Meditation for True Happiness

1. Intro
True happiness – because meditation not only helps one to be healthy and content – but also to be free from ignorance, affliction, hatred, and avarice - and to be free from or maintain the balance of attachments – both in scale and quality. These six attributes of happiness were discussed in another Happiness piece posted earlier. We have seen there that our regular experience of happiness is flitty and ephemeral for all different reasons. Also that – happiness is something we cherish and hold dearest of all. From time immemorial, religions and philosophies all around the world – strived hard to find ways to lengthen the experience of happiness. Buddha’s (Gautama Buddha - The Tathagata; 624 – 544 BCE) answer to this query focused on mind – on calming and purifying it – because he has taught that mind is the forerunner and breeder of everything we do and experience. Therefore true happiness lies in calming the mind by systematic meditative pursuits – in order to see things as they are – to rightly know oneself – to embrace all in loving sprinkle. Calming the mind is like leaving it behind – to be totally present at what one is doing - to be simple - to refresh the thought processes to purity.
A simple way to understand it is like this: as we cleanse our body to remain healthy – so do we need to keep our mind clean by emptying it – from unhealthy elements of unwholesome mental formations, delusion, and bad distraction and influences. Such requirements ask for mind training meditation pursuits to achieve a clean pure state of mind. The essays on The Power of Mind, Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana, Dharma Conversation and The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom - highlight some of the insights of the Buddha Dharma - that one requires for fruitful experiences of meditation practices. 
Unhappiness or flitting nature of happiness must be understood from two simple perspectives. First is the processes of life and Nature, a part of them defined by the declining phases of waning and demise. This undeniable Truth is also the causes of unhappiness, if one fails to understand it and clings to the expectation that waxing phases last forever. The second has two aspects – rooted in the phenomena of mind. One is clinging to the pleasant periods without realizing that such periods do not have a long life. In a similar vein, clinging to unpleasant periods (also do not have a long life) causes misery. The other is the making of one’s mind that brings about unwholesome thoughts and deeds – in societal actions and reactions. The Buddha’s teaching says that one must understand all these Truths – and meditation is the best way to prolong the happiness experiences by understanding the Truths deeply – and by letting things go. Meditation lets purifying the processes of mind – thus clearing the way for sprouting of sublime qualities in the practicing individuals.
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2. Meditation as a Devotional Practice
Over the past two decades or so, meditation has become a household name – perhaps more in Western countries than in the East – although the practice as a systematic process originated in the East. Many websites and glossy health and lifestyle magazines advertise initiatives offering meditative lessons and cures – and are full of articles on its benefits on mind and body. As a process of stress management, even some government agencies have been asking their employees to meditate by facilitating lessons for them. According to Russian psychologist, Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936): meditation calms one’s mind to stability and health – it not only helps streamlining of thought processes, or sometimes annihilating them for total relaxation, but also stimulates releasing of many healthy hormones in one’s body. The term originally derived from Latin – refers to contemplation or reflection on an object to attain the clarity for its existence.
The meditation term is also used to refer to some devotional religious practices or prayer rituals – the purpose in such cases is to reach – and to get blessings from God or gods. They are mostly organized and performed as devotional ritualistic trances; some examples are: Samanic Rituals, Sufi Whirling, Islamic Zikir and Sikh Kirtan. In Hinduism, the practice not only includes such trance-like prayer rituals, but also dancing and yogic/acrobatic meditative routines. Buddhist festivals and celebrations also include devotional songs depicting life of the Buddha and Jataka tales – and in the greater Bengal of India, the first text in Bengali script is Charyapada – a Buddhist devotional song – written in the 12th century. Christian monks and priests sit in calm meditations to reach God and spirits – asking forgiveness. All these practices show the power of devotion – mostly without any contemplative pursuit. Sometimes trance-like prayer rituals cause practitioners succumbing to uncontrolled crying – even fainting.
