September 25, 2005
Jhana {Dhyana} Absorptions
On Meditative States
Mindfulness Cultivation
In the comments at Phantom City, I wrote, "The 4 rupa-jhanas and the 4 arupa jhanas."
Charles responded with a question: "I love your lingo and alliteration, but what the hell are you referring to?"
Here is my answer:
You mentioned the 3-D experience while chanting with the Mandala, {Five Surreal Moments 3. 3D Gohonzon} I think the explanation for those is found in the Suttas. In the Suttas, the dhyanas, or jhanas in Pali, are described, I believe, as meditative trances, experienced while in deep samadhi. The best translation of jhana I have seen is 'meditative absorption'.
Note that the terms samadhi and dhyana are used much differently in Buddhism than in Patanjali Yoga. I would be simplistic to say they are reversed, since they are totally different things, based on different world-views and goals. There are 4 main rupa-jhanas or form absorptions. The rupa-jhanas appear to be experiences of the 4 main levels of the Brahma Heavens in the rupa-loka, or Realm of Form. The Realm of Form refers to meditative heavens, where beings are free of lusty desire {kama}, but still attached to form & contact {rupa}.
My experience is that the rupa-jhanas can be 'triggered' with chanting meditations geared to cultivation of metta {loving kindness}, karuna {compassion}, muditta {joy}, and upeksha {equanimity}. These cultivations, if I understand correctly, are classified as a form of the Samatha {Calming}-Smrti {Mindfulness} practices. See Also: Metta Sutta and scroll down for a nice explanation of the Brahma-Vihara.
I believe these are what evolved into the popular forms of Pure Land. And, it is my theory that the practice of Nembutsu elicits an experience like the Form Absorptions {rupa-jhanas}. These are very ecstatic meditative states. The weakness I see, in what Honen apparently taught {exclusive reliance on Nembutsu}, is that one is left there, relying on 'other power' and waiting for the next life to advance.
As an aside, there are other calming-mindfulness practices, such as centering. It is these that I think evolved into the popular Koan-Zen of Nonin, Doryu, etc.
There are also 4 arupa jhanas, associated with the more advanced Vipassana {Insight}-Prajna {Wisdom} practices. These might be experiences of the arupa-loka or formless heavens. There, beings are free of desire and contact. I suspect the Soto Zen of Dogen is based partly on realizing these, but I have no direct experience to support that theory.
I will briefly add that the practices of Samatha-Smrti are, I think, the same as ‘Jo' in Kai- Jo- E, and deal with conventional, conditioned, or conceptual reality {sammutti}. The intent was/is to calm the Klesha {bonno} overcome hindrances, {link}, and allow the student to lucidly enter samadhi. The metta cultivations, according to one story, were taught to monks, to enable them to tame hungry ghosts {preta}, and dwell fearlessly in the jungle. Link
The Vipassana-Prajna Practices would then correspond to ‘E ‘ and deal with ultimate reality {paramattha}. The intent is to eradicate the Klesha and cultivate direct insight into the three marks or signs of conditioned existence.
Before concluding, I want to add that a jhana, or meditative absorption experience, is, in my experience, not necessarily pleasant. It can be creepy or even hellish. Aldous Huxley's books "The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell" comes to mind. At any rate, this is why the metta cultivations, IMO, are very useful, if not vital. There is a surreality to life that is both frightening and intriguing. We can ignore it, or explore it, both at our own peril.
The caution is that one should not confuse blissful meditative states with Enlightenment. For a Nichiren Buddhist, our form of Vipassana Bhavana {Insight Cultivation or Kanjin}; which is chanting the Odaimoku, is always central. Our primary Samatha{s} {Shi or Jo] are Lotus Sutra Recitation and Mandala Contemplation. Metta Bhavana is supplemental. Also, I try to remain mindful that prajna (E, chi, or wisdom) is, in the beginning, replaced with Faith and Devotion {Shrada/Bhakti/Shin}.
Posted by rbeck at June 29, 2005 07:05 PM
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four meditation heavens
[四禅天] (Jpn.: shizenten)
Also, four dhyana heavens. The four heavens that constitute the world of form. They are named ordinally-the first meditation heaven, the second meditation heaven, and so on-in ascending order of altitude and quality. They are further subdivided into eighteen heavens. When, by practicing the four stages of meditation, one frees oneself of the illusions of the world of desire, one can be reborn among these four meditation heavens. The four meditation heavens are also regarded as four levels of consciousness that one can attain by practicing the corresponding meditation.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
world of form
[色界] (Skt.: rupa-dhatu; Pali.: rupa-dhatu; Jpn.: shiki-kai)
Also, world of matter. The middle division of the threefold world, located above the world of desire. Beings in this realm have physical bodies and are subject to certain material restrictions, but are free of desire and feed on light. The world of form consists of the four meditation heavens and is further subdivided into eighteen heavens (sixteen or seventeen according to other explanations). The highest is the Akanishtha Heaven, or Summit of Being Heaven. The Sanskrit word rupa means form, outward appearance, color, phenomenon, or thing, and dhatu means world or realm.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
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September 23, 2005
What is Emptiness?
