A Series: “What do you know and How do you know it?”

Proposition 1.
Through the meditation that the Buddha taught, The Four Noble Truths and the Impersonal Process of Dependent Origination can be observed and are totally interconnected.

By Bhante U Vimalaramsi
Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center
Rains Retreat 2006

 Dhamma Greetings.

If one doesn’t  see how the fourth Noble Truth applies to seeing Dependent Origination one might go to sutta 141 in the Majjhima Nikāya and take a look at  some of the things mentioned in this wonderful sutta. The First Noble Truth is actually pretty much self evident with this sutta's explanation. But when we get to the Second Noble Truth there are some questions that need to be asked.

In section 21 it says: "And what, friends, is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust (a quick note here is it can also be accompanied by dislike and aversion "I don't like it mind or I don't want it mind" - two sides of the same coin so to speak) and delights in this and that; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being ( this is the "I Like it or I want it mind"), and craving for non-being (another quick note non-being is talking about aversion the "I don't like it or don't want it mind) . This is called the noble truth of the origin of suffering".

Now there are some questions that might be interesting to ask about this statement - What is craving, exactly? How does craving manifest? How can craving be recognized? What is the way to let go of this craving? (which is the 4th Noble Truth).

To answer these questions it comes back to the actual practice of meditation and how the Buddha instructed us to do this practice. Please allow me to explain the meditation instructions given in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (which are the same as the Ānāpānasati sutta, the Kāyagatāsati sutta etc.)

The reason that I need to do this is because in order to truly understand how the eight-fold Path works in Dependent Origination. A person absolutely needs to practice meditation in the way that the Buddha taught. All things within the Buddha's path are interconnected and are presented so one can have direct experience. By practicing the way the Buddha taught it takes things out of the realm of philosophy and into the realm of realization and true understanding.

If anyone here will actually begin to practice the meditation as explained exactly by the Buddha, the meaning and deep understanding will become a reality. If some people here don't want to try this method because they are happy with the way they do their meditation and are happy with their results, please understand that things may be a bit different from your way of grasping what is being said. And these points of contention can become nothing more than a philosophical debate rather than true realization. Philosophy is words and ideas with no action so it becomes strictly a mental exercise. True realization comes from direct experience and deep understanding of exactly how mind's attention occurs.

 With that said, let us take a quick look at the instructions given by the Buddha in How to do the practice of meditation (please remember that I am just reporting this, it is not now nor has it ever been my meditation method, I am not adding or subtracting anything but just giving the Buddha's words) Sutta #10 Section # 4 of the Satipaṭṭhana Sutta: It says: "And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu abide contemplating the body as a body? Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, sets his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him, ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Breathing in long, he understands: 'I breathe in long'; or breathing out long, he understands; 'I breathe out long'. Breathing in short, he understands; 'I breathe in short', or breathing out short, he understands; 'I breathe out short'.

 Now for a short comment the exact instructions say that the meditator breathes both in and out both long and short. There is no mention of nostrils, nostril tips, upper lip, abdomen or any other body location. It simply says that one understands (which means he knows and recognizes precisely) when ones breath is long or short. It does not say to focus only on the breath to the exclusion of anything else that may arise. It does not say to know the beginning, the middle and the end of each breath (these are commentarial instructions and can lead one away from the deep understanding of the Buddha's Teachings). It simply says one knows when their breath is short and when it is long.

 Next the true instructions are given. It says: "He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body', he trains thus: 'I shall breathe out experiencing the whole body'. He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in tranquilizing the bodily formation', He trains thus: 'I shall breathe out tranquilizing the bodily formation'.

 Here we come to the true instructions of the breathing meditation practice! The words "He trains thus" are very important to understand, this says that this is the way one practices, whereas before it said that one understands. So the actual instructions are given here. If you will notice these instructions are not talking about the "Breath Body", the Buddha would have said that, he was very precise and would have mentioned that if this was the case. But here he simply said to experience the entire body, in other words, to be aware of what is happening in one's body on both the in breath and on the out breath.

 Next comes the important part of the instructions because it has the action verbs in it that tell us what exactly to do on the in Breath and on the out breath. These instruction say to tranquilize the bodily formation each time one breathes in and each time one breathes out. This is done by the correct translation of the word Passambhayaṃ. This Pali word can be a noun, a verb, and adverb or an adjective it all depends on the words used around it. The words 'He trains thus' helps with this translation because it tells us that this word 'Passambhayaṃ' is an action verb meaning to consciously tranquilize or relax the bodily formation on the in breath and on the out breath.

