Psychology of Buddhism. Monograph
.pdfThis democratic concept consists of three basic approaches, different in their
optimism and content:
1.Potentiality of Buddha. All beings inherently possess the embryo of Buddhahood (Garbha), the nature of Buddha, the potential to become a Buddha. This potentiality is nonsubstantial. Every living being can become a Buddha.
2.Substantiality of Buddha. The second model is substantial: every living being has the nature of Buddha. All beings are Buddhas in essence, all they have to do is to realize their potential “Buddhahood”.
3.Actual Buddhahood. The third approach is the most “extreme”: one does not even have to realize his Buddhahood, as it is already actual. All you
have to do is to become aware of the fact that you are a Buddha, here and now.
If we agree with the point of view of Chinese and Far Eastern Buddhism or
Dzogchen about the “primordial awareness” (all living beings are primordially awakened; awareness, or bodhi, is intrinsic to the nature of our mind), we will have to admit that Buddhist practices make no sense at all.
If awakening (jnana, vidya) is inherent in every act of consciousness, and “our mind is Buddha”, then the concept of sadhana is absurd.
Even if we suppose that every living creature is a Buddha with affective defilements (klesha), and Buddha is a being without affective defilements, it will not make the motivation to awakening higher. The essence of a woman with a plait and a woman without a plait is the same: they are both women.
Thus, we can say that the second and especially the third model of the concept of Tathagata-garbha deprive Buddhism of yellow robes: if you are already Buddha, why embark on the path of sadhana? The concept of bodhisattva also seems to be absurd: if everybody is an arhat, who is going to respect and revere arhats?
Thus we can conclude that the two last models of Tathagata-garbha have neither logical nor empirical ground.
Buddhist practices make sense if we believe that Buddhahood is not the actual but
potential state, and the ultimate level of nirvanic integrity is a possibility.
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We know from experience that our state of consciousness changes under the influence of our thoughts and intentions. This is true not only for one, but for many lives. Our potential cannot disappear into nowhere, it will bear fruit in this and subsequent lives. The more positive potential we accumulate, the more positive our state of consciousness and the higher our level of existence will be, and vice versa. The goal of Buddhist practices is to increase positive karmic potential and decrease the negative one.
All the positive qualities we cultivate with the help of Buddhist practices belong to the sphere of consciousness. And all the negative qualities and defilements that we try to eliminate also belong to the sphere of consciousness. Even proper breathing, good posture or practice of concentration are not means of improving physical health and well-being, but ways of transformation of consciousness. All the stages of sadhana, thoroughly described in the countless Buddhist texts, are stages of transformation of consciousness.
Our efforts would be useless if we did not have the potential for such transformation. That is why Buddhism argues that our consciousness is originally pure and negative qualities are alien to it.
Dharmakirti said: “The nature of mind is clear light, defilements are only adventitious”.
So, all living beings without exception possess the potential for full transformation, enlightenment, Buddhahood. Moreover, there are all the necessary conditions for development of this potential, they are embedded in the nature of our mind. Dharmakirti argues that unlike physical development, which has limits (however hard we practice, we cannot jump higher than a few meters or lift more than a few hundred kilograms, etc.), development of consciousness has no limits. It concerns the correct consciousnesses, like loving-kindness, joy, compassion or equanimity, as they are real and inherent in the nature of our mind.
Whereas defilements (for example, grasping at one’s own “Self”), as well as anger and passion resulting from them, are not inherent in the nature of consciousness. That is why their development is not limitless. However hard we try to develop them, they will always tend to decrease like fire on damp soil.
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The potential to develop right states of consciousness is in the nature of our mind. Maitreya, one of the most revered bodhisattvas, argued that Buddha nature was free from transient phenomena, which could be eliminated.
If we develop the right, adequate states of mind, we can gradually eliminate all negative thoughts. Some of us experience more negative states of mind than positive ones. This is the result of our habit: we have been accustomed to passions from the beginning of the endless series of our previous lives. According to Maitreya’s optimistic vision, consciousness seeks to comprehend and realize its Buddha nature, i.e. its potential for enlightenment, all we have to do is to send it in the right direction. Positive qualities will quickly outweigh the negative ones, engulfing the mind like fire which rapidly engulfs large areas of dry forest. This potential can be fully realized even in the course of one short human life.
