The Power Of Concentration

This talk discusses the role concentration has on meditation practices and how it’s a powerful element for truly gaining insight into our mindfulness. If you’re trying to get started with your own practice or are trying to grow your practice further, this is a great talk to listen to.

Transcript

In this tradition here,

When we look at different kinds of meditation,

We can distinguish mainly two types.

And Christina spoke about this this morning.

It's Samatha meditation,

The different kinds of Samatha meditation,

And it's Vipassana meditation.

One is the meditation of calm abiding,

The other one of insight.

And one way of telling them apart is to look at their predominant features,

Or their main kind of quality.

In Samatha,

It is concentration,

Collectedness,

Calm,

Serenity,

Focus.

In Vipassana,

It's mindful,

Clear seeing,

Investigation,

Leading to insight and wisdom.

So Samatha could be characterized by stopping,

Vipassana by looking.

Samatha allows for calm serenity,

And then Vipassana comes and does the investigation from that place of calm,

Investigation into the nature of things.

Samatha provides the focus,

Vipassana,

The clear seeing.

Tonight I'd like to talk about Samatha meditation.

Meditation of collectedness,

Of one-pointedness,

Of absorption.

When we focus on the breath alone,

In those times when we focus just on the breath,

For example,

Or just on the feet in walking meditation,

Or on the phrases and their meaning in metta,

Then that can be said to be Samatha meditation.

Concentration,

This ability to collect and focus,

Really is part of the basic makeup of our mind.

Singling out parts of the mass of sense data we receive,

And then holding the attention on one object of experience,

Really is a basic function of the mind.

It's one of the things we must learn as babies,

You know,

From that mass of information and input that comes through the senses to single out things and start making sense of them,

And that means we have to hold them for a while.

Or we can see we can face a big tree and then we can single out one branch of the tree,

Or even one leaf,

And then hold the attention on that for a given duration of time.

Any one of us can do that.

Or we can listen to someone who is talking to us quite one-pointedly for quite a long time,

Provided we find what is being said interesting or in some way important for us.

Then we can listen 40 minutes,

60 minutes,

Quite concentrated.

Or if we read a book that we find really fascinating and suspense,

We can be so absorbed in it,

People can walk by or somebody can call us or we don't even notice that we're hungry,

We can just be with that right there.

So it's a capacity we actually have.

In our meditation practice,

We connect with that natural ability and then develop and strengthen it and apply it.

When there's more and more steady and continuous mindfulness or connection with any particular object,

Be it the breath or the phrases of metta,

Or in metta the person that the wishes are directed to,

Or whatever,

Then the quality or the mental factor of collectiveness or concentration or one-pointedness arises.

The actual definition of this quality is simply,

Concentration is a quality of heart and mind capable of dwelling one-pointedly on an object for a sustained duration of time.

This kind of concentration in and of itself is what is called an unspecified quality of the mind.

What that means is simply that a mental state associated with that kind of concentration can be ethically or morally wholesome,

Positive,

Or it can be unwholesome,

It can be negative.

Or it can be neutral,

Depending on the other qualities and factors of heart and mind that the concentration is associated with.

So concentration in itself is not wholesome or unwholesome.

It depends on that which it goes along with.

For example,

When a hunter is one-pointedly stalking,

Aiming,

And shooting a deer with the intention to kill,

Then the concentration associated with this mind state,

Mind state of violence,

Is unwholesome,

Is negative,

Is unskillful.

And it perpetuates aggressive destructive tendencies.

And it will lead to great suffering in that mind,

In that person.

And when it's paired with strong concentration,

The negative effects on that person,

On that mind,

Get stronger too.

Or when,

For example,

Someone is studying a map quite one-pointedly,

Because they need to go from here to,

Let's say,

Totnes,

Then probably that concentration is quite neutral.

No special good or bad intention in the mind while consulting that map.

So not much consequences besides,

Of course,

Finding out how to get to Totnes,

Which can be useful.

Now when someone,

Let's say,

Is concentrated on kind wishes,

Wishes of loving kindness,

Of metta,

Compassion,

Or one is maybe one-pointedly cooking a meal intending to feed 52 hungry meditators and staff at the retreat,

Then the concentration associated with this mind state is wholesome,

Is positive,

Brings helpful results to that person,

Leads to happy effects.

And again,

When these skillful states are married to strong concentration,

Then the positive effects in the mind are magnified too.

When this quality of concentration is developed on the proper object in conjunction with wholesome mind factors,

Such as right mindfulness,

We practice it here,

Or such as kindness,

Metta,

Or other so-called brahma-viharas like compassion or joy,

When it's paired with those qualities it becomes right concentration,

Appropriate concentration,

Samma-samadhi.

