
                              BASIC THEMES
                               
                                   by
                         Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo

                      Translated from the Thai by
                           Thanissaro Bhikkhu
                           (Geoffrey DeGraff)

                         Metta Forest Monastery
                              PO Box 1409
                        Valley Center, CA 92082


                Transcription & Formatting: John Bullitt
                    Proofreading: Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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                         DharmaNet Edition 1995

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                                PROLOGUE

  
  There are two things beginning meditators should search for as
  external aids to their practice --
  
    1.  Suitable companions (//puggala-sappaya//):  Be discriminating in
  choosing people to associate with.  Search only for companions who
  have peace of mind.  This can be any group at all, as long as the
  group as a whole is aiming for mental peace.
  
    2.  A suitable location (//senasana-sappaya//):  Choose a quiet
  place with an agreeable atmosphere, far from human society.  Places of
  this sort, providing physical seclusion, are conducive to the practice
  of meditation.  Examples listed in the Canon include caverns and
  caves, the shade of an over-hanging cliff-face, the forest wilderness,
  and empty houses or buildings where not too many people will come
  passing by.  Places like this are an excellent aid and support for a
  beginning meditator.
  
    When you go to stay in such a place, don't let your thoughts dwell
  on topics that will act as enemies to your peace of mind.  For
  example, don't preoccupy yourself with magic spells or the black arts.
  Instead, call to mind and put into practice those principles and
  qualities that will be to your benefit.  For example --
  
    //Appicchata//:  Be a person of few wants with regard to the
  necessities of life.
  
    //Santutthi//:  Be content with the possessions you already have.
  
    //Viveka//:  Aim solely for peace, quiet and seclusion.
  
    //Asansagga//:  Don't entangle yourself with human companionship.
  
    //Viriyarambha//:  Be singleminded and persistent at making the mind
  still and at peace.
  
    //Silanussati//:  Reflect on your own conduct to see if you've
  overstepped any of your precepts, and -- if you have -- immediately
  purify your behavior through your own intention.
  
    //Samadhi-katha//:  Focus on calling to mind the meditation theme on
  which your mind can become firmly established.
  
    //Panna-katha//:  Focus exclusively on those topics that will give
  rise to discernment and clear insight.
  
    //Vimutti//:  Make the mind well-disposed toward the search for
  release from all defilements.
  
    //Vimutti-nana-dassana//:  Focus on contemplating how to come to the
  realizations that will enable you to gain release from the
  fermentation of all defilements.
  

    These principles are guidelines for meditators of every sort and
  will direct the mind solely to the path leading beyond all suffering
  and stress.
  
    What follows is a short-hand list of essential principles, selected
  to help prevent meditators from getting tied up in the course of their
  practice.  These principles, though, should be viewed merely as
  incidental to the Dhamma.  The reality of the Dhamma has to be brought
  into being within ourselves through our own energies:  This is called
  practicing the Dhamma.  If we go no further than the lists, we'll end
  up with only concepts of the Dhamma.  Our ultimate aim should be to
  make the mind still until we reach the natural reality that exists on
  its own within us, that knows on its own and lets go on its own.  This
  is the practice of the Dhamma that will lead us to the realization of
  the Dhamma -- the true taste and nourishment of the Dhamma -- so that
  we will no longer be caught up on the ropes.
  
    In other words, conceptualized Dhamma is like a rope bridge for
  crossing over a river.  If we take the bridge down and then carry it
  with us, it will serve no purpose other than to weigh us down and get
  us all tied up.  So no matter how much conceptualized Dhamma you may
  have memorized, when you come to the point where you're practicing for
  real you have to take responsibility for yourself.  Whether you are to
  win or lose, let go or cling, will depend on how much quality you've
  built into your own mind.  This is why we are taught not to cling to
  the scriptures and texts, to meanings and concepts.  Only when we
  train ourselves to get beyond all this will we be heading for purity.
  

                        //Attahi attano natho//:
  
  Nothing can help us unless we can rely on ourselves.  Only when we
  realize this will we be on the right track.  The Buddha attained all
  of the truths he taught before he put them into words.  It wasn't the
  case that came up with the words first and then put them into practice
  later.  He was like the scientists who experiment and get results
  before writing textbooks.  But people who simply read the textbooks
  know everything -- for example, they may know every part in an
  airplane -- but they can't produce one out of their own knowledge.  To
  be a consumer and to be a producer are two different things.  If we
  cling merely to the concepts of the Dhamma, simply memorizing them,
  we're no more than consumers.  Only if we make ourselves into
  producers, so that others can consume, will we be acting properly.
  
    To be successful producers, we have to accept responsibility for
  ourselves.  If there's any area where we don't succeed, we should make
  use of our own ingenuity until we do.  If we rely merely on the
  ingenuity of others, then we can't depend on ourselves.  And if we
  can't depend on ourselves, why should we let other people think that
  they can depend on us?
  
    This is why I have compiled this list of principles merely as a
  brief beginning guide for meditators.
  
  
  The Thirteen Ascetic Observances
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  1.  //Pansukulikanga//:  the practice of wearing robes made from
  thrown-away cloth.
  
  2.  //Tecivarikanga//:  the practice of using only one set of three
  robes.
  
  3.  //Pindapatikanga//:  the practice of going for alms.
  
  4.  //Sapadacarikanga//:  the practice of not by-passing any donors on
  one's alms path.
  
  5.  //Ekasanikanga//:  the practice of eating no more than one meal a
  day.
  
  6.  //Pattapindikanga//:  the practice of eating one's food only from
  one's bowl.
  
  7.  //Khalupacchabhattikanga//:  the practice of not accepting any
  food presented after one has eaten one's fill.
  
  8.  //Arannikanga//:  the practice of living in the wilderness.
  
  9.  //Rukkhamulikanga//:  the practice of living under the shade of a
  tree.
  
  10.  //Abbhokasikanga//:  the practice of living out under the open
  sky.
  
  11.  //Sosanikanga//:  the practice of living in a cemetery.
  
  12.  //Yathasanthatikanga//:  the practice of living in whatever place
  is assigned to one.
  
  13.  //Nesajjikanga//:  the practice of not lying down.
  
  
  The Fourteen Duties
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  1.  //Akantuka-vatta//:  duties of a monk newly arriving at a
  monastery.

  2.  //Avasika-vatta//:  duties of a host-monk when a newcomer arrives.

  3.  //Gamika-vatta//:  duties of a monk when leaving a monastery.

  4.  //Anumodana-vatta//:  duties connected with expressing
  appreciation for donations (of food).

  5. //Bhattaka-vatta//:  duties to observe before and after one's meal.

  6. //Pindicarika-vatta//:  duties to observe when going for alms.

  7. //Arannika-vatta//:  duties to observe when living in the
  wilderness.

  8.  //Senasana-vatta//:  duties to observe in looking after one's
  dwelling place.

  9.  //Jantaghara-vatta//:  duties to observe in using the fire-house.

  10.  //Vaccakuti-vatta//:  duties to observe in using the toilet.

  11.  //Upajjhaya-vatta//:  duties to observe in attending to one's
  preceptor.

  12.  //Acariya-vatta//: duties to observe in attending to one's
  teacher.

  13. //Saddhiviharika-vatta//:  a preceptor's duties toward his pupil.

  14. //Antevasika-vatta//:  a teacher's duties toward his pupil.
  


  Seven Important Sets of Principles (The Wings to Awakening)
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  1.  The four frames of reference (//satipatthana//):  body, feelings,
  mind, mental qualities.
  
  2.  The four right exertions (//sammappadhana//):  making the effort
  to prevent evil from arising, to abandon whatever evil has arisen, to
  give rise to the good that hasn't yet arisen, and to maintain the good
  that has.
  
  3.  The four foundations of achievement (//iddhipada//):
  
       //Chanda// -- feeling an affinity for one's meditation theme.
       //Viriya// -- persistence.
       //Citta// -- intentness on one's goal.
       //Vimangsa// -- circumspection in one's activities and interests.
  
  4.  The five pre-eminent factors (//indriya//):  conviction, 
  persistence, mindfulness, concentration, discernment (factors that are
  pre-eminent in performing one's duties).
  
  5.  The five strengths (//bala//):  conviction, persistence 
  mindfulness, concentration, discernment (factors that give energy to
  the observance of one's duties).
  
  6.  The seven factors of Awakening (//bojjhanga//):
  
       //Sati-sambojjhanga -- powers of mindfulness, recollection, and
                reference.
       //Dhammavicaya-sambojjhanga// -- discrimination in choosing a
                meditation theme well-suited to oneself.
       //Viriya-sambojjhanga// -- persistence.
       //Piti-sambojjhanga// -- rapture; fullness of body and mind.
       //Passaddhi-sambojjhanga// -- physical stillness and mental
                serenity.
       //Samadhi-sambojjhanga// -- concentration.
       //Upekkha-sambojjhanga// -- equanimity.
  

  7.  The eightfold path (//magga//):  
  
       //Samma-ditthi// -- Right View.
       //Samma-sankappa// -- Right Intention.
       //Samma-vaca// -- Right Speech.
       //Samma-kammanta// -- Right Action.
       //Samma-ajiva// -- Right Livelihood.
       //Samma-vayama// -- Right Effort.
       //Samma-sati// -- Right Mindfulness.
       //Samma-samadhi// -- Right Concentration.
  
  
  The Forty Meditation Themes
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Ten recollections; ten foul objects; ten kasinas; four divine
  abidings; four formless absorptions; one resolution into elements; and
  one perception of the filthiness of food.
  

  Ten recollections:
  
  1.  //Buddhanussati//:  recollection of the virtues of the Buddha.
  2.  //Dhammanussati//:  recollection of the virtues of the Dhamma.
  3.  //Sanghanussati//:  recollection of the virtues of the Sangha.
  4.  //Silanussati//:  recollection of one's own moral virtue.
  5.  //Caganussati//:  recollection of one's generosity.
  6.  //Devatanussati//:  recollection of the qualities that lead to
        rebirth as a heavenly being.
  7.  //Kayagatasati//:  mindfulness immersed in the body.
  8.  //Maranassati//:  mindfulness of death.  
  9.  //Anapanassati//:  mindfulness of breathing.
  10.  //Upasamanussati//:  recollection of the virtues of nibbana --
        ultimate pleasure; unexcelled ease, free from birth, aging,
        illness and death.
  

  Ten foul objects:
  
  1.  //Uddhumataka//:  a rotten, bloated corpse, its body all swollen
        and its features distended out of shape.
  2.  //Vinilaka//:  a livid corpse, with patchy discoloration --
        greenish, reddish, yellowish -- from the decomposition of the
        blood.
  3.  //Vipubbaka//:  a festering corpse, oozing lymph and pus from its
        various orifices.
  4.  //Vichiddaka//:  a corpse falling apart, the pieces scattered
        about, radiating their stench.
  5.  //Vikkhayittaka//:  a corpse that various animals, such as dogs,
        are gnawing, or that vultures are picking at, or that crows are
        fighting over, pulling it apart in different directions.
  6.  //Vikkhittaka//:  corpses scattered about, i.e., unclaimed bodies
        that have been thrown together in a pile -- face up, face down,
        old bones and new scattered all over the place.
  7.  //Hatavikkhittaka//:  the corpse of a person violently murdered,
        slashed and stabbed with various weapons, covered with wounds --
        short, long, shallow, deep -- some parts hacked so that they're
        almost detached.
  8.  //Lohitaka//:  a corpse covered with blood, like the hands of a
        butcher, all red and raw-smelling.
  9.  //Puluvaka//:  a corpse infested with worms:  long worms, short
        worms, black, green, and yellow worms, squeezed into the ears,
        eyes, and mouth; squirming and squiggling about, filling the
        various parts of the body like a net full of fish that has
        fallen open.
  10.  //Atthika//:  a skeleton, some of the joints already separated,
        others not yet, the bones -- whitish, yellowish, discolored --
        scattered near and far all over the place.
  

