The Path To Freedom Through Concentration Or Samatha

This talk is about the potential of the human mind when we develop concentration. We will discuss the experiences of advanced meditators on the Buddhist path to radical freedom. It is a description of the path of concentration or jhana as it is presented in the Buddhist Pali Canon. I will also detail the fruits of this practice and how one can begin to develop this profound state of deep absorption which can take us to a life free from mental suffering.

Transcript

Hi,

My name's Anne Mathie and I'm going to be talking today about concentration.

Concentration has to be one of the most incredible abilities that a human being can muster in terms of what we can achieve through it.

Today I'm going to talk to you about concentration in the context of Indian traditions of yoga and meditation,

Primarily in the context of Buddhism.

I'm going to talk about how it sits in spiritual practice and on the path to awakening.

Why?

Because Indian culture is one which has explored the nature of consciousness from an experiential point of view for thousands of years and there's a rich palette of meditation masters with insights into the potential of our mind.

I'm not religious,

Neither do I come from a particular tradition,

But I have made it my life's work to understand the nature of consciousness.

So I come to you with this talk based on my research with advanced meditators and scriptural studies in Indian traditions.

In India we can find practices that date back thousands of years,

All the way back to Vedic times with the development of mantra and after time this mantra or repetitive prayer turned into quiet internalised meditations and after time these internalised meditations turned into concentration,

Concentration practices where the mind settled on one object.

In India there are so many traditions which reflect this type of practice,

Intense austerities or breath retention,

Fasting,

Concentration withdrawal of the senses so that the mind abides in deep absorption in just what isness.

I want to go into depth about the Buddhist practice of concentration and what the Buddha found through his ability to maintain focus on one point.

Let's take us back to the time of the Buddha,

Around 400 BC.

During this time yoga has already existed for quite some time,

Not physical practices but meditation.

We can find early developments of meditation as far back as Katha Upanishads where restraint of the senses and samadhi,

A deep absorption was already quite established.

So the practice was one is able to stop the mind and withdraw the senses.

There is no more engagement with thought.

One is able to enter into a space where the mind no longer interacts with the outside objective world.

So the Buddha became very adept in these practices.

There are early stories in the Majjhima Nikayas from the Buddhist Pali Canon about Buddha's earlier practices and earlier teachers,

Two of which are known as Alara Kalama and Uddakarama Putta.

These were great meditation masters who were able to attain very high states of concentration or samadhi.

The Buddha was able to master these techniques quite quickly.

He found that when he entered into these states of absorption or samadhi,

He was at bliss,

He was connected with everything and at one with all.

However,

When he came out of this state of absorption,

He found himself engaged in the thinking processes,

The thinking processes that could cause suffering in the mind.

So he thought there has to be another way to radical freedom,

Complete cessation of fear,

Hate,

Doubt,

Craving and aversion.

So he really was intent on finding a cure for suffering.

So what we find is a path the Buddha takes of two meditation practices,

One of calm concentration shamatha practices,

Which involve a steady focused concentrated mind and another path of insight to investigate the nature of reality,

To see how the mind operates down to a quantum level.

So both of these types of meditation create a kind of non-sensual happiness which arise from a mind totally free from hindrances.

However,

The mechanisms which remove the hindrances are different.

One is born from seclusion of hindrances,

That's samatha practices,

Concentration practices,

And the other is born from mindfulness of hindrances,

That's vipassana or insight meditation practices.

In the tradition of shamatha meditation or calm abiding or concentration or otherwise known as samadhi,

We find that there are stages to this practice.

In the Maha Satchakasuta,

The Majjhima Nikaya of the Buddhist Pali Canon,

There are descriptions of the Buddha's early life where he spontaneously entered into this calm abiding,

This jhana,

This state of absorption,

A blissful state of absorption.

And it's here he realised this is the path to freedom.

This is the path to radical freedom from suffering.

And later on he masters these techniques.

So before we enter into these very high states of concentration,

We must first get to access concentration vitaka vichara,

Applied thought and sustained thought.

Vitaka,

Applied thought is often likened to ringing the bell.

When we strike the bell that is us applying our attention to the object of our concentration.

Vichara,

The ringing of the bell,

Often likened to sustained thought,

Is when the mind is able to comfortably rest,

Contently,

On that one object.

