The Nine Steps of Samatha

There is a method of concentration called Samatha, which is divided into 9 steps.

1. The first step is called Inward Abiding. The mind usually pursues external objects. The ears hear outside; the eyes see outside. But in Samatha the mind trains itself to focus on some inward point. This point should be chosen somewhere along the median nerve either inside or outside. Inward points are the five chakras (the head chakra, the throat chakra, the heart chakra, the navel chakra, and the private root chakra). The outward points are between the eyebrows, on the tip of the nose, on the neck, between the two breasts, on the navel, or near the private organ, or on the ground at a distance of about sixteen fingers.

For the disturbed mind select a lower point. Most of the past sages chose the navel chakra. For the sleepy mind, choose a point on the head, for example, between the eyebrows or inside the head.

2. Continuous Abiding: When one has selected a point and the mind no longer dwells on anything excep the point, this is continuous abiding. Most people don't know the difference between concentration and meditation. Actually, meditation can never succeed without the foundation of concentrationo concentration practice is very, very important.

The mind's activity is even greater than the speed of light. Most people do not know what the mind is; they have never even thought about it. This includes even psychologists and scientists; they have no idea about the actual speed of mind. But let us clarify this mind-speed with the following story about Great Yogi Milarepa:

Once Milarepa told an outsider (non-Buddhist) who was meditating on the peak of the Himalayas that because he was an outsider he did not deserve to sit on the peak; he should allow Milarepa to sit on the peak. In doing so, the outsider would be blessed. The outsider replied, "You are a very high Lama and I would like to oblige you. But first, would you have some competition with me?" Milarepa replied, "Yes! Why not? You choose the competition." The outsider decided that on the following morning they should go to the foot of the mountain and the first one to fly to the top would be the winner. The next morning the outsider got up very early and began flying on a magic drum up the mountain. When he had arrived half way, Milarepa was still sleeping. All his disciples shouted warnings to Milarepa that the outsider was already half way up to the top but Milarepa said, "Never mind, never mind, I want to sleep some more." Then when the outsider had nearly arrived at the top, the greatly alarmed disciples again shouted warnings but Milarepa said "Never mind", then, at the same instant that his mind thought of the peak, his body arrived there.

Such mind-speed is much quicker than light. Science says that light is much faster than even sound and we know that lightening always comes before thunder. But still, mind's activity is actually much quicker than light. Every sentient being has this mind and every second it pursues many, many objects. Nobody has tried to measure the speed of their minds and nobody has measured the consciousness of space. But actually the mind of every sentient being, whether a sage or an insect, goes very quickly pursuing many objects. So it is very, very difficult to focus on one point. We think that this next step of continuous abiding is very easy. But it is not so easy to hold one's thought on one single point because between the first idea to keep on the one point and the second idea that we must continue holding to it, many many thoughts occur. But we might not necessarily be aware of them.

Depending on how much one has practiced concentration in his past lives he will find it more or less difficult to hold the continuous abiding; so it is not impossible, but it is very difficult. Whenever one settles his mind on a point, he must always stick to it, just like sticking it with a pin, stick, stick, stick, stick. Never let any objects, delusions, thoughts, etc., come between it, just stick, stick, stick. For people who have practiced in their past lives it is a little easier. But for those who have never practiced in their past lives it may be very difficult. But whether one has practiced in his past lives or not, if one is a new believer, a young believer, if he has good motives and a deep interest, for the first few minutes he can prevail.

3. In the third step called Well Abiding, the practitioner must recognize and stop any distraction from the one-pointed concentration called continuous abiding. He must return his mind to the point and keep it there, well and firm. A better name for Well Abiding would be Draw-Back Abiding. We must draw back mind to the point and not let it stray again.

