation in letting go of it! The mind has to be brought to a stage which it naturally lets go of all craving; but this entails having seen clearly the drawbacks of craving and what is craved for, like recognising the marks of a snake. However, in order to see things clearly, the mind needs to be stilled. If it is turbulent with thoughts, emotions, and desire it would not be able to see things clearly. This is like looking into a bowl with ruffled or muddied water; one would not be able to see one’s reflection clearly.[37] In order to see the roots of the defilements, one has to look deep into the mind, and this can only be achieved if it is not ruffled by the hindrances. Hence, concentration is a requisite for discernment. Discernment supports virtue and conviction by affirming them. Thus, at stream-entry, a person has full conviction in the Buddha, Dhamma & Saṅgha, and strong virtue so that he/she is incapable of lower than human rebirth. Relationship between mental qualitiesJust as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies... the little ponds... the big lakes... the little rivers... the big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean, and thus is the great ocean fed, thus is it filled. In the same way, when associating with truly good people is brought to fulfilment, it fulfils [the conditions for] hearing the true Dhamma... conviction... appropriate attention... mindfulness & alertness... restraint of the senses... the three forms of right conduct... the four frames of reference... the seven factors for Awakening. When the seven factors for Awakening are brought to fulfilment, they fulfil [the conditions for] clear knowing & release. Thus is clear knowing & release fed, thus is it brought to fulfilment.[38] This graphically illustrates how one mental factor fosters another in a linear relationship. Thus, hearing the true Dhamma instils conviction. Conviction is closely related to effort, what one truly believes and inspires, one would put into practice. Effort with appropriate attention, mindfulness and alertness help sense-restraint and strengthen virtue so that the mind can concentrate more easily. With good concentration, one can direct focus to investigate phenomena, and then learn to foster the seven factors for Awakening (bojjhaṅgas). Description of linear relationships forms excellent didactic device, but the way mental factors reinforce each other are much more complex. Mental qualities required for Awakening are grouped into seven sets of dhammas conducive to Awakening, each of which emphasizes a particular aspect of the practice. In practice, they form three aspects of the Path: sīla, samādhi, and paññā. As they develop, mental qualities reinforce each other in an upward spiral towards Awakening. Established sīla supports samādhi, which leads to paññā. The latter reaffirms sīla by way of conviction. Conviction born of paññā is not just confidence and belief in the Buddha, but conviction from having seen the Truth for oneself, thus it is a higher level conviction. Consequently, reaffirmed sīla also takes on a new level. Here, one acts what one knows to be most skilful, rather than what is considered ‘right’ behaviour. Paññā also strengthens samādhi in the form of clear knowledge; discerning which mental factors reinforce or hinder concentration is vital in establishing samādhi. In this way, paññā goes back and reinforces both sīla and samādhi, taking them (and itself) to a higher level. In terms of individual mental factors: discernment strengthens conviction and virtue in the form of right view, and it supports mindfulness and concentration in the form of clear awareness. Mindfulness reinforces persistence by monitoring it, it supports virtue by awareness of unwholesome activities, it fosters concentration by being aware of the hindrances; and together with concentration they strengthen discernment. Concentration leads to mindfulness & alertness[39] , together they lead to discernment; and pleasant abiding born of concentration helps to keep persistence aroused. In this way, a single mental quality, as it develops, helps engender and strengthen not just one but a number of other mental qualities. Therefore, perfection of one mental quality entails the perfection of others. Stages of mental cultivationFor practical purposes, the mental progress towards Awakening can be divided into different stages. In Visuddhimagga[40] , Buddhaghosa recognised ‘seven stages of purification’, namely:
