..续本文上一页panno (those who practise the proper way).” One becomes a true disciple of the Buddha”s Buddism.
Having a focused awareness in all activities is to have sincere concern for oneself. It is paying attention to oneself, comprehending oneself, and it leads to the mindful wisdom of knowing oneself. You understand now what is meant by ”oneself,” what one”s responsibility is, and what is lacking or excessive in one”s behavior. We can then cut out what is excessive and increase what is lacking, so that all is balanced in just the right proportions: the Middle Way.
In the case of someone who has samadhi but their heart doesn”t proceed to analyze or investigate, the Krooba Ajahns of our tradition have a method for waking up the heart, for stimulating the arising of wisdom (panna): contemplation of the body (kayagatasati). As we chant, "This which is my body, from the soles of the feet up, and down from the crown of the head, entirely wrapped with a layer of skin, is a collection of unattractive things." Then continue on to analyze the body in terms of its component parts.
There are two ways you can go about this. The first is to contemplate one by one each of the traditional 32 parts of the body, beginning with the hair on one”s head. The other is to focus one”s attention in the chest area and mentally peal off the body”s skin. Then peal off the muscles and flesh. Next, bring up the perception of one”s bones. Repeat the process, backwards and forwards, over and over, until the heart is convinced that there are bones in there. Then focus and hold the attention on the mantra ”bone, bone, bone” (”atthi, atthi, atthi”) until the heart settles down into the peace of samadhi.
A mental image (nimitta) of a skeleton will then arise in the chest area, or all the bones in one”s body will become visible (with the mind”s eye.) We call this ”bone contemplation.” Once you”re able to see your skeleton, stabilize the image by keeping your attention on it. Do it often. If the skeleton is still and stable, without change, this is called gaining the uggaha nimitta. From this point shrink the skeletal image or enlarge it. Crush it down into powder until it mixes with and disappears into the dirt. This stage of the meditation is referred to as the arising of the patibhaga nimitta.
When this image of a skeleton is still, stable and without change, this is samatha meditation. When the skeleton is manipulated, broken down, crushed into powder and disintegrates, the heart has then entered the realm of vipassana. If we cannot develop the levels of samadhi I”ve previously mentioned, how will we ever be able to practice vipassana
The wise one, the mindful meditator, is clearly aware of each state of happiness (sukha) or unhappiness (dukkha) as it arises, and wisdom understands both as the Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha). This was the Truth unveiled by the Buddha that led to his Enlightenment. A heart with mindfulness, clear comprehension, wisdom and awareness knows that there”s nothing but dukkha that arises, nothing but dukkha that ceases. Only dukkha arises. Only dukkha ceases. In the end we know in our hearts that whatever is of the nature to arise is of the nature to pass away..., just like Anna Kondanna while listening to the Buddha expound the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, when his eyes opened and he saw the Dhamma: ”All that arises is subject to passing away.” Knowing and seeing this means understanding Dhamma on a refined level: one attains sotapanna, the first level of Enlightenment in Buddism. I”ve said enough for now.
《Samadhi Meditation》全文阅读结束。