Control and freedom:
The structure of Buddhist meditation in the Paali suttas
By Donald K.
Swearer
Philosophy East and West
Volume 23,no.4
P435-455
(C) by the
University Press of Hawaii
P.435
Of all forms of religious practice, none exemplifies
Buddhism better than the practice of meditation.
Anesaki and Takakusu claim that meditation is
"...the universal method of mental culture of all
Indian religious schools, "(1) and Edward Conze
writes, "meditational practices constitute the very
core of the Buddhist approach to life.... On the way
to Nirvaa.na they serve to promote spiritual
development, to diminish the impact of suffering, to
calm the mind and to reveal the true facts of
existence."(2)
This article is an attempt to analyze the
structure of Buddhist meditation within the Paali
suttas. Our contention is that this structure is
built around two foci--control and freedom. The
ultimate aim of Buddhist meditation is freedom from
the bondage of attachment to sense objects. This
liberating state of being is reached through a
process of consciousness control (samaadhi) and
insight into the real nature of the world
(vipassanaa). While Theravaada Buddhism tends to
distinguish samaadhi and vipassanaa as two separate
types of meditation, both aim to achieve
enlightenment (sambodha) . Furthermore, as this
article will show, they may be seen as basically
complementary rather than as mutually exclusive
methods.
The structure of Buddhist meditation, which
emerges from a study of the Paali suttas, may be
depicted by an hourglass figure(3):
The path to enlightenment begins with a general
awareness and proceeds to a greater and greater
degree of consciousness refinement. This process
produces decreasing degrees of attachment to the
world of sense objects. The jhaanas represent a
transition from a narrowing of consciousness to its
eventual expansion resulting in a condition of
"hedonic neutrality," that is, upekkhaa. In this
state the consciousness is totally freed
(cetovimutti) from those conditions which qualify
ordinary states of mind. It is characterized as
immeasurable, nothingness, emptiness, and signless.
In this mind-freed state, the knowledge of
enlightenment (pa~n~naavimutti) is fully realized.
Or, in a better knowledge of engligtenment (pa~n~n-
aavimutti) is fully realized. Or, in a better known
idiom, one has attained nibbaana.
SATI AND MINDFUL AWARENESS
The process of meditation and the control of
consciousness begin with sati and sampaja~n~na, two
practically inseparable terms in the Paali canon.(4)
They are widely discussed in the Pi.takas and later
commentaries, and according to
----------------------
Donald K. Swearer is Associate Professor of Religion
at Swarthmore College.
1 Masaharu Anesaki and Junjiro Takakusu, "Dhyana,"
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. James A.
Hastings, vol. 4 (New York: Scribner, 1912), p.
702.
2 Edward Conze,Buddhist Meditation (London: George
Alien & Unwin, 1956), p. 11.
3 For a different model see Conze, Buddhist
Meditation, p. 16.
4 The meaning of sati and sampaja~n~na came to be
nearly synonymous. Sampaja~n~na is formed from the
verb, pa-jaanaati + sam meaning to come to know
altogether, hence, to discriminate and comprehend.
P.436
a contemporary Buddhist one of the suttas devoted
entirely to an exposition of sati and sampaja~n~na
is among the most highly respected and frequently
memorized Buddhist texts in Ceylon.(5) The Paali
word sati is related to Sanskrit sm.rti, meaning
"remembered" or "recollected." In Hinduism the word
has come to stand for a body of "remembered"
literature (for example, the Epics, suutras,
Puraa.nas) in contrast to "revealed" or `sruti texts
(for example, Sa^mitaas, Braahma.nas, Upani.sads).
The term in Paali has taken on, not only the
connotation of something called to mind or remembered,
but also mindfulness, intentness of mind, or wakeful-
ness.(6) Nyaa.naponika interprets sati as "bare
attention" and sampaja~n~na as "clear
comprehension."(7) Sati as bare attention has a
threefold value of helping the mind to know, shape,
and liberate itself.(8) Its knowing function is to
analyze the objects of existence through dissection
and discrimination and realize the conditioned and
conditioning nature of all phenomenal entities. Sati
shapes individual's lives by causing reflective
action rather than immediate responses. Thus the
mind gains a new power and a new freedom from
control by habitual action-response. As
Nyaa.naponika expresses it, "Right Mindfulness
recovers for man the lost pearl of his freedom
snatching it from the jaws of the dragon Time."(9)
The third value of sati is the freeing of the mind.
Paradoxically the control of attention and
reflection liberates the mind rather than confining
it, for it is sati that produces the insight
(vipassanaa) into the true nature of things. This
realization leads to detachment from ordinary
preoccupation with the objects and goals of the
mundane world.
If sati, or bare attention, is a discipline of
the consciousness appropriate to the act of
meditation itself, sampaja~n~na call be understood
as the integration of sati with right knowledge
(~naa.na) or wisdom (pa~n~naa). Sampaja~n~na is
applied to intentionality and action in particular,
and more generally to the awareness that at no time
is there an abiding personality or ego behind one's
intentions and actions. The sampaja~n~na dimension
of mindfulness emphasizes the fact that the
fundamental nonbeingness (anattaa) of life is not
limited to a serene moment of detached and quiet
meditation, but conditions every act and thought of
the individual.
Within the Nikaayas there are three suttas
devoted entirely to a discussion of sati and
sampaja~n~na: the Mahaasatipa.t.thaana Suttanta of
the Diigha Nikaaya,
----------
5 The Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipa.t.thana
Sutta), trans. Nya.nasatta Thera (Kandy, Ceylon:
The Buddhist Publication Society, 1960).
6 Rhys Davids, T. W. and Stede, The Paali Text
Society's Paali-English Dictionary (London: Luzac &
Co., 1959), p. 672 (hereafter cited as Rhys Davids
and Stede, Paali-English Dictionary).
7 Nyaa.naponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist
Meditation (London: Rider & Co., 1962), p. 30
(hereafter cited as Nyaa.naponika, The Heart).
8 Ibid., p. 34.
9 Ibid., p. 41.
P.437
the Satipa.t.thaana Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaaya
and the forty-seventh chapter of the Sa^myutta
Nikaaya (Kindred Sayings on the Arisings of
Mindfulness). The first Sutta in particular will
serve as our guide for a more detailed exposition of
sati.
The Mahaasatipa.t.thaana Suttanta is nearly
identical with the Satipa.t.tana Sutta of the
Majjhima Nikaaya with the exception of an exposition
of the Four Noble Truths at its conclusion. We are
told at the beginning of this dialogue that the only
path leading to the purification of beings, of
passing beyond grief and lamentation, of the dying
out of suffering and misery and the realization of
nibbaana is the fourfold setting up of
mindfulness.(10) In order to come to grips with the
full dimension of sati these four stages of
mindfulness must be analyzed.
