a study of the “dynamic meditation”

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A STUDY OF THE DYNAMIC MEDITATIONPRACTICE OF

LUANGPOR TEEAN JITTASUBHO.

By

Mrs. Venica Pookgaman

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment ofThe Requirement for the Degree of

Master of Arts

(Buddhist Studies)

International Master of Arts Degree ProgrammeGraduate School

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya UniversityBangkok, Thailand

2550 BE

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A STUDY OF THE DYNAMIC MEDITATIONPRACTICE OF

LUANGPOR TEEAN JITTASUBHO.

By


A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of

The Requirement for the Degree ofMaster of Arts

(Buddhist Studies)

International Master of Arts Degree ProgrammeGraduate School

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya UniversityBangkok, Thailand

2550 BE

(Copyright, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University)

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The Graduate School of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya

University has approved this thesis, A Study of the Dynamic

Meditation Practice of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho, as fulfilling thethesis requirement of the Master of Arts Buddhist Studies curriculum.

............................................................

(Phra Srisitthimuni)

Dean of the Graduate School

Thesis Examination Committee:

............................................................(Phra Methiratanadilok)

Chairperson

............................................................

(Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phra Sudhivorayan)

Member

............................................................

(Asst. Prof. Dr. Phra Suthithammanuwat)

Member

............................................................

(Asst. Prof. Boon Ketutassa)

Member

............................................................

(Asst. Prof. Tavivat Puntarigvivat, Ph.D.)

Member

Thesis Supervisory Committee:

............................................................

(Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phra Sudhivorayan)

Chairperson

............................................................

(Asst. Prof. Dr. Phra Suthithammanuwat)

Member

............................................................(Asst. Prof. Boon Ketutassa)

Member

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Thesis Title: A Study of the Dynamic Meditation

Practice of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho

Researcher: Mrs. Venica Pookgaman

Degree: Master of Arts (Buddhist Studies)

Thesis Supervisory

Committee:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phra Sudhivorayan,

Pali VIII, Ph.D. (Buddhist Studies)

Asst. Prof. Dr. Phra Suthithammanuwat,

Pali IX, M.A., Ph.D. (Pali)Asst. Prof. Boon Ketutassa, M.A.

Date of Graduation: 3 December 2550 BE

Abstract

The present thesis is a study of the meditation technique known

as Dynamic Meditation. Originated by Luangpor Teean Jittasubho

when he was a layperson, the technique is a unique vipassan practice

involving rhythmic hand and arm movements without accompanying

recitations. Unable to read or write Thai and without formal knowledge of

the Buddhist Canon or the Pali language, Luangpor Teean, born Phan

Inthaphieu, achieved the end of suffering with the technique then

instructed others. The technique has spread throughout Thailand and

abroad. Twenty years after his death, the technique continues to be

practiced by many throughout the world. Luangpor Teean maintained that

his technique was in accordance with the Satipahnasutta and dared to

guarantee results for those who practice rightly and continuously.

Everyone, he proclaimed has the innate capability to achieve Nibbna and

Dynamic Meditation is a shortcut.

This study is an analytical study of Dynamic Meditation

elucidating and making explicit the concepts, theory, and practice of

Luangpor Teeans teachings, and the results of following his instructions.

The hope is to answer the question: to what extent is Luangpor Teeans

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teaching and technique consistent with the teaching of the Buddha, and in

particular with satipahna meditation as described in the Nikyas?

Satipahna meditation is taken to be the fundamental meditationinstruction for going beyond dukkha. That, in turn requires that we

develop a good understanding of satipahna meditation, both in

method and purpose. I take the Mahsatipahnasutta as the decisive

text in developing that understanding. A second, related question is: to

what extent can Luangpor Teeans teachings be situated within the

Theravda tradition, and to what extent to those teachings diverge? In

other words: are these teachings orthodox?

It was found in the research that Dynamic Meditation isconsistent with satipahnameditation and, indeed, can be considered a

variation of that type of meditation, including the four foundations of

mindfulness: the contemplation of the body, of feeling, of mind, and of

dhammas. That conclusion holds in spite of the fact that the deliberate

hand and arm movements at the stage of contemplation of the body seems

to be an innovation not found in the Sutta exposition, and the fact that it is

not always obvious how the progress of Dynamic Meditation correlates

with the four foundations, for example, when contemplation of mind ends

and contemplation ofdhammas

begins. A detailed examination revealsthe correlations and finds that the hand and arm movements are entirely

within the spirit of the Sutta. The movements accelerate the process of

developing and strengthening mindfulness and full comprehension,leading quickly to achievement of sla, samdhi, andpa. Moreover,

reports of results of the practice, from both published reports andinterviews, indicate that practitioners experience reductions of

defilements (kilesas) and increased happiness, while those who pursue the

highest goal, practicing properly and continuously come to see Dhammain due order.

Articulating and evaluating Luangpors teachings vis--vistraditional Theravda doctrine is more difficult, as Luangpor concentrated

on teaching practice rather than theory, and in that lacking a classical

education, he taught from experience without a formal doctrinalframework within which to express that experience. Nevertheless, when

allowances are made for the unusual ways in which Luangpor sometimes

used technical Pali terms, and when the pedagogical intent of his

statements are recognized, he is found to have been remarkably well

within the doctrinal tradition as well. Indeed, his innovative teachingsmay be more a revivification of Theravda Buddhism, and Buddhism in

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general, than a departure from it. His teachings bring this ancient tradition

vibrantly to the modern world. A crucial finding here is that Luangpor

must be read as a meditation instructor giving oral teachings face-to-face,not as a scholar writing doctrinal treatises.

Through the course of the research, it appeared that Luangpors

teachings could contribute to a renewed and better understanding of

traditional practice and doctrine, and I recommend further research in that

direction. The linguistic problems with which I wrestled, both in terms of

Luangpors unusual usage of Pali and in terms of expressing his ideas in

English move me urgently to recommend extensive linguistic research

involving those who knew Luangpor personally. Inasmuch as Luangporsteachings were direct oral instructions to meditators, I recommend

publishing his teachings in a format that most closely approximates that

situation. Finally, I recommend introducing Dynamic Meditation to

schools and the workplace. That would be of benefit to both the

individuals and to the institution, inasmuch as Dynamic Meditation

enhances the performance of the meditators.

In conclusion, Dynamic Meditation is found to be a variety ofsatipahna

practice and should be considered, not an alternative ormodified practice, but a sub-set of the methodology of the Sutta.

Dynamic Meditation is a valuable and effective meditation technique

capable of leading quickly to reduction in suffering and even to fullenlightenment.

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Acknowledgements

This thesis has been completed with the kind support of everymember of my supervisory committee. I am profoundly grateful to Assoc.

Prof. Dr. Phra Sudhivorayan, Chairman as well as to Committee

Members Asst. Prof. Dr. Phra Suthithammanuwat and Asst. Prof. BoonKetutassa. Their guidance, ideas, and comments have been essential to

the production of this thesis. They introduced me to important texts that I

would not otherwise have found and their corrections to the thesis itself

were most helpful and welcome. It was their continual encouragementthroughout the process of researching and writing the thesis that

motivated me to bring it to completion.

I should also like to express deep gratitude to Phramaha Somjin

Sammpao, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, as well as to Phra

Srisitthimuni, Dean of the Graduate School, for his concern and guidance.

I offer my gratitude also to Phrakhru Baidika Sanan Dayarakkho for his

support in lending texts for study and research.

I would like to express my gratitude to Stephen Evans for his

guidance in academic writing, useful comments, and editing in spite of

his heavy workload. I am grateful to all the lecturers of the International

Programme at Mahachulalongkornrajavidayalaya University for sharing

their knowledge of Buddhist Studies with me and the other students. My

thanks go also to Programme Secretaries Khun Sudarat Bantaokul and

Mae Chee Amphai Tansomboon for their encouragement and advice on

the procedures of producing the thesis. Sincere thanks also extended to

my classmates, especially Khun Warrin Rattanamalai and Khun

Phassarabha Phaisarnariyasub for their unfailing encouragement and for

their advice in handling texts and data.

I extend my profound gratitude to Phra Achan Khamkhian

Suvao, Abbot, Wat Phukhaothong, Chaiyabhum and to Phra Achan

Khammai hittaslo, Head Meditation Master, Samnak Thab Ming

Khwan, Loei, who generously gave of their time for interviews and

assisted me in locating texts and accessing information in electronic

storage. They provided many useful insights into Dynamic Meditation

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Practice. I thank Phra Achan Khammai particularly for his support during

meditation retreats both at Samnak Thab Ming Khwan.

Many thanks also to the monks and laypersons of Wat Sanam

Nai for their kindness in providing texts and for providing for my

physical needs during my retreat there.

