The Path to Nibbana

by David C Johnson

  If you are working with a teacher, you will likely be asked, "Were you in a state that is like you were asleep but you were awake?" Movement of mind slows to smaller and smaller activities. You start having gaps in your awareness. There is no longer a fully consistent conscious awareness. Mind slows, like ice freezing.

  There are levels of Neither-Perception. At first, mind may slow down, like you are in a dream. There might be a story going on, yet, like a dream, when you come out of that state, it makes no sense — though it did make sense when you were experiencing it. For example, it might have made sense if a bird was talking and you were completely fine with that in the dream but when you come out of this state you wonder why you thought birds could talk!

  In this state, there can be images that arise, colors, shapes, patterns. You should 6R all of those if you are aware enough at that moment. But at times, your awareness just isn’t strong enough to notice them. It’s like telling someone to be mindful in a dream. Later, in or after your sitting, if you start to reflect on what happened you can 6R at that time.

  Still, your mindfulness gets progressively sharper as you go in and out of this deeper level and, eventually, all of the dreamy images or patterns just disappear. There is barely anything left at all. There might even just be what appears to be a blank screen — just blackness — but you knew you were there when you came out. Nothing actually stopped since you were aware of time passing during that state.

  Be aware that during your sitting, generally, you may go into a dreamy state and, since you have heard that the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception is a dreamlike space, you may wonder whether you are experiencing this jhāna. Actually, this may only be sloth and torpor, which needs to be 6R’d. Here you have confused the state of dullness with the deeper state of the arūpa jhāna.

  This vague torpor-like state can be completely blank. This is very definitely a low-energy, low-mindfulness state. When you “wake up” out of this state, it’s more like waking up out of sleep — there will be some energy, but it is weak and doesn't last. Or you just may be drowsy. You might think this low-energy state is special, but it’s just an absence of awareness.

  The difference between these states is that when you go into the neither-perception state, it will be from a bright and energetic, clear space. You will be very mindful and alert.

  It might be confusing to you later but going from a low energy, dull state into a faraway torpor state is not the way to go deeper. Be watchful and question yourself about this. You may be overestimating your level of awareness when it is just a torpor state. If so, then you need to build up your mindfulness and use your 6Rs more. When you go into the fourth arūpa jhāna, your energy will be very high, but the tranquility and stillness will be even stronger.

  You can be guaranteed that coming out of this deeper state you will not be sleepy — you will have more energy than ever before. If you do feel low energy, then it is time to get up and do some brisk walking to get the body energy restored.

  As you sit more and for longer, you may go into neither-perception several times in a sitting, and each time you will go deeper than before. When you come out of this state, please don't get up from your session. Just continue and 6R any disturbances that show up. Keep sitting. 6R whatever you remember that happened in that state. Your mind will be more active and full of energy coming out, but you should just let it settle back. Each time you go into the jhāna, it will be deeper than the last.

  MN:111 section 18. “He emerged mindful from that attainment. Having done so, he contemplated the states that had passed, ceased, and changed, thus…"

  When you sit for long periods in deeper meditation, you will get into this neither-perception-nor-non-perception state.

  You will feel very silent in mind, and energized. There won’t be much movement of mind here at all.

  When you are at this level in your meditation, and you have your noonday meal (lunch), you will not get drowsy. Just a slight heaviness that passes or even nothing at all, so strong now mind has become. You may sleep less and wake up often at night. If you do wake up, then you can try doing a sitting for as long as you can, and then go back to sleep when you get tired. This works for some people but not for others, it interrupts the sleep cycle and the rest of the next day is sleepy and dull. Be attentive and see what works for you.

  Around this time some meditators on retreat may want to get up earlier – like 2–3 a.m. — and sit longer in the morning. The teacher will encourage you to sit longer. You can ask the teacher to allow you to sit through the lunch period. Food can be put aside for you to have later. Thus, it is called the noonday meal. It is a meal around noon, meaning it can be pushed out to 1 p.m. or perhaps 2 p.m. or further — but it still is your only substantial meal of the day. Monks must eat starting at 11 a.m. and finish by 12 p.m., but it’s okay for lay-people to bend this rule.

  You are now at a point in your meditation practice where backing away from any movement in mind is what your meditation has become. Seeing states arising impersonally is important. Reacting now to states with more dispassion, and just observing, without any real interest loosens your attachment to them. It is all just stuff — nothing to be followed or investigated.

  Let’s review here our preliminary methods and goal for our practice. We are using samatha meditation as the means to tranquilize and calm the mind; like spreading oil on water. This is by using a variety of different feelings — the mettā, the compassion, joy, and equanimity that arise one by one when we start with mettā. This is the Brahmvihāra practice.

