The Purpose and Practice of Buddhist Meditation by Sangharakshita -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Table of Contents Editor’s Preface 1 Introduction

1 What is meditation?

1. ‘meditation proper’ 2. the five main stages of meditation 3. what meditation really is

2 A system of meditation

1. a successful experiment 2. underground meditation 3. a complete meditation practice 4. an organic, living system 5. where do these meditation practices come from? 6. an unbroken meditation tradition? 7. laying a good foundation 8. the path of irregular steps 9. the five great stages

3 Motivations and misunderstandings

1. motivations for meditation 2. the route to human development 3. what does concentration mean? 4. meditation is more ... 5. why does a bodhisattva meditate? 6. the possibilities of human experience 7. two essential practices 8. meditation and the bodhisattva spirit 9. it’s quality that counts

2 Mindfulness

1 The mindfulness of breathing

1. how to do the practice 2. the origins of the mindfulness of breathing 3. why do you get distracted? 4. meditation by numbers 5. the point of concentration 6. a glowing feeling 7. isn’t the mindfulness of breathing a bit boring? 8. the mindfulness of breathing and insight

2 General mindfulness

1. knowing what is going on 2. why are we so easily distracted? 3. the japanese tea ceremony 4. mindfulness and pleasure 5. doesn’t mindfulness take too much time?

3 Walking meditation

1. a useful practice? 2. the aim of walking and chanting 3. a very pleasant practice 4. an undesirable way to do it 5. walking and reflecting

4 Clear thinking

1. the role of clear thinking

5 Alienated awareness

1. integrating our total being 2. is it possible to become too mindful? 3. levels of experience and awareness 4. does meditation cause alienation?

3 The development of positive emotions

1 The mettā-bhāvanā: introduction

1. the antidote to anger and hatred 2. buddhism: never as individualistic as people think 3. mettā: active by definition 4. may all beings be happy!

2 The first stage of the mettā-bhāvanā: mettā for oneself

1. all is not lost 2. why is it hard to love oneself? 3. no escape from the mettā-bhāvanā 4. do you give yourself what you really need? 5. do you understand what mettā means?

3 The second stage of the mettā-bhāvanā: mettā for a friend

1. isn’t it rather exclusive? 2. mettā and erotic feelings 3. can the buddha be your friend?

4 The third stage of the mettā-bhāvanā: mettā for a ‘neutral person’

1. love that breaks out 2. drifting away from the practice 3. the charms of the neutral person

5 The fourth stage of the mettā-bhāvanā: mettā for an ‘enemy’

1. getting a grip on mettā 2. try not to feel discouraged 3. is mettā unconditional love? 4. directing mettā 5. a tinge of dislike

6 The fifth stage of the mettā-bhāvanā: mettā for everyone

1. the whole world of beings 2. why care? 3. isn’t mettā a bit boring? 4. is there a place for parents and teachers? 5. specific people in the fifth stage

7 Mettā: further reflections

1. an airy and weightless joy 2. the love mode 3. not just an elementary little meditation 4. just as the sun shines 5. everyday emotions 6. praise everything 7. the essential characteristic of mettā 8. reflection in the metta-bhāvanā 9. mettā and nostalgia 10. mettā and non-violence 11. mettā for the dying 12. can mettā reach the dead? 13. how can i develop more feeling? 14. pure mettā 15. dimensions of mettā 16. can the mettā-bhāvanā take me all the way to enlightenment? 17. mettā and the bodhicitta

8 The brahma-vihāras: introduction

1. the sublime abidings 2. mettā must be the basis 3. happiness with its causes

9 The karuṇā-bhāvanā

1. a natural response 2. is compassion enough? 3. ‘the extrovert jolliness which is so irritating ...’ 4. a hierarchy of compassion?

