Prologue

There are two things beginning meditators should search for as external aids to their practice:

1. Suitable companions (puggala-sappaya): Be judicious in choosing people to associate with. Search only for companions who have peace of mind. This can be any group at all, as long as the group as a whole is aiming for mental peace.

2. A suitable location (senasana-sappaya): Choose a quiet place with an agreeable atmosphere, far from human society. Places of this sort, providing physical seclusion, are conducive to the practice of meditation. Examples listed in the Canon include caverns and caves, the shade of an over-hanging cliff-face, the forest wilderness, and empty houses or buildings where not too many people will come passing by. Places like this are an excellent aid and support for a beginning meditator.

When you go to stay in such a place, don't let your thoughts dwell on topics that will act as enemies to your peace of mind. For example, don't preoccupy yourself with magic spells or the black arts. Instead, call to mind and put into practice those principles and qualities that will be to your benefit. For example:

Appicchata: Be a person of few wants with regard to the necessities of life.

Santutthi: Be content with the possessions you already have.

Viveka: Aim solely for peace, quiet and seclusion.

Asansagga: Don't entangle yourself with human companionship.

Viriyarambha: Be singleminded and persistent at making the mind still and at peace.

Silanussati: Reflect on your own conduct to see if you've overstepped any of your precepts, and — if you have — immediately purify your behavior through your own intention.

Samadhi-katha: Focus on calling to mind the meditation theme on which your mind can become firmly established.

Pañña-katha: Focus exclusively on those topics that will give rise to discernment and clear insight.

Vimutti: Make the mind well-disposed toward the search for release from all defilements.

Vimutti-ñana-dassana: Focus on contemplating how to come to the realizations that will enable you to gain release from the fermentation of all defilements.

These principles are guidelines for meditators of every sort and will direct the mind solely to the path leading beyond all suffering and stress.

What follows is a short-hand list of essential principles, selected to help prevent meditators from getting tied up in the course of their practice. These principles, though, should be viewed merely as incidental to the Dhamma. The reality of the Dhamma has to be brought into being within ourselves through our own energies: This is called practicing the Dhamma. If we go no further than the lists, we'll end up with only concepts of the Dhamma. Our ultimate aim should be to make the mind still until we reach the natural reality that exists on its own within us, that knows on its own and lets go on its own. This is the practice of the Dhamma that will lead us to the realization of the Dhamma — the true taste and nourishment of the Dhamma — so that we will no longer be caught up on the ropes.

In other words, conceptualized Dhamma is like a rope bridge for crossing over a river. If we take the bridge down and then carry it with us, it will serve no purpose other than to weigh us down and get us all tied up. So no matter how much conceptualized Dhamma you may have memorized, when you come to the point where you're practicing for real you have to take responsibility for yourself. Whether you are to win or lose, let go or cling, will depend on how much quality you've built into your own mind. This is why we are taught not to cling to the scriptures and texts, to meanings and concepts. Only when we train ourselves to get beyond all this will we be heading for purity.

Nothing can help us unless we can rely on ourselves. Only when we realize this will we be on the right track. The Buddha attained all of the truths he taught before he put them into words. It wasn't the case that he came up with the words first and then put them into practice later. He was like the scientists who experiment and get results before writing textbooks. But people who simply read the textbooks know everything — for example, they may know every part in an airplane — but they can't produce one out of their own knowledge. To be a consumer and to be a producer are two different things. If we cling merely to the concepts of the Dhamma, simply memorizing them, we're no more than consumers. Only if we make ourselves into producers, so that others can consume, will we be acting properly.

To be successful producers, we have to accept responsibility for ourselves. If there's any area where we don't succeed, we should make use of our own ingenuity until we do. If we rely merely on the ingenuity of others, then we can't depend on ourselves. And if we can't depend on ourselves, why should we let other people think that they can depend on us?

This is why I have compiled this list of principles merely as a brief beginning guide for meditators.

