..续本文上一页d together, liking or disliking what you see, losing your bearings, lacking the mindfulness and alertness that form the present.
Another instance of Wrong Concentration is when — after you”ve begun practicing to the point where you”ve attained threshold (upacara) concentration — you then stare down on the present, focusing, say, on the properties of breath, fire or earth, forbidding the mind to think; staring down, getting into a trance until the property becomes more and more refined, the mind becomes more and more refined; using force to suppress the mind until awareness becomes so dim that you lose mindfulness and alertness and all sense of the body and mind: Everything is absolutely snuffed out and still, with no self-awareness. This is called the plane of non-perception (asaññi-bhava), where you have no perception of anything at all. Your awareness isn”t well-rounded, your mindfulness lacks circumspection, and as a result discernment has no chance to arise. This is called Wrong Concentration, Wrong Release, a mental blank — no awareness of past, present or future.
Another instance of Wrong Concentration is when we can give rise to momentary concentration, threshold concentration, all the way to the four levels of jhana, but aren”t adept at entering and leaving these levels, so that we focus in until only the property of consciousness is left, with no sense of the body: This is called arupa jhana. Bodily processes disappear, leaving only the four types of mental acts, which form the four levels of arupa jhana [see The Craft of the Heart], the first being when we focus on a feeling of space or emptiness. The mind attains such a relaxed sense of pleasure that we may take it to be a transcendent state or nibbana, and so we search no further, becoming idle and lazy, making no further effort because we assume that we”ve finished our task.
In short, we simply think, or focus, without having any finesse in what we”re doing — entering, leaving, or staying in place — and as a result our concentration becomes wrong.
B. Right Concentration: This starts with threshold concentration, which acts as the basis for the four levels of jhana, beginning with the first: vitakka, thinking of whichever aspect of the body you choose to take as your object, such as the four physical properties, starting with the in-and-out breath. And then vicara: adjusting, expanding, letting the breath sensations flow throughout the body and at the same time evaluating the results you obtain. For instance, if the body feels uncomfortable or constricted, adjust the breath until it feels right throughout the body. The mind then sticks to its single object: This is termed ekaggata. When mindfulness enters into the body, keeping the breath in mind, and alertness is present in full measure, keeping track of the causes that produce results congenial to body and mind, then your sense of the body will benefit. Bathed with mindfulness and alertness, it feels light, malleable and full — saturated with the power of mindfulness and alertness. The mind also feels full: This is termed piti. When both body and mind are full, they grow quiet, like a child who, having eaten his fill, rests quiet and content. This is the cause of pleasure on the level of the Dhamma, termed sukha. These factors, taken together, form one stage of Right Concentration.
As you continue practicing for a length of time, the sense of fullness and pleasure in the body becomes greater. Ekaggata — interest and absorption in your one object — becomes more intense because you have seen the results it produces. The mind becomes steady and determined, focused with full mindfulness and alertness, thoroughly aware of both body and mind, and thus you can let go of your thinking and evaluating, and e…
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