From “Buddhism – A Very Short Introduction”

Damien Keown, Oxford University Press

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Chapter 7 Meditation

The importance of meditation in Buddhism can be appreciated by recalling that it was while meditating that the Buddha gained enlightenment. The image of the Buddha seated cross-legged in meditation is one of the most popular themes in Buddhist art, and a constant reminder of the close association between meditation and enlightenment. Virtually all schools of Buddhism see meditation as the high road to enlightenment, and it constitutes a major part of the 'experiential' dimension of Buddhism as a religion.

The Buddha meditating: This massive sculpture shows the Buddha meditating in the lotus posture with hands resting in his lap. Amida Buddha, Kamakura, Japan, AD 13th cent

Meditation (Samadhi) is one of the three divisions of the Eightfold Path.and thus occupies a central place in Buddhist practice. The more general term for meditation in Buddhism, however, is bhavana, which means 'cultivation' or literally 'making become'. The literal meaning is quite appropriate, for meditation is the principal Buddhist strategy for making oneself what one wishes to be.

The Indian Background

The meditational techniques in use in the Buddha's day were part of a common spiritual toolkit shared by renouncers (samanas) and those religious practitioners who followed the orthodox tradition of Indian religion (brahmanas). A few centuries before the Buddha's time, an upsurge of interest in the interior dimension of spiritual life led to the composition of a body of religious literature known as the Upanishads. These treatises sought to explain the relationship between the inner Self (atman) and the cosmic ground of being, and described mystical techniques by which the Self could realize its identity with that highest reality (brahman). Although the Buddha disagreed with the underlying philosophy of these texts, he was nonetheless in sympathy with their message that salvation must be sought within, and could only come through a deep understanding of one's nature.

In addition to the teachings of the Upanishads, the Buddha would also have been familiar with the beliefs and practices of the Yoga tradition. Although basing themselves on philosophical teachings which the Buddha rejected, practitioners of yoga developed a sophisticated set of techniques for disciplining both the mind and body. Yoga is related to the English word 'yoke', and yoga practice involves a sophisticated spiritual technology for yoking and harnessing the powers of the mind. Most readers will be familiar with the various physical exercises and postures of yoga, the purpose of which is to make the body supple, pliant, and healthy. The techniques of meditation used in yoga do roughly the same thing for the mind, providing a comprehensive tune up kit for peak mental functioning. The Buddha thus did not invent meditation, but, as we shall see below, he did introduce significant modifications to the methods of his contemporaries which makes Buddhist meditation distinctive in both theory and practice.

Insight Meditation (Vipassana)

If meditation is such a powerful technique, why did the Buddha turn his back on his teachers? The Buddha's reason for leaving was that he came to see that entering into a state of trance, however blissful and serene, was only a temporary diversion and not a permanent solution to suffering. Meditational states, like everything else in samsara, are impermanent and do not last. What these teachers and their meditational techniques failed to provide was the kind of deep philosophical insight into the nature of things which is needed for complete liberation.

The Buddha, therefore, developed a completely new meditational technique to supplement the practices he learned from his teachers. To the kind of techniques already described, which in Buddhism go by the generic name of 'calming meditation' (samatha), the Buddha added a new one called 'insight meditation' (vipassana). The goal of this was not peace and tranquillity but the generation of penetrating and critical insight (panna). Whereas in calming meditation intellectual activity subsides at an early stage (on reaching the second jhana), In Insight meditation the object of the exercise is to bring the critical faculties fully into play in a detailed reflexive analysis of the meditator’s own state of mind. In practice, the two techniques of calming and Insight are normally used back-to-back within the same session: calming may be used first to concentrate the mind and then insight to probe and analyse. It is impossible to practise insight meditation without having reached at least the level of calm of the first jhana.

In insight meditation, the meditator examines every aspect of his subjective experience, breaking this down into four categories: the body and its physical sensations; feelings; mood; and mental patterns and thoughts. A typical session might proceed by extending awareness of the rise and fall of the breath to the rest of the body. Every minor sensation would be noted such as twinges, aches, itches and the impulse to move and scratch. The meditator does not respond to these impulses since the purpose of the exercise is to note with bare attention how bodily sensations arise and subside without reacting to them in the normal semi-automatic way. By learning to observe without becoming involved, the pattern of stimulus-response which underlies much human behaviour can be broken. Little by little the realization dawns that one is free to choose how to react in all situations regardless which buttons are pushed. The grip of long-standing habits and compulsions is weakened and replaced with a new sense of freedom. The analysis is gradually extended to the whole body, the intellect being wielded like a surgeon's scalpel to dissect the various bodily parts and functions. From this the awareness arises that the body is nothing more than a temporary assemblage of bones, nerves, and tissues, certainly not a worthy object to become infatuated with or excessively attached to.

Next, attention is directed to whatever feelings arise. Pleasant and unpleasant feelings are noted as they arise and pass away. This sharpens the perception of impermanence and gives rise to the knowledge that even those things which seem most intimate to us - such as our emotions - are transient states which come and go. Next, the subject's current mood and the constant fluctuations in its overall quality and tone are observed, and finally the stream of thoughts which passes through the mind. The meditator must resist the temptation to lose himself in the daydreams and fantasies which inevitably arise. Instead, he simply observes with detachment as the thoughts and images follow one another, regarding them like clouds passing across a clear blue sky, or bubbles floating to the top of a glass. From this detached observation it gradually becomes clear that even one's conscious mind is but a process like everything else. Most people regard their mental life as their true inner essence (one thinks of Descartes's famous statement 'I think therefore I am'), but insight meditation discloses that the stream of consciousness is just one more facet of the complex interaction of the five factors of individuality, and not what one 'really is'.

The realization that there is no hidden subject who is the owner of these various sensations, feelings, moods, and ideas, and that all that exists are the experiences themselves, is the transformative insight which triggers enlightenment. The recognition that there is ultimately no subject that 'has' desires weakens and finally destroys craving once and for all, making it 'like a palm tree whose roots have been destroyed, never to grow again'. Experientially, it is as if a great burden has been lifted: the clamourings of the ego, with its vanities, illusions, cravings, and disappointments, are silenced. The result is not some kind of Stoic passivity, for emotion is not suppressed but merely freed from the distorting gravitational pull of the ego. Others begin to come more fully within one's emotional horizon as the merry-go-round of selfish craving and gratification slows and stops, to be replaced by a deep and lasting sense of peace and contentment.

Summary

Meditation is of great importance and is central to the practice of the Eightfold Path. Through the cultivation of attitudes such as benevolence, using the techniques of calming meditation, a deep moral concern for others is fostered. Based on this concern one begins to act spontaneously for their welfare and to place their interests on a par with one's own. The Buddhist version of the Golden Rule advises: 'Since all beings seek happiness and shun suffering, one should never do anything to that one would not like to be done to oneself.' By acting in accordance with principles of this kind one becomes perfect in Virtue (sila). By cultivating analytical understanding, through insight meditation, Wisdom (panna) arises, and one comes to understand the Truth of Suffering, the Truth of Arising, the Truth of Cessation, and the Truth of the Path.

The three components of the Eightfold Path - Morality, Meditation, and Wisdom - are thus like the three sides of a triangle. Meditation, however, is not just a means to Virtue and Wisdom: it if were, it would be merely a technique which can be discarded once they had been attained. Since the Buddha continued to practise meditation even after his enlightenment it can safely be concluded that the states experienced in meditation are intrinsically valuable human experiences. An analogy can be drawn with swimming: a person learns to swim by swimming, but then rather than stop, swims for the sheer satisfaction and well-being that the exercise provides.