Now this is the beginning stages of concentration meditation or samatha practices.

To be able to hold your attention gently,

Lightly,

Without strain,

Contentedly on one object,

Centered,

Still,

Poised for a long period of time,

Takes you to access concentration.

And this is a phenomena which arises spontaneously in the mind.

So after applying effort over and over again,

Keeping the mind steady,

Eventually it sits still and then spontaneously a light emerges in the mind's eye.

The breath slows down near to a stop,

The body becomes extremely still,

As if it is doing it on its own.

Thoughts are nearly gone and the mind is focused in a continual stream.

This is access concentration,

The early stages of jhana.

Upon researching this meditation practice,

I spoke to advanced meditators.

One of my interviewees described access concentration as such.

Pre-first jhana,

When the mind is in access concentration,

The mind is quiet and the thoughts are in the background.

Breath is gone to almost nothing.

It's like the finest thread and there is an urge to gulp air but you don't need to and often there is a light at this stage.

I might deliberately restrict my breath and that seems to be a way in,

It's funny how little you breathe.

My interviewee accessed this state whilst on retreat.

When you become established in this access concentration state,

You can then start to enter into deeper states of absorption.

One of my interviewees described this transition from access concentration into the first jhana.

There is an intimacy with breath after an extended period of time and by noticing the signs of an upwelling of pity.

Pity is a type of ecstasy or bliss.

Some wanting starts to arrive and you can sort of see it or feel it beginning to take shape and then you direct the mind towards somehow cutting that off and allowing it to dissipate.

I can see this arising and I allow it to pass,

I'm not going to get on that train.

What the interviewee is describing is an arousal of bliss.

When access concentration has established itself,

Once the mind is completely absorbed on one object,

In this instance that object was the breath.

When this concentration takes place,

You can start to direct your concentration to the sensation of pleasure.

When you do this,

This pleasure multiplies in the body.

It floods the body.

You flood the body with this pleasure as if you are moving this bliss throughout the body with your concentration.

This state is very pure.

There's no craving and there's no aversion.

The very essence that causes suffering in Buddhist philosophy,

Craving and aversion.

So this state of concentration is without hindrances,

Without mind thoughts.

Jhana comes from the root word jyati,

Which means to burn up.

During this time kundalini is a concept which hadn't been formulated yet.

However it does refer to very similar phenomena.

The bliss,

The rapture that floods the body is a very physical sensation in the jhanas.

There are eight jhanas.

The first four jhanas are very physical.

They are referred to as the rupa jhanas.

The first jhana of the rupa jhanas is accessed through a state which is free from hindrances,

Free from craving and aversion,

Completely comfortably established on one point.

This sustained one-pointed concentration arises when the mind is able to transfer that attention onto pleasure.

The pleasure multiplies and this floods the body with rapture,

With joy,

With ecstasy in every single cell.

This can be very intense,

People describe it like an orgasmic feeling that floods the body.

However it's super sexual and free from desire.

This absolute rapture can be so intense it's difficult to concentrate or meditate on something subtle.

So by transferring the attention from the physical pleasure and turning that attention towards the emotional joy,

One is able to let go of the physical rapture and the meditation becomes more subtle.

We move into the second jhana.

Meditators describe the second jhana as being a more subtle physical sensation.

The rapture starts to subside and happiness starts to increase.

So the body is flooded with a kind of peaceful happiness,

An emotional happiness.

Concentration has become more subtle.

It's steady and it's fixed,

Still free from hindrances,

Free from desire,

Free from any distraction of the mind.

So this rapture,

This happiness,

Once one is able to then let go of this happiness and joy,

We fall into the third jhana,

Calmness,

Contentment.

The physical rapture has subsided.

The emotional happiness has calmed down and there is a peace which radiates through the whole body.

This burning up,

The rapture has relaxed all the muscles in the body.

It's untangled any knots.

The emotional tensions,

The mental tensions have subsided with the complete flooding of ecstasy throughout.

What is left in the third jhana is peacefulness,

Motionless,

Concentration,

Much more subtle.

The pleasure is beyond emotional and beyond physical.

We are becoming more subtle,

Still free from hindrances,

Still free from craving and aversion.

The concentration is very pure,

Very subtle,

Very light,

Lightly placed,

Still on the object of concentration.

This transition now into the fourth jhana is very important.