  Ten kasinas:
  
  1.  //Pathavi kasina//:  staring at earth.
  2.  //Apo kasina//:  staring at water.
  3.  //Tejo kasina//:  staring at fire.
  4.  //Vayo kasina//:  staring at wind.
  5.  //Odata kasina//:  staring at white.
  6.  //Pita kasina//:  staring at yellow.
  7.  //Lohita kasina//:  staring at red.
  8.  //Nila kasina//:  staring at blue (or green).
  9.  //Akasa kasina//:  staring at the space in a hole or an opening.
  10.  //Aloka kasina//:  staring at bright light.
  

  Four divine abidings:
  
  1.  //Metta//:  benevolence, friendliness, good will, love in the true
        sense.
  2.  //Karuna//:  compassion, sympathy, pity, aspiring to find a way to
        be truly helpful.
  3.  //Mudita//:  appreciation for the goodness of other people and for
        our own when we are able to help them.
  4.  //Upekkha//:  When our efforts to be of help don't succeed, we
        should make the mind neutral -- neither pleased nor upset by
        whatever it focuses on -- so that it enters the emptiness of
        jhana, centered and tranquil to the point where it can disregard
        acts of thinking and evaluating as well as feelings of rapture
        and ease, leaving only oneness and equanimity with regard to all
        objects and preoccupations.
  

  Four formless absorptions:

  1.  //Akasanancayatana//:  being absorbed in a sense of boundless
        emptiness and space as one's preoccupation.
  2.  //Vinnanancayatana//:  being absorbed in boundless consciousness
        as one's preoccupation, with no form or figure acting as the
        sign or focal point of one's concentration.
  3.  //Akincannayatana//:  focusing exclusively on a fainter or more
        subtle sense of cognizance that has no limit and in which
        nothing appears or disappears, to the point where one almost
        understands it to be //nibbana//.
  4.  //Nevasanna-nasannayatana//:  being absorbed in a feeling that
        occurs in the mind, that isn't awareness exactly, but neither is
        it non-awareness; i.e., there is awareness, but with no
        thinking, no focusing of awareness on what it knows.
  
  These four formless absorptions are merely resting places for the
  mind, because they are states that the mind enters, stays in, and
  leaves.  They are by nature unstable and inconstant, so we shouldn't
  rest content simply at this level.  We have to go back and forth
  through the various levels many times so as to realize that they're
  only stages of enforced tranquility.
  
  One resolution into elements:  i.e., regarding each part of the body
  simply in terms of physical properties or elements.
  
  One perception of the filthiness of food:  i.e., viewing food as
  something repugnant and unclean -- with regard to where it comes from,
  how it's prepared, how it's mixed together when it's chewed, and where
  it stays in the stomach and intestines.
  
                                 * * *
                               
  With one exception, all of the meditation themes mentioned here are
  simply //gocara dhamma// -- foraging places for the mind.  They're not
  places for the mind to stay.  If we try to go live in the things we
  see when we're out foraging, we'll end up in trouble.  Thus, there is
  one theme that's termed '//vihara dhamma//' or '//anagocara//':  Once
  you've developed it, you can use it as a place to stay.  When you
  practice meditation, you don't have to go foraging in other themes;
  you can stay in the single theme that's the apex of all meditation
  themes:  //anapanassati//, keeping the breath in mind.  This theme,
  unlike the others, has none of the features or various deceptions that
  can upset or disturb the heart.  As for the others:
  
        -- Some of the recollections, when you've practiced them for a
  long time, can give rise to startling or unsettling visions.
  
        -- The ten foul objects can give rise after a while to visions
  and sometimes to sense of alienation and discontent that turns into
  restlessness and distress, your mind being unable to fashion anything
  on which it can come to rest, to the point where you can't eat or
  drink.
  
        -- The ten kasina, after you've stared at them a long while, can
  give rise to visions that tend to pull you out of your sense of the
  body, as you become enthralled by their color and features, to the
  point where you may become completely carried away.
  
        -- As for the resolution into elements, when you become more and
  more engrossed in contemplating the elements, everything in the world
  becomes nothing more than elements, which are everywhere the same. You
  come to believe that you no longer have to make distinctions: You're
  nothing more than elements, members of the opposite sex are nothing
  more than elements, food is nothing more than elements, and so you can
  end up overstepping the bounds of morality and the monastic
  discipline.
  
        -- As for the perception of the filthiness of food, as you
  become more and more caught up in it, everything becomes repulsive.
  You can't eat or sleep, your mind becomes restless and disturbed, and
  you inflict suffering on yourself.
  
        -- As for the four divine abodes, if you don't have jhana as a
  dwelling for the mind, feelings of good will, compassion, and
  appreciation can all cause you to suffer. Only if you have jhana can
  these qualities truly become divine abodes, that is, restful places
  for the heart to stay (//vihara dhamma//).
  
  Thus only one of these themes -- anapanassati, keeping the breath in
  mind -- is truly safe.  This is the supreme meditation theme.  You
  don't have to send your awareness out to fix it on any outside objects
  at all.  Even if you may go foraging through such objects, don't go
  living in them, because after a while they can waver and shift, just
  as when we cross the sea in a boat:  When we first get into the boat
  we may feel all right, but as soon as the boat heads out into the open
  bay and we're buffeted by wind and waves, we can start feeling
  seasick.  To practice keeping the breath in mind, though, is like
  sitting in an open shelter at dockside:  We won't feel queasy or sick;
  we can see boats as they pass by on the water, and people as they pass
  by on land.  Thus, keeping the breath in mind is classed:
  
        -- as an exercise agreeable to people of any and every 
  temperament;
  
        -- as '//anagocara//,' an exercise in which you focus 
  exclusively on the breath while you sit in meditation, without having
  to compound things by sending your awareness out to grab this or get
  hold of that;
  
        -- and as '//dhamma-thiti//,' i.e., all you have to do is keep
  your mind established firm and in place.
  
  The beginning stage is to think //buddho// -- '//bud-//' with the
  in-breath, and '//dho//' with the out.  Fixing your attention on just
  this much is enough to start seeing results.  There's only one aim,
  and that's:
  
            that you really do it.
  
  If there is anything you're unsure of, or if you encounter any
  problems, then consult the following pages.
                               
                            * * * * * * * *
                               



                              INTRODUCTION
  
  This handbook on keeping the breath in mind has had a number of
  readers who have put it into practice and seen results appearing
  within themselves in accordance with the strength of their practice.
  Many people have come to me to discuss the results they've gained from
  practicing the principles in this book, but now it's out of print. For
  this reason I've decided to enlarge it and have it printed again as an
  aid for those who are interested in the practice.
  
    Now, if you're not acquainted with this topic, have never attempted
  it, or aren't yet skilled -- if you don't know the techniques of the
  practice -- it's bound to be hard to understand, because the currents
  of the mind, when they're written down as a book, simply won't be a
  book.  The issues involved in dealing with the mind are more than
  many.  If your knowledge of them isn't truly comprehensive, you may
  misunderstand what you come to see and know, and this in turn can be
  destructive in many ways.  (1) You may lose whatever respect you had
  for the practice, deciding that there's no truth to it.  (2) You may
  gain only a partial grasp of things, leading you to decide that other
  people can't practice or are practicing wrongly, and in the end you're
  left with no way to practice yourself.  So you decide to 'let go'
  simply through conjecture and speculation.  But the truth is that this
  simply won't work.  True and complete letting go can come only from
  the principles well-taught by the Buddha:  virtue, concentration, and
  discernment, which are a synopsis of the eightfold path he taught in
  his first sermon.
  
    So in our practice we should consider how virtue, concentration,
  discernment, and release can be brought into being.  Virtue forms the
  basis for concentration; concentration, the basis for discernment
  (liberating insight or cognitive skill); and discernment, the basis
  for release from ignorance, craving, and attachment.  Thus in this
  book, which is a guide to developing Right Concentration, I would like
  to recommend to other meditators a method that, in my experience, has
  proven safe and productive, so that they can test it for themselves by
  putting it into practice until they start seeing results.
  
    The main concern of this book is with the way to mental peace.  Now,
  the word 'peace' has many levels:  A mind infused with virtue has one
  level of peace and happiness; a mind stilled through concentration has
  another level of peace and happiness; a mind at peace through the
  power of discernment has still another level of happiness; and the
  peace of a mind that is release is yet another level, with a happiness
  completely apart from the rest.
  
    In these matters, though, meditators tend to prefer the results to
  the causes.  They aren't as interested in abandoning their own
  defilements through the principles of the practice as they are in
  standing out among society at large.  They appropriate the ideas and
  observations of other people as being their own, but by and large
  their wisdom is composed of //bahira panna// -- remembered
  'outsights', not true insight.
  
    So when you want the reality of the principles taught by the Buddha,
  you should first lift your mind to this principle -- Right
  Concentration -- because it's an excellent gathering of the energies
  of your mind.  All energy in the world comes from stopping and
  resting.  Motion is something that destroys itself -- as when our
  thinking goes all out of bounds.  Take walking for instance:  When we
  walk, energy comes from the foot at rest.  Or when we speak, energy
  comes from stopping between phrases.  If we were to talk without
  stopping, without resting between phrases, not only would it waste
  energy, but the language we'd speak wouldn't even be human.  So it is
  with practicing the Dhamma:  Release comes from concentration and
  discernment acting together.  Release through the power of the mind
  (//ceto-vimutti//) requires more concentration and less discernment;
  release through discernment (//panna-vimutti//) ,more discernment and
  less concentration -- but there is no way that release can be attained
  without the stillness of concentration.
  
    Thus, resting the mind provides the strength needed to support all
  the qualities developed in the practice, which is why it's such an
  essential part of Right Concentration. It forms a well-spring and a
  storage place for all knowledge, whether of the world or of the
  Dhamma.  If you aren't acquainted with this basic principle, skilled
  awareness won't arise.  And if you don't have skilled awareness, how
  will you be able to let go?  You'll have to go groping around in
  unskilled awareness.  As long as the mind is in the grips of unskilled
  awareness, it's bound to be deluded by its fashionings.
  
    Unskilled awareness is a brine in which the mind lies soaking; a
  mind soaked in its juices is like wet, sappy wood that, when burned,
  gives off smoke as its signal, but no flame.  As the smoke rises into
  the air, you imagine it to be something high and exalted.  It's high,
  all right, but only like smoke or overcast clouds.  If there's a lot
  of it, it can obscure your vision and that of others, so that you
  can't see the light of the sun and moon.  This is why such people are
  said to be 'groping.'  Those who train their own hearts, though, will
  give rise to skilled awareness.  When skilled awareness penetrates the
  heart, you'll come to realize the harmful potency of mental
  fashionings.  The arising of skilled awareness in the heart is like
  the burning of dry, sapless wood that gives off flame and light. Even
  though there may be some smoke, you don't pay it any mind, because the
  firelight is more outstanding.
  
