Evam Me Sutam

I Hear Tell

Ekam Samayam

Once Upon A Time

A Very Long Time Ago

(about 2600 years ago, c. 600 B.C.)

In the Kingdom of the A-Y-Y-A
(The ancient Kosala and Maghada in the territory now known as Nepal and North India)

The Great Master came revisit'n

(VIHARITI: Come ta sit down baside one-sa gen)

SIDDHATTHA GOTAMA SAKYAMUNI

SIDDHATTHA: Accomplished Attainer

GOTAMA: Family-man (His Mother's Clan)

SAKYAMUNI: Wiseman of the body-of-Truth Clan

There, appearing in every respect
The Perfect image of a beggar,
He gave us beggars The Word:

(As he said: Beating the drum of deathlessness in a world gone blind.)

Bhikkhus!

He would say, (Beggars!):

Pay Attention!
Give Ear!
I will Speak!

And

Broke Tooth!
(Bhadante! Bad Dentals, or Elder, later becoming Venerable One. "Broke Tooth" both because it likely reflects the atmosphere of the time — that is, the SAMANAS actually heard in the word BHADANTE the words "BrokeTooth", and because early American Indians as well as other cultures, used the same expression; even we say a person is "long in the tooth" on occasion.) the beggars gathered round would answer, using the polite convention indicating permission to speak.

I will teach you, beggars, about the world!

Do you see, beggars, this tiny bit of excrement I have picked up on the end of my nail?
I offer you a taste.

In the same way, Beggars,
I do not recommend living in the World
for even so short a time as it takes to snap the fingers!

[Readers should, whenever this action is mentioned, actually snap their fingers. — Good Sharp Snap! This is part of the instruction.]

In the case of the first case, beggars,
we have the case of the untamed, untrained, uneducated common man.
Untamed to the discipline of the aristocrats,
untrained in the manners of the aristocrats,
uneducated in the teachings of the aristocrats;
untamed to the ways of the sappurisa
(the sap rising man, the old time preacher man,
the wise man, witch doctor, sorcerer, teacher),
untrained in the craft of the sappurisa,
uneducated to the lore of the sappurisa,
he thinks:

"O,O,O, Here I am,
subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death,
grief and lamentation,
pain and misery,
and despair,
separated from what I want,
united with what I dislike,
in a word:
bound up downbound up-end down
in this entire flaming stockpiled pile of . . . um . . . Dukkha!
If only there were some way out of all this k-kha!"

In that case,
let him come near
let him listen up
let him remember what he hears
let him think over what he has remembered
let him evaluate what he has thought over
let him test the truth of his conclusions
let him rely on what he has tested
and let him continue on This Way
Until he has attained his goal.

Beggars! A beggar looking for his Wishes to come true
Should avoid these two extremes:

The path down hedonistic self indulgence

and

the path down self torture.

Avoiding those two extremes^[1], he should come up the MAJJHIMA path. The Magic path, the middle way.

Introduction

There are two schools of thought out there:
Those that advocate "concentration" (SAMADHI restricting the notion of samadhi to its initial stages only), and those that advocate "insight" (VIPASSANA).
There are two additional schools of thought out there:
Those that advocate "insight" (VIPASSANA) and those that advocate "calming down" (SAMATHA), including in the notion of calming down the practice of Samadhi.
Here, for SAMADHI, the street term "getting high", is used as the actual practice involves both more and less than what is meant by the terms "concentration," or "meditation", or "trance".
Briefly, SAMADHI, is the process of "getting away from",^[2] whereas concentration is a "focus on;" "meditation" means "thinking about" and while there is some "thinking" going on in the initial stages of samadhi, it is to be eliminated as one advances; and "trance" is subject to misunderstanding. The former adheres to the highest principle of the Pali^[3], that of detachment, the latter have attachment at their heart.

Here the term "review" is often used for vipassana. "Insight" is not precisely wrong, but has connotations that would be better avoided. The word means VI=Re or In; PASSA=sight or view. The idea is of the seeing of the view one experiences coming upon a mountain pass. "Review" is used because the coming upon that pass involves re-examination as well as accidental discovery.

After 'basic training' in generosity, ethical culture, and self-control, the practice that will be presented here could be described briefly as calming down, review, getting high and letting go.

Round and round and round and round.

The practice of getting high is much older than the Pali, and if it, by it's own nature, could lead to utter detachment, there would have been no need for the Buddha. The practice of getting high is a tool to be used to gain perspective, in the same way as one at the summit can see the view.

Here advanced practice will be to describe a path toward the highest getting high and then from there to direct the attention to a path toward the highest vision and the detachment that results by way of review and calming down.

Getting Started: High Getting High

Samma Samadhi. Samma=English summit=high; sama=even, adhi=higher.

Here the practice of getting high begins with the satipatthana. SATI=memory, mind; PATTHANA = manufacture. The English "Satisfaction," if understood to mean the state achieved by the two running themes of the Satipatthana Sutta: penetrating knowledge and release, is exactly the meaning intended: the manufacturing of mental and physical satisfaction, the state of having had enough.

