The jhānas
do not arise out of a void but in dependence on the right conditions. They come
to growth only when provided with the nutriments conducive to their development.
Therefore, prior to beginning meditation, the aspirant to the jhānas must
prepare a groundwork for his practice by fulfilling certain preliminary
requirements. He first must endeavour to purify his moral virtue, sever the
outer impediments to practice, and place himself under a qualified teacher who
will assign him a suitable meditation subject and explain to him the methods of
developing lt. After learning these the disciple must then seek outer collegial
dwelling and diligently strive for success. In this chapter we will examine in
order each of the preparatory steps that have to be fulfilled before commencing
to develop jhāna.
A
disciple aspiring to the jhānas first has to lay a solid foundation of moral
discipline. Moral purity is indispensable to meditative progress for several
deeply psychological reasons. It is needed, first, in order to safeguard against
the danger of remorse, the nagging sense of guilt that arises when the basic
principles of morality are ignored or deliberately violated. Scrupulous
conformity to virtuous rules of conduct protects the meditator from this danger
disruptive to inner calm, and brings joy and happiness when the meditator
reflects upon the purity of his conduct (see A.v,1-7).
A second
reason a moral foundation is needed for meditation follows from an understanding
of the purpose of concentration. Concentration, in the Buddhist discipline, aims
at providing a base for wisdom by cleansing the mind of the dispersive influence
of the defilements. But in order for the concentration exercises to effectively
combat the defilements, the coarser expressions of the latter through bodily and
verbal action first have to be checked. Moral transgressions being invariably
motivated by defilements - by greed, hatred and delusion - when a person acts in
violation of the precepts of morality he excites and reinforces the very same
mental factors his practice of meditation is intended to eliminate. This
involves him in a crossfire of incompatible aims which renders his attempts at
mental purification ineffective. The only way he can avoid frustrating his
endeavour to purify the mind of its subtler defilements is to prevent the
unwholesome inner impulses from breaking out in the coarser form of unwholesome
bodily and verbal deeds. Only when he establishes control over the outer
expression of the defilements can he turn to deal with them inwardly as mental
obsessions that appear in the process of meditation.
The
practice of moral discipline consists negatively in abstinence from immoral
actions of body and speech and positively in the observance of ethical
principles promoting peace within oneself and harmony in one’s relations with
others. The basic code of moral discipline taught by the Buddha for the guidance
of his lay followers is the five precepts: abstinence from taking life, from
stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from intoxicating drugs
and drinks. These principles are binding as minimal ethical obligations for all
practitioners of the Buddhist path, and within their bounds considerable
progress in meditation can be made. However, those aspiring to reach the higher
levels of the jhānas, and to pursue the path further to the stages of
liberation, are encouraged to take up the more complete moral discipline
pertaining to the life of renunciation. Early Buddhism is unambiguous in its
emphasis on the limitations of household life for following the path in its
fullness and perfection. Time and again the texts say that the household life is
confining, a „path for the dust of passion,“ while the life of homelessness
is like open space. Thus a disciple who is fully intent upon making rapid
progress towards Nibbāna will, when outer conditions allow for it, „shave off
his hair and beard, put on the yellow robe, and go forth from the home life into
homelessness“ (M.i,179).
The
moral training for the Bhikkhus monks has been arranged into a system called the
fourfold purification of morality (cātupārisuddhisīla).[1]
The first component of this scheme, its backbone, consists in the morality of restraint
according to the Patimokkha, the
code of 227 training precepts promulgated by the Buddha to regulate the conduct
of the Sangha or monastic order. Each of these rules is in some way intended to
facilitate control over the defilements and to induce a mode of living marked by
harmlessness, contentment and simplicity. The second aspect of the monk’s
moral discipline is restraint of the senses, by which the monk maintains
close watchfulness over his mind as he engages in sense contacts so that he does
not give rise to desire for pleasurable objects and aversion towards repulsive
ones. Third, the monk is to live by a purified livelihood, obtaining his
basic requisites such as robes, food, lodgings and medicines in ways consistent
with his vocation. The fourth factor of the moral training is proper use of
the requisites, which means that the monk should reflect upon the purposes
for which he makes use of his requisites and should employ them only for
maintaining his health and comfort, not for luxury and enjoyment.