  The flame of skilled awareness gives rise to five sorts of results:
  
       1.  Rust (the defilements) won't take hold of the heart.
  
       2.  The heart becomes purified.
  
       3.  The heart becomes radiant in and of itself (//pabhassaram
                cittam//).
  
       4.  The heart develops majesty (//tejas//).
  
       5.  The three skills, the eight skills, and the four forms of
                acumen will arise.
  
    All of these things arise through the power of the mind. The nature
  of the mind is that it already has a certain amount of instinctive
  intuition -- the times when it knows on its own, as when you happen to
  think of a particular person, and then he or she actually shows up.
  All good qualities, from the mundane to the transcendent, are always
  present in each of us.  These qualities -- the Dhamma -- aren't the
  exclusive possession of any particular group or person.  We all have
  the right to develop them and put them into practice.
  
    For these qualities to yield results, we have to develop them in
  conjunction with the following four principles --
  
       1.  //Chanda//:  feeling an affinity for the practice.
  
       2.  //Viriya//:  being persistent in the practice.
  
       3.  //Citta//:  being intent on the practice.
  
       4.  //Vimansa//:  being circumspect in what we do, i.e.,
  circumspect before we do it, circumspect (mindful and aware) while
  we're doing it, and circumspect with regard to the results that arise
  from what we've done.
  
    These four principles form the foundation for success in all areas,
  whether in matters of the world or of the Dhamma. Once they're
  actualized within us and focused together on a single goal, we're
  bound to succeed in line with our aspirations.  The results they
  yield, briefly put, are of two sorts --
  
       1.  //Iddhiriddhi//:  certain mundane powers that accrue to
        meditators.
  
       2.  //Punnariddhi//:  power in terms of the Dhamma that will
        accrue to meditators, providing means for settling issues that
        relate to the world and the heart, or for liberating the mind
        from all mundane influences.  This is termed:
  
       //Vimutti// -- release,
       //Visuddhi// -- purity,
       //Santi// -- peace,
       //Nibbana// -- the disbanding of all stress.
  
    Thus, I would like to invite all Buddhists -- all who hope for peace
  and well-being -- to reflect on the principles of practice dealing
  with Right Concentration presented here as a guide for those who are
  interested.  If you have any questions dealing with this book, or any
  problems arising from the practice of training the mind, I will be
  glad to give whatever advice I can.
  
    May you prosper and be well.
  
    Whoever feels that this book is of use and would like to print it
  again for free distribution, may go ahead and do so without having to
  ask permission.  Some parts may not be correct in terms of the Pali,
  so wherever there may be any mistakes, I ask your forgiveness.
  
                                        -- Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
 
  Wat Asokaram, Samut Prakaan
  September, 1960 
 
                            * * * * * * * *
 



      '//Buddhanussati metta ca asubham maranassati:
      Iccima caturarakkha....//'

            (Recollection of the Buddha; good will;
            The foul; mindfulness of death:  
            These four guardian protectors....)
  
                            -- Rama IV, '//Mokkhupaya Gatha//'
  


  
                     I. Recollection of the Buddha
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               
        //Araham samma-sambuddho bhagava:
        Buddham bhagavantam abhivademi//.

        The Blessed One is Worthy and Rightly Self-awakened.
        I bow down before the Awakened, Blessed One.  (Bow down)
 

        //Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo:
        Dhammam namassami//.

        The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One.
        I pay homage to the Dhamma.  (Bow down)
 

        //Supatipanno bhagavato savaka-sangho:
        Sangham namami//.

        The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples has practiced well. I
        pay respect to the Sangha.  (Bow down)
  
  
  A. Paying homage to objects worthy of respect:
  
        //Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa//.
        (Repeat three times.)

        Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-
        awakened One.
  

        //Ukasa, dvaratayena katam, sabbam aparadham khamatha me
        bhante//.

        Asking your leave, I request that you forgive me for whatever
        wrong I have done with the three doors (of body, speech, and
        mind).


        //Vandami bhante cetiyam sabbam sabbattha thane, supatithitam
        sariranka-dhatum, maha-bodhim buddha-rupam sakkarattham//.

        I revere every stupa established in every place, every Relic of
        the  Buddha's body, every Great Bodhi tree, every Buddha image
        that is an object of veneration.

        //Aham vandami dhatuyo.  Aham vandami sabbaso. Iccetam
        ratanattayam, aham vandami sabbada//.

        I revere the relics. I revere them everywhere. I always revere
        the Triple Gem.
  

  B. Paying homage to the Triple Gem:
  
        //Buddha-puja mahatejavanto//: I ask to pay homage to the
        Buddha, whose majesty is greater than the powers of all beings
        human and divine.  Thus, this homage to the Buddha is a means of
        developing great majesty.
  
        //Buddham jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami//: I take
        refuge in the Buddha from now until attaining nibbana.
  
        //Dhamma-puja mahappanno//:  I ask to pay homage to the Dhamma,
        the teachings of the Buddha, which are a well-spring of
        discernment for beings human and divine.  Thus, this worship of
        the Dhamma is a means of developing great discernment.
  
        //Dhammam jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami//:  I take
        refuge in the Dhamma from now until attaining nibbana.
  
        //Sangha-puja mahabhogavaho//:  I ask to pay homage to those
        followers of the Buddha who have practiced well in thought,
        word, and deed; and who possess all wealth, beginning with Noble
        Wealth.  Thus, this homage to the Sangha is a means of
        developing great wealth.
  
        //Sangham jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami//:  I take
        refuge in the Sangha from now until attaining nibbana.
  
        //N'atthi me saranam annam, Buddho dhammo sangho me saranam
        varam:  Etena saccavajjena hotu me jayamangalam//: I have no
        other refuge:  The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are my highest
        refuge.  By means of this vow, may the blessing of victory be
        mine.
  
        //Yankinci ratanam loke vijjati vividham puthu, Ratanam
        buddha-dhamma-sangha-samam natthi, Tasma sotthi bhavantu me//:
        Of the many and varied treasures found in the world, none equal
        the Triple Gem.  Therefore, may well-being be mine.
  
  (If you repeat the translations of these passages, bow down once at
  this point.)
  
  
                                 * * *


                             II. Good Will
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  Declare your purity, taking the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha as witness
  once more, repeating this Pali passage:
 
        //Parisuddho aham bhante.  Parisuddhoti mam buddho dhammo sangho
        dharetu//.  (I now declare my purity to the Triple Gem.  May the
        Triple Gem recognize me as pure at present.)
  
  Now develop thoughts of good will, saying:
 
        //Sabbe satta// -- May all living beings
        //Avera hontu// -- Be free from animosity,
        //Abyapajjha hontu// -- Free from oppression,
        //Anigha hontu// -- Free from trouble,
        //Sukhi attanam pariharantu// -- May they look after themselves
        with ease.
  
        //Sabbe satta sada hontu avera sukha-jivino//:  May all beings
        always live happily, free from animosity.
  
        //Katam punna-phalam mayham sabbe bhagi bhavantu te//:  May all
        share in the blessings springing from the good I have done.
  
  (This is the abbreviated version.  If your time is limited, simply say
  this much and then get into position to meditate.)
  

    Spreading thoughts of good will to the six directions:
                               
    1.  The eastern quarter:  '//Puratthimasmim disa-bhage sabbe satta//
  (May all living beings in the eastern quarter...) //avera hontu,
  abyapajjha hontu, anigha hontu, sukhi attanam pariharantu.  Sabbe
  satta sada hontu avera sukhajivino. Katam punnaphalam mayham sabbe
  bhagi bhavantu te//.  (For translations, see above.)
  
    2.  The western quarter:  '//Pacchimasmim disa-bhage sabbe satta//,
  etc.'
  
    3.  The northern quarter:  '//Uttarasmim disa-bhage sabbe satta//,
  etc.'
  
    4.  The southern quarter:  '//Dakkhinasmim disa-bhage sabbe satta//,
  etc.'
  
    5.  The lower regions:  '//Hetthimasmim disa-bhage sabbe satta//,
  etc.'
  
    6.  The upper regions:  '//Uparimasmim disa-bhage sabbe satta avera
  hontu, abyapajjha hontu, anigha hontu, sukhi attanam pariharantu.
  Sabbe satta sada hontu avera sukhajivino.  Katam punnaphalam mayham
  sabbe bhagi bhavantu te//.  (Bow down three times.)
  
    When you have finished spreading thoughts of good will to all six
  directions, cleanse your heart of thoughts of animosity and
  apprehension.  Make your heart completely clear and at ease.  Good
  will acts as a support for purity of virtue and so is an appropriate
  way of preparing the heart for the practice of tranquility and insight
  meditation.
  
                                 * * *



                 III. The Foul:  Tranquility Meditation
                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  I.e., remove all befouling mental states from the mind.  The things
  that befoul and darken the mind are the five Hindrances --
  
   -- //Kama-chanda//:  sensual desires, taking pleasure in sensual
        objects (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations,
        ideas) and sensual moods (such as passion, aversion, and
        delusion).
  
   -- //Byapada//:  ill will, malevolence, hatred.
  
   -- //Thina-middha//:  torpor, lethargy, drowsiness, listlessness.
  
   -- //Uddhacca-kukkucca//:  restlessness and anxiety.
  
   -- //Vicikiccha//:  doubt, uncertainty.
  

  When any of these unskillful states occupy the heart, it's not
  flourishing, blooming, or bright.  For the heart to bloom, it has to
  be free from all five of the Hindrances; and for it to be free in this
  way, we have to develop concentration or absorption (//jhana//), which
  is composed of directed thought, evaluation, rapture, pleasure, and
  singleness of preoccupation (see below).  The heart will then be
  clear, bright, and resplendent.  In Pali, this is called
  '//sobhana-citta//.'  Thus, in this section we will discuss how to
  develop concentration as a means of eliminating the Hindrances as
  follows:
  

  A. 'Among the forty themes, breath is supreme.'
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Sit in a half-lotus position, your right leg on top of your left; your
  hands palm-up in your lap, your right hand on top of your left.  Keep
  your body comfortably erect and your mind on what you're doing.  Don't
  let your thoughts go spinning forward or back.  Be intent on keeping
  track of the present:  the present of the body, or the in-and-out
  breath; and the present of the mind, or mindfulness and all-round
  self-awareness.  The present of the body and the present of the mind
  should be brought together at a single point.  In other words, make
  the object of the mind single and one. Focus your attention on the
  breath, keeping watch over it until you're clearly aware that, 'This
  is the in-breath,' and 'This is the out.'  Once you can see clearly in
  this way, call to mind the virtues of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha,
  gathering them into a single word, 'Buddho.'   Then divide 'Buddho'
  into two syllables, thinking 'bud-' with the in-breath, and 'dho' with
  the out, at the same time counting your breaths:  'Bud-' in, 'dho'
  out, one; 'bud-' in, 'dho' out, two; 'bud-' in 'dho' out, three, and
  so on up to ten. Then start counting again from one to nine; then one
  to eight, one to seven...six...five...four...three...two...one...zero.
  In other words:
  
                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7
                          1 2 3 4 5 6
                            1 2 3 4
                             1 2 3 
                              1 2
                               1
                               0 
  
    Keep three points -- the breath, your mindfulness, and your
  awareness -- together in a single stream.  If when you've finished
  counting you find that your mind still won't stay with the breath,
  start by counting again, from one to ten and so on to zero.  Keep this
  up until you feel that your mind has settled down, and then stay with
  zero.  In other words, you no longer have to count, you no longer have
  to think 'Buddho.'  Simply keep careful watch over your breath and
  your awareness.  Keep your awareness focused on a single point, being
  mindful and watchful.  Don't send it in and out after the breath. When
  the breath comes in, you know.  When it goes out, you know, but don't
  make your awareness go in or out.  Keep it still.  Disregard all
  thoughts of past or future.  Keep watch only on the present.  When you
  can do this, the five Hindrances won't be able to find entry into the
  mind.  This is called '//parikamma bhavana//,' repetition meditation.
  