In the first place, mindfulness demands a
control of the body (kaaya) which overcomes the
desire and misery typical of the world.(11) This end
is accomplished by practices of meditation and
concentration. The bhikkhu is to isolate himself,
assume a posture of meditation, and practice
breathing exercises with a total consciousness of
every act so that the bodily organism will be
tranquilized.(12)
Mindfulness of the body begins with awareness of
respiration. The Buddhist preoccupation with
respiration exercises represents a continuity with
earlier Indian thought. In the late.Rg Veda and the
Braahma.nas, breath was one of the objects of
cosmogonic speculation, the life force through which
it was thought the world might have come into
being.(13) Breathing exercises (praa.naayaama) also
played an important role in Hindu ha.tha yoga. There
the practice was eventually to arrest the movement
of inhalation and exhalation. The purpose of breath
control in yoga, however, was not merely to gain
power over respiratory functions but access to
higher states of consciousness. Thus Bhoja's
commentary on the Yoga Suutras of Pata~njali reads:
"All the functions of the organs being preceded by
that of respiration--there being always a connection
between respiration and consciousness in their
respective functions--respiration, when all the
functions of the organs are suspended, realizes
concentration of consciousness on a single
object."(14)
Breathing exercises as the initiation of sati
seem to have a dual function not unlike that in the
practice of ha.tha yoga, namely, to engender control
over the body but also to produce an awareness of
the real nature of the
---------------
10 The Diigha Nikaaya, 3 vols., eds., T. W. Rhys
Davids and J. Estlin Carpenter (London: Luzac &
Co., 1890-1911) 2:290.
11 Ibid., p.291.
12 Ibid.
13 For example, see.Rg Veda 10:129.
14 Quoted in Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and
Freedom, trans. Willard R. Trask (New York:
Pantheon Books, 1958),p. 55.
P.438
body. As Nyaa.naponika Thera observes, the
mindfulness of breathing is both a subject for
''tranquility-meditation" (samathabhaavanaa) as well
as an act used for the development of insight
(vipassanaabhaavanaa).(15)
Following the initiation of mindfulness through
breathing exercises, the Mahaasatipa.t.thaana
Suttanta moves to contemplation of various aspects
of the body and its functions. They are in brief:
(1) mindfulness of bodily postures (2) contemplation
of the parts of the body (3) reflection on the
constituent elements of the body, and (4) the
so-called cemetery contemplations. Turning first to
the mindfulness of bodily postures the bhikkhu is
enjoined to contemplate (anupassanaa) the body
internally and externally as something that comes
into being and passes away again.(16) Furthermore,
such contemplation should accompany every act so
that "...when [the bhikkhu] is walking, [he] is
aware of it thus:--`I walk'; or when he is standing,
or sitting, or lying down, he is aware of it."(17)
The purpose of the mindfulness of the bodily
postures is to gain the knowledge (~naa.na) that he
dwells independent, grasping after nothing in the
world.(18) Awareness of bodily postures, therefore,
should produce such a total self-awareness in the
adept that "In going, standing, sitting, sleeping,
watching, talking or keeping silence he knows
(sampajaana) what he is doing."(19) This total
self-knowledge is directed toward two ends: (1) an
acknowledgment of the impermanence of the body (its
arising and decay) and (2) an independence
(anissito) from any attachment to the phenomenal
world.
The contemplation of the parts of the body is an
extension of mindfulness regarding the body and its
functions. It begins with an enumeration of various
physical organs and bodily products ranging from
hair to the heart to urine. This description of the
body and its parts is likened to a bag filled with
various kinds of grain which can be separated out
and identified: "...And a keen-eyed man... reflects
as he pour(s) them out:--'that's rice, that's paddy,
those are beans,' and so forth. Even so, bhikkhus,
does a brother reflect on the body from the soles of
the feet below upward to the crown of the head, as
something enclosed in skin and full of divers
impurities."(20)
Reflection on the parts of the body becomes even
more discriminating or analytical, however. From
physical parts, the bhikkhu moves his attention to
the fundamental bases (dhaatu) or constituent
elements of which the body is composed. In the
Theravaada scheme of things these basic elements are
---------
15 Nyaa.naponika, The Heart, p. 63.
16 The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:292.
17 The Dialogues of the Buddha (Diigha Nikaaya), 3
vols., trans. T. W. Rhys Davids and C. A. F. Rhys
Davids (London: Luzac & Co., 1899-1959), 4th ed.,
2:329 (hereafter cited as Dialogues).
18 The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:292.
19 Ibid.
20 Dialogues, 2:330.
P.439
four--earth, water, heat, and air. Mindfulness of
the fact that the body is composed of these elements
is likened to the butcher who, when he has slain an
ox, displays the carcass piece by piece.(21) There
appears to be a twofold purpose behind the
development of mindfulness regarding the various
parts and constituent elements of the body: (1) the
knowledge that no abiding ego exists in the body but
only those parts that can be observed and inferred
from this observation and (2) the essentially "vile"
and impermanent nature of the body.
This second purpose is carried to even greater
extremes in the fourth aspect of bodily mindfulness,
the cemetery contemplations. Here the bhikkhu is
enjoined to contemplate his own body as though it
were undergoing ever increasing degrees of
decomposition after death. Initially he contemplates
a body abandoned in a graveyard which is swollen and
turning black and blue; then a body which has been
partially eaten by wild animals; and finally a body
which has been reduced to a mere heap of bones.(22)
All of these contemplations are symbols of the
transient nature of the body.(23)
The second stage of mindfulness is to arrive at
the same degree of awareness of the true nature of
the feelings (vedanaa) as was developed by the body.
The bhikkhu must be able to distinguish among
feelings that are pleasurable (sukha) , painful
(dukkha), or neutral as well as feelings concerning
either spiritual (saamisa) or material (niraamisa)
things.(24) All of these types of vedanaa are
subject to arising and dying away, just as is the
body; hence, they are transient, ephemeral.
Mindfulness of feelings, consequently, just as
mindfulness regarding the body, produces a
detachment, an independence from the things of this
world.
After subjecting the body (kaaya) and the
feelings (vedanaa) to the kind of objective scrutiny
that leads to an understanding of their true nature,
the bhikkhu developing mindfulness turns his
attention to citta, "...the ever-changing,
ever-active continuance of consciousness, or
reacting intelligence"(25)
------------------
21 Ibid., p. 331.
22 The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:294-297.
23 The preoccupation of early Buddhism with the
notion of death offers some interesting
possibilities of interpretation other than the
rather obvious one given in the text. It might,
for instance, be an outgrowth of archaic
shamanistic practices, for the shaman is one who
above all else is qualified by a knowledge of
death. On this point see Mircea Eliade,
Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, trans.
Willard R. Trask (New York: Pantheon Books,
1964), p. 509f (hereinafter cited as Eliade,
Shamanism). On the other hand, in the dialectic
between the sacred and the profane, death plays a
very important role. For example, as Vatn Gennep
and others point out, rites of initiation marking
a passage from a "profane" state to a "sacred"
state are not infrequently signaled by a symbolic
recreation of death on the part of the initiate.
Arnold Van Gennep, The Rites of Passage (Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1961), p. 75f.