 So, the meditation is about using the breath as a reminder to relax, in this way there is no over-focusing on just the breath, because the instructions say to breathe in and relax then to breathe out and relax. This is a major difference between what is being taught today and what the Buddha teaches us in the suttas, don't you agree? A quick personal note: I have personally found that when tightness or tension is not so apparent in one's body below the neck , there is always some subtle tightnesses or tensions in one's head (and brain, which is a part of one's body!) and this is where it is the easiest to recognize. (again please remember that these are not my ideas about the meditation but they are coming straight from the Buddha.)

 Why is it important to go over these instructions, when we are talking about craving? Because craving Always arises and can be recognized as being a tension or tightness in both ones body and mind! (anytime body has tightness in it mind has tightness in it, anytime mind has tightness in it body has tightness or tension in it, and it is a subtle tightness in one's head that can be seen - this is what I have found out through personal examination and exploration) 

 To answer the question above "What exactly is craving? Craving is a subtle and sometimes not so subtle tightness or tension in both one's mind and body. How does craving manifest? How can it be seen and recognized? Craving can ALWAYS be seen as this tightness or tension (at the beginning of the meditation practice it can be seen in both body and mind and let go of, but as one's practice deepens then the tightness or tension is seen in one's head as the rest of the body has become completely relaxed and is only noticed when there is direct body contact) and with practice it can be seen and identified for what it truly is. Another way of looking at exactly how craving begins and is seen by the ardent meditator is this: Craving always manifests as the "I like it or I don't like it" mind (the being and non-being mind).

This is why being able to recognize this tightness or tension is so very important, because it is the very start of the false idea in a personal self or identity. When craving is let go of and relaxed (as per instructions) then mind's attention becomes very clear, bright, and alert without any distractions in it, this is called the third Noble Truth or the cessation of suffering (or craving). This mind that has no craving in it is the mind that is brought back to the breath and relaxing! So one's meditation practice deepens fairly quickly and the meditator will be able to experience deeper states of understanding while they are experiencing a jhana (through the practice of Samatha/Vipassanā)! This is in keeping with the instructions given in many, many suttas.

 The craving can be rather difficult for one to see as it arises because if mind's understanding and attention are not alert as to how this arises it can be overlooked. The instructions of relaxing on the in breath and relaxing on the out breath are very brilliant because it teaches the meditator how to see and recognize this same craving when it arises. By following the precise instructions given by the Buddha craving becomes even more apparent by direct experience rather than trying to figure it out philosophically.

When the meditator's mind becomes distracted by wandering thoughts or sensations arising what do these instructions tell us to do? To understand this we need to take a look at how exactly things work through the eyes of Dependent Origination. Let us take the sense door of the eyes for example. In order to see one must have functioning eyes in good order, there must be color and form, when color and form hits the good working eye, then eye-consciousness arises (Viññāṇa). The meeting of these three things is called eye-contact (phassa). With eye contact as condition eye-feeling (Vedanā) arises (feeling is pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant) With eye-feeling as condition, eye-craving arises, with eye-craving (Taṇhā) as condition clinging (Upādāna) arises and so on.

 OK, now when eye-feeling arises it is there for a very short period of time before the eye-craving arises and in turn this is there for just a very short period of time before clinging arises. For now let us take a look at clinging (upādāna). Clinging (upādāna) is where all of our ideas, opinions, concepts, stories, imaginations and "I am That" conceit (papañca) are made manifest. This false ego identification (atta) actually starts with the subtler craving (taṇhā) when it arises but it becomes very apparent when the clinging (upādāna) comes up.

 Every time mind's attention is not on the object of meditation (breath and relaxing) the process of dependent origination is taking place. This is quick and happens over and over again. When one goes deep enough in their meditation they will be able to see this for themselves and again, this takes it out of the realm of philosophy.

The experiencing of one's whole body is referring to when the sense-door arises with contact and this process actually takes place in a conscious way. When one consciously lets go of any distraction, relaxes,  and then re-directs their mind's attention back to the breath and relaxing on the in and out breath. They are practicing the entire eight-fold Path at that time. As this is rather long and you may have some questions to ask I will stop here and explain how the 8 fold Path works in a later post.

 May you all attain Nibbana quickly and easily in this very lifetime! Thank You

 Maha-Metta 2U
always
Bhante Vimalaramsi