That is why we consider Buddhist practices to be worth describing.
3.2. Buddhist Practices
Buddhist practices have been used for many years not only in monasteries, but also in many European, Asian, American and Australian holistic centers as a means of achieving personal integration, development of morality, awareness and ability to concentrate.
Buddhists believe that meditation practice and observance of moral norms help practitioners to concentrate their attention on reflection upon the essence of being.
The meditative state of consciousness that one learns during Buddhist practices is gradually transferred to the practitioner’s everyday life. He or she learns to remain in the “awakened” state, the state of clear light and uninvolvment.
All Buddhist practices aim at creating a feeling of calm and awareness, they teach to be uninvolved, detached from one’s thoughts, emotions and desires. As we have stated above, Buddhism is a philosophy with “open eyes”, a spiritual path of “awakened state” and conscious self transformation.
Tibetans believe that Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism, or the Diamond Vehicle) is the shortest path to enlightenment. A Tibetan metaphor says that it is like climbing the steep side
of a mountain, this path is direct, but risky; it requires full commitment, great discipline and
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readiness to face the most painful truth about one’s life. That is why it is said to be extremely important that one should have a competent and reliable guide, who has himself made a similar ascent. Vajrayana also lays great emphasis on upaya, which is usually translated as
“expedient means”. The Vajrayana path has a great number of techniques.
It is believed that a skilled practitioner achieves liberation with the help of the same things that darken the life of common people. Therefore, everything can be used on the Tantric path. Tantric practices involve work with body, speech and mind, they include mantra singing, visualization, rituals, meditation on abstract ideas and concrete objects, physical exercises, intensive philosophical training and much more. Tibetans consider Vajrayana to be the culmination of the Buddhist path.
Metaphorically speaking, Vajrayana is the fruit of Hinayana, which is the stem, and
Mahayana, which represents branches. In Tibetan, tantra denotes “continuity”. It comes from the Sanskrit word which means “to weave”. According to the tantric philosophy, all aspects of life interweave with each other.
We will try to make the description of practices as simple as possible, not delving into the philosophical understanding of each practice.
The practices described below originate from different vehicles of Dharma.
Buddhist monks and laymen use practices that have common roots and common methods. They are: exercises in logic, meditation on various objects, reflection upon the koan (focusing on some important issue, for example on such concepts as suffering, Buddha, death, ignorance, etc.), rhythmic or calm breathing, different stages of trance and ecstasy, cultivating compassion for all living beings.
However, the path of concentration, analysis and observation, awareness and attention is not the only possible one. Many Buddhist schools believe that spontaneity, intuition and spiritual epiphany (a sudden realization of the truth) can help to achieve enlightenment, too. Various factors may turn out to be a powerful incentive to epiphany (satori or insight): an overheard word, an intuitive feeling of dissolution (disappearance of one’s own “Self”), or some accidently noticed phenomenon.
Such sudden, transformative insight is the first step to nirvana.
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Stages of Awakening
There are four stages of enlightenment:
The first stage is called “sonapanna”, which literally means “the one who entered the stream”.
The first stage leads to the cessation of desires and to the death of Ego. Bhikkhu becomes sotapanna when he starts to reflect upon his experience of the first passage into nirvana. He remains at this stage till his insight becomes deep enough to pass on to the next stage. According to the Buddhist canon, the final liberation is sure to take place in the course of seven lifetimes.
The one who entered the stream loses the following personality traits: thirst for sensual objects, ability to be filled with bitter anger, desire for benefit, property or praise. In turn, he gains the ability to share with others, to see the illusory nature of things, even if it seems pleasant and beautiful. He cannot erroneously take the impermanent for the permanent, the selfness for the selflessness. There is no more blind adherence to rites and rituals, no more belief in the ultimate truth or doubts in the usefulness of the path of concentration.
The one who entered the stream undertakes to refrain from lying, stealing, perverted and overindulgent sex, hurting other living beings or sponging on others.
The second stage is called “sakadagami”, translated as “the one who will return”. It means that he will attain complete liberation in this or subsequent life. Nothing can induce in him the feeling of desire or repulsion. Sexual desire becomes less intense. He might use sex to produce children but is not dependent on it. He shows no partiality and has unjudgemental attitude towards everyone and everything.