I am profoundly grateful to Phra Achan Charles Nirodho, a close

disciple of Luangpor Teean, for his kindness, in spite of illness, in taking

time to explain many facets of Dynamic Meditation and recounting

experiences of Luangpor Teean. His explanations made important

contributions to my understanding and to the thesis. My apologies to himfor not including his interview in the body of the text as the recording

device failed to function properly. I am grateful to Dr. Vatana

Supromajakr, General Surgery, Bumrungrad Hospital, for giving his

precious time for an interview and providing much information about

Luangpor Teean.

Finally, I would like to thank my mother, my husband and my

daughter for their patience and encouragement, and for giving me the

opportunity of completing my studies.

Any merit in the present thesis is due to the assistance, advice,

and wisdom of my many mentors. However I am solely responsible formistakes, misunderstandings, omissions, and other failings of the work.

I humbly offer whatever merit that may have accrued to me from

the past to the present for the benefit of the Triple Gem, Luangpor Teean

Jittasubho, all of my Dhamma and Meditation Teachers, my father, mymother, and all who have assisted in the production of this thesis.


17 April 2007/2550 BE

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Abbreviations

Canonical sourcesA AguttaranikyaD DghanikyaM MajjhimanikyaS SayuttanikyaSv Sumagalavilsin (Dghanikya Commentary)

Sn SuttaniptaUd UdnaVibh VibhagaVin VinayaVism Visuddhimagga

Other abbreviations

PTS Pali Text Society

PED Pali-English Dictionary, Rhys Davids and Stede, PTS

References to Pali sources are to the volume and page number of

the PTS edition.

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Table of Contents

PageApproval Page i

Abstract ii

Acknowledgements v

Abbreviations vii

Chapter I: Introduction 1

1.1 Background and Significance of the Problem 1

1.2 Objectives of the Research 5

1.3 Research Questions and Problems 5

1.4 Definitions of the Terms Used in this Thesis 5

1.5 Review of Literature and Relevant Research 6

1.6 Methodology 81.7 Advantages Expected from the Research 9

Chapter II: Meditation in Theravda Buddhism: Theory and

Practice 10

2.1 Buddhist Meditation 10

2.1.1 Meditation as Cultivation 11

2.1.2 Two Types of Meditation: Samathaand

Vipassan 13

2.1.2.1 SamathaMeditation 13

2.1.2.1.1 Levels of Concentration 14

2.1.2.2 VipassanMeditation 16

2.2 Doctrinal-Theoretical Framework 17

2.2.1 The Four Noble Truths 18

2.2.2 Mind: the Driving Force ofDukkhaand of

Rebirth 19

2.2.3 The Noble Eightfold Path 22

2.3 Satipahna(The Foundations of Mindfulness) 24

2.3.1 One Path 26

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2.3.2 Sati 28

2.3.3 Sampajaaand tpa 29

2.3.4 Rising and VanishingJust to the Extent 302.3.5 The Method of the Four Foundations of

Mindfulness 30

2.3.5.1 Contemplation of the Body

(Kynupassan) 30

2.3.5.1.1 Major and Minor

Postures/Movements 31

2.3.5.2 Contemplation of Feeling

(Vedannupassan) 33

2.3.5.3 Contemplation of Mind(Cittnupassan) 34

2.3.5.4 Contemplation ofDhammas

(Dhammnupassan) 34

2.3.6 Summary 36

2.4 Results and Benefits 37

Chapter III: The Dynamic Meditation of Luangpor Teean

Jittasubho 413.1 Background 41

3.1.1 Sources 43

3.1.2 Possible Sources of Dynamic Meditation 443.2 Theory 45

3.2.1 Epistemology and Metaphysics 45

3.2.2 Broad Framework 463.3 Practice 49

3.3.1 The Initial Stage 51

3.3.1.1 Bodily Movement 51

3.3.1.2 Rpa-Nma 533.3.2 Destroying Unawareness: the First Jhna 55

3.3.3 Destroying Clinging and Grasping:the Second Jhna 58

3.3.4 Being Ordinary: the Third Jhna 59

3.3.5 Completion and Truth: beyond PuaandPpa: the Fourth Jhna 60

3.4 Discussion 61

3.4.1 The Ordinary 61

3.4.2 The Existence of the Defilements,Avijj, andthe Mind 62

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3.4.3 Sati, Sampajaa, and tpa 64

3.5 Results and Benefits 64

3.5.1 Published Reports 643.5.2 Interviews 67

3.5.2.1 Phra Achan Khamkhian Suvao 68

3.5.2.2 Phra Achan Khammai hittaslo 69

3.5.2.3 Dr. Vatana Sopromajakr 71

3.5.3 Summary 76

Chapter IV: A Review of Luangpor Teean Jittasubhos Dynamic

Meditation in Light of the Satipahnasutta 774.1 Method and Technique 77

4.1.1 Rising and VanishingJust to the Extent 79

4.1.2 The Body in the Body 79

4.2 The Stages and the Four Foundations 80

4.2.1 Contemplation of the Body (Kynupassan) 80

4.2.2 Contemplation of Feeling (Vedannupassan) 82

4.2.3 Contemplation of Mind (Cittnupassan) 83

4.2.4 Contemplation ofDhammas

(Dhammnupassan

) 844.3 Stages of Enlightenment 84

4.4 Samathaversus Vipassan 86

4.5 Concept, Theory, and Practice 874.5.1 Rpa andNma 87

4.5.2 Dukkha-Anicca-Anatt 89

4.5.3 The Existence of Defilements, Thoughts, and

Avijj 89

4.5.4 The Objectivity of Thoughts and other MentalPhenomena 91

4.6 Results 934.6.1 Promised Results 934.6.2 The Attainment of Vipassan 96

Chapter V: Conclusions and Recommendations 99

5.1 Conclusions 99

5.1.1 The Technique 99

5.1.2 The Doctrinal Content of the Teachings 100

5.2 Recommendations for Further Research 1015.2.1 The Role of Samatha 102

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5.2.2 The Stages of Dynamic Meditation 102

5.2.2.1 TheJhnas 102

5.2.2.2 The Sayojanas 1035.2.3 Interpreting the Satipahnasutta 103

5.2.4 Terminology 104

5.2.5 Translation 104

5.2.6 Published Presentation of Luangpors

Teachings 105

5.2.7 Results of Dynamic Meditation 105

Bibliography 107Appendix A: Dynamic Meditation Positions 113

Appendix B: Biography of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho 128

Biography of Researcher 134

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Chapter IIntroduction

1.1 Background and Significance of the Problem

The researcher has noticed that people practice Buddhist

meditation for two reasons. Firstly, they want to follow the Buddhasteaching, which aims for the end of suffering. Secondly, they want to

develop their minds in such a way as to gain happiness in daily life. TheBuddha offers a great variety of methods of meditation suited to a variety

of individual needs, temperaments and capacities. These methods may be

classified, according to Nyanaponika Thera,1 into two categories: the

cultivation of tranquillity, samathabhvanand the cultivation of insight,

vipassanbhvan.

Samathabhvan aims at the full concentration of mind attained

in the meditative absorptions,jhna. Samathabhvanamay be helpful in

the pursuit of the end of suffering, but alone it cannot lead to the highest

goal, liberation.2However, people who practice this kind of meditation

gain the benefits of tranquillity and happiness in their lives.

Vipassanbhvanaims at the intuitive light revealing the truth

of the three characteristics of all corporeal and mental phenomena. That is

insight wisdom (vipassanpa) the decisive liberating factor in

Buddhism. The cumulative results of Vipassanbhvanlead directly the

highest goal, liberation.3

The Buddhist Nikyas most frequently describe samatha and

vipassan meditation as a combined practice. However, a method of

meditation leading directly to liberation, apparently without attainment of

thejhnas, is described in the Satipahnasutta.The importance of the

1Nyanaponika Thera,The Heart of Buddhist Meditation,(ChannelIslands: Guernsey Press, 1987), p. 102.

2Ibid.3Ibid.

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2

satipahna (foundations of mindfulness) method is suggested by the

inclusion of the Satipahnasutta in nearly identical form in two

Nikyas.4

The introductory words of the two Suttas, stating the highpurpose, claim that this method makes for overcoming of sorrow and

misery for the destruction of pain and grief. It may be said that the

satipahna method is the fundamental method for cultivating insight

leading to the highest goal. However, along the path of practice, and short

of that goal, one may also decrease suffering and gain happiness in daily

life. In the method, there are four foundations, or categories of

contemplation: contemplation of the body, of feelings, of the mind, and ofdhammas(fundamental phenomena).

In Thailand, most Theravda Buddhist meditation schools

employ these four satipahnas in their method. Most of them begin

with mindfulness of the body. At least three leading meditation schools

represent this teaching: the school of Suan Mokkha Balarama, the

Vipassana Centre of Wat Mahadhatu, and Wat Nong Pah Pong.

Apart from these, there are a number of meditation schools that

employ alternative methods within the frame of Buddhism. These include

the school of Achan Porn Rattanasuwan, Achan Dr. Siri Karinchai, andAchan Naeb Mahanirananda. The school of Luangpor Teean may be

considered one of the alternative schools. It nevertheless bears strongresemblances to the satipahna method, and is well accepted as an

effective form of Buddhist meditation.

