Also known as the Three Marks of Existence, or the Dharma Seals.
The three marks are Impermanence (Annica), Suffering (Dukha), Not Self (Anatta).
Impermanence
When observing any object, process, thought, phenomenon, you may notice that it never remains the same permanently. Everything in the universe fluctuates constantly, at a macroscopic and microscopic level. A sound that seems steady is in fact fluctuating up and down, up and down, quickly enough to give the impression of solidity. It is the same with all other phenomena.
Some things change slowly, and some quickly. Sometimes we may want things to last forever, good times, happy events, etc. but they don't. Also, we want bad feelings, physical and emotional pain to go away quickly. And they do go away, or at least, the pain ebbs and flows, getting stronger, then weaker. When we cling to something it is attachment or craving; when we want something to go away, it is called aversion. I'd say they are the same thing but on opposite ends of a pole; wanting things to be other than how they are. The second noble truth refers to this.
Suffering
Suffering is perhaps not a very good translation of the word Dukkha. I prefer 'unsatisfactory-ness'. I think it makes more sense to western sensibilities. When we look into phenomenon, we can see that they never quite fulfil us. What we think of as the most wonderful sensations of mind and body, can never satisfy us permanently. Our happiest times are marred by this quality; the characteristic of Dukkha. If there was such a thing as a truly satisfying sensation, we would stop searching for more, need never look for another. But you may notice that after a fantastic meal, we look for something else, something tastier, more filling; or a cigar, or drink; something to try and satisfy the craving for satisfaction. Or, we may indulge in entertainments, but after one we need another, because the first, no matter how stimulating, how exciting, how pleasurable, did not fully satisfy. If we are allowed infinite indulgence of the senses, we find we become decadent; bored of fine things, beautiful treasures, exquisite foods, even the most alluring sexual partners. This is Dukkha.
Not Self
No matter where we look we cannot find a solid self. This relates with the other two characteristics (as they all relate to each other in some way.) There is no permanent self, because one changes all the time. With every passing millisecond, some part of our mind or body is changing. We are not the same person we were when we were born, nor will we be the same person we are now when we are 80... so which one is the self? We have a tendency to think of our selves as a solid thing, when really our sense of self is as impermanent, as unsolid as any other phenomenon. When we look for ourselves, we find parts of a being. When we observe our feet, our feet are not our body. Our behaviour is not us. Our thoughts are not us. So where is us? 'I' is in fact a collection of many tiny parts, all of them in flux, changing and unsatisfying.
We are not supposed to simply read and accept these concepts, we are meant to observe them as part of our meditation practice.
Futher Reading
Daniel Ingrams Chapter on The Three characteristics, from Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Basic Concentration Meditation
I learned this one from teachings by Shinzen Young. He calls it 'Focus on rest'. It is very relaxing and pleasurable when done correctly.
Sit comfortably, with your back straight. In a chair is fine, but try to keep your back off the rest. Close your eyes. Examine the area of space in front of your closed eyes. It's probably black, with white blobs, maybe some coloured stuff too? It doesn't matter much. All you do, is keep your attention on this space, for as long as you can. It probably won't be very long at first.
Now try doing it with a 'label'. With labelling, what you do is, every few seconds or so, say out loud or in your head a word which you associate with what you are trying to focus on, in this case, the 'blank' space in front of your eyes. Labelling with the word 'blank' works for me, I recommend you do the same for now. The label acts like a laser sight on a gun, keeping your attention on what you want to shoot with it. Out loud labels seem to work best at first, you can drop them as and when you feel like it. Eventually you may not need labels at all.
Don't try too hard to stay attentive, but there should be some effort involved. You want a kind of relaxed, gentle effort. If you get distracted from your blank space, just gently bring the attention back. Distractions can come from outside (sounds, physical sensations, sights; if you have your eyes open) or 'inside' the mind (images, talk, emotional feeling). If we were doing 'insight' meditation, we'd want to observe and investigate these phenomena as they arise, but for now, let's stick to a single meditation object. Just return gently to keeping your awareness on 'blank'. Don't get upset, angry or agitated if you find it difficult to maintain your attention. This is normal! Humans (I assume my readership is human) see to have been designed to be as distractable as possible. Meditation is something you get better at with practice, like a physical exercise. No one expects to win Wimbledon the first time they pick up a tennis racket.
