The spirit of open investigation and exploration into the ways and means of the Lord Buddha's Middle Path, is open to all who have an inquiring mind. This means a mind which is not stuck in looking at things through pride and attachment at what they "think" is right without first checking with the suttas.[8] Occasionally, some meditators become very attached to their opinions and teachers such that they think their method is the "only way", without checking the true teachings from the suttas. As this book is taken directly from the sutta, one can observe how things can be confused and misrepresented by some commentaries and sub-commentaries. If one has the courage to investigate and practice, they will be pleasantly surprised at the simplicity and clarity of the Lord Buddha's teaching, especially when commentaries like the Visuddhi Magga are left alone. Although the suttas appear dry and repetitive, they are quite illuminating and can be fun to read, especially when one practices the meditation and gains intellectual knowledge at the same time.

Prelude to Tranquil Wisdom (Samadhi) Meditation
Before one starts with their meditation, it is very important to build a strong foundation of morality (sila). If the meditator doesn't even practice the five precepts, they will lose interest and finally stop meditating, because they think that the technique is incorrect. Actually the Lord Buddha's technique works very well. The meditator is just not doing the complete practice nor is one doing it in the correct way. Keeping the precepts is essential to the development and purity of the mind. If one breaks any of these precepts, they will experience a lot of restlessness, remorse, and anxiety due to their guilty feelings. This causes the mind to be tight and clouds one's thoughts.
These precepts are absolutely necessary for any spiritual attainments. They provide the mind with general mindfulness and awareness which helps one to have a peaceful mind that is clear from any remorse due to wrong doing. A peaceful and calm mind, is a mind that is tension-free and clear. Thus, it is a very good idea to take these precepts everyday, not as some form of rite or ritual, but as a reminder for one's practice. Taking the precepts everyday helps to keep one's mind, speech and actions uplifted. There are people who recite these precepts in the Pali language. However, it can turn into an empty exercise if the meditator doesn't completely understand Pali. For the earnest meditator it is best to recite these precepts daily in a language that one understands so that the meanings are clear without a doubt. These precepts are:
1. I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from killing living beings
This precept includes non-killing of beings like ants, mosquitoes, and cockroaches.
2. I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from taking what is not given
This covers any forms of stealing which even includes taking a pencil from work without permission or using equipment like copy machines for personal use.
3. I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from wrong sexual activity.
Basically, it means not having any sexual activity with and another person's partner, or having sexual activity with someone that is still under the care of a family member. It also means that one must follow the sexual laws of the land . Any sexual activity that causes undue pain to another being will cause one to have remorse and guilty feelings to arise.
4. I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from telling lies, using harsh speech, slandering others, and speaking gossip or nonsense talk.
This means abstinence from any type of speech which is not true or helpful to others. It also includes abstinence from telling white lies.
5. I undertake to keep the precept to abstain from taking drugs and alcohol which dulls the mind.
Many people think that drinking one glass of beer or one social glass of wine would not effect their mind. But this is not true! If one is practicing meditation, they become very sensitive and will notice the effects of even taking something as harmless as aspirin. It can dull one's mind for a whole day. How much more with alcohol and other drugs! However, when one is sick and the doctor says that they must take a certain drug as medicine, then please take the medicine. This precept refers to taking drugs or alcohol in order to relax and escape from the stress of the day.
As soon as one realize that they have broken a precept, one should first forgive themselves and acknowledge that they are not perfect. This helps one to free their mind a little. One then retakes the precepts as soon as possible and make a determination not to break the precepts again. Taking the precepts again will help to re-purify the mind. Over a period of time, one will become more aware and naturally abstain from breaking them due to realization of its harmful effects.
Please practice only one meditation technique at a time because the mind will becomes confused if one tries to mix and match various meditation. Mixing and matching only stops one's progress. The best way is to pick only one teacher who truly understands the meditation. The way to select a good teacher is by observing if their students are kind, pleasant, friendly and supportive. Then, stay with that teacher for a period of time and see for oneself whether their mind becomes more happy and peaceful all of the time, not just while meditating, but in daily life as well. This is ultimately the best way to choose. Does one's awareness of mind states become clearer and easier to recognize then let go of them during one's daily activities as well as during the sitting practice? Otherwise, check with the teacher and the suttas to see if what is being taught agrees with them. As one's practice deepens and the meditation becomes better, the suttas become clearer and easier to understand. This always happens when the teacher is using the suttas as his guide.
Lastly, it is very important for the meditator to recognize whenever the five hindrances arise. They are lust or greed, hatred or aversion, sloth and torpor or sleepiness and dullness, restlessness or remorse, anxiety or scatteredness and doubt. A hindrance is an obstacle or a distraction because it completely blocks one from
practicing meditation either while sifting or in their daily activities or seeing things in the present moment clearly. It also causes one to take an impersonal process, personally. Whenever these hindrances arise, one identifies with them very strongly and takes them personally i.e., "I am sleepy, I am restless, I like and I want, I dislike and I hate, I have doubt". These hindrances completely clouds their mind and stops one from seeing clearly whatever happens in the present moment due to the ego involvement of "I am that".
When one is practicing "fixed concentration' the meditator lets go of any distraction and then redirects their mind back to the meditation object again. On the other hand, when one is practicing "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation", one lets go of the distraction (this part is exactly the same as the 'fixed concentration'), relaxes the tightness in the head and feels the mind becomes open, expanded and calm. Only then does one redirect their attention back to the object of meditation. The small difference of relaxing the mind and feeling it open and calm, changes the whole meditation from a 'fixed concentration' to a more flowing, mindful and calm kind of awareness, that doesn't go as deep as the absorption types of meditation. As a result, the meditator becomes more in tune with the teachings in the suttas.
When one is practicing "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation", they do not suppress anything. Suppression means to push down or to push away or not allow certain types of experience i.e., it stops the hindrances from arising. Instead, when a hindrance arises, one must work to open their minds by seeing it clearly as anicca (impermanence, it wasn't there and now it is), dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness, one sees that when these distractions arise they are painful), and anatta (not taking it personally, seeing the hindrances in the true way as being an impersonal process that one has no control over and not taking these hindrances as "I am that"). One then lets go of this obstruction, relaxes the tightness in the head, calms the mind and finally, redirects the attention back to the practice of 'Mindfulness of Breathing'.
As a result, one begins to see clearly how the mind works and this leads to the development of wisdom. When one allows and does not identify with these hindrances, they will naturally fade away, and the mind becomes more clear and bright. Every time one lets go of the ego attachment of "I am that", the mind naturally becomes more expanded, alert and mindful. Thus, one of the main reasons of this book is to show that whenever one suppresses any thing, they are not purifying the mind, or experiencing things as they truly are. At the time of suppression, one is pushing away or not allowing part of their experience and thus, this contracts the mind instead of expanding and opening the mind. As a result, it is not purifying the mind of ignorance. One is actually stopping the process of purification of the mind! It is impossible to experience the unconditioned state of the Supramundane Nibbana when one does not let go of everything that arises, and in that way, purify the mind of the ego belief of "I am that". The Lord Buddha had never taught suppression of any experience nor did he teach a meditation that causes the mind to fix or to absorb into the meditation object. Remember, he rejected every form of 'concentration meditation' as not being the correct way. Actually, any kinds of pain or emotional upset or physical discomforts and even of death must be accepted with equanimity, full awareness or strong attention and not identifying with it or taking that pain personally.