Luangpor Teean Jittasubho5was recognized as one of the great

meditation masters in the year 2500 BE. His meditation technique, now

known as Dynamic Meditation, is unique among various schools ofcontemporary Thai Buddhism in that it utilises continual rhythmic bodily

movement as a way to cultivate mindfulness. When mindfulness isstrong, it can destroy the thought processes that are defiled by the kilesas,

4M I 55-63; D I 290-315.5I follow here the most common Romanization of his name. Jittasubho is

a non-standard Romanization of the Thai spelling of the Pali cittasubho(brilliant

mind). The standard Romanization from Thai of his title and name would be Luang

Pho Thian Chittasupho, following the Royal Thai General System of Transcription

(available at www.royal.go.th/upload/246/FileUpload/416_2157.pdf). Many different

Romanizations are to be found in the literature.

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3

lobha, dosa, and moha, which are the causes of human suffering.6

According to Luangpor Teean, observing the precepts and practicing

samatha cannot bring the end of suffering. The only way to overcomesuffering is by cultivating awareness and insight. Luangpor Teean talked

about developing insight as follows:

Developing the Awareness or Insight is different from practicing

concentration, because the method of practice is different from the

beginning till the end. You dont close your eyes for developing the

awareness; you have to know, to feel the movement of the body and

also have to see thought when it arrives. When the body moves, you

have to know/to feel the movement continuously; when the thoughtarrives, you have to know it/to see it every time. This is the meaning

of awareness of body and mind.

Developing the awareness does not resist any thought, but

on the contrary, the mind is wide opened to face everything bravely.

Thought is free to arise, but you always have to know it/to see it and

to understand it with mindfulness. Thoughts will become shorter

and shorter, and you will come to the end of suffering. Developing

the awareness of body and mind continuously, you will have theliberation knowledge. Because you clearly see, clearly know and

really know. Its the knowledge that comes from a clean,

illuminated and calm mind. This kind of knowledge, it knows byitself, it does not have to think or contemplate. People who know

and understand Dhamma (The Truth) by own liberating knowledge(pa) will know and understand step by step the same Truth.7

The meditation method of Luangpor Teean is easy to practice,and limited neither by place nor by time. It can be practiced in daily life.

At home one can practice his 15-step method in a sitting position. Whenone is sitting in a public area one can practice by turning the palm up anddown or by running the thumb over the finger tips. Whenever or

wherever one sits, eats, drinks, stands, walks or lies down, one can

practice. Luangpor said:

6Tavivat Puntarigvivat, Luangpor Teean: The Dynamic Practice of a Thai

Meditation Master, in Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of SoutheastAsian Studies,Vol. 7, Number 1, 1992, p. 79.

7Luangpor Teean Jittasubho, Concentration-Insight, tr. by AnchaleeThaiyanond, (Bangkok: Thammasat University Press, 2532 BE), pp. 20-22.

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Do it as nothing special, do it without hurry, without doubt, without

speculation, do it without expectation of result. Be simple, and just

move, one moment at a time, and know. When you dont know, letit pass; when you know, let it pass. Sometimes you know,

sometimes you dont know: so it goesbut know. When the body

moves, know it. When the mind moves, know it. This practice is

twenty-four-hours-a-day practice, so relax and just be natural, just

be normal8

Luangpor Teeans determination to reach the end of suffering

was indicated by his years of practice, trying many different methods

with many different masters. Finally, he left home, informing his wifethat he would not return until he had found the way. In time he

discovered his own method, Dynamic Meditation. Luangpor Teean

claimed that he achieved the end of suffering through this practice and he

dared to guarantee the same result to anybody who practiced his method

properly and continuously. He said:

If you practice continuously and seriously as I have taught, in at

most 3 years, suffering will end. It may take one year. It may take

only one to ninety days. The result is that suffering will decrease or

cannot disturb you any more.9

Luangpor taught Dhamma and meditation practice from his own

actual experience. Dynamic Meditation was a new technique in 2500 BE.

Dynamic Meditation centres teaching this unique method, with the ease

and effectiveness of practice, were established in many parts of Thailand

and abroad. Though Luangpor passed away 16 years ago, those schools,

both inside and outside the country, are still functioning and staffed by

his followers. Given this background, the researcher has embarked on a

study of the details of Dynamic Meditation including the principles,methods and techniques of practice, how it was brought into practice,

how this method leads to the end of suffering, to what extent Dynamic

Meditation is consistent with the method put forth in theSatipahnasutta, and what the results of this practice are in terms of

the highest goal and of decreasing suffering in everyday life.

8Luangpor Teean Jittasubho, To One That Feels: The Teaching of

Luangpor Teean Jittasubho,tr. ed. by Tavivat Puntarigvivat and Bhikkhu Nirodho(Kuala Lumpur: W. A. V. E. reprints, 2000/2543 BE), p. 48.

9Luangpor Teean Jittasubho,Manual of Self Awareness,tr. Unknown,(Bangkok: Luangpor Teean Jittasubho Foundation, 1994), p. 11.

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This topic has not been studied before. The researcher expects

that one outcome of this research will be accurate information for thoseseeking a method of ending or decreasing suffering, whether their goals

are mundane or supramundane.

1.2 Objectives of the Research

1.2.1 To study meditation in Theravda Buddhism, especially

as presented in the Satipahnasutta.

1.2.2 To conduct a study of Dynamic Meditation practice and

its results and benefits for Luangpor Teean and his followers.1.2.3 To conduct a study of Dynamic Meditation in light of

the methods of the Satipahnasuttaand the Noble Eightfold Path.

1.3 Research Questions and Problems

1.3.1 What is Buddhist meditation and what is its purpose?1.3.2 What is the meaning of mindfulness meditation and

what is its significance in achieving the Buddhist highest goal?

1.3.3 What are the, theories, methods and results ofmindfulness meditation practice as described in the Satipahnasutta?

1.3.4 What is Dynamic Meditation as taught by Luangpor

Teean Jittasubho? What are its concepts, theories, methods, andtechniques? How is it brought into practice?

1.3.5 What significant results and benefits have Luangpor

Teean and his followers received from practicing Dynamic Meditation?

1.3.6 Is Dynamic Meditation consistent with the Eightfold

Path and the Satipahnasutta in concept, theory, method, and

technique of practice?

1.4 Definitions of the Terms Used in this Thesis

Dynamic Meditation:The meditation method taught by Luangpor Teean Jittasubho.

The method is characterised by rhythmic bodily movements as a meansof cultivating self-awareness, leading thereby to insight and wisdom. See

Chapter III.

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6

Samatha/Tranquillity Meditation:Meditation methods that conduce to states in which

consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a singleobject, undistracted and unscattered. Samatha aims at the full

concentration of mind attained in the meditative absorptions (jhnas).

Vipassan/Insight Meditation:Methods conducing to the intuition of the truth of the

impermanency, suffering, and impersonal and unsubstantial nature of all

corporeal and mental phenomena, that is, to the insight and wisdom that

is the decisive liberating factor of Buddhism. Vipassan practice leads

directly to enlightenment.

1.5 Review of Literature and Relevant ResearchThere has been no completed research work on this topic. The

following provide material resources for the present study.

1.5.1 Variya Chinnavanno et al, Samadhi as appears in theTipitaka.

10

Chinnavanno et al found that there are several methods ofmeditation taught and practiced in Thailand. They classified these into

five categories: (1) npnasati consisting of reciting Bud-dho in

coordination with inhalation and exhalation. This is a traditional method

and appears among the teachings of Achan Mun, Luangpor Cha and

Buddhadsa Bhikkhu. (2) Dutaga Kammahna is also based onnpnasati and is typically practiced by wandering monks of the

Northeast region. (3) The School of Wat Mahadhatu received its method

from the Burmese. This is a method of cultivating the mind through

awareness of the rising and falling of the abdomen when breathing in and

breathing out. This method has been spread through the line of

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and is considered one of the

major methods practiced in Thailand. (4) The School of the

Dhammakaya, following Luangpor Sod of Wat Paknambhasijaroen. This

method includes concentration on a crystal image appearing about the

centre of the body. (5) Alternative methods. These are methods that are

10Variya Chinnavanno et al, Samadhi as appears in the Tipitaka: The

Development on Hermeneutic of the Teaching of Samadhi in TheravadaBuddhism in Thailand, (Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2543 BE),

pp. 83-84, p. 77.

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based on the Buddhas teachings, but which appeared to be modified in

different ways. Examples include the methods of Santi Asoke, of Achan

Porn Ratanasuwan, and of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho. In spite of thealternative or modified nature of these methods, the ultimate

objective of all of them is the elimination of kilesafrom ones mind. This

book describes Luangpor Teean as almost illiterate but exhibiting very

clear wisdom in responding to every question. His answers were simple,

deeply meaningful, precise and clearly understandable to his followers at

every level, and for this reason he was respected by all, whether from

Thailand or abroad. His teaching, according to this study, relied on his

own experience and the practice was effective. It was a short cut to the

realisation of Dhamma.

