Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 3 Awakening Factors

Today we'll be talking about the seven enlightenment factors. Before we get into the topic of jhanas, which we will start tomorrow, it's important to understand what jhana is, right? What defines jhana? The way I would explain it is jhana is essentially the absence of any of the five hindrances and the presence of the enlightenment factors to varying degrees.

It's not necessary that all factors have to be there all the time, but it's more like the factors will be more predominant in certain jhanas. The mind is collected and filled with equanimity, and you come to that point where everything is in balance in terms of the enlightenment factors, then you experience Nibbana. So before we actually delve into what jhanas are, we should first understand what are their components in terms of the presence of the enlightenment factors. The enlightenment factors: mindfulness, investigation, energy or effort, joy, tranquility, collectedness and equanimity. So mindfulness, that's sati in Pali. We touched upon this a few days ago when we talked about how mindfulness is essentially remembering to observe how mind's attention moves from one object to the other.

That's quite the statement. What does it mean to remember to observe how mind's attention moves from one object to the other? That is essentially, as I spoke of, metacognition. The awareness of awareness. Understanding how your mind works. The movements of mind. That's what you have to start with. So when you sit down for practice, when you sit down to meditate, where is your mind? Notice what is present in your mind. Notice, is the mind agitated?

Is the mind calm? Is the mind equanimous, or is the mind filled with some kind of doubt? The moment you do this, the moment you just observe what is happening in mind, so the first few seconds, the first few moments while you're sitting, is to notice what is going on. And this is why I suggested that you do the body scan. When you do the body scan, you are noticing any tightness and tension that might be in the mind or the body.

This is one way to bring up mindfulness. There are two main suttas that talk about mindfulness. One is in the Majjhima Nikaya, and that is the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. And the other is the Digha Nikaya, which is essentially the same but is the greater discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, an expansion of one of the foundations in regards to phenomena. So what are the four foundations of mindfulness?

The four foundations of mindfulness are seeing body as body, mind as mind, or feeling as feeling, mind as mind, and dhamma. Dhamma as dhamma. Here dhamma means states of mind or phenomena in mind. So when we say mindfulness of body, what are we talking about? Mindfulness of body really means what is going on in the body. Is there tightness and tension there? There are different exercises, different meditations that the Buddha prescribes in the mindfulness of body. There he talks about the mindfulness of breathing. How does the Anapanasati happen? That's mindfulness of breathing. Breathing out, he knows he's breathing out. Breathing in long, he knows he's breathing in long. Breathing out long, he knows he's breathing out long.

Breathing in short, he knows he's breathing in short. Breathing out short, he knows he's breathing out short. And tranquilizing mental and bodily formations as he does so. So this is what Bhante Vimalaramsi saw when he formulated the right effort, when he understood that relaxing, tranquilizing, is essential, is key to experiencing greater degrees of happiness and collectedness of mind.

So here the mindfulness of breathing is one exercise, one method of meditation. Another method of meditation is looking at the asubha aspect of the body: seeing the body as basically made up of different components, made up of the different organs, the different systems. So looking at the digestive tract, looking at the stomach, the spleen, the bladder, looking at the bones, looking at the nervous system, looking at the mesentery, looking at different levels of the body, that this body is indeed impure. It is essentially a sack of bones, a bag of bones, as the Buddha would describe it. And what is this practice for?

This practice is usually a prescription for somebody who has a lot of identification with the body, a lot of lust in the body or for the body. Because as you start to see that the body is really just made up of these things like bone and skin, and tissues and fat and blood and urine and feces and all of these things, what happens? The mind starts to become more disenchanted with the body. It starts to realize this body is just body, not something else, not something to hold on to, not something to identify with. That's one exercise.

A second exercise is the mindfulness of the four great elements. Seeing the body as made up of the four great elements. So what do we talk about when we say the four great elements? Traditionally, in ancient India, the four great elements are earth, water, fire, and air. So looking at the different aspects of the body in relation to these elements. And what are these elements if you look at it in modern day?

Really what they are are states of matter. Looking at the solid states of matter in the body, looking at the liquid states of matter in the body, looking at the gaseous states, and then looking at the heat and temperature of the body, the fire. Then there's also another meditation that's prescribed, which is seeing the decay of the body. This is almost a very aesthetic practice. You look at a body that is just a fresh corpse, then you start to look at the rotting of the body through the different aspects. So you start to see the body, as you know, with green flesh oozing and bloated, and then you start to see the body as made up of sinews and bones and being picked on by jackals and dogs and vultures. So it's a very, very extreme practice, let's say, for people who are in the lay life.

So this is usually suggested to monastics because they have the time and they have the inclination to do it. But this also lets go of the fear of death, because the fear of death is essentially one aspect, is the identification with the body again. This body too is subject to change. This body too is impermanent. One lets go of that. And the fear of death starts to decline, starts to diminish.

