Buddhist Mental culture and its goal.

 Buddhist Mental culture and its goal.

Of all the major religions, Buddhism is arguably the one with the slightest understanding. In fact, it is debatable from an Occidental perspective whether it deserves to be called a religion. Theology is typically thought of in terms of God, revelation, obedience, punishment, and redemption in the West. Our conception of religion is essentially intertwined with the Christian heritage's major concerns of creation, worship, judgment, and immortality. In light of this cultural context, Western men approach Buddhism and unintentionally project their own ideas, values, and expectations onto it. He incorrectly interprets bowing and ceremonies as acts of adoration or even idolatry. 

“The precursor to all (bad) circumstances is the mind. They were made with the mind as their primary factor. If one speaks or behaves in an unclean way, the pain will follow them, just as a cartwheel will follow an ox's hoof.”

“The precursor to all (positive) conditions is the mind. They were made with the mind as their primary factor. When one speaks or behaves with a pure mind, happiness follows them like a never-ending shadow.”

The Dhammapada begins with these words, which were uttered by Gautama Buddha more than 2,500 years ago. They provide examples of the human mind, the core idea of Buddhist teaching.

These incorrect ideas about the Buddha's teaching, or Dhamma, are not solely the product of Western ignorance and ethnocentrism, though. Before he passed away, the Buddha foresaw that after a thousand years, those with less understanding would come into contact with his teachings, corrupting and distorting it. 1 This has been the case for a sizable portion, if not all, of the Orient. Self-control has been replaced by ritual, insight has been replaced by faith, and comprehension has been replaced by prayer.

If God is the foundation of Christianity, then the mind is the foundation of Buddhism. The core of human existence, according to Buddhism, is the mind or consciousness. Apart from our awareness of them or our opinions about them, pleasure and suffering, good and evil, time and space, life and death have no significance to us. According to the Buddhist perspective, all of these issues are secondary to the one empirical fact of which we are certain: the existence of conscious experience as it occurs throughout the course of daily life. Whether God exists or does not exist, whether existence is primarily spiritual or primarily material, whether we live for a few decades or live forever—all of these matters are secondary to this empirical fact. Buddhism, therefore, emphasizes the mind, which is responsible for joy and sorrow, pleasure and misery.

Buddhism neither downplays the importance of the physical world in our lives nor does it deny the reality of material existence. Instead, it argues that the mind and body are linked and challenges the Brahmans' distinction between the two. However, early Buddhists believed that since conscious experience—a constantly shifting series of thoughts, sensations, emotions, and perceptions—is the essence of human existence, religion's main focus must be on the experiences that constitute our daily lives. The most important of these are hate and love, fear and grief, passion and pride, struggle and failure. Vicarious atonement, Cosmic Consciousness, Ultimate Reality, Buddha Nature, and the atonement of sins, on the other hand, are metaphysical and hypothetical ideas.

As a result, the first noble truth, the inevitability of dukkha, is regarded in Buddhism as the most important reality of life. Dukkha is a Pali word that encompasses all forms of displaceable experiences, such as sadness, anxiety, concern, pain, despair, discord, impatience, agitation, and aggravation. According to the second noble truth, yearning or desire is what leads to dukkha. The three factors that contribute to this cause are greed, hatred, and illusion, according to a number of literature. The Buddha also distinguished the five causes of suffering—sensual lust, anger, sloth or torpor, agitation or worry and doubt—on other occasions. On other occasions, he identified the 10 causes of dukkha, including the conviction that one is an immutable being, skepticism, the assumption that redemption can be found by rituals, laws, and ceremonies, sensual lust, hostility, and the desire for worldly goods. The Third Noble Truth states that dukkha can be overcome, and the Fourth Truth prescribes the means by which this is achieved.

The Fourth Noble Truth transforms Buddhism into a method, a discipline, and a way of life that aims to liberate people from suffering and enhance the nature of human existence. The Noble Eightfold Path, which comprises moral instruction, self-control, the growth of wisdom and insight, and the enhancement of one's environment on both a personal and social level, is a component of the Dhamma. For the sake of brevity, we won't go through them again since they have already been covered in previous publications. It is sufficient to remind the reader that this essay only addresses one facet of Buddhism—namely, meditation. Other writings discuss the Teaching's logical, pragmatic, and ethical aspects.

If psychological factors play a major role in the development of suffering, the treatment must likewise be psychological. As a result, Buddhism contains a number of "mental exercises" or meditations that are intended to identify and treat our psychic abnormalities.

Inadvertently, yogic meditation, which frequently entails bodily trances, autohypnosis, searches for occult powers, and attempts at unification with God is frequently mistaken for Buddhist meditation. None of these issues or actions fall under the Eightfold Path. Buddhism does not involve the use of stimulants or medicines, secret teachings, or esoteric formulas. Buddhist meditation only addresses the common occurrences of human consciousness. In the words of the Venerable Nyanaponika Thera, a renowned Buddhist scholar and monk:

In its spirit of self-reliance, Satipatthana does not require any elaborate technique or external devices. Daily life is its working material. It has nothing to do with any exotic cults or rites nor does it confer "initiations" or "esoteric knowledge" in any way other than by self-enlightenment.

Using just the conditions of life it finds, Satipatthana does not require complete seclusion or monastic life, though in some who undertake the practice, the desire and need for these may grow.

We should also take note of Rear Admiral E.H. Shattock, a British naval officer, who spent three weeks of diligent meditation practice in a Theravada monastery near Rangoon, lest the reader suspect that some peculiarity of the "Western mind" prevents Occidentals from successfully practicing meditation:

Therefore, meditation is a beneficial activity; it is not necessarily religious, despite the common misconception that it is. In essence, it is academic, useful, and profitable. Since so many people only link meditation with holy or saintly individuals and view it as an improved form of the pious life, I believe it is important to underline this fact. This is not the story of a conversion, but rather an experiment to see how an established Eastern philosophy would affect an average Western mentality.

