Buddhist Meditation

The Techniques of Meditation  

The seventh step of the Noble Eightfold Path is termed right mindfulness, also called the four foundations of mindfulness and Satipatthana. The three terms are synonymous and encompass not only the most important aspects of Theravada meditation but also one of the most unique and important features of all Buddhism. A full explanation of mindfulness or Satipatthana is given in the Satipatthana Sutta, which appears twice in the Pali canon. The Buddha begins the discourse as follows:

 This is the only way, monks, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.[11]

This same message he repeated frequently:

 Those for whom you have sympathy, O monks, those who deem it fit to listen to you — friends and companions, kinsmen and relatives — they should be encouraged, introduced to and established in the four foundations of mindfulness.[12]

And again:

 There are three taints (asava or cankers), O monks: the taint of sensuality, the taint of desire for renewed existence, and the taint of ignorance. For eliminating these three taints, O monks, the four foundations of mindfulness should be cultivated.[13]

This same emphasis has persisted even to the present era in some sections of the Buddhist world, as described by the Venerable Nyanasatta Thera:

 The great importance of the Discourse on Mindfulness (i.e., the Satipatthana Sutta) has never been lost to the Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. In Ceylon, even when the knowledge and practice of the Dhamma was at its lowest ebb through centuries of foreign domination, the Sinhala Buddhists never forgot the Satipatthana Sutta. Memorizing the Sutta has been an unfailing practice among the Buddhists, and even today in Ceylon there are large numbers who can recite the Sutta from memory. It is a common sight to see on full-moon days devotees who are observing the eight precepts, engaged in community recital of the Sutta. Buddhists are intent on hearing this Discourse even in the last moments of their lives; and at the bed-side of a dying Buddhist either monks or laymen recite this venerated text.[14]

Thus it seems a paradox that most Western texts on Buddhism merely list right mindfulness as one of the steps of the Eightfold Path and say little more except to redefine it by such terms as "right contemplation" and "right reflection." The reason is probably twofold. First, Satipatthana cannot be as concisely explained as the other seven steps; for it is not a single step but includes instead several distinct meditation exercises. Second, to be properly understood the Satipatthana Sutta must be examined from a psychological and psychiatric viewpoint. Most scholars of comparative religion are accustomed to approaching their studies from religious, ethical, or philosophical frames of reference, but none of these orientations apply here. If this sutta alone was to be filed on the shelves of a public library, it would most aptly be placed adjacent to the archives of eclectic psychiatry and would have little in common with the classic writings of religion and philosophy. Even psychology would not be an appropriate title, for the sutta is not concerned with any theoretical or conceptual interpretation of the mind. It deals only with the empirical facts of conscious experience and prescribes the techniques for mental development. It is, therefore, not surprising that many Occidentals who have scanned the pages of the Satipatthana Sutta have judged it confusing, meaningless, and sometimes morbid.

In addition to the two occurrences of the Satipatthana Sutta, condensed versions of the same teaching appear several times in the Sutta Pitaka.

The four parts of the four foundations of mindfulness are: contemplation of the body, contemplation of feelings, contemplation of mind, and contemplation of mental objects. The body contemplation is itself divided into six parts — breathing, postures, clear comprehension of action, repulsiveness, material elements, and the cemetery meditations.

Mindfulness of Breathing  

The initial endeavor in Buddhist meditation is to calm and quiet the mind so that it is fully alert but has temporarily diminished the quantity of daydreaming, planning, reminiscing, and all other forms of verbal and visual thinking. This goal can only be approached gradually, and therefore the beginner should start his practice by focusing his attention on some quiet, readily available, rhythmic process. Respiratory movements are ideal for this purpose. Thus the first exercise of the sutta begins:

 Herein, monks, a monk having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty place, sits down cross-legged, keeps his body erect and his mindfulness alert. Just mindful he breathes in and mindful he breathes out. Breathing in a long breath, he knows "I breathe in a long breath"; breathing out a long breath, he knows "I breathe out a long breath"; breathing in a short breath, he knows "I breathe in a short breath"; breathing out a short breath, he knows "I breathe out a short breath." "Conscious of the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe in," thus he trains himself. "Conscious of the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe out," thus he trains himself. "Calming the bodily function (of breathing), I shall breathe in," thus he trains himself. "Calming the bodily function (of breathing), I shall breathe out," thus he trains himself. As a skillful turner or his apprentice, making a long turn, knows "I am making a long turn," or making a short turn, knows "I am making a short turn," just so the monk breathing in a long breath, knows "I breathe in a long breath"; breathing out a long breath, he knows "I breathe out a long breath."...