On the Three-Fold Training
Nirvana, Deathlessnes, & Emptiness
Ki to Revitalization
Wisdom-Insight Cultivation
Living Buddhism: The Teaching Of Sunyata: Non-Substantiality
Greeting Good Dharma Friends:
Peter Johnson, "dieukinh": The three truths are subject to limitless different interpretations. Here is one: Link
Until quite recently, I held tightly to the notion that Ketai {rupa, form, substantiality} referred to material or physical existence, and Kutai referred to mentality and ideas; or a sort of potential or latency. It was natural, then, to view Chutai as an Essence, Abiding Principle, or Spiritual Constancy.
Now, some might deny there is anything constant, other than inter-dependant origination or conditioned existence. But consider these words of the Buddha:
"There is, monks, an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated. If there were not that unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated is discerned." -- Ud 8.3
"There is that dimension where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither dimension of the infinitude of space, nor dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, nor dimension of nothingness, nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; neither this world, nor the next world, nor sun, nor moon. And there, I say, there is neither coming, nor going, nor staying; neither passing away nor arising: unestablished, unevolving, without
support (mental object). This, just this, is the end of stress." -- Ud 8.1 Nibbana Sutta {Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu}
My present view is that Sunyatta or Ku refers to this "thatness" which is constant, unborn, unconditioned, deathless, timeless, without spatial limitation etc. Ketai, Rupa, or form then refers to the transient, born, created, mortal; that which defined by self limiting concepts of Time and Space.
We can see that physical forms are transient, born, created, mortal, defined by limits of Time and Space. But this is even moreso true of the mental formations generated by the manas & mano vijnana {6th & 7th Consciousnesses}. For that reason, I can no longer view Sunyatta as referring to the thought processes of the brain or abstract conceptualizations of the ego-mind.
Put another way, Rupa, Form, or Ketai is a view of things from the standpoint of sammutti or conventional reality; while Kutai or Sunyatta is a view of things from the standoint of paramattha or ultimate reality. So, in Emptiness, we already have our Constant Spiriiual Reality. Chutai is not a third reality, it encompasses both sammutti & paramattha .
Emptiness, Paramattha, Insight, Amala Vijnana, Bodhi-Citta, and Budddha-Nature, are all pointing the Deathless Pari-Nirvana. I think.
Three's: Connecting Dots
Ki to Revitalization
On the Three-Fold Training
Wisdom-Insight Cultivation
Santai, the Three Truths or Three Realities
"The truth of non-substantiality {Ku} means that phenomena have no existence of their own; their true nature is non-substantial, indefinable in terms of existence or nonexistence.
"The truth of temporary existence {Ke} means that, although non-substantial, all things possess a temporary reality that is in constant flux."
"The truth of the Middle Way {Chu} means that the true nature of phenomena is that they are neither non-substantial nor temporary, though they display attributes of both." -- The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
In Buddhist Study, there is always a temptation to "connect the dots" to reconcile various teachings of the Dharma. Sometimes this can lead one to a deeper, more general undertanding. This, in turn, enables one to make the Dharma more adaptable to diverse cultures and thereby, more accessible to more people. But, if we are too careless, it can recklessly cross pollinate incompatible ideas, creating hybrid concepts that lead to dead ends.
Consider the concept of Tiratana or Ratna-Traya, the Triple Jewel in which a Buddhist takes refuge. This has been translated into Chinese both as the Three Treasures {sambo} and Threefold Refuge {san-ki or san-kie or sankikai}, creating two concepts out of what is really one.
These can also easily be confused with an unrelated Nichiren concept; Treasures Of The Heart , from the The Three Kinds of Treasure Gosho: "More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all."-- (M.W., Vol. 2, p. 279; Shinpen, p. 1173)
In a previous post, The Beginning: Taking Refuge, I 'connected the dots' between various 'threes' or triads. (see below)**
*Precept; Sila {Kai} = Sangha = Vinaya/Samaya = Shravaka = Body = Mudra = Kaidan = Nyoze So {Appearence} = Nirmanakaya {Ojin}
*Meditation; Samadhi-Dhyana {Jo} = Buddha =Samatha = Pratyeka = Mind = Mandala = Honzon = Nyoze Sho (Nature, Seed, Matrix) = Ascended Body/Sambhoga-Kaya {Hoshin}
*Wisdom; Prajna/Panna, Midfulness {E}= Dharma = Vipassana = Bodhisattva = Mouth= Mantra = Daimoku = Nyoze Tai (Entity, Source) = Dharma-Kaya {Hosshin}
Looking at that again, the Three Kinds of Treasure might fit too. It is also tempting to tie in the Three Vehicles (Tri-Yana) and the Tiantai concept of Santai, or Ku-Ke-Chu-no-Santai. I have seen both done, and I want to address the latter.