Real personality change occurs when one opens and expands their mind and let go any kinds of hindrances, pain, suffering and tension even in their daily lives. This means that one opens and expands their awareness so that they observe everything with a silent mind which is free from tightness and all ego-attachment. One gradually leads a happy and calm life without a lot of mind chatter, especially during their daily activities. When one practices "concentration meditation", one will feel very comfortable and happy while in the deep meditation but when they get out of these exalted stages, their personality remains the same (this means that the hindrances attack them but they do not recognize and open their mind. Thus, they contract their mind and become even more attached!). They might even tend to be prideful and critical! This is because whenever a hindrance arises during the meditation, the meditator lets it go and immediately goes back to the object of meditation again. They do this without calming and relaxing the tightness caused by the distraction. Instead, their mind tends to close or contract and tighten around that experience (while in sitting meditation) until the mind becomes more deeply 'concentrated'. As a result, this suppresses the hindrance. Thus, they have not completely let go of the ego-attachment to that distraction. Their mind is also tight and tense because they are not seeing clearly that they are not opening and allowing, but closing and fighting with that distraction. This explains why nowadays meditators complain that they have huge amounts of tension in their head. Actually, when one truly lets go of any distraction, there will not ever be any tension in the head. As a result of this suppression, there is no real purifying of the mind and thus, personality change does not occur.
Now, we are almost ready for the Anapanasati Sutta. But, before we go into that, let's look at some words which have been changed so that their meanings in the texts become clearer. For instance, the word 'rapture' is replaced by 'joy', and the word 'pleasure' is changed to 'happiness'. In addition, the word 'concentration' is replaced by 'stillness', 'composure of mind', or 'unified mind'. When one practices according to the Lord Buddha's instructions as described here, they will be able to confirm their experiences by reading the suttas. As a result, there is better understanding of these profound texts.
One last note: In these few opening chapters, the author has touched on some controversial views about the practices of absorption or fixed concentration (appana samadhi), access concentration (upacara samadhi) and momentary concentration (khanika samadhi). Thus, the author appreciates very much if the reader finds any mistake, they would indicate the suttas which mentioned these various concentration practices.
When one practice "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation" there is only opening, expanding of the mind and allowing, then relaxing the tightness caused by the hindrance or distraction, before going back to the object of meditation again. This opening and allowing helps one to be more aware and alert to the things which causes pain and suffering so that they can open up and expand even further. With this kind of awareness, there is personality change and only then can one fulfill the Lord Buddha's admonition of "We are the Happy Ones".

Notes
[1] The author refers to the Anapanasati Sutta, which includes the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, as well as the Seven Enlightenment Factors.
[2] See Thus Have I Heard. The Long Discourses of the Buddha, translated by Maurice Walshe, Wisdom Publications (1987), p.556.
[3] See Mahasaccaka Sutta, sutta number 36 of Majjhima Nikaya.
[4] This means all nine of them! They are the four material jhanas, the four immaterial jhanas and the cessation of perception and feelings.
[5] Here, the word 'jhana' carries the meaning of absorption concentration (appana samadhi), or access concentration (upacara samadhi) - This is the stage right before the mind becomes absorbed into the object of meditation. These are the standard definitions as given by the current meditation teachers.
[6] In this context, it only means absorption (appana sarnidhi) and not access concentration (upacara samadhi).
[7] some meditation teachers call this momentary concentration or moment.to-moment concentration (khanika samadhi)
[8] Notice the plural form of the word sutta -- this means seeing the agreement many times.

ANAPANASATI SUTTA
Index
o Introductory Section
o The Four Right Kind of Striving
o The Four Bases for Spiritual Power
o The Five Faculties
o The Five Powers
o Mindfulness of Breathing
o Fulfillment of the Four Foundation of Mindfulness
o Fulfillment of the Seven Enlightenment Factors
o Fulfillment of True Knowledge and Deliverance
o Sadhu..... Sadhu..... Sadhu.....

The Anapanasati Sutta
(Introductory Section)
1] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in the Eastern Park, in the Palace of Migara's Mother, together with many very well-known elder disciples -- the Venerable Sariputta, the Venerable Maha-Moggallana, the Venerable Maha Kassapa, the Venerable Maha Kaccana, the Venerable Maha Kotthita, the Venerable Maha Kappina, the Venerable Cunda, the Venerable Anuruddha, the Venerable Revata, the Venerable Ananda, and other very well known elder disciples.
2] Now on that occasion elder Bhikkhus had been teaching and instructing new Bhikkhus; some elder Bhikkhus had been teaching and instructing ten new Bhikkhus, some elder Bhikkhus had been teaching and instructing twenty. . . thirty. . . forty new Bhikkhus. And the new Bhikkhus, taught and instructed by the elder Bhikkhus, had achieved successive stages of high distinction.
3] On that occasion -- the Uposatha day of the fifteenth, on the full-moon night of the Pavarana ceremony,[9] The Blessed One was seated in the open surrounded by the Sangha of Bhikkhus. Then, surveying the silent Sangha of Bhikkhus, he addressed them thus:
4] "Bhikkhus, I am content with this progress. My mind is content with this progress. So arouse still more energy to attain the unattained, to achieve the unachieved, to realize the unrealized. I shall wait here at Sivatthi for the Komudi full moon of the fourth month."
The Bhikkhus can still practice their meditation or make new robes and prepare to go out wandering or teaching the Dhamma to other monks and layperson during this extra month. The Kathina Ceremony is also held during this month. This is the time for laymen and laywomen to make extra merit by practicing their generosity by giving robes and other requisites to the Sangha members.
5] The Bhikkhus of the countryside heard: "The Blessed One will wait there at Savatthi for the Komudi full moon of the fourth month." And the Bhikkhus of the countryside left in due course for Savatthi to see the Blessed One.
6] And the elder Bhikkhus still more intensively taught and instructed new Bhikkhus; some elder Bhikkhus taught and instructed ten new Bhikkhus, some elder Bhikkhus taught and instructed twenty. . . thirty. . . forty new Bhikkhus. And the new Bhikkhus, taught and instructed by the elder Bhikkhus, achieved successive stages of high distinction.
7] On that occasion -- the Uposatha day of the fifteenth, the full-moon night of the Komudi full moon of the fourth month -- the Blessed One was seated in the open surrounded by the Sangha of Bhikkhus. Then, surveying the silent Sangha of Bhikkhus, he addressed them thus:
8] "Bhikkhus, this assembly is free from prattle, this assembly is free from chatter.[10] It consists purely of heartwood. Such is this Sangha of Bhikkhus, such is this assembly. Such an assembly as is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, an incomparable field of merit for the world -- Such is this assembly. Such an assembly that a small gift given to it becomes great and a great gift becomes greater -- such is this Sangha of Bhikkhus, such is this assembly. Such an assembly as is rare for the world to see -- such is this Sangha of Bhikkhus, such is this assembly. Such an assembly as would be worthy journeying many leagues with a travel-bag to see -- such is this Sangha of Bhikkhus, such is this assembly.
9] "In this Sangha of Bhikkhus, there are Bhikkhus who are arahats with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through final knowledge -- such Bhikkhus are there in this Sangha of Bhikkhus.