Then we have mindfulness of feelings. Mindfulness of vedana. When we talk about mindfulness of feelings, we're talking about mindfulness of anything related to the sixth sense basis. So we're looking at the mindfulness of things happening with relation to the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and even the mind to some extent. And what we're looking at is the impermanence of these different states.

So that's mindfulness of feeling. Mindfulness of mind is essentially, when we talk about mind, it's coming from the words chitta anupassana. So what is chitta here? Chitta can be understood as consciousness. It can be understood as mind. It can be understood as mindset. I like to use the word mindset, because mindset denotes the idea that it is really a collection of similar thought patterns coming together to bring up a mindset. Basically a collection of similar emotions that cause you to be in a certain mood throughout the day. You say that person is in an unhappy mood. It's because the different kinds of emotions they're feeling throughout the day are unhappy, are sad, are depressed.

Likewise, when we talk about mindset, there's different kinds of mindsets: a mindset that is expanded, a mindset that is luminous, a mindset that is jhana, a mindset that is liberated, a mindset that is unliberated, a mindset that is exalted, a mindset that is unexalted, and so on. So all of these are denoting different kinds of qualities of mind. So when we talk about liberated mind, what does that mean? It could mean being in jhana, or it could also mean having gone through one of the states of enlightenment, stages of awakening. This mind here is now the mind of a stream entry, or this mind here is now the mind of a once-returner, a sakadagami, and so on.

When we talk about exalted mind, contracted mind, distracted mind. So what is a contracted mind? A contracted mind is where the mind is trying too hard. A contracted mind is where there is a lot of concentration going on that's causing the mind to start to become dull rather than being sharp. An expanded mind, that's a mind with open awareness. A surpassed mind, that's a mind that's experiencing infinite consciousness and so on. An exalted mind, that's a mind that is free of the five hindrances. So this is chitta anupassana, this is the third foundation of mindfulness. When we talk about the fourth foundation of mindfulness, we're talking about different kinds of phenomena, we're talking about different kinds of, let's say, ideas, because that also includes the understanding of the Four Noble Truths.

It includes the understanding of the Five Hindrances. It includes the understanding of the Seven Enlightenment Factors, and so on and so forth. So when you read the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, it seems like it is a gradation, right? It's like you go from one step to the next. But that's only because of the way that it's been described in the suttas. When you are doing the four foundations of mindfulness in an integrated approach, you don't have to do one thing at a time. You don't have to pinpoint what is going on when you are practicing. When you are using the twin practice, when you are using loving kindness or any object, using right effort, you already have mindfulness of the body. You're noticing what's going on in the body. If there is warmth in the body, there's a sensation in the body. That's also feeling.

That's vedana. You're noticing if loving kindness is present or not. That is seeing if the mind has any mindset related to loving kindness. You're noticing if the mind is in jhana or not. You're noticing if the five hindrances are present or not. So it's not like you need to pinpoint. This is already integrated. It's already nested in each other when you do this practice. So mindfulness, coming back to the basic definition of mindfulness. Mindfulness is essentially being aware of mental movements. What is going on in the mind? And doing it in such a way that you don't identify with it. This is very key. This is very important. Because this is what it says in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as well.

The Buddha says, and what is not present, without any covetousness or grief for the world. Covetousness or grief for the world. Covetousness, desire, right? Sensual desire, wanting things, grief, aversion, ill will, and so on. So he's looking at it in such a way, the mind is looking at it in such a way, anything. It's just observing everything like a movie.

This is what the meditation is. You're just observing what is going on in mind. The moment you do that, the moment you create this distance between the mind and the experience, then you have the full picture of what's actually going on. Don't try to look for, is there loving kindness in the mind? Don't try to look for, is there joy in the mind? Don't try to look for, am I being distracted? What's going on? Just observe. In the observing itself, you will have everything. Which brings us to the next part, which is investigation. Dhamma vichaya. What states are present and what states are not present.

I like to use the word understand, because the word examine and investigate, those two words bring up the idea that you have to look very closely and look very deeply, and then analyze and find out what happened there, and then what happened before that, and what happened before that. The moment you start to do that, you start to get distracted down a rabbit hole of mental proliferation. So what does it mean when we say Dhamma vichaya? Dhamma here means mental states. Dhamma means phenomena, what is going on in the mind, what states are present in the mind. Vichaya here is to understand. Is the mind in loving kindness or not in loving kindness? Is the mind radiating or not radiating? Is the mind in quiet mind or not in quiet mind? Is any hindrance present in the mind, or is the mind free of hindrance? Is the mind experiencing spaciousness in infinite space? Is a mind experiencing infinite consciousness? So it's not that you have to ask yourself the question. You just have to be able to be open to all experiences that are happening.