After
establishing a foundation of purified morality, the aspirant to meditation is
advised to cut off any outer impediments (palibodha) that
may hinder his efforts to lead a contemplative life. These impediments are
numbered as ten: a dwelling, which becomes an impediment for those who allow
their minds to become preoccupied with its upkeep or with its appurtenances; a
family of relatives or supporters with whom the aspirant may become emotionally
involved in ways that hinder his progress; gains, which may bind the monk by
obligations to those who offer them; a class of students who must be instructed;
building work, which demands time and attention; travel; kin, meaning parents,
teachers, pupils or close friends; illness; the study of scriptures; and
supernormal powers, which are an impediment to insight (Vism.90-97; PP.91-98).
The path
of practice leading to the jhānas is an arduous course involving precise
techniques and skilfulness is needed in dealing with the pitfalls that lie along
the way. The knowledge of how to attain the jhānas has been transmitted through
a lineage of teachers going back to the time of the Buddha himself. A
prospective meditator is advised to avail himself of the living heritage of
accumulated knowledge and experience by placing himself under the care of a
qualified teacher, described as a „good friend“ (kalyānamitta), one who gives guidance and wise advice rooted in his
own practice and experience. On the basis either of the power of penetrating
others’ minds, or by personal observation, or by questioning, the teacher will
size up the temperament of his new pupil and then select a meditation subject
for him appropriate to his temperament.
The
various meditation subjects that the Buddha prescribed for the development of
serenity have been collected in the commentaries into a set called the forty kammatthāna.
This word means literally a place of work, and is applied to the subject of
meditation as the place where the meditator undertakes the work of meditation.
The forty meditation subjects are distributed into seven categories, enumerated
in the Visuddhi-Magga as follows: ten kasinas, ten kinds of foulness, ten
recollections, four divine abiding, four immaterial states, one perception, and
one defining.[2]
A kasina
is a device representing a particular quality used as a support for
concentration. The ten kasinas are those of earth, water, fire and air; four
colour kasinas - blue, yellow, red and white, the light kasina and the limited
space kasina. The kasina can be either a naturally occurring form of the element
or colour chosen, or an artificially produced device such as a disk that the
meditator can use at his convenience in his meditation quarters.
The ten
kinds of foulness are ten stages in the decomposition of a corpse: the bloated,
the livid, the festering, the cut-up, the gnawed, the scattered, the hacked and
scattered, the bleeding, the worm-infested and a skeleton. The primary purpose
of these meditations is to reduce sensual lust by gaining a clear perception of
the repulsiveness of the body.
The ten
recollections are the recollections of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha,
morality, generosity and the deities, mindfulness of death, mindfulness of the
body, mindfulness of breathing, and the recollection of peace. The first three
are devotional contemplations on the sublime qualities of the „Three
Jewels,“ the primary objects of Buddhist veneration. The second three are
reflections on two cardinal Buddhist virtues and on the deities inhabiting the
heavenly worlds, intended principally for those still intent on a higher
rebirth. Mindfulness of death is reflection on the inevitability of death, a
constant spur to spiritual exertion. Mindfulness of the body involves the mental
dissection of the body into thirty-two parts, undertaken with a view to
perceiving its unattractiveness. Mindfulness of breathing is awareness of the
in-and-out movement of the breath, perhaps the most fundamental of all Buddhist
meditation subjects. And the recollection of peace is reflection on the
qualities of Nibbāna.
The four
divine abidings (brahmavihāra) are
the development of boundless loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and
equanimity. These meditations are also called the „immeasurables“ (appamaññā)
because they are to be developed towards all sentient beings without
qualification or exclusiveness.
The four
immaterial states are the base of boundless space, the base of boundless
consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of
neither-perception-nor-non-perception. These are the objects leading to the
corresponding meditative attainments, the immaterial jhānas.
The one
perception is the perception of the repulsiveness of food. The one defining is
the defining of the four elements, that is, the analysis of the physical body
into the elemental modes of solidity, fluidity, heat and oscillation.
The
forty meditation subjects are treated in the commentarial texts from two
important angles - one their ability to induce different levels of
concentration, the other their suitability for different temperaments.
Not all
meditation subjects are equally effective in inducing the deeper levels of
concentration. They are first distinguished on the basis of their capacity for
inducing only access concentration or for inducing full absorption; those
capable of inducing absorption are then distinguished further according to their
ability to induce the different levels of jhāna.