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3. Meditation in Buddhism
In true meaning of the term, Buddhism teaches Dyana, Bhavana or meditation as a necessity for peace and happiness in life. The rationale for this necessity is made clear - with the meditation practices envisioned as way of Mind Training - the Right Training through meditation is so essential because mind foreruns and breeds everything one does. The practice lets one to get out of the slavery shackled by his or her mind – in order to become the master of it – to guide it in the right direction of happiness. Perhaps there cannot be any saying more powerful than what the Buddha said 2.5 millennia ago: Be happy – and let others become happy. He was saying that – not only do we have the responsibility for our own well-being – but also for others – because without a collective happiness goal, a peaceful harmonious social living is unattainable. The Buddha taught it in his First Turning of the Dharmachakra or the Wheel of Law – as part of the Noble Eightfold Path or the Middle Way. His Ratan Sutta Discourse delivered to alleviate the suffering of Licchavis at Vaishali highlights the healing benefits of listening to the Three Gems (ratna) sutra of Buddhism – that includes the wellbeing effects of Bhavana or Samadhi. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama (1935 - ) has put it simply: The purpose of our life is to be happy.
The 9th Chapter Kammatthana of the Abhidhamma Pitaka details out how meditation or mind training can be practiced to obtain the best benefits from it. Methods of meditation practices, the preparation required of the subject or the practitioner, and the objects of meditation to focus on – are all elaborated by the Buddha for the benefit of practitioners. It identifies three stages of meditation: Parikamma or the preparatory stage; Upacara or the beneficial stage leading to deep meditation; and Appana or the stage of deep absorption of the meditation object. Further, ten Anusati (or repetition of mindfulness) were recommended for advanced practitioners delving deep into Buddhism.
In Buddhist meditation, there are no prayer rituals – either to the Buddha or to any gods; although most teachers ask practitioners to pay homage to the Buddha three times – to respect the great teacher, and to express gratitude that his teaching is benefiting them. I am not a regular practitioner of meditation, but I have seen my parents sitting calmly – for regular Bhavana after the evening prayer to the Buddha. I have taken a few meditation classes in a Thai Temple in Vancouver. In another meditation class, set in a more secular setting, but taught by a Buddhist monk, I saw a Muslim couple, a Sikh family and a group of Catholics.
Out of curiosity, I asked the leading Catholic priest what brought him into the class. He said, the Buddha taught his meditation method as a systematic secular practice, therefore it is not restrictive to Buddhists only. He basically echoed what the famous Vipassana meditation teacher, SN Goenka (1924 – 2013) said: The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught the Dhamma – the way to liberation – which is universal. In fact, most of the people who participate in meditation lessons and retreats all around the world, are not practicing Buddhists (in conventional understanding of the term). If the Buddha in Dharmakaya (Buddhists believe that although the Rupakaya or the body of the historic Shakyamuni Buddha died in 544 BCE, his Dharmakaya or Mahabodhi lives on – as the Buddha Amitabha or Buddha Vairocana) is watching, he would be very happy to see that his teaching is benefiting all mankind irrespective of differences in beliefs or faiths.
Writing this piece is kind of a learning process, and is inspired by some Buddhanet publications: DT Suzuki (1935), Manual of Zen Buddhism; DM Burns (1994), Buddhist Meditation and Depth Psychology; MT Mon Dr. (1995), Buddha Abhidhamma – Ultimate Science; Ting Chen (1999), The Fundamentals of Meditation Practice; Sujiva (2000), Essentials of Insight Meditation Practice; Jing Hui (2004), The Gates of Chan Buddhism; PA Sayadaw (--), Mindfulness of Breathing & Four Elements of Meditation; SU Kundala (--), Dhamma Discourses on Vipassana Meditation; and meditation lectures of TN Hanh (1926 - 2022).
