Rapture and Pleasure Born of Seclusion
Last night I listened again to one of Sally Armstrong’s talks on Concentration Practice, which featured a reading of the Buddha’s description of the first four stages of deep concentration (the four material jhanas). This particular reading is from the Middle Length Discourses, Sutta 119, paragraph 18. (Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation)
Just to give you a taste, here’s what it says about the first stage:
“Again, bhikkhus [practitioner], quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. He makes the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.
“Just as a skilled bath man or bath man’s apprentice heaps bath powder in a metal basin and, sprinkling it gradually with water, kneads it till the moisture wets his ball of bath poster, soaks it and pervades it inside and out, yet the ball itself does not ooze; so too, a bhikkhu makes the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.”
Sounds pretty cool!
Why We Practice
We don’t go on retreat — or practice daily meditation — to become good meditators. We do it to calm and quiet our minds so we can see how they work, how they lead us to more suffering, or to less, and in this way we train our minds to be able to see how to choose one over the other. We do this on the cushion so that when we get up and go about our business, we have more of a chance to suffer less.
First you perfect your instrument. Then you just play.
— Charlie Parker
Five Animal Sangha
When I first got to Chapel Hill, I tried to find a meditation group to practice with while I was here for the summer, but I never quite found what I was looking for. So I thought: well, that’s OK, I’ll be home in a few months, and anyway, I still have my KM group that Skypes me every-other week.
But now that it’s about time for me to leave, I realize that I HAVE found a sangha here. Not just the kind I thought I was looking for.
It’s a lovely little qigong class I stumbled upon, led by exactly the kind of light-hearted, but also deeply trained teacher I had hoped to find. And the group itself is full of interesting people — one is an acupuncturist, another a puppeteer — who are friendly and kind and who are serious about enjoying their practice. (The teacher is Jay Dunbar and his school is called Magic Tortoise.)
The teacher and the people are great…and the qigong practice is pretty cool too! It’s called Five Animal Frolic (medical qigong) and it’s a series of movements based on the Crane, the Bear, the Monkey, the Deer and the Tiger.
The Bear is my favorite.
According to the classic texts: The bear appears ponderous and solid on the outside, but is alert and spirited within. Its powerful waist and legs shake, its paws are awesomely strong. Its energy is concentrated in its center.
Jay Dunbar adds: The spirit of the bear is mighty, indomitable, energetic. It is brave, without rival. The bear’s tireless power comes from the relaxed and easy use of its strength, from a balance of rest and activity, and from curving, twisting motion.
Read, Reflect, Respond, Rest. Then Review.
I got an email from Thanissara, in which she welcomes everyone who is taking the Dharmagiri On-line Study-Practice Course and suggests that we all begin by becoming familiar with a method of Contemplative Reading, called Lectio Divina, taken from the Christian tradition.
The method involves 4 separate readings of the text in question. (In the first lesson of the course, we are asked to read/contemplate the Simile of the Mountain, SN 3:25; I 100-102.)
Here’s how the practice is done:
(1) After the first reading, ask yourself this question: What word or phrase strikes me now? Write it down. Now look at what you’ve written and notice any thoughts, memories,emotions, etc. that arise.
(2) After the second reading, complete this sentence: This passage invites me to… Now look at what you’ve written and, again, notice any feelings, doubts, opinions, etc.
(3) After the third reading, complete this sentence: As a result of this reading, I am going to…. Look at what you’ve written and ask Can I do this? Do I really want to do this? Is is realistic? Notice how you feel.
(4) After the fourth reading,…Rest. Let the words settle and if it feels right, end the session with a bow or chant.
Before reading/contemplating the next text, Review the entry from the session before and see if you can notice any effect this has had in your life.
May All Beings Be Free
I’ve been learning one of the Metta chants (the one that starts “imaya dhammanu“), which I love to sing in Pail, but I also read it aloud in English. Because it’s just so LOVEly!
By this practice, in accord with the Dharma, I honor the Buddha.
By this practice, in accord with the Dharma, I honor the Dharma.
By this practice, in accord with the Dharma, I honor the Sangha.
May I be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, may I know the grace of well-being.
May my parents, teachers, family, friends, and fellow dharma-travelers
All be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and know the grace of well-being.
May all the practitioners in this place
All be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and know the grace of well-being.
May our guardian spirits, in this temple,
In this dwelling, in this place; may the guardian spirits
All be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and know the grace of well-being.
May all beings, all living beings, all creatures,
All individuals, all personalities,
All woman and female beings, all men and male beings, all noble ones, all wordily ones,
All spirits and gods, all humans and all those in misery,
All be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and know the grace of well-being.
May all beings be free from suffering, enjoy safety and abundance, owners of their karma.
We offer the merit of our practice to all beings.
Sadha, sadhu, sadhu.