    At this point, the mind becomes light and can put aside its heavy
  burdens.  When the mind is light, so is the body.  In Pali this is
  called, '//kaya-lahuta, citta-lahuta//.'  The mind is peaceful and
  solitary -- free from agitation and unrest -- clear and calm with the
  refined sense of the breath.  When the mind reaches this state, it's
  in the sphere of directed thought (//vitakka//), which is the first
  factor of jhana.
  
    Now survey and examine the characteristics of the breath. Try
  adjusting the breath in four different ways:  Breathe in long and out
  long, and see whether your mind is at ease with that sort of breath.
  Then breathe in short and out short to see whether you feel
  comfortable and at ease that way.  Then see whether you feel at ease
  breathing in long and out short, or in short and out long.  Continue
  breathing in whichever of these four ways feels most comfortable and
  then let that comfortable breath spread throughout the different parts
  of the body.  At the same time, expand your sense of mindful awareness
  along with the breath.
  
    When the breath runs throughout the body, and the sensations of
  breath in the various parts of the body are coordinated, they can be
  put to use, for example, to relieve feelings of pain.  Your sense of
  mindfulness at this point is broad; your self-awareness, complete and
  mature.  When mindfulness is spread throughout the body, this is
  called //kayagatasati// -- mindfulness immersed in the body.  Your
  frame of reference is large and expansive, and so is called 
  '//mahasatipatthana//.'  Your self-awareness is present throughout,
  aware both of the causes -- i.e., what you're doing -- and of the
  results coming from what you've done. All of these characteristics are
  aspects of evaluation (//vicara//), the second factor of jhana.
  
    Now that the body and mind have received nourishment -- in other
  words, now that the breath has provided for the body, and mindfulness
  has provided for the mind -- both body and mind are bound to reap
  results, i.e., rapture.  The body is full and refreshed, free from
  restlessness.  The mind is full and refreshed, free from anxiety and
  distraction, broad and blooming.  This is called rapture (//piti//),
  which is the third factor of jhana.
  
    Once fullness arises in this way, body and mind settle down and are
  still.  In Pali this is termed '//kaya-passaddhi, citta-passaddhi//.'
  This feeling of stillness leads to a sense of relaxation and ease for
  both body and mind, termed pleasure (//sukha//).
  
    These are the beginning steps in dealing with the mind. Once you are
  able to follow them, you should make a point of practicing them
  repeatedly, back and forth, until you're skilled at entering
  concentration, staying in place, and withdrawing.  Even just this much
  can form a path along which the mind can then progress, for it has to
  some extent already reached the level of //upacara bhavana//,
  threshold concentration.
  

  B. Focal points for the mind
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  These include:  (1) the tip of the nose; (2) the middle of the head;
  (3) the palate; (4) the base of the throat; (5) the tip of the
  breastbone; (6) the 'center,' two inches above the navel.  In
  centering the breath at any of these points, people who tend to have
  headaches shouldn't focus on any point above the base of the throat.
  
    Coordinate the various aspects of breath in the body, such as the
  up-flowing breath, the down-flowing breath, the breath flowing in the
  stomach, the breath flowing in the intestines, the breath flowing
  along every part of the body, hot breath, cool breath, warm breath:
  Mesh these various sorts of breath so that they're balanced, even, and
  just right, so as to give rise to a sense of ease and comfort
  throughout the body.  The purpose of examining and coordinating the
  breath is to expand your sense of mindfulness and awareness so that
  they are sensitive throughout the entire body.  This will then benefit
  both body and mind.  The enlarged sense of the body is termed
  //mahabhuta-rupa//; expanded awareness is termed //mahaggatam
  cittam//.  This sense of awareness will then go on to reap the
  benefits of its beauty that will arise in various ways, leading it to
  the level of //appana bhavana//, fixed penetration.
  
    The characteristics of the in-and-out breath, as they interact with
  the properties of the body, can cause the properties of water and
  earth to be affected as follows:
  
    There are three types of blood in the human body --
  
       1.  Clear, white -- arising from cool breath.
       2.  Light red, dark red -- arising from warm breath.
       3.  Black, bluish black -- arising from hot breath.
  
    These different types of blood, as they nourish the nerves in the
  body, can cause people to have different tendencies:
  
      1.  Hot breath can make a person tend heavily toward being
        affectionate, easily attracted, and infatuated -- tendencies
        that are associated with delusion.
  
      2.  Warm breath can cause a person to have moderate tendencies as
        far as affection is concerned, but strong tendencies toward a
        quick and violent temper -- tendencies associated with anger.
  
      3.  Cool breath causes weak tendencies toward affection, but
        strong tendencies toward greed, craving material objects more
        than anything else.
  
    If we know clearly which physical properties are aggravating greed,
  anger, or delusion, we can destroy the corresponding properties and
  these states of mind will weaken on their own.
  
    'Remove the fuel, and the fire won't blaze.'
  
    To adjust these properties skillfully gives rise to discernment,
  which lies at the essence of being skillful. Adjust the property of
  warmth so that the blood is clear and light red, and your discernment
  will be quick, your nerves healthy, your thinking perceptive, subtle,
  and deep.  In other words, to make heavier use of the nerves in the
  physical heart is the way of the Dhamma.  As for the nerves of the
  brain, to use them a great deal leads to restlessness, distraction,
  and heavy defilements.
  
    These are just a few of the issues related to the breath. There are
  many, many more, that people of discernment should discover on their
  own. //Nana-dhatu-vijja//:  knowledge of the subtleties of all 18
  elements (//dhatu//), the 22 pre-eminent qualities (//indriya//), the
  six sense media (//ayatana//); acute insight into the qualities of the
  mind; expertise in concentration.  Concentration gives rise to
  liberating insight, acquaintance with the process of fashioning;
  
        //nibbida// -- disenchantment;
        //viraga// -- disengagement;
        //nirodha //-- utter disbanding;
        //vimutti// -- a mind released from the mundane;
        //santi// -- peace of heart;
        //paramam sukham// -- the ease that is ultimate bliss.
  