The difficulty and confusion came about because the SGI, in the past, spread a mistaken East Asian interpretation that tried to connect dots which are not there. Specifically, there a was bad connection of Ketai {Substance} with Nyoze So {Appearence}, , Kutai {Emptiness}with Nyoze Sho {nature, matrix}, and Chutai {Middle}with Nyoze Tai {Entity}.
Ku, or Sunyatta, was incorrectly translated as latency or potential. It was also connected to the mind, and the after death Bardo state. Ke, or rupa, was incorrectly translated as active or manifest. It was also connected to the physical body and incarnate life. Chutai, the Middle Way was viewed as a sort of soul or spiritual essence.
This appears to work, but breaks down. We are left with a wrong view of Emptiness. Brian Holly helped me sort that out. In fact, I think Brian was instrumental in getting the Soka Gakkai to drop the old 'Toda view' and go with the traditional view of Sunyatta as taught by Nagarjuna , and of Ku-Ke-Chu-no-Santai as taught by the Tiantai School.
I see 'santai' as the three ways of looking at reality:
1. Ku: The ultimate, non-dual realiy
2. Ke: The conventional, dual reality.
3. Chu: Encompasses both.
Sunyatta means Emptiness, not formlessness. It is a not a potential, or latency, or mentality. All things are empty just as they are. They are neither formless nor not-formless. Body & Mind, Self & Others, Life and Environment, are two {ke}, but not two {ku}. Things possess a self nature and do not possess a self nature.
Ketai is not simply the physical reality {the Rupa-dhatu, realm of form, is not even on the gross material vibratory plane}. It is the view that mind & body, self & others, or life & environment are two. Ketai is the conventional {sammutti} view that there is a self that cultivates merit and reincarnates.
Kutai is the ultimate {paramattha} view that there is no self; nothing is ever born, nothing ever dies. Emptiness is another way of expressing "The Three Signs/Marks of Existence: Anicca or Impermanence; Dukkha or Unsatisfactoriness & stress inducing; and Anatta or Insubstantial & Not-self. All conditioned things are impermanent. Because of this they give rise to affliction and they are Not-self. What we call "self " is a process of being & becoming; not a 'thing".
Another way to put it {maybe} is So {General} and Betsu {specific}. By the processes of generalization {So} & discrimination {Betsu} we can assign things to sets and subsets. But, ultimately, all things belong to one set, or there are no sets.
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism non-substantiality (Jpn.: ku; Skt.: shunya or shunyata)
A fundamental Buddhist concept, also translated as emptiness, void, latency, or relativity. The Sanskrit shunya or shunyatameans emptiness. Shunya also means "empty" and "empty of." It is the concept that things and phenomena have no fixed or independent nature or existence of their own.
Non-substantiality is neither negative nor world-negating but teaches the importance of perceiving the true nature of phenomena, which are on the surface transient. The Wisdom sutras developed the Mahayana concept of non-substantiality and Nagarjuna (c. 150-250) systematized it based on them. This concept originated in connection to those of dependent origination and of the nonexistence of self-nature. Dependent origination means that, because phenomena arise only by virtue of their relationship with other phenomena, they have no distinct nature or existence of their own. Nonexistence of self-nature means that there is no independent entity that exists alone, apart from other phenomena. The common message is that the true nature of all phenomena is non-sub-stantiality, and that it cannot be defined in terms of the concepts of existence and nonexistence. Nagarjuna explained it as the Middle Way, a perspective that regards the categories of existence and nonexistence as extremes, and aims to transcend them. The practical purpose behind the teaching of non-substantiality lies in eliminating attachments to transient phenomena and to the ego, or the perception of self as an independent and fixed identity.
More:
three truths[三諦] (Jpn.: san-tai)
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**In a previous post, The Beginning: Taking Refuge, I 'connected the dots' between various 'threes' or triads:
three types of learning [三学] (Jpn.: san-gaku) aka three-fold training
aka kai-jo-e Sila, Samadhi-Dhyana, Panna/Prajna; Precept, Meditation, Wisdom.
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Three Treasures {sambo} and Threefold Refuge {san-ki or san-kie or sankikai}
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threefold contemplation in a single mind [一心三観] (Jpn.: isshin-san-gan)
three mysteries [三密] (Jpn.: san-mitsu)
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three bodies [三身] (Skt.: trikaya; Jpn.: san-jin)
September 09, 2005
Three Views of New Orleans
Bush rules out significant federal aid to hurricane victims