To the degree it is possible:

Find yourself some place to be alone.^[4]

Sit down in the cross-leg Indian style ('legs bent-across-lapwise')^[5]. Your seat should be low to the ground and firm. It is not necessary to sit in the full lotus position or the half lotus position although both of those positions have advantages. The idea here is that the position to strive for is one that is the least uncomfortable over extended periods of time.

Flop the trunk forward and release as much tension from the body as possible in that position.

And then, put the mind on the anal sphincter, and, squeezing as tightly as possible from the anal sphincter upward, squeeze all the muscles around the spine until the body begins to achieve the erect posture. At this point squeeze and re-squeeze, (twist and shout!) to attain the uttermost erect posture attainable.

And then, put the mind on the face. The face contains more of the sense organs than any other location on the body. The muscles of the face are connected to five "tendon group tendons" which control the tensions in the entire body. The face, continuously reacting to sense stimuli, expresses the individual's reactions to the world. This reaction, if the individual is caught up in the hunger and thirst for sense stimuli, is reflected in an overall feeling of dissatisfaction. If the individual has seen through to the real nature of things and has let the hunger and thirst for sense stimuli go, his body reflects a general feeling of satisfaction. The practice here is to familiarize the individual with the experience of satisfaction. Therefore, while still in the utmost erect posture possible, put a look of Satisfaction on the Face.^[6]

It does not matter that the look of Satisfaction is not genuine. The idea here is to create a point of reference.

Exercise:

Smile broadly and then focus on the face muscles needed to create that broad smile and let go of the tension involved.

And then, take in 1, 2, 3 Deep Deep Deep Satisfying breaths, and Let It all Go.

Thinking: "With penetrating knowledge of this confounded body, I breath in a deep breath" breath in a deep breath.

Thinking: "With release from this confounded body, I breath out a deep breath" breath out a deep breath.

Thinking: "Stilling, calming, tranquilizing this confounded body, I breath in and out with short breaths" breath in and out with short breaths.

The Gradual Training: Introduction

Getting high and calming down are not ends in themselves. They are tools to be used so that one may examine things with objectivity.

In the broadest of general terms, these things to examine and understand are: Body, Sensation, Mental States, and the Word.

The structure of this examination should take the form of penetrating knowledge. Penetrating knowledge consists of seeing into the uttermost root, ('studious etiological examination') of a thing as applied to its broadest interpretation. One must see the attraction of a thing, it's repellant nature, and the way to escape it's bondage.

The attraction of a thing is it's ability to produce pleasant sensations.
The dis-gusting feature of a thing is that about it which produces unpleasant sensations.
The escape from the bondage of a thing is by way of seeing its real nature as not belonging to the self, as being impermanent, and as carrying with it, consequent upon it's not being of the self and being impermanent, the danger of causing pain to the degree to which one is attached to it. There is no thing which, having come into being, is not bound by time, and bound by time, it has a beginning, middle, and end.

Having seen the attraction of a thing, it's repellant nature, and the way of escape, one naturally has no appetite^[7] for it. Having no appetite, one is not attached. Not attached one is free. Knowing one is free one has attained the release of detachment.

Here is an exercise to begin The Gradual Training, the first object onto which to focus the high mind:

THE FIRST LESSON

This is sometimes also called "The First Question," or "The One Question." This is the first of Ten Questions which are a hallmark of Pali Buddhism. They are capable of being answered only by one who has heard the answer from Gotama or from one who has heard it from one who has. Thus in the Old Days they were used as a kind of password to determine if someone was a follower or not.^[8] Although I am about to give the answer to this question, let no one imagine that simply by repeating the answer will one be mistaken for a man of knowledge!

This is the question: EKA NAMA KIM?
EKA=one; NAMA=name-a; KIM=what. What is One?

What one concept, when seen to it's root with penetrating knowledge, and understood to it's broadest limits, such that it's repellant nature is seen as it really is and one has released it in its entirety, can bring one to the uttermost freedom of detachment?

AHARA

Food  

All Beings Live On On Food.

This is what is meant by "understood to it's broadest limits":

The Four Foods:

1. Material Food, hard and soft

2. Sense Stimulation, Touch

3. Intentions (MANOSANCETANA: MANO=mind; SAN=one with; CETANA=heart)

4. Consciousness (VINNANA: double-knowing-knowledge; awareness of knowing, individualized consciousness)

With Material Food (or any of the other foods) as his object, the individual, enabled by consciousness, propels himself into future rebirth.

At this point, should this instruction end here, this much would be enough to guide an energetic, intelligent, honest seeker to his goal.

High Getting High 2

Assume the sitting position. Flop forward. Rise up erect. Put a look of satisfaction on the face. Breath in 1, 2, 3 deep deep deep satisfying breaths, and let it all go.

From this point on, practice Not Doing. Do not deliberately "do" anything but breath in and out.
Do not move the hands or feet or adjust the posture in any way.
Do not burp or assist in the evacuation of gas (a hum).
Do not twitch.
When you become aware that there is an area of tension somewhere in the body that can be let go without "doing" anything, let it go.

