Ev ening Sitting

I w ould lik e to ask y ou about y our pr actice. Y ou ha v e all been pr actising meditation her e, but ar e y ou sur e about the pr actice y et? Ask y ourselv es, ar e y ou confident about the pr actice y et? These days ther e ar e all sorts of med itation teac hers ar ound, both monks and lay teac hers, and I’m afr aid it will cause y ou to be full of doubts and uncertainty abo ut what y ou ar e doing. This is why I am asking. As far as Buddhist pr actice is concerned, ther e is r eally nothing gr eater or higher than these teac hings of the Buddha whic h y ou ha v e been pr actising with her e. If y ou ha v e a c lear understanding of them, it will giv e rise to an absolutely firm and unw a v ering peace in y our heart and mind.

Making the mind peaceful is kno wn as pr actising medit- ation, or pr actising samādhi. The mind is something whic h is e xtr emely c hangeable and unr eliable. Observing fr om y our pr actice so far , ha v e y ou seen this y et? Some days y ou pr actise sitting meditation and in no time at all t he mind is calm, o ther days y ou sit and whatev er y ou do ther e’s no calm – the mind constantly struggles to get a w a y , until it ev en tually does. Some days it goes w ell, some days it’s a wful. This is the w ay the mind displays these differ ent conditions for y ou to see. Y ou must understand that the eight factors of t he Noble Eightfo ld Path

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merge in sīla, samādhi and paññā. They don’t come together anywher e else. This means that when y ou bring t he factors of y our pr actice together , ther e must be sīla, ther e must be samādhi and ther e must be paññā pr esent together in the mind. It means that in pr actising meditation right her e and no w , y ou ar e cr eating the causes for t he Path to arise in a v ery dir ect w a y . In sit ting meditation y ou ar e taught to c lose y our ey es so that y ou don’t spend y our time looking at differ ent things. This is because the Buddha w as teac hing that y ou should kno w y our o wn mind. Observ e the mind. If y ou c lose y our ey es, y our attention will natur ally be turned inw ar ds to w ar ds the mind – the sour ce of many differ ent kinds of kno wledge. This is a w ay

of tr aining the mind to giv e rise to samādhi.

Once sitting with the ey es c losed, establish a w ar eness with the br eath – mak e a w ar eness of the br eath mor e im portant than anything else. This means y ou bring a w ar eness to follo w the br eath, and by k eeping with it, y ou will kno w that place whic h is t he focal point of sati, the focal point of the kno wing and the focal point of the mind’s a w ar eness. Whenev er these factors of the path ar e w orking t ogether , y ou will be able t o w atc h and see y our br eath, feelings, mind and ār ammaṇa, as they ar e in the pr esent moment. Ultimatel y , y ou will kno w that place whic h is both the focal point of samādhi and the unification point of the Path factors.

When dev eloping samādhi, fix attention on the br eath and imagine that y ou ar e sitting alone with absolutely no other people and nothing else ar ound to bother y ou. Dev elop this per ception in the mind, sustaining it until t he mind completely lets go of the w orld outside and all that is left is simply the kno wing of the br eath entering and lea ving. The mind must set

aside t he e xternal w orld. Don’t allo w y ourself to start thinking about this person who is s itting o v er her e, or that perso n who is sitting o v er ther e. Don’t giv e space to any thoughts t hat will giv e rise to confusion or agitation in the mind – it’s better to thr o w them out and be done with them. Ther e is no one else her e, y ou ar e sitting all alone. Dev elop this per ception until all t he ot her m emories, per ceptions and thoughts concerning other people and things subside, and y ou’r e no longer doubting or w ondering about the other people or things ar ound y ou. Then y ou can fix y our attention solely on the in-br eaths and out-br eaths. Br eathe normall y . Allo w the in-br eaths and the out-br eaths to continue natur all y , without for cing them to be longer or shorter , str onger or w eak er than normal. Allo w the br eath to continue in a state of normality and balance, and then sit and observ e it entering and lea ving the bod y .

Once the m ind has let go of e xternal mind-objects, it means y ou will no longer feel disturbed by the sound of tr affic or other noises. Y ou w on’t feel irritated with anything outside. Whether it’s forms, sounds or whatev er , they w on’t be a sour ce of disturbance, because the mind w on’t be paying attention to them – it will becom e centr ed upon the br eath.