The Thirteen Ascetic Observances

1. Pansukulikanga: the practice of wearing robes made from thrown-away cloth.

2. Tecivarikanga: the practice of using only one set of three robes.

3. Pindapatikanga: the practice of going for alms.

4. Sapadacarikanga: the practice of not by-passing any donors on one's alms path.

5. Ekasanikanga: the practice of eating no more than one meal a day.

6. Pattapindikanga: the practice of eating one's food only from one's bowl.

7. Khalupacchabhattikanga: the practice of not accepting any food presented after one has eaten one's fill.

8. Araññikanga: the practice of living in the wilderness.

9. Rukkhamulikanga: the practice of living under the shade of a tree.

10. Abbhokasikanga: the practice of living out under the open sky.

11. Sosanikanga: the practice of living in a cemetery.

12. Yathasanthatikanga: the practice of living in whatever place is assigned to one.

13. Nesajjikanga: the practice of not lying down.

The Fourteen Duties

1. Akantuka-vatta: duties of a monk newly arriving at a monastery.

2. Avasika-vatta: duties of a host-monk when a newcomer arrives.

3. Gamika-vatta: duties of a monk when leaving a monastery.

4. Anumodana-vatta: duties connected with expressing appreciation for donations (of food).

5. Bhattaka-vatta: duties to observe before and after one's meal.

6. Pindicarika-vatta: duties to observe when going for alms.

7. Araññika-vatta: duties to observe when living in the wilderness.

8. Senasana-vatta: duties to observe in looking after one's dwelling place.

9. Jantaghara-vatta: duties to observe in using the fire-house.

10. Vaccakuti-vatta: duties to observe in using the toilet.

11. Upajjhaya-vatta: duties to observe in attending to one's preceptor.

12. Acariya-vatta: duties to observe in attending to one's teacher.

13. Saddhiviharika-vatta: a preceptor's duties toward his pupil.

14. Antevasika-vatta: a teacher's duties toward his pupil.

Seven Important Sets of Principles (The Wings to Awakening)

1. The four frames of reference (satipatthana): body, feelings, mind, mental qualities.

2. The four right exertions (sammappadhana): making the effort to prevent evil from arising, to abandon whatever evil has arisen, to give rise to the good that hasn't yet arisen, and to maintain the good that has.

3. The four foundations of achievement (iddhipada):

Chanda — feeling an affinity for one's meditation theme.
Viriya — persistence.
Citta — intentness on one's goal.
Vimangsa — circumspection in one's activities and interests.

4. The five pre-eminent factors (indriya): conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, discernment (factors that are pre-eminent in performing one's duties).

5. The five strengths (bala): conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, discernment (factors that give energy to the observance of one's duties).

6. The seven factors for Awakening (bojjhanga):

Sati-sambojjhanga — powers of mindfulness, recollection, and reference.
Dhammavicaya-sambojjhanga — discrimination in choosing a meditation theme well-suited to oneself.
Viriya-sambojjhanga — persistence.
Piti-sambojjhanga — rapture; fullness of body and mind.
Passaddhi-sambojjhanga — physical stillness and mental serenity.
Samadhi-sambojjhanga — concentration.
Upekkha-sambojjhanga — equanimity.

7. The eightfold path (magga):

Samma-ditthi — Right View.
Samma-sankappa — Right Intention.
Samma-vaca — Right Speech.
Samma-kammanta — Right Action.
Samma-ajiva — Right Livelihood.
Samma-vayama — Right Effort.
Samma-sati — Right Mindfulness.
Samma-samadhi — Right Concentration.

The Forty Meditation Themes

Ten recollections; ten foul objects; ten kasinas; four sublime abidings; four formless absorptions; one resolution into elements; and one perception of the filthiness of food.

Ten recollections:

1. Buddhanussati: recollection of the virtues of the Buddha.

2. Dhammanussati: recollection of the virtues of the Dhamma.

3. Sanghanussati: recollection of the virtues of the Sangha.

4. Silanussati: recollection of one's own moral virtue.

5. Caganussati: recollection of one's generosity.

6. Devatanussati: recollection of the qualities that lead to rebirth as a heavenly being.

7. Kayagatasati: mindfulness immersed in the body.

8. Maranassati: mindfulness of death.

9. Anapanassati: mindfulness of breathing.

10. Upasamanussati: recollection of the virtues of nibbana — ultimate pleasure; unexcelled ease, free from birth, aging, illness and death.