The practitioner endeavors to keep his mind focused only on the act of breathing itself and not to think about breathing as a subject of intellectual contemplation. In other words, one attempts to give full attention to the reality of immediate experience and not become involved in speculations or contemplations about reality.

The theory is quite simple but the practice most difficult. In a typical case, at the beginning of his meditation the novice directs his attention solely to the process of breathing. Then after a few seconds, he inadvertently begins to think, "So far I am doing all right. My mind hasn't strayed from its subject." But at this very moment he has strayed from his subject. For now he is not concentrating but thinking about concentrating. If he does not catch himself (and he probably will not), the stream of consciousness will proceed something as follows: "My mind hasn't strayed from its subject. I'm doing better than yesterday. I wonder why? Maybe it's because I've finished all of my letter writing. I wonder if Marvin will answer the letter I sent him? He hasn't... Oh, Oh! I've gotten off the subject. I'd better get back to it. But I'm not really back; I'm just thinking about it. I wonder how long it will take me..." And so on it goes, day after day, week after week until the practitioner begins to wonder if he is not seeking the impossible. Yet the fact remains that many thousands living today have achieved this degree of concentration. With little short of amazement, the Western novice reads the Venerable Nyanaponika Thera's remarks concerning Burmese Satipatthana training: "Three to four hours of continuous mindfulness, i.e., without unnoticed breaks, are regarded as the minimum for a beginner undergoing a course of strict practice."[15]

The most widely practiced form of the breathing meditation is focusing attention at the nostrils where one feels the faint pressure of the ebb and flow of the breath. This technique is not mentioned in any of the recorded teachings of the Buddha or his disciples but has been popular at least since the time of Buddhaghosa in the fifth century A.D. In the words of Buddhaghosa:

 This is the simile of the gate-keeper: just as a gate-keeper does not examine people inside and outside the town, asking "Who are you? Where have you come from? Where are you going? What have you got in your hand?" — for those people are not his concern — , but does examine each man as he arrives at the gate, so too, the incoming breaths that have gone inside and the outgoing breaths that have gone outside are not this monk's concern, but they are his concern each time they arrive at the (nostril) gate itself.[16]

And again, in the simile of the saw, the woodcutter's attention is focused only at the point of contact between the saw and the wood:

 As the saw's teeth, so the in-breaths and out-breaths. As the man's mindfulness, established by the saw's teeth where they touch the tree trunk, without his giving attention to the saw's teeth as they approach and recede, though they are not unknown to him as they do so, and so he manifests effort, carries out a task and achieves an effect, so too the bhikkhu sits, having established mindfulness at the nose tip or on the upper lip, without giving attention to the in-breaths and out-breaths as they approach and recede, though they are not unknown to him as they do so, and he manifests effort, carries out a task and achieves an effect.[17]

Modifications of the breathing meditation can be applied to suit individual requirements. In the early stages of practice many persons find that mentally counting the breaths enhances concentration. In these instances one is advised not to count less than five or more than ten. Upon reaching ten the counting starts over. By going beyond ten, the counting rather than the breathing is likely to become the subject of one's attention:

 Herein, this clansman who is a beginner should first give attention to this meditation subject by counting. And when counting, he should not stop short of five or go beyond ten or make any break in the series. By stopping short of five his thoughts get excited in the cramped space, like a herd of cattle shut in a cramped pen. By going beyond ten his thoughts take the number (rather than the breaths) for their support.[18]

But how long is he to go on counting? Until, without counting, mindfulness remains settled on the in-breaths and out-breaths as its object. For counting is simply a device for settling mindfulness on the in-breaths and out-breaths as object by cutting off the external dissipation of applied thoughts.[19]

In the initial stages of practice one merely observes the process of breathing without attempting to change its rate or depth. Later, as concentration is achieved, the breathing is gradually and deliberately slowed in order to further quiet the mind. There is, however, no attempt to stop respiration as in certain yogic practices:

 When his gross in-breaths and out-breaths have ceased, his consciousness occurs with the sign of the subtle in-breaths and out-breaths as its object. And when that has ceased, it goes on occurring with the successively subtler signs as its object. How? Suppose a man struck a bronze bell with a big iron bar and at once a loud sound arose, his consciousness would occur with the gross sound as its object; then, when the gross sound had ceased, it would occur afterwards with the sign of the subtle sound as its object; and when that had ceased, it would go on occurring with the sign of the successively subtler sound as its object.[20]

It was a Burmese meditation teacher, Venerable U Narada (Mingun Sayadaw), who in the early part of this century, stressed the application of mindfulness of breathing as a means of cultivating direct awareness. It was he who gave the first strong impetus to the revival of Satipatthana meditation in contemporary Burma. He passed away in 1955 at the age of 87 and is said by many to have realized Nibbana.