1.5.2 Phramaha Narong Cherdsungnoen, A Study of Sati

(Mindfulness) in Buddhism: Theory and Practice in Thai Tradition.11

Phramaha Narong Cherdsungnoen concluded that sati

(mindfulness) is necessary for all activities but that only right

mindfulness generates beneficial results. Satipahna, in his view, is the

main meditation method for both samatha and vipassan. Achieving the

highest goal requires that the practice be carried out with right effort,clear comprehension, and without covetousness and grief. Regarding

meditation practice in the Thai tradition, the thesis points out that

meditation practice and the application of sati to both samatha andvipassanmeditation is common among well known Theravda schools

in Thailand.

1.5.3 Phramaha Nibhon Mahadhammarakkhito, A Comparative

Study of Teaching on Meditation Practices Between Luangpor TianCittasubho and Buddhadsa Bhikkhu.12

Phramaha Nibhon has produced a comparative study of theprinciples and methods of the Tipiaka, of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho,

and of Buddhadsa Bhikkhu. The thesis found that Luangpor Teean

11Phramaha Narong Cherdsungnoen, A Study of Sati (Mindfulness) in

Buddhism: Theory and Practice in Thai Tradition, Doctoral Thesis, University of

Delhi, 1993.12Phramaha Nibhon Mahadhammarakkhito, A Comparative Study of

Teaching on Meditation Practices Between Luangpor Tian Cittasubho and

Buddhadsa Bhikkhu, Masters Thesis, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University,

2546 BE.

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Jittasubho taught that thoughts without awareness brought on suffering,

and that full self-awareness would cut off the chain of thoughts. In order

to eliminate suffering, he introduced a process of cultivating awarenessthrough Dynamic Meditation. Both Luangpor Teean Jittasubho and

Buddhadsa Bhikkhu maintained that the mind is fundamentally of pure

nature and only secondarily defiled by the kilesas. It is ones duty, they

taught, to clean the mind by practicing meditation, thus ridding it of

defilements. They held that awareness is the only important thing in the

meditation. Although Buddhadsa Bhikkhu employed npnasatias the

means to access the path, both of them pointed out that the benefit

received from practicing is useful for purifying the mind and reducing or

eliminating suffering in daily life.

1.5.4 Tavivat Puntarigvivat,Luangpor Teean: The Dynamic Practice

of a Thai Meditation Master.13

According to Tavivat Puntarigvivat, Luangpor Teeans teaching

and his way of cultivating awareness by rhythmic motion is a new

satipahnamethod. It is a new method not only for Thais, both monks

and laity, but also for Buddhism throughout the world. It is not connected

with any religion, with any tradition, or with the beliefs of any nation.Dynamic Meditation, he writes, is a direct way to cultivate awareness.

When the practice is done continuously, the trained awareness will

confront thoughts. Once thoughts are firmly seized by awareness, otherthoughts are incapable of presenting themselves. This will cut off the

stream of thoughts which are infected by the kilesas: desire, anger, and

delusion. When sammsati governs thoughts, genuine sla is present.Luangpor Teean repeats again and again that it is sla that protects the

person, not the person who protects sla. Whenever sati rules thethoughts, genuine samdhiandpaappear.

1.6 Methodology

This is a textual research by way of investigation and analysis as

follows:

1.6.1 Primary sources include the Pali Canon and

Commentaries, especially the Majjhimanikya, the Dghanikya, the

13Puntarigvivat, Luangpor Teean: The Dynamic Practice of a Thai

Meditation Master, pp. 69-89.

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commentary on the Satipahnasutta, and the Visuddhimagga. Both

Thai and English translations are consulted, as well as the Pali texts

themselves in consultation with available Pali scholars. Many ofLuangpor Teeans Dhamma talks and teachings were recorded,

transcribed and edited in book form. I have consulted these books, both in

Thai and in English translation; I have also utilized the audio and visual

recordings themselves.

1.6.2 Secondary sources: research works, books, journals,

articles in a variety of media, including print, electronic storage, and the

Internet are utilized. Further information was collected in interviews of

Dynamic Meditation practitioners and teachers, including some whoknew Luangpor Teean personally.

1.6.3 The Satipahnasuttais analysed and systematised in

order to construct a clear picture of the concepts, theories, methods,

techniques, results and benefits of satipahna meditation. Such

analysis and systematisation are performed with the Eightfold Path and

with Dynamic Meditation in such a way as to facilitate an analytical study

of Dynamic Meditation using the Sutta and the Noble Eightfold Path as

the standard.

1.6.4 Conclusions, identifying significant results and

suggestions for further study.

1.7 Advantages Expected from the Research

1.7.1 A better understanding of meditation in the Theravda

tradition, especially as described in the Satipahnasutta.

1.7.2 A better understanding of Dynamic Meditation and the

results and benefits of the meditation practice of Luangpor Teean and his

followers.

1.7.3 Understanding to what extent Dynamic Meditation isconsistent with the meditation described in the Satipahnasutta and

with the Eightfold Path.

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Chapter IIMeditation in Theravda Buddhism: Theory and Practice

Meditation is a central and essential feature of Theravda

Buddhism. In the present chapter, I discuss the doctrinal context and the

theory and practice of meditation, as presented in the Canon and itsaccepted traditional commentaries. I present a sketch of accepted doctrine

and of accepted practice as a standard for the analytical evaluation of the

teaching and practice of Luangpor Teean. Accordingly, I do not reviewthe entire field of either doctrine or practice, but only those portions most

relevant to the task at hand.

2.1 Buddhist Meditation

In the Nikyas, meditation is presented as a central component

in the pursuit of enlightenment, or the achievement of Nibbna. While it

may be that a few individuals are said to have achieved full

enlightenment without meditation (for example, Yasa et al1

), suchachievements are rare, and when the Buddha discourses on the path to

enlightenment, meditation is always included (for exampleSmaaphalasutta2). In any case, the primary purpose of meditation in

the Nikyas is the pursuit of Nibbna.

There are other benefits to be derived from meditation,

however, and thus other possible purposes for practising it, such as peace

of mind and enhanced self-control. Traditionally, the benefits of

meditation are classified as:

1. Benefits in the present lifetime (dihadhammikattha) that

include freedom from anxiety over worldly concerns, thereby leading

to social harmony.

1Vin I 14ff.2D I 47ff.

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2. Benefits in a future lifetime (samparyikattha) that include

spiritual advancement from lifetime to lifetime, as the mind is trained

and developed, gaining higher qualities.

3. The supramundane benefit (paramattha) of the attainment of

Nibbna, that is, the annihilation of suffering and consequent

attainment of perfect bliss. It is the end of the otherwise endless

repetition of birth and subsequent death.3

2.1.1 Meditation as Cultivation

In a Buddhist context, the Pali term, bhvan is generallytranslated as meditation. As a general term, bhvanmay, according to

the Pali-English Dictionary, be rendered into English as producing,

acquiring, mastering, developing, cultivating and the like. It is

nearly always used to refer to some form of mental cultivation, as, for

example in asubhya citta bhvehi4 (cultivate the mind via the

revolting5), or kusala citta bhveti (one cultivates a good mind

6).

Bhvan is often qualified by a term indicating the type of practice, for

example jhnabhvan, samdhibhvan, and mettbhvan (the

cultivation of absorption, concentration, and friendliness, respectively),each of these being clearly described as a form of mental cultivation.

Buddhaghosa derives bhveti from the root bh, to be or to

become, quoting the Canon to support his claim that bhveti indicates

producing (uppdana) and increasing (vahana).7Bhvan also refers

to mental activity that edifies the good in oneself.8Bhvan is a mental

activity that produces within oneself the essential quality or the reality of

the object of that activity. When one practises mettbhvan, for

example, the purpose is not simply to meditate upon friendliness, but to

make friendliness come into being and to grow increasingly strong so as

3Ven. Phra Tepvisuddhikavi, Mind Development, (Bangkok:

Mahamakuta Rajavidyalaya Foundation, 1999), p. 4.4Sn 341.5My translation. For the sake of consistency, unless otherwise stated, the

translations of Pali terms and short phrases are my own, made in consultation with

Stephen Evans.6Paravahera Vajiranana Mahathera, Buddhist Meditation in Theory and

Practice, (Colombo: M. D. Gunasena Co. Ltd., 1962), p. 26.7Ibid, p. 27.8Ibid.

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to eradicate enmity, malice, aversion, and so on from the mind, ultimately

to become friendly towards all beings.9Bhvan, then, produces mental

phenomena or states. In a word, bhvan is mental cultivation, inparticular the production and accumulation of good mental qualities

making one apt for enlightenment.