Try for a minute of unbroken concentration. Then five, and progressively more. I usually get into a nice groove after a few minutes, where the meditation becomes easier and more pleasurable. I can't promise that you will get the benefits of meditation straight away, but hopefully, with good instructions, it won't be too long.
I tend to get a nice feeling in my 'third eye' chakra when I'm into a good concentrated groove. I don't know if other people get physical indications like this. This meditation should ultimately make you feel good in some way. Relaxation and a clearing of the mind are two indications. This relaxation should be used as a foundation for another kind of meditation; Insight. We'll come to that another time.
Concentration meditation is the one I come to when my mind is scattered; when I am tired and frazzled; or generally feeling negative. I find I need less sleep when I meditate. I recommend 10 or more minutes of meditation in the morning, just to set your day off right.
I find regular meditation makes my whole life much easier. Getting good at concentration will help you in any task that benefits from concentration. Study, sports, musicianship, video gaming, listening to your friends and family, etc. So, it's not just some useless, esoteric thing, it has 'real' benefits as well as spiritual ones.
Other popular objects that can be used in this meditation are a candle, or the breath. As with everything, experiment and find out what works for you.
You can download and listen to a retreat where Shinzen reveals this technique and several others in much, much more detail here
Sit comfortably, with your back straight. In a chair is fine, but try to keep your back off the rest. Close your eyes. Examine the area of space in front of your closed eyes. It's probably black, with white blobs, maybe some coloured stuff too? It doesn't matter much. All you do, is keep your attention on this space, for as long as you can. It probably won't be very long at first.
Now try doing it with a 'label'. With labelling, what you do is, every few seconds or so, say out loud or in your head a word which you associate with what you are trying to focus on, in this case, the 'blank' space in front of your eyes. Labelling with the word 'blank' works for me, I recommend you do the same for now. The label acts like a laser sight on a gun, keeping your attention on what you want to shoot with it. Out loud labels seem to work best at first, you can drop them as and when you feel like it. Eventually you may not need labels at all.
Don't try too hard to stay attentive, but there should be some effort involved. You want a kind of relaxed, gentle effort. If you get distracted from your blank space, just gently bring the attention back. Distractions can come from outside (sounds, physical sensations, sights; if you have your eyes open) or 'inside' the mind (images, talk, emotional feeling). If we were doing 'insight' meditation, we'd want to observe and investigate these phenomena as they arise, but for now, let's stick to a single meditation object. Just return gently to keeping your awareness on 'blank'. Don't get upset, angry or agitated if you find it difficult to maintain your attention. This is normal! Humans (I assume my readership is human) see to have been designed to be as distractable as possible. Meditation is something you get better at with practice, like a physical exercise. No one expects to win Wimbledon the first time they pick up a tennis racket.
Try for a minute of unbroken concentration. Then five, and progressively more. I usually get into a nice groove after a few minutes, where the meditation becomes easier and more pleasurable. I can't promise that you will get the benefits of meditation straight away, but hopefully, with good instructions, it won't be too long.
I tend to get a nice feeling in my 'third eye' chakra when I'm into a good concentrated groove. I don't know if other people get physical indications like this. This meditation should ultimately make you feel good in some way. Relaxation and a clearing of the mind are two indications. This relaxation should be used as a foundation for another kind of meditation; Insight. We'll come to that another time.
Concentration meditation is the one I come to when my mind is scattered; when I am tired and frazzled; or generally feeling negative. I find I need less sleep when I meditate. I recommend 10 or more minutes of meditation in the morning, just to set your day off right.
I find regular meditation makes my whole life much easier. Getting good at concentration will help you in any task that benefits from concentration. Study, sports, musicianship, video gaming, listening to your friends and family, etc. So, it's not just some useless, esoteric thing, it has 'real' benefits as well as spiritual ones.
Other popular objects that can be used in this meditation are a candle, or the breath. As with everything, experiment and find out what works for you.
You can download and listen to a retreat where Shinzen reveals this technique and several others in much, much more detail here
The Senses (Six Sense 'Doors')
I will always be grateful to Shinzen Young for pointing out the various different types of sensory experience.
