Vipassana meditation is something of a mental balancing
act. You are going to be cultivating two separate qualities of the mind--mindfulness and
concentration. Ideally these two work together as a team. They pull in tandem, so to
speak. Therefore it is important to cultivate them side-by-side and in a balanced manner.
If one of the factors is strengthened at the expense of the other, the balance of the mind
is lost and meditation impossible.
Concentration and mindfulness are distinctly different
functions. They each have their role to play in meditation, and the relationship between
them is definite and delicate. Concentration is often called one-pointedness of mind. It
consists of forcing the mind to remain on one static point. Please note the word FORCE.
Concentration is pretty much a forced type of activity. It can be developed by force, by
sheer unremitting willpower. And once developed, it retains some of that forced flavor.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, is a delicate function leading to refined sensibilities.
These two are partners in the job of meditation. Mindfulness is the sensitive one. He
notices things. Concentration provides the power. He keeps the attention pinned down to
one item. Ideally, mindfulness is in this relationship. Mindfulness picks the objects of
attention, and notices when the attention has gone astray. Concentration does the actual
work of holding the attention steady on that chosen object. If either of these partners is
weak, your meditation goes astray.
Concentration could be defined as that faculty of the mind
which focuses single mindedly on one object without interruption. It must be emphasized
that true concentration is a wholesome one-pointedness of mind. That is, the state is free
from greed, hatred and delusion. Unwholesome one-pointedness is also possible, but it will
not lead to liberation. You can be very single-minded in a state of lust. But that gets
you nowhere. Uninterrupted focus on something that you hate does not help yo at all. In
fact, such unwholesome concentration is fairly short-lived even when it is
achieved--especially when it is used to harm others. True concentration itself is free
from such contaminants. It is a state in which the mind is gathered together and thus
gains power and intensity. We might use the analogy of a lens. Parallel waves of sunlight
falling on a piece of paper will do no more than warm the surface. But the same amount of
light, when focused through a lens, falls on a single point and the paper bursts into
flames. Concentration is the lens. It produces the burning intensity necessary to see into
the deeper reaches of the mind. Mindfulness selects the object that the lens will focus on
and looks through the lens to see what is there.
Concentration should be regarded as a tool. Like any tool,
it can be used for good or for ill. A sharp knife can be used to create a beautiful
carving or to harm someone. It is all up to the one who uses the knife. Concentration is
similar. Properly used, it can assist you towards liberation. But it can also be used in
the service of the ego. It can operate in the framework of achievement and competition.
You can use concentration to dominate others. You can use it to be selfish. The real
problem is that concentration alone will not give you a perspective on yourself. It won't
throw light on the basic problems of selfishness and the nature of suffering. It can be
used to dig down into deep psychological states. But even then, the forces of egotism
won't be understood. Only mindfulness can do that. If mindfulness is not there to look
into the lens and see what has been uncovered, then it is all for nothing. Only
mindfulness understands. Only mindfulness brings wisdom. Concentration has other
limitations, too.
Really deep concentration can only take place under
certain specific conditions. Buddhists go to a lot of trouble to build meditation halls
and monasteries. Their main purpose is to create a physical environment free of
distractions in which to learn this skill. No noise, no interruptions. Just as important,
however, is the creation of a distraction-free emotional environment. The development of
concentration will be blocked by the presence of certain mental states which we call the
five hindrances. They are greed for sensual pleasure, hatred, mental lethargy,
restlessness, and mental vacillation. We have examined these mental states more fully in
Chapter 12.
A monastery is a controlled environment where this sort of
emotional noise is kept to a minimum. No members of the opposite sex are allowed to live
together there. Therefore, there is less opportunity for lust. No possessions are allowed.