Therefore, whenever the mind falls from the continuous abiding step, and the deluded thinking mind manifests daily life activities such as the first idea, "I have not paid the parking meter" and the second following idea, "I will get a parking ticket", before the second thought occurs, the practitioner must return his mind to the continuous abiding point and hold it there well and settled. If he fails to do so in five attempts, he must get up from his seat because what we think of is what we become. Therefore, we should emphasize the quality of mind in concentration practice rather than the quantity of time. Most teachers have neglected this point and only recommend to their students to practice for a long time, regardless of the quality of time, regardless of the quality of meditative mind. This is a very bad mistake.

If one's thoughts are thinking of fighting and cruelty, the person will fall into hell. The longer he sits with evil thoughts the deeper he will fall because the thoughts one produces during meditation have a much deeper impression upon the consciousness than those of daily life activities. Thoughts produced in the meditation posture can be compared to engraving a wooden block; the effect is very deep and lasting. Therefore, if the thoughts contain too much ignorance, we can even become an animal in another life. Too much lust makes a hungry ghost and whatever one sees he will rape. So do not merely prolong the time of concentration unless the mind is fixed in the good quality of samatha.

If one fails to return to the point in five attempts, then he should get up from his seat and walk around the altar chanting mantras. So far, I am the only person who has emphasized the quality of mind in the practice of concentration and it is very special advice from my own experience. So please do not merely prolong the quantity of time in a blind and harmful manner. However, if the concentration is of good quality, the Samatha should then be held, the longer the better. That is why there is the fourth step.

4. In Near the Good Abiding, all outward thoughts have stopped and the mind naturally returns to the inward point. This should be prolonged.

5. The fifth step is called Overwhelming. Now all outward thoughts have been overwhelmed by the inward sight. There are no external thoughts and no exertion is needed to keep the inward point as in the last four steps. In so doing one comes to the sixth step.

6. Silence: Here the mind is without distraction and therefore very still or silent. But one problem arises at this time and that is the sleepy mind. If it is not subdued, the practitioner will fall over from the meditation posture. Some practitioners say that the half sleepy mind is a good concentration state because they see a piece of light or dream-like images, but this is a mistaken view. Many beginners feel very proud because they have seen this light or that image. Others see only completely black and this is the animal realm. After the pig takes food, he always falls asleep and becomes fat and therefore deserves to be eaten as pork, but we should not follow his example.

The result of the sleepy mind is very dangerous. We could fall into any of the lower three states. By cause and effect we see that the cause is ignorance or sleepy mind, and the effect is the lower three realms. The sleepy mind is caused by the downward flowing energy never rising up. When we wake up, shocked, from a bad dream this is caused by our energy rising up. We should not just think that any blind form of meditation is a good action. Unless it is accompanied by clear concentrationt will only make you stupid.

Do not think that every kind of sleep is evil. There is a difference between sleeping in meditation and sleeping in bed. Sleeping in bed is natural for a human being. Most hermits sleep in the sitting position. For example, Kalu Rinpoche guided some students to practice for three years, three half-months and three days without ever lying down. They sit in wooden boxes about two feet wide by two feet long. The hermits sit when they sleep to reduce sleep and keep them awake. This is quite different from the layman who falls asleep in the sitting posture during samatha practice. For such layman, it is much better to sleep lying down so that the energy is evenly distributed throughout the body. If he sleeps in the meditation posture, it will only cause the downward flow of energy to pass through what the Buddha calls the three mouths of soreness; that is, penis, anus, vagina, and he will fall into ignorance. From this point of view, it is much better to sleep lying down and never in the meditation posture.

So in this stage of Silence we must keep our minds very clear, away from sleep. Do not just think, Oh, meditation is good! Meditation is wonderful! One must consider what type of meditation is good and what quality of meditation is wonderful! So when the point becomes hazy, one should open his eyes widely, and bring the energy upward. As the Silence step becomes clearer, one attains the seventh step.

7. Deep Silence: Here both the sleepy mind and the distracted mind have been completely subdued. But now one should make the mind wide, clear, and vast, not merely deep and silent. Depth is the silence, and brightness is the vastness; in this manner, stupid ignorance cannot possibly occur.