If the mind is agitated by differ ent things and y ou can’t concentr ate, try taking an e xtr a-deep br eath until t he lungs ar e completely full, and then r elease all the air until ther e is none left inside. Do this sev er al times, then r e-establish a w ar eness and continue to dev elop concentr ation. Ha ving r e-established mindfulness, it’s normal that for a period the mind will be calm, then c hange and become agitated again. When this happens, mak e the mind firm, tak e another deep br eath and subsequently e xpel all the air fr om y our lungs. Fill the lungs to capacity

again for a mom ent and then r e-establish mindfulness on the br eathing. Fix sati on the in-br eaths and the out-br eaths, and continue to maintain a w ar eness in this w a y .

The pr actice tends t o be this w a y , so it will ha v e to tak e many sittings and muc h effort befor e y ou become pr oficient. Once y ou ar e, the mind will let go o f the e xternal w orld and r emain undisturbed. Mind-objects fr om t he out side will be unable to penetr ate inside and disturb the mind itself. Once they ar e unable to penetr ate inside, y ou will s ee the mind. Y ou will see the mind as one object of a w ar eness, the br eath as another and mind-objects as another . They will all be pr esent within the field of a w ar eness, centr ed at the tip of y our nose. Once sati is firmly est ablished with the in-br eaths and out-br eaths, y ou can continue to pr actise at y our ease. As the mind becomes calm, the br eath, whic h w as originally coarse, becomes corr es- pondingly lighter and mor e r efined. The object of m ind also becomes incr easingly subtle and r efined. The body feels lighter and the mind itself feels pr ogr essiv ely lighter and unbur dened. The mind lets go of e xternal mind-objects and y ou continue to observ e internall y .

Fr om her e onw ar ds y our a w ar eness will be turned a w ay fr om t he w orld outside and be dir ected inw ar ds to f ocus on the mind. Once the mind has gather ed together and become concentr ated, maintain a w ar eness at that point wher e the mind becomes focused. As y ou br eathe, y ou will see the br eath c learly as it enters and lea v es, sati will be sharp and a w ar eness of mind- objects and mental activity will be c lear er . At that point y ou will see the c h ar acteristics of sīla, samādhi and paññā and the w ay in whic h they merge together . This is kno wn as the unification of the Path factors. Once this unification occurs, y our mind will

be fr ee f r om all forms of agitation and confusion. It will become one-pointed and this is what is kno wn as samādhi.

When y ou focus attention in just one place, in this case the br eath, y ou gain a c larity and a w ar eness because of the unin- terrupted pr esence of sati. As y ou continue to see the br eath c learl y , sati will become str onger and the mind will become mor e sensitiv e in many differ ent w ay s. Y ou will see the mind in the centr e of that place (the br eath), one-pointed with a w ar e- ness fo cused inw ar ds, r ather than turning to w ar ds the w orld outside. The e xternal w orld gr adually disappears fr om y our a w ar eness and the mind no longer goes to perform any w ork on the outside. It’s as if y ou’v e come inside y our ‘house’, wher e all y our sense faculties ha v e come together to form one compact unit. Y ou ar e at ease and the mind is fr ee fr om all e xternal objects. A w ar eness r emains with the br eath and o v er time it will penetr ate deeper and deeper inside, becoming pr ogr essiv ely mor e r efined.

Ultimatel y , a w a r eness of the br eath becomes so r efined that the sensation of the br eath seems to disappear . Y ou could say either t hat a w ar eness of the sensation of the br eath has dis ap- pear ed, or that the br eath itself has disappear ed. Then ther e arises a new kind of a w ar en ess – a w ar eness that the br eath has disappear ed. In other w or ds, a w ar eness of the br eath becomes so r efined that it’s difficult to define it.

So it might be that y ou ar e just sitting t her e and ther e’s no br eath. Reall y , the br eath is still ther e, but it has become so r efined that it seems to ha v e disappear ed. Why? Because the mind is at its most r efined, with a special kind of kno wing. All that r emains is t he kno wing. Ev en though the br eath has v anished, the mind is still concentr ated with the kno wledge

that the br eath is not ther e. As y ou continue, what should y ou tak e up as the object of meditation? T ak e this v ery kno wing as the meditation object – in ot her w or ds the kno wledge that ther e is no br eath – and sustain this. Y ou could say that a specific kind of kno wledge has been established in the mind.

At this point, some people might ha v e doubts arising, because it is her e that nimitta can arise. These can be of many kinds, inc luding both forms and sounds. It is her e that all sort s of une xpected things can arise in the course of the pr actice. If nimittā do arise (some people ha v e them, some don’t) y ou must understand them in accor dance with the truth. Don’t doubt or allo w y ourself to become alarmed.