24 The Diigha Nikaaya,2:298.
25 Dialogues, 2:325.
P.440
and also to dhamma, the ideas, cognizable objects or
presentations beyond the stage of mere sensory
reaction.(26) Regarding the citta or conscious
thinking process the monk must become aware of its
various modes, for example, lustful, dull,
intelligent, attentive, or distrait. That this
awareness or knowledge of the states of the mind is
for the purpose of control is illustrated by the
following passage from the Vitakkasanthaana Sutta of
the Majjhima Nikaaya:
...if while the monk is attending to the thought
function and form of those thoughts, there still
arise evil unskilled thoughts associated with desire
and associated with aversion and associated with
confusion, ...that monk, his teeth clenched, his
tongue pressed against his palate, should by his
mind subdue, restrain and dominate his mind
(citta).(27)
Through awareness directed toward the mind, the monk
is enabled both to understand and subdue or control
the mind or consciousness (citta). It is recognized
that citta as well as kaaya and vedanaa comes into
being but then passes away.(28)
Regarding the dhamma or ideas, the
Mahaasatipa.t.thaana Suttanta specifically mentions
five groups: (1) the five hindrances (niivara.na),
(2) the five groups (khandha), (3) the five spheres
of sense (aayatana) , (4) the seven factors of
enlightenment and, (5) the four Aryan truths. All of
these groups of dhamma are to be reflected upon with
the same scrutiny as body, feelings, and mind with
the intent purpose of leading the monk to an
independence where he grasps after nothing in the
world.
Directing his attention toward the five
aggregates (khandha) , the bhikkhu considers
individually their arising and passing away until in
a state of non-grasping he attains to mindfulness.
Contemplating the six aayatanas or the internal and
external spheres of sense, the monk is made aware
that any fetters that bind him to the world are a
result of the coming together of the organs of sense
and the objects of sense. By his analysis he becomes
of the arising and the putting aside of all fetters.
Of the seven factors of enlightenment the bhikkhu
must grow aware "... if they are subjectively
present, or absent, and he is aware of how there
comes an uprising of any factor not hitherto
uprisen, and of how there comes a full development
of such factors when it has arisen."(29) Finally the
Mahaasatipa.t.thaana Suttanta expounds the four
Aryan truths, which must also be considered in terms
of the same pattern of their arising and passing
away.
What in belief is the purpose of
sati-sampaja~n~na? In general terms mind-
-----------
26 Ibid.
27 The Middle Length Sayings (Majjhima-Nikaaya), 3
vols., trans. I. B. Horner (London: Luzac & Co.,
Ltd., 1954-1959), 1:155.
28 The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:299.
29 Dialogues, 2:336.
P.441
fulness produces a profound self-awareness. More
specifically it is intended to produce a detachment
from the world of sense through controlling the
sensory inputs, and realizing the fundamental
impermanence or nonbeingness (anattaa) of existence.
Mindfulness, therefore, offers both a theoretical
and practical means for the "...realization of that
liberating truth of no-self (anattaa), having the
two aspects of egolessness and voidness of
substance."(30) This realization is a "lived
understanding." That is, it is arrived at through a
carefully graded program in which control of the
senses is coupled with an objective, discriminating
knowing. The method of mindfulness conjoins
psychomental programming, epistemological shifts,
and ontological transformation. It lays the
groundwork for later developments, in the meditative
life.
SAMAADHI AND ONEPOINTEDNESS
Samaadhi represents a greater degree of control over
the mind or consciousness (citta, vi~n~naa.na) than
sati. As the word itself (sam-aa-dhaa) denotes,
samaadhi is a bringing together, a concentration of
the mind in contrast to the more general practice of
mindfulness (sati). In early Buddhism the important
relationship between samaadhi as the process whereby
one concentrates his thoughts and controls his
consciousness and siila or the ethical and moral
behavior of the religious man is a general
assumption. For our purposes, however, samaadhi has
crucial implications for the higher goals of the
salvation-quest.
In the Subha Sutta of the Diigha Nikaaya the
young Brahman, Subha, asks AAnanda to expound the
doctrine regarding samaadhi. The resulting answer
includes elements which overlap with other
categories of this exposition, but several points
are made which will serve as a basis for our
discussion of samaadhi.
In the first place the sutta affirms that one
practices samaadhi by guarding the doors of the
senses.(31) This particular practice is described as
follows: when the monk sees an object with his eye
he is not grasped either by its general appearance
or by its details; he restrains whatever factor
might cause the arising of evil elemental reactions;
so restraining his sense of sight he attains mastery
over his sense of sight.(32) In a similar fashion he
controls his other sense organs: "... when he hears
a sound with his ear, or smells an odor with his
nose or tastes a flavor with his tongue or feels a
touch with his body, or cognizes (vi~n~naaya) a
phenomenon (dhamma) with his mind he is not grasped
either by the general appearance or the details of
it."(33) By
----------------
30 Nyaa.naponika, The Heart, p. 75.
31 The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:207, also p. 70.
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
P.442
so restraining all of his senses, including the
manas or conscious mind, he experiences an
unblemished happiness. Having so restrained and
guarded all the sense organs so that no element
(dhamma) of the mundane world may claim him, the
bhikkhu is now mindful (sati) and with clear
comprehension (sampaja~n~na). As described in the
Subha Sutta, therefore, samaadhi begins when the
senses are no longer subject to the rule of the
objects of sense.
In the Cuu.lavedalla Sutta of the Majjhima
Nikaaya the layman Visakha asks the nun
Dhammadinnaa, "What is concentration (samaadhi),
what are the distinguishing marks of concentration,
what is the development of concentration?"(34) To
this question the wise nun replies that samaadhi is
onepointedness of mind (cittassa ekaggataa), its
marks the four objects of mindfulness, its
requisites the four right efforts and that whatever
leads to the increase of these is, in effect, the
development of concentration. (35) This passage
points to the close relationship between sati and
samaadhi. That is, concentration appears to
presuppose the four objects of mindfulness.
Samaadhi, however, goes beyond the awareness of
impermanence and sensory detachment produced by
sati. It is a refined control of the consciousness,
a concentration of the mind to a single point,
thereby eliminating all extraneous thoughts.
Buddhaghosa in applying the definition cittassa
ekaggataa to samaadhi elaborates as follows:
"[samaadhi] is the centering of the consciousness
and consciousness-concomitants evenly and rightly on
a single object."(36) The man of concentrated
(samaadhi) and one-pointed (ekaggataa) mind,
therefore, stands in stark contrast to the profane
man who is "empty-headed, frivolous and loose in
talk."(37)
The Cuu.lavedalla Sutta's exposition of samaadhi
also says that the requisites of concentration are
the four right efforts. The four right efforts are
described in various parts of the Nikaayas as
follows: checking the rise of evil and wrong states
of consciousness not yet arisen; shedding evil and
wrong states that have already arisen; encouraging
the rise of right states not yet arisen; ensuring
that right states which are already there shall be
multiplied and developed.(38) The four right efforts
are frequently mentioned as one of the formula
truths reported to have been perceived by the Buddha
and passed on to his disciples.(39) While this
formula does indeed point to a relationship between
samaadhi and the production and retion of right
constituent states of conscious being, it raises the
broader issue of the place of samaadhi in a
------------
34 The Middle Length Sayings, 1:363.
35 The Majjhima Nikaaya, 3 vols., ed. V. Trenckner,
R. Chalmers, and C. A. F. Rhys Davids (London:
Luzac & Co., 1888-1899), 1:295.