Ten foul objects:

1. Uddhumataka: a rotten, bloated corpse, its body all swollen and its features distended out of shape.

2. Vinilaka: a livid corpse, with patchy discoloration — greenish, reddish, yellowish — from the decomposition of the blood.

3. Vipubbaka: a festering corpse, oozing lymph and pus from its various orifices.

4. Vichiddaka: a corpse falling apart, the pieces scattered about, radiating their stench.

5. Vikkhayittaka: a corpse that various animals, such as dogs, are gnawing, or that vultures are picking at, or that crows are fighting over, pulling it apart in different directions.

6. Vikkhittaka: corpses scattered about, i.e., unclaimed bodies that have been thrown together in a pile — face up, face down, old bones and new scattered all over the place.

7. Hatavikkhittaka: the corpse of a person violently murdered, slashed and stabbed with various weapons, covered with wounds — short, long, shallow, deep — some parts hacked so that they're almost detached.

8. Lohitaka: a corpse covered with blood, like the hands of a butcher, all red and raw-smelling.

9. Puluvaka: a corpse infested with worms: long worms, short worms, black, green, and yellow worms, squeezed into the ears, eyes, and mouth; squirming and squiggling about, filling the various parts of the body like a net full of fish that has fallen open.

10. Atthika: a skeleton, some of the joints already separated, others not yet, the bones — whitish, yellowish, discolored — scattered near and far all over the place.

Ten kasinas:

1. Pathavi kasina: staring at earth.
2. Apo kasina: staring at water.
3. Tejo kasina: staring at fire.
4. Vayo kasina: staring at wind.
5. Odata kasina: staring at white.
6. Pita kasina: staring at yellow.
7. Lohita kasina: staring at red.
8. Nila kasina: staring at blue (or green).
9. Akasa kasina: staring at the space in a hole or an opening.
10. Aloka kasina: staring at bright light.

Four sublime abidings:

1. Metta: benevolence, friendliness, good will, love in the true sense.

2. Karuna: compassion, sympathy, pity, aspiring to find a way to be truly helpful.

3. Mudita: appreciation for the goodness of other people and for our own when we are able to help them.

4. Upekkha: When our efforts to be of help don't succeed, we should make the mind neutral — neither pleased nor upset by whatever it focuses on — so that it enters the emptiness of jhana, centered and tranquil to the point where it can disregard acts of thinking and evaluating as well as feelings of rapture and ease, leaving only oneness and equanimity with regard to all objects and preoccupations.

Four formless absorptions:

1. Akasanancayatana: being absorbed in a sense of boundless emptiness and space as one's preoccupation.

2. Viññanancayatana: being absorbed in boundless consciousness as one's preoccupation, with no form or figure acting as the sign or focal point of one's concentration.

3. Akiñcaññayatana: focusing exclusively on a fainter or more subtle sense of cognizance that has no limit and in which nothing appears or disappears, to the point where one almost understands it to be nibbana.

4. Nevasañña-nasaññayatana: being absorbed in a feeling that occurs in the mind, that isn't awareness exactly, but neither is it non-awareness; i.e., there is awareness, but with no thinking, no focusing of awareness on what it knows.

These four formless absorptions are merely resting places for the mind, because they are states that the mind enters, stays in, and leaves. They are by nature unstable and inconstant, so we shouldn't rest content simply at this level. We have to go back and forth through the various levels many times so as to realize that they're only stages of enforced tranquillity.

One resolution into elements: i.e., regarding each part of the body simply in terms of physical properties or elements.

One perception of the filthiness of food: i.e., viewing food as something repugnant and unclean — with regard to where it comes from, how it's prepared, how it's mixed together when it's chewed, and where it stays in the stomach and intestines.

With one exception, all of the meditation themes mentioned here are simply gocara dhamma — foraging places for the mind. They're not places for the mind to stay. If we try to go live in the things we see when we're out foraging, we'll end up in trouble. Thus, there is one theme that's termed "vihara dhamma" or "anagocara": Once you've developed it, you can use it as a place to stay. When you practice meditation, you don't have to go foraging in other themes; you can stay in the single theme that's the apex of all meditation themes: anapanassati, keeping the breath in mind. This theme, unlike the others, has none of the features or various deceptions that can upset or disturb the heart. As for the others:

— Some of the recollections, when you've practiced them for a long time, can give rise to startling or unsettling visions.