This piece is built upon 4 other pieces posted earlier: The Power of Mind; Symmetry, Stability and Harmony; The All-embracing Power of Sublimities; and Happiness – the Likeness of a Water Drop on Lotus Pad. Let me rehash a little bit to clarify the meditation requirement in Buddhism. The Buddha’s Way for happiness – the Noble Eightfold Path is grouped into three: Purity of Morality, Purity of View and Purity of Mind. Among these three – the Purity of Mind is paramount – because mind is the forerunner of everything we do, mind is the chief of them, and one’s experience of the observed is colored by his or her own mindset. That – the only peaceful way to influence others’ actions and reactions is by controlling and refining one’s mind – not by anything else. The famous fox-turtle parable illustrated by the Buddha shows a glimpse to this effect: seeing the belligerent approach of a hungry fox, a turtle responded by retreating into its shell – giving the fox no other option but to abandon its pursuing efforts. Further, actions or reactions with a defiled or impure mind make a person very vulnerable to doing unwholesome activities and becoming unhappy.
Before going into the topic I like to briefly delve into the difference in meditation experience. No two individuals go through it in the same capacity because of the difference in personality traits. In Buddhism a person’s individuality is identified by the dominance of one of the following six traits: (1) greedy natured – those who are shameless in pursuing whatever method required to accumulate money and possessions, (2) hate natured – those who are intolerant and get easily agitated and angry, (3) dull natured – those who have difficulty in understanding things, (4) faithful natured – those who are pious and venerate without questioning, (5) intelligent natured – those who emphasize on reasoning and are not easily convinced, and (6) ruminating natured – those who oscillate between ideas and are indecisive. Meditation masters understand these differences - with the Abhidhamma Pitaka saying that each of these of personality types should focus on different objects for best results. Therefore, meditation needs patience from the practitioner as well as from the teacher. But each step is rewarding and yields a certain degree of relaxation, insight and happiness.
One more thing before moving forward. Perhaps, the Buddhist process of mindfulness and meditative concentration can best be understood by delving into the role of Five Aggregates (see The Power of Mind) that define all the arising and demise of consciousness in human mind. Required of meditative pursuits, and to properly modulate – mind the sixth sense – all body-senses (seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching) need to be closed (for the best benefits of meditation). One of these senses – the smelling nose is also the conduit of breathing or life. Therefore after closure of other senses, and emptying the mind of hindrances – one needs to focus on the life-line breathing – to feel relaxed and stress-free, and to attain the bliss of meditation – by Letting Things Go, and by Learning the Truth. Apart from such meditation processes, as briefly mentioned before, the popular practices of listening to chanting and devotional songs – let the positive energy of sound permeate into one’s being – to peace and happiness – and to fellow-feeling in communal chanting as in gatherings and congregations.
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4. Meditation - an Integral Part of the Enlightened Way
I like to start building this piece from the fundamentals of Buddhism – the Noble Eightfold Path. As pointed out earlier, it represents the trio of: Purity of Morality, Purity of View and Purity of Mind. They are presented by the Buddha as a wheel – meaning that the trio is interdependent, and happiness depends on the accomplishment of the three. But then, the Buddha’s teaching says that mind as the forerunner of everything. Therefore the Purity of Mind – the meditation practice of mind control and training comes first. Buddhist scriptures describe two different meditation types: the Samatha or tranquility, and the Vipassana or insight. The two and the accompanying Purities are not mutually exclusive, however. It is because they are interwoven into mindfulness and meditative concentration. The interconnectedness of meditation types is powerfully elucidated by the Buddha in the Mahasatipatthana Sutra (the great discourse of mindfulness). The two are integral to enlightenment or awakening as part of the seven factors – Mindfulness, Investigation, Energy, Joy, Tranquility, Concentration and Equanimity. As we shall see the purpose of Samatha and Vipassana meditations is essentially the same – that is to be happy – only they are two different ways.
The Purity of Mind is elaborated in the Path as: Right Effort or Samyak Prachesta, Right Mindfulness or Samyak Ekagrata, and Right Meditative Concentration or Dhyana. The word Right (Samyak in Sanskrit and Samma in Pali) is applied repeatedly as a qualifier – showing the Buddha’s emphasis on and necessity for it. In simple terms, the Buddha was saying that, all the constituents of the Way – must be conducted with the objective to be happy, and to let others become happy. Let us attempt to see the three constituents of the Purity of Mind.