And in this aspect of right concentration it is one of the eight aspects of the noble eightfold path taught by the Buddha.

It becomes a very important aspect of the practice.

To practice collectedness or concentration in a skillful way is quite an art.

Sharon Salzberg,

In her book,

A Heart as White as the World,

Gives a great description of this art.

And I'll just read from the book.

In the practice of concentration we place the awareness on a single object,

Such as the inhalation and exhalation of the breath,

Or the phrases of loving kindness,

And we let go of everything else that passes through our mental and physical senses.

There's almost a sense of cherishing the concentration object.

Sometimes it is as if you are protecting it.

But we never need to clutch it tightly or grimly.

We simply practice with the quality of devotion.

Devoted to the chosen object of our concentration,

We stay connected to it,

Gently letting go of whatever distracts us from it.

Michelangelo was once asked how he would carve an elephant.

A big marble piece of stone.

He replied,

I will take a large piece of stone and take away everything that is not elephant.

Developing the force of concentration is simply seeing what is not the elephant and letting go of it.

The art of concentration is a continual letting go.

We let go of that which is inessential or distracting.

We let go of a thought or a feeling not because we are afraid of it,

Or because we can't bear to acknowledge it as a part of our experience,

But because it is unnecessary.

So that's in a way what we're doing here when we focus on the breath,

When we focus on the metta phrases.

We let go of everything else except for the object of attention.

And it does take some renunciation.

It's an unfashionable word.

Actually,

Meditation always does.

Often we're in the habit of thinking about a million things,

And we're convinced that they're important,

Or they convince us that they're really important.

And yet we have to give them up over and over and over again.

We have to give up all those things which tell us that they would make a big difference in our life.

We just would turn around and watch this,

Or just spend some more time on that thought,

Or just look what the person over there is actually doing.

We have to let go,

We have to renounce that in order to stay with the chosen object.

I like the image,

Or the comparison,

Of holding a baby.

We have to hold babies firmly and decidedly so they won't fall,

And yet we have to hold them gently,

Softly,

So as not to hurt them.

Just like that,

As we hold the object,

The breath,

The metta phrases,

With great care,

Great devotion,

But without tightness,

Without forcing.

And we let go over and over again what is not the object.

In this way,

In time,

We get to a place of settledness,

Of calm,

Of restful,

Yet wakeful presence.

The word samatha is actually interesting.

It means calm abiding,

Or in Tibetan,

Shi ne means peaceful abiding.

It gives a somewhat different sense than the word concentration.

It implies not struggling,

Not striving.

It doesn't say struggleful abiding.

It says calm,

Peaceful abiding.

It implies finding a home in the breath,

Or in the metta,

Attitude.

In terms of what we have to let go,

It is often what is known as the five hindrances.

These five hindrances refer to a number of different energy,

Emotions,

Feelings.

They are sense desire,

An attachment to pleasant experience,

Ill will,

Aversion to unpleasant things,

Drowsiness,

Sleepiness,

And its restlessness or agitation and worry.

And number five is skeptical doubt,

The undecided,

Wavering mind.

And I assume that you're somewhat familiar with them,

All of them,

I know.

When they are active,

They dilute and or torment the heart and mind.

They obstruct calm,

They obstruct clear seeing,

They create an unpleasant,

Even painful inner environment.

Again,

Desire,

That sense of needing something we don't have.

Sometimes it's like anything.

We walk up and down,

And the sun shines,

Everything is quite fine,

And somehow this funny sense comes up,

You know,

There's something missing,

And I urgently need it.

I don't know what yet,

Could be anything.

And we start to scan,

You know,

Could it be that I need to go to the bathroom,

Could it be that I need a cup of tea,

Could it be that I need to walk somewhere else,

Give me anything.

That restless looking fulfillment in an object or in a person or in an experience that promises pleasure,

That promises fulfillment.

The lack of contentment in what is.

Attachment,

Craving,

Greed,

Wanting.

The other one is aversion,

The opposite,

Not wanting what we have,

But wishing to get rid of it.

Anything unpleasant,

Disliking it,

Hating it,

Avoiding it,

Fearing it,

Suppressing it,

So hatred,

Anger,

Irritation,

That other hindrance.

Sleepiness and heaviness,

Drowsiness,

Dullness,

Laziness,

Quite obvious.