  C. Images
  ~~~~~~~~~
  These are of two sorts -- 
  
        1.  //Uggaha nimitta//:  images as they are first perceived.
        2.  //Patibhaga nimitta//:  adjusted images.
  
    Images of either sort can appear at certain mental moments or with
  certain people.  When the mind becomes still, //uggaha nimittas// can
  appear in either of two ways:
  
     -- from mental notes made in the past;
  
     -- on their own, without our ever having thought of the matter.
  
    Uggaha nimittas of both sorts can be either beneficial or harmful,
  true or false, so we shouldn't place complete trust in them.  If we're
  thoroughly mindful and self-aware, they can be beneficial.  But if our
  powers of reference are weak or if we lack strength of mind, we're
  likely to follow the drift of whatever images appear, sometimes losing
  our bearings to the point where we latch on to the images as being
  real.
  
    //Uggaha nimittas// are of two sorts --
  
    a.  Sensation-images:  e.g., seeing images of our own body, of other
      people, of animals, or of corpses; images of black, red, blue or
      white.  Sometimes these images are true, sometimes not.  Sometimes
      images arise by way of the ear -- for example, we may hear the
      voice of a person talking. Sometimes they arise by way of the nose
      -- we may smell fragrant scents or foul, like those of a corpse.
      Sometimes images are sensed by the body -- the body may feel small
      or large, tall or short.  All of these sensations are classed as
      //uggaha nimittas//.  If the mind is strong and resilient, they
      can act as a means for the arising of liberating insight.  If our
      powers of reference are weak, though, they can turn into
      corruptions of insight (//vipassanupakkilesa//), in which we fall
      for the objects we experience, believing them to be true.  Even
      when they're true, things that are false can mingle in with them
      -- like a man sitting under the open sky:  When the sun shines,
      he's bound to have a shadow.  The man really exists, and the
      shadow is connected with him, but the shadow isn't really the man.
      Thus, we're taught to let go of what's true and real; things that
      are untrue will then fall from our grasp as well.
  
    b.  Thought-images:  When the breath is subtle and the mind is still
      and unoccupied, things can occur to it.  Sometimes we may think of
      a question and then immediately know the answer.  Sometimes we
      don't even have to think:  The knowledge pops into the mind on its
      own. Things of this sort are also classed as //uggaha nimittas//.
      Sometimes they may be true, sometimes false, sometimes mixed.  You
      can't trust them to be absolutely true.  Sometimes they're true,
      and that truth is what leads us to fall for them.  For example,
      they may be true about three things and false about seven.  Once
      we've placed our confidence in them, even the false things will
      appear true to us.  This is one way of giving rise to the
      corruptions of insight.
  
    So when sensation-images or thought-images arise in one way or
  another, you should then practice adjusting and analyzing them
  (//patibhaga nimitta//).  In other words, when a visual image arises,
  if it's large, make it small, far, near, large, small, appear, and
  disappear.  Analyze it into its various parts and then let it go.
  Don't let these images influence the mind.  Instead, have the mind
  influence the images, as you will.  If you aren't able to do this,
  then don't get involved with them.  Disregard them and return to your
  original practice with the breath.
  
    If a thought-image arises by way of the mind, stop, take your
  bearings, and consider exactly how much truth there is to the
  knowledge it gives.  Even if it's true, you shouldn't latch onto what
  you know or see.  If you latch onto your knowledge, it'll become a
  corruption of insight.  If you latch on to your views, they'll become
  a form of attachment and conceit, in which you assume yourself to be
  this or that.  Thus, you should let go of these things, in line with
  their true nature.  If you aren't wise to them, they can skew your
  practice so that you miss out on the highest good.
  

  D. The Ten Corruptions of Insight
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  1.  //Obhasa//:  a bright light that enables you to see places both
  far and near.
  
  2.  //Nana//:  knowledge enabling you to know in an uncanny way things
  you never before knew, such as //pubbenivasanussati-nana//, the
  ability to remember previous lifetimes.  Even knowledge of this sort,
  though, can mislead you.  If you learn good things about your past,
  you may get pleased.  If you learn bad or undesirable things about
  your past, you may get displeased. //Cutupapata-nana//:  Sometimes you
  may learn how people and other living beings die and are reborn --
  knowing, for instance, where they are reborn when they have died from
  this world -- which can cause you to become engrossed in the various
  things you come to know and see.  As you become more and more
  engrossed, false knowledge can step in, and yet you still assume it to
  be true.
   
  3.  //Piti//:  a sense of physical and mental fullness and 
  satisfaction, full to the point of infatuation -- physically satisfied
  to the point where you don't feel hunger or thirst, heat or cold;
  mentally satisfied to the point where you become engrossed and
  oblivious, lazy and lethargic, perhaps deciding that you've already
  achieved the goal. What's actually happened is that you've swallowed
  your mood down whole.
  
  4.  //Passaddhi//:  The body is at peace and the mind serene, to the
  point where you don't want to encounter anything in the world.  You
  see the world as being unpeaceful and you don't want to have anything
  to do with it.  Actually, if the mind is really at peace, everything
  in the world will also be at peace.  People who are addicted to a
  sense of peace won't want to do any physical work or even think about
  anything, because they're stuck on that sense of peace as a constant
  preoccupation.
  
  5.  //Sukha//:  Once there's peace, there's a sense of physical and
  mental pleasure and ease; and once there's a great deal of pleasure,
  you come to hate pain, seeing pleasure as something good and pain as
  something bad.  Your view of things falls into two parts.  (Actually,
  pleasure doesn't come from anywhere else but pain.)  Pain is the same
  thing as pleasure:  When pleasure arises, pain is its shadow; when
  pain arise, pleasure is its shadow.  As long as you don't understand
  this, you give rise to a kind of defilement -- again, you swallow your
  mood down whole.  When a deep and arresting sense of relaxation,
  stillness, ease, or freedom from disturbance arises, you get engrossed
  in that feeling.  What has happened is that you're simply stuck on a
  pleasing mental state.
  
  6.  //Adhimokkha//:  being disposed to believing that your knowledge
  and the things you know are true.  Once 'true' takes a stance, 'false'
  is bound to enter the picture.  True and false go together, i.e.,
  they're one and the same thing. For example, suppose we ask, 'Is Nai
  Daeng at home?' and someone answers, 'No, he isn't.'  If Nai Daeng
  really exists and he's really at home, then when that person says,
  'He's not at home,' he's lying.  But if Nai Daeng doesn't exist, that
  person can't lie.  Thus, true and false are one and the same....
  
  7.  //Paggaha//:  excessive persistence, leading to restlessness.
  You're simply fastened on your preoccupation and too strongly focused
  on your goal....
  
  8.  //Upatthana//:  being obsessed with a particular item you've come
  to know or see, refusing to let it go.
  
  9.  //Upekkha//:  indifference, not wanting to meet with anything, be
  aware of anything, think about anything, or figure anything out;
  assuming that you've let go completely. Actually, though, this is a
  misunderstanding of that very mental moment.
  
  10.  //Nikanti//:  being content with your various preoccupations,
  simply attached to the things you experience or see.
  

      All of these things, if we aren't wise to them, can corrupt the
  heart.  So, as meditators, we should attend to them and reflect on
  them until we understand them thoroughly.  Only then will we be able
  to give rise to liberating insight, clear knowledge of the four
  truths:
  
    1.  Physical and mental stress, i.e., the things that burden the
  body or mind.  Physical and mental pleasure and ease, though, are also
  classed as stress because they are subject to change.
  
    2.  The factors that enable these forms of stress to arise are
    three:
   
       a.  //Kama-tanha//:  craving for attractive and appealing sights,
        sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas; fastening
        onto these things, grabbing hold of them as belonging to the
        self.  This is one factor that enables stress to arise.  (The
        mind flashes out.)
  
       b.  //Bhava-tanha//:  desire for things to be this way or that at
        times when they can't be the way we want them; wanting things to
        be a certain way outside of the proper time or occasion.  This
        is called 'being hungry' -- like a person who hungers for food
        but has no food to eat and so acts in a way that shows, 'I'm a
        person who wants to eat.' Bhava-tanha is another factor that
        enables stress to arise. (The mind strays.)
  
       c.  Vibhava-tanha//:  not wanting things to be this way or that,
        e.g., having been born, not wanting to die; not wanting to be
        deprived of the worldly things we've acquired: for example,
        having status and wealth and yet not wanting our status and
        wealth to leave us.  The truth of the matter is that there's no
        way it can be avoided.  As soon as the change comes, we thus
        feel stress and pain.  (The mind flinches.)
  

                         //Punappunam pilitatta
                        sansaranta bhavabhave//:
  
                         'Repeated oppression,
          wandering on from one state of becoming to another.'
  
    Different states of becoming arise first in the mind, then giving
  rise to birth.  Thus, people of discernment let go of these things,
  causing:
  
    3.  //Nirodha// -- cessation or disbanding -- to appear in the
  heart.  In other words, the mind discovers the limits of craving and
  lets it go through the practice of insight meditation, letting go of
  all fashionings, both good and bad.  To be able to let go in this way,
  we have to develop:
  
    4.  //Magga// -- the Path -- so as to make it powerful.  In other
  words, we have to give rise to pure discernment within our own minds
  so that we can know the truth.  Stress is a truth; its cause is a
  truth; its cessation and the Path are truths:  To know in this way is
  liberating insight.  And then when we let all four truths fall away
  from us so that we gain release from 'true,' that's when we'll reach
  deathlessness (//amata dhamma//).  Truths have their drawbacks in that
  untrue things are mixed in with them. Wherever real money exists,
  there's bound to be counterfeit. Wherever there are rich people, there
  are bound to be thieves waiting to rob them.  This is why release has
  to let go of truths before it can reach nibbana.
  
    Meditators, then, should acquaint themselves with the enemies of
  concentration, so as to keep their distance from all five of the
  Hindrances, the two sorts of //uggaha nimittas//, and the ten
  corruptions of insight.  The mind will then be able to gain release
  from all things defiling, dirty, and damp.  What this means is that
  the mind doesn't hold onto anything at all.  It lets go of supposings,
  meanings, practice, and attainment.  //Above cause and beyond
  effect//:  That's the aim of the Buddha's teachings.
  
    Those who want to get rid of //kama-tanha// -- desire and attraction
  for the six types of sensory objects -- have to develop virtue that's
  pure all the way to the heart:  This is termed heightened virtue
  (//adhisila//).  Those who are to get rid of //bhava-tanha// --
  thoughts that stray out, choosing objects to dwell on -- first have to
  develop Right Concentration, pure and circumspect:  This is termed
  heightened mind (//adhicitta//).  Those who are to get rid of
  //vibhava-tanha// -- attachment to knowledge and viewpoints,
  attainments and states of becoming, theories and conceits -- will
  first have to develop clear-seeing discernment, cognitive skill that's
  pure and fully developed:  This is heightened discernment
  (//adhipanna//). Thus, the threefold training -- virtue,
  concentration, and discernment -- is a group of truths that can let go
  of the causes of stress.  Other than this, there's no way to release.
  
                                 * * *



             IV. Mindfulness of Death:  Insight Meditation
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  I.e., keep death in mind.  This is where the mind advances to the
  development of liberating insight, taking death as its theme.  'Death'
  here refers to the death occurring in the present -- physical
  sensations arising and passing away, mental acts arising and passing
  away, all in a moment of awareness.  Only when you're aware on this
  level can you be classed as being mindful of death.
  
    Now that we've brought up the topic of death, we have to reflect on
  birth, seeing how many ways sensations are born and how many ways
  mental acts are born.  This is something a person with a quiet mind
  can know.
  
    A.  Sensations have up to five levels of refinement --
  
       1.  //Hina-rupa//:  coarse sensations, sensations of discomfort,
        aches and pains.  When these arise, focus on what causes them
        until they disappear.
  
       2.  //Panita-rupa//:  exquisite sensations that make the body
        feel pleasurable, light, and refined.  Focus on what causes them
        until they disappear....
  
       3.  //Sukhumala-rupa//:  delicate sensations, tender, yielding,
        and agile.  When they arise, focus on what causes them until
        they disappear.
  
       4.  //Olarika-rupa//:  physical sensations that give a sense of
        grandeur, exuberance, brightness, and exultation: '//Mukhavanno
        vipassidati//.'  When they arise, focus on finding out what
        causes them until they disappear....
  
    All four of these sensations arise and disband by their very nature;
  and it's possible to find out where they first appear.
  
       5.  '//Mano-bhava//':  imagined circumstances that appear through
        the power of the mind.  When they arise, focus on keeping track
        of them until they disappear.  Once you're able to know in this
        way, you enter the sphere of true mindfulness of death.
  
    An explanation of this sort of sensation:  When the mind is quiet
  and steadily concentrated, it has the power to create images in the
  imagination (inner sensations, or sensations within sensations).
  Whatever images it thinks of will then appear to it; and once they
  appear, the mind tends to enter into them and take up residence.  (It
  can go great distances.)  If the mind fastens onto these sensations,
  it is said to take birth -- simply because it has no sense of death.
  
    These sensations can appear in any of five ways: --
  
       a.  arising from the posture of the body, disappearing when the
        posture changes;
  
       b.  arising from thoughts imbued with greed, hatred, or delusion
        -- arising, taking a stance, and then disbanding;
  
       c.  arising with an in-breath and disbanding with the following
        out-breath;
  
       d.  arising from the cleansing of the blood in the lungs --
        appearing and disbanding in a single instant;
  
       e.  arising from the heart's pumping blood into the various parts
        of the body, the pressure of the blood causing sensations to
        arise that correspond to sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and
        tactile sensations.  Sensations of this sort are arising and
        disbanding every moment.
  
    Another class of sensation is termed '//gocara-rupa//' -- sensations
  that circle around the physical body.  There are five sorts -- light,
  sound, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations -- each having five
  levels.  For instance, common light travels slowly; in the flash of an
  eye it runs for a league and then dies away.  The second level, subtle
  light, goes further; and the third level goes further still.  The
  fourth and fifth levels can travel the entire universe.  The same
  holds true for sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations.  The
  relationships between all the potentials in the universe are
  interacting at every moment, differing only as to whether they're fast
  or slow.  This is the inequality that has been termed
  '//anicca-lakkhana//' -- inherent inconstancy.  Whoever is ignorant is
  bound to think that all this is impossible, but actually this is the
  way things already are by their nature.  We'll come to know this
  through //vijja// -- cognitive skill -- not through ordinary labels
  and allusions.  This is called true knowing, which meditators who
  develop the inner eye will realize for themselves:  knowing the
  arising of these sensations, their persisting and their disbanding, in
  terms of their primary qualities and basic regularity.
  
       Knowing things for what they really are.  
       Release, purity, disengagement, disbanding;

       //Nibbanam paramam sukham//:
       Nibbana is the ultimate ease.
  

  B.  As for mental acts that arise and die, their timespan is many
  thousands of times faster than that of sensations.  To be able to keep
  track of their arising and dying away, our awareness has to be still.
  The four kinds of mental acts are:
  
        -- //Vedana//:  the mind's experience of feelings of pleasure,
          pain, and indifference.

        -- //Sanna//:  recognizing and labeling the objects of 
          the mind.

        -- //Sankhara//:  mental fabrications or fashionings of good and
          bad.

        -- //Vinnana//:  distinct consciousness or cognizance of
          objects.
  
    One class of these mental acts stays in place, arising and
  disbanding with reference to the immediate present.  Another class is
  termed 'gocara vedana' 'gocara sanna,' etc., which go out to refer to
  the world.  Each of these has five levels, differing as to whether
  they're common, refined, or subtle, slow or fast.  These five levels
  connect with each other, running out in stages, and then circling back
  to their starting point, disbanding and then arising again -- all
  without end.
  
    When we don't have the skill to discern the primary sensations and
  mental acts that stay in place, we can't see into the '//gocara//'
  sensations and mental acts that go flowing around.  This is termed
  '//avijja//,' the unawareness that opens the way for connecting
  consciousness (//patisandhi vinnana//), giving rise to the act of
  fashioning (//sankhara//), which is the essence of //kamma//.  This
  gives fruit as sensations and feelings that are followed by craving,
  and then the act of labeling, which gives rise to another level of
  consciousness -- of sensory objects -- and then the cycle goes
  circling on.  This is termed the '//khandha-vatta//,' the cycle of the
  aggregates, circling and changing unevenly and inconsistently.  To see
  this is called //aniccanupassana-nana//, the knowledge that keeps
  track of inconstancy as it occurs.  This is known through the inner
  eye, i.e., the skill of genuine discernment.
  
    Thus, those who practice the exercises of insight meditation should
  use their sensitivities and circumspection to the full if they hope to
  gain release from unawareness. Fashionings, in this context, are like
  waves on the ocean. If we're out in a boat on the ocean when the waves
  are high, our vision is curtailed.  Our senses of hearing, smell,
  taste, touch, and ideation are all curtailed.  We won't be able to
  perceive far into the distance.  What this means is that when our
  minds are immersed in the Hindrances, we won't be able to perceive
  death at all.  But once we've been able to suppress the Hindrances,
  it's like taking a boat across the ocean when there are no waves.
  We'll be able to see objects far in the distance.  Our eyes will be
  clear-seeing, our ears clear-hearing, our senses of smell, taste,
  touch and ideation will be broad and wide open.  The water will be
  clear, and the light brilliant.  We'll be able to know all around us.
  
    In the same way, those who are to know death clearly have to begin
  by practicing concentration as a foundation for developing liberating
  insight.  How do the five sorts of above-mentioned sensation arise?
  What are their causes? How do they disappear?  How do physical and
  mental feelings arise?  How do they disappear?  What are their causes?
  How do labels and concepts arise?  What are their causes?  How do they
  disappear?  How do mental fashionings arise?  What are their causes?
  How do they disappear?  How does consciousness arise by way of the
  senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and ideation?  What are
  its causes? How does it disappear?
  
    Altogether there are four levels to each of the five aggregates
  (//khandhas//):  external and internal, staying in place and streaming
  outward.  These can be known at all times, but only people who have
  the discernment that comes from training the mind in tranquility and
  insight meditation will be able to know death on this level.
  
    The discernment that arises in this way has been termed
  //pubbenivasanussati-nana//, i.e., understanding of past sensations,
  future sensations, and sensations in the present.  These sensations
  differ in the way they arise and pass away.  To know this is to have
  mastered one cognitive skill.
  
    //Cutupapata-nana//:  With discernment of this sort, we're able to
  keep track of the states of our own mind as they arise and disappear,
  sometimes good as they arise and good as they disappear, sometimes bad
  as they arise and bad as they disappear, sometimes good as they arise
  and bad as they disappear, sometimes bad as they arise and good as
  they disappear.  To be able to keep track in this way is to know
  states of being and birth.
  
    //Asavakkhaya-nana//:  When the discernment of this skill arises, it
  leads to disenchantment with the way sensations and mental acts arise
  and disappear and then arise again, simply circling about:  coarser
  sensations going through the cycle slowly, more refined sensations
  going quickly; coarser mental acts going slowly, more refined mental
  acts going quickly.  When you can keep track of this, you know one
  form of stress.  Now focus attention back on your own mind to see
  whether or not it's neutral at that moment.  If the mind approves of
  its knowledge or of the things it knows, that's
  //kamasukhallikanuyoga// -- indulgence in pleasure.  If the mind
  disapproves of its knowledge or of the things it knows, that's
  //attakilamathanuyoga//, indulgence in self-infliction.  Once you've
  seen this, make the mind neutral toward whatever it may know:  That
  moment of awareness is the mental state forming the Path.  When the
  Path arises, the causes of stress disband.  Try your best to keep that
  mental state going.  Follow that train of awareness as much as you
  can.  The mind when it's in that state is said to be developing the
  Path -- and at whatever moment the Path stands firm, disbanding and
  disentangling occur.
  
    When you can do this, you reach the level where you know death
  clearly.  People who know death in this way are then able to reduce
  the number of their own deaths.  Some of the Noble Ones have seven
  more deaths ahead of them, some have only one more, others go beyond
  death entirely.  These Noble Ones are people who understand birth and
  death, and for this reason have only a few deaths left to them.
  Ordinary people who understand their own birth and death on this level
  are hard to find.  Common, ordinary birth and death aren't especially
  necessary; but people who don't understand the Dhamma have to put up
  with birth and death as a common thing.
  
    So whoever is to know death on this level will have to develop the
  cognitive skill that comes from training the mind.  The skill, here,
  is knowing which preoccupations of the mind are in the past, which are
  in the future, and which are in the present.  This is cognitive skill
  (//vijja//). Letting go of the past, letting go of the future, letting
  go of the present, not latching onto anything at all:  This is purity
  and release.
  
    As for unawareness, it's the exact opposite, i.e., not knowing
  what's past, not knowing what's future, not knowing what's present --
  that is, the arising and falling away of sensations and mental acts,
  or body and mind -- or at most knowing only on the level of label and
  concepts remembered from what other people have said, not knowing on
  the level of awareness that we've developed on our own.  All of this
  is classed as //avijja//, or unawareness.  
  
    No matter how much we may use words of wisdom and discernment, it
  still won't gain us release.  For instance, we may know that things
  are inconstant, but we still fall for inconstant things.  We may know
  about things that are stressful, but we still fall for them.  We may
  know that things are not-self, but we still fall for things that are
  not-self.  Our knowledge of inconstancy, stress, and not-self isn't
  true.  Then how are these things truly known? Like this:
  
            Knowing both sides,
            Letting go both ways,
            Shedding everything.
  
    'Knowing both sides' means knowing what's constant and what's
  inconstant, what's stress and what's ease, what's not-self and what's
  self.  'Letting go both ways' means not latching onto things that are
  constant or inconstant, not latching onto stress or ease, not latching
  onto self or not-self.  'Shedding everything' means not holding onto
  past, present, or future:  Awareness doesn't head forward or back, and
  yet you can't say that it's taking a stance.
  
       //Yavadeva nanamattaya patissatimattaya anissito ca viharati na
        ca kinci loke upadiyati//.
  
        'Simply mindful and aware, the mind remains independent, not
        attached to anything in the world.'
  
                            * * * * * * * *



                                EPILOGUE

  
  I.  There are three sets of results arising from the practice.

  Set A
  ~~~~~
  1.  //Pubbenivasanussati-nana//:  the ability to remember previous
  lives.
  