In the final stage, the culmination of previous eight knowledges results in directly experiencing Nibbāna. This marks the culmination of thirty-seven factors of Awakening, insight into the Four Noble Truths, and Dependent Arising. Thus, the meditator realises that, ‘birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world’.[41] ConclusionThus, the way to effect Awakening is via cultivating and putting together a set of mental qualities, like a raft, for the purpose of ‘crossing over’ to Nibbāna.[42] The raft simile illustrates the importance of wholesome mental qualities in ‘crossing over’. To make a raft one gathers suitable materials (wood, sticks, branches and makeshift ropes), being mindful of what is and what is not useful for the purpose. Similarly, skilfulness and discrimination are required to cultivate wholesome mental qualities for Awakening. As with spiritual practice, constructing the ‘raft’ from raw materials require effort, diligence and ingenuity. Furthermore, paddling over to ‘the other shore’ (Nibbāna) not only requires effort, concentration and diligence but also awareness that one is steering in the right direction, and away from potential dangers, akin to rocks, eddies, and currents. As Thānissaro Bhikkhu succinctly puts it, ‘skillfulness - as a constant, sensitive mindfulness and discernment toward one's own actions - lies at the essence of every moment in the continued development of the path’.[43] The mental constituents for Awakening factors were already present in the unawakened mind, though their occurrences were somewhat capricious and haphazard. This is due to the fact that defilements were also present in the mind, and compete for its attention. In the awakened mind, these wholesome mental qualities fully manifest, due to the complete and utter removal of the defilements. The purpose of the Noble Path is not just to cultivate wholesome mental qualities, nor just to transform wrong view, wrong effort, wrong virtue, wrong mindfulness and wrong concentration into right view, right effort, right virtue, right mindfulness and right concentration; but to use these to enable the realization of the Unconditioned (Nibbāna). Thus, one comes to realize the Unconditioned via conditioned means, and Nibbāna transcends all skilful and unskilful states. BibliographyVen. Anālayo, (2003), Satipaṭṭhāna - The Direct Path to Realization, Birmingham, Windhorse. 1. M i 6, Sabbasava Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.002.than.html. 2. Ud 48, Kutthi Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.5.03.than.html. 3. Gethin, 1998: 174. 4. Dhp, 372. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.25.budd.html. 5. Vism III.74-102, 121-2, V.40-42. 6. Vism VII, 1-127. 7. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 1. 8. A v 193, Uttiya Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.095.than.html. 9. S i 104, Nagara Sutta,Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.065.than.html. 10. D i 224, Lohicca Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.12.0.than.html. 11. AN 10.61, from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 12. Milindapañha 34-5 from Gethin (2003: 114). 13. Sensual desire, ill-will, sloth & torpor, restlessness & worry, doubt. 14. D iii 180, Sigalovada Sutta, Narada Thera’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html. 15. D i 224, Lohicca Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.12.0.than.html. 16. Refrain from: killing, stealing, false speech, sexual misconduct, getting intoxicated. 17. Anālayo, 2003: 56. 18. Anālayo, 2003: 61. 19. S v 170 from Anālayo, 2003: 60. 20. S v 2, Magga-vibhanga Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.008.than.html. 21. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 22. M i 6, Sabbasava Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.002.than.html. 23. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 24. S iv 80, Aiii 426, as cited by Anālayo, 2003: 79. 25. S v 2, Magga-vibhanga sutta;A iii 25, Samadhanga sutta. Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translations, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sutta.html. 26. For example: Anālayo, 2003: 67-91; Gethin, 1998; 199-201; Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 27. Anālayo, 2003: 75. 28. 2003: 74-85. 29. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 30. Anālayo, 2003: 85. 31. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 32. D i 47, Samaññaphala Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html. 33. A.i.10 from Gethin, 1998: 175. 34. AN 5.23 from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 35. Gethin, 2003: 345. 36. Vism XXI, 49. 37. SN 46.55, from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 38. AN 10.61, from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996: part 3. 39. A ii 44, Samādhi Sutta, Thanissaro’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.041.than.html 40. Ñānamoli, (1991). 41. D i 47, Samaññaphala Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html. 42. S iv 172, Asivisa Sutta., Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.197.than.html.    
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