At the third stage on the path to enlightenment the seeker becomes “non-returner”, or “anagami”, literally meaning “the one who will not return”.
In addition to what he has eliminated before, he has to part with the feelings of greed and indignation. He is not able to feel aversion for loss, pain, shame or blame. Vice also becomes unthinkable for the “one who does not come”.
The notions of “enemy” and “hostility” become alien to him. He cannot even think of doing evil. He does not desire for sensual pleasures and practices. Equanimity prevails
towards everything and everybody who surrounds him.
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The fourth stage is associated with passing into nirvana after death, which is called paranirvana. We know nothing about death, therefore, any description of this phenomenon would be misleading.
Aspirants practice deep concentration, trying to achieve inner purification and aloofness from the external world. They move along the path of sadhana and gradually pass from one stage to another with the view of attaining the ultimate goal, elimination of desires and cessation of suffering.
Classification of Buddhist Practices
On his way to samadhi practitioner uses a wide range of spiritual practices. They include meditation on forty objects, which are said to create karma. One has to concentrate on them, study them in detail and cease to identify oneself with them.
The first group consists of 10 conceptual objects (ten kasinas): earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, white, light and space.
The second group includes 10 objects of concentration associated with perishability and death (“asubha” – the unbeautiful, the loathsome). These are parts or states of a corpse: a swollen corpse (uddhumataka), a corpse with patchy discoloration (vinilaka), a festering corpse (vipubbaka), a corpse falling apart (vichiddaka), a corpse eaten by animals (vikkhayittaka), several corpses scattered about or thrown together in a pile(vikkhittaka), the corpse of a person violently murdered, cut and dismembered (hatavikkhittaka), a bloodstained corpse (lohitaka), a corpse infested with worms (puluvaka), a skeleton (atthika).
The third group consists of 10 “recollections” (annusatis): the Buddha
(buddhanussati), the Dharma (dharmanussati), the Sangha (sanghanusati), moral virtue (silanussati), generosity (caganussati), the devas (devatanussati), mind and body (kayagatasati), breathing (anapanasati), death (maranassati), ultimate pleasure, tranquility (upasamanussati).
The fourth group consists of 10 sublime objects of concentration. Meditation on them aims at achievement of arhatship and enlightenment. They are: the four sublime attitudes, or excellent qualities (brahmavihara): loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), joy, delight in the happiness of other beings (mudita) and equanimity (upekha). The
fifth object is abstention from food, or loathsomeness of food (ahare patikkula sanna). The
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sixth object is the four physical elements constituting our body (catudhatuvavat-thana). The last four objects are the four formless spheres (the spheres of arupaloka: the sphere of infinite space, the sphere of infinite consciousness, the sphere of nothingness and the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception).
Traditional Buddhist practices may seem too unusual for the Westerners. Therefore, here I will describe practices adapted for Europeans and tested at the retreats held in different countries of the world with Russian speaking participants, where they proved to be feasible and understandable.
In the “Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse” (the Satipatthana Sutta) Buddha identifies four references for establishing mindfulness: body, sensations, the states of mind and psychological events. We will try to keep this model in mind, sometimes turning to a wider range of Buddhist practices.
Of all the objects that one can consider to be “his” or “him”, human body is the most material and dense one. The clinging to one’s body as to “I” and “mine” is deeply rooted in ignorance (avidya). It gives rise to unhappiness (dukha), when one’s body makes it clear that it is not “mine”, as it happens in times of disease, destruction and death.
In order to cultivate the notion of the absence of “self”, one has to start working on the roughest objects of attachment, gradually moving on to more subtle ones. Therefore, Buddha begins with meditation on the body. However, even this first step may lead to enlightenment. It if happens, there is no need to work on all of the four aspects.
Breathing can be an object of meditation, as it is one of the aspects of our body, the first foundation of mindfulness.
Breathing is a continuous bodily process. We breathe day and night, from the moment we are born and up to the moment we die. It is an ideal object of meditation, as it is always there and you cannot “set it aside”. As the level of concentration becomes higher, breathing becomes more subtle and superficial.
