5. Practical approach through Vipassan1 and Jh1na meditation towards stopping of viññ17a. - (1)

[좋은친구]

5.     Practical approach through Vipassan1 and Jh1na meditation towards stopping of viññ17a.

I

n the context of latencies, influxes and floods, a complete re-orientation of sense-perception often becomes an arduous task requiring diligent practice. All objects of the six senses lure consciousness into the net of name-and-form – craving being the decoy.[1] Worldly consciousness always finds itself glued to this or that object which tends to becloud its vision of reality. These objects, forming the meshes of the net, have a simulating nature about them, which makes it difficult for one to thrust them out of the whole scheme of conscious life. They cannot be washed away, for they are there so long as the senses are there.

           According to the Kalak1r1ma sutta, a Tath1gata does not conceive of a visible thing as apart from sight or an audible thing as apart from hearing or a thing to be sensed as apart from sensation or a cognizable thing as apart from cognition. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and ideas are, all of them, signs which consciousness pursues. But still the question may be asked : “What do these signs signify ?”  “Things, of course” – the Tath1gata would reply. ‘Things’, however, are not those that the worldling has in mind when he seeks an answer to this question. Lust, hatred and delusion are the ‘things’ which, according to the teaching of the Tath1gata, are signified by all sense-percepts.

      Greed, hatred and delusion, which those objects as signs signify, are not abandoned verbally or physically, but by practice accompanied with wisdom. It is, therefore, when consciousness is weaned away from the tendency to get enmeshed in the net of name-and-form, that the essence of the concept – ‘Deliverance’ – is attained. Then one will be gazing not at the net but the through it, not at the ‘things’ but at the nature of ‘things’.

           All over the world, philosophers have racked their brains about freedom from old age, sickness and death. But freedom from these evils means Nibb1na and Nibb1na is beyond the reach of reason and intellect. It is to be realized only through the practice of the middle way and vipassan1[2]. This is possible when the insight dawns on the yogi with the development of concentration, and in accordance with Satipa55h1na method he watches the n1mar3pa process and distinguishes between viññ17a and r3pa (conscious and corporeality), e.g. the desire to eat and the action of eating, the ear and the sound on the one hand and consciousness of hearing on the other and so forth. Such knowledge is not vague and speculative ; it is visible and empirical.

           It can be realized by any one who contemplates n1mar3pa at the moment of their arising and passing away. Introspection of n1mar3pa or vipassan1 contemplation means thorough watching and ceaseless contemplation of all psycho-physical phenomena that comprise both the sense-objects and the corresponding consciousness. The practice leads to full awareness of their nature. As concentration develops, the yogi realizes their arising and instant vanishing, thereby gaining an insight into their anicca, dukkha and anatta.

           As mention before, get into practice, “Upto the point of ‘feeling’ the process of perception is explained in very impersonal terms based on the general formula of causality. Thereafter it is changed to a personal statement suggestive of deliberate activity ; hence third person construction : “what one feels one perceives.” – from this point the nature (Things as they really are ; Yath1 bh3ta) is deviated i.e. the intrusion of the ego-consciousness or self-consciousness.

           Thus we can start practice at this point. When we look at the object through 6 sense bases and 6 external objects we better make a note[3] when things are seen noting ‘seeing, seeing’, when sound is heard ‘hearing, hearing’, when smells ‘smelling, smelling’, when tastes ‘tasting, tasting’, when senses are noticed ‘touching, touching’, when phenomena are noticed in the mind ‘thinking, thinking’. Thus making note every moment on the most prominent factor in the Yogi with sharp mindfulness.  For example, when somebody sees tree ; He thinks he is seeing the tree. Here tree and eye (subject and object) are discriminated by consciousness, then feeling arises (phassapaccay1 vedan1), depending on feeling arises perceiving (Ya9 vedeti ta9 sañj1n1ti) and if tree is good desire to possess arises in the perceiver, grasping arises, if tree is bad desire to hate arises. These two way of seeing are generated depending on one’s own likes and dislikes based on sa}kh1ra which caused from one’s past kamma. But just keep on noting ‘seeing, seeing’ then this awareness of seeing that is eye-consciousness itself is realized by consciousness[4]. At this point while keeping awareness there can not arise any feeling of good or bad because only one mind is working at one moment. Or if there already arises the feeling of any kind then just notice ‘feeling, feeling’, and observe the process of feeling with ardent mindfulness. Then one finds that this feeling is disappearing. Thereby it gives certain knowledge of arising and proceeding and passing away. That is the knowledge of impermanence. While doing so from the point of feeling no more re-linking is there for grasping. Thus there is no place of intrusion of ego. From ‘ti77a9 sa}gati phasso’, consequent chain is weakened or broken without intrusion of ego, just paticcasamupp1da is working as causality[5]. Eye-consciousness, eye and tree are still there as they are but without attachment or repulsiveness i.e. without discrimination of subject and object with pure Awareness as Knowing Mind.

           By failing to make a mental note of a pleasant feeling, one provides an opportunity for lust to arise. Failure to make a mental note of an unpleasant feeling can be an opportunity for the arising of repugnance, while such a failure in regard to neither unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling might give rise to deception, delusion or ignorance. Therefore the practice of mentally noting each and every object that calls at the six sense-doors will also be helpful in getting rid of the tendency towards ignorance.

           Thus, in meditation, one should make a mental note of everything encountered. One should get into the habit of mentally noting whatever comes along.

           Thereby the meditator understands that eye-consciousness arises because of the eye and a visual object, and that owing to eye-contact there arises feeling, perception, volition and thought. At this stage it occurs to him that there is no “I” or “person” apart from the four categories : mind and its cause, and matter and its cause.

