If you do not put quite enough energy into watching that equanimity, your mind gets dull. You don’t have sleepiness, but a dullness can occur. If you put in a little bit too much energy, your mind gets restless. Now you must steady your energy. This is where you are balancing the seven factors of awakening. We will go through these later.
If restlessness arises because you put in too much energy, you are no longer in the jhāna. You're caught by a hindrance. And because of the way the hindrances work, they don't just come one at a time. For example, when you have restlessness, it's not just restlessness; it's the restlessness, as well as the dislike of the restlessness. So, you have two hindrances that you get to work with; hindrances pile up on top of hindrances!
It's quite easy to let restlessness go and balance your energy by this time if you are patient. It's like walking the finest tightrope you've ever seen; like walking on a spider web — it's that fine. Being in that kind of balance, it just takes a little “tweak” — a little “twerp” — and “whoop,” you could be knocked off balance. And then you should work with it again, bring in a little more energy, some more mindfulness. If this is too much, back off again. This is where working with the energy is incredibly interesting and subtle.
The most important thing here is using your Mindfulness to observe what is there in mind and to balance it by backing off or adding energy to your practice. By observing these states, you will affect them naturally — therefore Mindfulness is the most important factor of awakening. The Investigation Factor arises when mind’s movement is clearly seen. Investigation balances both energy and lack of energy automatically by seeing what is out of balance and changing it.
In quantum physics, it is posited that you can change a process by observing it; this is what mindfulness does. Mind observes itself, and change takes place.
Sometimes you may not make progress because something is nagging at the back of your mind. It is a subtle desire that you are identifying with — you are looking for something to happen — perhaps wanting Nibbāna to come and looking for it by thinking about it. It should be 6R’d. It can be a pesky desire, but eventually, you will get tired of it. Nibbāna will never happen if there is this craving there. Nibbāna will happen when mind loses all its craving and movement.
Again, you may have fear arise and think that you don't exist! As before, you should just 6R that fear and continue. It will disappear soon enough. That is just more craving.
MN:111 section 16. “And the states in the base of nothingness — the perception of the base of nothingness and the unification of mind; the contact, feeling, perception, volition, and mind…”
Equanimity gets very deep here, and this should be your object of meditation now. You should imagine yourself surrounded and enveloped by the feeling of equanimity. You should radiate this feeling outward from your whole mind. Keep a small smile going, as this will warn you of unwholesome states coming in.
Like a candle emits heat and light, you simply sit and let the equanimity radiate out by itself. You almost see it go out. If there is stress from sending out the feeling, then you are pushing too hard. You should just let it seep out like a fog but point it to the direction in which you intend it to go. If there is tension, then just 6R it. Do not push the feeling of equanimity out. Pushing it will create more tension. That is trying to control feeling with your thoughts. It doesn’t work.
A lighthouse emits light in all directions. It doesn’t push anything; the light just shines outward. All you do is switch on the light.
If you are distracted by a sound or a touch, then 6R it and come back to radiating the feeling, but only 6R if it draws your attention away from the feeling. If you see small movements, or there are wispy thoughts in the background, yet you are still aware of and collected on your meditation object, radiating equanimity in the six directions, ignore those small distractions. That is just noise. Don’t 6R unless your attention is drawn away.
—Meditation Instruction:
Now you are starting your sitting using the feeling equanimity as your object. You radiate the feeling of equanimity each of the six directions for five minutes each and then to all directions at the same time for the rest of the sitting. When you do the walking meditation, you radiate equanimity to all directions at the same time and 6R any distractions.
Sit longer now: one hour, one and a half hours, two hours, three hours. If you feel like you want to get up, then sit another five minutes and see if that urge goes away.
Mental activity gets quieter and quieter. Just observe what is there at the moment. Mind will feel bright and energetic, with little movement. You will start to see the link of consciousness arising and passing away. This is a potential. You will see this start of the movement, and then it blossoms into your awareness as something, be it seeing, hearing, or a tangible feeling. It is like you know that you are going to see something, and then you do. Gradually you will see all the processes in the links of dependent origination that occur before contact.
You perceive that everything you experience takes place within your mind only. What makes up the real “you” is mind and mind objects coming and going. Do you really have a body, or do you just see this image and call it a body? Are “you” hearing a sound, or is it only sound consciousness arising and a perception of “you” “hearing” it?
What is consciousness? You see now that consciousness knows itself. You stop identifying with it as you. It reflects the form that is in front of it — like seeing a red rose in a mirror. Bhikkhu Ñāṇananda,[xiii] the author of Concept and Reality, calls it a hall of mirrors in which the mirror itself is self-aware at that moment with whatever sight or sound form is cognized. There is nobody in the room itself, but it is the mirrors themselves that are “aware of being aware.” The mind overlays a concept of self, but there are only the mirrors and the reflections.
The consciousness arises, and then it is gone. There was nothing before it and nothing after it. There was never anyone in the hall except the mirrors. You just thought there was.
