February 13, 2010
Three Levels and Two Kinds of Concentration
This has been revised due to a minor error. The mistake occurred to me during a conversation at an on line forum. Discussing ideas without attachment to conclusions is just very helpful. I had confused Khanika Samadhi; or moment to moment concentration with Parikamma Samadhi; or preliminary concentration. It appears that Khanika Samadhi is actually the same as what I was calling mindful concentration.
In the general context of meditation, the negative mental states we wish to overcome are the Five Hindrances; something I have already discussed in some detail. To review, these are, in one word each; sensuality, enmity, apathy, angst, and cynicism. In this initial stage of right exertion, we are not looking to eradicate them, our goal is to suspend them; to get past them for a while. As I noted, the term that is translated as hindrance can also mean veil. In this case, hindrance is the better word, as they hinder our effort to concentrate. That would apply to Calming and Concentration Meditations in general. When applied to Mindfulness and Insight Meditations, veils becomes the more descriptive translation. We shall come to back to that in future entries.
The initial goal, the reason to get past the five hindrances, is to achieve samadhi. That is a word that has been given lots of different and sometimes exotic. mystical, or romantic meanings. In Buddhism, it usually simply means concentration. The Pali and Sanskrit words are the same; samadhi. The most accepted etymology breaks that down into three; sam = with, together, or integrate + a = toward + dhi. Most sources I find give dhi as meaning intellect; but some give it as to place, put, impart, or hold. For now, I am going with the latter; though, from context, 'mind' can be inferred. So samadhi means something like hold [the mind] together, with [mental] integration, or put [the mind] together. The hindrances need to be suspended precisely because they do the opposite of holding the mind together; they make one scatter brained.
Finally, there is the concept of levels and kinds of concentration. This evidently appears only in the Pali Commentaries; not the Discourses {Suttas} themselves. Despite that, I think it is a useful concept.
1. Parikamma Samadhi; Preliminary or Preparation Concentration: This is the entry level of Absorption Meditation. At this level, the object of concentration is an external sign or symbol. Also, the 5 hindrances are not yet overcome.
2. Upacara Samadhi; Neighborhood or Access Concentration: At this level, the material symbol for the object is replaced by a mental image. Also, the Five Hindrances are subdued.
3a. Appana Samadhi; Fixed or Absorption Conentration: At this level, the five factors of Absorption displace the five hindrances.
3b. Khanika Samadhi; Moment-to-Moment or Mindful Concentration: Instead of 'fixing' on an object. the mind moves from object to object. Generally, the objects are the four frameworks of mindfulness. This is the kind of concentration associated with Vipassana. Right now, I think the first two levels can apply here.
Originally Posted by rbeck at January 5, 2010 03:29 PM
Posted by rbeck at February 13, 2010 11:25 PMThe fishing story works well. Took me to a serene place and helped me understand. :)
Posted by: QQ at January 7, 2010 09:39 AMOne time was bank fishing for catfish. There were three older guys there. All were bottom fishing with no bobber. That calls for line watching.
One guy was all distracted and 'jumpy;' he kept misplacing things, and missing bites. He was constantly cussing too. Also, he reacted to everything that happened around us. He was maybe seeing the forest in a blurry way; but missing the trees.
Another was so engrossed in his line watching; that he seemed unaware of anything. People would say something to him; he did not even hear it. I noticed a fixed, blissful smile on his face. He caught some fish, but missed a few because he was almost lost in a reverie type trance state. It was like he reduced the forest to one tree, and saw nothing else. His concentration was like Shamatha; almost in jhana absorption -- one pointed to the point that he was losing sensory contact.
The third guy was calm but alert. He was taking everything in; the big picture. He was chatting with me; pointing out different kinds of trees and birds, discussing currents, noticing who came and who left. He was rigging hooks at the same time. All the while, he watched his line and never missed a bite. He was mindful. He was seeing both the forest and each tree.
>>>Also, could you relate the above to Zhiyi's Stopping and Seeing formulation?
The word mistranslated as stopping is shamatha; samatha in pali. My understanding is that, In Buddhagosa's system, that refers to the 4 jhanas, 4 samapattis, and Nirodha; sometimes called the 8 jhanas and nirodha.
Shamatha is better translated as Concentration; but even better as 'Calm Abiding' It is a one-pointed focus; an absorption. Shama = calm, still, tranqil + tha = abide. The Chinese word means something like cessation; that is how Cleary got stopping. We are talking about a kind of concentration on a single object; everything else is tuned out -- absorption concentration. One person grossly mistranslates Samatha as mindfulness.
'Seeing' is an all right translation of vipashyana; vipassana in Pali. Vi = apart, in this case, as in set apart from the ordinary and usual usage. Here it indicates something spiritual or extraordinary. Passa means sight in the sense of seeing and sorting out -- like inspect.. Passana could mean inspection. Vipassa can mean insight or clear sight. Na is a cognate of 'ing' and makes it noun indicating either the act or process of {action noun, gerund}, or the state achieved. My preferred English translation of vipassana is spiritual introspection; insight is more common. 'Clear seeing' works.
Mindfulness is a translation of Sati /Smrti. The words literally mean remembrance. The Chinese word means attention. Mindfulness is the method taught by the Buddha to do Vipassana. There are four mindfulnesses. Whereas Shamatha is absorbed; mindfulness is attentive. Shamatha sees a tree. Smrti sees a forest; it is mindful or insight concentration. Dharmajim once called smrti it a 'spatial awareness;' whereas as Shamatha is highly concentrated.
As always, that is my take. I am real confident on this one. It took me 4 years to sort it out and correct my earlier mis-takes.
"All three of those, iirc, refer to the Training of Concentration Meditation. The type of concentration attained for the Training of Mindfulness or Insight Meditation is a tad different."
R,
Can you expand a little on the difference between Concentration Meditation and the concentration related to Mindfulness?
My impression was that mindfulness is concentration training.
Also, could you relate the above to Zhiyi's Stopping and Seeing formulation?
Posted by: QQ at January 6, 2010 07:58 AM