           Any form whatever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near – all form he sees with right wisdom as it really is (thus) : “This is not mine”, “This is not I am”, “This is not my self”. Any feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness whatever, whether past, future or present .... – all consciousness he sees with right wisdom as it really is (thus) : ‘This is not mine”, “This is not I am”, “This is not my self”[6].

           The knowledge of Contemplation of Arising and Passing away (Udayabbay1nupassan1ñ17a) is defined thus : “The wisdom in contemplating the change of present phenomena is the knowledge of Contemplation of Arising and Passing away[7]. It is by contemplating formations as present phenomena that this particular knowledge is attained. Before this, the reflection on formations took stock of all three temporal modes – past, present and future. In order to see impermanence, one has to perceive the characteristic of passing away, and for passing away to be seen, the event of arising must also be seen. Hence Three-characteristics are realized.

           At the developed stage of insight meditation, the perception of ‘compactness’ begins to disintegrate. The rising and falling movements of the abdomen[8] become less and less palpable. One loses awareness of one’s entire body. Earlier the meditator could visualize his own body in the seated posture, but now even that becomes imperceptible to his mind. This is the point at which the concept breaks up.

           He is seeing formations as impermanent, suffering  or non-self. But with the next step, Change-of-Lineage Knowledge (Gotrabh3ñ17a), a radical change takes place. As soon as Change-of-Lineage knowledge occurs, the mind lets formations go and takes Nibb1na as its object. This knowledge gains its name because at this point the meditator “changes lineage”, that is, he passes from the rank of a worldling (putthujjana) to the rank of a noble one (ariya).

    It is six-limbed equanimity (Sa81yatana nirodha) where no physical phenomena remain to be perceived. What remains is only consciousness which knows the absence of physical phenomena. At such a time, this consciousness ( = awareness as Knowing Mind i.e. Sati ) itself should be taken as the object of knowing. As you note, “knowing, knowing,” even that consciousness can begin to flicker and reappear.          

    Then there occurs cessation of consciousness (temporal stopping of viññ17a.) repeatedly, reaching cessation calmly again and again, after paccavekkhanañ17a[9] (Reviewing Knowledge) coming back to udayabbayañ17a (Knowledge of contemplation of Arising and Passing away), ascending again and ceasing again. This is entering into Phalasam1patti (absorption in Fruit-consciousness).

           Those, who undertake insight-meditation, after developing ten insight-knowledge[10] (vipassan1-ñ17as), the realization of the Path and its fruition (magga and phala) follows up. There are four levels of magga and phala.

    Each path is followed immediately by the supramundane experience of fruition, which results from the path, comes in the same four graded stages, and shares the path’s world-transcending character. But whereas the path performs the active function of cutting off defilement, fruition simply enjoys the bliss and peace that result when the path has completed its task. Also, where the path is limited to a single moment of consciousness, the fruition that follows immediately on the path endures for two or three moments. Meditator can resort to it as a special meditative state called fruition attainment (phalasam1patti) for the purpose of experiencing nibb1nic bliss here and now[11].

           As the state of stopping of consciousness, Nirodha-sam1patti comes at the final. ‘Nirodha-sam1patti’ means ‘attainment of extinction’. This state is developed to suspend temporarily all consciousness and mental activity, following immediately upon the semi-conscious state called sphere of neither-perception-nor-nonperception (neva-saññ1-n’1saññ1-yatana jh1na).

           Only an1g1mi or arahat who has mastered all the eight absorptions (jh1nas) is able to develop the nirodha-sam1patti.

The state of Jh1na : Viññ17a  as the medium in which Jh1nic process takes place.

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[1] Craving is called an ‘ensnarer’ ( ‘j1lin2 – i.e. ‘one having a net’) in the following verse of the Dhammapada (V.180) : ‘Yassa j1lin2 visattik1 - ta7h1 natthi kuhiñci netave tam buddhamanantagocaram - apada9 kena padena nessatha’

[2] Vipassan1 is the kind of Theravada insight Meditation based on Satipa55h1na sutta of M.N. & D.N.

[3] In this meditation it is very important to have both effort and precise aim, so that the mind meets the sensation directly and powerfully. One helpful aid to precision and accuracy is to make a soft mental note of the object of awareness, naming the sensation by saying the word gently and silently in the mind, like in the case of sound ‘hearing, hearing’. This method of noting is adopted by Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma.

[4] This consciousness is Knowing mind. At this point there are three things present in the meditator, i.e. Eye-Consciousness as Subject, tree as Object and Knowing mind of these as Awareness. As writer’s personal opinion this Knowing mind as Awareness can be called pure Consciousness (as Yogacara says) and Buddha Nature (as Mahayana holds). This is the beginning stage of awareness. This consciousness as Knowing Mind remains alone without subject and object then finally stops in ‘the cessation of the six sense-sphere’ (sa81yatananirodha), there takes place phalasam1patti.

[5] This is explained in Zen Meditation ; When I feel hungry I eat when I feel sleepy I sleep.

[6] A.II.171

[7] Ps.I.I

[8] While meditating meditator first focuses on the abdomen.

[9] After fruition there occurs Reviewing Knowledge, with this knowledge the meditator reviews five things : the path, its fruition, the defilements abandoned, the defilements remaining, and Nibb1na.

[10] Matara Sri.Ñ171r1ma Thera, The Seven Stages of Purification and the Insight Knowledge, BPS, 1993

[11] Vism.699-702; pp819-24

[saddha]

팔리어 폰트가 깨져서 잘 못 읽겠습니다. 의식(vi~n~naa.na)의 중지가 설명되는 경전이 있다면 하나 소개해 주시면 감사하겠습니다.

[saddha]

정보 감사합니다. 좋은 하루 되시길 바랍니다. 합장...