three shamatha methods

8/11/2019 Three Shamatha Methods

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The Way of amatha:Soothing the Body, Stilling the Mind, and Illuminating Awareness

B. Alan Wallacehtt:!!alanwallace.org

Introductory Themes:

Two kinds of happinesso Hedonic pleasure, derived from what we can get from the world ~ hunter-

gatherer approacho Genuine happiness, derived from what we bring to the world ~ cultivator

approach, cultivated through ethics, mental balance, and wisdom tymologies of bhvana,samdhi, andamatha, the relation between them, and

their role in the cultivation of mental balance and inner well-being, beginning byovercoming obsessive, compulsive, delusional ideation

!uddha: "I thought of a time when my #akyan father was working and I wassitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree: $uite secluded from sensual desiresdisengaged from unwholesome things I had entered upon and abode in the firstmeditative stabili%ation, which is accompanied by coarse and precise investigation,with well-being and bliss born of seclusion& I thought: '(ight that be the way toenlightenment)* Then, following that memory, there came the recognition that thiswas the way to enlightenment&*

DhammapadaIII: ++ +: "The wise one straightens the fluttering, unsteadymind, which is difficult to guard and hard to restrain, .ust as a fletcher straightensan arrow-shaft& /ike a fish that has been taken out of its watery abode and thrownonto dry land, this mind flutters and trembles when it is removed from the abode of

mra&*I& 0amatha with a #ign: (indfulness of !reathing

A. "1ust as in the last month of the hot season, when a mass of dust anddirt has swirled up, a great rain cloud out of season disperses it and$uells it on the spot, so too concentration by mindfulness of breathing,when developed and cultivated, is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosialdwelling, and it disperses and $uells on the spot unwholesome stateswhenever they arise&*

B. 2nalogy of keeping a wound clean: e3ploring the healing and balancingcapacity of the body-mind

C. "!reathing in long, one knows, 'I breathe in long& !reathing out long,one knows, 'I breathe out long&4 !reathing in short, one knows, 'Ibreathe in short&4 !reathing out short, one knows, 'I breathe out short&45ne trains thus: 'I shall breath in, e3periencing the whole body& I shallbreath out, e3periencing the whole body& I shall breathe in, calming thecomposite of the body& I shall breathe out, calming the composite of thebody&4 Thus, one trains&*

D. ThePerfection of Wisdom Sutra in Ten Thousand Stanzas: "06riputra,take the analogy of a potter or a potter4s apprentice spinning the


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this way he has introspection of that& !ut if, on reviewing his mind, themonk understands: '@o e3citation concerning these five cords ofsensual pleasure arises in me on any occasion,4 then he understands:'Eesire and lust for the five cords of sensual pleasure are abandoned inme&4 In this way he has introspection of that&* 9Ma!!hima $i%ya


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V. !uddha: "#o long as these five obscurations are not abandoned oneconsiders himself as indebted, sick, in bonds, enslaved and lost in adesert track&* 9Smaaphala Sutta inD"gha $i%yaI >+

W. The !uddha likensamathato a great warrior and vipayanto a wiseminister& 9Sayutta($i%yaI;


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random dreams or to claim, "I saw a deity& I saw a ghost& I know this& I4ve reali%ed that&*and so on& The presence or absence of any kind of pleasure or displeasure, such as asensation of motion, is not uniform, for there are great differences in the dispositions andfaculties from one individual to another&

Eue to settling the mind in its natural state, there may arise sensations such asphysical and mental bliss, a sense of lucid consciousness, the appearance of empty forms,and a non-conceptual sense that nothing can harm the mind, regardless of whether or notthoughts have ceased& hatever kinds of mental events occurObe they gentle or violent,subtle or gross, of long or short duration, strong or weak, good or badOobserve theirnature, and avoid any obsessive evaluation of them as being one thing and not another& /etthe heart of your practice be consciousness in its natural state, limpid and vivid& 2cting asyour own mentor, if you can bring the essential points to perfection, as if you werethreading a needle, the afflictions of your own mind-stream will subside, you will gain theautonomy of not succumbing to them, and your mind will constantly be calm andcomposed& This is a sound basis for the arising of all samdhisof the stages of generationand completion&