Walpola Rahula accordingly defines bhvanas:

mental culture in the full sense of the termcleansing the mind of

impurities and disturbancesand cultivating such qualities as

concentration, awarenessleading finally to the attainment of

highest wisdom which sees things as they are, and realizes theUltimate Truth Nirva.10

A word closely associated with bhvanin the commentaries is

kammahna, which might be translated as working ground and is

used to refer both to the subject of meditation and to the meditation

method. According to the entry in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism11

kammahna means meditation as mental and bodily discipline

associated with systematic methods of self-cultivation while the entry in

the Thai Buddhist Encyclopedia12

holds that kammahna is expedient

dhamma for purifying the mind of the nvaraa, or hindrances.Buddhaghosa, however, uses the term to refer to the classical list of forty

subjects of meditation.13

In the Abhidhammatthasagaha, the word

signifies both subjects and methods. Finally, P. A. Payutto, in hisDictionary of Buddhism,

14 defines the word as station for mental

exercise.

To summarize, Buddhist meditation is mental cultivation and

development, aiming beyond temporary tranquillity to the purification of

9Ibid.10Walpola Sri Rahula, What The Buddha Taught, (New York: Grove

Weidenfeld, 1987), p. 68.11Robert E. Buswell, Jr. (ed), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, (New York:

The Gale Group Inc., 2004).12HRH the Late Supreme Patriarch Prince Vajiraavarorasa, Thai

Buddhist Encylopedia, (Bangkok: Mahamakuta Rajavidyalaya Foundation,

1986/2529 BE).13Vism I 89.14P. A. Payutto, Dictionary of Buddhism, (Bangkok: Suetawan Co Ltd,

2002/2545 BE).

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the mind of defilements and negative influences, such as sensual desire,

hatred, envy, and ignorance. Meditation aims at perfecting such positive

qualities as faith, compassion, mindfulness and wisdom. Dhamma andNibbna can be realized through meditation, but it also yields fruit at the

level of ordinary daily life.

2.1.2 Two Types of Meditation: Samathaand Vipassan

There are many methods of meditation taught and practised in

Buddhism. Within the Theravda tradition, it is customary to classify

these under the broad headings of samatha, or tranquillity meditation, and

vipassan, or insight meditation. Samathameditation cultivates a narrowmental focus on a single object, leading potentially to states of trance and,

traditionally, to paranormal powers. Vipassan meditation cultivates

mindfulness and a broader awareness leading potentially to the direct

experience of things as they really are. Although many meditation

masters today sharply distinguish the two, relegating samathaas, at best,

a preliminary practice, the Nikyas and commentaries tend to treat them

as different aspects of the same practice. For example, when asked how to

develop samdhi (mental concentration, a synonym for samatha), or

cittassa ekaggat (one-pointedness of mind) Bhikkhun Dhammadinnresponds that samdhi is to be cultivated through the foundations of

mindfulness, or satipahna.15

The foundations of mindfulness practice,

however, is today almost universally identified with vipassan rather than

with samatha meditation. Nevertheless, and especially since we are

concerned here with a modern school of meditation, it will be useful to

treat samathaand vipassan separately.

2.1.2.1 SamathaMeditation

Samatha16

is identified in Buddhist doctrine with samdhi,

cittekaggat, and avikkhepa, concentration, one-pointedness of mind, and

non-distraction, respectively. The Dhammasagai defines one-

pointedness of mind, in turn, as,

stability, solidity, absorbed steadfastness of thought which on that

occasion is the absence of distraction, balance, unperturbed mental

15M I 301.16See Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms

and Doctrines, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1980), sv.

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procedure, quiet, the faculty and the poser of concentration, right

concentration.17

Samdhiis a positive state rather than a passive or unconscious

trance, or a hypnotic state of mind.18

It is characterized by the absence of

mental wandering and agitation, its function being to unify the mind and

its manifestation tranquillity and knowledge. In the state of samdhi,

passion is displaced by clarity of insight.19

.

Samathameditation, then, aims at a unified, tranquil, and one-

pointed state of mind.

The technique is one of concentrating the attention on a

particular object. Traditionally there are forty such objects, with one

being selected for the meditator to suit his temperament and stage of

progress. The most common object of meditation, and one repeatedly

referred to by the Buddha himself, is the breath. When concentration has

become sufficiently strong, the physical object is replaced by a mental

image and a state called jhna, or absorption, is attained. The quality of

the concentration onthe object is first refined, and then the mental image

is manipulated and consciousness is turned back on itself in such a way

so as to lift the consciousness into higher and higher states.20

2.1.2.1.1 Levels of Concentration

The commentaries identify three levels of concentration. The

first is parikamma samdhi (momentary concentration). This is the

ordinary level of concentration necessary for everyday tasks. The second

level is upacra samdhi (proximate concentration) the level of

concentration that has nearly entered the state of jhna (absorption) and

at which the mental image replaces the physical thing as object of

17C. A. F. Rhys Davids, tr., A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics(Dhammasagai), (London: Pali Text Society, 1974), 11.

18Paravahera Vajiranana Mahathera, op cit, p. 19.19Ibid, p. 18f.20Cp Bhikkhu Bodhi, A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The

Abhidhammattha Sangaha of chariya Anuruddha, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication

Society, 1993, pp. 333-342; see also Bhikkhu amoli, The Path of Purification,2nded., (Colombo: A. Semage, 1964), pp. 105ff.

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consciousness. Third is appan samdhi (attainment concentration) the

level of concentration in the state of absorption.21

While in the state ofjhna, the mind is free of the five nvaraa

(hindrances) and thus able to advance to higher states. These higher states

are grouped into, first, the rpajjhna (form absorptions) in which the

quality of the concentration is refined, and, second, the arpajjhna

(formless absorptions) in which the mental image is manipulated and the

consciousness turned back on itself.

Because Luangpor Teean refers in his teachings to the form

absorptions, we list them here.

The Abhidhamma and the Nikyas list the form absorptions in

slightly different ways. Consciousness in the first form absorption is

characterized by five qualities: vitakka, vicra, pti, sukha, and ekaggat.

Bhikkhu Bodhis translation of these is: initial application, sustained

application, zest, happiness, and one-pointedness.22

The list of qualities

is simplified at each higher stage. At the highest stage, sukhais replaced

by upekkh (equanimity or neutral feeling). In the system found in the

Nikyas, bothvitakka

andvicra

are stripped off in advancing to thesecond stage, while in the Abhidhamma system those two are stripped off

in separate stages, giving the Abhidhamma a system of five stages rather

than the four stages of the Nikyas. They may be listed as follows:

Stage

Nikyas Abhidhamma Qualities

1 1 vitakka, vicra, pti, sukha,

ekaggat

2 vicra, pti, sukha, ekaggat

2 3 pti, sukha, ekaggat

3 4 sukha, ekaggat

4 5 upekkh, ekaggat

It is generally accepted that the Buddhas enlightenment came

while he was in the state of form absorption, and the path and fruition

21Vism III.22Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit, p. 53.

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moments on attainment of enlightenment are generally considered asjhnamoments, although there is no necessary correlation to the four/five

jhnastages.23

The formless absorptions may be pursued from the fourth (fifth)

fifth form absorption, but these need not detain us here.

2.1.2.2 VipassanMeditation

Vipassan meditation aims directly at vipassan. The word

vipassanis derived frompassati, to see or to realize, and the prefix viis

used in its intensifying sense (PED) and is thus usually translated asinsight, though PED also has inward vision and intuition.

According to Paravahera Vajiranana, the Nikyas and Abhidhamma

associate vipassanclosely with pa(wisdom) and withadassana

(knowledge and vision) especially the direct apprehension of anicca

(impermanence), dukkha, (suffering), and anatt(non-self). According to

Paravahera Vajiranana Mahathera, vipassan meditation leads to such

insight with or without the practice of the Samadhi method.24

Again, it

is not entirely clear that the Buddha and the commentators treated these

as wholly distinct methods. It is clear, nevertheless, that vipassanincludes direct intuition of dukkha, anicca, and anatt and, hence, in

Nyanatilokas words, leads to entrance into the supramundane

statesand to final liberation.25

The Visuddhimagga also associates vipassan with pa,

holding that it surpasses sa (perception/memory/recognition) and

via (consciousness/awareness), and approaches final liberation. The

development of pa is said to destroy the savas (mental impurities),

and to bring about enjoyment of the noble path, and final release from all

suffering,26 in a word, to Nibbna. The Visuddhimagga holds, in turn,

that pa is cultivated through understanding the dhammas or

fundamental aspects of existence. These include, for example, nma

(roughly, mind: consciousness of something), rpa(roughly, physicality:

the material objects of consciousness), the five aggregates

(pacakkhandha), the sense objects, the senses, and processes such as the

23Ibid, p. 73.24Paravahera Vajiranana Mahathera, op cit, p. 22.25Nyanatiloka, op cit, sv vipassan.26Paravahera Vajiranana Mahathera, op cit, p. 345.