Their opposite,

Restlessness,

Worry,

Agitation in the body and the heart and the mind,

Being worried,

Excited,

Anxious,

Brooding,

Feeling sorry,

Regretful,

Seemingly unable to sit or walk even for one more second,

Intense,

Unbearable.

And doubt,

I mentioned some of those,

Such as doubt,

Doubting our own capacity and ability to do this,

Doubting the method,

Doubting the teachers,

Just doubt,

Sometimes just doubt.

Desire,

Aversion,

Sleepiness,

Restlessness,

Doubt.

Very helpful,

Very useful to recognize these forces for what they are.

Not about fighting them,

Struggling against them,

Hating them,

Judging ourselves for having them,

But to recognize them,

To really know,

Oh,

This is what's happening right now.

This is what grips me at this moment,

Seeing it for what it is.

The well-known illustration by the Buddha to give them more of a sense how they function,

How they taste,

Such that they like,

Can compare them to different additions and states,

Which a body of otherwise clear water can be in.

Sense desire is like water with different colors added to it,

So it becomes very attractive.

Ill will is a bit like boiling water,

That's how the mind feels when there's hatred ill will.

Sleepiness,

Drowsiness is like stagnating,

Moss-covered water.

Restlessness and worry is similar to water that is agitated and moved by a strong wind.

And skeptical doubt is like murky,

Muddy water.

And on that kind of water we cannot see the reflection of the sky,

The moon,

Whatever.

It will be impossible to look through it and see to the bottom,

To the ground of things.

Now there's a very interesting,

Actually quite amazing process that happens.

The qualities of concentration and calm abiding when developed,

Even somewhat,

They cause the same thing to happen as when the kids who played in the water of a forest pond leave the pond,

When the wind subsides,

The waves disappear,

The water gets calm,

The surface gets placid and transparent,

And the sand and mud settle on the ground.

It's exactly what happens in our mind when collectedness,

Concentration starts to get stronger.

In fact it can do more than that.

Actually it can temporarily suppress or suspend those five hindrances,

Attachment,

Desire,

Reputation,

Doubt,

Restlessness,

Completely,

That is,

As long as that concentration lasts.

Now some of us might think,

Oh,

I never experienced this in my meditation.

But in fact I think we all have experienced here how the first day of a retreat can be quite difficult.

Sleepy,

Restless,

Irritable,

Or all in a multi-pack coming all together.

And then somehow we don't know quite how within two,

Three days,

Somehow we start to settle in and people say it's less difficult,

Gets easier,

The calmer,

There's less resistance,

And it's not quite clear how it happened.

This settling in is already an effect of the calmer,

Somewhat more concentrated mind.

Suspending or weakening those hindrances somewhat,

Very interesting to be aware of that.

It does that somehow,

Even if we don't feel so concentrated.

They have let power subside at times and maybe for longer and longer stretches as we deepen in the meditation.

What it takes to deepen that collected calm abiding is to connect and then sustain the contact with the object over and over again,

Morning,

Noon,

And night.

And this we need to do with as much continuity as possible,

And that's really a key,

Over and over again,

Untiringly,

Not just in the form of sitting,

But while getting up in the morning,

While dressing,

While showering,

While eating,

While going to the bathroom.

Continuity really is a key.

It's not forcing,

It's not willpower.

Like with the well-known illustration of the pots of water we want to bring to boiling,

We turn the heat on quite high,

And then after a while when it starts getting hot,

We turn it off again.

And then it cools down and then we turn it on again.

And then we think we need to break and we turn it off again.

And no matter how often we do that,

Those get hotter and then cooler again,

And hotter and cooler again.

It's not adding.

We could put it on a little less hot,

But leave it on and it would boil after some time.

Continuity is necessary and will eventually do the job.

Also if we want to be present all day long,

Be present with continuity all day long,

I think we need to do it gently and kindly,

Even somewhat playfully,

Which can still be quite impeccable.

Playful doesn't have to mean lazy.

If we force and get grim,

It won't work because we get all uptight.

If we see being mindful,

Being collected,

Being present as hard work,

We'll always need to break.

But if we can bring another kind of attitude with it,

Be happy when you remember to be present.

Remember that it's not something we need to do,

But there's tons of things we can drop and don't need to do.

You know,

All the things we don't need to think about.

It's so nice.

It's really actually being present that becomes more of a vacation than hard work.

To look at how we could bring a helpful attitude so that we want to do it with continuity.

In deepening concentration and absorbing the mind,

There are five factors or qualities of the mind at work.

They're called Jhana factors,

Factors of absorption.

I talked about two of them two nights ago.

The first one is applied attention or you could say aiming the attention to the object,

To whatever it is.