For the beginner: If you notice after a few minutes that the tensions in your body have twisted you up like a pretzel and the awkwardness of the position is impossible for you to correct by letting go — start again.

For the more advanced: There may come a time for those making some headway when a variety of strange bodily phenomena seem to be taking place on their own. The phenomena are different for different people, and do not occur with all people. Some people experience twitching in the legs. Some people experience twitching in the buttocks like the body wants to hop around. Some will experience "spasms" in the stomach or back or neck or face. Some people will experience tingling all over or in a certain spot only, some will have a feeling that small animals (or even larger ones!) are crawling on one or a feeling similar to walking through a cobweb...and other varieites of such. Some people will experience apparently isolated spots of heat or cold. The best practice here is to attempt to 'get ahead' of these phenomena. By that is meant that prior to the onset of the phenomena there is a period where directing the consciousness to letting go of tensions at certain unfamiliar places, or where 'allowing' the energy to flow smoothly, will eliminate the strange behavior.

The Westerner not used to sitting in the Indian style position will soon begin to experience intense pain in the legs. (Too much meat.) A balanced approach to this phenomena is recommended here: endure the pain for a little longer each time, until you can sit for several hours without pain. There will come a time when the best strategy will be to sit and endure the pain until it has completely passed. [The fastest way to restore circulation to the legs is to stand with the feet flat and do several shallow "knee bends" without raising the heals from the floor. It is an interesting phenomena that sitting in the full lotus, if one has managed to stay in the position for a while usually does not result in the legs 'falling asleep.']

The beginner may experience an intense desire to sleep. Resist the temptation. If all else fails, go to the alternative form of "sitting" practice: pacing back and forth. Find a level place about 24 feet long (not too long, not too short) and holding the body erect and looking ahead at the ground about six-eight feet in front of you, pace back and forth with a regular pace.

The Place to Pace It's not the Place you Place the Place to Pace That makes the Place to Pace The Best Place to Pace It's the Pace you Pace the Place to Pace That makes the Place to Pace The Best Place To Out-Pace all the rest

Click the pic to see my Place to Pace

There are psychological phenomena which also occur: one may think the world is coming to an end; one may think one is dying; a vast array of strange, unusual, and frightening mental phenomena may occur. The best remedy here is to ‘Still, Calm, and Tranquilize the bodily mechanism.' If under harassment from some frightening idea or phenomena, there is one remedy which will always prove victorious: study the Dhamma. That is the Buddha's promise!

When sitting, do not concern yourself as to whether your eyes are open or shut.

Some methods recommend various places to put the attention. Some recommend attention to breathing. Some recommend focusing on an object like a circle of earth or a bowl of water or a board with a hole in it, or a cut out circle with a view of a fire, or the wind blowing the leaves of a tree. Here, with the idea that it is strictly an exercise in the development of concentration (reference above, as a factor of high-getting, as opposed to thinking of concentration as the whole stroy), it is recommended that you focus on the breathing. It is not important where you focus on the breathing.^[9] The focus on the breathing is complimentary to the focus on penetrating knowledge (of the Body, Sensations, Mental States, and The Word) and Release. It is a trick we are playing on the mind, saying focus on this and focus on that. It is easier to develop a high degree of concentration this way than to try to maintain concentration on one and only one point of focus. (The beginner, trying to focus on only one object will focus on that object, lose his concentration and drift off into a million other thoughts. Here when the first concentration is broken, the focus is brought to an alternative.) This technique will use hundreds upon hundreds of tricks like this. In the end we will say that you have developed concentration using "The Dhamma Device."

Now bring your attention back to Penetrating Knowledge of AHARA: Food [say: 'Ah ha!']

Exercise

Try this exercise to physically understand the difference between "doing nothing" (which, by definition, is a doing, and is, therefore, impossible) and "not doing" (which is important to the understanding of every phase of the Pali practice, especially for Getting High).

Clench your fist using extreme pressure.

Hold the fist clenched for a few seconds, until you can focus on the mechanics of what you are doing.

Then, without opening the fist or moving a muscle with intention, let go of the tension that is causing the fist to clench.

This is not "doing" anything, this is the letting go of (the ending of) the doing that was the clenching. This example, demonstrated through the physical body, applies as well to all forms of grasping: grasping of the body; grasping after sense experience; grasping after perceptions; grasping after the creation of your own world; and grasping after consciousness.

Exercise

Try this exercise to "physically" demonstrate the phenomena of the Pain of Withdrawal. It is a fact that in the beginning, when setting into practice, say, the abstention from saying things that are not true, the individual will experience sometimes enormous Pain, hassles, grief, turbulence, and so forth (you are destroying your old world and naturally it fights to hang on!). This exercise will provide a visible example of the fact that what is really happening is a good thing. Have a friend make a fist. While you are sitting in a relaxed posture, have your friend push his fist into your stomach (he should push hard, but not forcefully or fast) and then have him keep the fist in position with a continuous pressure. Hold this position for a good few minutes. Then, have your friend swiftly pull back his fist. Call this "The Unpunch."