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4.1 ☼ Right Effort, Diligence or Samma Vayama
The first effort must come from moral discipline described as one of the trio in the Noble Eightfold Path – the Purity of Morality (right speech, right action/reaction, and right livelihood), simply outlined as the basic Five Precepts or the Panchsila (see Symmetry, Stability and Harmony). Because without the accomplishments of moral discipline, a meditation practitioner is not well-poised to calm mind, relax and focus.
Detaching oneself from day-to-day contingencies so that the body and mind are free for meditation. And having the determination or motivation to go through meditation process.
Dressing in comfortable attire and selecting a well-ventilated area. The practitioner is expected to feel relaxed without any pressure whatsoever, and it is often helpful to keep eyes closed at least during the preliminary stages. At some stages, closing of eyes and other body sense organs help focusing on breathing to control the mind door.
For sitting meditation, a lotus position is preferable and recommended (but perhaps not absolutely necessary, because this position becomes comfortable after lots of practice, including yoga); for walking meditation the area should be free from obstacles, disturbance or hazard; and for lying meditation, a comfortable position is required. Walking and lying meditations are not conventional, but can yield valuable benefits of meditation.
Some examples of inspiring and suitable places are: bank of a river or an ocean, a hill top overlooking a valley or canyon. These quiet settings open the beauty of the vastness of Nature – and make one very humble; and are ideal for understanding the Natural processes and their relevance and implications in life and social interactions. The Buddha sat on the bank of Niranjan River (now known as the Phalgu River, a tributary of the Ganga River) under the shade of a Bodhi Tree during his enlightenment posture. For this reason, monks prefer to build Buddhist temples and monasteries on hill tops, rock cliffs and isolated wooded areas. In Zen meditation, monks often sit facing a rock garden (image credit: anon) – a rock garden is a tranquil depiction of the duo of actions and reactions that happen in one’s mind and in the society – similar like the wave processes in an ocean. Rocks are used as a metaphor for purity, as well as to indicate the individuality of each entity – but that in the totality of discipline and harmony – they create the beauty of tranquility.
The Buddha also suggested some meditation efforts to help understanding the pain and suffering that people go through. The purpose is to feel oneness with the sufferer in order to develop Sublime Qualities. To facilitate this, one is required to focus on the ugliness of life – to understand its vicious destructive effects. In such cases, meditation practitioners often choose efforts to replicate very harsh conditions of the sufferer, or of the ugliness.
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4.2 ☼ Right Mindfulness or Samma Sati
Right mindfulness is the next crucial step required to enter into the meditation process, and it is also the most difficult one. Mindfulness is the calming of mind that lets one to be present at – what he or she does by remaining awake {It has often been described differently by scholars and monks of different schools of Buddhism. For example, leaving the mind behind; and emptying the mind (as in Zen Buddhism, interpreting Emptiness as a method of Zen meditation practice). In these cases 'leaving' and 'emptying' refer to a state of mind that is agitated, uncontrolled, illusioned or clouded with a priori notions}. Most often we fail to do this – we do not give enough attention to our work, to the people we love or care about. This happens because our mind is simply not with us. This results in creating a distance with others – the object. When this happens with our loved ones, misunderstanding develops leading to unfortunate and sad consequences. This led TN Hanh to say that, the most precious gift we can offer is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers. Further, scholars highlight the practicality of it – saying that whatever (well, not everything – but wholesome deeds, and deeds with wholesome motives or thought processes) one does with mindfulness is Buddhism. The process of mindfulness has the power – to improve upon all phases of activities – working, walking, lying or sleeping, eating, studying or acquiring knowledge, socializing, etc. In all these, mindfulness bestows upon the satisfaction of sublime accomplishment.