The second one is sustained attention,

Holding the contact with the object.

The third one,

Which starts to become stronger when the first two are developed,

Is real interest,

Which can become fascination,

Which can become rapture,

Bliss.

And then the next one is happiness.

And the fifth one is one-pointedness.

So again,

I'll say a little more about them,

Especially the first two of them,

Which I have mentioned,

Just because I think it's so helpful to be aware of their importance and their function.

Vitthaka,

Applied attention,

Is that which aims or connects the mind with the object,

With the phrases or with the breath or with the movement of walking or with the knee pain or the pleasant sensation in the heart.

Well,

The second one,

Which I have sustained attention,

Sustains the mind's contact with that experience,

That object.

An illustration is like,

The first is like striking a bell,

And the second is like the sound that stays then,

The sound and then it breaks off.

It's connecting with the breath and then staying with it.

It's like a bird's initial flapping of the wings.

And the second one is when it then goes over into smooth flight.

Or the first one is like a hand that grabs the dish,

And the other one,

The second one that follows is the hand that grabs the dish.

It's like rubbing the attention on the experience.

It's very helpful to make a clear effort in that contacting and sustaining with the breath,

The sensation,

The sound.

Right when it arises,

The present,

Right when the in-breath begins,

It will still be there when it ends.

The out-breath begins,

It will still be there when it ends.

Especially helpful to pay attention,

Do we stay with it or do we only just touch it shortly.

If in such a way we deepen the concentration,

Then the next factor,

Interest,

Arises.

Rapture,

Intense interest and infrastination becomes quite joyful.

You know,

Our meditation here might not always or not often be rapturous or blissful.

It's very helpful to remember that it is possible to create interest,

Even fascination.

There's a close link between a fullness of attention and interest.

Interest doesn't happen randomly.

It looks like sometimes it's there and sometimes not,

And it has nothing to do with me.

But bringing a fullness of attention or a wholeheartedness to anything starts to make this thing interesting,

Because that quality of interest in the mind starts to get stronger.

So the other way around,

Whenever you notice that there's a lack,

That it's boring,

Lack of interest is really uninteresting.

It's a sign telling you that you're half-hearted,

You're mechanical,

That you're on the surface of things.

You know,

Like in-breath,

Out-breath,

In-breath,

Out-breath,

Eight more minutes,

In-breath,

Lunch.

It becomes flat,

It becomes boring,

And it's not the coincidence.

It's connected,

Wholeheartedness,

Interest.

In concentration practice,

When the continuity is sustained and deepened,

Then happiness,

Or sukkha,

Will arise.

It's the force of those jhana factors.

It's a smoother,

Calmer,

Mellower,

But deeper kind of joy.

The illustration that is given is like interest in rapture is like when a person obtains a desirable object,

Kind of excited joy.

Happiness is like that person enjoying the object,

Gets more calm,

More satisfied,

More mellow,

More smooth.

So there's applied attention,

Sustained attention,

There's interest or joy,

Rapture,

There's happiness.

Eventually less effort is needed to sustain the focus on the object.

And one gets so concentrated that rapture cools out and even happiness is left behind.

And the fifth factor,

One-pointedness,

Really comes to the forefront,

The foreground.

This one-pointedness,

The kakata,

The mental factor that is common to all states of concentration and absorption.

It's been compared to a steady flame in a windless place,

Or a firmly fixed pillar that cannot be shaken.

It's like water that binds together several substances to form one concrete,

One quite solid compound,

Perhaps like water that binds cement and sand into concrete.

The kakata causes the mind to be fully focused on the object and causes unwavering stability on whatever it is,

The breath,

The metta.

And with it arises equanimity,

Which in a way could be said to cause a corresponding emotional stability and equipoise,

Unshakable.

It's really the development and strengthening of those five qualities or factors of the mind that bring about deep concentration,

Or that make up the ingredients of deep concentration,

And when they're developed further,

Eventually bring about absorption.

And I'd like to say a few things on that for giving the complete picture.

I suggested that Christina would do that part,

But she didn't want to.

Absorptions or jhanas refer to deep levels of one-pointed concentration,

And there seems not always to be agreement on what these levels exactly are.

Descriptions can vary quite a lot.

Seems that the most exalted standards are used in certain Tibetan traditions.

It is said that in this first one develops through ten stages of samatha or jhina meditation,

Where the full attainment refers to a state of one-pointedness,

Where the yogis or the yogini's mind can stay one-pointedly on the object for as long as three days and nights without effort,

Without wavering in the slightest.