8. The eighth step is named One Pointed Attention. By now we have attained one-pointed attention and our minds remain on the inward point without moving or wavering--even a little. But still, we have not reached our destination so we have to go onto the next step.

9. The ninth step is called Equal Abiding. In the eighth step we still have an objective point kept by a subjective experiencer, but now we have gone beyond this fallacy and everywhere can be seen as one point. It can be inside or outside or everywhere at one time in an equal quality of samatha. From this point of view, we can say that there is no longer any point or we can say that there is only one great point. This is the completion of the samatha practice, and we are now ready for samapatti practice. Without success in samatha, one can never succeed in meditation. There have been many wise people who say that they can meditate in action, but they are only fooling themselves. If you cannot meditate in the sitting posture how can you mediate in action? The sitting form of meditation is the easiest. If you can't do the easiest what makes you think you can do the hardest?

After success in sitting meditation, one should try to mediate in the four common dignified actions, i.e., standing, sitting, walking, sleeping. After these are accomplished, one may use his mediation force to penetrate and transmute the five special poisons, i.e., lust, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt.

If your sitting mediation is strong enough, you may use it to subdue all types of sorrowful places--e.g. bars, casinos, houses of prostitution, etc. In short, there is no activity which you could not subdue, since it is the truth of Buddhism to use the highest wisdom to subdue the lowest evil.

Those persons who can meditate in action must have many supernatural powers. If they do not have them, then they are only deceiving themselves. When the meditation force comes into action, one should be able to bodily pass through walls or sit in the sky. Many gurus nowadays merely cheat their students by saying they can meditate in action; but where are their supernatural powers? Some of them cannot even protect their own bodies from accidents. Consequently, many American youths have been cheated.

We may further clarify the above discussion by examining the four stages of Mahamudra. The first stage is One Pointed Yoga, which is different from the one pointedness of samatha, but we have no time to elaborate here. The second stage is called Renounce Play-Words Yoga (No False-Talk Yoga). The third stage is called One Taste Yoga: this is the true state of meditation in action. Never is it possible before this state for daily-life activities to be truly connected with meditation. The One Taste Yoga corresponds to the Eighth Bodhisattva stage and such practitioners have many, many supernatural powers. They are very close to being Buddhas. Most of the youths do not understand what meditation in action is, so they continually indulge in sex and drink, claiming that their Gurus say this is meditation in action. They say Buddhism is a way of life; they are very proud and speak very sugary about their Gurus, but actually they are cheating themselves. I feel very bad about such people cheating themselves and others.

The fourth stage of Mahamudra is called No Practice Yoga. Many people have also greatly distorted and misinterpreted what No Practice means. They claim there is no need to practice meditation, but of course, such views are very wrong. The One Taste Yoga of Mahamudra belongs to the fourth initiation of the highest Tantra. If the practitioner has not gotten the first three initiations of the highest Tantra, how can he get the fourth? But before these initiations, he must get the initiations of the lower three Tantras. These also have prerequisites which include several practices in the Mahayana and Hinayana, e.g., the nine steps of samatha just mentioned are merely the foundation (starting point) for the exploration of the Hinayana. So let us not think we will discover the mystery of life over a can of beer or a casual sexual relationship. Such idle chatter about meditation in action cannot lead one to liberation.

Today I have spoken these words and I hope they will clarify some of the false practices now existing. I have no wish to open a shop to sell the Dharma. I have no intention of gathering many students with false teachings so that I may take their money; I just have mercy on them and want to help them distinguish deluded practices. I do not want them to make Buddhism a cheap subject which can be sold from a store. You cannot buy enlightenment with gold. It can only be attained by one hundred percent complete devotion and discipline. Do not cheat people to believe that the Dharma may be purchased like a ticket to a movie theater. You must lay down your entire life, open your entire heart, and beyond that is the fruit.

Source

By Yogi C. M. Chen
yogichen.org