..续本文上一页What is nature

　　" To this I answer, "it is our body and mind."

　　The samadhi of the Buddha is the samadhi which notes what is going on in everyday life. This is more important than sitting in formal practice. The teaching of samadhi which must be taught is the samadhi that is concerned with the things which are closest to us. You don”t need to know about or be interested in the things which people boast about. You need to know thoroughly your own body and mind. As for the body, you need to know the coarse nature of the body as it must always be in a state of constant change and movement, be it standing, walking, sitting, lying down, eating, drinking, doing, talking and thinking.

　　This is the way of body and mind.

　　2 Samadhi - What is it for

　　An important problem with the practice of samadhi is the confusion people have about the fundamental principles.

　　One kind of samadhi is the samadhi we practise in order to attain a still, peaceful mind.

　　A second kind of samadhi is the samadhi we practise in order to develop mindfulness and clear comprehension, so that we are aware of whatever is going on in each and every moment.

　　Some kinds of samadhi are of the kind which we practise in order to attain special realizations. For instance, we may practise to see extraordinary things like insights into the past and into the future. By insights into the past I mean recollection of past lives. By insight into the future I mean insight into one”s future destination. This is the kind of practice aimed at special insights.

　　Now if we really contemplate these matters with integrity we will see that the past is already gone, and the future has not yet arrived. Therefore should we not be more interested in the present moment

　　Some teachers teach that meditation will enable you to see this and that, but these special effects are useless. You must come to see your own mind.

　　Don”t get caught up in the concept that in practising samadhi you will see the hell realms or the heaven realms or all sorts of miraculous things. The things you see in this practice are not different from the images in your dreams. What we must really come to know is our own body and mind.

　　3 The universal principle for practising samadhi

　　In practising meditation for the development of samadhi, mindfulness and wisdom, there is a principle which meditators should adhere to: train the mind to sustain awareness on a meditation object, train mindfulness to have an object of recollection. Whatever the mind experiences, let mindfulness register it at that moment.

　　Standing, walking, sitting or lying down, eating, drinking, doing, talking and thinking ... let mindfulness be aware at all times. No matter what anybody should do, just have mindfulness. When you are going to sleep, let the mind think as it will, but follow the thoughts with awareness until you drop off to sleep. This is a universal principle for practising samadhi.

　　If anyone asks how to practise meditation, the answer is quite easy. Practising meditation is to give the mind an object of awareness, to give mindfulness an object of recollection. This comes down to whenever your mind thinks of anything, let there be mindfulness at all times, no matter what arises in any mind moment.

　　If you practise in this way, you will feel as if you are practising meditation continuously.

　　4 Samadhi is not just sitting with the eyes closed

　　If we regard samadhi, as the state of concentration which can only arise when we are sitting with our eyes closed we are still clinging to the common perception of samadhi. But we should know that the state of samadhi is a quality of mindfulness and awareness at all times, no matter whether we are standing, walking, sitting, lying down, eating, drinking, doing, talking or thinking. That is, the matters …

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