Taking Refuge
A friend is coming to visit me for a few days, so I won’t be posting again until Wednesday. To carry you over the long weekend, I offer this reflection from Module One, Lesson Two of the excellent online dharma course I wrote about on Monday.
Where do you put your trust?
“The Pail term, saddha, means confidence, supported by understanding, which further deepens faith and trust. Where do we put our trust?
“Notice where the heart goes for comfort and peace. We might notice that we seek refuge in escape, going to sleep and not feeling anything, or we might find a refuge in pleasing distractions. Sometimes we might notice that we have a lot of faith in our thinking mind. For example, we take refuge in trying to figure it all out, or we find solace in negativity or worry.
“We all have faith or trust. The question is whether that faith is misplaced or skillfully placed.”
Back in Action
Ah. After many days of almost continual bed rest, and with the help of an excellent physical therapist, the muscles in my back have released their vise-grip and I am back to “normal” — which of course does not mitigate the inevitable effects of gravity and the inescapable nature of the body to wear out — but still, I’m feeling fine and very happy to be back in action!
And here’s what I have to report:
I have just signed up to participate in an excellent on-line study-and-practice course offered by Kittisaro and Thanissara. (Who often teach at IMS, but they live in South Africa, where they hold a month-long retreat every January, to which I hope to go — I’m on the wait list!)
The course is a go-at-your-own-pace program, organized in 3 modules, each consisting of 12 lessons. And it’s freely offered on a dana basis, which means that there is no cost, just the opportunity to make a donation — if you so choose.
Each lesson consists of 2 recorded talks, 2 (short) contemplative readings, an exercise in contemplative inquiry along with some contemplative exercises, a targeted meditation practice, and suggestions for integrating these practices into daily life. Plus there’s extra material, which consists of recorded chants, dharma talks and/or additional readings.
Here’s an example of the “Integrating Into Daily Life” suggestion from the first lesson is: During the day, take mini pauses of 5-10 minutes. Start with asking “How is it now?” and taking 3-5 long breaths. Then train your attention to steady within the body and breath during that time. You can do this in any posture during any activity.
If you’re interested in checking out the course — and I really hope you do! — click here. You’ll need to request a Username and Password before accessing the course material. But there’s no need to commit to anything…just get the name and password, log on, and take a look!
And if you do decide to take the course, send me an email here. Part of the intention of the program is to foster a community of practitioners, so it would be great to do the course with some buddies!
My Back Talks; I Listen
My back is telling me that it’s not a good day to be sitting at the computer for very long, so no dharma post for today. I’ve got an appointment with a physical therapist tomorrow morning, who comes highly recommend by my most excellent qigong instructor, so I’m hoping all this will be straightened out very soon.
Check back tomorrow.
Or the day after.
The Way Things Are
It hasn’t quite come to this (see photo), but my back seized up on me yesterday and I’m spending most of my time today flat on my back in bed.
So all I can post for now is this:
I am of the nature to grow old; there is no way to escape growing old.
New Moon, New Mind
There is a new moon today, so I think I’ll try something new.
One of the recent events at Spirit Rock was a daylong retreat titled: The Great Mother and the Nature of Mind. It was led by a highly respected teacher in the Tibetan tradition, Lama Tsultrim Allione, who just happens to be a Western woman!
A video recording of the event is available to members of the Spirit Rock Stewardship Circle (which includes me) and since I know almost nothing about Tibetan teachings or practices, this would certainly qualify as something new.
There’s a handout included with the video. It’s an excerpt from The Concise Life Story of Machig Labdron. I have no idea who Machig Ladron is, although I’m guessing that maybe she’s the Great Mother, in the title of the retreat.
Here’s what the handout says:
Machig’s Last Instructions
In the same way, mind itself,
Has no support, has no object:
Let it rest in its natural expanse without any fabrication.
When the bonds of negative thoughts are released,
You will be free, there is no doubt.
As when gazing into space,
All other visual objects disappear,
So it is for the mind itself.
When mind looks at mind,
All discursive thoughts cease
And enlightenment is attained.
As in the sky all clouds
Disappear into the sky itself:
Wherever they go, they go nowhere
Wherever they are, they are nowhere.
This is the same for thoughts in the mind:
When mind looks at mind,
The waves of conceptual thought disappear.
The defining characteristic of mind
Is to be primordially empty like space;
The realization of the nature of mind
Includes all phenomena without exception.
Once discursive thoughts are totally abandoned,
Dharmakaya is no other than that.
Once the five poisons are totally abandoned,
The five wisdoms are none other than that.
Abandoning all bodily activities,
Remain like a bunch of straw cut loose.
Abandoning all expressions of speech,
Remain like a lute with its strings cut through.
***
The last part doesn’t sound all that great. But who knows, maybe it’s a cultural thing. I’ll watch the video and find out!