The fourth jhana we are moving beyond emotion.

We are moving beyond the physical body.

We come to a place of equanimity,

Perfect equanimity.

There is no emotion in this state,

No joy,

No happiness,

No pleasure,

No peace,

Perfectly equanimous,

Still steady,

Concentration is like a rock,

Solid.

People describe this state as if they were a pendulum dropped to the bottom of the ocean,

Securely fastened to the earth.

A famous meditator and explorer of Kundalini phenomena describes an experience in meditation much like the fourth jhana.

It's as if you're vibrating with the same frequencies of the earth.

In Buddhist parlance,

Fourth jhana is a very important place.

This is where we can develop siddhi or mental powers.

We also develop insight.

Insight is an extremely important part of the path.

It is here through insight we can see the nature of reality down to the atomic level,

Down to the quantum level.

We can see how the mind works and we can see how the self comes together,

How the ego forms and how we bind ourselves into this karmic existence.

When we can see how this actually works through direct experience,

We permanently transform the human psychology.

No longer do hindrances take hold of your mind.

No longer does hate aversion,

Clinging,

Craving,

Doubt,

Fear.

No longer does this hold one into existence.

No longer does this control your being.

This is the insight that the Buddha had of the fourth jhana.

The siddhis that arise in the fourth jhana or mental powers can be things such as divine ear or clear audience,

Mind penetrating knowledge or telepathy,

Remembering your past lives,

Remembering other people's past lives,

Divine eye,

Knowing others karmic destinations and the ability to transmit dharma,

The ability to transfer this experience onto another mind without words,

Beyond intellectual understanding but through direct experience.

So these first four jhanas are very physical.

After the fourth jhana,

We move into the arupajanas.

The arupajanas are a state of meditation and absorption without form,

So we are moving beyond the body.

This absorption without form means that we start to enter into a space beyond physical boundary.

We leave the body.

The body expands into a limitless space and then it disappears.

This is called the infinity of space jhana.

From this infinity of space,

We move our attention to realize that this infinite space that we occupy is in fact consciousness and you are at one with everything.

This becomes infinity of consciousness jhana.

From this point,

Realizing the infinite space you occupy is empty of anything.

There is no form.

The reality we live in is an illusion,

A fabrication.

During this,

We enter into the jhana of no-thingness.

From the jhana of no-thingness,

We become even more subtle.

We realize that the space that we occupy is empty of anything,

Even the self.

There is neither perception nor non-perception.

Nothing is perceiving anything.

The self is gone.

These are very high states of samadhi,

Very high states of mental absorptions.

The ninth jhana,

Sometimes it is referred to,

Is nirodha samapati,

Total cessation beyond the dimension of existence.

There is neither perception nor non-perception,

The final stages of jhana.

So there is absolute cessation,

No feelings,

No consciousness.

This is nirvana,

To snuff the candle out.

The light is finished,

No more rebirth.

So the Buddha was released on both sides.

The Buddha moved through these jhanas,

Mastered each jhana,

Was able to enter into each of these jhanas and come out of them at will.

The Buddha was also able to master the fourth jhana and from the fourth jhana gain insight and siddhi into the nature of reality through these two paths,

He was able to permanently eradicate,

Craving an aversion.

This is liberation to a Buddhist.

An anecdotal experience of one of my interviewees of the fourth jhana described it so.

It's pretty empty.

The joy is gone.

It's just like you're in interstellar space.

There is awareness of body.

There is awareness that there is mind,

The self is long gone.

The self is faded through the jhanas.

There is awareness,

But it's not my awareness.

It became possible to see an occasional fabrication of self happening.

It can clearly be seen.

It's just another ripple on the pond.

The transformative moment for me was to have a very heightened direct experience of the attempted process of the self fabrication and a clear understanding that it was all a small region of a larger space of mind.

So what are the methods needed to develop access concentration and jhana?

First we must develop the correct attitudes or the four immeasurables otherwise known as the Brahma Viharas.

We also need to develop good shila or moral conduct.

This will help us walk a more clear path which will allow concentration.

And finally we need to learn to fix the mind on one object.

There is no order.

These qualities need to be developed simultaneously so they are always work in progress.

Let's start with concentration,

The objects of concentration.

According to the suttas the breath is an excellent object of concentration.

It's alive and it keeps us in the present moment.