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Four Noble Truths and Dependent Origination.27

As we shall see, these

are included as objects of contemplation in the satipahna method

iscussed in detail below.

pically aims at

ultivating awareness of some or all of these dhammas.

reserve a more detailed discussion ofipassanmeditation for later.

28

.2 Doctrinal-Theoretical Framework

eory necessary for any thorough

iscussion of satipahnameditation.

things, in the mechanics of sasra and of escape from it. Precisely

d

Vipassan meditation, as taught today, ty

c

Vipassanmeditation is typically associated, or identified, with

the satipahnamethod of the Nikyas and it is with that method that I

am concerned here. I thereforev

2

Buddhist meditation is taught and practised within a doctrinal

and theoretical context outside of which it cannot be fully understood,

and perhaps not correctly practised.29

In this section, I sketch out a

minimum of Theravda doctrine and th

d

Like other Indian religions originating in the same era,Buddhism assumes the framework of rebirth and kamma, or sasra.

That is, individual beings are born, live, and die but then are reborn, each

as perhaps quite a different sort of creature. They live and die repeatedly,

perhaps without end and perhaps without beginning. Individual identity is

preserved from lifetime to lifetime, and what sort of creature one is born

as, and under what circumstances, is deeply influenced, perhaps

determined, by that individuals actions (kamma) in previous lives.

Certain kinds of action contribute to pleasant rebirths, and those kinds of

action are considered good. Other kinds of action, considered bad,

contribute to painful rebirths. The potentially infinite cycle of rebirth is

considered to be undesirable, and while people typically strive to perform

the kinds of actions that will lead to a pleasant rebirth, the ultimate goal is

exit the cycle: not to be reborn. Indian religions differ, among other

27Ibid.28Section 2.3, Satipahna (The Foundations of Mindfulness) below.29I do not mean that non-Buddhists cannot practice Buddhist meditation,

but only that the doctrine cannot be discarded without further ado, without profoundly

altering the meaning and goals of the practice.

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which actions lead to pleasant rebirths, and which to painful? What is the

driving force of rebirth itself? How is escape effected?

2.2.1 The Four Noble Truths

The Buddhas answers to these questions, as is well known, are

outlined in the Four Noble Truths, the central teaching of all sects of

Buddhism. The following is from the formulation in theDhammaccakkapavattanasutta.

30

The First Noble Truth, the truth of suffering, or dukkha, affirms

the essential suffering of existence, significantly, even pleasure andhappiness are suffering in that they are temporary. Because dukkha is

suffering in a special sense, I shall continue to use the Pali dukkha.

The Second Noble Truth, the truth of arising, or samudaya,

names tahas the cause of dukkha. Tahmeans thirst but is clearly a

metaphor for desire: Thirst for sensual experience, for being, and for

non-being all cause dukkhato arise. The implication here is important: it

is desire, not the results of actions, kamma, as such, that is the driving

force of rebirth. This is reflected as well in the central doctrine of thepaiccasamuppda, or Dependent Origination, where tahis the critical

link driving grasping, becoming, and birth.In other words, whetherone is

reborn is determined by the presence or absence of tah. If one is

reborn, then the conditions of that rebirth are determined by past kamma.

Thirst, here, is shorthand for what is elsewhere in the Nikyas and

commentaries termed kilesas, defilements, or generally, the three

unwholesome roots: lobha, dosa, and moha, typically translated into

English as greed, hatred, and delusion. To help preserve the special

sense of desire meant here, I shall continue to use the Pali tah.

I should like to emphasize here that in the Buddhist

understanding, it is strictly mental attitudes that give rise to dukkhaand to

rebirth: the mind of the individual fully determines that individuals

ultimate fate.

The Third Noble Truth, cessation, or nirodha, is that if tahcan

be made to cease, then dukkhawill cease as well. If tahis eliminated,

there will be no more rebirth. This escape from rebirth is variously

30S V 420.

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referred to as vimutti, emancipation, or Nibbna, extinction (ofdukkha, of rebirth, or of the three unwholesome roots etc.). Nibbna can

be achieved at four different levels. At the lowest level, that ofsotpanna, one may be reborn as many as seven more times before fully

escaping rebirth. At the highest level, that of the arahant,the individual

will not be reborn.

The Fourth Noble Truth, path, or magga, is the way, or the

programme, for eliminating tah. As there are eight parts to the path, it

is referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path. Because of its importance to

the understanding of meditation, I shall treat it in detail in a separate

section below. First, however, given the importance of the mind both incausing dukkhaand in achieving Nibbna, I discuss the Buddhist concept

of mind.

2.2.2 Mind: the Driving Force ofdukkhaand of Rebirth

The first two verses of the Dhammapada begin with the words:

Manopubbagam dhamm manoseh manomay

Manas ce paduhena bhsati v karoti v

Nrada31

translates: Mind is the forerunner ofstates. Mind is chief;

mind-made are they.

Similarly, in the commentarial literature the mind is

characterized as forerunner indicating that the mind determines the

state of being, or: the being, orients itself about the mind.32

The

Dhammapada verses continue to note that actions, i.e. kamma, originate

in the mind, and that hence the future of an individual, inasmuch as it is

influenced by kamma, is, in fact determined by the present stateof mind.

Similarly the Buddha said famously that intention is action.33

In other

words, though actions have future results, it is the mental act of volition,

or intention, that is decisive: an accidental movement is not kammically

effective. Similarly, as we have seen, it is a mental state, and not overt

31Dhp 1, 2. All translations of Dhp are from, Narada Thera, The

Dhammapada, (Kuala Lumpur: Buddhist Missionary Society, 1978).32Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit, p. 29.33A III 415: Cetanha, bhikkhave, kamma vadmi. Cetayitv kamma

karotikyena vcya manas.

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actions that drive rebirth or that bring about escape from it. This is, of

course, why Buddhist meditation is specifically mentalcultivation. It will

be well, therefore to explore the Buddhist concept of mind.

The term translated as mind from the Dhammapada was mano,

whereas the Abhidhamma literature tends to use citta. These, along with

viaare taken by the commentators to be more or less synonymous.34

The concept is not of an enduring entity, or as something that exists in

itself, but rather as a process (santna)of consciousness ofsomething or

thought about something (vijnana). Mind, moreover, depends for its

existence on name and form (nmarpa).35

It is momentary arising and

falling moment to moment along with cetasika, or mental qualities,36

andcontingent, depending upon senses, sense objects, and prior

consciousness.

The term citta also means heart, thus the emotional and

intellectual focus of human existence.37

The Vibhaga defines citta as

experiencing through the sense organs, or doors: eye, ear, nose, tongue,

body and mind-door. What are experienced are the corresponding objects

(rammaa): visual forms, sounds, odours, tastes, tactile sensations, and

mental objects such as ideas and images.

38

But not only are sense organsand their objects necessary for the arising of citta, cittaitself is required.

This can only be understood as saying that the prior moment of citta

comes to the conjunction of sense organ and object, to give rise to anew moment of citta. Or, that attention is turned to the conjunction of

sense organ and object, thus producing a conscious sense impression.39

This three-way conjunction is termedphassa(contact). Withoutphassa

there is no citta, no consciousness, no mind. This means that cittaalways

34Nyanatiloka, op cit, sv citta.35Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit. What nmarpameans in this context has, in my

opinion, not been adequately explored by scholars. To translate it as mind-and-

matter as Bhikkhu Bodhi does (op cit, p. 29), is inadequate, since nmais therebytreated as another synonym for mind, and mind is then made to depend on mind.

Nevertheless, whatever nmarpasignifies, we can understand that mind iscontingent, not an absolute, self-contained entity.

36Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit, p. 76.37PED, sv.38Vibh 70; the idea of a mind-door may seem strange, but the concept is

that ideas and images are not inthe mind but in frontof it in a manner analogous tothe objects of the physical senses. Since the idea/image is not inthe mind there must

be some door or medium of access to it.39M I 111.

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grows out of its own past, it is a series, a continuity: though momentary,citta has a history. That interpretation accords fully with the

Abhidhamma tradition.40

Mind, again, is not an enduring entity, but a contingent process

of awareness of things outside itself.

It should not be surprising, then, that the Buddha characterized

the mind as restless, vacillating, difficult to control and advised

straightening it, as a fletcher straightens an arrow.41

He repeatedly

stressed the possibility of straightening and controlling the mind, and the

value of doing so: Those who subdue [the mind] are freed from the bondof Mra.

42But only the mind itself could subdue or straighten the

mind. Buddhist practice, then, appears to be based on the capacity of the

mind to rectify itself. That, in turn implies that the mind is free. Such a

conclusion is clearly supported by the Abhidhamma inclusion of cetan,

(intention), as a universal feature of citta.43

Consciousness, mind, always

and at every moment intends, or chooses, its response to the objects

presented to it.

Mind, we may say then, is a continually renewed response to theobjects it encounters. That response is free, yet profoundly influenced by

its past responses, and each response profoundly influences its future.

