These are my course notes from a 3 day Tibetan Buddhism meditation course on calm-abiding which I just finished in McLeod Ganj. I cant remember the name of the monastery but it’s the one on Bhagsu road up on the hill next to the Last Chance tea stall.
Abandon 5 faults by applying 8 antidotes
Faults:
- Laziness: not wanting to meditate, feeling unhappy
- Forgetfulness
- Mental sinking and excitement
- Not applying antidotes
- Applying antidotes when not required
8 Antidotes:
- Laziness: Faith in benefits
- Laziness: Aspiration / drive to practice and achieve. Not possible to have too much at this stage if it is focussed on combating laziness and is based on altruistic loving-kindness
- Laziness: Effort and diligence. Physical (to keep in posture) and mental efforts (to keep focus)
- Laziness: Pliancy results from 3 previous antidotes. Experience of bliss. Comes about after 9th stage
- Forgetting: Mindfulness. Focus mind one-pointedly on object.
- Mental sinking and excitement: introspection. Based on mindfulness. Being aware of / checking obstacles and condition of mind and eliminating obstacles
- No antidotes: Apply antidotes
- Too many antidotes: Equanimity: one should abide within the state and not think too much
Practice preparation:
1. Find a secluded quiet place. Sound is the main obstacle. Suitable for one’s mind. One should feel happy in that place.
2. Any business that weighs heaviy should be finished first.
3. Do not eat too much previously as it makes one heavy
4. Sleeping should be regular
5. Morning is best time as mind is clean and clear
Practice:
1. Physical posture is important as it affects the mind. Sit on cushion with front part of cushion lower. Seven sitting posture:
- comfortable crosslegged (half or full),
- meditation mudra 4 fingers wide below navel,
- space between arms and body as this keeps mind alert,
- spine should be straight,
- neck slight tilted forwards,
- mouth not too tight: tip of tongue touch upper palate,
- eyes not closed tightly: slightly open focussed on tip of nose
2. Breathe in a natural relaxing way.
3. Cultivate extraordinary selfless motivation.
4. Mind has no form. Best to observe mind itself but easier for beginners to focus on object.
5. Objects:
- Knowledge
- Pervasive
- Delusion purifier
- Behaviour purifier – As strong conceptual mind – focus on in-out breathe: 21 times counting then start again
6. Visualise golden/radiant buddha image in front of forehead an elbow higher. Mind must not be distracted: stability and clarity comes from weight and brightness of image itself.
6. For beginners: duration of meditation should be short (depends on effort required – stop if getting nowhere), time between should be short and there should be many sessions
9 stages leading to ’single pointed mind of desire realm’:
1. Mental sitting. Use power of listening.
2. Continual sitting. Continue focus and use power of reflection. Remember conceptual minds do not proliferate through meditation
3. Repairing sitting. When mind wanders, bring it back to focus. Use power of mindfulness. One feels tired.
4. Close sitting. One is able to draw the focus inwardly. Repairing no longer needed. Stability and clarity is better. Use power of mindfulness. Subtle mental sinking and subtle excitement will arise.
- Subtle excitement (over confidence): parts of mind is excited even though focus is kept – spirits to be lowered. Look at one’s faults, defects of body.
- Subtle mental sinking (low spirit): visualisation is sharp but parts of loose mind still there – spirits to be raised. Difficult to recognise. Think of one’s good qualities. If this does not work, walk outside, pour cold water on face and return.
5. Subduing / taming. One feels happy with the process. Subtlest mental sinking arises – clarity is there but sharpness not there. Power of introspection needed to check for faults: to detect if fault has arrived, to detect when it is about to arrive. Clarity of object and mind both needed.
6. Pacification. One can pacify unhappy mind about meditation. Subtle excitement can come about. Intropection needed.
7. Complete pacification. The mind is pacified of all coarse faults. Power of effort needed.
8. Single-pointed sitting. Mental sinking and excitement will no longer interrupt. Power of effort still needed.
9. Equi-sitting. One is seperated from faults. No antidotes needed. Time is no problem.
Four mental operations:
- Concentration: stage 1-2
- Returning: stage 3-7
- Uninterrupted: stage 8
- Effortless: stage 9.
Single pointed mind of desire realm. Not at calm abiding yet as still mental and physical pliancy to achieve. When this happens: blissful feeling from physical pliancy arises. From this, mental bliss arises. There are 2 levels: coarse and subtle bliss. From coarse, one needs to move to unwavering subtle bliss.
Time required if one is on retreat : 1 month to 1 year. Not considered as first meditative concentration. There are further levels of concentration (4 in desire realm before going into 4 levels each of form and formless realms).
Analysis / insight meditation is needed now: mundane or supramundane path choices available at this point.
Mundane special insight. One will be able to see faults of lower desire realms, see higher realms and wish to attain those.
Supramundane insight meditation on the 4 truths. Selflessness of being and phenomenon.
4 mental operations needed with insight meditation as mental agitation can arise. Union of special insight and calm abiding.