  2.  //Cutupapata-nana//:  the ability to know how the living beings of
  the world die and are reborn.
  
  3.  //Asavakkhaya-nana//:  understanding how to put an end to the
  defilements of the heart.
   
  
  Set B
  ~~~~~
  1.  //Vipassana-nana//:  clear insight, through training the mind,
  into phenomena in and of themselves, in terms of the four Noble
  Truths.
  
  2.  //Manomayiddhi//:  psychic power, making things appear in line
  with your thoughts -- for example, thinking of a visual image that
  then appears to the physical eye.  Those who are to develop this skill
  must first become expert at //uggaha nimittas//.
  
  3.  //Iddhividhi//:  the ability to change such images as you like.
  Those who are to develop this skill must first become expert in
  //patibhaga nimittas//.
  
  4.  //Dibbacakkhu//:  clairvoyance, the ability to see great 
  distances.  Only people with good optic nerves -- and who understand
  how to adjust the physical properties in the body so as to keep the
  nerves charged and awake -- will be able to develop this skill.
  
  5.  //Dibbasota//:  clairaudience, the ability to hear sounds at great
  distances.  Only people whose auditory nerves are good -- and who
  understand how to adjust the properties in the body so that they act
  as a conducting medium -- will be able to develop this skill.
  
  6.  //Cetopariya-nana//:  knowing the thoughts and mental states of
  other people.  To do this, you first have to adjust the fluids
  nourishing your heart muscles so that they're clean and pure.
  
  7.  //Pubbenivasanussati-nana//:  the ability to remember previous
  lives, knowing by means of mental images or intuitive verbal
  knowledge.  To remember past lives, you first have to understand how
  to interchange the physical properties in the body.
  
  8.  //Asavakkhaya-nana//:  knowing the causes for mental defilement;
  knowing the means for putting an end to mental fermentations.
  

  Set C
  ~~~~~
  1.  //Attha-patisambhida-nana//:  acumen in understanding the meaning
  of various teachings.
  
  2.  //Dhamma-patisambhida-nana//:  acumen -- acquired by means of your
  own heart -- with regard to all fashioned properties and qualities.
  
  3.  //Nirutti-patisambhida-nana//:  the ability to understand by means
  of the heart the affairs and languages of people and other living
  beings in the world.
  
  4.  //Patibhana-patisambhida-nana//:  the intuitive ability to respond
  promptly and aptly in situations where you're called on to speak; the
  ability to respond to an opponent without having to think:  Simply by
  focusing the mind heavily down, the right response will appear on its
  own, just as a flashlight gives off light immediately as we press the
  switch.
  
                             * * *
  
  Taken together, all of these skills arise exclusively from training
  the heart and are called //bhavana-maya-panna// -- discernment
  developed through training the mind.  They can't be taught.  You have
  to know them on your own.  Thus, they can be called
  //paccatta-vijja//, personal skills.  If you're astute enough, they
  can all become transcendent.  If not, they all become mundane.  Thus,
  the principles of discernment are two:
  
    1.  Mundane discernment:  studying and memorizing a great deal,
  thinking and evaluating a great deal, and then understanding on the
  common level of labels and allusions.
  
    2.  Transcendent discernment:  knowledge that comes from practicing
  Right Concentration; intuitive understanding that arises naturally on
  its own within the heart, beyond the scope of the world; clear
  insight; release from all views, conceits, defilements, and
  fermentations of the mind.
  
                                 * * *


  
  II.  //Upakara dhamma//.  There are three sets of qualities that are
  of help in giving rise to cognitive skill.
  
  Set A
  ~~~~~
  1.  //Sila-sanvara//:  taking good care of your virtue -- your manners
  and conduct in thought, word, and deed -- following such principles as
  the ten guidelines (//kammapatha//).
  
  2.  //Indriya-sanvara//:  being constantly mindful of the six
  'gateways' -- the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and
  ideation -- making sure they don't give rise to anything that would
  disturb your own peace or that of others.
  
  3.  //Bhojane mattannuta//:  having a sense of moderation in the
  amount of food you eat -- not too much, not too little, eating only
  food that's compatible with your physical make-up; making sure that
  it's light food:  Otherwise, you'll have to eat only half-full or on
  the small side.  As far as food is concerned, if you can get by on
  only one meal a day, you'll find it much easier to train the mind.
  
  There are three ways of eating -- 
  
       a.  Stuffing yourself full.  This interferes with concentration
        and is termed 'being greedy.'
  
       b.  Eating just enough to keep the body going.  This is termed
        'being  content with what you have.'
  
       c.  Eating no more than half full.  This is termed 'being a
        person of few  wants,' who has no worries associated with food
        and whose body weighs lightly. Just as a tree with light
        heartwood won't sink when it falls in the water, so the
        meditation of such a person is not inclined to lead to anything
        low.  The senses of such a person -- the nerves of the eyes,
        ears, nose, tongue, and body -- tend toward peacefulness and are
        well-suited for helping the mind to attain peace.
  
  4.  //Jagariyanuyoga//:  awakening the physical properties of the body
  by developing the factor that fashions the body (//kaya-sankhara//),
  i.e., adjusting the in-and-out breath so that it's thoroughly
  beneficial to the properties of earth, water, wind, and fire within
  the body.  This is termed developing mindfulness immersed in the body
  (//kayagatasati-bhavana//), as in the verse:
  
                       //Suppabuddham pabujjhanti
                                sada gotamasavaka
                        Yesam diva ca ratto ca
                                niccam kayagatasati//

  
        'The disciples of the Buddha Gotama are always well alert, their
        mindfulness constantly, by day and by night, immersed in the
        body'...their mindfulness charging the body whether their eyes
        are open or closed.
  

    At the same time, we have to understand how to keep the mind wide
  awake through developing jhana, starting with directed thought,
  evaluation, rapture, pleasure, and singleness of object (see below).
  The mind will then awaken from its forgetfulness.  With regard to
  forgetfulness, the Buddha taught that when the mind gets drawn in by
  its objects, it faints for a spell.  If this happens often enough to
  become a habit, it gives rise to delusion, leaving us no way to give
  rise to the discernment of liberating insight.
  

  Set B
  ~~~~~
  1.  //Saddha//:  conviction, i.e., being convinced of the causes of
  goodness and of the results that will come from acting in line with
  those causes.
  
