Way of discovering yourself.Meditation is the way.
Meditation 2
By Ajahn Chah
You must take care to maintain the awareness with sati
and try to pull the mind back. Although I use the words ''pull the mind
back,'' in fact the mind doesn't really go anywhere, only the object of
awareness has changed. You must make the mind stay right here and now.
As long as there is sati there will be presence of mind. It seems
like you are pulling the mind back but really it hasn't gone anywhere,
it has simply changed a little. It seems that the mind goes here and
there, but in fact the change occurs right at the one spot. When sati is regained, in a flash you are back with the mind without it having to be brought from anywhere.
When
there is total knowing, a continuous and unbroken awareness at each and
every moment, this is called presence of mind. If your attention drifts
from the breath to other places then the knowing is broken. Whenever
there is awareness of the breath the mind is there. With just the breath
and this even and continuous awareness you have presence of mind.
There must be both sati and sampajañña. Sati is recollection and sampajañña is self-awareness. Right now you are clearly aware of the breath. This exercise of watching the breath helps sati and sampajañña develop together. They share the work. Having both sati and sampajañña
is like having two workers to lift a heavy plank of wood. Suppose there
are two people trying to lift some heavy planks, but the weight is so
great, they have to strain so hard, that it's almost unendurable. Then
another person, imbued with goodwill, sees them and rushes in to help.
In the same way, when there is sati and sampajañña, then paññā (wisdom) will arise at the same place to help out. Then all three of them support each other.
With paññā
there will be an understanding of sense objects. For instance, during
the meditation sense objects are experienced which give rise to feelings
and moods. You may start to think of a friend, but then paññā
should immediately counter with ''It doesn't matter,'' ''Stop'' or
''Forget it.'' Or if there are thoughts about where you will go
tomorrow, then the response would be, ''I'm not interested, I don't want
to concern myself with such things.'' Maybe you start thinking about
other people, then you should think, ''No, I don't want to get
involved.'' ''Just let go,'' or ''It's all uncertain and never a sure
thing.'' This is how you should deal with things in meditation,
recognizing them as ''not sure, not sure,'' and maintaining this kind of
awareness.
You must give up all the
thinking, the inner dialogue and the doubting. Don't get caught up in
these things during the meditation. In the end all that will remain in
the mind in its purest form are sati, sampajañña and paññā. Whenever these things weaken doubts will arise, but try to abandon those doubts immediately, leaving only sati, sampajañña and paññā. Try to develop sati like this until it can be maintained at all times. Then you will understand sati, sampajañña and samādhi thoroughly.
Focusing the attention at this point you will see sati, sampajañña, samādhi and paññā
together. Whether you are attracted to or repelled by external sense
objects, you will be able to tell yourself, ''It's not sure.'' Either
way they are just hindrances to be swept away till the mind is clean.
All that should remain is sati, recollection; sampajañña, clear awareness; samādhi, the firm and unwavering mind; and paññā, or consummate wisdom. For the time being I will say just this much on the subject of meditation.
Now about the tools or aids to meditation practice - there should be mettā
(goodwill) in your heart, in other words, the qualities of generosity,
kindness and helpfulness. These should be maintained as the foundation
for mental purity. For example, begin doing away with lobha, or
selfishness, through giving. When people are selfish they aren't happy.
Selfishness leads to a sense of discontent, and yet people tend to be
very selfish without realizing how it affects them.
You
can experience this at any time, especially when you are hungry.
Suppose you get some apples and you have the opportunity to share them
with a friend; you think it over for a while, and, sure, the intention
to give is there all right, but you want to give the smaller one. To
give the big one would be... well, such a shame. It's hard to think
straight. You tell them to go ahead and take one, but then you say,
''Take this one!''... and give them the smaller apple! This is one form
of selfishness that people usually don't notice. Have you ever been like
this?
You really have to go against the
grain to give. Even though you may really only want to give the smaller
apple, you must force yourself to give away the bigger one. Of course,
once you have given it to your friend you feel good inside. Training the
mind by going against the grain in this way requires self-discipline -
you must know how to give and how to give up, not allowing selfishness
to stick. Once you learn how to give, if you are still hesitating over
which fruit to give, then while you are deliberating you will be
troubled, and even if you give the bigger one, there will still be a
sense of reluctance. But as soon as you firmly decide to give the bigger
one the matter is over and done with. This is going against the grain
in the right way.
Doing this you win
mastery over yourself. If you can't do it you will be a victim of
yourself and continue to be selfish. All of us have been selfish in the
past. This is a defilement which needs to be cut off. In the Pāli
scriptures, giving is called ''dāna,'' which means bringing
happiness to others. It is one of those conditions which help to cleanse
the mind from defilement. Reflect on this and develop it in your
practice.
You may think that practicing
like this involves hounding yourself, but it doesn't really. Actually
it's hounding craving and the defilements. If defilements arise within
you, you have to do something to remedy them. Defilements are like a
stray cat. If you give it as much food as it wants it will always be
coming around looking for more food, but if you stop feeding it, after a
couple of days it'll stop coming around. It's the same with the
defilements, they won't come to disturb you, they'll leave your mind in
peace. So rather than being afraid of defilement, make the defilements
afraid of you. To make the defilements afraid of you, you must see the
Dhamma within your minds.
Where does the
Dhamma arise? It arises with our knowing and understanding in this way.
Everyone is able to know and understand the Dhamma. It's not something
that has to be found in books, you don't have to do a lot of study to
see it, just reflect right now and you can see what I am talking about.
Everybody can see it because it exists right within our hearts.
Everybody has defilements, don't they? If you are able to see them then
you can understand. In the past you've looked after and pampered your
defilements, but now you must know your defilements and not allow them
to come and bother you.
The next constituent of practice is moral restraint (sıla). Sıla
watches over and nurtures the practice in the same way as parents look
after their children. Maintaining moral restraint means not only to
avoid harming others but also to help and encourage them. At the very
least you should maintain the five precepts, which are:
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