36 Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification
(Visuddhimagga) , trans. Bhikkhu Na.namoli
(Colombo, Ceylon: R. Semage, 1956), p. 85.
37 The Book of Gradual Sayings (Ang ttara-Nikaaya),
5 vols., trans. F. L. Woodward and E. H. Hare
(London: Oxford University Press, 1932-1936),
5:65.
38 The Majjhima Nikaaya, 2:11.
39 For example, see The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:120.
P.443
variety of conceptual structures illustrative of an
enlightened state of mind. For instance all of the
five iddhipaadas, the paths to the attainment of
supranormal powers, are dependent on samaadhi.(40)
The five forces (indriyaani) or organs of spiritual
sense include samaadhi which is described by one
Buddhist scholar as "the dominant faculty, which
brings about concentration of thoughts and makes the
adept rise higher and higher in meditations."(41)
Samaadhi is also the sixth of the seven factors
leading to enlightenment,(42) and it has already
been pointed out that concentration is one of the
three major divisions of the Noble Eightfold Path.
On the basis of the crucial role played by samaadhi
in the formulae cited, it is arguable that
concentration of mind is the necessary step to the
attainment of a higher truth and the powers
accompanying it.
The Buddhist adept who chooses the way of
samaadhi begins his religious quest with a general
awareness of the nature of the self and reality but
must move beyond the state of objective detachment
produced by this mindfulness. He must progress to a
unity of concentration which eliminates the flow of
sensory material into his conscious mind. By such a
concentrated effort he is able to rise to higher
forms of apperception, to a mystic intuition of a
reality veiled to ordinary perception.(43)
JHAANA, STAGES TO THE ULTIMATE
Buddhist meditation progresses from samaadhi to
jhaana, or from concentration and onepointedness to
the gradual expansion of the consciousness to
hithertofore unexperienced dimensions. In the Paali
Suttas, jhaana is often found as part of the formula
of the four jhaanas, where it is translated as
mental absorption or trance. By carefully analyzing
this formula and the contexts in which it occurs,
the significance of jhaana in relationship to the
control of consciousness and saving-knowledge will
become clear.
In the Brahmajaala Sutta a discussion of the
four jhaanas occurs within the context of the
question, "How may the self or soul (atta) attain to
the highest Nibbaana in this visible world?" It is
in answer to this question that an explication of
the four jhaanas is set forth.
---------------
40 The five iddhipaadas are resolution (chanda),
effort (viriya) , consciousness (citta) , and
investigation (viima.msaa). The Diigha Nikaaya,
3:77.
41 Nalinaksha Dutt, Early Monastic Buddhism, rev.
ed. (Calcutta: Oriental Book Agency, 1960), p.
248.
42 The seven factors or limbs of enlightenment
(sambojjha^nga) are: sati, dhammavicaya, viriya,
piiti, passaddhi, samaadhi, and upekkhaa.
43 The process of mental training became greatly
elaborated in the scholastic or Abhidhamma period
of Theravaada Buddhism. Nalinaksha Dutt provides
an excellent discussion of the various forms of
samaadhi (as represented in particular by the
Vissuddhimagga) in chapter 7 of Early Monastic
Buddhism.
P.444
In this sutta it is accepted as an a priori
condition of phenomenal existence that the self is
subject to kaama or sensuous desires. It is also the
case that sensuous desires are characterized by
impermanence (anicca) . Phenomenal existence,
therefore, necessarily involves suffering since
sensory pleasures are constantly subject to change.
The only way one can hope to achieve happiness and
joy (piitisukha) is by cutting off kaama. In the
first jhaana this state is accomplished by
detachment (viveka) accompanied by reflection and
investigation (vitakka-vicaara) . In order to
understand this jhaana these three terms must be
studied in some detail.
The term viveka has a threefold significance: a
physical separation from the world in the sense of
"seclusion"; an intellectual separation in the sense
of "discrimination"; and an ethical separation in
the sense of the mind (citta) "being separate from
the World."(44) For instance, in the Mahaasu~n~nataa
Sutta the Buddha tells AAnanda that a bhikkhu who
delights in society cannot enjoy well-being or
emancipation of mind (cetovimutti) but that such
happiness demands renunciation, solitude, and
enlightenment (sambodha).(45) The Buddha claims that
as a Tathaagata he has reached such a state of
isolation (viveka) by dismissing thoughts of all
attendant phenomena and by developing and dwelling
in a state of emptiness (su~n~nataa).(46) The sutta
goes on to say that a monk who likewise desires to
develop and dwell in inward emptiness should calm,
tranquilize, focus and concentrate his mind
inwardly.(47) This sutta clearly indicates that
viveka implies both a physical separation from the
delights of ordinary worldly intercourse as well as
an isolation of the mind (citta). It is interesting
to note that the resultant separation is described
as a condition of inward emptiness (su~n~nataa)
since in the later Maadhyamika tradition the
perspective on this important term will shift from a
psychophysical emphasis to an ontological one.
In the Na.lakapaana Sutta of the Majjhima
Nikaaya, viveka is described in terms of separation
from sensuous desires and from the evil constituents
of being. This separation is said to result in the
attainment of joy and happiness. The Tathaagata who
has reached such a state has overcome the
attachments to the mundane world known as the
aasavas, which produce the suffering of "birth, old
age and death."(48) Viveka, then, means a detachment
from the world of sense with its accompanying
desires and kammic resultants of rebirth.
The terms vitakka and vicaara should be taken
together. In fact T. W. Rhys Davids contends that by
examining the use of these two words in earlier
---------------
44 The Dialogues of the Buddha, 1:84 (see the
footnote).
45 The Majjhima Nikaaya, 3:110.
46 Ibid., 3:111.
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid., 1:464.
P.445
and later works, one concludes that they once had
synonymous meanings.(49) They came to have slightly
different intentions, however, with vitakka
referring in particular to initial thought or
observation and vicaara denoting continuing or
sustained investigation and reflection. Together
they are used to indicate "...the whole of the
mental process of thinking."(50)
In the Upakkilesa Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaaya
both vitakka and vicaara are related to
concentration (samaadhi). The Buddha is recorded as
saying that by developing samaadhi in several modes
beginning with vitakka and vicaara, he gained the
knowledge (~naa.na) and the vision (dassana) that
his final liberation (vimutti) was assured. Vitakka
and vicaara, therefore are important to the
concentration (samaadhi) of one's thoughts and act
as one of the first steps toward the attainment of
the apperception (dassana) of ultimate reality. They
share with viveka the characteristics of directing
the individual away from mere sensory reality. Thus
in the Dasuttara Suttanta of the Diigha Nikaaya the
eight thoughts (vitakka) of the great man
(mahaapurisa) include the limitation of desires,
detachment, and mental concentration.(51) As we
shall see, however, vitakka can become dangerous. As
the Sakkapa~nha Suttanta of the Diigha Nikaaya
points out, vitakka can become a mental
preoccupation which causes desire (chanda),(52) the
root of attachment to the mundane World.(53)
In sum, the first jhaana is depicted primarily
as a condition of detachment. It involves a
physical, intellectual, and ethical separation from
the phenomenal world. An important phase of the
development of the concentration necessary to
acquire the first jhaana is careful thought and
analysis of one's self and the surrounding world.