The breath will allow us to move through the jhanas because it is a subtle thing.

If we are to focus our mind on objects such as contemplating death,

Morality,

The four elements,

Dharma or the buddha,

These concepts are more complex and can prevent us from entering into very light states of concentration or samadhi.

So it is always recommended to focus on something subtle.

To begin with it can help just to focus the mind on a stone or a rock or something simple and visual to steady the gaze and steady the mind,

Steady the heart.

As we become good at this we then move on to the breath.

Just watching it in and out without controlling it,

Observing the length of the breath,

The way the breath reacts with the body,

The feelings of the breath,

Being absolutely present while inhaling and exhaling,

Becoming absorbed on this.

After a while when access concentration is gained we start to enter into awareness of the pleasure,

Awareness of the contentment in the body.

Once we do this that feeling doubles,

Triples,

Quadruples,

The bliss multiplies.

Before we get to this stage it is often recommended to count the breath in cycles of 10.

This is not in the suttas however it is described in later texts such as the Vishuddhi Magga,

A very important Buddhist text for Theravadin Buddhists.

So repeatedly counting the inhalations and exhalations in cycles of 10.

We are focusing on breath,

Keeping the mind,

Training the mind back on the breath.

This helps with mindfulness,

This helps when our minds wander.

Once we are able to count to 10 then we start to focus on the breath without counting.

Here we can gain a much deeper state of absorption because the mind isn't concentrated on concepts such as counting,

It's more subtle.

Eventually we focus on the spot where the breath enters and leaves the nostrils.

We decrease the area on which we are concentrating.

Focus the concentration like a laser beam.

Then you can focus on a small area of sensation of the breath.

This keeps us present in the moment and pointed and fixed.

Remember we can't force this,

We must be patient and go at the pace that our mind will allow us.

Other traditional objects of meditation would be on the elements earth,

Water,

Fire,

Air,

Noticing those qualities in our own body.

Colors or a whole or space,

States of consciousness.

We may even meditate on the foulness of the body or noticing each and every physical part of the body,

Hair follicles,

Cells,

Skin,

Saliva,

Nail,

Every single part.

But remember in order to enter into the subtle jhanas we must concentrate on something that isn't conceptual,

That isn't thought,

It has to be subtle.

Therefore the breath is a good one to start with and finish with.

The Brahma Viharas,

Attitudes we need to develop in order to support our meditation practices.

These are attitudes of loving kindness,

Of benevolence,

Compassion,

Empathetic joy,

Equanimity.

These are really wholesome states of mind,

Wholesome attitudes.

These attitudes are light,

Buoyant.

They cause no harm,

No problems for people,

No problems for yourself.

They allow the mind to remain steady,

Sattvic,

Light,

Fixed on one point.

The mind doesn't move,

It's calm and settled.

A well developed feeling of friendship,

Compassion,

Joy and equanimity is called release of my heart.

This is when you can really begin to let go of the ego,

Let go of the self.

The Buddha states,

Imperturbable is my heart's release.

This is my last existence,

Now there is no longer rebirth.

The clinging to the self,

The clinging to other people,

The clinging to things is what causes suffering.

When we can let go,

Then we are free.

A firm foundation is from friendship,

Compassion,

Joy,

Equanimity.

These subtle states cause no suffering.

They cultivate appropriate foundations which support concentration and focus.

And of course,

Moral conduct.

Right speech,

Right action,

Right livelihood,

Right effort.

These are the things we can do in our day to day.

Make sure our actions are causing no harm to anyone else.

We take on right view and right intention.

Making sure when we come to meditate,

Our intention is for the benefit of others.

Our intention is to become free from suffering,

Not for money or fame.

Right view is seeing that we are impermanent,

We are connected,

We are constantly changing.

Right mindfulness and right concentration is being aware.

Being aware of the impermanence,

Being able to notice,

Experience all the thoughts,

Feelings,

Attitudes as they arise and as they pass.

Right concentration is the ability to concentrate and fix the mind lightly,

Evenly with the correct attitudes,

Without trying too hard,

Without forcing,

With patience,

Applying the mind evenly on one object of concentration.

Concentration can temporarily relieve you from the five hindrances.

The five hindrances are psychological knots that the mind makes all on its own.

Just the thinking process causes these hindrances to arise.

This is natural for every human.