  We are observing states arising in the jhānas as they arise on by one — be they wholesome or unwholesome and seeing their impermanent, soulless nature. The samatha part of this process calms down the noise so that we can observe much closer the arising phenomena. This is the insight part or vipassanā. So this is samatha-vipassanā, both working together.

  So now what happens is that gradually movement slows down to the point where we are no longer “drowning” in thoughts and distractions and can now let go of the brahmavihāras as our meditation object — in fact, they just fade away. Now we are observing movements against our clear, quiet mind as our meditation object. We are clear and balanced enough not to be swayed by the now small distractions and vibrations.

  Gradually even these small movements will stop, and all mental activity will stop. The pond of our mind will not have one single ripple there. All of a sudden awareness and consciousness will stop for a moment. There will be super clarity right after this as now see deeper than we have ever seen before. We see the deepest aspect of the mental process. So, this is where we are headed. Let’s keep going.

  There is this small “wrapper” of craving around each state that arises. It is what you think of as “you.” It will take the feeling that is arising as “my feeling,” and there are a tiny story and perception about what that is. When anything arises, your mind instantly perceives that object is being observed by a “you.” There is the object, and the self perceiving the object. This is craving — it is this sense you have of “you.”

  Actually, there is no you there at all. There is the object, there is the sense base, and there is consciousness; that is, the visual object, the eye organ itself, and the eye consciousness.

  Mind interprets these processes arising and passing away as part of a permanent “you.” But what is really happening is that feeling arises, and there is this sense of a “you” feeling it. There is consciousness, but there is mistakenly the perception that this little “you” is a self that is feeling it. Some people even see this little image of themselves and the deluded mind identifies that as the real “you.” But it is only a picture — you aren’t there at all. Self is only a concept.

  Think about this for a moment. At night you have dreams, and you definitely feel like you exist in these dream phantasies. You are doing this and that and are reacting with horror or pleasure, depending on the situation. Isn’t this just like your life. You
know you don’t really exist in the dream, but when you are awake you think you exist and react just like when you are dreaming! Isn’t this the same? In fact, the Buddha realized that the concept of self was false and this is why we say the Buddha awakened — out of this dream of self.

  Also, by personalizing each arising feeling, by making each object arising “yours,” you could tend to think that you made the experience happen. This is very important to notice. This is the delusion of a “self” controlling every arising state. You will feel that "I made this come into being” or “I control this or that state that has arisen."

  The fact is that you do not control anything. The deep insight of dependent origination is that everything arises from a cause without there being any self doing it or making it happen or controlling it. You have nothing to say about it. With a deep understanding of this, you will feel relief because you no longer have this self-imposed burden of thinking you control every mental state. What a relief to not feel responsible for every thought! You didn’t think them — they alone are responsible for “their” existence.

  When something in mind arises, whether it is an image, light, or thought, just back away very, very gently. See the state rise into existence from nowhere. It does not matter why it came up. It just did, and you didn't make it happen. It arose based on conditions. No king is commanding this to arise and that to arise. There is no controller, nobody in charge.

  You might be watching with too much energy and bear down on objects coming and going. Lighten up and come to a quiet, still point where your awareness, is very still. There are simply vibrations that arise and pass away.

  Don’t think you are controlling anything. If you were controlling things, you could determine when you would be happy or sad, and you know you can't do that. In fact, try to use your investigation to peer very closely into that force, that urge, that wants to control. It is constantly there in the background with each arising of feeling. A subtle “you” arises that likes the feeling or doesn’t. That is the craving or sense of a controller — the false belief in a personal self. So, the moment that feeling or even a little image of “you” arises relax and 6R it. Don’t lean into it. Release and back away. Let the feeling fade, leaving only stillness and where there is nothing except observation.

  The sutta talks about the factor of decision. Did you know that when you “make a decision,” it is yet another constituent of mind that just arises that has no controller behind it? When you see this factor arise in your meditation try 6’ring it and you are left just sitting there — no action occurs since you let go of the decision.

  If you somehow think you will go to sit, and then you continue to think about which pillow to use, you might see the precise deciding moment from where you “decide” which pillow to use. There is a moment in which your “decision” arises. If you back away and gently just allow everything to arise but very carefully watch it with your investigation factor, you will see the decision factor arise entirely on its own. And it also then passes away. There appears a call to action that arises from the craving embedded in it. This craving is the push you feel to go into action.

  You are now unperturbed and content just to let go of anything arising. It's not yours. It’s just stuff. You see this with a mind that is purified from craving — not taking things personally. This is seeing things with the “eye of wisdom,” seeing things as they really are. And it feels very good! Finally, you come to an unparalleled level of balance called disenchantment, followed by an even deeper state of dispassion, which will open the door to the “unconditioned.”

  The more time you spend in Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception, the more mind is purified. Bhante says that much merit is made in this state. Merit is like a store of wholesome action leading to very good future results. This is like your karmic bank account. Developing a purer and purer mind will help you advance toward the attainment.