The second jhaana is achieved when observation
and investigation (vitakka and vicaara) are
suppressed. In this stage these two mental functions
are said to be o.laarika or gross, implying that
they are necessarily involved in the empirical
world. The second jhaana is characterized by joy and
happiness (piitisukha) , born not of viveka or
detachment but of samaadhi, translated by Rhys
Davids in this passage as "serenity."(54) This state
is further characterized by a tranquil inner nature
and a concentrated mind or heart.(55)
Just as the first jhaana was labeled gross
(o.laarika) since it involved vitakka and vicaara,
the second acquires the same rubric because it is
characterized by
---------------
49 Rhys-Davids and Stede, Paali-English Dictionary,
p. 620.
50 Ibid.
51 The Dialogues of the Buddha, 3:261.
52 In this particular case, chanda or excitement is
nearly identical in meaning with ta.nhaa, thirst
or craving.
53 The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:277. Dialogues, 2:311.
54 Dialogues, 1:50.
55 The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:37.
P.446
joy (piiti) and an exhilaration of the heart.(56)
The qualities which are found in one who attains to
the third jhaana are equanimity (upekkhaa) and
mindfulness (sati), "self-possession" (sampajaana),
dispassion (viraaga), and an abiding happiness.
Finally in the fourth jhaana the attention of the
heart on happiness is transcended as is a concern
with its opposite, dukkha or suffering.(57)
Similarly the polarity of somanassa and domanassa or
mental distress is overcome. The last jhaana is,
therefore, composed of pure equanimity and
mindfulness (upekkhaasatiparisuddhi)(58) and is "a
state where some maintain the complete happiness, in
the visible world, of a living being."(59)
The fourfold jhaana formula appears again in
the Saama~n~naphala Sutta, the discourse on the
fruits of the life of a sama.na or recluse. In this
sutta the discussion of the jhaanas is preceded by
an overcoming of the five hindrances or niivara.nas
and is followed by the acquisition of supranormal
powers or iddhi and abhi~n~naa (supranormal
knowledge) as well as the overcoming of the aasavas.
To understand more fully the role of jhaana within
the scope of Buddhist soteriology, we shall examine
in some detail the most important of the concepts in
this sutta, namely, niivara.na, iddhi, abhi~n~naa,
and aasava.
The classical formula of the five
niivara.nas(60) as found in the Saama~n~naphala
Sutta and elsewhere in the Nikaayas (for example,
Diigha III, 49) is described as follows: (1)
coveting the world, (2) malevolence and the desire
to injure, (3) stolidity and slothfulness, (4)
excitement and misdeeds and (5) wavering or
doubt.(61) One must overcome these hindrances so
that in each case the mind may be purified.
Separated from sensuous desires and evil elemental
impulses the sama.na is enabled to enter into the
sequence of the four jhaanas previously
described.(62) With the exception of the fifth
niivara.na the concern of this formula is clearly
with those emotions which tend toward unreflective
involvement in the phenomenal world. As Sa^myutta
Nikaaya 5:83 puts it, the niivara.nas are conducive
"...to the still more becoming and growth
thereof."(63) Involvement in the becoming of the
phenomenal world supposes lack of insight or
ignorance described as blindness and loss of sight.
One who has not overcome the niivara.nas obviously
is unable to acquire any degree of knowledge beyond
that granted through the agency of the senses in
dependence on the empirical world.
-----------
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid., 1:37-38.
58 Ibid., 1:38.
59 Dialogues, 1:51.
60 Niivara.na is the Sanskrit nis + vara.na
literally meaning not choosing or unable to
choose and, hence, an obstacle or hindrance.
61 The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:71.
62 Ibid., 1: 73.
63 The Book of Kindred Sayings (Samyutta-Nikaaya), 5
vols., trans. C. A. F. Rhys Davids and F. L.
Woodward (London: Oxford University Press,
1917-1930), 5:70.
P.447
The Saama~n~naphala Sutta makes clear, however,
that one who passes through the jhaanas transcends
an ordinary involvement in the phenomenal world
exemplified by the niivaranas. Through attaining the
four jhaanas the consciousness or mind (citta) is
made pure (parisuddha), freed from blemish, devoid
of evil (kilesa),(64) stable and immovable.(65) The
citta is thereby freed to direct itself toward the
"insight that comes from knowledge."(66) This
insight is simply that this body (kaaya) has a form
(ruupa) composed of the four great elements; that it
is a result of a human birth; that it is perpetuated
by partaking of foods; that it is impermanent and
subject to dissolution and disintegration; and that
consciousness itself (vi~n~na.na) depends on the
body and is bound up with it.(67) With the citta
purified and collected, the sama.na has the mental
power to be able to create (maya) with it another
body (a~n~na kaaya) than the body subject to the
frailties described above. As the text describes
this process it is "... as if a man were to pull out
a reed from its sheath. He would know: `this is the
reed, this the sheath. The reed is one thing, the
sheath another. It is from the sheath that the reed
has been drawn forth.' And similarly were he to take
a snake out of its slough, or draw a sword from its
scabbard."(68)
The notion of manomaya or mental power has
significant possibilities for this study; however,
on the basis of the Paali texts it is difficult to
arrive at a specific interpretation. In general the
term denotes being made or formed by the mind,
particularly as though magically made.(69) For
example, the Brahmajaala Sutta refers to the
evolution of the world system to the point where
most beings have been reborn in the "World of
Radiance" and "there they dwell made of mind
(manomaya), feeding on joy, radiating light from
themselves, traversing the air [and] continuing in
glory...."(70) A similar association of manomaya
with a heavenly realm is found in the Apa.n.naka
Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaaya. There it is stated
that the corporeal gods are a product of
manomaya.(71) The two passages cited above clearly
refer to the
------------------------
64 The word, kilesa, along with other terms such as
the niivara.na, ta.nhaa, the aasava, etc., has
reference to unthinking involvement in the
phenomenal or profane world. Kilesa literally
means stain, soil, impurity and comes to stand
for sensuous desires, passions, etc. "Its
occurrence in the Pi.takas is rare; in later
works, very frequent, where it is approx.
tantamount to our terms lower or unregenerate
nature...." Rhys Davids and Stede, Paali-English
Dictionary, p.216.