Therefore, no ownership squabbles and less chance for greed and coveting. Another hurdle
for concentration should also be mentioned. In really deep concentration, you get so
absorbed in the object of concentration that you forget all about trifles. Like your body,
for instance, and your identity and everything around you. Here again the monastery is a
useful convenience. It is nice to know that there is somebody to take care of you by
watching over all the mundane matters of food and physical security. Without such
assurance, one hesitates to go as deeply into concentration as one might.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, is free from all these
drawbacks. Mindfulness is not dependent on any such particular circumstance, physical or
otherwise. It is a pure noticing factor. Thus it is free to notice whatever comes
up--lust, hatred, or noise. Mindfulness is not limited by any condition. It exists to some
extent in every moment, in every circumstance that arises. Also, mindfulness has no fixed
object of focus. It observes change. Thus it has an unlimited number of objects of
attention. It just looks at whatever is passing through the mind and it does not
categorize. Distractions and interruptions are noticed with the same amount of attention
as the formal objects of meditation. In a state of pure mindfulness your attention just
flows along with whatever changes are taking place in the mind. "Shift, shift, shift.
Now this, now this, and now this."
You can't develop mindfulness by force. Active teeth
gritting willpower won't do you any good at all. As a matter of fact, it will hinder
progress. Mindfulness cannot be cultivated by struggle. It grows by realizing, by letting
go, by just settling down in the moment and letting yourself get comfortable with whatever
you are experiencing. This does not mean that mindfulness happens all by itself. Far from
it. Energy is required. Effort is required. But this effort is different from force.
Mindfulness is cultivated by a gentle effort, by effortless effort. The meditator
cultivates mindfulness by constantly reminding himself in a gentle way to maintain his
awareness of whatever is happening right now. Persistence and a light touch are the
secrets. Mindfulness is cultivated by constantly pulling oneself back to a state of
awareness, gently, gently, gently.
Mindfulness can't be used in any selfish way, either. It
is nonegoistic alertness. There is no 'me' in a state of pure mindfulness. So there is no
self to be selfish. On the contrary, it is mindfulness which gives you the real
perspective on yourself. It allows you to take that crucial mental step backward from your
own desires and aversions so that you can then look and say, "Ah ha, so that's how I
really am."
In a state of mindfulness, you see yourself exactly as you
are. You see your own selfish behavior. You see your own suffering. And you see how you
create that suffering. You see how you hurt others. You pierce right through the layer of
lies that you normally tell yourself and you see what is really there. Mindfulness leads
to wisdom.
Mindfulness is not trying to achieve anything. It is just
looking. Therefore, desire and aversion are not involved. Competition and struggle for
achievement have no place in the process. Mindfulness does not aim at anything. It just
sees whatever is already there.
Mindfulness is a broader and larger function than
concentration. it is an all-encompassing function. Concentration is exclusive. It settles
down on one item and ignores everything else. Mindfulness is inclusive. It stands back
from the focus of attention and watches with a broad focus, quick to notice any change
that occurs. If you have focused the mind on a stone, concentration will see only the
stone. Mindfulness stands back from this process, aware of the stone, aware of the
concentration focusing on the stone, aware of the intensity of that focus and instantly
aware of the shift of attention when concentration is distracted. It is mindfulness which
notices the distraction which has occurred, and it is mindfulness which redirects the
attention to the stone. Mindfulness is more difficult to cultivate than concentration
because it is a deeper-reaching function. Concentration is merely focusing of the mind,
rather like a laser beam. It has the power to burn its way deep into the mind and
illuminate what is there. But it does not understand what it sees. Mindfulness can examine
the mechanics of selfishness and understand what it sees. Mindfulness can pierce the
mystery of suffering and the mechanism of discomfort. Mindfulness can make you free.
There is, however, another Catch-22. Mindfulness does not
react to what it sees. It just sees and understands. Mindfulness is the essence of
patience. Therefore, whatever you see must be simply accepted, acknowledged and
dispassionately observed. This is not easy, but it is utterly necessary. We are ignorant.
We are selfish and greedy and boastful. We lust and we lie. These are facts. Mindfulness
means seeing these facts and being patient with ourselves, accepting ourselves as we are.
That goes against the grain. We don't want to accept. We want to deny it. Or change it, or
justify it. But acceptance is the essence of mindfulness. If we want to grow in
mindfulness we must accept what mindfulness finds. It may be boredom, irritation, or fear.
