0.2. A Note on Meditation
What is meant by meditation?
When we talk about meditation, what do we mean? What's the mind doing in meditation? Many people have the image, contrary to their own experience, of a totally tranquil mind cleared off all thoughts, blissfully experiencing some sublime reality. While that it is certainly one possible result of meditation, it doesn't come close to describing the range of activities that fall under the heading of meditation.
The English word 'meditation' is a translation of many different Pāḷi words, which are applicable in different contexts. The most common word translated as meditation is bhāvanā. Literally it means 'causing to be'. More figuratively, it can be rendered as 'development' or 'cultivation'. Implicit is the sense that, just like a farmer cannot make crops grow directly, but can supply all the necessary conditions for the cultivation of a field, we too cannot directly make the mind be a certain way, or behave like we want it to. But we can provide the necessary conditions for mental cultivation, maturation and development.
There are many different activities that constitute bhāvanā. These include restraining the mind from certain harmful activities, cultivating beneficial perceptions to see things in a new light, actively thinking and reflecting on certain themes, non-judgemental awareness of phenomena as they are, and giving the deepest attention to the characteristics of experience. These are just some of the mediation activities described in the oldest Buddhist texts.
Another word often translated as meditation is jhāna, which refers to very specific stages of development that are common when practising meditation. The stages of jhāna are a natural result of correctly practised bhāvanā. Imagine if different people were given directions to the same destination, they would all pass the same landmarks and features along the way, although each person would see those same landmarks through their own subjective filters. In the same way, while there are certain common landmarks in the experience of jhāna, each individual person can describe these states in very different ways.
The meditation we're going to be practising in this course is awareness of naturally occurring sense experiences, as well as a detailed classification and analysis of those same experiences. If this does not fit with your preconceived idea of what meditation is, then please broaden your definition of meditation.
The right posture for meditation
If you say the word 'meditation', what posture do you think of? The first one that comes to mind is sitting, bolt upright, preferably in full lotus posture. But this is more a remnant of the Indian cultural heritage than a direct instruction from the Buddha.
Interestingly, in most contexts, sitting is just one of many postures mentioned for meditation. In the initial instructions of the anupubbasikkhā, the gradual training, alternating between sitting and walking is recommended.
idha, mahānāma, ariyasāvako divasaṃ caṅkamena nisajjāya āvaraṇīyehi dhammehi cittaṃ parisodheti, rattiyā paṭhamaṃ yāmaṃ caṅkamena nisajjāya āvaraṇīyehi dhammehi cittaṃ parisodheti ... rattiyā pacchimaṃ yāmaṃ paccuṭṭhāya caṅkamena nisajjāya āvaraṇīyehi dhammehi cittaṃ parisodheti.
In this case, a disciple of the Noble One purifies his mind from obstructive mental states during the day, during the first watch of the night (6pm-10pm) ... and after waking up, in the last watch of the night (2am-6am) by sitting and walking.
-- MN53 sekhasuttaṃ
At the time of the Buddha, the first thing that visitors to monasteries noticed was monks walking up and down in meditation.
atha kho saccako nigaṇṭhaputto pañcamattehi licchavisatehi parivuto yena mahāvanaṃ kūṭāgārasālā tenupasaṅkami. tena kho pana samayena sambahulā bhikkhū abbhokāse caṅkamanti.
Then Saccaka, the son of Nigantha parents, approached the peaked roof monastery in the Great Wood, surrounded by a group of five hundred Licchavis. At that time many monks were walking up and down in the open air.
-- MN35 cūḷasaccakasuttaṃ
The Buddha also praises five benefits of walking meditation.
pañcime, bhikkhave, caṅkame ānisaṃsā. katame pañca? addhānakkhamo hoti, padhānakkhamo hoti, appābādho hoti, asitaṃ pītaṃ khāyitaṃ sāyitaṃ sammā pariṇāmaṃ gacchati, caṅkamādhigato samādhi ciraṭṭhitiko hoti.
Monks, there are these five benefits to walking meditation. What five? (1) One is able to endure a long journey. (2) One is able to endure making an effort. (3) One is seldom sick. (4) What is eaten and drunk, chewed and tasted gets well digested. (5) Samādhi achieved while walking is long lasting.
-- AN5.29 caṅkamasuttaṃ
The Satipaṭṭhāṇa Sutta specifically mentions knowing all the four postures and everything in-between.
bhikkhu gacchanto vā gacchāmī’ti pajānāti, ṭhito vā ṭhitomhī’ti pajānāti, nisinno vā nisinnomhī’ti pajānāti, sayāno vā sayānomhī’ti pajānāti. yathā yathā vā panassa kāyo paṇihito hoti tathā tathā naṃ pajānāti.
When moving, a monk knows, 'I am moving', when standing, he knows, 'I am standing', when seated, he knows, 'I am seated', when lying down, he knows, 'I am lying down'. Whatever way the body is positioned, he knows it as such.
-- MN10 mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṃ, kāyānupassanā iriyāpathapabbaṃ
Interestingly, the sitting posture is only specifically mentioned in a few meditation instructions in the early discourses, most commonly as a preparation for the practice of mindfulness with breathing.
so pacchābhattaṃ piṇḍapātappaṭikkanto nisīdati pallaṅkaṃ ābhujitvā ujuṃ kāyaṃ paṇidhāya parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvā.
After the meal, having returned from the alms-round, he sits down, folding the legs into a cross-legged posture, setting the body upright, having establishing mindfulness as first priority.
-- DN2 sāmaññaphalasuttaṃ
And sitting is also specifically mentioned in the simile for the fourth jhāna.
seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso odātena vatthena sasīsaṃ pārupetvā nisinno assa, nāssa kiñci sabbāvato kāyassa odātena vatthena apphuṭaṃ assa.
Just as if a person was seated, covered from head to foot in a white cloth, there would not be any part of the entire body uncovered by the white cloth.
-- MN39 mahāassapurasuttaṃ
So, while a sitting posture is essential for the deepest reaches of meditation, it's more helpful to think of meditation as a continuous activity performed in all postures throughout the day.
If you think of meditation as a sitting-only activity, your attention is certain to lapse when you stand up and move around. It is enormously beneficial to keep alert to experience in all postures, and develop continuity of awareness.
Q&A
Q: Do you have any questions or doubts at this point?