This is like tilling the soil of a field& #o from the outset avoid making a lot of great,

e3alted, and pointless proclamations& Lather, it is crucial to do all you can to refine yourmind and establish a foundation for contemplative practice&

The )a!ra ,ssence on the #ubstrate and #ubstrate Ponsciousness:

"5 ;a.ra of (ind, the rope of mindfulness and firmly held attention is dissolved bythe power of meditative e3periences until finally the ordinary mind of an ordinarysentient being, as it were, disappears& Ponse$uently, discursive thoughts becomedormant, and moving thoughts vanish into the space of the mind& 5ne slips intothe vacuity of the substrate, in which oneself, others, and ob.ects vanish& Plingingto the e3periences of vacuity and luminosity while looking inwards, the

appearances of oneself, others, and ob.ects vanish& That is the substrateconsciousnessAone has come to the essential nature of the mind&* "The substrate consciousness, of the nature of vacuity and luminosity, abides as the

cause of everything that is emanated& The mind that emanates from that presentsforms, which are stabili%ed by a continuous stream of consciousness&*

"#omeone with an e3perience of vacuity and clarity who directs his attentioninward may bring a stop to all e3ternal appearances and come to a state in whichhe believes there are no appearances or thoughts& This e3perience of radiance fromwhich one dares not part is the substrate consciousness&*

"hen you fall asleep, all ob.ective appearances of waking reality, including theinanimate world, the beings who inhabit the world, and all the ob.ects that appear

to the five senses, dissolve into the vacuity of the substrate, which is of the natureof space, and they emerge from that domain&*

"Ignorance of this nature is determined as the cause of delusion& How) (ereignorance of the nature of the play of the all-pervasive ground acts as the cause&2s that becomes somewhat fortified, it dwells as the true substrate, which isimmaterial like spaceOa blank, unthinking void& ntering that state correspondsto states such as fainting, abiding in meditative absorption, entering a tranceinduced by meditative stabili%ation, becoming engulfed by deep sleep in the

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substrate 9in which appearances have dissolved into absolute space, and reachingthe point of death, in which appearances have vanished& That is called the truesubstrate& Nree of mental clinging to actuali%ation, one is engulfed in a ground thatis empty of matter&

Nrom that state arises radiant, clear consciousness itself as the basis of the

emergence of appearances7 that is the substrate consciousness& (oreover, noob.ects are established that are not its own luminosity, and while it can give rise toall kinds of appearances, it does not enter into any ob.ect& It is like the ability ofplanets and stars to appear in limpid, clear water7 like the ability of reflections toappear in a limpid, clear mirror7 and like the animate and inanimate worldappearing in limpid, clear space& In the same way, appearances can emerge in theempty, clear, substrate consciousness&

Nrom that state arises the consciousness of the mere appearance of the self called-&The self is apprehended as being here, so the ground appears to be over there, thusestablishing the appearance of immaterial space& 2s that becomes entrenched, it ismade manifest, and so-called mental cognitionarisesOwhich is the basis for theemergence of appearancesOand the aspect of luminosity is revealed& Nrom thatthe five types of ob.ects of appearance arise, and reifying them, there is clingingand delusion&*

0amatha without a #ign 9Nrom admasambhava4s$atural .iberation:

hile steadily ga%ing into the space in front of you, without meditating on anything,steadily concentrate your consciousness, without wavering, in the space in front of you&Increase the stability and then rela3 again& 5ccasionally seek out "hat is thatconsciousness that is concentrating,* steadily concentrate again, and then check it outagain& Eo that in an alternating fashion& ven if there are problems of la3ity and lethargy,

that will dispel them& In all your activities rely upon unwavering mindfulness& Eo that forone day&