Of the
forty subjects, ten are capable of leading only to access concentration: eight
recollections - i. e. all except mindfulness of the body and mindfulness of
breathing - plus the perception of repulsiveness in nutriment and the defining
of the four elements. These, because they are occupied with a diversity of
qualities and involve an active application of discursive thought, cannot lead
beyond access. The other thirty subjects can all lead to absorption.
The ten
kasinas and mindfulness of breathing, owing to their simplicity and freedom from
thought construction, can lead to all four jhānas. The ten kinds of foulness
and mindfulness of the body lead only to the first jhāna, being limited because
the mind can only hold onto them with the aid of applied thought (vitakka)
which is absent in the second and higher jhānas. The first three divine
abidings can induce the lower three jhānas but not the fourth, since they arise
in association with pleasant feeling, while the divine abiding of equanimity
occurs only at the level of the fourth jhāna, where neutral feeling gains
ascendancy. The four immaterial states conduce to the respective immaterial jhānas
corresponding to their names.
The
forty subjects are also differentiated according to their appropriateness for
different character types. Six main character types are recognised - the greedy,
the hating, the deluded, the faithful, the intelligent and the speculative -
this oversimplified typology being taken only as a pragmatic guideline which in
practice admits various shades and combinations. The ten kinds of foulness and
mindfulness of the body, clearly intended to attenuate sensual desire, are
suitable for those of greedy temperament. Eight subjects - the four divine
abidings and four colour kasinas - are appropriate for the hating temperament.
Mindfulness of breathing is suitable for those of the deluded and the
speculative temperaments. The first six recollections are appropriate for the
faithful temperament. Four subjects - mindfulness of death, the recollection of
peace, the defining of the four elements, and the perception of the
repulsiveness in nutriment - are especially effective for those of intelligent
temperament. The remaining six kasinas and the immaterial states are suitable
for all kinds of temperaments. But the kasinas should be limited in size for one
of speculative temperament and large in size for one of deluded temperament.
Immediately
after giving this breakdown Buddhaghosa adds a proviso to prevent
misunderstanding. He states that this division by way of temperament is made on
the basis of direct opposition and complete suitability, but actually there is
no wholesome form of meditation that does not suppress the defilements and
strengthen the virtuous mental factors. Thus an individual meditator may be
advised to meditate on foulness to abandon lust, on loving-kindness to abandon
hatred, on breathing to cut off discursive thought, and on impermanence to
eliminate the conceit „I am“ (A.iv,358).
The
teacher assigns a meditation subject to his pupil appropriate to his character
and explains the methods of developing it. He can teach it gradually to a pupil
who is going to remain in close proximity to him, or in detail to one who will
go to practise it elsewhere. If the disciple is not going to stay with his
teacher he must be careful to select a suitable place for meditation. The texts
mention eighteen kinds of monasteries unfavourable to the development of jhāna:
a large monastery, a new one, a dilapidated one, one near a road, one with a
pond, leaves, flowers or fruits, one sought after by many people, one in cities,
among timber or fields, where people quarrel, in a port, in border lands, on a
frontier, a haunted place, and one without access to a spiritual teacher (Vism.
118-121; PP.122-125).
The
factors which make a dwelling favourable to meditation are mentioned by the
Buddha himself. If should not be too far from or too near a village that can be
relied on as an alms resort, and should have a clear path; it should be quiet
and secluded; it should be free from rough weather and from harmful insects and
animals; one should be able to obtain one’s physical requisites while dwelling
there; and the dwelling should provide ready access to learned elders and
spiritual friends who can be consulted when problems arise in meditation (A.v,
15). The types of dwelling places commended by the Buddha most frequently in the
suttas as conducive to the jhānas are a secluded dwelling in the forest, at the
foot of a tree, on a mountain, in a cleft, in a cave, in a cemetery, on a wooded
flatland, in the open air, or on a heap of straw (M.i, 181 ). Having found a
suitable dwelling and settled there, the disciple should maintain scrupulous
observance of the rules of discipline. He should be content with his simple
requisites, exercise control over his sense faculties, be mindful and discerning
in all activities, and practise meditation diligently as he was instructed. It
is at this point that he meets the first great challenge of his contemplative
life, the battle with the five hindrances.
[1]A full description of the fourfold purification of morality will be found in the Visuddhi-Magga. Chapter I.
[2]The following discussion is based on Vism.110-115; PP.112-118.