  2.  //Hiri//:  inner shame at the thought of doing evil, not daring to
  do evil either openly or secretly, because we realize that there are
  no secret places in the world.  Even if other people don't see us
  doing evil, we ourselves are sure to see.
  
  3.  //Ottappa//:  fear of evil, not being attracted to the idea of
  doing evil; viewing bad kamma as a poisonous cobra raising its head
  and spreading its hood, and thus not daring to go close to it.
  
  4.  //Bahusacca//:  studying and training yourself constantly, seeking
  advice from those who are knowledgeable and expert in the practice.
  Don't associate with people who have no knowledge of the matters in
  which you are interested.
  
  5.  //Viriya//:  persistence in abandoning the defilements of the mind
  -- i.e., the Hindrances; perseverance in giving rise to good within
  the mind by developing such things as the first level of jhana.
  Briefly put, there are three ways to do this:  being persistent in
  giving rise to the good, in maintaining the good, and in constantly
  developing the good that has already arisen.
  
  6.  //Satipatthana//:  giving your powers of reference a frame and a
  focal point by developing mindfulness immersed in the body (//'kesa,
  loma'//) or mindfulness of breathing, etc.
  
  7.  //Panna//:  discernment; circumspection that's all-encompassing
  and fully reasonable in doing good, in maintaining the good, and in
  using the good so as to be of benefit at large -- for low-level
  benefits, intermediate benefits, and ultimate benefits, with regard to
  this life, lives to come, and the ultimate benefit, nibbana.  This is
  what is meant by discernment.
  