You now see what is there directly without concepts. You see that consciousness only experiences itself with no experiencer. The concept of self is not there anymore. There are thousands of moments that make up each event of hearing or seeing. “You” exist for that moment only. Then there is another moment, and “you” hear again. There is a space between these moments where there is nothing. Now you are perceiving the silence and the arising and passing away of objects in that silence.
If the sound had not arisen, then “you” would not have arisen. You would not have been born into conscious awareness had there been no sound as a condition. That is rebirth moment to moment right there. And since there is nothing between the consciousnesses, how can there be an idea of an all-pervading soul or self? You live for a moment and then die. Physical death is just one moment from this body to another. You really die every moment; your body dying has nothing to do with you dying.
—Meditation Instruction:
When things get quiet, you might try to add something, adjust something, or try to watch something. Since “nothing” is arising, you might get a little bored. In this case, notice the craving mind wanting to make something happen, wanting to control. 6R that mind right there and let it go, then just be there with no movement. 6R the concept of a controller. Just be in the feeling of Equanimity as it radiates. Do not move in mind at all. Like the Beatles song, “Let it be, let it be.”
Distractions that Arise — How to Adjust
Too much energy, you become restless — you need to reduce your energy. Take tranquility as your object of meditation. This will bring in calm. 6R your desire to control the process. Add it to the feeling of equanimity.
Not enough energy, you become sleepy or dull — you need to add more effort and increase your curiosity about what is happening. Take more interest. You can also get up and walk to arouse energy. Do some fast walking. Find some stairs to go up and down. The longer you sit, the more you shou
ld walk. Many meditators avoid the walking but then wonder why they doze off or zone out when they sit for long periods. You need to keep your blood moving and your energy up.
The Buddha and his monks walked everywhere they went and thus kept their bodies very healthy. Alms rounds could be very long and strenuous, but it would pay off in energy for the meditation.
6R any boredom (a subtle aversion reaction) and get through it. At times, very little happens, and you must be very gentle and patient. Then you will go deeper. U Sīlananda, one of Bhante’s teachers, would always tell him: "Patience leads to Nibbāna.”
There are seven awakening factors at work. These factors need to be adjusted. Don’t worry too much about doing the balancing at this point. Just let the mindfulness do its job. Some meditators will control too much and try to make their mind calm with whatever factor they think they need. But too much of this will lead to restlessness. You must balance the desire to balance by backing off and letting things get into balance by themselves.
Venerable Bhante Vimalaraṁsi often reminds his advanced students to remember that their job as a meditator is to simply observe how mind’s attention moves from one thing to another. Mindfulness is not about controlling any movements. One of the most difficult things to do is to just observe without trying to control anything.
Seven Factors of Awakening:
1.Sati — Mindfulness
2.Dhammavicaya — Investigation of experience
3.Viriya — Energy
4.Pīti — Joy
5.Passaddhi — Tranquility; Relaxed in mind
6.Samādhi — Collectedness of mind
7.Upekkhā — Equanimity
Some people may complain about distractions happening in their body. They can feel pain somewhere in their body. This is not real pain but a really subtle hindrance coming up in their mind. Do not pay any attention to your body anymore.
Most pain will now be what is known as “meditation pain.” This is different from a real pain. An actual pain comes because you are sitting too long or sitting twisted in a weird way and you are hurting your body.
This meditation pain is the pain of the hindrances coming up. It mostly is the pain of restlessness. Restlessness is a painful feeling, but it is in your mind, and you must determine to not be moved by it but soften into it, let it be and relax the tension and tightness that is there.
You are only concerned with mind now. You should sit for long periods of time. Sit one hour, two hours, and even three and four hours. The longer you sit, the more time mind has to calm down. So far the record for Bhante’s students is two days in one sitting completed by a man in Indonesia and recently a man in the USA! And that really paid off — the results were phenomenal. And he just got up and walked away with no pain or stiffness; he felt just fine.
Eventually, mind will become very calm, and equanimity will become very profound. We then come to the next arūpa jhāna where we leave all the brahmavihāras behind.
Chapter Thirteen: The Base of Neither Perception-Nor Non-Perception
MN:111 section 17. "Again, bhikkhus, by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, Sāriputta entered upon and abided in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
Now you will not be able to radiate the feeling of equanimity anymore — it will just naturally stop. It just isn’t there anymore, and if you try to radiate it, then that will cause some tension to arise. If you notice this happening, then just sit in the silence and observe. If you are unsure, then try radiating equanimity again, and if it comes up then continue it once again until it finally fades on its own. If you bring up the feeling and now it causes a slight tension (in your head), even radiating that feeling, then you can stop and just be in this quiet mind.
—Meditation Instruction:
You should now take Clear Quiet Mind as your object of meditation. Notice the stillness and the tranquil feeling that is there. Let yourself sink into that. Now the instructions will change a little. 6R any movements or vibrations as soon as they start to arise, and then go back to a clear, quiet state of mind. You take this empty silence as the object of meditation and watch for any movements arising. 6R as soon as they arise and relax the tension out of any of the movements and come back to just this quiet and peaceful state. You might see a flicker or a light or some movement there. 6R that as soon as they arise.