This is the stage where all of the fetters are destroyed such that they will not even arise anymore. The ten fetters are: 1. Belief in permanent self or soul, 2. doubt in the correct path, 3. Belief that chanting, or rites and rituals lead one to Nibbana, 4. lust or greed, 5. hatred or aversion, 6. greed for fine-material existence or immaterial existence, 7. conceit or pride, 8. sloth and torpor or sleepiness or dullness of mind, 9. restlessness or agitation of mind, 10. ignorance. (In PaIi, they are 1. Sakkayaditthi, 2. Vicikiccha, 3. Silabbataparamasa, 4. Kanasmaraga, 5. Patigha, 6. Ruparaga, Aruparaga, 7. Mana, 8. Middha, 9. Uddhacca, 10. Avijja.) The final stage of Arahatta is described as follows: "They are the ones who have lived the Holy Life, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through final knowledge, they have done their work with diligence; they are no longer capable of being negligent" (Taken from the Majjhima Nikaya sutta number 70 section 12.)
10] "In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who, with the destruction of the five lower fetters, are due to reappear spontaneously (in the pure abodes) and there attain final Nibbana, without ever returning from that world -- such Bhikkhus are there in this Sangha of Bhikkhus.
This stage of sainthood is called Anagami where lust and hate no longer even arise in one's mind. The five lower fetters have been destroyed but there is still work to be done.
11] "In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who, with the destruction of three fetters and with the attenuation of lust, hate and delusion, are once-returners, returning once to this world to make an end of suffering -- such Bhikkhus are there in this Sangha of Bhikkhus.
This stage of sainthood is called being a Sakadagami or once-returner. They have given up the belief in a permanent self, belief that one can attain enlightenment by chanting and practicing rites and rituals, and they have given up doubt in the path. Also, the person who has attained this stage has tremendously weakened lust and hatred, together with all of the other fetters.
12] "In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who, with the destruction of the three fetters, are stream-enterers, no longer subject to perdition, bound [for deliverance], headed for enlightenment -- such Bhikkhus are there in this sangha of Bhikkhus.
The person who has attained this stage of enlightenment is called a Sotapanna or stream-enterer. They have given up the three lower fetters mentioned above, they are never going to be reborn in a low existence again. Their lowest rebirth will be as a human being, and the most lives that they will experience before attaining final Nibbana, is seven.
13] "In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who abide devoted to the development of the four foundations of mindfulness[11] -- such Bhikkhus are there in this Sangha of Bhikkhus. In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who abide devoted to the four right kinds of strivings (efforts). . . of the four bases for spiritual power. . . of the five faculties. . . of the five powers. . . of the seven enlightenment factors. . . of the Noble Eightfold Path -- such Bhikkhus are there in this Sangha of Bhikkhus
The four right kinds of strivings, the four bases for spiritual power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven enlightenment factors and the Noble Eightfold Path are described in Mahasakuludayi Sutta, Sutta Number 77, Section 16 of the Majjhima Nikaya as ways to develop wholesome states. (This sutta describes the qualities of Lord Buddha which his disciples honour, respect, revere and venerate him and live in dependence on him.) We will now look into the meanings of these terms. The four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Seven Enlightenment Factors and the Noble Eightfold Path will be discussed later in the sutta.
(The Four Right Kinds of Striving)
"Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the four right kinds of striving. A Bhikkhu awakens zeal, for the non-arising of unarisen evil unwholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind, and strives."
Besides zeal, the Pali word chanda also means joyful interest or enthusiasm. A mind which points towards a wholesome object like joy has this quality of joyful interest. Thus, the first right kind of striving is to cultivate a mind that has joyful interest and enthusiasm so that the mind becomes clear and free from unwholesome states. Joy grows when the mind is smiling and happy during our daily life as well as during meditation. As a result, the mind will be uplifted and wholesome at that time. Nowadays, these four kinds of striving are usually called the four right efforts. Some meditation teachers request the meditator to put out strenuous effort to note what is happening in the present moment. But the sutta here clearly shows that this is not that kind of mindfulness.
The mindfulness of joyful interest and enthusiasm, i.e., having a smiling mind leads to a mind which is light, open, accepting and without any tension. This is the proper definition of right effort and according to the sutta, it actually has nothing to do with noting phenomena until it goes away.
"He awakens zeal for the abandoning of arisen evil unwholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind, and strives."
The second right kind of strivings teaches one to abandon heavy emotional states like anger, sadness, jealousy, anxiety, stress, depression, fear, etc., and replace them with a smiling mind which relaxes away even the subtlest tension. This is the wholesome state of joyful interest and enthusiasm. By cultivating such a smiling mind, one overcomes the ego-identification with these states as being "Mine". A good sense of humor about oneself is a skillful tool to develop when trodding the spiritual path.
"He awakens zeal for the arising of unarisen wholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind, and strives."
This means seeing that the mind brings up joyful interest and enthusiasm when these wholesome states are not in the mind. In other words, the cultivation of mindfulness means cultivating joy and a smiling mind. Even when there is a neutral mind that is merely thinking this and that, this is the time to practice smiling in the mind and experiencing joyful interest and enthusiasm.
"He awakens zeal for the continuous, non-disappearance, strengthening, increase, and fulfillment by development of arisen wholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind, and strives. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge."
The fourth right kind of striving refers to a continuous practice, not only during the formal practice of meditation but also during the daily activities. At one time the author was approached by some students asking: "How can one attain Nibbana by practicing smiling and having joyful interest?" They thought that they have made a very profound statement because they thought Nibbana is attained by looking at pain and suffering all of the time. These students are not practicing how to be light and happy as taught by the Lord Buddha. The author replied them by asking some cross questions: "How can you get to Nibbana without smiling and having joyful interest in your mind? Isn't joy one of the enlightenment factors? Didn't the Lord Buddha said 'We are the Happy Ones?'"
Here one can see the importance of developing a mind that smiles and has joyful interest. There arises a true change of perspective in one's mind when they have joyful interest and a smile. One is not so heavy and grumpy when things become difficult. This is because there is not so much ego-attachment and the meditator can see a situation clearly. When the mind do not smile and has no joyful interest, everything becomes heavy and all mental states and thoughts becomes depressing. The mind becomes over serious and takes everything negatively.
For example, let's say that you are very happy and I come along and give you a rose. You might take that rose and admire the color, the shape and the fragrance. You think, "What a beautiful flower! Just seeing it makes me even more happy". But, if you are in a depressing or angry mood and I come along and give you that same rose, your mind would see the thorns instead. You might even think, "Ugh! This rose is so ugly. I hate it!" At that time, all that is seen is the thorns. But, in actual fact, the rose is the same. The only difference is your mood. Joyful interest and smiling helps to make the world around you a better place to live. This, however, is not to say that we won't go through trials and tribulations. We will! However, the perspective of having joy in the mind changes a big problem into a small one.
(The Four Bases for Spiritual Power)
"Again, Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the four bases for spiritual power. Here a Bhikkhu develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in composure of mind, due to joy and determined striving."
The first spiritual power refers to joy. It is as explained above.
"He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting of concentration (here meaning stillness) due to energy and determined striving."
This is the second spiritual power energy. One cannot slack or becomes lazy when they are on the Lord Buddha's Path. It takes a lot of energy to stay on the path especially when one realizes that this is a lifetime practice! This is talking about the energy that it takes to recognize when one's mind is tight and tense, followed by the energy to let go of the thinking and relax the tightness in the head and mind, before coming back to the breath.
"He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting of concentration (here meaning tranquility) due to [purity of] mind and determined striving."