The Buddha said, the difficulty of mindfulness is caused by the constant agitation and distraction of our mind – the likeness of clear water or a mirror – by one or more of the following five hindrances:

• the romantic and sensuous desire – the likeness of water mixed with manifold colors,
• the evil will – the likeness of boiling water,
• the sloth and indolence – the likeness of water covered with mosses,
• the restlessness and remorse – the likeness of agitated water whipped by wind, and
• the skeptical doubt – the likeness of turbid and muddy water.

These hindrances bother and cloud one’s mind despite all the necessary right efforts are materialized. And they cause the mind to wonder around – in space and time – resisting one’s efforts to hold on to it. The result is that one fails to see the true nature of oneself and others. In addition, a wandering mind tires the body and spirit – to the extent of mindlessness or mental illness (The Power of Mind). Therefore, the purpose of mindfulness is to clarify the mind-mirror – and once clarified and tranquilled, further meditation processes unfold naturally.
There are two basic types of objects to focus on – material and immaterial. On material objects or the body, the most preliminary recommended practice is to follow one’s breathing. It can either be done by paying attention to the tip of the nose while inhaling and exhaling – or by paying attention to the rise and fall of the navel while doing it. A regular meditation practitioner soon realizes the benefit of this preliminary important mindfulness step – as he or she starts feeling relaxed because of the presence of mind. As this step progresses, an advanced practitioner then focuses on immaterial objects – by following the wanderings of feelings and the mind – their rise and fall with emotions. This immaterial step lets one to know and understand oneself – his or her true nature – the strengths and weaknesses – and the transience of them and all existence. Once we know ourselves, we become better equipped with handling or managing us when faced with unwelcome and adverse situations.
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4.3 ☼ Right Meditative Concentration or Samma Samadhi
Right Meditative Concentration is the next advanced step for the Purity of Mind. Once the mind is stilled, one can guide it to focus on one’s favorite objects. Like a magnifying glass focuses light rays on a single point – so does the concentration on its object. Buddhist monks tell stories that sometimes they become so focused on reading and understanding some sutras, that they become totally oblivious of the surrounding, even not realizing that it has been dark already for sometime.
As we shall see, concentration is very crucial for insight meditation, because the practitioner needs to deeply understand the truths. The two are often confused with each other – but during the insight meditation, the practitioner is in control of the mind totally – either to free it to enjoy the bliss of happiness – or to use it like a magnifying glass to look deep into things. As the concentration strengthens, areas of residual tension in mind and body become relaxed. Sustained relaxation releases positive subtle emotions to energize the body and mind.
Let us move on to describing the two meditation types – Samatha and Vipassana. These two are - in essence, the subdivision and extension of Dhyana or Meditative Concentration to a sublime scale of happiness. They are concomitant upon completion of the three meditative processes of the Purity of Mind – and let one to experience the ultimate relaxation and peace.
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5. Types of Meditation
5.1 ☼ Samatha or Tranquility Meditation
This is the Let Go Meditation - let go of attachments one clings to; let go of biases and inclinations – in order to liberate oneself from the causes and bondage of unhappiness. It lets one to see oneself and things as they are, because mind has become free and steady. It is not about letting oneself out of life – but rather to let go off things in order to balance oneself – to become happy.
The practitioner floats in the abode of the four Sublimities – love or loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. He or she feels oneness with – Nature, the environment, and all sentient beings – and sees the interdependence of them – realizing that when such a relationship is broken, collective well-being and prosperity become threatened. A Metta or Maitry Meditation practitioner just experiences that – floating on the sublime state of loving kindness.
The mind itself gets freed from thoughts – the mind door that remained open during the mindfulness meditation becomes closed. Therefore all the six senses are not active – as if the practitioner has finally arisen to the air from the muddy water – like a blooming lotus.
The practitioner begins to feel the touch of the bliss of Nirvana – as if the grinding wheel of the Dependent-origination or Samsara, and of Transience has come to a halt opening the door for the ray of eternal bliss to penetrate. One begins to see that whatever the urges were there to cling on to things – have no real existence independent of others – and are therefore sunya, or empty of essence or substance.