At this stage, y ou should mak e the mind unshak eable in its concentr ation and be especially mindful. Some people become startled when they notice that the br eath has disappear ed, because they’r e used to ha ving the br eath ther e. When it appears that the br eath has gone, y ou might panic or become afr aid t hat y ou ar e going to die. Her e y ou must establish the understanding that it is just the natur e of the pr actice to pr o- gr ess in this w a y . What will y ou obse rv e as the object of med- itation no w? Observ e this feeling that ther e is no br eath and sustain it as the object of a w ar eness as y ou continue to meditate. The Buddha described this as the firme st, most unshak eable form of samādhi. Ther e is just one firm and unw a v ering object of mind. When y our pr actice o f samādhi r eac hes this point, ther e will be many unusual and r efined c hanges and tr ansform- ations taking place within the mind, of whic h y ou can be a w ar e. The sensation of the body will feel at its lightest or might ev en disappear altogether . Y ou might feel lik e y ou ar e floating in mid-air and seem to be completely w eightless. It m ight be lik e

y ou ar e in the middle of s pace and wher ev er y ou dir ect y our sense faculties they don’t seem to r egister anything at all. Ev en though y ou kno w the body is still sitting ther e, y ou e xperience complete emptiness . This feeling o f emptiness can be quite str ange.

As y ou continue to pr actise, understand that ther e is noth- ing to w orry about. Establish this feeling o f being r elax ed and unw orried, secur ely in the mind. Once the mind is concentr ated and one-pointed, no mind-object will be able to penetr ate o r disturb it, and y ou will be able to sit lik e this f or as long as y ou w ant. Y ou will be able to sustain concentr ation without any feelings of pain and discomf ort.

Ha ving dev eloped samādhi to this lev el, y ou will be able to enter or lea v e it at will. When y ou do lea v e it, it’s at y our ease and conv enience. Y ou withdr a w at y our ease, r ather than because y ou ar e feeling lazy or tir ed. Y ou withdr a w fr om samādhi because it is the appr opriate time to withdr a w , and y ou come out of it at y our will.

This is samādhi; y ou ar e r elax ed and at y our ease. Y ou e nter and lea v e it without any pr oblems. The mind and heart ar e at ease. If y ou genuinely ha v e samādhi lik e this, it means that sitting meditation and entering samādhi for just thirty minutes or an hour will enable y ou to r emain cool and peaceful for many days afterw ar ds. Experiencing the effects of samādhi lik e this for sev er al days has a purifying effect on the mind – whatev er y ou e xperience will become an object for contemplation. This is wher e the pr actice r eally begins. It’s the fruit whic h arises as samādhi matur es.

Samādhi performs the function of calming the mind. Samādhi performs one function, sīla performs one function and

paññā performs another function. These c har acteristics, whic h y ou ar e focusing attentio n on and dev eloping in the pr actice ar e link ed, f orming a cir c le. This is the w ay they manifest in the mind. Sīla, samādhi and paññā arise and mat ur e fr om the same place. Once the mind is calm, it will become pr ogr essiv ely mor e r estr ained and composed due to the pr esence of paññā and the po w er of samādhi.

As the mind becomes mor e composed and r efined, this giv es rise to an e nergy whic h acts to purify sīla. Gr eater purity of sīla facilitates the dev elopment of str onger and mor e r efined samādhi, and this in turn supports the maturing of paññā. They assist eac h other in this w a y . Eac h aspect of the pr actice acts as a supporting factor for the other ones – in the end these terms becoming synonymous. As these thr ee factors continue to matur e together , they form one complete cir c le, ultimately giv- ing rise to magga . Magga is a synthesis of these thr ee functions of the pr actice w orking smoo thly and consistently together . As y ou pr actise, y ou ha v e to pr eserv e this energ y . It is the energy whic h will giv e rise to vipassanā or paññā. Ha ving r eac hed this stage (wher e paññā is alr eady functioning in the mind, independent of whether the mind is peaceful or not), paññā will pr o vide a consistent and independent energy in the pr actice. Y ou see that whenev er the mind is not peaceful, y ou shouldn’t attac h, and ev en when it is peaceful, y ou shouldn’t attac h. Ha v- ing let go of the bur den of suc h concerns, the heart will accor d- ingly feel muc h lighter . Whether y ou e xperience pleasant mind- objects or unpleasant mind-objects , y ou will r emain at ease. The mind will r emain peaceful in this w a y .