  As you continue to sit in this state movements of mind’s attention, have virtually stopped as craving recedes. This is now the time to be patient and persevere. Continue to observe and 6R, relaxing into any movement or flickering of mind.

  If a sound arises and your attention starts to move there, immediately back away from it, relax, and come back to a bright clear mind. If there is any interest in the sound, you need to 6R the desire to see what it is. Any desire to do anything at all is to be 6R’d.

  You will get to the point where you feel like your awareness has stopped. You are just sitting quietly, not caught up in mind stream which is constantly rushing forward. The Buddha talks about it as stopping in a river with the water now seen going by you yet you now have become an immovable rock. The sense of “you” isn’t moving anymore, it has become detached from the stream of events, and there is a sublime relief in this.

  Any movement you now observe as a disturbance to your stillness. You notice that movement is suffering, dukkha. There might be a desire to push away any slight movements but 6R that aversion and let it be. You can’t push away anything. Remember, you have no control over anything. All you can do is observe and 6R.

  Any desire to analyze what is happening or what is arising should not be followed. We are only interested in the process — the arising and passing away. Questions about why things come up can never be fully resolved. The reason may not even come from this lifetime, so you can never really know what might be the cause of a hindrance. You don’t need to understand where things come from; we leave that to the psychologist; we just 6R it and let it go.

  Hindrances are karmically produced by unwholesome actions; that is, the previous breaking of precepts — whether in this life or others. All we can do is stop breaking precepts now and 6R any disturbance that arises from when we broke them in the past.

  When you see a sight, based on that contact a feeling arises — pleasant, unpleasant, or neither pleasant nor unpleasant (neutral). Immediately, upon the feeling arising, there is craving: wanting to enjoy what it is or to push it away.

  You understand as soon as you see something, that very seeing process has craving in it. 6R and relax into that seeing process as soon as it catches your awareness. Notice there is a very subtle tension as soon as your eye locks onto the sight — that is what “pulls” your attention to see it. The moment your mind turns to observing anything at all, you should be relaxing into it right there. Do not let the craving gain a foothold on your attention. Let it go. In most circumstances craving is not that strong but, as Bhante Vimalaraṁsi says, it is definitely persistent.

  Actually, there is no such thing as “mind pulling your attention." The sound arises, and the craving arises. It seems like some sort of “you” is being pulled to the sound, but that’s not what is happening. Sound and craving arise together, giving the illusion that somebody is being pulled to it. That is the delusion of the personal you. In fact, the sight or taste or whatever arises has the craving “embedded” in it and the “you” that arises is right there in that sensation.

  You don't exist anywhere else at that moment other than in hearing the sound. Why do you arise at that moment? You arise because you wanted to hear it.

  You (your so-called permanent self) is actually being born into existence at that moment of identification. Before that, there was just the fading of the last consciousness arising. Then the new sound vibration arose, which triggered the craving to arise, and the personal “you” was created once more. This is the process of dependent origination — causes and conditions are constantly arising and passing away. Perhaps we can say you were “re-born again” …and again, and again.

  The Nature of Consciousness

  The five aggregates all arise in each moment, but they are affected by craving and clinging. This is due to their being taken personally. In fact, the aggregates all arise at the same time, creating your world at that moment. Then they pass away. You only exist in each arising moment, and then you are gone — completely — until the next contact and feeling arise. And this all happens thousan
ds of times in the blink of an eye, which is why we appear to “feel” like a continuous entity with no breaks. You had already seen this phenomenon occur when you were in the second arūpa jhāna — the realm of infinite consciousness.

  Then, based on some outside cause, you are born yet again to hear, see, or touch. If not for that vibration or contact at the sense door, you would simply not come into existence at all. You don't exist outside of that sense contact which sparks you into existence! This is quite an insight when it arises. There is no underlying Self that experiences the sense bases. The senses only experience themselves.

  “You” do not die when your body dies — you are actually “dying” every moment and then coming back into existence only to disappear again. Consciousness is like the bubbles generated from a quickly flowing stream. The water hits the rocks like the sense objects hit the sense doors. The mist that arises as the water splashes over the rocks is like eye forms (sights) colliding with the eye sense organ, creating the drops or “mist” of consciousness.

  This is your awareness arising and passing away dependent on the sixfold sense base, which is your body. This awareness seems real and feels like a permanent self at that moment, but then in the next moment, the bubble of awareness pops and disappears. Birth, death, birth, death, millions of times in a single second.

  From a scientific viewpoint, these are just neurons firing in the brain and can be explained, but we see for ourselves through meditation, through direct knowledge, how this happens in mind. Then we can know the truly impersonal nature of the process, the truly scientific view of impersonality.