Why is it important to do this? Well, we need to find out just what the heck is going on in our minds and bodies. We aren't always aware. It's all right knowing in a vague way that we are full of chaos. But to get somewhere, we really need to start unravelling and examining that chaos.
Shinzen divides sensory experience into 6 strands. Three are external; Touch, Sight, Sound. These are pretty self explanatory. We've all heard a sound, viewed an object, felt something physical touching us. The other three are internal counterparts; Feel (Emotional feelings in the body that arise from mental phenomena), Image (Visual images that arise in your mind), and Talk (Speech or sound that arises in the mind).
When there is nothing occurring in any of those fields - Touch Sight, Sound, Feel, Image, Talk - then we can say that they are 'at rest', or empty. They have a kind of binary operation; there is either information at the sense point, or not. Zero, or One. Learning to notice when each, any and/or all of these individual points are engaged or not is a good starting point for Vipassana practice. That might sound trivial, but I can find it quite difficult even after several weeks of practice!
In Shinzen's system, those restful states are used as meditation objects in concentration meditation.
If none of that makes a lick of sense, go see Shinzen explain it (you tube).
Shinzen classifies smell and taste as specialised versions of Touch. I don't know how he classifies internal smell and taste, or how I would. I've never experienced either, but maybe it is possible?
Why is it important to do this? Well, we need to find out just what the heck is going on in our minds and bodies. We aren't always aware. It's all right knowing in a vague way that we are full of chaos. But to get somewhere, we really need to start unravelling and examining that chaos.
Shinzen divides sensory experience into 6 strands. Three are external; Touch, Sight, Sound. These are pretty self explanatory. We've all heard a sound, viewed an object, felt something physical touching us. The other three are internal counterparts; Feel (Emotional feelings in the body that arise from mental phenomena), Image (Visual images that arise in your mind), and Talk (Speech or sound that arises in the mind).
When there is nothing occurring in any of those fields - Touch Sight, Sound, Feel, Image, Talk - then we can say that they are 'at rest', or empty. They have a kind of binary operation; there is either information at the sense point, or not. Zero, or One. Learning to notice when each, any and/or all of these individual points are engaged or not is a good starting point for Vipassana practice. That might sound trivial, but I can find it quite difficult even after several weeks of practice!
In Shinzen's system, those restful states are used as meditation objects in concentration meditation.
If none of that makes a lick of sense, go see Shinzen explain it (you tube).
Shinzen classifies smell and taste as specialised versions of Touch. I don't know how he classifies internal smell and taste, or how I would. I've never experienced either, but maybe it is possible?
Meditations
As I see it there are two major aspects to meditation, that I believe can be tackled individually, or together. I think doing one at a time is good for beginners.
Concentration (aka Samadhi, Shamatha)
Insight (aka Vipassana)
Concentration is essentially about focusing your awareness on one or a few fields of experience for periods of time. This creates stability, relaxation, mental clarity and pleasant feelings. Concentration is often seen as a foundation for Insight practice.
Insight is about becoming aware of your sensate 'life', breaking it down into small pieces for examination, Ultimately resulting in you experiencing, well, something... ha! I've not got that far yet. Let's call it a surprise. Some terms are 'Enlightenment', 'Non Dual Awareness', 'Liberation', the 'Deathless', and the 'Happiness Independent of Conditions' among others. Some of the effects of my Insight meditations so far have been strange and interesting. I guess that one could even find them a bit frightening. Stuff like the room I'm in 'disappearing' or even bits of my body 'vanishing' temporarily. That might sound vague, but I'm only just getting my head around this stuff myself. There's a good description from a better authority here.
Eventually the two paths sort of merge, or you can find yourself doing both in parrallel, or one after the other, or using one to get a better grip in the other. One hand washing the other... I think it benefits the beginner meditator to do them separately at first, for simplicities sake.
Concentration (aka Samadhi, Shamatha)
Insight (aka Vipassana)
Concentration is essentially about focusing your awareness on one or a few fields of experience for periods of time. This creates stability, relaxation, mental clarity and pleasant feelings. Concentration is often seen as a foundation for Insight practice.