The third spiritual power refers to the purity of mind which is developed when one stays on the object of meditation as much as possible. Whenever a hindrance arises and knocks one out of the meditation, then they simply allow the hindrance to be, without getting involved with the thinking mind, relax the tightness in the head caused by the hindrance, then gently redirect their attention back to the meditation object i.e., the breath and tranquilizing and expanding the mind. It doesn't matter how many times the mind goes back to that distraction or hindrance. One simply repeats allowing, relaxing and coming back to the breath. This is the method to purify the mind of all defilements and hindrances. Remember, meditation is not about thinking, but expanding one's mind and awareness into the present moment and then going beyond that, to the true expression of loving acceptance. Meditation is the silence when thoughts -- with all its images and words has entirely ceased. But meditation is not 'concentration'. 'Concentration' contracts the mind and is a form of exclusion, a type of cutting off, a suppression of hindrances, a resistance. It is also a kind of conflict. A meditative mind can be very still and composed, and yet, not have exclusion or suppression, nor resistance in it. A concentrated mind cannot meditate according to the Buddhist practice.
"He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in concentration (here meaning composure of mind) due to investigation and determined striving."
The habit of investigating one's experience is a very important aspect of one's spiritual growth. When one is caught by a hindrance, or pain, or any distraction, they must he able to see how the mind reacts to that particular situation. For example, sleepiness arises while one is meditating. The way to overcome sleepiness is by staying more attentively, with joyful interest, on the object of meditation. One must try to see directly how their mind slips back to the sleepiness. In other words, one must put more effort and energy into the practice. When one notices how the mind first starts to be caught by the hindrance, they will let go of it more quickly and not he caught for too long a time. However, when one is totally caught by the sleepiness, it may take a while to overcome this hindrance, because this is the last thing the mind wants to do! Thus, the mind may 'ping pong' back and forth from the meditation object back to the sleepiness. The more light and joyful interest towards how the mind works, the more quickly one will let go of the hindrance and begin to meditate again.
Similarly, when pain arises, one does not direct the mind into the pain. One can see how the mind has resistance to that sensation only when their attention is pulled to the pain. If one starts to think about the pain, it will get bigger and more intense. Thus, one first lets go of the thinking mind, which verbalizes about these distraction (pain, hindrance, heavy emotion etc.). Next, relaxes the mind and releases the tight mental knot around the sensation, relaxes the tightness in the head, calms the mind and then, redirect one's attention back to the object of meditation. This is done continually until the pain doesn't pull the mind to it again.
This is decidedly different from some other meditations instructions where the meditators put their attention into the middle of the pain and note it as 'pain. . . pain. . . pain'. All the while, they are trying to see its true nature and watch its changes. But pain by nature, is repulsive and thus, the meditators have the tendency to tighten and harden the mind so that they can continue watching the pain. The hardening of the mind is never noted by the meditators, nor is it ever seen clearly whenever it arises. The meditators will eventually develop enough concentration (fixed attention) to be able to overcome the pain. However, this is achieved by repressing and tightening the mind.
One can clearly observe that the spiritual base of investigation of one's experience is to purify the mind by allowing everything that happens in the present moment to he there without trying to fight, control, or even disturb it in any way. Loving-acceptance and patience (which is defined in the English dictionary as meaning non-aversion) of the present moment is the way to attain Nibbana. It is not attained by concentration, tightness, suppression and repression.
(The Five Faculties)
"Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the five spiritual faculties. Here a Bhikkhu develops the faculty of faith which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment."
The faculty of faith is also called the faculty of confidence. As one becomes interested in letting go of the pain of living, one's curiosity becomes stronger. And thus, they begin to look for a meditation teacher. If one is fortunate enough to learn from a competent teacher, they will begin to see some slight changes in the way they perceive the world. As one begins to see this through direct practice, their confidence begin to grow. As a result, their enthusiasm towards the practice increases such that one would want to practice more!
"He develops the faculty of energy, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment."
When one's confidence grows, they will naturally put more energy into their practice. One begins to sit a little longer and the mind becomes a little clearer. For the beginner it is recommended to sit not less than 45 minutes at a time. But when a sitting is good, please stay with that sitting for as long as it lasts. A good sifting might last for one hour or one hour-ten minutes, or longer. It is good to sit for progressively longer periods of time and not worry about becoming attached to the sitting. The only way one becomes attached is by the thinking about and not doing the meditation in the correct manner. There is nothing wrong in sitting for long periods of time as long as one does not hurt themselves physically and they have enough exercise. Sitting for one or two or three hours is fine only when one is ready to sit comfortably for such long hours. If one sits in a same way which causes pain to arise every time, then they are causing themselves unnecessary physical discomfort. This is not a wise thing to do, because the sitting posture should be comfortable. It is alright if the meditator uses a stool or chair, as long as they do not lean on anything. Leaning is good for sleeping and dullness, not meditating!
And thus, the more confidence one has, the more energy they put into their practice. One's enthusiasm will naturally increase too.
"He develops the faculty of mindfulness which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment."
As one's energy improves, their awareness and mindfulness will naturally become stronger. This is a very natural "non-forced" process. Let's take a look at the mind of an ordinary person, a person like you or me. What one finds is a grasshopper mind, a butterfly mind, or one could also say, a mad monkey mind. It is ever-moving, ever-jumping around. It changes its fantasies and impulses every moment. The mind is a prey of stimuli and its own emotional reaction to them. This is actually a reaction that is mostly re-acting to conditions the way one always acts when a certain stimuli arises. It is a chain of linked associations, hopes, fears, memories, fantasies, regrets, streaming constantly through the mind, triggered by memories of the outside world. The mind is blindly, never-stopping, never-satisfied in its search for pleasure and satisfaction. It is no wonder that the mind becomes so crazy and filled with unsatisfactoriness and was described as a restless mad monkey swinging from branch to branch in the quest for satisfying fruit through the endless jungle of conditional events.
Thus, when one first begins to meditate, the mind naturally runs all over the place and stays away from the object of meditation for a long time. Sometimes it even takes two or three minutes before one is able to recognize, they then gently let it go, relax the tension in the head, calm the mind and re-direct the attention back to the breath. This is only natural, because the mind is used to running wherever it likes. But as one's practice develops and they are able to recognize and let go more quickly, their mindfulness gradually becomes sharper. The mind might only stay away from the breath for one minute, before recognizing that it is not on the breath. It then lets go, relaxes the mind, and comes back to the breath. At this time the mind begins to stay on the breath for longer periods of time, perhaps, as long as thirty seconds, before it goes off again. However, one is now becoming better at seeing when the mind goes away. Their mindfulness becomes sharper and they are able to recognize what the mind is doing. Thus, when one's confidence becomes better, their energy improves and as a result, the alertness of mind naturally develops.
"He develops the faculty of tranquility or stillness, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment."
When one's mindfulness of the present moment improves, the mind will naturally stay on the object of meditation for much longer periods of time. Most people would describe this as 'concentration' but this is not an accurate description. The mind is not absorbed into or fixed onto the object of meditation. Instead, it is very still, relaxed, composed and stays on the breath very well. At this time a strong feeling of joy arises and the body becomes very light and feels like floating. When the joy fades away, a powerful feeling of tranquility, equanimity and comfortableness arises. Due to one's sharp awareness, they do not become involved with these feelings. But if one begins to think or internally verbalize about how nice this state is and how much they like it, they will lose that state and sleepiness very often comes into the mind. This is because one is caught by the attachment to those feelings and slip off without coming back to the breath. Mindfulness fades away when one starts to think or internally verbalize about things and becomes involved in wanting to control these things and thoughts. This also happens when one craves for the experience of joy and tranquility to arise. This desire makes the mind to try too hard and as a result restlessness and dissatisfaction arise These combination of hindrances will stop all spiritual practice from occurring because the wanting for things to be in a particular way makes all the spiritual development fade away. Therefore, one must be more mindful of the thoughts about these pleasant abiding. And thus, as confidence increases, one's energy grows. This improves our mindfulness which enables the composure and stillness of mind to become stronger and lasts longer.
