..续本文上一页 we must do away with wrong thinking, leaving only Right View. We must get rid of confusion, leaving only peace. Either way we end up at the same place. There are these two sides to practice, but these two things, calm and insight, go together. We can”t do away with either of them. They must go together.
That which "looks over" the various factors which arise in meditation is ”sati”, mindfulness. This sati is a condition which, through practice, can help other factors to arise. Sati is life. Whenever we don”t have sati, when we are heedless, it”s as if we are dead. If we have no sati, then our speech and actions have no meaning. This sati is simply recollection. It”s a cause for the arising of self-awareness and wisdom. Whatever virtues we have cultivated are imperfect if lacking in sati. Sati is that which watches over us while standing, walking, sitting and lying. Even when we are no longer in samadhi, sati should be present throughout.
Whatever we do we take care. A sense of shame 4 will arise. We will feel ashamed about the things we do which aren”t correct. As shame increases, our collectedness will increase as well. When collectedness increases, heedlessness will disappear. Even if we don”t sit in meditation, these factors will be present in the mind.
And this arises because of cultivating sati. Develop sati! This is the dhamma which looks over the work we are doing or have done in the past. It has usefulness. We should know ourselves at all times. If we know ourselves like this, right will distinguish itself from wrong, the path will become clear, and cause for all shame will dissolve. Wisdom will arise.
We can bring the practice all together as morality, concentration and wisdom. To be collected, to be controlled, this is morality. The firm establishing of the mind within that control is concentration. Complete, overall knowledge within the activity in which we are engaged is wisdom. The practice in brief is just morality, concentration and wisdom, or in other words, the path. There is no other way.
"...With right samadhi, no matter what level of calm is reached, there is awareness. There is full mindfulness and clear comprehension. This is the samadhi which can give rise to wisdom, one cannot get lost in it. Practitioners should understand this well..."
The Path in Harmony
Today I would like to ask you all. "Are you sure yet, are you certain in your meditation practice
" I ask because these days there are many people teaching meditation, both monks and laypeople, and I”m afraid you may be subject to wavering and doubt. If we understand clearly, we will be able to make the mind peaceful and firm.
You should understand "the Eightfold Path" as morality, concentration and wisdom. The path comes together as simply this. Our practice is to make this path arise within us.
When sitting meditation we are told to close the eyes, not to look at anything else, because now we are going to look directly at the mind. When we close our eyes, our attention comes inwards. We establish our attention on the breath, center our feelings there, put our mindfulness there. When the factors of the path are in harmony we will be able to see the breath, the feelings, the mind and its mood for what they are. Here we will see the "focus point," where samadhi and the other factors of the Path converge in harmony.
When we are sitting in meditation, following the breath, think to yourself that now you are sitting alone. There is no-one sitting around you, there is nothing at all. Develop this feeling that you are sitting alone until the mind lets go of all externals, concentrating solely on the breath. If you are thinking, "This person is sitting over here, that person is sitting over there," there is no peace, the mind doesn”t come inwards. …
《A Taste of Freedom》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…