Insight is about becoming aware of your sensate 'life', breaking it down into small pieces for examination, Ultimately resulting in you experiencing, well, something... ha! I've not got that far yet. Let's call it a surprise. Some terms are 'Enlightenment', 'Non Dual Awareness', 'Liberation', the 'Deathless', and the 'Happiness Independent of Conditions' among others. Some of the effects of my Insight meditations so far have been strange and interesting. I guess that one could even find them a bit frightening. Stuff like the room I'm in 'disappearing' or even bits of my body 'vanishing' temporarily. That might sound vague, but I'm only just getting my head around this stuff myself. There's a good description from a better authority here.
Eventually the two paths sort of merge, or you can find yourself doing both in parrallel, or one after the other, or using one to get a better grip in the other. One hand washing the other... I think it benefits the beginner meditator to do them separately at first, for simplicities sake.
The Eightfold Path
1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Meditation
8. Right Wisdom
Further explanation here.
I do intend to write my own piece on the eightfold path some time. It's quite a complex subject. Each of the 'folds' probably warrants it's own piece.
There is an excellent set of talks on the subject of the Eightfold Path by Thanissaro Bhikkhu here
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Meditation
8. Right Wisdom
Further explanation here.
I do intend to write my own piece on the eightfold path some time. It's quite a complex subject. Each of the 'folds' probably warrants it's own piece.
There is an excellent set of talks on the subject of the Eightfold Path by Thanissaro Bhikkhu here
The Four Noble Truths
There are four noble truths, and they are these;
Truth 1 - There is suffering.
Truth 2 - The cause of suffering is desire (craving).
Truth 3 - There is a way to end suffering.
Trith 4 - The way to end suffering is to follow the Eightfold Path.
That's it!
Okay, there's a lot more to be said about these, and I hope to do so at a later date. In the meantime, there's a good page here. And definitely read Daniel Ingram's chapter on it.
Truth 1 - There is suffering.
Truth 2 - The cause of suffering is desire (craving).
Truth 3 - There is a way to end suffering.
Trith 4 - The way to end suffering is to follow the Eightfold Path.
That's it!
Okay, there's a lot more to be said about these, and I hope to do so at a later date. In the meantime, there's a good page here. And definitely read Daniel Ingram's chapter on it.
The Beginning
This blog is about meditation and Buddhism. This blog is not just for Buddhists; it is for everyone who is looking for practical methods of attaining desirable goals in life; peace, happiness, calm, concentration, loving relationships, and overall harmony in all things.
This site is intended for use by people with no previous experience with meditation or Buddhism. It is my intention to draw together all of what I consider to be the best resources I've found, and package it all up in the most efficient manner, putting things in my own words, and hopefully creating a kind of condensation of all I have found useful in Buddhism and Meditation practices. I will be trying to use the simplest, most effective language. Where there are good resources (Text, Video, Talks etc.) I will link to those.
I am being very ambitious here, and I am prepared for failure! Some people spend their lives transmitting Dharma... my couple of hours of slapdash writings is a drop in the ocean.
I am not an expert in this field, only a very enthusiastic amateur who has been transformed by the wisdom of the Buddha, and those teachers who have transmitted that wisdom to me in various forms. I hope to continue the transmission.
Don't just take my word for anything, go out and try stuff, find other sources of information. That's what the Buddha would have wanted.
Thanks for visiting.
This site is intended for use by people with no previous experience with meditation or Buddhism. It is my intention to draw together all of what I consider to be the best resources I've found, and package it all up in the most efficient manner, putting things in my own words, and hopefully creating a kind of condensation of all I have found useful in Buddhism and Meditation practices. I will be trying to use the simplest, most effective language. Where there are good resources (Text, Video, Talks etc.) I will link to those.
I am being very ambitious here, and I am prepared for failure! Some people spend their lives transmitting Dharma... my couple of hours of slapdash writings is a drop in the ocean.I am not an expert in this field, only a very enthusiastic amateur who has been transformed by the wisdom of the Buddha, and those teachers who have transmitted that wisdom to me in various forms. I hope to continue the transmission.
Don't just take my word for anything, go out and try stuff, find other sources of information. That's what the Buddha would have wanted.
Thanks for visiting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