— The ten foul objects can give rise after a while to visions and sometimes to sense of alienation and discontent that turns into restlessness and distress, your mind being unable to fashion anything on which it can come to rest, to the point where you can't eat or drink.

— The ten kasina, after you've stared at them a long while, can give rise to visions that tend to pull you out of your sense of the body, as you become enthralled by their color and features, to the point where you may become completely carried away.

— As for the resolution into elements, when you become more and more engrossed in contemplating the elements, everything in the world becomes nothing more than elements, which are everywhere the same. You come to believe that you no longer have to make distinctions: You're nothing more than elements, members of the opposite sex are nothing more than elements, food is nothing more than elements, and so you can end up overstepping the bounds of morality and the monastic discipline.

— As for the perception of the filthiness of food, as you become more and more caught up in it, everything becomes repulsive. You can't eat or sleep, your mind becomes restless and disturbed, and you inflict suffering on yourself.

— As for the four sublime abodes, if you don't have jhana as a dwelling for the mind, feelings of good will, compassion, and appreciation can all cause you to suffer. Only if you have jhana can these qualities truly become sublime abodes, that is, restful places for the heart to stay (vihara dhamma).

Thus only one of these themes — anapanassati, keeping the breath in mind — is truly safe. This is the supreme meditation theme. You don't have to send your awareness out to fix it on any outside objects at all. Even if you may go foraging through such objects, don't go living in them, because after a while they can waver and shift, just as when we cross the sea in a boat: When we first get into the boat we may feel all right, but as soon as the boat heads out into the open bay and we're buffeted by wind and waves, we can start feeling seasick. To practice keeping the breath in mind, though, is like sitting in an open shelter at dockside: We won't feel queasy or sick; we can see boats as they pass by on the water, and people as they pass by on land. Thus, keeping the breath in mind is classed:

— as an exercise agreeable to people of any and every temperament;

— as "anagocara," an exercise in which you focus exclusively on the breath while you sit in meditation, without having to compound things by sending your awareness out to grab this or get hold of that;

— and as "dhamma-thiti," i.e., all you have to do is keep your mind established firm and in place.

The beginning stage is to think buddho — "bud-" with the in-breath, and "dho" with the out. Fixing your attention on just this much is enough to start seeing results. There's only one aim, and that's:

If there is anything you're unsure of, or if you encounter any problems, then consult the following pages.

Introduction

This handbook on keeping the breath in mind has had a number of readers who have put it into practice and seen results appearing within themselves in accordance with the strength of their practice. Many people have come to me to discuss the results they've gained from practicing the principles in this book, but now it's out of print. For this reason I've decided to enlarge it and have it printed again as an aid for those who are interested in the practice.

Now, if you're not acquainted with this topic, have never attempted it, or aren't yet skilled — if you don't know the techniques of the practice — it's bound to be hard to understand, because the currents of the mind, when they're written down as a book, simply won't be a book. The issues involved in dealing with the mind are more than many. If your knowledge of them isn't truly comprehensive, you may misunderstand what you come to see and know, and this in turn can be destructive in many ways. (1) You may lose whatever respect you had for the practice, deciding that there's no truth to it. (2) You may gain only a partial grasp of things, leading you to decide that other people can't practice or are practicing wrongly, and in the end you're left with no way to practice yourself. So you decide to "let go" simply through conjecture and speculation. But the truth is that this simply won't work. True and complete letting go can come only from the principles well-taught by the Buddha: virtue, concentration, and discernment, which are a synopsis of the eightfold path he taught in his first sermon.

So in our practice we should consider how virtue, concentration, discernment, and release can be brought into being. Virtue forms the basis for concentration; concentration, the basis for discernment (liberating insight or cognitive skill); and discernment, the basis for release from ignorance, craving, and attachment. Thus in this book, which is a guide to developing Right Concentration, I would like to recommend to other meditators a method that, in my experience, has proven safe and productive, so that they can test it for themselves by putting it into practice until they start seeing results.