Then position your body like before& Past your ga%e downwards, gently releaseyour mind, and without having anything on which to meditate, gently release both yourbody and mind into their natural state& Having nothing on which to meditate, and withoutany modification or adulteration, place your attention simply without wavering, in its ownnatural state, its natural limpidity, its own character, .ust as it is& Lemain in clarity, and restthe mind so that it is loose and free& 2lternate between observing who is concentratinginwardly and who is releasing& If it is the mind, ask: what is that very agent that releasesthe mind and concentrates the mind) 2nd steadily observe yourself& Then release again& !yso doing, fine stability will arise, and you may even identify pristine awareness& Eo that,

too, for one day&Then do as before& @ow alternately tightly concentrate your consciousness, whollyconcentrating it without wavering, and then gently release it, evenly resting it in openness&2gain concentrate, and again release& In that way, meditate with alternating constrictionand release& 2t times, steadily direct your ga%e up into the sky& #teadily focus yourawareness with the desire to be without anything on which to meditate& Lela3 again& 2ttimes, steadily, unwaveringly, direct your awareness into the space on your right7 at times,


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direct it to the left7 and at times, direct it downwards& Euring each session, rotate the ga%earound in those directions&

5ccasionally in$uire, "hat is that awareness of the one who is focusing theinterest)* /et the awareness itself steadily observe itself& 2t times, let your mind come torest in the center of your heart, and evenly leave it there& 2t times, evenly focus it in thee3panse of the sky and leave it there& Thus, by shifting the ga%e in various, alternatingways, the mind settles in its natural state& 2s indications of this, if awareness remainsevenly, lucidly, and steadily wherever it is placed,amathahas arisen&

If awareness becomes muddled and without mindfulness, that is the problem ofla3ity, or dimness7 so clear it up, inspire it, and shift your ga%e& If it becomes distracted ande3cited, it is important that you lower your ga%e and release your awareness& If samdhiarises in which there is nothing of which you can say, "This is meditation,* and "This isconceptuali%ation,* this is the problem of oblivion, so meditate with alternatingconcentration and release, and recogni%e who is meditating& Lecogni%e the flaws ofamatha, and eliminate them right away&

Nlawlessamathais like an oil-lamp that is unmoved by wind& herever the awarenessis placed, it is unwaveringly present7 awareness is vividly clear, without being sullied by

la3ity, lethargy, or dimness7 wherever the awareness is directed, it is steady and sharplypointed7 and unmoved by adventitious thoughts, it is straight& Thus, a flawless meditativestate arises in one4s mind-stream7 and until this happens, it is important that the mind issettled in its natural state& ithout genuine amathaarising in one4s mind-stream, even ifpristine awareness is pointed out, it becomes nothing more than an ob.ect of intellectualunderstanding7 and one is left simply giving lip-service to the view, and there is the dangerthat one may succumb to dogmatism& Thus, the root of all meditative states depends uponthis, so do not be introduced to pristine awareness too soon, but practice until thereoccurs a fine e3perience of stability&*

The )a!ra ,ssence: "/eaving your body, speech, and mind in a state of inactivity is theunsurpassed, supreme techni$ue for inserting the vital energy and mind into the centralchannel&*

The )a!ra ,ssence: "(otionlessly rela3 your body in whatever way is comfortable, likean unthinking corpse in a charnel ground& /et your voice be silent like a lute with itsstrings cut& Lest your mind in an unmodified state, like the primordial presence ofspace& Lemain for a long time in these three ways of resting& This pacifies allillnesses due to disturbances of the elements and unfavorable circumstances, and yourbody, speech, and mind naturally calm down& The ultimate purpose of this practice isto e3perience the dharma%ya, free of activity&*

H& H& the Ealai /ama 9Dzogchen: "hen you rest the mind, putting it out of work,

the vital energies naturally become refined, and solely by non-conceptual meditation,you slip into the clear light with the mind and vital energies& This re$uires settling incomplete inactivity, which is not easyQ*

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