10 The muditā-bhāvanā

1. a shock and a pleasure 2. joy and compassion

11 The upekṣā-bhāvanā

1. the practice of equanimity 2. beyond likes and dislikes 3. pure awareness and positivity 4. equanimity doesn’t exclude happiness 5. the power of peace

12 The brahmā-viharas: further reflections

1. the basis of it all 2. are the brahma-vihāras a path to insight? 3. an alternative route to enlightenment 4. the illimitables 5. going beyond mettā

4 Levels of Concentration

1 Samādhi

1. clearing the decks for action 2. a concentrated mind is a happy mind 3. is meditation making the mind a blank? (revisited) 4. neighbourhood concentration

2 The dhyānas

1. ‘to pass through the door of the mind ...’ 2. the nature of dhyāna 3. the characteristics of dhyāna: five factors 4. the release of blocked energy 5. total saturation 6. a very mysterious body of experiences 7. what do you get out of the spiritual life? 8. the best way of living 9. the radiant lamp dispelling the darkness 10. staying in dhyāna 11. dhyāna outside meditation 12. the great difference between dhyāna and prajñā 13. dhyāna approached through different methods 14. can anything ‘shade into’ the transcendental? 15. the other-regarding aspects of dhyāna 16. a balancing trick 17. drugs and dhyāna 18. consult your own experience 19. how does one enter into the arūpā-dhyānas? 20. how do you know when you’re in the second dhyāna? 21. why bother getting into the higher dhyānas?

5 Working in meditation

1 Preparing to meditate

1. a spontaneous expression of the way you are 2. virtually meditating already ... 3. the secret lies in the preparation 4. the way you live has an effect on your mind 5. the benefits of collective practice 6. sitting down in a state fit for meditation 7. is there a wrong time to meditate? 8. make your meditation independent of conditions 9. ‘do not force your mind or body’ 10. colours for a meditation space 11. take a deep breath 12. a straight back 13. cushion-fluffing 14. getting up early

2 Ending the meditation

1. don’t just throw it away 2. you must be on your guard 3. communication without chattering

3 Identifying hindrances to meditation

1. the five mental poisons 2. destroying the bandits’ hideout 3. keep the initiative 4. sailing into the dhyānas 5. know the enemy 6. drowsiness and distraction 7. the sensation of waking up 8. an unwillingness to make up one’s mind 9. have faith that you really can 10. floating thoughts 11. subtle fetters 12. what would life be like without the hindrances? 13. out of gladness is born joy

4 Antidotes to the hindrances

1. cultivating the opposite 2. why on earth am i doing this? 3. stand up to māra 4. the vajrayana approach to the hindrances 5. very difficult to resist 6. if all else fails

5 Keeping a meditation diary

1. fresh hope 2. meditation is a serious business 3. first of all, get a good big notebook!

6 Dangers and difficulties in meditation

1. the gravitational pull 2. coping with fear in meditation 3. extreme meditation experiences 4. is meditation dangerous? 5. the protest of hastily departing notions

7 Discipline in meditation

1. to do it and want to do it 2. no need to meditate with clenched teeth 3. really enjoy it 4. the problem with the word ‘meditation’ 5. regularity is very important 6. how much meditation is good for you? 7. a trace of joy

8 Talking about meditation

1. ‘what do you think i experienced this morning?’ 2. becoming aware of the details of one’s practice

9 Reflections on effort in meditation

1. that last delicate, subtle effort 2. a strong determination 3. with mindfulness, strive 4. the degree of effort needed 5. growing naturally 6. the mind almost wants to be distracted

6 Insight and its relationship with dhyāna

1 Insight

1. tangible realities 2. ‘with mind thus composed ...’ 3. a direct intuitive perception 4. watching a leaf fall 5. the aim of all buddhist practice is ultimately insight 6. seeing through conditioned existence 7. a different sort of mental activity 8. thought processes are of three kinds 9. a calm and gentle aura 10. intellectual understanding and insight 11. a total experience 12. certain changes are going to take place 13. won’t insight arise naturally? 14. when can one stop meditating? 15. how much concentration is enough? 16. just sitting quietly