The main concern of this book is with the way to mental peace. Now, the word "peace" has many levels: A mind infused with virtue has one level of peace and happiness; a mind stilled through concentration has another level of peace and happiness; a mind at peace through the power of discernment has still another level of happiness; and the peace of a mind that is released is yet another level, with a happiness completely apart from the rest.

In these matters, though, meditators tend to prefer the results to the causes. They aren't as interested in abandoning their own defilements through the principles of the practice as they are in standing out among society at large. They appropriate the ideas and observations of other people as being their own, but by and large their wisdom is composed of bahira pañña — remembered "outsights," not true insight.

So when you want the reality of the principles taught by the Buddha, you should first lift your mind to this principle — Right Concentration — because it's an excellent gathering of the energies of your mind. All energy in the world comes from stopping and resting. Motion is something that destroys itself — as when our thinking goes all out of bounds. Take walking for instance: When we walk, energy comes from the foot at rest. Or when we speak, energy comes from stopping between phrases. If we were to talk without stopping, without resting between phrases, not only would it waste energy, but the language we'd speak wouldn't even be human. So it is with practicing the Dhamma: Release comes from concentration and discernment acting together. Release through the power of the mind (ceto-vimutti) requires more concentration and less discernment; release through discernment (pañña-vimutti), more discernment and less concentration — but there is no way that release can be attained without the stillness of concentration.

Thus, resting the mind provides the strength needed to support all the qualities developed in the practice, which is why it's such an essential part of Right Concentration. It forms a well-spring and a storage place for all knowledge, whether of the world or of the Dhamma. If you aren't acquainted with this basic principle, skilled awareness won't arise. And if you don't have skilled awareness, how will you be able to let go? You'll have to go groping around in unskilled awareness. As long as the mind is in the grips of unskilled awareness, it's bound to be deluded by its fashionings.

Unskilled awareness is a brine in which the mind lies soaking; a mind soaked in its juices is like wet, sappy wood that, when burned, gives off smoke as its signal, but no flame. As the smoke rises into the air, you imagine it to be something high and exalted. It's high, all right, but only like smoke or overcast clouds. If there's a lot of it, it can obscure your vision and that of others, so that you can't see the light of the sun and moon. This is why such people are said to be "groping." Those who train their own hearts, though, will give rise to skilled awareness. When skilled awareness penetrates the heart, you'll come to realize the harmful potency of mental fashionings. The arising of skilled awareness in the heart is like the burning of dry, sapless wood that gives off flame and light. Even though there may be some smoke, you don't pay it any mind, because the firelight is more outstanding.

The flame of skilled awareness gives rise to five sorts of results:

1. Rust (the defilements) won't take hold of the heart.

2. The heart becomes purified.

3. The heart becomes radiant in and of itself (pabhassaram cittam).

4. The heart develops majesty (tejas).

5. The three skills, the eight skills, and the four forms of acumen will arise.

All of these things arise through the power of the mind. The nature of the mind is that it already has a certain amount of instinctive intuition — the times when it knows on its own, as when you happen to think of a particular person, and then he or she actually shows up. All good qualities, from the mundane to the transcendent, are always present in each of us. These qualities — the Dhamma — aren't the exclusive possession of any particular group or person. We all have the right to develop them and put them into practice.

For these qualities to yield results, we have to develop them in conjunction with the following four principles:

1. Chanda: feeling an affinity for the practice.

2. Viriya: being persistent in the practice.

3. Citta: being intent on the practice.

4. Vimansa: being circumspect in what we do, i.e., circumspect before we do it, circumspect (mindful and aware) while we're doing it, and circumspect with regard to the results that arise from what we've done.

These four principles form the foundation for success in all areas, whether in matters of the world or of the Dhamma. Once they're actualized within us and focused together on a single goal, we're bound to succeed in line with our aspirations. The results they yield, briefly put, are of two sorts:

1. Iddhiriddhi: certain mundane powers that accrue to meditators.

2. Puññariddhi: power in terms of the Dhamma that will accrue to meditators, providing means for settling issues that relate to the world and the heart, or for liberating the mind from all mundane influences. This is termed:

Vimutti — release,
Visuddhi — purity,
Santi — peace,
Nibbana — the disbanding of all stress.