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5.2 ☼ Vipassana or Insight Meditation
This is the Why Meditation in Buddhism, to seek the Truth for achieving peace and happiness. After delivering each sutra, the Buddha finished it by saying: let us all be happy by knowing this Truth. Vipassana meditation directly leads one to see deep into things as they are - the truth. Although the method can be applied to any topic, like for example the mind experiment of Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955). The most pursuing efforts in Buddhism – are to deeply understand why, and for what reasons the Buddha saw it necessary to have the Middle Way founded on the Laws of Nature – he elaborated. The reasons for such deep understanding through Vipassana, was laid down by the Buddha in his famous Kalama Sutra on the freedom of thinking and choice: . . . do not go upon what has been acquired through hearsay . . . nor upon what is in scripture . . . Kalamas, when you yourselves know . . . things that you have observed and verified . . . that lead to benefit and happiness . . . then accept and abide by them.
Advanced Vipassana meditation practitioners have a wide latitude of objects to choose from – the choice is determined by one’s curiosity and interest in deeply understanding the rationality of Buddha’s teaching. Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana are some of those objects. A brief is outlined. 
The Fundamental Laws of Nature – the Law of Transience and the Law of Dependent-origination laid down by the Buddha 2.5 millennia ago (see more in The Fundamental Laws of Nature), are common knowledge now – yet we do not tend to understand their deep meanings and implications. Vipassana lets one to delve deeply into them – to understand, for example – why transience tells one not to be too attached to things – and why relationships are not supposed to stay the same over time. It lets one to deeply see that everything is inter-dependent in the tangled ball of cause-and-effect, actions-and-reactions – in the karmic cycle of samsara. And why we must feel humble by knowing that our existence has become real because of many other causes and factors. It lets one to see the ultimate reality of emptiness or sunyata – that if all are inter-dependent, there is no real permanent entity to hold on to. The phases of the wheel of birth-growth-decay-death and re-birth become clear.
The processes that lead to the development of our thought processes, speeches and actions-reactions – known as The Five Aggregates (The Power of Mind) in Buddhism becomes clear in Vipassana meditation. It lets the practitioner to understand how the six senses lead to the consciousness in us – how they are in constant flux of formation and reformation – and how the accumulation of good consciousness (or wisdom) in time and with experience – lead to the development of Bodhi in all of us.
Everything that occurs has the duality of opposites, more specifically on the dependence of relativity of things – on the paradigm of the observer-observed, the subject-object relationships – or on the particle-wave duality of the mind phenomena as in Quantum Mechanics. Vipassana practitioner focuses on these aspects of life, Nature and society to deeply understand them and their implications. We have seen how they work in the four pieces posted earlier: Duality and Multiplicity in Nature, Duality and Multiplicity in a Society, The Quantum World, and Einstein’s Unruly Hair. But the visible duality of opposites could only occur by the processes of multiplicity. The ultimate goal of the duality-multiplicity processes is to propagate the Natural and social energy to the unity of tranquility. While expounding upon the Buddha’s teaching on the Perfection of Wisdom Discourse, Nagarjuna (150 – 250 CE) explained why the existence of something can only be real because of the corresponding existence of the opposites – in relativities of each other.
Once the foundations on which the Buddha based his teachings are understood, the Vipassana practitioner is well-poised to dive into the Dharma Chakra or the Wheel of Law - the Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path. The rationale for, and the constituents of the law have been elaborated earlier in this piece, as well as in the Happiness piece. Closely related to the Wheel of Law are the value of and the necessity for practicing the Sublimities for one’s happiness and the happiness of others.
Nirvana is the ultimate truth in Buddhism. The final goal – for the pursuits to happiness through Samatha and Vipassana meditations is to understand Nirvana, and why it is important. Nirvana is a rarely achievable eternal bliss or happiness – it was only the historic Buddha who attained it. At this stage of reality – the person has arisen above all the temptations because the wheel of laws has grinded to a halt. There is no cause, no arising, no birth, no decaying, no demise, and no rebirth – everything is in complete balance without residuals – in the eternal tranquility of universal unity. In one of the meditation practices – in the process of flipping the 108 prayer beads – the 9 Attributes of the Buddha (see Some Difficult Things) are repeated 12 times (108 = 9 x 12). This practice of repeating represents the 12 links of Dependent-origination – the Eternal Knot. By doing this – the practitioner meditates on Buddha’s triumph over temptations in untying the knots – in attaining the Eternal Bliss.
