Category: योग-साधना/Yoga

“Quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind, one enters upon and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought with happiness and bliss born of seclusion.”

The Role of Jhanas in Meditation

The Buddha attained enlightenment meditating beneath the Bodhi tree. He expounded two interrelated systems of meditation:

• Serenity meditation (Samatha Bhavana): Develops a calm, concentrated, and unified mind.
• Insight meditation (Vipassana Bhavana): Leads to a direct understanding of the true nature of phenomena.

A set of meditative attainments known as jhanas plays a crucial role in both systems. These heightened mental states provide a pleasant abiding in the present moment and deepen meditative absorption.

To attain the jhanas, a meditator must eliminate the five hindrances:

• Sensual desire
• Ill will
• Sloth and torpor
• Restlessness and worry
• Doubt

The mind’s absorption in its object arises through five opposing jhana factors:

• Applied thought
• Sustained thought
• Rapture
• Happiness
• One-pointedness

The Four Jhanas

1. The First Jhana

“Quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind, one enters upon and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought with happiness and bliss born of seclusion.”

• The initial stage of meditative absorption.
• Marked by applied and sustained thought, leading to happiness and bliss.

2. The Second Jhana

“With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, one enters upon and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and singleness of mind without applied thought, without sustained thought, with happiness and bliss born of concentration.”

• A deeper state where thought subsides.
• Inner confidence arises, and bliss is sustained by concentration.

3. The Third Jhana

“With the fading away of happiness as well, one dwells in equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, feels bliss with the body; he enters upon and dwells in the third jhana.”

• Happiness transitions into equanimity and deep mindfulness.
• Bliss is experienced physically with heightened awareness.

4. The Fourth Jhana

“With the abandoning of pleasure and pain and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, he enters upon and dwells in the fourth jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and has purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.”

• A state of profound balance where pleasure and pain, joy and grief fade away.
• Equanimity and purity of mindfulness become fully established.

Conclusion

The jhanas offer a structured path toward deeper concentration and inner peace. Progressing through these states refines the mind, leading to wisdom and ultimately, liberation from suffering.

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 15: MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 16: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 17: The Middle Way ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

 “Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering. Association with the loathed is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not getting what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.”

Understanding the Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths constitute the fundamental doctrine of the Buddha’s teachings:

1. The Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha):
   • Suffering exists in various forms: birth, aging, sickness, and death.
   • Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair also constitute suffering.
   • The five aggregates subject to clinging are ultimately a source of suffering.
2. The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering (Samudaya):
   • The root of suffering is craving (tanha) for sensual pleasures, existence, and extermination.
   • This craving leads to renewed existence, attachment, and the cycle of suffering.
3. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Nirodha):
   • The cessation of suffering is achieved by relinquishing and abandoning craving.
   • It is the complete fading away and cessation of desire, leading to non-attachment and liberation.
4. The Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering (Magga):
   • The path to liberation is the Noble Eightfold Path:
     • Right View
     • Right Intention
     • Right Speech
     • Right Action
     • Right Livelihood
     • Right Effort
     • Right Mindfulness
     • Right Concentration

The Five Aggregates Subject to Clinging

The First Noble Truth identifies the five aggregates as fundamental to suffering:

• Form (Rupa) – The physical body and material aspects.
• Feeling (Vedana) – Sensations of pleasure, pain, or neutrality.
• Perception (Sanna) – Recognition and mental labeling of experiences.
• Mental Formations (Sankhara) – Volitional activities, thoughts, and habits.
• Consciousness (Vinnana) – Awareness of sensory and mental experiences.

These aggregates are impermanent, non-self, and subject to change. Understanding this leads to dispassion and liberation from attachment.

Cultivating Insight

To fully comprehend the Four Noble Truths:

• The truth of suffering must be fully understood.
• The origin of suffering must be abandoned.
• The cessation of suffering must be realized.
• The path leading to the cessation of suffering must be developed.

By walking the Noble Eightfold Path, one progresses toward the cessation of suffering, ultimately attaining Nibbana—the highest liberation.

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 15: MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 16: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

The Middle Way discovered by the Perfect One gives vision, brings knowledge, and leads to peace, direct insight, enlightenment, and Nibbana.

The Buddha’s First Teaching

In his first sermon, the Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths and introduced the Middle Path as the way to liberation.

He said:

“Avoid the two extremes—devotion to the pursuit of sensual pleasures and devotion to self-mortification.

The Middle Way discovered by the Perfect One gives vision, brings knowledge, and leads to peace, direct insight, enlightenment, and Nibbana.

The Middle Way is the Noble Eightfold Path:

• Right View
• Right Intention
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration”

By following the Middle Way, one avoids indulgence and asceticism, cultivating balance and wisdom.

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 15: MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 16: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

“There is, monks, this one way to the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and distress, for the disappearance of pain and sadness, for the gaining of the right path, for the realization of Nibbana—that is to say, the four foundations of mindfulness.” — Buddha

The Path of Insight

Vipassana, meaning to see things as they truly are, is a structured and logical approach to meditation, leading to deep inner peace and liberation from suffering. The Buddha taught this method after his enlightenment, guiding thousands to freedom from misery through self-awareness and mindfulness.