"A Bhikkhu develops the faculty of wisdom (or understanding), which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge."
As one's mind becomes more calm and still, they are able to see the true nature of things. This development of wisdom or intelligence is gained by seeing things arise and pass away by themselves. Even while one is sitting in a jhana [a meditation stage] they see how, for instance, joy arises. It is there for a while then fades away. They see how tranquility and happiness arise. They are there for a while and then they fade away. One is able to see the true nature of impermanence, even in the beginning of their practice, by observing thoughts arising and passing away. One observes feelings and emotions arising and passing away. They also notice that these things that arise and pass away are unsatisfactory and these feelings and emotions are a form of suffering, especially when they don't behave in the way one wants them to. When one sees how truly unsatisfactory this process is, they clearly see that it is an impersonal process. There is no one who can control the appearance and disappearance of these things. Even while in jhana [a meditation stage] one has no real control over the joy arising because joy arises when the conditions are right for it to come up. At the same time, one simply cannot force joy to stay because it will fade away when the conditions are right. And this causes more unsatisfactoriness to arise, because joy is such a nice feeling! Thus, one is able to see the characteristics of existence very clearly, i.e. anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), and not-self (anatta). This is the way to develop wisdom which gradually leads one to the seeing of Dependent Origination both forwards and backwards (that is, seeing and realizing The Four Noble Truths). An interesting observation is that one can see the three characteristics of existence without ever seeing Dependent Origination, but they can never see Dependent Origination without seeing the three characteristics of existence (i.e., impermanence, suffering and not-self nature) at the same time. We will discuss this in more detail at a later time.
(The Five Powers)
"Again Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the Five Spiritual Powers. Here a Bhikkhu develops the Power of Faith, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment."
He develops the Power of Energy, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment.
He develops the Power of Mindfulness, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment.
He develops the Power of Stillness, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment.
He develops the Power of Wisdom, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment.
And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

These are the same as the five faculties mentioned above. They are called powers because of their ability to purify the mind and make it wholesome and clean.
We will now continue with the Anapanasati. Sutta.
14] "In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who abide devoted to the development of loving-kindness. . . of compassion. . . of appreciative joy. . . of equanimity. . . of the meditation of foulness. . . of the perception of impermanence - - such Bhikkhus are there in this Sangha of Bhikkhus. In this Sangha of Bhikkhus there are Bhikkhus who abide devoted to the development of mindfulness of breathing.
Loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity are known as the Four "Brahma Viharas" or the Four Boundless states of mind, or the Limitless states of mind. This is because there is no boundary or limitations to one's mind when they are in these meditative states.
The meditation of foulness is suitable for those who have a strong affinity for lust arising in their minds. It is practiced by reflecting on the element and the disgusting nature of one's body parts. For example, when one looks at a beautiful person and thoughts of lust arise, they can imagine how desirable that person would be are if all of their body parts where to be turned inside-out! Will one's mind think, "Oh! what a lovely intestine or liver !" or "Wow! What beautiful bile, pus and phlegm that person has!" How much lust is there in the mind at that time? Thus, this meditation helps people with lustful personality to he more in balance.
The perception of impermanence does not actually refers to sitting down and thinking about how everything changes. (Remember, "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation" is about seeing with a silent and spacious mind.) It is referring to the meditation states of infinite space and infinite consciousness where the mind sees just how fleeting these mental and physical phenomenon truly are.
We will now proceed to the next section of the sutta which speaks about the Mindfulness of Breathing.
(Mindfulness of Breathing)
15] "Bhikkhus, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it is of great fruit and great benefit. When Mindfulness of Breathing is developed and cultivated, it fulfills the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. When the Four Foundations of Mindfulness are developed and cultivated, they fulfill the Seven Enlightenment Factors. When the Seven Enlightenment Factors are developed and cultivated, they fulfill true knowledge and deliverance.
One observes that the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is in this sutta and they are fulfilled through the practice of jhana or tranquil and wise meditative states of mind. This is decidedly different from the current theory that one can't attain the Four Foundations of Mindfulness while experiencing jhanas [meditative stages]. The Lord Buddha only taught one kind of meditation and that is samatha or tranquility or one can say he taught samadhi -- tranquil 'wisdom meditation.
16] And how, Bhikkhus, is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit?
17] "Here a Bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him, ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.
The phrase "gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or an empty hut" means that one goes to a reasonably quiet place where there will be few distractions. A suitable location will be one that is away from road noises, loud and persistent music or sounds, people as well as animals.
During the time of the Lord Buddha most people sat on floors. Hence, the phrase "sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect" But today, sifting on the floor can be a very trying and painful experience as people mostly sit on chairs, stools, or couches. If one wants to sit on floors, it may help if they sit on cushions. In actual fact, it is far more important to observe what is happening in the mind than to sit with uncomfortable or painful sensations. Remember that there is no magic in sitting on the floor. The magic comes from a clear, calm mind that is at ease, as much as possible. Thus, if sitting on the floor is a very painful experience, then it is alright to sit on a stool or a chair. There is however, an extremely important factor if the meditator sits on a chair. They must sit without leaning against the chair. Leaning is good for sleeping but not for meditation! "Set his body erect" means sit with a nicely straight back which is not rigid and uncomfortable. A nicely straight back has all of the vertebrae stacked one upon another. This is to ensure that energy can flow up and down the back without any blockages. Leaning stops the energy flow and causes sleepiness to arise. Thus, please do not lean against anything. When one first start out, their backs are not used to being straight and some of the muscles can rebel and complain. However, with patience and perseverance, these unused muscles will gradually adjust and strengthen.
There is another important aspect to sitting meditation. One must sit without moving the body for any reason. Please do not wriggle the toes or fingers or move the hands to rub or scratch or change the posture in any way until after the sitting is over. Any movement breaks the continuity of the practice and this causes the meditator to start all over again. Some meditation teachers tell their students that it is quite alright to move as long as they are "mindful". But if the students are truly mindful, they would be able to watch the mind and its dislike of the sensations and then, relax the mind around them. Thus, there would be no reason to move! Mindfulness means to lovingly-accept what is happening in the present moment, without trying to control, resist or change it. To be truly mindful means to open up and allow whatever to present itself in the present moment. Moving while sifting means that the meditator is not being mindful at all. The meditator is giving in to the desire to move, and is identifying with that desire. Thus, when one is ready and begins to meditate, they must remain still and keep tranquilizing the mind whenever there is a distraction. To sit as still as a Buddha image is the best! Actually the only allowable movement during meditation is to straighten the back when it starts to curve or slump, as long as it is not done too often.
The phrase "establishing mindfulness in front of him" means that one puts aside all other worldly affairs and involvement with sensual pleasures. One softly closes the eyes and whenever there is a distracting sound, smell, taste or sensation, or thought, they are aware of that and simply let it go. One then relaxes the tightness in the head and redirects the attention back to the object of meditation.
"Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out" tells us the way to practice mindfulness of breathing. Being aware of the breath means to know when one is experiencing the in-breath and to know when one is experiencing the out-breath. It simply means to open up one's awareness and to be attentive to the breath as much as possible and at the same time, relax the tightness in the head (this will be explained more thoroughly in a little while).
18] "Breathing in long, he understands: 'I breathe in long'; or breathing out long, he understands: 'I breathe out long.' Breathing in short, he understands: 'I breathe in short'; or breathing out short he understands 'I breathe out short'.
The words "he understands" are emphasized to show that one does not focus with strong attention on the breath to the exclusion of everything else. One merely understands what the breath is doing in the present moment. That's all there is to this! One simply knows when they breathe in long or short! There is no controlling of the breath at any time. Instead, there is only understanding of what one is doing in the present moment. If one tries to "over-focus" or "concentrate" on the breath to the exclusion of anything else, they will develop a headache due to the "wrong concentration". Whenever a meditator holds tightly onto the meditation object and tries to force the mind to "concentrate" or bumps any distractions away, the head will develop a very tight and painful tension. This tightness or tension on the head also occurs when the meditator attempts to control the sitting by throwing down any distracting thoughts and feelings and quickly rush back to the meditation object. This happens with 'momentary concentration' as well as any other kind of 'concentration' technique.
Many meditation teachers tell their students to put their attention right in the middle of the sensation and see its true nature. This will cause a few different things to occur. Firstly, the students will develop a stronger pain and this becomes a distraction instead. It is because these meditation teachers tell their students to stay with that pain until it goes away. Unfortunately, this can take an unbelievably long time. In addition, the students need to tighten and toughen the mind in order to observe the tension. Actually, this tightening and toughening of the mind is not being mindful. The students begins to develop a mind that hardens itself when pain arises. It is only natural that this happens as it take a lot of courage and fortitude to watch pain in this way. A type of aversion is naturally developed at that time, and this hardening of mind is not being noticed as anicca, dukkha, anatta. Consequently, even when one is not meditating, this suppression can cause personality hardening, and that causes true problems to arise. The mind has a tendency to become critical and judgmental and the personality development of the meditator becomes hard. Many people say they need to do a loving-kindness retreat after doing other types of meditation because they discovered that they do and say things which are not so nice to other people. When this happens, there appears a question, "Is this really a type of meditation technique which leads to my happiness and to the happiness of others? If the answer is yes, then why do I need to practice another form of meditation to balance my thinking?"
Eventually one is able to suppress this aversion by practicing 'concentration', which is taught to be the "correct method" by most meditation teachers. But the method taught by the Lord Buddha was to never suppress anything. His method was to open and expand the mind and to allow everything that arises in the present moment. Thus, whenever a pain arises in the body, one first recognizes that the mind has gone to that sensation, lets go of any thoughts about that sensation, opens the mind and lets go of the tight mental fist that is wrapped around the sensation, or by letting the sensation be there by itself without any mental resistance or aversion to it. This is done by telling themselves, "Never mind it is alright for this pain to be there." Next, relax the tightness which is in the head ..... feel the mind expand and become calm ..... then re-direct the attention back to the object of meditation i.e. the breath.
If one gets caught in the thinking about the sensation or pain, the sensation will get bigger and become more intense. Eventually, they can't stand it any more and feel that they have to move. This thinking or internally verbalizing about the sensation and wishing it would go away, is the 'ego identification' with the painful sensation. This getting involved with, ..... trying to control, ..... fighting with the sensation, ..... resisting the sensation etc., is only fighting with the Dhamma (Truth of the Present Moment). Whenever anyone fights and tries to control or hardens the mind to the Dhamma of the present moment, they cause themselves undue suffering and pain. Another way of fighting the Dhamma is by taking the sensation personally. This worsens the pain and as a result, it hurts even more. Thus, one must learn to open and lovingly-accept the present moment without that 'ego-identification' and the thinking or internally verbalization about, or taking it as "I am that". This is how one gains calmness and composure of mind, as well as, equanimity, full awareness, and mindfulness.
The Lord Buddha taught us three kinds of actions while meditating or during our daily activities. They are, "Love Where We Are At, Love What We Are Doing in the Present Moment, and Love Who We Are With". These simple explanations allow one to be completely accepting of the present moment. "To Love where We Are At" means to accept the fact that when one is sifting in meditation, things are not always like they want them to he. "To Love What We Are Doing" means to open up the mind and allow whatever arises in the present moment, to present itself without our getting attached to it. A good acronym for this is "DROPS" which means "Don't Resist Or Push. Soften". Whatever arises, one does not resist or push. Just soften into it, open the mind and accept it. In other words to "Love What We Are Doing". "To Love Who We Are With", means to love oneself enough so that they see and let go of all kinds of attachments which causes pain to arise in their body and mind. The recognition that one causes their own suffering is a major realization. When one truly loves themselves, they will see the pain and sorrow and lovingly let it go. This is done by letting go of the thinking about. Thus, they let go of the attachment and the ego identification with it.
He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body [of breath]'; he trains thus 'I shall breatheout experiencing the whole body [of breath]';
This part of the sutta means that the meditator knows when the breath is starting and stopping on the in-breath. One also knows when the breath is starting and stopping on the out-breath. The meditator doesn't have to over-focus the mind or 'concentrate' on the breath, or take this breathing as the object of extreme concentration'. One simply knows what the breath is doing in the present moment. Their mindfulness is sharp enough to know what the breath is doing at all times, without controlling the breath in any way. Just let the breath and the awareness be a natural process.
He trains thus: 'I shall breath in tranquilizing the bodily formation'; he trains thus: 'I shall breath out tranquilizing the bodily formation'.
This simple statement is the most important part of the meditation instructions. It instructs one to notice the tightness which arises in the head with every arising of a consciousness, and let that tightness go, while on the in-breath and out-breath. Then one feels their mind open up, expand, relax and become tranquil. Everytime they see that the mind is distracted away from the breath, they simply let go of the distraction, relax the tightness in the head by letting go of the tightness, feel the mind become open, expanded, relaxed, calm and clean. Next, one softly re-directs the mind back to the breath, on the in-breath relaxes, expands and calms the tightness in the head and mind ..... on the out-breath relaxes, expands and calms the tension in the head and mind. For example, when a thought arises, just let the thought go. Don't continue thinking, even if one is in mid-sentence. Just softly let the thought go. If the distraction is a sensation, firstly open the mind and let go of the aversion to the sensation, then open and expand the mind before re-directing one's attention back to the breath.
This opening up, expanding and letting go of the tightness in the head is actually letting go of the subtle 'ego identification' which attaches itself to everything as it arises. Thus, when one lets go of this tension, they are actually letting go of all ignorance which causes rebirth.
When the meditation instructions here are followed closely, there will be no 'sign or nimitta' arising in the mind (i.e., no lights or other kinds of mind-made objects, which arise in the mind when one is practicing 'concentration meditation'). The mind naturally becomes calm and tranquil. One need not try to force the mind to stay on the object of meditation through strong concentration' which causes tension and pain in the head. One begins to realize the true nature of all phenomenon as being impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha), and not-self (anatta).