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5.3 ☼The Chan and Zen Meditation Practices
The three mediation aspects – the Mindfulness or Samma Sati, Samatha or Tranquility and Vipassana or Insight meditations – flowered into Chan in China and Zen in Japan.  It is a cultural adaptation of the elaborate meditation practices integrated into one. The potential for such worldwide adaptation and flowering are literally limitless. In Chan and Zen – emphasis is given to Simplicity. To attain it, mediation practitioners aim to empty the mind of what are hindering it – of what are distracting it. The Soto School of Zen Buddhism (founded by Dogen Zenji, 1200 – 1253) in Japan is based on the meditation method where the practitioners are required to sit in the Lotus position – as was the prevalent practice during the Buddha’s time. Termed as Zazen – the practitioner sits in the tranquil setting overlooking a Rock Garden.
When the practitioner is able to break down things into simple visions – the mind becomes still and clarity of thought processes and Upacara follow. He or She becomes one – the Appana with the objects of meditation – the Way and the Dharma Truths encompassing interdependent and transient Systems of Fluid, Solid and Life. The practitioner floats into the bliss of relaxation, joy and happiness.
Apart from usual meditation practices, the Eastern adaptation emphasizes on meditation in day-to-day life – the Chan or Zen Way-of-Life – as they are popularly known. This way of life includes different Chan or Zen aesthetics – from planning and doing of ceremonies, decorations, household chores to designing regular-use artifacts. Emphasis is given on simplicity and calmness. Saying that whatever one does with wholesome motives should be pursued in mindfulness to keep mind and body together – to do things Right in simplicity and care. Simplicity aims at breaking down complex problems and situations to unentangle them, to overcome worriedness – by focusing on each step of the way in calmness. The beauty and elegance of simplicity are unparalleled.
The Chan and Zen practices have given birth to numerous themes of art and literary works in China and Japan. In particular, in Zen Buddhism, the mind training processes of meditation – are translated into daily living routines and physical objects – in objects of everyday use, and in the creation of meticulous rock and green gardens.
One of the most powerful spectacular examples – is the achievement of synchronicity of mind and matter. The practice has been translated by the Persian-Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma (483 – 540 CE) into the synchronous actions of the two. He developed and taught it as a martial art technique at the fabled Shaolin Monastery at Shaoshi Mountain in Zhengzhou, China. The synchronicity allows practitioner to move and react very fast to scare and deter predators without any weapon – like the actions of fast-acting agile dolphins against the formidable predatory sharks. Bodhidharma famously said: not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting or lying down, everything you do is Zen.
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6. True Happiness Falters in a Fragmented Society
True happiness happens when all are integrated in the same societal aspirations and opportunities. Here are some past perspectives on what could happen when a society becomes fragmented – by delving into the Hindu caste-system.
Indian subcontinent became fragmented when the cruel and shameful Vedic caste-system took root in Hindu beliefs. Unlike in the West, forceful religious conversions of their subjects were not common in Asian dynasties (such as in China and pre-Islamic India). Without any forceful conversion, during nearly the 2 millennia of rule by Buddhist dynasties – the caste-system had been getting increasingly marginalized.
The process saw its reversal with the resurgence of Hinduism, in particular starting with the Sena Dynasty (12th century CE) – and the supremacy of Hindu Brahmins was re-established. The highest caste Brahmins never accepted the Buddha’s declaration that a person’s character or status should not be judged by birth, rather by his or her actions and reactions. This declaration and ordaining of the low-castes into the community of monks and nuns – went against the Brahminic beliefs. The Sena Dynasty gave the Brahmins the perfect opportunity to vent out their anger.