Another important thing is to see that when y ou stop doing formal meditation pr actice, if ther e is no wisdom functioning in

the mind, y ou will giv e up the pr actice altogether without any further contemplatio n, dev elopment of a w ar eness or thought about the w ork whic h still has to be done. In fact, when y ou withdr a w fr om samādhi, y ou kno w c learly in the mind that y ou ha v e withdr a wn. Ha ving withdr a wn y ou should continue to conduct y ourself in a normal manner . Maintain mindfulness and a w ar eness at all t imes. It isn’t that y ou only pr actise medit- ation in the sitting po stur e – samādhi means the mind whic h is firm and unw a v ering. As y ou go about y our daily life, m ak e the mind firm and steady and maintain this sense of steadiness as the object of mind at all times. Y ou must be pr actising sati and sampajañña continuousl y .

After y ou get up fr om the formal sitting pr actice and go about y our business – w alking , riding in cars and so on – whenev er y our ey es se e a form or y our ears hear a sound, maintain a w ar eness. As y ou e xperience mind-objects whic h giv e rise to liking and disliking, try to consistently maintain a w ar eness of the fact that suc h mental states ar e impermanent and uncertain. In this w ay the mind will r emain calm and in a state of ‘normality’.

As long as the mind is calm, use it to contemplate mind- objects. Contemplate the whole of this form, the physical bod y . Y ou can do this at any time and in any postur e: whether doing formal meditation pr actice, r elaxing at home, out at w ork, or in whatev er situation y ou find y ourself. Keep the meditation and the r eflection going at all times. Just going for a w alk and seeing dead lea v es on the gr ound under a tr ee can pr o vide an opportunity to contemplate impermanence. Both w e and the lea v es ar e the same: when w e get old, w e shriv el up and die. Other people ar e all the same. This is r aising the mind

to the lev el of vipassanā, contemplating the truth of the w ay things ar e, the whole time. Whether w alking, standing, sitting or lying do wn, sati is sustained ev enly and consistentl y . This is pr actising meditation corr ectly – y ou ha v e to follo w the mind c losel y , c hec king it at all times.

Pr actising her e and no w at sev en o’c loc k in the ev ening, w e ha v e sat and meditated toget her for an hour and no w stopped. It might be that y our mind has stopped pr actising completely and hasn’t continued with the r eflection. That’s the wr ong w ay to do it. When w e stop, all that should stop is the formal meeting and sitting meditation. Y ou should continue pr actising and dev eloping a w ar eness consistentl y , without letting up.

I’v e often taught that if y ou don’t pr actise consistentl y , it’s lik e dr ops of w ater . It’s lik e dr ops of w ater because the pr actice is not a continuous, uninterrupted flo w . Sati is not sustained ev en l y . The important point is that the mind do es the pr actice and nothing els e. The body doesn’t do it. The mind does the w ork, the mind does the pr actice. If y ou understand this c learl y , y ou will see t hat y ou don’t necess arily ha v e to do formal sitt ing meditation in or der for the mind to kno w samādhi. The mind is the one who does the pr actice. Y ou ha v e to e xperience and understand this for y ourself, in y our o wn mind.

Once y ou do see this for y ourself, y ou will be dev eloping a w ar eness in the mind at all times and in all postur es. If y ou ar e maintaining sati as an ev en and unbr ok en fl o w , it’s as if the dr ops of w ater ha v e joined t o form a smooth and continuous flo w of running w ater . Sati is pr esent in the mind fr om moment to moment and accor dingly ther e will be a w ar eness of mind- objects at all times. If the mind is r estr ained and composed with uninterrupted sati, y ou will kno w mind-objects eac h time

that wholesome and unwholesome mental states arise. Y ou will kno w the mind that is calm and the mind that is confused and agitated. Wher ev er y ou go y ou will be pr actising lik e this. If y ou tr ain the mind in this w a y , y our meditation will matur e quic kly and successfull y .

Please don’t misunderstand. These days it’s common for people to go on vipassanā courses for thr ee or sev en days, wher e they don’t ha v e to speak or do anything but meditate. Maybe y ou ha v e gone on a silent meditation r etr eat for a w eek or tw o, afterw ar ds r eturning to y our normal daily life. Y ou might ha v e left thinking that y ou’v e ‘done vipassanā’ and, because y ou feel that y ou kno w what it’s all about, then carry on going to parties, discos and indulging in differ ent forms of sensual delight. When y ou do it lik e this, what happens? Ther e w on’t be any o f t he fruits of vipassanā left by the end of it. If y ou go and do all sorts of unskilful things, whic h disturb and upset the mind, w asting y our pr evious efforts, then ne xt y ear go bac k again and do another r etr eat for sev en days or a few w eeks, then come out and carry on with the parties, discos and drinking, that isn’t true pr actice. It isn’t paṭipadā or the path to pr ogr ess.

