Preliminary Practice
This means pre-jhanic or preliminary practice in order to prepare the yogi for the mainjhanic practice. It covers four elements, namely effort (viriya), mindfulness (sati), calmness (passaddhi) and concentration (samadhi).
Viriya has four elements (caturanga). The yogi vows to make effort thus: 'Let my flesh and blood dry up leaving only the skin, bones and sinews, let me die, I shall not fail'. Such is the kind of courage the yogi should possess. When he is faced with severe feeling [vedana] he will not shrink nor lose courage till he attains the desired goal.
The nature of viriya lies in determined patience with clenched teeth when the yogi is faced with dukkha and difficulties. Put in another way, it means perseverance not to fall back and flounder. Such a characteristic is called, ussaha lakkhana (sustaining characteristic).
Some yogis suffer from physical pain and are afraid that their blood circulation might stop and they might eventually die while meditating. One should possess stamina and not give in and change the posture till the target is achieved.
Just like an old leaning building needs a support to keep it upright, so also when his viriya is not strong enough, the yogi should support to strengthen it. Such a situation is known as upatthambhana rasa (supporting vigour). Thus will the yogi gain extra strength with a determination of 'not going back' till he sees the dhamma in a remarkable manner. Such a situation is known as asamsidana paccupatthana - the manifestation of firm determination.
At this stage, one possesses araddhaviriya (initial effort) or paggahita viriya (exerting strength), the type of strength which goes to lift up gradually and firmly without stopping or lowering. It signifies unquailing, absence of shrinking, relaxation and easy-going (asal-Una), never flinching from the practice.
With unquailing and resolute courage, the yogi will be able to fix his attention, upatthita sati (fixed attention) or asammoha sati (unbewildered attention), so that his mind-fulness will fall on the arammana (object) and not float away. Such a situation is known as ''arammana--bhimukhi bhavd the state of fixed and face-to-face attention on the object.
Thus the yogi will be able to go along and not lose sight of the target track. His consciousness {arammanika) will become fastened to the object [arammana) instead ofjust overarching the object and scattering. Otherwise the yogi will feel repentant. For one minute's loosening of contact, he will suffer the loss of sixty notings and for two minutes, one hundred and twenty notings, thus eventually leading him to restlessness (uddhacca) and remorse (kukkucca). His mind would not be at peace.
The mindfulness of the rise and fall would be just in name because his attention is loose and not closely knitted with the object. Since the sati is not strong enough, his mind will be scattered. Then after a minute or two, he would recover his sati and start blaming himself for his disturbed mind.
Once he is able to fix his sati on the object, his mind will be able to fall on the target without creating any gap in the stream of mindfulness. He will then experience calmness (passadhi) in nama-kaya followed by calmness in rupa-kaya. When the mind is at ease, his body will also be at ease. If one worries and repents due to loosening of attention, how would one's mind behave - fixed or scattered?
Once the mind is calm and collected it will become fixed on one point, just like the dart which has been aimed attentively hits straight into the target. Such a situation is called samadhi.
When the mind is fixed on a point or is pierced into the target like an arrow for one or two minutes, in an unshakable manner like a mountain (acala) and without trembling (nipphandana) one is said to attain khanika samadhi.
One may argue (codana) that the pubbabhaga patipada should also include such wholesome mental states like faith (saddha) and wisdom or knowledge (panna). The answer to this argument is that once the yogi is fastened to the practice of pubbabhaga patipada, it is to be understood that both saddha and panna have been possessed by him. For, without faith in the practice, one cannot exert, and in the practice of correct method, knowledge is obvious.
Post a comment