3 Background to the Concentrations and Formless Absorptions

Although the concentrations and formless absorptions are called unfluctuating actions, "unfluctuating" does not mean that those who have cultivated these meditative absorptions are necessarily born in the Form or Formless Realms, for there are many Bodhi-sattvas who engage in these meditative absorptions not for the purpose of being born in these realms but for the sake of enhancing their minds. Many non-Buddhists also cultivate these eight absorptions; however, they do not use them, as Buddhists do, to gain other important minds and to progress on the path. In this context, the four concentrations and the four formless absorptions are extremely important.

Who can generate the concentrations and formless absorptions? Those who cannot generate them are the beings in the three bad migrations- hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals. Even if they tried to cultivate them, they could not. The reason is that, as a fruition of their past deeds, they suffer a great deal and have no opportunity to develop these concentrations and absorptions. Because demigods are strongly afflicted by jealousy, they, too, cannot generate these concentrations and absorptions. The three

Background 49

higher types of gods of the Desire Realm, 1 gods of no discrimina-tion in the Great Fruit Land of the Fourth Concentration, and humans who live in the northern continent, Unpleasant Sound, are also unable to generate the concentrations and formless absorptions. Gods of no discrimination do not have.the capacity to analyze; without the power to analyze, it is impossible to generate the concentrations and formless absorptions. The three higher types of gods ofthe Desire Realm and the humans ofthe northern continent e~perience a continuous wonderful fruition of past actions. Thus, they do not have untimely death; things go well for them, and they experience the fruition of good past actions so strongly that they do not have much to think about and, therefore, do not have strong power of thought. Because they do not have the power of analysis, they cannot generate the concentrations and formless absorptions.

The three lower types of gods ofthe Desire Realm and humans of the other three continents can generate them. Among these humans, however, the neuter, the impotent, and the androgynous cannot generate them. The reason is that such people have par-ticularly strong afflictions; their minds are continuously held by such affiictions as desire, anger, and jealousy. Because there is no time at which they are free of these affiictions, they have no opportunity to cultivate paths. Thus, there is no case of the new attainment of the concentrations and formless absorptions by the neuter, the impotent, and the androgynous.2

Both males and females of the three continents can generate the concentrations and absorptions. However, not all males and females in the three continents can generate them. Those who have accumulated the actions of abandoning religious doctrine cannot, nor can those who have committed any of the heinous crimes (anantarya, mtshams med pa), such as killing one's father or mother. Humans who have committed any of those par-ticularly strong sinful actions have a very strong karmic ob-struction. Until they have engaged in a means of purifying it, they cannot generate the concentrations and formless absorptions. Thus, those who can generate the concentrations and absorptions are the three lower types of gods of the Desire Realm and those

50 Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism

males and females in the three continents who have not committed any of the heinous crimes or who have engaged in a means of purifying them.3

What is the mode of cultivation of the concentrations and formless absorptions? To attain a concentration, it is necessary to attain a preparation for a concentration. (The means of attaining a concentration is called a preparation for a concentration; that which is attained is the actual [maula, dngos gzhz1 concentration.) To attain a preparation for a concentration, one has to cultivate calm abiding (shamatha, zhi gnas) and special insight ( vipashyanii, !hag mthong). All auspicious religious attainments arise from the cultivation of calm abiding and special insight -either from calm abiding and special insight themselves or from similitudes of calm abiding or special insight. This is said because these attainments come from engaging in stabilizing meditation (jog sgom) and analytical meditation (dpyad sgom ). Stabilizing meditation is the cultivation of calm abiding; analytical meditation is the cultivation of special insight.

What are the benefits of cultivating calm abiding? Calm abiding is a state in which one sets one's mind on an object of observation (a!ambana, dmigs pa). Setting the mind on the object is likened to tying an elephant to a post. The rope symbolizes mindfulness (smrti, dran pa); the post symbolizes the object of observation; the elephant symbolizes one's mind (chitta, sems). It is said that, if we tie the elephant ofthe mind to the post of an object of observation with the rope of mindfulness, we can achieve any good quality we want - for example, clairvoyance (abhijna, mngon shes). More-over, tying our minds to an internal object of observation is like tying up all possible external sources of harm, as well; external sources of harm will be unable to inflict damage. If we have not disciplined our .own minds, we cannot succeed in subduing an external enemy; we will only have more enemies. Therefore, taming our own minds is explained as taming all external sources of harm.

What is the benefit of cultivating special insight? Buddha said that all the various practices he set forth, such as giving, were for the sake of developing wisdom. The great Indian pal).c;lita

Background 51

Shantideva also said that all other practices are for the sake of generating wisdom.4 The reason is that, if we do not cultivate special insight - if we do not generate wisdom in our mental continua - it is impossible to uproot the affiictions - desire, anger, jealousy, and so forth. However, when we have special insight in our continua, we can overcome our enemies, the affiic-tions. Another Indian pal)Q.ita, Aryadeva, made this comparison: ignorance is to the afnictions as the body sense power is to the other sense powers. Just as all the senses abide in the body and depend on the body sense power, all the affiictions depend on ignorance; if we overcome ignorance, we overcome all affiic-tions.

It is necessary to generate both calm abiding and special insight. If we cultivate calm abiding but not special insight, we are like someone who has a strong body but no eyes;even if we deyelop stability through cultivating calm abiding, if we do not have special insight we do not have the wisdom to see. However, it would also be insufficient to cultivate special insight but not calm abiding. If we did so, we would be like someone who has strong eyesight but a weak body; because he staggers, he cannot see f'orms steadily. Thus, a person who has cultivated some special insight but does not have the stability factor of calm abiding cannot see reality clearly.

Since both calm abiding and special insight are necessary, which should we cultivate first? In general, it is said that we should cultivate calm abiding first and then, after that, cultivate special insight. This is said because, if we have not previously cultivated calm abiding, we have no opportunity to develop special insight. However, there are cases of cultivating a similitude of special insight before cultivating calm abiding. For example, to cultivate calm abiding itself, it may be necessary to suppress such affiictions as desire and hatred. To suppress them somewhat, we first engage in the cultivation of special insight; we practise a type of analytical meditation and then cultivate calm abiding. This will be explained in greater detail later. (See pages 82-86.)