With this understanding of mind, we can see how mind

reproduces its own dukkha through tah, contaminated, as it were byown past responses grounded in greed, hatred and delusion. Moreover,

because it is free, the mind could at any moment relinquish greed, hatred,

and delusion, respond without tah, and thus break the cycle of dukkha.Mind in other words is the key, or, again, the forerunner of all states of

being.

Why does it not do so then? The answer is ignorance (avijj). In

its ignorance, the mind thirsts for what is not dukkha, is permanent, and is

self-existent. In particular it thirsts after (tah) these qualities in itself. Ifit could be made to see things, including itself, as they really are, dukkha,

40See, for example, Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit, p. 149.41Dhp 33.42Dhp 37.43Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit, p. 77.

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impermanent (anicca) and non-self (anatt), then it might cease to thirst,

and achieve emancipation, Nibbna. It does not see things as they really

are, however, although they are perpetually in front of it, because itcontinually engages in thoughts that reinforce its delusions and its thirsts.

Rather than simply looking atthings, it looks at its thoughts aboutthem.

2.2.3 The Noble Eightfold Path

But then how can the mind train itself? How can the mind gain

the knowledge that all things are dukkha, impermanent, and non-self, and

cease to respond to things with tah? The answer is the Fourth Noble

Truth: the Noble Eightfold Path. This is also known as the middle path(majjhimpaipad) a balanced path, between the extremes of sensual

pleasure and self-mortification. Traditionally, the eight parts of the path

are grouped into three categories of development:44

1. sammditthi right view

2. sammsakappa right thoughtpa Wisdom

3. sammvc right speech

4. sammkammanta right action

5. sammjva right livelihood

sla Morality

6. sammvyama right effort

7. Sammsati right mindfulness

8. sammsamdhi rightconcentration

samdhi concentration

The eight items of the Path are explicated in many places in the

Nikyas.45

Right view is view in accordance with the Four Noble

Truths. Right view is said to lead the way, as through right view one

may understand the other elements of the path.46

Right thought is

thoughts of renunciation of sensuality, hatred and violence. Rightspeech is refraining from lies, slander, abusive speech, and frivolous

speech. Right action is the avoidance of taking life, of stealing, and of

sexual misconduct. Right livelihood is avoiding wrong ways of making

a living. Right effort is to endeavour to resist the arising of

unwholesome qualities of mind, to eliminate existing unwholesome

qualities, to cause to arise wholesome qualities of mind, and to sustain

and further develop existing wholesome qualities. Right mindfulness is

44See Nyanatiloka, op cit, sv magga.45See, D II 311ff; A II 76ff; etc.46M III 71, 76.

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equated with contemplation of the body, feeling, mind, and dhammas.

That is, the four satipahnas, discussed below. Right Concentration,

is the practise of the rpajjhnas, the form absorptions discussed above.

In spite of the statement in the Nikyas that the first item in the

path leads the way, these are not traditionally thought of as steps to be

taken one after the other, but as mutually reinforcing and mutually

dependent qualities to be developed simultaneously.47

Thus, for example,

perfected right view is not possible without perfected right mindfulness,

and perfected right thought would not be possible without perfected right

effort. In practice, if any of the items should be done first it would seem

to be those concerned with morality: we teach children not to steal beforewe teach them that all is dukkha. The three categories, wisdom, morality,

and concentration, are said to contain the whole of the Buddhas

teachings.48

Morality is the foundation without which no progress along

the path to emancipation is possible. Wisdom and concentration are

mutually supporting. A passage in the Dghanikya has it that:

This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom.

Concentration, when imbued with morality brings great fruit and

profit. Wisdom, when imbued with concentration, brings great fruit

and profit. The mind imbued with wisdom becomes completely free

from the corruptions, that is, from the corruption of sensuality, of

becoming, of false views and of ignorance.49

In keeping with the centrality of mind in the Buddhist project,

and without in any way denying the ethical significance of overt actions,

the Abhidhamma tradition interprets the eightfold path as a set of mental

qualities that, when perfected, constitutes the enlightened mind. That is, a

mind in which these qualities are perfected is pure of defilements, no

longer responds with tah, and is able to see Nibbna. In this sensethe enlightened mind is defined as one with the qualities of perfect:

47Nyanatiloka, op cit, sv magga.48Nyanatiloka Mahathera, Fundamentals of Buddhism: Four Lectures,

(Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1994), p. 58.49Maurice Walshe, tr., The Long Discourses of the Buddha

(Dghanikya), (London: Wisdom Publications, 1987), p. 254f.

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1.pa wisdom2. cetan intention3. sammvc right speech4. sammkammanto right action5. samm-jvo right livelihood6. viriya energy7. sati mindfulness8. ekaggat one-pointedness

where right speech, action, and livelihood refer to themental attitudes of

restraint (virati) from the respective wrong behaviour.50

The Noble Eightfold Path remains rather abstract. There are

throughout the Nikyas and in the tradition many concrete instructions, or

techniques, for pursuing the path and perfecting its elements. Because we

are concerned with evaluating a vipassanmeditation technique, we shall

explore only one such technique, that of the foundations of mindfulness,

or satipahna.

2.3 Satipahna(the Foundations of Mindfulness)

Most, perhaps all, teachers of vipassan meditation within the

Theravda tradition today claim to teach satipahnapractice. This is a

practice referred to many times in the Nikyas and indeed the seventh

element of the noble path sammsati refers explicitly to the four

satipahna. These are given a full and detailed exposition in theSatipahnasutta of the Majjhimanikya and the

Mahsatipahnasutta of the Dghanikya. These Suttas are the same

except that theMahsatipahnasuttaincludes an extended a discussion

of the Four Noble Truths. The npnasatisutta and theKyagatasatisuttaof the Majjhimanikya give very similar expositions in

the context of instructions for breathing meditation.

In the compound satipahna, sati, of course means

mindfulness. Pahna may be upahna, placing near, thus

keeping present, remaining aware.51

The commentaries suggest that it

may be frompadhnahna, principal place, the domain (gocara) of

50Bhikkhu Bodhi, op cit, pp. 76-90, 272.51Nyanaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, p. 10.

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mindfulness.52

In any case, hna is a place, a site, often upon which

items are set53

and it is generally accepted that a satipahna is a base

on which mindfulness may be established. Foundations of mindfulnesshas become the generally accepted translation.

The four foundations of mindfulnessare kya, vedan, citta, and

dhamma: body, feeling, mind, and dhamma.54

The wording of the Sutta is

interesting, and open to significantly different interpretations and variant

translations. The initial list of the foundations is, in Pali:55

Katame cattro? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu kye kynupass

viharati tp sampajno satim vineyya loke abhijjhdomanassa,vedansu vedannupass viharati tp sampajno satim, vineyyaloke abhijjhdomanassa, citte cittnupass viharati tp

sampajno satim vineyya loke abhijjhdomanassa, dhammesu

dhammnupass viharati tp sampajno satim vineyya lokeabhijjhdomanassa.

Soma Thera translates kye kynupass as: contemplating the

body in the body56

with the same construction repeated for feeling,

mind and dhamma.

Walshe has: contemplating body as body57

We may note first that the word translated as contemplation,

anupass, is more like looking at seeing deeply than it is like

thinking about. Keeping that in mind, I shall continue to usecontemplation.

52Ibid.53Cp PED sv.54There simply is no short English translation for dhammaused in this

way. The typical translation here of mental objects is misleading. The term refers

rather to the fundamental aspects/qualities/constituents/phenomena of being. I shall

continue to use the term dhammaand revisit the meaning of the term under the

respective foundation of mindfulness.55D II 290.56Soma Thera, tr., The Way of Mindfulness(Satipahnasutta and

Commentary), Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1981), p. 1.57Maurice Walshe, op cit, p. 335.

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Somas may be the more literal translation. Walshe, citing the

commentaries and amoli, argues that the wording, body in the body,

indicates that the meditator is to meditate on the body as such, and clearlydistinguishing body, feeling, mind, and dhammasfrom each other.

58We

may say: the actual body rather than an idea or image of the body. This

interpretation is supported by the short instruction given in the Udna to

Bhiya: in the seen there must be just the seen, in the heard, just the

heard, and so forth.59

The commentary has more, indicating that in the body indicates

also an analytical gaze upon the constituent parts of the body.60

This,

rather strengthens than diminishes the sense that one should contemplatethe bodyas suchrather than an idea or image of it, i.e. rather than to think

about it.61

2.3.1 One Path

Early in the Sutta, the Buddha says that the four foundations of

mindfulness constitute ekyano aya bhikkhave maggo:62

monks, this is

the one [or only] path for the destruction of suffering and the attainment

of Nibbna. It may be debated whether or not the Buddha meant that themethod is the only path to Nibbna, but clearly the four foundations are

here presented as an effective method. The commentary gives several

possible interpretations, for example that one here signifies that the

way itself is singular, or that the way is traversed by one individual,

one without a companion,63

or that it is the way of the one, the

Buddha, or that its goal, Nibbna, is unitary. The sub-commentary adds

that while sati constitutes only one of eight elements of the noble path,

the other seven are implied by sati; indeed, it holds that the other seven

are analytically derived from sati, which is therefore in itself the one

whole path.64

58Ibid, p. 590.59Ud 8.60Soma Thera, op cit, p. 32.61Pali scholar Peter Masefield has noted in private conversation that the

locative case (kye)does not necessarily imply inside, and that the phrase could just

as literally be translated as regards the body.62D II 290.63Soma Thera, op cit, p. 18.64Ibid, pp. 18-19.

