..續本文上一頁rit), samadhi will slip away and the nimitta will disappear.
Therefore the ardent meditator should carefully monitor the events that arise in the course of meditation practice. And how do we do this
By trying to observe and be aware of the heart, at the point where there is samadhi or the state of calm. Whatever arises, don”t get interested in it: rather, maintain the heart in peacefulness. When we are able to sustain the mind in peacefulness, or samadhi, continuously, the nimittas will appear for longer periods of time, and can even be skilful means for realizing and seeing the Dhamma. I want to emphasize this point for you.
I have often said that all mantra meditation is capable of making the heart peaceful and still all the way up to the dimension of upacara samadhi. I would like to discourse further on the Ten Recollections, beginning with the reflection on the Buddha up to the eighth one. Whoever is practising any of these first eight recollections will be able to question the heart up to the level of upacara samadhi though not beyond that point. These eight recollections cannot take one to appana samadhi. Only the last two reflections, that is, anapanasati (mindfulness of the breath) and kayagatasati (mindfulness of the body), possess the means to bring the citta up to the level of appana samadhi or the level of samatha. Therefore, Venerable Ajahn Sao taught that once the mantra has brought the mind to a sufficient level of concentration, the meditator should further develop the reflection on asubha kammatthana (meditation on the unattractiveness of the body). This is Tan Ajahn Sao”s second level of exhortation.
When contemplating the meditation on unattractiveness, we take the objects or parts of the body as our object of attention. Ajahn Sao recommended beginning the practice with these five meditations: hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, and skin. When a monk or novice ordains, his preceptor explains these five objects of meditation forthwith. In the Pali language this is called tacapancaka kammattha na. The preceptor, right in the ordination ceremony itself, teaches the initiate that these five parts of the body are not beautiful but unattractive and unclean. Because of this, the owner of these things must constantly look after and take care of them to prevent them from becoming foul and ugly. If we disregard the care of the body it becomes dirty, foul-smelling and unattractive. Why are newly ordained monks and novices taught to see these things in this way
The Buddha taught in this way in order to open the mind to the truth regarding these parts of the body and the nature of the body itself.
If we carefully look at the parts of the body we will come to see that the hair of the head, the hair of the body, the nail, teeth and skin are all symbols which designate beauty or non-beauty. Beauty closes our eyes and ears to further consideration, we don”t see the true condition. We don”t see the truth hidden within the body. Therefore, the Buddha presented these five parts as the first meditation objects.
These five parts of the body should be humbly contemplated as unattractive, that is, seeing that these parts of the body are unattractive, repulsive and unclean. Even when our bodies still have life within them, they are filthy and unattractive. When life is no more and the body becomes a corpse, the stench it produces will thunder home this fact. We are urged to consider this fact over and over again until the heart enters samadhi. A nimitta of one or more of these five parts of the body arises, and you will see them as foul and unattractive. This technique can be a skilful means for uprooting lust and preventing it from overwhelming the mind. The Buddhist monk can take this excellent opportunity to prac…
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