It is only until we can burn these seeds out completely that they stop.

These five hindrances are known as sensory desire,

Ill will,

Sloth or tiredness,

Torpor,

Restlessness and worry and doubt.

They affect each of us in different ways.

The meditation antidotes to these five hindrances are as follows.

When one is overtaken with sensory desire,

We can practice meditation on the impermanence of desire.

You can focus on your object of desire and start to take it apart until you see that desire on the object is an illusion.

For example,

If we are attracted to another person because of a physical appearance,

You can start to break down that physical appearance into parts,

Hair follicles,

Hair,

Blood,

Skin,

Nails.

And then we see the illusory nature of what it is to be beautiful,

What it is to be ugly.

Everything just is.

This will allow you to concentrate more without being distracted from desire.

Of course,

In later tantric paths,

There are other methods of using desire.

But in early Buddhism,

We are concentrating on entering into access,

Concentration and jhana.

Ill will or anger or hate towards other people is another hindrance.

This can cause agitation and frustration.

It makes the mind move in a fast and quick,

Unrelenting way.

Here we apply our attention to loving kindness.

Mettabhavana meditation.

If you want to learn more about mettabhavana or loving kindness meditations,

Please refer to my talk in Insight Timer on metta.

By applying your attention to loving kindness,

We are changing the mind.

When ill will arises,

Metta takes form instead of that anger or that hate or aversion.

It transforms it quickly and immediately.

It's like retraining the mind.

After a while,

When metta is cultivated in the mind and in the emotions,

It's more difficult for ill will to arise.

It's immediately taken over with feelings of loving kindness.

But of course this takes training and time and patience.

Slothal torpor.

Simply suggested that walking meditation or exercise can help this.

Avoid over stimulation.

Meditate with the light on your face.

Sometimes meditating with the eyes open will help.

Restlessness and worry.

Learn to develop contentment.

Opposite to fault finding.

Move slowly with gratitude.

Kind actions.

Again metta bhavana will help this.

Loving kindness meditation.

And of course being mindful of the breath.

Watching the breath.

Especially metta on the self will help resolve any restlessness or worry.

Doubt another hindrance.

Does this path even work?

For this it's suggested to find a good teacher or study the scriptures.

Or practice more.

By practicing we are calming the mind.

Removing ignorance.

Ignorance is like a fog that covers us.

It's not lack of knowledge.

It's illusion that fogs the mind.

Through practice we clear away this illusion and then we remember.

So the five stages of meditation through concentration.

Applied thought.

Vitakha.

Putting the mind on the object of concentration.

Initially this is hard because of the hindrances.

But after a while with patience and perseverance this becomes possible.

This becomes easy.

This becomes effortless.

Then we can move into the second stage.

Sustained thought or vichara.

Keeping the mind on one object.

Keeping the hindrances at bay.

They are there in the background but they are not bothering us.

They are not taking a hold of the mind.

The being can sit still and comfortably rest on that object of meditation.

The third stage.

Rapture,

Joy or pity.

This is contentment with staying on that object where we can move our attention onto pleasure.

Where this pleasure arises.

Into the first jhana.

The rapture where we undo the knots and the tension in the body.

Then we move into happiness.

Sukha.

Emotional happiness.

As a result of letting go of this physical pleasure and allowing this happiness to take over the body.

From happiness we enter into ekagata samadhi.

This is where the siddhis start to happen.

This is where the third and the fourth jhana happens.

This is where we can really develop insight.

This is where the hindrances start to diminish more permanently.

This path is real.

This path is doable.

It takes effort and it takes applied thought and it takes focus and perseverance.

But many many people have walked this path before and many many people have become successful.

These methods have withstood the test of time and continue to do so.

If you would like to engage in this practice please see the guided meditation on concentration.

It is advisable to start with metta.

This is so that we can enter into our meditative state with the correct intentions and with a light buoyant happy mind.

In order to let go of the self we must have a healthy ego to begin with.

I wish you all the success on your path.

Reviews

Thank you! Excellent summary of Buddhist concentration practices and their links to the Eight fold path. 🙏

What a great overview.
Thank you for suggesting a sequence of steps to follow.
I feel safer having a map😊🙏🏻

Amazing so clear & direct

Excelent!

This is such a great talk on Samatha.
🙏

Excellent teaching.
Thank you.