A variation of the breathing meditation was developed by another Burmese monk, the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, who was a pupil of the Venerable U Narada. His technique involves focusing attention upon the respiratory movements of the abdomen instead of the sensation at the nostrils. This system has become popular in several parts of southern Asia. A revived interest in meditation has developed in that section of the world, especially in Burma, where numerous training centers have been established, and thousands of monks and lay people have received instruction.[21]

During meditation, when the practitioner finds that his mind has strayed from its subject, there should be no attempt to suppress or forcibly remove the extraneous thoughts. Rather he should briefly take mental note of them and objectively label them with some appropriate term. This may be done by thinking to himself "planning," "remembering," "imagining," etc., as the case may be. Then he should return to his original meditation subject. However, if after several tries the unwanted thoughts persist, he should temporarily take the thoughts themselves as the meditation subject. In so doing their intensity will diminish, and he can then return to his original subject. This same technique can be used for distracting noises. It can also be used for feelings of anger or frustration, which may develop as the result of unwanted thoughts or distractions. In these instances the meditator should think to himself "noise," or "irritation."[22]

As the mind becomes quiet and verbal thinking begins to diminish, other stimuli come into awareness. Among these are sensations, such as itches and minor pains, which are always present but go unnoticed because attention is directed elsewhere. The same may occur with emotions such as worry or fear, and these we shall discuss in detail later. Pictures or visual scenes may arise and are often so vivid as to be termed visions or hallucinations. They often have the appearance of dreams or distant memories and differ from thoughts in that the meditator usually finds himself a passive spectator not knowing when such scenes will arise or what forms they will take. The meditator should first attempt to ignore these sensations, feelings, and pictures. This failing, he should label them "itching," "fear," "picture," etc., and lastly make them his meditation subject until they diminish.[23]

To be successful, meditation should not be an unpleasant experience. Strain and tension should be minimized. Therefore, if the practitioner finds himself becoming tense, irritable, or fatigued during meditation, he may wish to terminate the practice until he acquires a better state of mind.

Mindfulness of Postures and of Actions  

Following mindfulness of breathing, the next exercise prescribed in the Satipatthana Sutta is the development of the same clear awareness towards one's daily actions. Thus the Buddha continues:

 And further, monks, a monk knows when he is going "I am going"; he knows when he is standing "I am standing"; he knows when he is sitting "I am sitting"; he knows when he is lying down "I am lying down"; or just as his body is disposed so he knows it.

And further, monks, a monk, in going forward and back, applies clear comprehension; in looking straight on and looking away, he applies clear comprehension; in bending and in stretching, he applies clear comprehension; in wearing robes and carrying the bowl, he applies clear comprehension; in eating, drinking, chewing and savoring, he applies clear comprehension; in attending to the calls of nature, he applies clear comprehension; in walking, in standing, in sitting, in falling asleep, in walking, in speaking and in keeping silence, he applies clear comprehension.

Here we note a similarity between early Buddhism and Zen. Or as the Zen master would say: "In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble."

Usually while dressing, eating, working, etc., we act on habit and give little attention to our physical actions. Our minds are preoccupied with a variety of other concerns. In Satipatthana, however, the practitioner devotes himself entirely to the situation at hand. Persons interested in meditation are often heard to complain, "But I don't have time to meditate." However, the form of mindfulness we are now discussing can be practiced at all times and in all situations regardless of one's occupation or social and religious commitments.

As with breathing meditation, the primary intent of this discipline is to prepare one's mind for advanced stages of psychological development. However, a valuable by-product is that it can greatly increase one's proficiency at physical skills. In Japan, Zen practitioners have utilized it to achieve mastery in swordsmanship, archery, and judo. The Buddha himself is quoted: "Mindfulness, I declare, O monks, is helpful everywhere."[24] And again:

 Whosoever, monks, has cultivated and regularly practiced mindfulness of the body, to whatever state realizable by direct knowledge he may bend his mind for reaching it by direct knowledge, he will then acquire proficiency in that very field.[25]

For one engaged in strict monastic training, mindfulness of actions becomes a more formalized practice. Breathing and walking meditations often are alternated for periods of about thirty minutes each. In walking the monk paces slowly along a level stretch of ground and directs his attention fully to the movement of each foot, thinking: "lift" — "forward" — "down" — "lift" — "forward" — "down." This alternation of breathing and walking practice may last sixteen hours each day for a period of six or more weeks.