65 The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:76.
66 Dialogues, 1:86.
67 The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:76. We find here a standard
description of the body. Consciousness
(vi~n~naa.na) in this instance indicates the five
senses or the entire emotional and intellectual
process. See Dialogues, 1:87, notes 1 and 2.
68 Dialogues, 1:88.
69 Rhys Davids and Stede, Paali-English Dictionary,
p. 521.
70 Dialogues, 1:30. The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:17.
71 The Majjhima Nikaaya, 1:410.
P.448
magical power of the mind by relating manomaya to
the mythological realms of Buddhism. Indeed,
manomaya's earliest meaning may have been magically
oriented--the notion that mano was responsible for
the attainment of heavenly rewards of some form or
another; however, we find that manomaya comes to
assume both ethical and ontic connotations.
For instance, the Dhammapaada opens with the
following two verses:
Mind is the forerunner of (all evil) states. Mind is
chief; mind-made are they. If one speaks or acts
with wicked mind, because of that, suffering follows
one, even as the wheel follows the hoof of the
draught-ox.
Mind is the forerunner of (all good) states. Mind is
chief; mind-made are they. If one speaks or acts
with pure mind, because of that, happiness follows
one, even as one's shadow that never leaves.
In this passage the ethical and the ontic are
definitely related in terms of mind, that is, the
mind appears as the center point. It has, as it
were, the power to create the "self." The ethical
dimension stems from this fact. If the mind is
ignorant and impure, one will suffer; if, on the
other hand, the mind is enlightened and pure, one
will attain happiness.
Having overcome the five hindrances, attained
the four mental absorptions and the power of
manomaya, the sama.na now acquires iddhi or
supranormal power, and abhi~n~na or supranormal
knowledge. The term iddhi is of pre-Buddhistic
origin. In different contexts it may be used in the
Paali texts to describe the potency of a king, a
rich noble, a hunter, etc.(72) In the
Saama~n~naphala Sutta, eight modes of iddhi are
mentioned: (1) the power of becoming one or many,
(2) the ability to become invisible, (3) passing
through objects such as walls and hills, (4)
penetrating through solid ground, (5) the power to
walk on water, (6) traveling cross-legged in the
sky, (7) touching the moon and the sun, (8) reaching
Brahmaa heaven.(73)
The above listed iddhis acquired by the Buddhist
adept have striking similarities with the archaic
phenomenon of shamanism.(74) The coincidence of
characteristics between these two religious
practitioners has been studied by Mircea Eliade in
his monograph, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of
Ecstacy.(75) In particular he points to the
"identity in expression" between the superhuman
experiences of the Buddhist yogin and the archaic
symbolism of ascent and flight found so frequently
in shamanism.(76) Symbols of ascent and flight are
especially important since they illustrate the
ecstatic experience at which
-------------
72 Rhys Davids and Stede, Paali-English Dictionary,
p. 120.
73 Dialogues, 1:88-89.
74 Eliade notes that the word, shaman, is derived
through the Russian from the Tungusic, "saman."
Some scholars, however, have derived the term
from Paali. See Eliade, Shamanism, p, 495.
75 See chapter 11, "Shamanic Ideologies and
Techniques Among the Indo-Europeans," in Eliade,
Shamanism.
76 P.409.
P.449
shamanism aims. The shaman through the medium of
this experience obtains a superhuman state of being
enhancing him with such powers as flight, especially
for the purpose of reaching otherworldly realms. The
magical aspect of this power is well illustrated by
our particular text, which specifically indicates
that prior to the acquisition of iddhi, the sama.na
has exercised the power of manomaya, the "magic" of
his mind, in order to create "another body." It
would appear that the iddhi which follow are powers
of that "other body" created as a result of passing
through the four jhaanas.
The possible shamanistic and, hence, magically
oriented origin of iddhi is furthered by what
appears to be a growing suspicion on the part of
early Buddhism toward the public display of
paranormal or superhuman psychic powers, In the
Kevaddha Sutta of the Diigha Nikaaya the Buddha is
represented as warning against the use of magical
wonders because they might be confused with the use
of magical charms practiced in Gandhaara.(77) He is
made to say, "It is because I perceive danger in the
practice of mystic wonders, that I loath, and abhor,
and am ashamed thereof."(78) In the Vinaya Pi.taka
it is stated that a monk should not display psychic
powers before the laity beyond the powers of
ordinary men.(79) The Sampasaadaniiya Sutta of the
Diigha Nikaaya makes it clear that there are indeed
two types of iddhi, one which is termed ignoble and
the other noble.(80) The ignoble are those powers
discussed above in the Sama~n~naphala Sutta and
elsewhere in the Nikaayas.(81) In the
Sampasaadaniiya Sutta the iddhis are labeled ignoble
since they are concomitant with mental intoxicants
and worldly aims.(82) In other words, it is possible
to employ the fruits of the jhaana or the iddhi in
such a manner that the mundane world, rather than
being transcended, becomes even more attractive and
one's involvement within it is deepened even
further. Iddhi produced through manomaya may become
the occasion of a descent into the actual or
phenomenal world rather than ascent into the real or
noumenal.
In contrast to the ignoble powers, all of which
involve some superhuman power, the Sampasaadaniiya
Sutta describes the noble powers as follows: "When a
bhikkhu can, if he so desire, remain unconscious of
the disgust amid what is disgusting; or conscious of
disgust amid what is not disgusting; or unconscious
of disgust amid what is both disgusting and the
opposite; or, avoiding both that which is disgusting
and the opposite, should remain indifferent to them
as such, mindful and understanding."(83) As should
be expected, the
------------
77 The Dialogues of the Buddha, 1:278.
78 Ibid.
79 The Book of Discipline (Vinaya-Pi.taka), 5 vols.,
trans. I. B. Horner, Sacred Books of the
Buddhists (London: Luzac & Co., 1940-1952) ,
2:112.
80 The Diigha Nikaaya, 3:112.
81 See the Kevaddha Sutta.
82 The Diigha Nikaaya, 3:112.
83 Dialogues, 3:107.
P.450
noble iddhis overcome the mental intoxicants
(aasavas) and the worldly aims instead of becoming
further embroiled in them. Rather than representing
the superhuman or the magical, Aryan powers stand
for control of sa~n~naa or perceptions and lead to
an indifference (upekhaka) toward the disgusting and
the nondisgusting, those polarities which qualify
our perception of the phenomenal world.
The transformation of iddhi from an archaic,
magical meaning is further illustrated by the
Janavasabha Suttanta of the Diigha Nikaaya
describing the four ways in which iddhi is
developed. They are: concentration and effort with
desire (chanda-samaadhi), concentration and effort
with energy (viriya-samaadhi), concentration and
effort with a "dominant idea" (citta-samaadhi),
concentration and effort with investigation
(viima.msaa-samaadhi) .(84) Here we find a
progression not to a state of ecstasy leading to
powers of invisibility and flight, but rather a
progression from desire (chanda) to investigation
(viima.msaa), or from motivation and effort to a
more refined and sophisticated use of the mind. It
appears that iddhi as the fruit of jhaana becomes,
rather than supernatural powers acquired in
shamanistic trance, a discriminating understanding
(viima.msaa) of the phenomenal world engendering a
detached objectivity (upekhaka) in the face of the
polarities of impure/pure, loathsome/ nonloathsome,
disgusting/nondisgusting typical of the phenomenal
or mundane world.