Thus, I would like to invite all Buddhists — all who hope for peace and well-being — to reflect on the principles of practice dealing with Right Concentration presented here as a guide for those who are interested. If you have any questions dealing with this book, or any problems arising from the practice of training the mind, I will be glad to give whatever advice I can.

May you prosper and be well.

Whoever feels that this book is of use and would like to print it again for free distribution, may go ahead and do so without having to ask permission. Some parts may not be correct in terms of the Pali, so wherever there may be any mistakes, I ask your forgiveness.

— Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
Wat Asokaram, Samut Prakaan
September, 1960

"Buddhanussati metta ca asubham maranassati:
Iccima caturarakkha..."

(Recollection of the Buddha; good will;
The foul; mindfulness of death:
These four guardian protectors...)

— Rama IV, "Mokkhupaya Gatha"

I. Recollection of the Buddha

Araham samma-sambuddho bhagava:
Buddham bhagavantam abhivademi.

The Blessed One is Worthy and Rightly Self-awakened.
I bow down before the Awakened, Blessed One. (Bow down)

Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo:
Dhammam namassami.

The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One.
I pay homage to the Dhamma. (Bow down)

Supatipanno bhagavato savaka-sangho:
Sangham namami.

The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples has practiced well.
I pay respect to the Sangha. (Bow down)

A. Paying homage to objects worthy of respect:

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa. (Repeat three times.)

Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One.

Ukasa, dvaratayena katam, sabbam aparadham khamatha me bhante.

Asking your leave, I request that you forgive me for whatever wrong I have done with the three doors (of body, speech, and mind).

Vandami bhante cetiyam sabbam sabbattha thane, supatithitam sariranka-dhatum, maha-bodhim buddha-rupam sakkarattham.

I revere every stupa established in every place, every Relic of the Buddha's body, every Great Bodhi tree, every Buddha image that is an object of veneration.

Aham vandami dhatuyo. Aham vandami sabbaso. Iccetam ratanattayam, aham vandami sabbada.

I revere the relics. I revere them everywhere. I always revere the Triple Gem.

B. Paying homage to the Triple Gem:

Buddha-puja mahatejavanto: I ask to pay homage to the Buddha, whose majesty is greater than the powers of all beings human and divine. Thus, this homage to the Buddha is a means of developing great majesty.

Buddham jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami: I take refuge in the Buddha from now until attaining nibbana.

Dhamma-puja mahappanno: I ask to pay homage to the Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha, which are a well-spring of discernment for beings human and divine. Thus, this worship of the Dhamma is a means of developing great discernment.

Dhammam jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami: I take refuge in the Dhamma from now until attaining nibbana.

Sangha-puja mahabhogavaho: I ask to pay homage to those followers of the Buddha who have practiced well in thought, word, and deed; and who possess all wealth, beginning with Noble Wealth. Thus, this homage to the Sangha is a means of developing great wealth.

Sangham jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami: I take refuge in the Sangha from now until attaining nibbana.

N'atthi me saranam aññam, Buddho dhammo sangho me saranam varam: Etena saccavajjena hotu me jayamangalam: I have no other refuge: The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are my highest refuge. By means of this vow, may the blessing of victory be mine.

Yankiñci ratanam loke vijjati vividham puthu, Ratanam buddha-dhamma-sangha-samam natthi, Tasma sotthi bhavantu me: Of the many and varied treasures found in the world, none equal the Triple Gem. Therefore, may well-being be mine.

(If you repeat the translations of these passages, bow down once at this point.)

II. Good Will

Declare your purity, taking the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha as witness once more, repeating this Pali passage:

Parisuddho aham bhante. Parisuddhoti mam buddho dhammo sangho dharetu. (I now declare my purity to the Triple Gem. May the Triple Gem recognize me as pure at present.)

Now develop thoughts of good will, saying:

Sabbe satta — May al