3.3. Samatha Vipassanā
Nowadays, many Buddhists have the wrong notion that samatha and vipassanā, calm and insight, are two different types of meditation. Many believe that there are 'objects' of samatha meditation and 'objects' of vipassanā meditation.
The early discourses present a very different idea, where calm and insight are two qualities of mind that are necessary for progress in meditation. Far from being different types of meditation, they can be cultivated simultaneously within a single meditation sitting. It is specifically mentioned in the Mahāsaḷāyatanika Sutta, a discourse on the benefits of cultivating the six sense fields, that one of the results is:
tassime dve dhammā yuganaddhā vattanti – samatho ca vipassanā ca.
For (the one meditating thus) two phenomena occur in tandem, calm and insight.
-- MN149 mahāsaḷāyatanikasuttaṃ
No other meditation is specifically mentioned as having the quality of developing calm and insight in tandem, other than saḷāyatana. The Pāḷi term, yuganaddha, literally means 'bound with a yoke'. Like two cows bound by yoke, as one goes forward, so does the other.
This is evident to anyone who actually does this practice with sustained effort. It is possible to develop a very high degree of samatha just by following naturally occurring experiences. This is called anupassanā, 'follow-seeing', in the language of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Doing this kind of samatha practice makes the natural characteristics of anicca, dukkha, and anatta all the more obvious, which is how they develop in tandem.
Similarly, through deep investigation of the inherent characteristics and dependency of saḷāyatana, the continuity of our mindfulness gets incredibly powerful. Here the emphasis is on vipassanā, but samatha develops in tandem.
Meditation on saḷāyatana offers a unique opportunity to practice samatha which results in insight, and vipassanā which results in deep states of mental peace. By emphasizing the one aspect, the other is simultaneously fulfilled.
This way of cultivating samatha and vipassanā in tandem is specifically mentioned as one of the four ways that one can achieve awakening.
"yo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunī vā mama santike arahattappattiṃ byākaroti, sabbo so catūhi maggehi, etesaṃ vā aññatarena. ... "puna caparaṃ, āvuso, bhikkhu samathavipassanaṃ yuganaddhaṃ bhāveti. tassa samathavipassanaṃ yuganaddhaṃ bhāvayato maggo sañjāyati. so taṃ maggaṃ āsevati bhāveti bahulīkaroti. tassa taṃ maggaṃ āsevato bhāvayato bahulīkaroto saṃyojanāni pahīyanti, anusayā byantīhonti.
Whichever monk or nun declared attainment of the awakened state in my presence, all of them declared it by four paths, or one one of them. ... And again, venerable, a monk develops calm and insight in tandem. While doing so, the path appears. One pursues that path, cultivates it, and practices it a lot. While doing so, the bonds get abandoned, and the underlying tendencies are eliminated.
--- AN4.170 yuganaddhasuttaṃ
dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati
Seeing as we are actively practising dhammānupassanā, let's investigate the frequently repeated formula dhammesu dhammānuassī viharati.
Let's start with the verb viharati. In a daily context, it means to 'live' or 'stay', in a house, in a place, in a town or city. It takes a noun in the locative case, which is where someone lives. araññe viharati, 'He lives in the forest'.
In a meditation context it means to 'stay', or 'remain', or 'continue' abiding in some area of meditation. It also takes a locative case, which is the mediation theme in which, or among which one remains: dhammesu viharati, 'One remains among mental phenomena'. Dhammesu is a locative plural.
That brings us to the compound dhammānupassī. Anupassī is an adjective describing the subject of the sentence, the person who is remaining among mental phenomena. It literally means to 'follow-seeing', or 'watching while following'. Dhamma, mental phenomena, are the the thing which one watches, the object of the action. This is called a dutiyā-tappurisa-samāsa in Pāḷi, which means a type of compound where these is an accusative case relationship between dhamme and anupassī.
Putting this all together we have a very good meditation instruction: A meditator remains among mental phenomena, continuously following mental phenomena.
Contrary to what is commonly taught, this is a samatha practice. In fact, just following experiential phenomena is the original samatha practice found in the suttapiṭaka. By pursuing this practice with some dedication, it is possible to experience all the levels of jhāna mentioned in the oldest Pāḷi texts, and cultivate vipassanā in tandem.
Meditation on following experience
Transcript
This is an open awareness exercise. Become aware of whatever is naturally occurring right now. We're going to specifically practice one thing, and that is *following* each experience. It's like watching a sports-match. You don't need to go running around after the game, or running up and down the sidelines. You'll quickly get tired. You just sit in your seat and follow the game from there. in the same way, there's no need to go chasing after experiences. Let the mind sit still, totally calm, and let experiences come to the mind, naturally, as they do. In this way, follow each experience from the moment it arises, as it changes, as it morphs into the next experience. Be very still, no need to move the mind. Just follow what happens. This is *anupassanā*, watching, following, seeing whatever is happening. --- Keep following each experience. Silently following as it arises, as it changes, as it becomes the next thing. Following behind and watching whatever is happening right now. This is *anupassanā*, watching, following, seeing whatever is happening. --- Keep the mind still. Let experiences come to you. Follow whatever comes. --- Enjoy how easy this meditation is. There's nothing to do, just follow what occurs naturally. There's always something happening, it takes no effort. Keep watching, following, seeing whatever is happening. --- The mind can be very still, but following all the movement that occurs within experience. This is *anupassanā*, watching, following, seeing whatever is happening.All the meditation exercises we have been doing up until now are various versions of this same anupassanā practice, tuning into and following the six fields of experience. From the next section onwards, all the meditations are weighted towards vipassanā, geared towards cultivating insight into the dependent nature of reality. But know that these two qualities, calm and insight, are developing together in tandem.
Q&A
Q: Do you have any questions or doubts at this point?