..續本文上一頁ehind. The mind stands unmoving.
Once the mind is peaceful this can happen. You don”t have to think a lot about it, it just happens by itself. This is called the energy of a peaceful mind. In this state the mind is not drowsy; the five hindrances, sense desire, aversion, restlessness, dullness and doubt, have all fled.
But if mental energy is still not strong and mindfulness weak, there will occasionally arise intruding mental impressions. The mind is peaceful but it”s as if there”s a "cloudiness" within the calm. It”s not a normal sort of drowsiness though, some impressions will manifest — maybe we”ll hear a sound or see a dog or something. It”s not really clear but it”s not a dream either. This is because these five factors have become unbalanced and weak.
The mind tends to play tricks within these levels of tranquillity. "Imagery" will sometimes arise when the mind is in this state, through any of the senses, and the meditator may not be able to tell exactly what is happening. "Am I sleeping
No. Is it a dream
No, it”s not a dream..." These impressions arise from a middling sort of tranquillity; but if the mind is truly calm and clear we don”t doubt the various mental impressions or imagery which arise. Questions like, "Did I drift off then
Was I sleeping
did I get lost
..." don”t arise, for they are characteristics of a mind which is still doubting. "Am I asleep or awake
"... Here, it”s fuzzy! This is the mind getting lost in its moods. It”s like the moon going behind a cloud. You can still see the moon but the clouds covering it render it hazy. It”s not like the moon which has emerged from behind the clouds — clear, sharp and bright.
When the mind is peaceful and established firmly in mindfulness and self-awareness, there will be no doubt concerning the various phenomena which we encounter. The mind will truly be beyond the hindrances. We will clearly know as it is everything which arises in the mind. We do not doubt it because the mind is clear and bright. The mind which reaches samadhi is like this.
However some people find it hard to enter samadhi because it doesn”t suit their tendencies. There is samadhi, but it”s not strong or firm. But one can attain peace through the use of wisdom, through contemplating and seeing the truth of things, solving problems that way. This is using wisdom rather than the power of samadhi. To attain calm in practice it”s not necessary to sit in meditation, for instance. Just ask yourself, "Ehh, what is that
..." and solve your problem right there! A person with wisdom is like this. Perhaps he can”t really attain high levels of samadhi, although he develops some, enough to cultivate wisdom. It”s like the difference between farming rice and farming corn. One can depend on rice more than corn for one”s livelihood. Our practice can be like this, we depend more on wisdom to solve problems. When we see the truth, peace arises.
The two ways are not the same. Some people have insight and are strong in wisdom but do not have much samadhi. When they sit in meditation they aren”t very peaceful. They tend to think a lot, contemplating this and that, until eventually they contemplate happiness and suffering and see the truth of them. Some incline more towards this than samadhi. Whether standing, walking, sitting or lying, 3 enlightenment of the Dhamma can take place. Through seeing, through relinquishing, they attain peace. They attain peace through knowing the truth without doubt, because they have seen it for themselves.
Other people have only little wisdom but their samadhi is very strong. They can enter very deep samadhi quickly, but not having much wisdom, they cannot catch their defilements, they don”t know them. They can”t solve their problems.
But regardless of whichever approach we use,…
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