In the same way, for those who understand perception and feeling, which will delve deeper into dependent origination, but what is feeling? What is vedana? Feeling is the experience that's going on dependent upon contact between the six sense bases, right? Any of the six sense bases and their objects, and the corresponding awareness of those six sense bases. That's feeling. That's the experience. That experience can be pleasant. It can be unpleasant, or it can be neutral.

But the knowing of it being pleasant, the knowing it being unpleasant. The knowing of it being neutral is perception. The ability to recognize what is going on. The ability to understand what is going on. So in the same way, there is a state present in the mind. There is loving-kindness there in the mind. That is the experience. The knowing of the mind being in loving-kindness is the investigation of states. The understanding is the perception of that.

So mindfulness naturally brings up the investigation of states, the understanding of what is present and what is not present. From here we go into virya, which is energy, which is strength, which is effort, which is exertion. Now, when we use the word effort or exertion, we don't mean that you have to make a big effort to do something. It's essentially making the effort to relax and let go.

If you notice that there is present in the mind a hindrance, so you have mindfulness now. You recognize that there is a hindrance present. You recognize that this is the hindrance. So that is the investigation of states. Now, in relaxing the mind and body, in letting go of that hindrance, you are making the right effort. So that is the level of exertion that you're doing. It's not to cling, it's not to grasp, it's not to hold on to anything, it's not to create an experience, it's not to fabricate an experience. It is to let go. And in letting go, experiences tranquility.

So the exertion that we talk about, the virya that we talk about, is essentially abandoning unwholesome factors, abandoning unwholesome states of mind. When you are aware that there is present an unwholesome state of mind, you're mindful and you have understanding. When you make the effort to let go, now you have the third enlightenment factor, which is the right amount of balanced energy. As a result of which, you experience joy, piti. So now this joy can be experienced in the first and second jhana, which we'll talk about tomorrow. But this joy is present as a result of letting go. This joy doesn't arise because you fabricate it. This joy doesn't arise because you create the experience of joy.

What you're doing, if you do that, if you try to bring up the experience of joy, if you try to construct an experience of joy, then all you are doing is creating causes and conditions that are essentially impermanent and liable to change, liable to disintegrate. And so if that joy is clung to, if that joy is identified with, and it disappears, what happens?

There is dukkha. There is suffering. So instead of bringing up joy in that sense, by letting go, the mind experiences what's known as relief. From that relief, the piti naturally arises. And from that joyful state, there is tranquility. So, what is that tranquility? That tranquility is where the mind is free of any afflictive states, free of any formations, that is sankhara, rooted in any kind of craving, in any kind of aversion, in any kind of attachment to views, in any kind of identification, conceit, and ignorance.

So every time you do the relaxed step, you are essentially tranquilizing formations, bodily formations, and so on. So when you tranquilize bodily formations, when you tranquilize verbal formations, when you tranquilize mental formations, the mind starts to experience deeper levels of collectedness. So that is samadhi. So what does samadhi actually mean? Samadhi, when we talk about sama, sama means to be even, to be balanced.

And dhi here is the short form for mind, for buddhi. Is balanced, the mind is ripe for experiencing jhanas. That's why when we talk about sama samadhi, right, that is right meditation, or right collectedness, right concentration is another translation. Sama samadhi arises when everything else comes into the mind. That is to say, mindfulness naturally leads to investigation, that is the knowing of what is present and not present. That leads to proper relaxation and energy. That leads to joy.

That joy naturally leads to a tranquil mind, where there is the stilling of formations. The mind is relaxed. The mind is free of hindrances, free of any agitation and activities. As a result of that, then there is samadhi. Then the mind becomes unified. So when we talk about samadhi, when we talk about unification of mind, there's an analogy that I like to use. Generally, the understanding would have been that it is one-pointed. The mind becomes singularly focused on an object, to the point that it disregards everything else around it. Then when that happens, the mind becomes one with the object of meditation.

This is experienced in different traditions. The mind or the self becomes one with whatever it is. It's absorbed with its object of meditation. But when we talk about unification of mind, when we talk about collectedness, think of it in this way. It's like the mind is orbiting the object of meditation, orbiting around the loving kindness, for example.

In this case, the analogy here is the object of meditation. Let's say it's loving kindness, or radiating in the six directions, or quiet mind. Whatever the object is, that is the object, and that is the planet. That's the Earth. Now, the satellite that orbits around the planet, that is your attention. That is your mind's attention. And as long as it is orbiting the object of meditation, as long as it is in the vicinity, unified around the object of meditation, then it is experiencing samadhi.

But if the satellite gets too close to the planet, what will happen? The gravity of the planet will start to pull it in and it will crash onto the Earth. We don't want that to happen. But if the satellite's orbit starts to become wider and it starts to go out of orbit and starts to go somewhere else into space, we don't want that to happen either. So what do we do if that happens? That means the mind's attention is distracted. So what do we do? We get somebody else up out there in space and say, we need to bring the satellite back in, right? That is the four R's. We recognize the satellite is distracted.

