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Venerable Ajahn Candasiri -
The Buddha's Advice to Meghiya
This sutta [Ud. iv i, AN ix i 3], which appears twice in
the Pali canon, tells of a young monk, the Venerable Meghiya, who was the
Buddha's attendant. This bhikkhu, returning from alms round one morning, spotted
a beautiful and delightful mango grove. He felt this would be the ideal place to
practise meditation, so he asked the Buddha if he might go there for the day's
meditation. The Buddha responded by asking him to wait until another monk came
to carry out his duties as attendant. However, the Venerable Meghiya was eager
to go and persisted in his request:
"The Lord has
nothing further that should be done, and nothing to add to what has been done,
but for me there is something further to be done and something to add to what
has been done."
After the third such request, the Buddha agreed:
"Do now, Meghiya, as you think fit."
So Meghiya went to the
mango grove and finding a suitable shady spot, sat down, his back erect and
began his meditation. But for the whole time his mind was filled with unskillful
thoughts - of sensuality, malevolence and cruelty. This was a source of surprise
and consternation. He had gone forth, full of faith and aspiration; he had found
for himself what seemed like the perfect situation for practice, and was making
enormous effort - but it was all going wrong, it was not bringing the results he
had anticipated or hoped for.
At the end of what must
have been a very difficult afternoon, he returned to the Buddha to tell him of
his troubles. It seems that the Buddha was not at all surprised when he heard
what had happened. (In fact, the commentary suggests that the Buddha had refused
permission for him to go, knowing that he was not yet ready to practise in this
way.) He then listed the five conditions that, when the heart's deliverance is
not yet ripe, conduce to its ripening:
- Good friends,
- Virtuous life,
- Profitable talk,
- Zealous exertion,
- Insight into impermanence, which leads to the ending of ill.
Four other things, he said, should also be developed
bhavetabba:
1. Meditation on the unlovely (repulsive or loathsome).
For the abandonment of passion (lust or greed);
2. Kindliness
For the abandonment of ill will.
3. Mindfulness of in and out breathing
anapanasati
For cutting off discursive thinking.
4. The contemplation of impermanence
aniccasanna
To uproot the pride of egoism:
`For one who thinks on impermanence,
the thought of not-self is established; thinking on there being no self, one
wins to the state wherein the conceit "I am" has been uprooted, to
the cool nibbana even in this life'
We can take a closer took at these.
Firstly, good friends - kalyanamitta hoti
kalyanasampavanko: This is usually taken to mean having a wise teacher or
wise spiritual companions. This would certainly be appropriate in this context:
the Buddha advising the young monk on the importance of being with people who
can influence him in a wholesome way. However, the word hoti, means he
is, so a more literal translation might be: He is a friend, an intimate
of what is good or wholesome.
This points to the need for any type of spiritual endeavor to
be motivated by a sense of what is right, a love of the good, and a yearning to
manifest that in one's life. Whereas, practice motivated by selfishness - the
desire to gain power, prestige, or to take advantage of others - would bring,
instead of release, a sense of being increasingly trapped in the world of one's
own self seeking - samsara.
The Buddha explains that having
a wise advisor, good friends or simply a love of the good, is the natural basis
for the arising of the other conditions.
So, secondly: It may be
expected of one who has wise companions that he will be virtuous - silava
hoti We learn by example. In Sangha life, although there is the formal
training in vinaya, most of our learning and inspiration comes simply through
watching how others do things: their manner of behaviour, what they say (or
don't say), and when and how they say it. Associating with people following a
similar precept form stimulates an interest in this training of body, speech and
mind; we are further encouraged by the results it brings. So the full
translation for the second condition:
a monk is virtuous, he abides restrained by the restraint of the obligations;
he is perfect in the practice of right behaviour, sees danger in trifling faults
and trains himself in the ways of training.
Thirdly: Profitable talk.
The sutta states that such talk arises easily, and that there
is a willingness to share one's understanding with others; it arises naturally,
according to the way one is living the life. This talk is described as being
that which is serious and suitable for opening up the heart, and conduces to
a complete turning away from worldly values - nibbidaya; to dispassion, ending,
calm, comprehension, to perfect insight, to Nibbana. That is to say, talk about
wanting little; contentment; solitude; avoiding society; putting forth effort;
virtue, concentration and wisdom; about release and the knowledge and insight of
release.
The company of wise friends who are at ease in themselves
dispels any sense of having to repress or deny inclinations that do not accord
with these guidelines; to see that it is not a matter of forcing oneself into a
puritanical kind of `holiness', but that these qualities arise naturally as the
practice matures.