Soon the this exquisite stillness becomes your object. Before in earlier sittings, mind was expanding, now it becomes so still and subtle that it is hard to tell whether anything arises or not. Your mindfulness now has come to a level where there is nothing that escapes your 6R tool. You have a sense of power over the arising phenomena that you have never felt before. By allowing things to arise and relax into them you actually, in a way, have achieved control over them…
No More Feeling
You now have come to the end of the meditation of the Brahmavihāras, which has the four Divine Abodes as its objects. You started with the meditation object of Mettā, or loving-kindness, progressed automatically to Karuṇā, or Compassion, and then to Muditā, or Joy, and this finally transformed into Upekkhā or deep equanimity. Now even that is gone. You begin the next phase of the meditation: just observation of movements within mind.
As the feeling of equanimity which brought you to this point fades away, you are now going to be mindful of mind and mind-objects. You will start to observe what is there, and subsequently, see very small movements arise. As soon as you see any movement or vibration, you need to relax. Your mind will become very, very still for long periods of time. This deep quietness of mind and lack of any distractions at all can last for twenty minutes or thirty minutes, and even for an hour. This exquisite silence is where mind is absolutely pure! The longer you can sit with this still mind, the better.
Gradually the Nothingness jhāna gives way to the Realm of Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception — the fourth arūpa jhāna. Mind is so subtle at this point that the only way you know that you've experienced that state is that when you come out, you can reflect on what you saw there. Some feeling was still there, although it's subtle, and perception is kind of there and kind of not.
Now your instructions are to simply observe mind objects that are arising and passing away in this bright clear mind. You don’t want to start this observation before the time is right. You began your sitting by radiating the feeling of equanimity to each direction. However, you may not be able to.
If you try to generate any feeling at all, it may cause tension in your mind. Never create tension where there was none before. If you have doubt, then you can try generating a feeling of stillness to see if stillness comes up and will flow out on its own. This stillness can be likened to looking up into the night sky — so tranquil and still. If you feel like you are forcing it, then just stop. This means now that it is time just to observe. If, on the other hand, you can radiate then just continue doing that until it stops again.
As you watch mind and 6R any movements or vibrations that start to arise, all activity will slow down. Mind’s activity will almost flatten out to nothing at all. There are things in mind, but they are no longer pulling at your conscious awareness. An obstacle here can be a tendency to get involved in everything that arises and analyze where it came from. Why did it arise? Where did it come from? These questions are not valid here. That is just more thinking, a sort of restlessness to do something.
Let all the analyzing go. The analyzing is for the therapists and psychologists and is not a part of the Buddha’s path. There is no end to it anyway. There is an endless amount of stuff coming and going, and you can never analyze it all. One of Venerable Bhante Vimalaraṁsi’s teachers, The Most Venerable Sayadaw U Paṇḍita, told him that analyzing things is a Western disease!
One meditator reported that past lives would arise as little bubbles. He would go off and investigate them to see what was there. In the end, this was harmful to his practice, and he was letting craving get the better of him. It took many years for
him to get tired of this and finally 6R these memory bubbles dispassionately.
Psychologists will want to look at where these thoughts come from, but we don’t. We are just observing the process and how it arises.
If you look at it this way, when you start meditating your mind has big jerky kinds of movements. As you get deeper into your meditation, the movements become less and less. When you get into the arūpa jhānas, the movements start turning into just vibrations. As you go higher into the arūpa jhānas, the vibrations become faster and finer. When you get to the state of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, there are only slight movements that are very subtle; it is hard to tell if they are there or not.
Your awareness will start to go inward, or some say mind appears to grow smaller. Mind is there, but it is hard to perceive. It is like a jigsaw puzzle that is now starting to lose pieces. Gradually, there is only just a glimmering of what was there. So few objects are arising now that it appears there is less and less of you there at all.
This is the time when you want to make sure that you have developed that habit of relaxing continually, all the time. That way, when you get into this state, you're doing this as an automatic habit.
—Meditation Instruction:
The only way you know that you've experienced this very subtle state is by reflecting afterward what happened while you were in that state. When you come out, take a few minutes for reflection, and 6R anything that arises. Don’t get into stories about it, just reflect and let go. Since you haven’t experienced this before, your mind will naturally think about what happened. Just 6R those thoughts. Don’t stop them. Just let them be and fade away. Relax into them.
What is this relaxing doing? When you relax, the movement of mind becomes less and less until you finally get to a state in which you cannot see any gross movement, but there is still a little bit of vibration. The more you relax, the more the vibration slows down, because it is the craving that is creating the movement. Relaxing removes the craving, and mind settles further. You still have those small movements even when you get into neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
The Path to Nibbana Page 11