Meditation is at the heart of the Buddha’s teaching. It is the direct path to Nibbana, achieved by observing the body, feelings, mind, and phenomena with full awareness and insight. By diligently practicing the four foundations of mindfulness, one transcends suffering and attains profound wisdom.

“Bhikkhus, these four establishments of mindfulness, when developed and cultivated, lead to going beyond from the near shore to the far shore.”

One must dwell observing reality with clarity, free from craving and aversion, and with full comprehension of impermanence.

Observing the Body

• Find a quiet place, sit cross-legged with a straight back, and close your eyes.
• Observe the breath, noticing whether it is deep or shallow.
• Be fully aware of bodily actions—walking, sitting, lying down, moving, eating, drinking.
• Maintain mindfulness in every action and posture.

This is how one dwells observing the body in the body.

Observing Sensations

• Be aware of sensations as they arise: pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.
• Observe whether these sensations are met with attachment or detachment.
• Recognize them without reacting.

This is how one dwells observing feelings in feelings.

Observing the Mind

• Recognize the nature of the mind:
  • A mind with craving or without craving.
  • A mind with aversion or without aversion.
  • A mind with delusion or free from delusion.
  • A concentrated mind or scattered mind.
  • A liberated mind or unliberated mind.

This is how one dwells observing the mind in the mind.

Observing Phenomena

• Observe mental formations, such as:
  • The five hindrances (desire, aversion, dullness, restlessness, doubt).
  • The five aggregates of clinging (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness).
  • The six sense bases (eye and forms, ear and sounds, etc.), understanding how fetters arise and are abandoned.
  • The seven factors of enlightenment (mindfulness, investigation, effort, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, equanimity).
  • The Four Noble Truths—suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the path leading to its cessation.

This is how one dwells observing mental contents in mental contents.

The Power of Mindfulness

By developing the four foundations of mindfulness, one may expect either:

• Final knowledge (liberation) here and now, or
• If residual clinging remains, the state of non-returning.

“Bhikkhus, just as the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east, so too a bhikkhu who develops and cultivates the four jhanas slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbana.”

Thus, the four foundations of mindfulness serve as the direct path to purification, wisdom, and liberation from suffering.

English Literature – Articles ☆ Meditate Like The Buddha # 15: MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

“Bhikkhus, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it is of great fruit and great benefit. When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it fulfils the four foundations of mindfulness. When the four foundations of mindfulness are developed and cultivated, they fulfil the seven factors of enlightenment. When the seven factors of enlightenment are developed and cultivated, they fulfil true knowledge and deliverance.” — Buddha

The Significance of Mindfulness of Breathing

The meditation on in-and-out breathing was expounded by the Buddha as the gateway to enlightenment and Nibbana. When the Blessed One sat beneath the Bodhi Tree, he took up mindfulness of breathing as his meditation subject and attained the limitless wisdom of a Fully Enlightened Buddha.

The Buddha emphasized this practice, considering it a noble and divine dwelling:

“If anyone, bhikkhus, speaking rightly could say of anything, ‘It is a noble dwelling, a divine dwelling, the Tathagata’s dwelling,’ it is of concentration by mindfulness of breathing that one could rightly say this.”

One of the Buddha’s most valuable contributions to humanity is his structured instructions for meditation, offering a clear and systematic approach to practice.

The Steps of Mindfulness of Breathing

“A bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him. Ever mindful, he breathes in; mindful, he breathes out.”

The Buddha elaborated on the steps of mindfulness of breathing, explaining its role in fulfilling the four foundations of mindfulness, the seven factors of enlightenment, and ultimately, true knowledge and deliverance.

Fulfilment of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, fulfils the four foundations of mindfulness:

1. Contemplation of the Body: Observing the breath in its natural rhythm, understanding its length, experiencing the whole body, and relaxing the body.
2. Contemplation of Feelings: Recognizing feelings—rapture, pleasure, mental formations, and tranquillity.
3. Contemplation of the Mind: Experiencing the mind, gladdening it, concentrating it, and liberating it.
4. Contemplation of Mind-Objects: Reflecting on impermanence, fading away, cessation, and relinquishment.

On each occasion, one remains fully aware, ardent, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world.

Fulfilment of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment

The development of the four foundations of mindfulness leads to the arising and fulfilment of the seven enlightenment factors:

1. Mindfulness – Maintaining constant awareness of the present moment.
2. Investigation of States – Examining mental and physical phenomena with wisdom.
3. Energy – Cultivating tireless effort and enthusiasm.
4. Rapture – Developing deep joy in meditation.
5. Tranquillity – Achieving inner peace and stillness.
6. Concentration – Attaining deep, unwavering focus.
7. Equanimity – Cultivating impartiality and balance of mind.

By practicing mindfulness of breathing, one develops each enlightenment factor, leading to spiritual progress and fulfilment.

Fulfilment of True Knowledge and Deliverance

When developed and cultivated, the seven factors of enlightenment lead to true knowledge and deliverance:

• Supported by seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, mindfulness of breathing leads to relinquishment.
• The systematic development of investigation, energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity brings about complete liberation.

“Bhikkhus, this concentration by mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosial pleasant dwelling, and it disperses and quells on the spot evil unwholesome states whenever they arise.”

Conclusion

Mindfulness of breathing is a complete and profound practice leading to insight, serenity, and ultimate freedom. Through diligent practice, one follows in the footsteps of the Buddha, progressing steadily toward enlightenment.