Thus, when one practices "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation", they are aware of the in-breath and at the same time, the relaxation of the tightness in the head and the mind. They are also aware of the out-breath and again, at the same time, the relaxation of the tightness in the head and mind. It is alright if one happens to miss one in-breath or one out-breath at first. They should not put unnecessary pressure on themselves which might cause them to think how difficult this practice is. This is actually an incredibly easy practice and a simple way to develop the mind. Thus, if one occasionally misses the in-breath or out-breath, just let it go and catch the next in-breath or out-breath. Simple and easy, isn't it? At first, the breath may seem to be very fast and difficult to notice. However, as one continues with their practice, the meditation becomes easier and they will not miss the in-breath or out-breath that much. After all, this is a gradual training. There is no need to put undue pressure on oneself. Simply relax into the meditation.
When one practices "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation", the breath does not become subtle and difficult to observe. If this happens, then the meditator is 'concentrating' too much on the breath. Also, the tightness in the head is not relaxed enough. If the breath seems to disappear again, the meditator is focusing their 'concentration' and not tranquilizing the mind enough. The jhanas (meditation stages) will appear by themselves as the mind becomes calm and peaceful. The meditator does not have to push, force or 'concentrate with a fixed mind'. Actually, the Lord Buddha taught a most natural form of meditation that works for every type of personality or individual.
19] "He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in experiencing joy'; He trains thus: 'I shall breathe out experiencing joy'.
This refers to the attainment of the first two jhanas (meditation stages). The description of these stages is a set formula that is repeated many times in the suttas.[12] We will now look into the description of these first two jhanas:
Here quite secluded from sensual pleasures, . . .
When one starts their meditation session, they first close their eyes. This is being secluded from the sensual pleasure of seeing. When a sound distracts the mind, the instructions are to let the sound be there by itself, without thinking about whether one likes the sound or not. Simply let the sound go. . . let go of the mental fist around the sound. . . relax the tightness in the head, feel the mind become calm and at ease. . . redirect the attention back to the object of meditation, i.e., the breath. Relax the tightness in the head, feel the mind open up, expand and become tranquil on the in-breath, relax the tightness in the head on the out-breath, feel the mind become open, peaceful and calm. One stays with the breath and relaxes the tension and mind until the next distraction appears by itself.
One does this with smelling, tasting, bodily sensations, and thoughts or any kind of sensual pleasure which distracts the mind away from the breath. Whenever there is a distraction of the sense-doors one must let it go, relax that mental fist around the distraction . . . loosen the tightness in the head, open and expand the mind,. . . redirect the attention back to the breath again. It doesn't matter how many times the sensual pleasure arises. One has to allow it to be there everytime it arises. Just remember to let it go. . . loosen the tightness in the head, feel the mind expand and come back to the breath.
. . . secluded from unwholesome states. . .
When the mind is distracted from the breath and begins to think about feelings that arise, there is a tendency for the mind to like or dislike that feeling. This thinking about and trying to control feelings by thinking about them, causes the feeling to get bigger and more intense. Thus, more pain arises. This mind/body process is made up of five different aggregates which are affected by clinging. The meditator has a physical body, feelings (both mental and physical), perception (recognition}, volition or thoughts or free will and consciousness. By seeing this, one can clearly observe that feelings are one thing and thoughts are another. Unfortunately, all of us has developed the habit of trying to think our feelings away. This only makes the feelings bigger and more intense. As a result, more pain and suffering arise.
When one practices the Lord Buddha's meditation method, they must understand and let go this old habit of thinking. Thus, when a feeling arises, no matter whether it is physical or emotional, first, let go of that tight mental fist around the feeling. . . now relax the tightness in the head. . . feel the mind expand, then become calm and tranquil. . . next redirect the attention back to the breath. When one does this, they are seeing the true nature of that feeling: It wasn't there. . . now it arose by itself, i.e. change or impermanence. One certainly does not request for this incredibly painful sensation to arise, nor do they ask at that time to feel angry, sad, fearful, depressed, doubtful or whatever the catch of the day happens to be. These feelings arise by themselves, without one's desire for them to arise. They last as long as they last. The more one tries to control, fight, or push away these feelings, the more they stay and become very much bigger and extra intense. This is because whenever one wants to control the feeling, they are identifying with that sensation or emotion as being theirs personally. One tends to think about -- how much it hurts, where did it come from, why does it have to bother them now, "Oh! I hate that feeling and want it to go away".
Every thought about the feeling is the ego-identification with that feeling. Everytime one tries to resist what is happening in the present moment, they are fighting with the Dhamma of the Present Moment. When a painful or even a pleasant feeling arises, the Truth is -- it is there. Any resistance, trying to control, wishing it away with thoughts, or fighting that feeling in any way, only causes more suffering to arise. Actually whenever a feeling arises, one opens the mind . . . lets go of the want to control . . . lovingly-accepts the fact that this feeling is there, and allows it to be there by itself. Don't Resist Or Push. Soften..... This DROPS is the key to having an accepting and open mind which leads to the development of equanimity. Any slightest resistance or tightness means that there is some ego-identification still attached to it.
Let's say that a friend came up and scolded you in the early morning after you went to work. What happened to your mind? If you were like most people you scolded them back because you were angry and fighting. When the friend went away, what did you think about? What you said. . . what your friend said. . . what you should have said. . . I'm right for feeling the way I do and for what I said. . . they are wrong for what they said and did. . . And so it went. This feeling of anger is strong and there are thoughts which are attached to that feeling.
After a little while you distract yourself with some other activities. But the anger is still there and if someone comes to talk to you, chances are good that you will complain about your other friend who scolded you. Thus, at that time you are giving your dissatisfaction and anger to someone else and that affects them in a negative way. At different times during the day, these feelings and the thoughts that you are attached to them, arise. As a matter of fact, these thoughts are just like they were recorded on a cassette tape. They come back in the same order and with exactly the same words. After the end of the day you would have distracted yourself such that this feeling doesn't come up so often. Then comes the time to sit in meditation and purify the mind. But what arises? This feeling of anger, and the associate thoughts! Thus, here we go again. But this time, as you let go of getting involved with those feelings and thoughts, you begin to let them go. Seeing that these thoughts cause the feeling to grow, the meditator begins to soften the mind. Never mind, it just isn't that important". . . Soften. . . "Let it be". . . open the mind and let go of that tight mental knot around these thoughts. . . let go of the aversion to the feeling. . . feel the mind begin to expand then relax. . . now loosen the tightness in the head. . . feel the mind become calm, what relief! Now gently go back to the breath. . . on the in-breath loosen the tightness in the head. . . on the out-breath relax the tightness in the head. . . always feeling the mind open up, expand, and become tranquil.
Then the anger comes up again, and so, again you do the same thing. . . let it be there by itself without getting involved with the thinking about it. . . open and relax the mental hold of it. . . loosen the tightness in the head. . . softly redirect the attention back to the breath again. It doesn't matter how many times the mind goes back to that feeling of anger. It is treated in the same way everytime. One is not taking that feeling personally when they let the feeling be there by itself. Thus, there is no ego-identification with that feeling. This is seeing the true nature of that feeling, isn't it? The feeling wasn't there before, but now it is. This is seeing impermanence. When that feeling arises, it takes away the tranquility and peace. That is definitely painful, a true form of suffering. When one allows the feeling to be there by itself without getting involved or thinking about it, open their mind and relax the tightness away, they are experiencing the not-self nature at that time. Thus, when one practices "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation", they do experience the three characteristics of existence: impermanence, suffering, and not-self.