Y ou need to mak e an effort to r enounce. Y ou must contem- plate until y ou see the harmful effects whic h com e fr om suc h beha viour . See the harm in drinking and going out on the to wn. Reflect and see the harm inher ent in all the differ ent kinds of unskilful beha viour whic h y ou indulge in, until it becomes fully appar ent. This w ould pr o vide the impetus for y ou to tak e a step bac k and c hange y our w ays. Then y ou w ould find some r eal peace. T o e xperience peace of mind y ou ha v e to c learly see the disadv antages and danger in suc h forms of beha viour . This is pr actising in the corr ect w a y . If y ou do a silent r etr eat for sev en

days, wher e y ou don’t ha v e to speak to or get inv olv ed with anybod y , and then go c hatting, gossiping and o v erindulgin g for another se v en months, ho w will y ou gain any r eal or lasting benefit fr om those sev en days of pr actice?

I w ould encour age all the laypeople her e who ar e pr actising to dev elop a w ar eness and wisdom to understand this point. Try to pr actise consistentl y . See the disadv antages of pr actising insincer ely and inconsistentl y , and try to sustain a mor e dedic- ated and continuous effort in the pr actice. Just this muc h. It can then become a r ealistic possibility that y ou might put an end to the kilesā. But that lifestyle of not speaking and not playing ar ound for sev en days, follo w ed by six months of complete sen- sual indulgence, without any mindfulness or r estr aint, will just lead to the squandering of any gains made fr om the med itation – ther e w on’t be anything left. It’s lik e going to w ork for a day and earning tw enty pounds, but then going out and spending thirty pounds on food and things in the same day; w ould any money be sa v ed? It w ould all be gone. It’s just the same with the meditation.

This is a form of r eminder to y ou all, so I will ask for y our forgiv eness. It’s necessary to speak in this w a y , so that those aspects of the pr actice whic h ar e at fault will become c lear to y ou and accor dingl y , y ou will be able to giv e them up. Y ou could say that the r eason why y ou ha v e come to pr actise is to learn ho w to a v oid doing the wr ong things in the futur e. What happens when y ou do the wr ong things? Doing wr ong things leads y ou to agitation and suffering, when ther e’s no goodness in the mind. It’s not the w ay to peace of mind. This is the w ay it is. If y ou pr actise on a r etr eat, not talking for sev en days, and then go indulging for a few months, no matter ho w

strictly y ou pr actised for those se v en days, y ou w on ’t deriv e any lasting v alue fr om that pr actice. P r actising that w a y , y ou do n’t r eally get anywher e. Many places wher e meditation is taught don’t r eally get to grips with or get bey ond this pr oblem. Reall y , y ou ha v e to conduct y our daily life in a consistently calm and r estr ained w a y .

In meditation y ou ha v e to be constantly turning y our atten- tion to the pr actice. It’s lik e planting a tr ee. If y ou plant a tr ee in one place and after thr ee days pull it up and plant it in a differ ent spot, then after a further thr ee days pull it up and plant it in y et another place, it will just die without pr oducing anything. Pr actising meditation lik e this w on’t bear any fruit either . This is something y ou ha v e t o understand for y ourselv es. Contemplate it. Try it out for y ourselv es when y ou go home. Get a sapling and plant it in one spot, and ev ery few days, go and pull it up and plant it in a differ ent place. It will just die without ev er bearing any fruit. It’s the same do ing a meditation r etr eat for sev en days, follo w ed by sev en months of unr estr ained beha viour , allo wing the mind to become soiled, and then going bac k to do another r etr eat for a short period, pr actising strictly without talking and subsequently coming out and being unr estr ained again. As with the tr ee, the meditation just dies – none o f the wholesome fruits ar e r etained. The tr ee doesn’t gr o w , the meditation doesn’t gr o w . I say pr actising this w ay d oesn’t bear muc h fruit.

Actuall y , I’m not fond of giving talks lik e this. It’s because I feel sorry for y ou that I ha v e to speak criticall y . When y ou ar e doing the wr ong things, it’s my duty to tell y ou, but I’m speaking out of compassion for y ou. Some people might feel uneasy and think that I’m just scolding them. Reall y , I’m not just

scolding y ou fo r it s o wn sak e, I’m helping to point out wher e y ou ar e going wr ong, so that y ou kno w . Some people might think, ‘Luang Por is just telling us off,’ but it’s not lik e that. It’s only once in a long while that I’m able to come and giv e a talk – if I w er e to giv e talks lik e this ev ery da y , y ou w ould r eally get upset! But the truth is, it’s not y ou who gets upset, it’s only the kilesā that ar e upset. I will say just this muc h for no w .