Buddhist Practices
Anapana Sati Yoga
Traditional Buddhism does not place great emphasis on breathing exercises like
pranayama, as it is done in Hindu yoga or some tantric practices of Vajrayana Buddhism.
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In Buddhism breathing exercises consist in meditation on one’s natural breathing rhythm, without conscious change of speed, deepness or inhale-exhale ratio.
Consciousness and body are inseparable. That is why concentration on breathing can be the key to liberation of mind.
Buddha himself gave a rather short instruction to the Anapana Sati practice:
If he breathes in a long breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness; If he breathes out a long breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness; If he breathes in a short breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness; If he breathes out a short breath, he should comprehend this with full awareness.
In my practice with training participants I used two variations of anapana sati: static and as a process.
We practiced anapana sati both individually and in groups.
Creating ideal conditions for group sessions is a part of the group leader’s work. As for individual practice, it usually takes place in the wild and requires special training and briefing.
Instructions usually aim at helping practitioners to find a safe, calm and comfortable place for individual practice. They depend on the location of retreat, natural conditions, landscape, etc. One has to admit that meditation in the windless forests of Siberian taiga filled with bothersome insects is quite different from meditation on a golden sandy beach at the seaside in high season.
Static Anapana Sati
Before you begin meditation, find a quiet and comfortable place. The practice will last for an hour and a half. Set an alarm clock, so that you do not have to worry about the time.
Sit down and try to disconnect from the outside world. Try to achieve the feeling of inner calm. Let your thoughts subside. Find a position that is most comfortable for you, so that your body does not distract your attention during meditation.
Close your eyes.
Focus your attention on the air flowing in and out of your nostrils.
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Focus on the physical sensations caused by this process. Try not to get distracted by your thoughts, feelings, other bodily sensations, dreams, recollections or desires.
If you get distracted, gently refocus your attention on the air flowing in and out of your nostrils.
Procedural Anapana Sati
Find a position that is most comfortable for you and try to mentally detach yourself from the outside world.
Close your eyes.
Focus your attention on the first sensations you get from the flow of air entering your body at the very end of your nostrils. Then watch the air going through the respiratory tracts, entering your lungs and dissolving in the tiny air sacs. Follow the process of inhaling from the beginning to the end.
Then follow your sensations caused by the process of exhaling. Watch how it starts inside your lungs, notice the air being pushed outside, going through the trachea and throat and finally reaching the end of your nostrils or lips.
It is a simple practice consisting in awareness of normal respiratory cycle. The process of inhaling and exhaling has to be completely natural, without any artificial elements. Do not force yourself to breathe in a particular way. Do not try to control your breathing or hold your breath. Let the air go in and out of your lungs in the most natural way. Follow your breathing as if it were a living being.
Concentrate your attention on the process of inhaling and exhaling, try not to get distracted by your thoughts, feelings, other bodily sensations, dreams, recollections or desires.
If you get distracted, gently refocus your attention on the sensations you get from the air going in and out of your body.
Some Additional Remarks on the Anapana Sati
If you do not manage to follow your breathing, you may want to use special methods that could help you to develop the ability to concentrate and to prepare yourself for
meditation:
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Method 1:
Silently count each breath, begin with one and count up to ten. When you get to ten, come back to one and start over. Count during both inhale and exhale. One for the inhale and one for the exhale. Then continue with two and so on. As you progress, you can change the strategy a little bit, so that each count includes an entire cycle of inhalation and exhalation.
This simple technique is common to almost all Buddhist schools. The advantage of this method is that the counting cycle is short and your mind can continue counting on
“automatic pilot”, focusing its attention on something else.
Method 2:
This method is taken from the Visuddhimagga, a Theravada Buddhist commentary. It is similar to the first one, but you have to count up to five, then come back to one, then count up to six, then come back to one, then count up to seven, ... finishing with ten:
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The six small cycles constitute a complete cycle, which is called “vara” in Pali. The advantage of this method is that you can do a particular number of varas during one session of meditation. You can use prayer beads to count varas, one bead for each vara.
Method 3:
This method consists in repetition of one and the same word. It is mainly used by
Thai Buddhists. You silently say “bud” with each inhale and “dha” with each exhale. You can choose another word, for example “dhamma”, “araham”, etc. Disyllabic words are preferable, as they can be pronounced in time with breathing.
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