In addition to iddhi, the Saama~n~naphala Sutta
indicates that other powers are acquired by the
sama.na who has overcome the niivara.nas and
acquired the jhaanas. These powers are said to be
the heavenly or divine ear; discernment of various
types of minds or citta; knowledge of previous
existences; the heavenly or divine eye with which
the adept "...sees beings as they pass away from one
form of existence and take shape in another...."(85)
These supranormal powers eventually developed into a
stereotyped list of six abhi~n~naas (higher
knowledge). They appear in the Dasuttara Suttanta of
the Diigha Nikaaya as follows: (1) the iddhis in
their various modes described above; (2)
"deva-hearing" by which the adept "hears sounds both
heavenly and human, far and near";(3) a mind that
"...understands the minds of other beings, other
persons..."; (4) an ability to recall to mind
"...the various temporary states as he lived in days
gone by...";(5) "deva-sight" by which "he discerns
the pageant of beings faring according to their
deeds"; (6) the realization and knowledge of the
extinction of the "intoxicants" (aasavas) and the
attainment of freedom.(86)
We can discern in this list an amalgam of two
different types of abhi~n~naa. In the first instance
there is the type illustrated by the occurrence of
the
--------------
84 The Diigha Nikaaya, 2:213.
85 Ibid., 1:79f.
86 Ibid., 3:281. See also Dialogues, 3:257f.
P.451
supranormal powers in the Saama~n~naphala Sutta.
There the abhi~n~naas are acquired as the result of
jhaana through the power of manomaya. In particular,
however, abhi~n~naa seems to express a psychic or
mental power in contrast to the extraordinary
physical power of the iddhis. For example, the
heavenly ear and the divine eye would appear above
all else to indicate a heightened mode of perception
enabling the adept to arrive at a supranatural
knowledge bordering on omniscience. Thus iddhi and
abhi~n~naa seem to complement each other, the one
pointing to physical power, the other to mental
power. It is just such a mutually supporting role,
for example, that iddhi and abhi~n~naa play in the
Akankheyya Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaaya.(87)
There is, on the other hand, another type of
abhi~n~naa in the Dasuttara Suttanta list, a "higher
knowledge" of the destruction of all attachments to
the mundane and of the realization of ultimate
reality or nibbaana. This aspect of the abhi~n~naas
is found in the Samyutta Nikaaya, where they are
preceded by the "middle path" and followed by
enlightenment and nibbaana.(88) Or, again in the
A^nguttara Nikaaya where it is said that the
abhi~n~naas lead to full emancipation,(89) and the
Diigha where we find that they are contrary to
priestly superstitions and vain (sophistical)
speculations.(90) In other words, abhi~n~naa, at
this level, is insight into the truth claims of
Buddhism regarding the nature of reality. It may be
that the two seemingly different types of abhi~n~naa
represent a synthesis of a more popular and
"primitive," magically oriented tradition with the
more sophisticated, ethically oriented tradition of
the priests. It is difficult to assert, as the Paali
Text Society Dictionary does, that the more
magically oriented understanding of abhi~n~naa is
later.(91) Perhaps all that can be safely said is
that in the Nikaayas the two traditions came to be
amalgamated. That is to say, it was expected that as
a person gained detachment from the phenomenal world
he not only gained a "higher knowledge"
(abhi-j~naa), but supranormal powers (iddhis) as
well.
Having destroyed the niivara.nas, attained the
jhaanas, the iddhis, and abhi~n~naas, the
Sama~n~naphala Sutta goes on to say that the
sama~n~naa is then able to destroy the "deadly
floods" or "intoxicants" (aasavas) that are part of
the attachment of the profane man to the mundane
world. In this sutta the aasavas are enumerated as
kaama (sensual desire), bhaava (becoming or desire
for future life), and avijjaa (ignorance of the four
noble truths).(92) One of the most famous passages
referring to the intoxicants is contained in a
formula repeated throughout the Nikaayas, the
Mahaaparinibbaana Sutta in particular.
------------------
87 The Majjhima Nikaaya, 1:33.
88 The Book of Kindred Sayings, 5:357.
89 The Book of Gradual Sayings, 4:179.
90 The Diigha Nikaaya, 3:131.
91 Rhys Davids and Stede, Paali-English Dictionary,
p.64.
92 The Diigha Nikaaya, 1:83.
P.452
It illustrates the interrelationship of conduct
(siila), concentration (samaadhi), and understanding
(pa~n~naa) in overcoming the aasavas. After
affirming that concentration must be accompanied by
right conduct and understanding by concentration,
the passage concludes that the mind (citta) of the
individual surrounded by a profound understanding
(pa~n~naa) of the nature of reality will be freed
(vimuccati) from being "poured out" (aasava) into
the mundane world through sensual desires, the wish
for a life of continual becoming, false views, and
ignorance of his true state of being.(93)
The aasavas, as do the niivara.nas, serve to
clarify that from which the jhaanas free a man.
Fundamentally it is the mundane, specifically as the
world of sensuous desire, becoming, anger, worry,
dullness, stupidity; or, in other words, ignorant,
unthinking involvement in and attachment to the
empirical world. The jhaanas represent stages by
which an individual attains a power of mind
(manomaya) which represents a new order of being,
"another body" (a~n~na kaaya) as the text states it.
This new being is g raphically illustrated by
certain powers the texts describe partially in the
terms of a popular, magical tradition and partially
in terms of the higher knowledge represented by the
Buddhist analysis of existence. We may conclude that
the jhaanas preserve two types of knowledge in
relationship to the salvation quest: ecstasy and a
mode of knowledge characterized by viima.msaa,
vitakka, and vicaara or more rational and
discriminating forms of thinking. Knowledge as
power, then, comes to take on a rather particular
meaning. It is power over the world of becoming and
change, but it is also the power of new being.
UPEKKHAA AND THE UNLIMITEDS
We have seen in our discussion of jhaana that
upekkhaa (equanimity) appeared in the third stage
and that in the fourth there remained only sati
(mindfulness) and upekkhaa. Having discussed the
former term, we now turn to an examination of
upekkhaa. The word upekkhaa is derived from the
Sanskrit root iik.s, meaning to gaze or look at,
plus the prefix upa; hence, the word literally means
to overlook or neglect.(94) Its meaning is extended,
however, to denote patience, equanimity, or
indifference. The Paali Text Society Dictionary
defines upekkhaa as, "hedonic neutrality or
indifference, the zero point between joy and
sorrow."(95) A. B. Keith notes that upekkhaa, as a
quality of the third and fourth jhaana, does not
actually connote a hedonistic sense of indifference
but rather an intellectual neutrality. Thus,
upekkhaa, at least in its jhaanic context, is an
impartial tolerance in regard to all mental
states.(96)
------------
93 Ibid., 2:81.
94 Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary,
p. 215.