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We may take it that the methods of this Sutta are central to the

Buddhist pursuit of Nibbna, and that practised fully and properly these

methods will lead to enlightenment.

This one path is presented as the way to: the purification of

beings, the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, the destruction of

suffering and grief, reaching the right path, the attainment of

Nibbana (Somas translations), which the commentary interprets as

clearing the mind of greed, hatred, and delusion, overcoming sorrow,

eliminating physical and mental pain, perfecting the Noble Eightfold

Path, and the extinction of suffering.65

The centrality and presumed effectiveness of the method is

moreover indicated by the Buddhas promise at the end of the Sutta that

any one who practises the satipahna method will achieve

enlightenment either as an arahant or as an angm. He begins by

saying that the result will be obtained within seven years, but

progressively reduces the requisite time down to seven days.

But why is the cultivation of mindfulness so central and why is it

said to be effective? We have seen that it is the activity of the mind thatgenerates suffering and bondage to the cycle of rebirths. In particular,

intention is the essence of kamma, and tah, thirst, or more precisely,

greed, hatred, and delusion, is the cause of dukkhaand the driving forcein rebirth. The mind, however, does not easily cease these self-destructive

activities, but needs a course of discipline, of purification, ofstraightening. The mind is hard to check, swift, flits wherever it

listeth.66

Through constant flitting, the mind avoids seeing things as

they really are: dukkha, impermanent, non-self. Through thinking aboutthings rather than observing them it sustains the delusion of pleasure,

permanence, and self. As the Buddha advised in the Dantabymisutta,Fare along contemplating the body in the body, but do not applyyourself to a train of thought connected with the body; [and so on for

feelings, mind, and dhamma]67

65Ibid, pp. 21-27.66Dhp 35.67M III 136; I. B. Horner, tr., The Middle Length Sayings (Majjhima-

Nikya) Vol. III, (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1990), p. 182.

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Again, in the Udna story, Bhiya became fully enlightened, an

arahant, immediately the Buddha advised him that in the seen is only

what is seen etc. The full instruction, in Masefields translation,68

is:

Therefore, Bhiya, you should so train yourself that with respect to

the seen there will be merely the seen, that with respect to the heard

there will be merely the heard, that with respect to the sensed there

will be merely the sensed, that with respect to the cognised there

will be merely the cognisedso should you, Bhiya, train yourself.

When for you, Bhiya, with respect to the seen there will be merely

the seen, with respect to the heard there will be merely the heard,

with respect to the sensed there will be merely the sensed, withrespect to the cognised there will be merely the cognised, then you,

Bhiya, will not be therewith. When you, Bhiya, are not therewith,

then you, Bhiya, will not be therein. When you, Bhiya, are not

therein, then you, Bhiya, will be neither here nor there nor,

additionally, in boththis alone is the end of dukkha.

2.3.2 Sati

Sati (mindfulness) is just this sort of direct awareness of theobject that does not distort its vision with discursive thought about the

object: it looks at the object itself, rather than its ideas about the object.

But it also has an element of self-awareness, a regulative function over

the mind, such that sati has sometimes been translated conscience.69

That is to say, mindfulness is just the faculty of mind wherein it

disciplines itself. Or rather, with the strengthening of mindfulness, the

mind sees more and more clearly and directly as it becomes more and

more self-disciplined, approaching the stage at which it abolishes

delusion and relinquishes greedand hatred, letting go its hold on sasra.

To quote Nyanaponika Thera,70mindfulness is:

the unfailing master key for knowing the mind, and is thus the

starting point;

the perfect tool for shapingthe mind, and is thus the focal point;

68P. Masefield, tr., The Udna, (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1994), p. 8.69C. A. F. Rhys Davids, op cit, p. 14, note 1.70Nyanaponika Thera, op cit, p. 24.

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the lofty manifestation of the achieved freedomof the mind and is

thus the culminating point.

The method of the four foundations of mindfulness is a

systematic and deliberate program for generating and strengthening

mindfulness.

2.3.3 Sampajaaandtpa

I should like to highlight two factors in addition to satithat are

emphasized in the Sutta, and elsewhere in the Nikyas, and which

supplement sati.71

Sampajaa is variously translated clearcomprehension

72, clearly knowing

73 etc. Walshe, in the translation I

am using has clearly aware. Anlayo Bhikkhu argues for clearly

knowing, by which he means clear awareness of the objects of

consciousness with also a clear understanding of what those objects are

and of what is happening.74

One of Anlayos examples of sampajaais

the meditators knowing that a long breath is a long breath.75

He also

cites the Mahsatipahnasutta at D II 313, in support of saying that

satiand sampajaaare required to overcomeptiin advancing from the

second to the thirdjhna. He further cites Vism 163 where it commentsthat sati and sampajaaeliminate desire for pti, presumably, because

with sampajaa one sees the pti clearly for what it is,76

an intense

happiness, but not the goal.

The Nikyas repeatedly call for tpa on the part of those

pursuing enlightenment. Anlayo argues convincingly for a translation of

diligence. Walshe has ardent, which is convenient as an adjective in

its usage in the Sutta. I shall use diligent and diligence largely

because the convenience of the adjective and noun forms. After a long

discussion of etymology and differing cultural connotations of the term,

Anlayo concludes that tpa, indicates a strong and unwavering

71Bhikkhu Anlayo, Satipahnathe Direct Path toNibbna,(Doctoral Thesis, University of Peradeniya, 2001), p. 11.

72Nyanaponika Thera, op cit.73Anlayo, op cit.74Ibid, p. 17.75Ibid.76Cp Vism IV 152.

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commitment, and a balanced effort,77

keeping up ones

contemplation,78

that is perseverance. In a word: diligence.

2.3.4 Rising and VanishingJust to the Extent

Before getting into the details of the Sutta, it may be valuable

here to discuss an instruction that is repeated at the end of each

foundation of mindfulness. At the end of the first it reads:

So he abides contemplating body as body internally

externallyHe abides contemplating arising phenomena in thebodyvanishing phenomena in the bodyOr else, mindfulness thatthere is body is present to him just the extent necessary forknowledge and awareness. And he abides independent, not clinging

to anything in the world.79

The same is repeated at the end of the other foundations, substituting the

respective foundation for body. One is therefore not simply to observe

the objects themselves, but also their arising and falling, their coming to

be and their ceasing to be. The repetition of the phrase emphasises its

importance.

Second, the awareness is not to lock in on any object, but to

focus only as much as necessary for knowing it. Followed by not

clinging to anything in the world, it seems clear that the meditator is alsonot to cling to the objects of awareness. At the cittaand dhamma levels

(see below) that would suggest that the meditator allows thoughts to arise

and pass away as objects, as it were in front of him, to which he does notbecome attached and with which he does not identify.

2.3.5 The Method of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

2.3.5.1 Contemplation of the body (kynupassan)

This section begins with a description of breathing meditation.

Sitting cross-legged and erect in a solitary place:

77Anlayo, op cit, p. 15.78Ibid p. 16.79Maurice Walshe, op cit, p. 339.

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having established mindfulness before him. Mindfully he breathes

in, mindfully he breathes out. Breathing in a long breath, he knows

that he breathes in a long breath, and breathing out a long breath, heknows that he breathes out a long breath. Breathing in a short

breath, he knows that he breathes in a short breath, and breathing

out a long breath, he knows that he breathes out a long breath.80

The commentary indicates that establishing mindfulness before him

simply means being mindful of the object of meditation, in this case the

breath.

The meditator is then instructed to be conscious of the wholebody (sabbakyapaisaved) while inhaling and while exhaling, and to

calm the bodily activities (passambhaya kyasakhra)while inhaling

and while exhaling, as a skilled artisan, in executing his craft, knows

exactly what he is doing at every moment.

The meditator is then instructed to contemplate the body both

internally and externally. The commentary takes internally to mean

ones own breathing body (asssapasssakye) and externally to mean

the breathing body of others.81

The meditator is to be aware of:

arising and vanishing phenomena [dhamma] in the body. Or else,

mindfulness that there is body is present to him just to the extent

necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides

independent, not clinging to anything in the world.82

2.3.5.1.1 Major and Minor Postures/Movements

Although this section of the Sutta began with a description of

formal sitting meditation, it now extends the method to apply much morebroadly. First it addresses the four major postures/movements. When

the monk is walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, he must know that

he is walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. In whatever way his body

is disposed, he knows that that is how it is.83

These postur

a study of the “dynamic meditation”

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