The fourth condition is zealous exertion.
[One abides] resolute in energy for the abandoning of
unprofitable things and for taking up what is profitable - stout and strong in
effort, not giving up on what one has undertaken (not relinquishing the burden
of righteousness.
Again, a wise teacher or good friend, can encourage us and
guide our efforts towards what is wholesome. Inevitably, on a religious path
there are times when the practice seems dull, lifeless, or totally unproductive.
There may be an inclination to abandon the whole thing and to return to look for
refuge in the world, in what is familiar and seems comfortable. A wise teacher
and good friends remind us of our deeper aspiration and potential, and of the
inherent danger or unsatisfactoriness of the world of the senses. This enables
us to continue on towards our goal. Practising together we, in a sense, carry
one another when there is faltering - just through doing the practice to the
best of our ability.
Fifthly:
a monk is possessed of insight, and
understands the way of growth and decay, having Ariyan penetration concerning
the way to the utter destruction of Ill.
We need to be reminded of where to look to find our freedom.
It is not in the attainment of some special state in the future, although such
states can be the basis for insight, but right in this moment itself. The late
Ajahn Buddhadasa used to say: "Nothing whatsoever is to be clung to!"
It's an insight that's so subtle that we can easily miss it. Our longing for
security and the power of our conditioning are so strong that we can dismiss
this key to the door of the Deathless; we are bound by ignorance, nescience -
not seeing, not wanting to look, until it is too late. So we need every
encouragement to keep looking, to keep remembering, in order to find that point
of non-attachment - which is not a rejection of anything at all but, rather, a
proper appreciation of our human predicament. Some pick it up quickly (according
to the commentary, the Venerable Meghiya attained to stream entry just on
hearing this teaching) for others, the lessons need much repetition. We are
caught by some desire - a plan, an idea, a regret or a grudge - it hurts, and
eventually we let go. This happens over and over again, until finally we learn
not to pick things up, not to attach to anything at all. The beauty of Nature is
in its transitoriness - not in anything lasting that one can claim as one's own.
The Buddha, through his own efforts, awakened to this reality, which freed him
from having to trudge and travel through this long round - samsara. This
is the insight, as he explained to the Venerable Meghiya, that can free us all
from the pain of attachment.
The Buddha concludes by
outlining techniques of meditation which should be cultivated in response to
specific conditions that may arise in the mind. This responsiveness itself is
important to consider. We are not asked to simply work away at developing one
particular type of meditation practice. The encouragement is to be aware of what
is happening in the mind at any time, and to exercise intelligence in choosing
the technique suitable to bring about and support a state of calm, in order that
wisdom may arise.
So we have:
1. Meditation on the unlovely asubha for overcoming
states of passion, lust or greed. Sometimes this is translated as meditation on
loathsomeness or repulsiveness - which can indeed be the case with certain
aspects of physicality. However, sometimes a more analytical approach can be
effective in inducing a sense of disinterest, or neutrality, as opposed to
actual aversion - which is actually just another form of desire. For example,
there is the contemplation that monks and nuns are given at the time of Going
Forth - hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth and skin - which is a
way of dismantling the illusion of physical beauty or attractiveness of another person.
Contemplating objects in terms of the elements that comprise them - earth, water, fire and air
- can be helpful in cooling passion or interest, with things like food; looking at the form, colour or texture, rather than just automatically absorbing into the anticipation of something to be consumed, or delighting in the in the smell or taste of it.
Next, (ii), for dealing with malevolence or ill will , the practice of kindliness or well wishing (metta) is recommended. This does not mean that we have to like everybody, but at least to avoid allowing the mind to linger in states of negativity or aversion towards them.
The third meditation (iii) is mindfulness of in and out breathing
(anapanasati). The Buddha recommended this universally as a way of focussing the mind in the present; gathering attention onto the breath, rather than being whirled around, pulled to and fro by
distracting thoughts. While the fourth contemplation (iv) is of impermanence.
One way to approach this is by careful attention to how we experience 'ourselves' and each other in each moment. This pierces the illusion of a fixed and
enduring personality that is in any way related to body or mind: there is simply awareness. These four meditation exercises need to be developed continually in
order for the deeply rooted habits, which arise because of ignorance, to be transformed.
But, as the Buddha pointed out to the Venerable Meghiya, the ripening of the
heart's emancipation will arise quite naturally when the five conditions are
there as a basis for our practice.
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