It may be weakness, inadequacy, or faults. Whatever it is, that is the way we are. That is
what is real.
Mindfulness simply accepts whatever is there. If you want
to grow in mindfulness, patient acceptance is the only route. Mindfulness grows only one
way: by continuous practice of mindfulness, by simply trying to be mindful, and that means
being patient. The process cannot be forced and it cannot be rushed. It proceeds at its
own pace.
Concentration and mindfulness go hand-in-hand in the job
of meditation. Mindfulness directs the power of concentration. Mindfulness is the manager
of the operation. Concentration furnishes the power by which mindfulness can penetrate
into the deepest level of the mind. Their cooperation results in insight and
understanding. These must be cultivated together in a balanced ratio. Just a bit more
emphasis is given to mindfulness because mindfulness is the center of meditation. The
deepest levels of concentration are not really needed to do the job of liberation. Still,
a balance is essential. Too much awareness without calm to balance it will result in a
wildly over sensitized state similar to abusing LSD. Too much concentration without a
balancing ratio of awareness will result in the 'Stone Buddha' syndrome. The meditator
gets so tranquilized that he sits there like a rock. Both of these are to be avoided.
The initial stages of mental cultivation are especially
delicate. Too much emphasis on mindfulness at this point will actually retard the
development of concentration. When getting started in meditation, one of the first things
you will notice is how incredibly active the mind really is. The Theravada tradition calls
this phenomenon 'monkey mind'. The Tibetan tradition likens it to a waterfall of thought.
If you emphasize the awareness function at this point, there will be so much to be aware
of that concentration will be impossible. Don't get discouraged. This happens to
everybody. And there is a simple solution. Put most of your effort into one-pointedness at
the beginning. Just keep calling the attention from wandering over and over again. Tough
it out. Full instructions on how to do this are in Chapters 7 and 8. A couple of months
down the track and you will have developed concentration power. Then you can start pumping
you energy into mindfulness. Do not, however, go so far with concentration that you find
yourself going into a stupor.
Mindfulness still is the more important of the two
components. It should be built as soon as you comfortably can do so. Mindfulness provides
the needed foundation for the subsequent development of deeper concentration. Most
blunders in this area of balance will correct themselves in time. Right concentration
develops naturally in the wake of strong mindfulness. The more you develop the noticing
factor, the quicker you will notice the distraction and the quicker you will pull out of
it and return to the formal object of attention. The natural result is increased
concentration. And as concentration develops, it assists the development of mindfulness.
The more concentration power you have, the less chance there is of launching off on a long
chain of analysis about the distraction. You simply note the distraction and return your
attention to where it is supposed to be.
Thus the two factors tend to balance and support each
other's growth quite naturally. Just about the only rule you need to follow at this point
is to put your effort on concentration at the beginning, until the monkey mind phenomenon
has cooled down a bit. After that, emphasize mindfulness. If you find yourself getting
frantic, emphasize concentration. If you find yourself going into a stupor, emphasize
mindfulness. Overall, mindfulness is the one to emphasize.
Mindfulness guides your development in meditation because
mindfulness has the ability to be aware of itself. It is mindfulness which will give you a
perspective on your practice. Mindfulness will let you know how you are doing. But don't
worry too much about that. This is not a race. You are not in competition with anybody,
and there is no schedule.
One of the most difficult things to learn is that
mindfulness is not dependent on any emotional or mental state. We have certain images of
meditation. Meditation is something done in quiet caves by tranquil people who move
slowly. Those are training conditions. They are set up to foster concentration and to
learn the skill of mindfulness. Once you have learned that skill, however, you can
dispense with the training restrictions, and you should. You don't need to move at a
snail's pace to be mindful. You don't even need to be calm. You can be mindful while
solving problems in intensive calculus. You can be mindful in the middle of a football
scrimmage. You can even be mindful in the midst of a raging fury. Mental and physical
activities are no bar to mindfulness. If you find your mind extremely active, then simply
observe the nature and degree of that activity. It is just a part of the passing show
within.