One's body and mind is said to be blissful,

Radiant,

And buoyant,

And needs no food or sleep while in this state.

Sounds quite amazing,

Isn't it?

I think it's very,

Very important here that we don't compare our practice with those statements.

And according to this course,

The disposition,

That is not yet the jhana,

That is not yet an absorption state,

But only what is called access samadhi,

Upachara samadhi,

Which means it's the level needed to access the first jhana.

And then from there it's said that it takes again great effort to actually go into the first jhana.

And for those who have some experience with it or who have heard different teachings on it,

The descriptions vary a lot.

I've had people come to me on their,

To their second retreat who told me that they had been introduced in the last five-day retreat into the first and second and third jhana.

So,

Probably different ideas of what those words would mean,

And it's good to know that.

From the first absorption for jhana,

The yogini's,

The yogini by state just goes deeper until the fourth jhana is attained.

And from there one might even go on into formless kind of states,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

And eight.

And to complete the information,

It is said that from some of this jhana,

When one becomes proficient in their practice,

And when yogini or yogi has the obviously very uncommon ability,

He or she can develop the psychic powers or idhi or siddhi.

One of my Indian Vipassana teachers,

Muninjaji,

He tells how he taught this kind of practice to an Indian woman who was his student,

Deepama,

Who was a very extraordinary woman,

And yogini,

Who had that kind of mind,

Able to actually practice and realize all these yogic achievements.

And Muninjaji would say,

You know,

That he didn't have that capacity,

But he was really interested if one would find somebody who would have that capacity.

If it was possible to guide them through those stages and actually make them attain them,

He said,

I wanted to know whether it is possible to attain what is written in the book.

And he had very,

Very careful knowledge.

And the stories we hear of her abilities are quite wonderful and also mind-boggling.

And I won't even mention the things he tells she was able to achieve.

Very obviously,

All this takes very unusual minds and very powerful minds and great commitment to very long-term practice.

It's not something one develops in a few days or,

I'd say,

For most of us,

Even in a few weeks or months of retreat.

For some,

Maybe.

Yet the next important,

Deepening one's concentration,

Even a little,

Sharpening one's focus,

Steadying one's mind,

Is always very useful.

It's always extremely beneficial.

It's a description of a state of some depth of absorption.

Again,

Not for comparison,

But maybe for inspiration.

It says,

There's a tremendous ease and comfort of body and mind,

Blissful with a special lightness.

The nature of the mind is sparkling and radiant,

Exquisitely calm,

Accompanied by vast stillness and pervasive silence and a deep sense of that everything is absolutely okay the way it is.

There's a piercing,

Laser-like quality of knowing with no slipping into destructive parts or images,

Ever.

The mind is,

And must be a metta,

States,

The mind is completely filled with love only,

With the powerful sense of being in the presence of the Divine.

That's very good.

It also makes clear why some teachers in some ancient traditions are reluctant to teach that kind of practice to anyone,

Before the students have great clarity in terms of attachment and letting go.

Understanding that these are very high states of being,

Very powerful states,

But they're not liberation.

High-body,

Permanent mind states.

So,

Concentration,

Calm,

Abiding,

Is an important,

Is a great means in practice,

Is worthy of all our effort.

And yet,

Concentration does not have the power to liberate us,

To definitely liberate us from the hindrances and from all other misperceiving and tormenting factors of heart and mind.

It has the power to suspend them as long as it is active.

It's almost like,

Unless we create special circumstances in our life,

We go back to busy life,

We have to somehow deposit concentration somewhere on the way out to sky a house or maybe in Newton Ave at the latest,

Or the latest in back in London.

It doesn't stay,

And when it doesn't stay,

Tensions come back.

It is powerful to allow us to see very deeply.

It creates an ideal inner environment to then apply inside meditation,

To look,

To investigate,

To understand,

To see things as they are.

But it's the seeing,

The understanding that eventually is needed.

But it's a wonderful,

Powerful tool to deepen our heart qualities.

Deepen heart qualities such as metta,

Because then the qualities it associates with do blossom,

Do become strong in our heart and mind and touch and transform us.

More than anything,

It's most helpful to then be able to practice inside meditation in an effective,

In a deep way,

In a way that then can be truly freeing and liberating.

We have these wonderful teachings and we have the necessary support here.

The support from staff,

People cooking,

Managing,

Organizing for us teachers,

The environment,

Beautiful place here.

It's a fabulous opportunity and situation we have here.

So let's make best use of it and let's enjoy it in a very deeply meaningful way.

I'd like to sit quietly for a moment.

Thank you for listening.

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