Published On:Monday, 15 September 2014
Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog
Moving with meditation
Moving with meditation:
-Karathota Dhammasiri Bhikkhu
Meditation is like germinating a
seed. When a seed gets germinated a big tree does not spring from it at once.
We must look after it carefully with love and affection like looking after a
child. Mindfulness is also something like that. First of all we must generate
mindfulness.
Then we must develop it. To
generate mindfulness too we meditate. If some mindfulness is generated that is
developed by meditating. For that one needs a knowledge of Dhamma.
Try to be mindful
That means for generating
mindfulness as well as for developing it we need the knowledge of Dhamma. One
cannot keep on improving the mindfulness if there is no knowledge of Dhamma.
Why? One does not know what one is doing.
That path to Nibbana was
explained by the Buddha. We do not know about it. That is why we require the
Dhamma. It is in the Dhamma that one is instructed to “Do this now. Next do
this” etc. That means we require the Dhamma wherein it is explained how to
improve mindfulness.
The way the Dhamma has to be
developed at different places is different. The same thing must not be done
often. That is why it is said listening to Dhamma and conducting Dhamma
discussions have to be done at the appropriate times.
At the time of practising Sila we
must speak of Dhamma pertaining to Sila. We must study Dhamma related to Sila.
When we practise concentration we must study and talk about Dhamma about
concentration.
When we practise wisdom we must
practise and study Dhamma relevant to wisdom. When we develop concentration we
must study and discuss Dhamma facts relevant to developing concentration.
That is why we have to discuss
Dhamma at the appropriate time. Listen to Dhamma at the appropriate time. What
most of us do is to study about concentration at the beginning itself asking:
“How is that? How is this? How can such and such a concentration be developed?”
Such a person can never achieve a clear knowledge or understanding. Why? It is
irrelevant. It does not relate to him.
These problems arise as a
consequence of lack of Saddha. If one had Saddha, if he knows about listening
to Dhamma at the appropriate time, discussing Dhamma at the appropriate time
one knows where he stands. Can a child in the kindergarten learn Pythagoras’
theorem? Such a thing is taught to children in grade nine or ten. We must know
where we are and what we have to do. That is why we should welcome the advice
of worthy friends.
In search of truth
To make a success of meditation
there should be two factors. First one is common sense. We should have wisdom.
We should also be obedient. We must be able to listen to others. We should have
both or one of them. If we have both or one of them we can succeed.
Where there is none of them,
there cannot be even an iota of good results. Many people lack both of them.
There is no common sense. Also they do not like to listen to others. The mind
does not form for that.
If we have common sense and
obedience we can form Saddha. The individual who lives in Saddha gets an
opportunity to follow this Dhamma preached by the Buddha. Therefore we must
make up our minds to do things at the appropriate times. It is something that
has to be done in Saddha.
Therefore those who embark on
meditation should not be in a hurry at the beginning. That does not mean that
they should be in a hurry at the end. One who is not in a hurry at the
beginning does not get hurried up at the end. What does the one who is in a
hurry at the beginning do? He attempts to end the journey in a hurry. He
attempts to finish the journey in the way to Nibbana in a hurry.
Therefore do not be in a hurry.
If you are practising some meditation, practise it gradually. Take a short time
and improve the mindfulness. Get used to carrying out with mindfulness the
things necessary for the meditation. It may be even one or two minutes. Suppose
it is Metta Bhavana. Try to maintain the mind on the words included in the
meditation.
Try to be mindful. That is the
first thing you have to do. When you do it little by little in that manner you
will realize that “I can now do it with mindfulness”.
Mindfulness means not allowing
the mind to go here and there. The nature of the mind is to wander here and
there. It may fall asleep. Or it may get covered by the Nivaranas (hindrances).
We must develop this mindfulness without allowing the mind to be overcome by
the Nivaranas. If we try to do it for several hours at a stretch we will not be
able to do it. Why? Our mindfulness is not developed. We try to work with an
undeveloped mindfulness with the intention of finishing off the defilements
soon.
It is done for hours at the
beginning. But the mindfulness is not developed. We are trying to work with an
undeveloped mindfulness. Then the mindfulness breaks down. Ultimately various
ailments may come up.
That is why we must develop our
mindfulness. Before cutting down the forest we must sharpen our tool. The war
against defilements has to be done with meditation. To overcome the
defilements, to perform that extremely difficult activity we must develop our
mindfulness well.
That mindfulness develops in
meditation. To develop mindfulness we must generate mindfulness. We have the
ability to develop the mindfulness so generated.
Therefore from the beginning of
practising meditation we must try to develop the mindfulness little by little.
Does not matter even if it is five minutes.
Do a little and remain mindful.
Then you will feel the establishment of mindfulness. The mind will not fall
into sleepiness. Will not wander. You will realize that you can maintain the
mindfulness. Then gradually increase the time for meditating. At present our
meditating time is about half an hour. Increase the meditating time to that
level.
Some may be able to achieve this
in one week. Some may do it in two weeks. Some others may take one month. Some
may take even longer. It does not matter. Is time important? What matters is
not whether it takes a short time or a long time. What is important is the
maintaining of mindfulness.
Take one year or even ten years
and try to establish mindfulness. Determine to generate mindfulness and then
practise it.
Some may achieve it in one or two
weeks or in a day. We do not know the nature of each individual. But no one
should develop the idea of doing it in a hurry. What has to be done is to form
the idea to develop mindfulness. Leave aside the idea of doing it in a hurry.
Then do it little by little and
generate the mindfulness. After generating mindfulness in that manner you will
realize that you can maintain the object of meditation without becoming sleepy
or without allowing the mind to get dispersed.
Thereafter gradually increase the
duration. Then we get an opportunity after sometime to practise a meditation
with mindfulness.
An individual who starts
meditation after deciding to meditate for half an hour or for one hour may stay
in that pose not half an hour but for even five hours. But he may have fallen
asleep or his mind may have gone astray.
There is no use in being like that
for one hour or for even half a day. If one could stay with mindfulness even
for five minutes that is the occasion for developing the Dhamma.
That is the productive way.
Staying for even five hours without mindfulness is useless. To an outsider he
will appear to be meditating a lot. That is not of any use to him. We also
might say “I have meditated well. I have meditated for hours.” That is not of
any use.
That is good for bragging. But we
have not done the correct thing. Therefore try to generate mindfulness at least
little by little. Try to make a start in that manner. Then the opportunity will
arise for us to gradually progress in this meditation.
.jpg)