During the subsequent invasions by Muslims and later by the British, the system could have been abolished – instead these rulers took advantage of the fragmented Hindu society – and of the cheap labor provided by the untouchable lowest caste Dalits. Perhaps, the status-quo was maintained by the advice of high-caste Hindus – many of who found positions in the ruling courts of Islamic and British sovereigns. The colonist used the fragmentation and caste-based discrimination for another heinous purpose. This was done by relocating numerous indigenous Indian tribes considered Dalits in the caste-system – most of who are related to Australasian peoples (as emerging anthropological and DNA evidences show) – to urban municipalities for dirty cleaning jobs including disposal of raw sewage. They were housed in dirty squalid places away from mainstream people with no chances of education whatsoever – and were given cheap liquors to keep them intoxicated. This hateful crime has no parallel in human history – and the shameful legacy still continues today in the subcontinent. The pattern was similar to the processes the colonists implemented on Indigenous Communities – in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA. As well similar to a campaign carried out against the Chinese on their mainland – by imposing forceful consumption of Opium to keep them addicted and dormant.
Hindu scripture says that Dalits must remain doing the dirtiest of all jobs – generation after generation – because their fate is destined by the curse of gods. Not only must they remain secluded from the people of higher castes – but they must also not come near to the places of worship reserved for the higher castes. The belief is so deep rooted that modern efforts including Indian constitutional reforms are not yielding desirable goals substantially – one expects to see.
In the Bengal – a grass root movement began in around 18th and 19th century – against the practices of Hindu Caste system and other inhuman Brahminic rituals – and Hindu-Muslim mistrusts and segregation. Drawing materials from Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism and Sufism – of love and fellow-feeling among peoples – they composed lyrics and sang them with Ektara (a one-string instrument attached on a bamboo fitting) walking from one village to another. The movement started in Jessore/Kushtia region of Bengal (now in Bangladesh). Among these mystic poets and Baul singers – stands the name of Lalon Shah Fakir (1772 – 1890) prominently – who influenced the works of many subsequent poets and writers – including Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941). One of his famous songs: . . . Jat gelo jat gelo bole Eki ajob karkana . . . is very popular, and carries a strong message to all humanity. The song translates to: What a strange world it is – that sustains Caste and Sectarian Practices.
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There we have it. Honoring the International Minority Day on 18 Dec & by paying tribute to many dedicated world Buddhist scholars and teachers, I like to dedicate this piece to the four most influential Western Buddhists of the 19th and the 20th centuries: an American army officer, Col. Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907; developed the penta-color Buddhist Flag with Sri Lankan monks); a British Professor, Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843 – 1922; founder of the Pali Text Society, London); a British monk (first Western born Buddhist monk) and founder of International Buddhist Society, London, Ananda Metteya (born as Alan Bennett, 1872 - 1923); and a British lawyer and judge, Christmas Humphreys (1901 – 1983; founder of the Buddhist Society, London). Their many published works and dedications, advanced Buddhist causes in the West. Humphreys wrote in one of his books: Buddhism is . . . a system of thought . . . a spiritual science and a way of life, which is reasonable, practical and all-embracing. For 2500 years it has satisfied the spiritual needs of nearly one-third of mankind . . .
It is sometimes useful to develop meditation motivation by visiting historic Buddhist places. Among others, there are four (Lumbini; Bodhgaya; Sarnath; Kushinagar) Travel Features of useful tourist and pilgrimage information: On the Happy Dust of India Once Trodden by the Sacred Feet of Buddha on the beyondhere travel website.
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Finally, let me finish this piece with a little poem:
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A musician sees beauty in harmony of melodies and rhythms
A painter sees in harmony of colors and brush strokes
A writer sees beyond others in portraying life
A poet sees in the romantic canvas of life
A scientist sees in the dynamic balance of things
A philosopher sees in wisdom
The Buddha saw beauty in wisdom and happiness.

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- by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 11 December 2019

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