  Set C
  ~~~~~
  1.  The first level of jhana.  //Vitakka//:  Think of an object for
  the mind to focus on. // Vicara//:  Evaluate the object on which you
  have focused.  For example, once you are focused on keeping track of
  the breath, take a good look at the various breath-sensations in the
  body.  Learn how to adjust and change whichever part or aspect is
  uncomfortable. Learn how to use whichever part feels good so as to be
  of benefit to the body and mind.  Keep this up continually, and
  results will appear:  The body will feel light and full, permeated
  with a sense of rapture and refreshment (//piti//).  Awareness will be
  full and all-round, with no distracting restlessness.  At this point,
  both mind and body are quiet, just as a child lying in a cradle with a
  doll to play with won't cry.  The body is thus at ease, and the mind
  relaxed (//sukha//).  //Ekaggatam cittam//:  The mind sticks steadily
  with a single object, without grasping after past or future,
  comfortably focused in the present.  This much qualifies as jhana.
  
  2.  The second level of jhana.  Directed thought and evaluation
  disappear; awareness settles in on its sense of ease and rapture.  The
  body is relaxed, the mind quiet and serene.  The body feels full, like
  the earth saturated with rain water to the point where puddles form.
  The mind feels brighter and clearer.  As awareness focuses more
  heavily on its one object, it expands itself even further, letting go
  of the sense of rapture and entering the third level of jhana.
  
  3.  The third level of jhana has two factors -- 
  
       a.  //Sukha, its taste:  physical pleasure; cool mental pleasure
        and peace.
  
       b.  //Ekaggatarammana//:  Awareness is firm and fixed in a snug
        fit with its object.  As it focuses strongly and forcibly
        expands itself, a bright sense of light appears. The mind seems
        much more open and blooming than before.  As you focus in with
        complete mindfulness and self-awareness, the sense of pleasure
        begins to waver, and as the mind adjusts its focus slightly it
        enters the fourth level of jhana.
  
  4.  The fourth level of jhana has two factors -- 
  
       a.  //Upekkha//:  equanimity with regard to objects. Past,
        future, and the grosser sense of the body in the present
        disappear.
  
       b.  //Ekaggatarammana//:  The mind is solitary, its mindfulness
        full and bright -- as if you were sitting in a brightly-lit,
        empty room with your work finished, free to relax as you like.
        The mind rests, its energy strong and expansive.
  
    Now withdraw from this level back out to the first and then enter in
  again.  As you do this repeatedly, liberating insight will arise on
  its own, just as with a light connected to a battery:  When we press
  down on the switch, the light flashes out on its own.  And then we can
  use whatever color of bulb we want and put it to use in whatever way
  we like, depending on our own skill and ingenuity.  In other words,
  the skills mentioned above will appear.
  
    People who develop jhana fall into three classes:
  
        1.  Those who attain only the first level and then gain
        liberating insight right then and there are said to excel in
        discernment (//pannadhika//).  They Awaken quickly, and their
        release is termed //panna-vimutti//, release through
        discernment.
  
        2.  Those who develop jhana to the fourth level, there gaining
        liberating insight into the Noble Truths, are said to excel in
        conviction (//saddhadhika//).  They develop a moderate number of
        skills, and their Awakening occurs at a moderate rate.  Their
        release is the first level of //ceto-vimutti//, release through
        concentration.
  
        3.  Those who become skilled at the four levels of jhana --
        adept at entering, staying in place, and withdrawing -- and then
        go all the way to the four levels of arupa-jhana, after which
        they withdraw back to the first level of jhana, over and over
        again, until finally intuitive knowledge, the cognitive skills,
        and liberating discernment arise, giving release from mental
        fermentation and defilement:  These people are said to excel in
        persistence (//viriyadhika//). People who practice jhana a great
        deal, developing strong energy and bright inner light, can
        Awaken suddenly in a single mental instant, as soon as
        discernment first arises. Their release is
        //cetopariyavimutti//, release through mastery of concentration.
  
    These are the results to be gained by meditators.  But there have to
  be causes -- our own actions -- before the results can come fully
  developed.
  

                            * * * * * * * *
  

                         TRANSLATOR'S APPENDIX
  
  The 'Seven Important Sets of Principles' listed in the prologue to
  //Basic Themes// are common to all schools of Buddhism.  In the Pali
  Canon they appear in a number of discourses (e.g., //Mahaparinibbana
  Sutta//, //Pasadika Sutta//, etc.) as the Buddha's own summary of the
  essential points of his teaching.  Many of these principles are
  discussed in connection with various aspects of the practice at
  different points in this book.  What follows is a selection of
  excerpts from Ajaan Lee's other writings and talks dealing with these
  principles as they relate directly to the practice of keeping the
  breath in mind.
  
  
                             * * *
  
  The four frames of reference when we sit in meditation:  The breath is
  'body'; comfort and discomfort are 'feeling'; purity and clarity are
  states of 'mind'; and steadiness of mind is 'mental quality.'
  
  
                             * * *
  
  //Chanda//:  being content to focus on the breath. //Viriya//:  trying
  to adjust the breath so that it's comfortable.  //Citta//:  paying
  attention to how the breath is flowing.  //Vimansa//:  knowing how to
  use the breath to benefit every part of the body.  If we follow these
  four 'paths to success,' they will lead us to liberating insight.
  
                             * * *
  
  In order to divest our hearts of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, etc.,
  we have to develop concentration, which is composed of seven basic
  qualities --
  
       1.  //Sati-sambojjhanga//:  The mind is centered firmly on the
        breath, aware of the body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities.
  
       2.  //Dhamma-vicaya-sambojjhanga//:  We let the breath spread
        throughout the body, making an enlarged frame of reference.  We
        know how to adjust, improve, choose, and use our breaths so that
        they give us comfort.  We throw out whichever breaths are
        harmful and foster whichever ones are beneficial.
  
       3.  //Viriya-sambojjhanga//:  We don't abandon or forget the
        breath.  We stick with it, and it sticks with us as we keep
        warding the Hindrances from the heart.  We don't fasten on or
        become involved with distracting perceptions. We keep trying to
        make our stillness of mind stronger and stronger.
  
       4.  //Piti-sambojjhanga//:  When the mind is quiet, the breath is
        full and refreshing.  We are free from the Hindrances and from
        every sort of restlessness, like a white cloth that's spotlessly
        clean.  When the mind is clear in this way, it feels nothing but
        comfort and fullness, which gives rise to a sense of
        satisfaction, termed 'rapture.'
  
       5.  //Passaddhi-sambojjhanga//:  The breath is solid throughout
        the body.  The elements are at peace, and so is the mind.
        Nothing feels troublesome or aroused.
  
       6.  //Samadhi-sambojjhanga//:  The breath is firm, steady, and
        unwavering.  The mind takes a firm stance in a single
        preoccupation.
  
       7.  //Upekkha-sambojjhanga//:  When body, feelings, mind, and
        mental qualities are fully snug with one another in these two
        types of breath -- when the mind stays with these aspects of the
        breath -- it doesn't have to fashion anything at all.  It
        doesn't latch onto any manifestation of good or bad.  Neutral
        and unperturbed, it doesn't approve or disapprove of anything.
  
                             * * *
  
  When mindfulness saturates the body the way flame saturates every
  thread in the mantle of a Coleman lantern, the elements throughout the
  body work together like a group of people working together on a job:
  Each person helps a little here and there, and in no time at all --
  almost effortlessly -- the job is done.  Just as the mantle of a
  Coleman lantern whose every thread is soaked in flame becomes light,
  white, and dazzling, so if you soak your mind in mindfulness until
  it's aware of the entire body, both the body and mind become buoyant.
  When you think using the power of mindfulness, your sense of the body
  will immediately become thoroughly bright, helping to develop both
  body and mind.  You'll be able to sit or stand for long periods of
  time without getting tired, to walk for great distances without
  getting fatigued, to go for unusually long periods of time on just a
  little food without getting hungry, or to go without food and sleep
  altogether for several days running without losing energy.
  
    As for the heart, it will become pure, open, and free from blemish.
  The mind will become bright, energetic, and strong.  //Saddha-balam//:
  Your conviction will run like a car running without stop along the
  road.  //Viriya-balam//: Your persistence will accelerate and advance.
  //Sati-balam//:  Your mindfulness will be robust and vigorous.
  //Samadhi-balam//:  Your concentration will become unwavering and
  resilient.  No activity will be able to kill it.  In other words, no
  matter what you're doing -- sitting, standing, walking, talking,
  whatever -- as soon as you think of practicing concentration, your
  mind will immediately be centered.  Whenever you want it, just think
  of it and you have it.  When your concentration is this powerful,
  insight meditation is no problem. //Panna-balam//:  Your discernment
  will be like a double-edged sword:  Your discernment of what's outside
  will be sharp; your discernment of what's inside will be sharp.
  
    When these five strengths appear in the heart, the heart will be
  fully mature.  Your conviction, persistence, mindfulness,
  concentration, and discernment will all be mature and pre-eminent in
  their own spheres.  It's the nature of mature adults that they
  cooperate.  When they work together on a job, they finish it.  So it
  is when you have these five adults working together for you:  You'll
  be able to complete any task.  Your mind will have the power to
  demolish every defilement in the heart, just as a nuclear bomb can
  demolish anything anywhere in the world.
  
                             * * *
  
  When your concentration has strength, it gives rise to discernment:
  the ability to see stress, its cause, its disbanding, and the Path to
  its disbanding, all clearly within the breath.  We can explain this as
  follows:  The in-and-out breath is stress -- the in-breath the stress
  of arising, the out-breath the stress of passing away.  Not being
  aware of the breath as it goes in and out, not knowing the
  characteristics of the breath:  This is the cause of stress.  Knowing
  when the breath is coming in, knowing when it's going out, knowing its
  characteristics clearly -- i.e., keeping your views in line with the
  truth of the breath: This is Right View, part of the Noble Path.
  Knowing which ways of breathing are uncomfortable, knowing how to vary
  the breath; knowing, 'That way of breathing is uncomfortable; we'll
  have to breathe like this in order to feel at ease': This is Right
  Intention.  The mental factors that think about and properly evaluate
  all aspects of the breath are Right Speech.  Knowing various ways of
  improving the breath; breathing, for example, in long and out long, in
  short and out short, in short and out long, in long and out short,
  until you come across the breath that's most comfortable for you: This
  is Right Action.  Knowing how to use the breath to purify the blood,
  how to let this purified blood nourish the heart muscles, how to
  adjust the breath so that it eases the body and soothes the mind, how
  to breathe so that you feel full and refreshed in body and mind:  This
  is Right Livelihood.  Trying to adjust the breath so that it comforts
  the body and mind, and to keep trying as long as you aren't fully at
  ease:  This is Right Effort.  Being mindful of the in-and-out breath
  at all times, knowing the various aspects of the breath -- the
  up-flowing breath, the down-flowing breath, the breath in the stomach,
  the breath in the intestines, the breath flowing along the muscles and
  out to every pore -- keeping track of these things with every
  in-and-out breath:  This is Right Mindfulness.  A mind intent only on
  matters of the breath, not pulling any other objects in to interfere,
  until the breath is refined, giving rise to fixed absorption and then
  liberating insight:  This is Right Concentration.
  
    When all of these aspects of the Noble Path -- virtue,
  concentration, and discernment -- are brought together fully mature
  within the heart, you gain insight into all aspects of the breath,
  knowing that, 'Breathing this way gives rise to good mental states;
  breathing that way gives rise to bad mental states.' You let go of the
  factors -- i.e., the breath in all its aspects -- that fashion the
  body, the factors that fashion speech, the factors that fashion the
  mind, whether good or bad, letting them be as they truly are, in line
  with their own inherent nature:  This is the disbanding of stress.
  
  
                            * * * * * * * *


                                GLOSSARY
  
  Abhidhamma (Pitaka):  The third of the three collections forming the
    Pali Canon, composed of systematic treatises based on lists of
    categories drawn from the Buddha's teachings.
  
  Apaya:  States of deprivation, i.e., the four lower realms of
    existence:  rebirth in hell, as a hungry ghost, as an angry demon,
    or as a common animal.  In Buddhism, none of these states are
    regarded as eternal conditions.
  
  Arahant:  A 'worthy one' or 'pure one,' i.e., a person whose heart no
    longer has any defilements and is thus not destined for further
    rebirth.  A title for the Buddha and the highest level of his Noble
    Disciples.
  
  Ariyadhana:  'Noble Wealth,'  i.e., qualities that serve as 'capital'
    in the quest for liberation:  conviction, virtue, conscience, fear
    of evil, erudition, generosity, and discernment.
  
  Ayatana:  Sense media, i.e., the six senses (the five physical senses
    plus the intellect) and their corresponding objects.
  
  Bhavanga (-pada, -citta):  The mind's underlying preoccupation or
    resting state, which determines its state of being and to which it
    reverts in between its responses to stimuli.
  
  Brahma:  An inhabitant of the higher heavens (of form and 
    formlessness), a position earned -- but not forever -- through the
    cultivation of virtue and meditative absorption (jhana), along with
    the attitudes of limitless love, compassion, appreciation, and
    equanimity.
  
  Dhamma:  Event; phenomenon; the way things are in and of themselves;
    quality -- both in its neutral and in its positive senses:  (1) the
    basic qualities into which natural phenomena -- mental and physical
    -- can be analyzed; the terms in which things are known by the sense
    of ideation. Also, any teaching that analyzes phenomena into their
    basic terms.  This is one sense in which the Buddha's doctrine is
    his 'Dhamma.'  (2) The quality of one's heart and mind, as manifest
    by the rectitude, fairness, compassion, composure, discernment,
    etc., revealed in one's actions.  The manifestations can be
    enumerated and prescribed as principles (again, 'dhamma' -- another
    sense in which the Buddha's doctrine is his Dhamma) that can then be
    put into practice and developed as means of removing shoddiness from
    the heart so that its genuine, unchanging quality can become fully
    apparent from within:  This is the Buddha's Dhamma in its ultimate
    sense.
  
  Dhatu:  Element, property, potential.  Basic forces that, when aroused
    out of their latent state, cause activity on the physical or
    psychological level.  In traditional Thai physics, which is based on
    the physics of the Pali Canon, the four dhatu of earth, water, fire,
    and wind are said to permeate all matter in latent or potential
    form.  To become manifest, they have to be aroused.  Thus, for
    example, the act of starting a fire is explained as the arousal of
    the fire-dhatu (//tejas//), which already exists in the air and in
    the object to be ignited.  Once this is 'seized,' it clings to the
    fuel, and the object will be on fire.  The fire will continue
    burning as long as tejas has sustenance to cling to.  When it runs
    out of sustenance or is forced to let go, it will grow quiet --
    returning to its normal, latent state -- and the individual fire
    will go out.
  
    On the level of the human body, diseases are explained as resulting
  from the aggravation or imbalance of any of these four physical
  properties.  Diseases are classified by how they feel:  Fevers are
  attributed to the fire property, dizziness and faintness to the wind
  property, constipation to the earth property, etc.  Well-being is
  defined as a state in which none of these properties is dominant.  All
  are quiet, unaroused, balanced and still.
  
    There are a number of lists of dhatus given in the Pali Canon.  The
  six dhatus are the four physical properties plus space and
  consciousness.  The 18 dhatus are the six senses, their respective
  objects, and the acts of consciousness associated with each.
  
  Gotarabhu-nana:  'Change of lineage knowledge' -- the glimpse of
    nibbana that changes one from an ordinary, run-of-the-mill person to
    a Noble One.  This is also classed as '//nana-dassana visuddhi//,'
    purity of knowledge and vision.
  
  Indra:  King of the gods in the sensual heavens.

  Indriya:  Pre-eminent or dominating qualities.  The 22 qualities that
    can dominate consciousness are:  the senses of vision, hearing,
    smell, taste, touch, ideation; femininity, masculinity, life;
    pleasure, pain, joy, sorrow, equanimity; conviction, persistence,
    mindfulness, concentration, discernment; the realization that 'I
    shall come to know the unknown,' final knowledge, the state of
    final-knower.
  
  Jhana:  Absorption in a single object or preoccupation. //Rupa-jhana//
    refers to absorption in a physical sensation; //arupa-jhana//, to
    absorption in a mental notion or state. When Ajaan Lee uses the term
    'jhana' by itself, he is usually referring to rupa-jhana.
  
  Kamma:  Acts of intention that result in states of being and birth.
  
  Kammapatha:  Ten guidelines for moral conduct -- not killing, not
    stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, not speaking
    divisively, not using coarse or vulgar language, not speaking idly,
    not coveting, not harboring anger, holding right views.
  
  Kasina:  An object stared at with the purpose of fixing an image of it
    in one's consciousness, the image then being manipulated to fill the
    totality of one's awareness.
  
  Kesa:  Hair of the head; the first in the list of 32 parts of the body
    used as a meditation theme for counteracting lust.
  
  Khandha:  Aggregate -- the component parts of sensory perception;
    physical and mental phenomena as they are directly experienced:
    //rupa// -- sensations, sense data; //vedana// -- feelings of
    pleasure, pain, and indifference that result from the mind's
    savoring of its objects; //sanna// -- labels, names, allusions;
    //sankhara// thought-formations (see below); //vinnana// -- sensory
    consciousness.
  
  Nibbana:  The 'unbinding' of the mind from sensations and mental acts,
    preoccupations and suppositions.  As this term is also used to refer
    to the extinguishing of a fire, it carries the connotations of
    stilling, cooling, and peace. (The use of the word 'unbinding' to
    refer to the extinguishing of a fire is best understood in light of
    the way fire was viewed at the time of the Buddha.  See
    '//dhatu//.')
  
  Niramisa-sukha:  Literally, 'un-raw' pleasure, or pleasure 'not of the
    flesh.'  The bliss and ease of nibbana, a pleasure independent of
    sensations or mental acts.
  
  Nirodha:  Disbanding, disappearance, cessation.  In the absolute
    sense, this refers to the utter disbanding of stress and its causes.
    In an applied sense, it can refer to the temporary and partial
    suppression of defilement and stress attained in tranquility
    meditation.  The terms '//sankhata-lakkhana nirodha//' and
    '//bhujissaka nirodha//' are used in this latter sense.  The first
    emphasizes that the 'disbanding' experienced in tranquillity is only
    a fashioned semblance of the true thing; the second (literally,
    bondsman-disbanding) emphasizes that this is a conditioned state,
    dependent on the presence of the factors of jhana, in contrast to
    the ultimate sense of nirodha (//asesa-viraga nirodha//, disbanding
    with no trace of passion), which is total and unconditioned.
  
  Nivarana:  Hindrances; mental qualities that hinder the mind from
    attaining concentration and discernment:  sensual desire, ill will,
    torpor & lethargy, restlessness & anxiety, and uncertainty.
  
  Pali:  The name of the most ancient recension of the Buddhist
    scriptures now extant and -- by extension -- of the language in
    which it was composed.
  
  Patimokkha:  The basic monastic code, composed of 227 rules.

  Sabhava dhamma:  Qualities and events that form the basic building
    blocks of experience, viewed as they are in and of themselves.
  
  Sambhavesin:  This term is usually used to describe a being that is
    seeking a place to be born; generally regarded as an abject state.
    Here, Ajaan Lee uses the term to describe the mind when it is
    searching for an object to fasten onto.
  
  Sankhara:  Fashioning -- the forces and factors that fashion things,
    the process of fashioning, and the fashioned things that result.  As
    the fourth //khandha//, this refers to the act of fashioning
    thoughts, urges, etc.  within the mind. As a blanket term for all
    five //khandhas//, it refers to all things, physical or
    psychological, fashioned by nature.
  
  Stupa:  Originally, a tumulus or burial mound enshrining relics of the
    Buddha or objects associated with his life. Over the centuries,
    however, this has developed into the tall, spired monuments familiar
    in temples in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Burma; and into the pagodas of
    China, Korea and Japan.
  
  Suttanta (Pitaka):  The second of the three collections forming the
    Pali Canon, composed of discourses and other literary pieces related
    to the Dhamma.
  
  Tejas:  See 'dhatu.'

  Vinaya (Pitaka):  The first of the three collections forming the Pali
    Canon, dealing with the disciplinary rules of the monastic order.
    The Buddha's own name for the religion he founded was, 'this
    Dhamma-Vinaya' -- this doctrine and discipline.
  
                             * * *
  
  The translations in this book are based on the editions printed during
  Ajaan Lee's lifetime that seem most definitive and complete.  At
  certain points, these editions differ from those currently available.
  In particular, I was able to locate a copy of the essay, //Basic
  Themes//, containing corrections in Ajaan Lee's own hand.  These have
  been incorporated in the translation.
  
    If these translations are in any way inaccurate or misleading, I ask
  forgiveness of the author and reader for having unwittingly stood in
  their way.  As for whatever may be accurate -- conducive to the aims
  intended by the author -- I hope the reader will make the best use of
  it, translating it a few steps further, into the heart, so as to
  attain those aims.
  
                                        -- The translator
  
  
  
  Inquiries concerning this book may be addressed to:  The Abbot, Metta
  Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA  92082.
  
                        //Sabbe satta sada hontu
                           avera sukhajivino.
                        Katam punnaphalam mayham
                          sabbe bhagi bhavantu te//.
 
               May all living beings always live happily,
                          free from animosity.
                     May all share in the blessings
                  springing from the good I have done.


[end]