It's going somewhere else. And we relax, bring it back. We smile and we bring it back into orbit. And all is well with the world again. So the utility of right effort brings about naturally progressive samadhi. And as your mind starts to become more collected, it will start to experience the different jhanas: the first jhana, the second jhana, the third, fourth, and so on. From this samadhi, there comes upekkha. Upekkha is translated as equanimity.

So this equanimity, what does that mean, equanimity, upekkha? Here the mind is free from dualities of pain and pleasure, wholesome and unwholesome. It is completely balanced. When somebody is in a state of equanimity, you will know it because of the way that they move, because of the way that they talk, because of the way that they walk. It's like they're floating. And you listen to them in the interviews. How's your meditation going?

Everything is fine. It's all good. So the mind there is unaffected one way or the other. An unwholesome state is present. It's okay. It's fine. It's all good. I'm just going to let it go. A wholesome state of mind is present. There's joy coming up. There's piti coming up. The first jhana is coming up. There's greater degrees of sukha coming up in the second jhana. That's okay. It's all good. The only way you can have that upekkha is if you have that attitude of being a moviegoer, of just watching what's happening on the big screens. If you have that attitude, then you have naturally that metacognition, that ability to observe the qualities of mind without getting affected or identifying with those qualities of mind, without getting caught up in them.

So mindfulness leads to understanding. The proper effort leads to joy. Joy leads to tranquility. Tranquility leads to collectedness. Collectedness leads to equanimity. Now that equanimity strengthens, whenever it strengthens, the next cycle of mindfulness. And this is what's happening as you continue with this practice. The mindfulness becomes deeper. The understanding becomes sharper, more balanced. The joy becomes more tempered, not necessarily more joy. Because believe it or not, joy is overrated.

I know everybody wants to be happy. I know everybody wants to have joy. I know everybody wants to feel bliss. But it is overrated, guys. There's something better than that. Trust me. That joy, once it's tempered, brings about tranquility. And that tranquility is so much more satisfying than this short-lived joy. Then that joy brings about that concentrated mind, that naturally collected mind.

And from there, there is equanimity. That is the highest. That is why when we talk about the brahmaviharas in that order, it's the metta, loving kindness, then the karuna, the compassion, then the mudita, the empathetic joy, and then finally upekkha. Upekkha, or equanimity, is the last brahmavihara to be experienced before the mind goes into what's known as pabhasarachitta. Pabhasarachitta means the luminous mind. Buddha has talked about this. He says, luminous is the mind, monks. Luminous is the mind. But due to adventitious defilements, the mind becomes cloaked and covered by these defilements.

But in essence, the mind is naturally luminescent or luminous. And so what you're doing with this practice is starting to uncover those defilements. First, at a shallow level, at a surface level. But at deeper levels, as you continue to use the four R's, the defilements that are deeper start to get more and more uprooted. And then there is this great amount of luminosity, brilliance, radiance of the mind.

And then when you experience that, then the mind is utterly quiet. Absolutely no movement at all. There is immense relief in that. And eventually the mind then experiences Nibbana. So when we talk about the factors of awakening, the enlightenment factors, they are essential to this practice. But understand that it's not essential for you to look for them. It's not essential for you to bring them up. and meditation.

And more importantly, right effort. When you're doing right effort, when you're doing the four R's, when you are recognizing, relaxing, re-smiling, and returning, you are naturally bringing up these enlightenment factors. Because as soon as you recognize a hindrance, you have regained your mindfulness. And the fact that you recognize that the mind is distracted, now you have investigation. Now you have understanding that there is present this.

As soon as you then relax, then you have balanced in your efforts. Now you have balanced energy. You have abandoned the unwholesome state. And because you've relaxed, you have tranquility. And as a result of being tranquil, your mind feels relief. At the moment when you're relaxed, the mind experiences a mundane form of Nibbana, as a result of which there is this joy that arises, anchored by the smile.

And then when you return back to your object in meditation, your mind becomes naturally collected, orbiting around the object in meditation. So long as you're able to remain unaffected by the hindrance present, and you're saying, okay, it's just this, you have the beginnings of equanimity. And if you continue down that path of the four R's of recognizing, relaxing, re-smiling, and returning, then equanimity starts to become more tempered. So every time you use right effort, you are naturally bringing the enlightenment factors into balance, as a result of which you will start to experience jhanas, which we'll talk about tomorrow.

All right, on that note, let's share some merit. suffering free and the fear struck fearless be. May the grieving shed all grief and may all beings find relief. May all beings share this merit that we have thus acquired for the acquisition of all kinds of happiness. May beings inhabiting space and earth, devas and nagas of mighty power share this merit of ours. May they long protect the Buddha's dispensation. Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.