95 Rhys Davids and Stede, Paali-English Dictionary,
p. 150.
96 A. B. Keith, Buddhist Philosophy in India and
Ceylon, 4th ed. (Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit
Series Office, 1963), p. 126.
P.453
A broad survey of the uses of upekkhaa in the
Theravaada tradition is given by Edward Conze as
follows: (1) neutral feelings which are neither
pleasant nor unpleasant, (2) an attitude of "serene
unconcern" or sameness of thought arising from the
practice of concentration or jhaana, (3) the final
stage of worldly wisdom just prior to reaching the
Path when evenmindedness toward all conditioned
beings is achieved, (4) the equanimity of the
Arahant who retains a natural state of purity, (5)
the equanimity of the Arahant as contrasted with the
dull indifference of ignorant men, and (6) an
attitude or impartiality providing an antidote to
ill will and sensuous greed.(97)
In the Nikaayas themselves we discover that upekkhaa
is used frequently in the formula of the four brahma
vihaaras or the abodes of brahmaa. The brahma
vihaaras are four "states of mind" that result, after
death, in a rebirth in the heavenly worlds of
brahmaa.(98) There is disagreement among Buddhist
scholars as to the origin of the brahma vihaaras. T. W.
Rhys Davids contends that they were almost certainly
exclusively Buddhist, (99) whereas E. J. Thomas
believes they show a direct connection with
Brahmanical practices since they occur in the Yoga
Suutras.(100) Regardless of origin, however, the
brahma vihaaras are important as modes of heightened
awareness, although they are not in themselves the
highest goal of nibbaana.(101)
Another term used in the Nikaayas to define the
brahma vihaaras is appaman~naa or "infinite
feelings."(102) This term is applied to these states
of mind or categories of consciousness dealing with
mind expansion. Mahasudassana Suttanta of the Diigha
Nikaaya reports the following attainments of "the
Great King of Glory" after reaching the fourth
jhaana: "And he let his mind pervade one quarter of
the world with thoughts of love; and so the second
quarter and so the third and so the fourth. And thus
the whole wide world, to pervade with heart of love,
far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure, free
from the least trace of anger or ill will."(103) And
in a similar fashion he pervaded the whole world
with a consciousness of compassion, sympathetic joy,
and equanimity. The brahma vihaaras in general and
upekkhaa in particular represent, if you will,
universal states of consciousness. They are one of
the somewhat paradoxical outcomes of the process of
meditation and the control of the mind which has
been described in the Nikaayas, a process that
becomes even more
---------------
97 Conze, Buddhist Thought in India, pp. 89-90.
98 The four brahma vihaaras are: love (mettaa),
compassion (karu.naa), sympathetic joy (muditaa),
and equanimity (upekkhaa).
99 Dialogues, 1:298.
100 Edward J, Thomas, The History of Buddhist
Thought, 2d ed. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1951), P.50.
101 Ibid.
102 Appama~n~naa corresponds to the Sanskrit
praamaa.nya + the prefix, a, literally meaning
"not."
103 Dialogues, 2:219.
P454
refined in a later period. This outcome of Buddhist
meditation is seemingly paradoxical in that the
progression from sati to samaadhi, and even into the
jhaanas, was primarily a narrowing down of the
consciousness. But the narrowing of the
consciousness was for the purpose of its ultimate
liberation. The refinement of the mind was important
primarily for the elimination of attachment to the
objects of sense and concomitantly to develop such
mental control that the mind developed the power to
construct a new reality (manomaya). That is to say,
the purpose of meditation in the Nikaayas is to free
the mind from dependence on sensory objects so that
it can be expanded to realities which defy empirical
definition. Upekkhaa, therefore, becomes the last
element in the seven factors of enlightenment and is
a characteristic shared by both Arahants and
buddhas.
Perhaps the significance of the difference in
consciousness implied by upekkhaa and ordinary
states of consciousness can be best demonstrated by
referring to two Nikaaya texts. The
Sa.laayatanavibha^nga Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaaya
lists six indifferences (upekkhaa) . A worldly
indifference is "...the indifference on seeing a
thing which appertains to the ignorant and foolish
average man...such indifference...fails to transcend
the thing seen..."(104) By way of contrast the
indifference of renunciation arises when "...on
discerning the transitory nature of things seen and
their mutability, instability and annihilation,
indifference arises from causal understanding."(105)
Upekkhaa denotes, therefore, a transcendence of the
thing seen.
Assuming that meditation frees the mind from
dependence on the mundane world, to what is it
freed? The answer must of necessity be in abstract
terms, and the person who is looking for a concrete
definition of the knowledge of ultimates is bound to
be disappointed; however, one answer given by the
Nikaayas is found in the Mahaavadella Sutta of the
Majjhima Nikaaya. There, in a conversation between
Saariputta and Ko.t.thita the Great, Saariputta
discusses four "freedoms" of the mind (cetovimutti):
appamaa.naa (immeasurable) , aaki~nca~n~naa
(nothingness) , su~n~nataa (emptiness), animittaa
(signless).(106) All four of these characteristics
of the cetovimutti are identical in that they
connote a state or condition of nonattachment. They
also point beyond themselves to a reality beyond
definition, a reality that can be known but not in
the way that people ordinarily know. The whole thrust
of Buddhist meditation, therefore, is to produce a
condition of consciousness in which ultimate reality
can be known directly, just as objects are perceived
directly in the phenomenal world. The Buddhist way of
coming to know ultimate reality is to produce a
condition of being in which reality can be perceived
directly. It is because the
-------------
104 The Further Dialogues of the Buddha (Majjhima
Nikaaya) , 2 vols., trans. Robert Chalmers
(London: Oxford University Press, 1926-1927),
2:280.
105 Ibid.
106 The Majjhima Nikaaya, 1: 297.
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reality to be known is "other" than that which is
ordinarily known that the process of meditation--sati,
samaadhi, jhaan and upekkhaa--is undergone. The
cognizing apparatus must be transformed since,
indeed, to reach nibbaana involves a total
transformation of consciousness and being.
The process of meditation described in the Paali
suttas provides the proper context for a discussion
of Buddhist epistemology. Epistemology in Buddhism
is basically a soteriological and not a
philosophical problem. To understand the Theravaada
view of knowledge (vi~n~naana and pa~n~naa) demands
a serious study of the structure of Buddhist
meditation. This essay has attempted such a study.
It has argued that within the progressive refinement
of consciousness developed in the Buddhist
meditative process, discriminating and analytical
modes of knowledge played a decisive role, both in
terms of understanding the true nature of things as
well as in producing a state of detachment. It has
further argued that meditation leads to a state of
consciousness in which only a nondiscriminating mode
of knowledge is appropriate. Such knowledge might be
labeled mystical or intuitive but, finally, as the
texts themselves point out, it is without any proper
designation (animittaa).