As one continues to loosen the mind and let go of any distraction, the attachment becomes smaller and weaker. Finally it doesn't have enough strength to arise any more. When this happens, the mind becomes filled with relief and joy. This letting go of attachment is being secluded from unwholesome states. When one lets go and the joy arises, it lasts for a period of time. As a result, the mind becomes very tranquil and peaceful. The meditator experiences a mind which stays on the object of meditation very easily. When this is done repeatedly, the mind will naturally become calm and composed by itself. At that time, one begins to develop some equanimity and balance of mind.
. . .The Bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first Jhana (meditation stage), which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with joy and pleasure born of seclusion.
All of these different factors make up what is commonly called the first jhana (meditation stage). At that time there can still exists some very little wandering thoughts. If the mind wanders away from the breath and the meditator relaxes the mind, the wandering thoughts are noticed very quickly. Simply let go. . . relax the tightness before coming back to the breath. Some meditation teachers call this access concentration. But actually they are looking at things from the viewpoint of "concentration meditation" and not "Tranquil Wisdom Meditation".
Applied and Sustained Thought are descriptions of the thinking mind and discursive thinking (wandering thought). Some translations call initial and sustained thought as thinking and pondering. There can still be directed thoughts in each one of the different jhanas (meditation stages). The difference between directed thought and wandering thoughts is: With wandering thoughts, one thinks about what happened in the past or what will happen in the future, or daydream about what they would like to see. Directed thought is about what is happening in the present moment. These are observation thoughts i.e., mind feels very happy right now, or mind is very calm, or body feels very still and peaceful right now, etc. There is also another way of looking at Applied and Sustained Thought. Applied Thought is the mind that notices when the mind is distracted and brings the attention back to the breath. Sustained Thought is the mind that stays on the breath without slipping away again.
When the mind begins to stay on the object of meditation for longer and longer periods of time, the relief and joy will become quite strong. One will naturally feel like smiling because the joy is such a pleasurable feeling in both the mind and body. At that time, the body and mind feels very light until it is almost like floating. This is quite a nice and pleasant experience. Some meditation teachers tell their students that when joy arises, "Don't Be Attached!" Thus, these students become fearful of that joy and try to push it away so that they won't possibly have the chance to become attached. However, this is not the correct thing to do because it doesn't matter what kind of feeling that arises, either pleasurable or unpleasurable or neutral, their job is to see that the mind stays on the breath and opening then relaxing their mind.
If the mind is pulled away by a feeling, simply let it be there by itself and relax the tightness in the head, feel the mind open and expand, then go back to the breath. Attachment or craving comes from getting involved with liking or disliking what arises in the present moment whereas clinging is the thinking about it. One will not become attached when they allow whatever arises to be there by itself, then come back to the object of meditation. After the joy fades away, the mind will become very calm, peaceful and comfortable. It is this comfortable and tranquil feeling that is called happiness born of seclusion. At first, one can sit in this stage of meditation for ten or fifteen minutes and longer with practice. This is the first jhana (meditation stage) and it will arise when one has let go of sensual pleasure for a period of time, and have also let go of unwholesome habits or states of mind which stops the meditator from having a mind without distractions in it.
When one has experienced this state of calm, they begin to realize the reasons that they are meditating. At that time, the mind, is nicely composed and happy with very few distractions. There is more peace of mind than has ever been experienced before. Thus, after that experience, one becomes enthusiastic and wants it to happen every time they sit. BUT, that very desire to have those calm states of mind is the very thing which stops them from arising! They then try even harder and put in more effort. Unfortunately, the mind only becomes more and more restless and unsettled. This is due to the desire for something to happen in a particular way. When it doesn't happen that way, one pushes harder and tries to force things to be calm and tranquil.
As a result, one can't experience this calm stage of meditation due to the attachment of wanting things to occur as they want. This desire causes one to lean out of the present moment and to try to make the next present moment the way they want it to be. When that present moment isn't right, they try even harder. However, this calm state of mind will occur when it occurs. Just relax and let go of that strong desire, calm down and stop expecting things to work according to one's own desires and attachments. After the first experience of jhana (a meditation stage), the mind may become quite active the next lime one sits in meditation. But, their mindfulness is sharp and is able to recognize when the mind goes away quickly. Then they let it go, open the mind up, and return the attention back to the breath. Calming and opening on the in-breath, calming and loosening the mind on the out-breath. . . Before long, the mind will settle down again and the joy will arise again. When it fades away, one will again experience that comfortable happy feeling, as well as a mind that is still and at ease.
At this time, one still has the experience of all the five aggregates affected by clinging. They can still hear things, or have feelings arise in the body. For example, they would know when a mosquito lands on them. One may have some thoughts about that mosquito, but they quickly recognize that this is a distraction and let it go. . . loosen the tension in the head and mind, then softly come back to the breath.
As one continues to open and calm the mind on the in and out breath, eventually they will arrive at a stage where there are no more wandering thoughts. The joy is a little stronger, and lasts a little longer. When it fades away, the comfortable feeling of happiness is stronger and the calm mind goes deeper into the breath. This state is described as:
Again with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, the Bhikkhu, enters and abides in the second jhana (meaning a meditation stage), which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with joy and happiness born of stillness of mind.
The stilling of applied and sustained thought means that at that time, the mind becomes very still and stays on the object of meditation quite nicely. There is no discursive thinking about the past or future. However, there can still be observation thoughts. Remember that true meditation is silent, open observation. There is still feeling in the body as all of the sense doors are working. But, for example, if a sound arises, it doesn't make the mind shake of move. One knows where they are and what they are doing. The self-confidence mentioned in the sutta, comes from the confidence one gains when they see clearly for themselves how well the meditation works. The self-confidence not only arises when one is sitting in meditation but, also during the daily activities too. The singleness of mind means that the mind is very calm and doesn't run around. It is contented to stay on the breath and keep opening and loosening on the in and out breaths. These are the description of the first two jhanas (meditation stages).
We now return to the Anapanasati Sutta.
He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in experiencing Happiness'; He trains thus: 'I shall breathe out experiencing happiness.'
As one continues onwards with their practice and keep calming and opening the mind, eventually they reach a stage where the feeling of joy becomes too coarse and it naturally won't arise any more. This is always a rather comical time for the teacher because the meditator comes to the teacher and says:
Student: 'There's something wrong with my meditation!'
Teacher: 'Why do you say that?'
Student: 'I don't feel anymore joy',
Teacher: 'Is that bad?'
Student: 'No, of course not, but still I don't feel anymore joy, why?'
Teacher: 'Do you feel comfortable and more calm than ever before, does your mind have a strong sense of balance in it, do you feel very much at ease?'
Student: 'Yes, I feel all of that, but I don't feel anymore joy!'
Teacher: 'Good, continue. Everything is going along just fine. Relax and stop demanding that joy arises when you want it to.'
The joy fades away by itself, and a very strong sense of balance and calm becomes quite apparent. One can still hear sounds, and even though the body seems to disappear, at times one would know if someone were to touch them during their sitting meditation. However, the mind does not get distracted by it. This is what it means when the sutta says the meditator has full awareness. It is described as:
"Again, with the fading away as well of joy, a Bhikkhu abides in equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling happiness ( or pleasure) with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhana (meditation stage), on account of which noble one's announce: 'He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful'.
With the description above, one can plainly see that being in the third jhana (meditation stage), the mind is very clear, alert and balanced. They are aware of what is happening around them, but the mind stays on