2 The relationship between Insight and dhyāna

1. dhyāna is essentially a skilful mental state 2. really putting meditation into practice 3. the bodhisattva way of life 4. the classical approach 5. insight is the fundamental thing 6. is dhyāna a detour? 7. insight and stream-entry 8. you can’t worry your way to insight 9. it all seems so self-obsessed ... 10. a glimmering of insight 11. the arūpā-dhyānas and insight 12. a key to successful meditation 13. the vital point of mind 14. make your mind pliable 15. ‘dry’ insight 16. is vipassanā more difficult than samatha meditation? 17. insight experiences cannot be lost 18. it’s not enough to meditate; we do have to study

7 Vipassanā practices

1 Impermanence

1. keeping one’s awareness fresh and alive 2. no big secret 3. one must remember the principle of the thing 4. estimate how much you can take

2 The six element practice

the six elements speak 1. nothing really belongs to us 2. a very effective practice 3. sources of the practice 4. different forms of element practice 5. infinite consciousness 6. the six element practice and the blue sky 7. how buddhism sees the elements

3 The chöd practice

1. egoism is not an entity, but an attitude

4 The unpleasantness of the body

1. restoring a balance 2. a very positive kind of detachment 3. surely contemplating ‘loathsomeness’ can only be off-putting?

5 The nidāna chain

1. the truth of conditionality 2. how we make ourselves what we are 3. you can’t find any absolute first beginning

6 Śūnyatā meditations

1. a springboard for the experience of insight 2. how do you meditate on śūnyatā? 3. just a mode of looking at things 4. exploring śūnyatā

8 Visualizations and recitations

1 The foundation yogas

1. introducing the four foundation yogas 2. the foundation yogas and the system of meditation 3. don’t skimp the basics 4. the relevance of the foundation yogas 5. offering the mandala 6. preliminary practices 7. total withdrawal, total engagement 8. the arising of the bodhicitta 9. the purification of the mind

2 Visualization exercises: kasiṇa and stūpa visualizations

1. a disc of light 2. a stepping-stone to the visualization practices 3. how can focusing on a sense-object lead beyond the senses? 4 stūpa visualization: the release of psycho-spiritual energy

3 The visualization of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

1. a tantric visualization practice: green tārā 2. an embodiment of reality itself 3. the ultimate depths of one’s being 4. the whole teaching distilled into a single figure 5. delicate, tender, subtle 6. that which you’re trying to become 7. two aspects of visualization 8. the relationship between mettā and visualization 9. can visualization cure illness? 10. visualization and dhyāna 11. a deeply spiritual meaning 12. visualization and emptiness 13. there’s no point in putting off enlightenment 14. light through a stained glass window 15. choose mettā 16. you’re just supposed to do it! 17. ‘western’ visualizations? 18. the relationship between visualization practices 19. difficulty in visualizing 20. this is what i want to be like 21. an important distinction 22. don’t force it 23. falling in love with a bodhisattva 24. the yidam and sexual desire 25. the right one 26. why visualize an enlightened being? 27. why bother visualizing at all? 28. making a start

4 Mantras

1. what compassion would sound like 2. which is more important, visualization or mantra? 3. attend to the sound

9 Indirect methods, retreats and taking meditation further

1 Indirect methods

1. is meditation the only way? 2. writing instead of meditating? 3. insight in daily life 4. i’m afraid that when the big moment comes i will miss it 5. can you enter dhyāna through reading a novel? 6. an uninterrupted flow 7. physical labour and meditation 8. wouldn’t it be better to open a soup kitchen? 9. meditation and activity: two sides of the same coin 10. a very dynamic state 11. meditation in a busy life 12. are there places that meditation doesn’t reach? 13. meditation versus psychotherapy

2 Going on solitary retreat

1. can you get by on your own? 2. consult your own experience 3. it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it 4. is going on solitary retreat escapism? 5. sleepiness in solitude 6. being sure you are really an individual 7. do you need solitude to practise dhyāna? 8. the whole art of life 9. in a way quite simple

3 Progress in meditation

1. can you tell if meditation is changing you? 2. ‘more advanced practices’ 3. press on 4. no need to worry about the next step 5. beginner’s mind 6. the rhythm of the spiritual life 7. when meditation begins to bite 8. letting go 9. with mindfulness, strive (revisited) 10. never lose sight of your objective

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