Reading about meditation is similar to reading about swimming; the aspirant swimmer can only start to make progress by getting in the water. It's the same way with meditation and Buddhism as a whole. The Dhamma must be practiced, not just studied. Thought and study are useful aids, life itself serves as the best classroom.

The passages that follow make an effort to convey into words what must be felt internally. Or, in the Dhammapada's words: "Buddhas are merely guides. Each person must diligently work out his or her own salvation." Since meditation is a subjective and individualized experience, each of us must forge our own road to the peak of Enlightenment. Although we can inspire and instruct through words, they are but representations for reality.

We have faith in the Karmic rule because we understand what the Buddha taught. Therefore, we constantly strive to defeat ills and engage in good activities for our inner tranquility. For mental serenity, we must also purify our minds to the fullest extent. The true road to happiness is to live with a pure mind. It is advantageous to have a happy life if we can rid our minds of negative thoughts like desire, rage, jealousy, delusion, etc., and also if we can cultivate our minds with positive notions like compassion, generosity, virtue, and wisdom. Furthermore, if we are able to see the world clearly as it is, even as it changes, our minds remain unaffected. Likewise, once our minds are clear, tranquil, and peaceful.

Three unhealthy thoughts are primarily what cause our inner calm to be disturbed. Lustful desire, resentment, and illusion are what they are. How far we have eradicated these three sins will determine how successful we are and how happy we truly are. We must practice generosity, loving-kindness, and wisdom if we want to defeat want, rage, and delusion. Our minds are free from suffering when they are kind, smart, and giving. Here, the route to emancipation is primarily paved by appropriate perception and practice. We primarily perform three virtuous deeds for mental tranquility.

1. Generosity (Dāna)

2. Virtue (Seela)

3. Meditation (Bhāvanā)

These three virtuous deeds emphasize the purification of the mind. Gluttony can be defeated by being generous. Anger can be diminished by loving-kindness practice. The practice of insight meditation can help one get over delusion. Among these, practicing meditation is a highly significant and effective virtue that we can use to end suffering.

Meditation is the proper technique to develop the mind, to practice good thoughts like loving-kindness and compassion, and comprehend the universe as it is. Buddhist meditation aims to help us examine our mind and body. Buddhist meditation first seeks to rid the mind of impediments like wrath and greed before teaching the world reality that ends suffering. The Buddha stated that the ultimate goal of meditation is to achieve happiness and tranquility of mind that nothing or no one can disrupt. If there is no strong attachment to or conflict with the visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, physical impressions, or ideas that we experience through our senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), it is said that we are experiencing through our senses in a non-attached state.

Buddhist meditation's primary goal is to develop knowledge and mindfulness (Sati) (Sampajanna or Panna). From a Buddhist perspective, there are two types of meditation: meditation for peace (Samatha) and meditation for insight (Vipassana). We cultivate mindfulness by engaging in calmness meditation. It indicates that we concentrate on a specific object. Here, we cleanse our minds of unfavorable emotions like want, rage, jealousy, etc. Then, our mind is very still, serene, and focused. While engaging in insight meditation, we simultaneously acquire knowledge or wisdom. Buddhist meditation ultimately aims to end suffering. The best outcome of meditation is when we are able to live attentively in each moment while realizing how transient everything is. At that moment, we are fully pain-free.

When we are going to practice any kind of teaching in Buddhism, we have to fulfill three steps. They are;

• Knowledge (Sutamaya Nāna)

• Reflection (Cintāmaya Nāna)

• Practice meditation (Bhāvanāmaya Nāna)

 

One of the most crucial things we should have from the start to the finish of the path of purification is knowledge. Where we go, what we do, and the outcomes of our activity must all be well understood. This knowledge requires us to understand that virtue or discipline is the first step toward emancipation (Seela). Calmness or concentration (Samadhi), which entails concentrating on one's mind with positive thoughts, is the second step. The third level is wisdom (Panna), which entails recognizing impermanence as emerging and ceasing in relation to all of our sensory-based experiences. After thoroughly understanding this information, we must continue to consider, research, or reflect on it during the rest of the day. Here, we engage in both insight meditation (Vipassana Bhavana) and meditation for inner peace (Samata Bhavana). When we exhibit all three of the aforementioned attributes, we have engaged in mindfulness practice, which is crucial. We cannot get true knowledge, introspection, or meditation without mindfulness or awareness. If we put them all into practice, proper understanding (Samma Ditthi) should likewise gradually improve. If we want to travel the road of liberation, having the correct knowledge of impermanence is crucial.

The first stage in meditation is to direct our attention to a certain object. Here, it's crucial to recognize the symptoms of mindfulness (Sati nimitta). It's crucial to focus on the upper lip or the tip of our nose when practicing any form of meditation. We might keep attempting to hone this expertise. Long-term mindfulness training has the effect of enabling us to maintain the same beneficial idea for extended periods of time. It is referred to as serenity or focus. Additionally, we can quickly increase our meditation if we can practice mindfulness throughout all of our daily activities in addition to seated meditation. When we are conscious, of negative ideas.

The mind's tendency is to produce negative thoughts. During meditation, we work to reduce unfavorable thoughts like desire, hatred, and illusion while also developing favorable ones like generosity, goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and wisdom. In particular, meditation in Buddhism (pali- Bhavana) refers to the growth of the mind in the right direction by the practice of good ideas (Bhaveti kusaladhamme asevati vaddheti etayati Bhavana). We are free from suffering, which indicates that we are content if we can fill our minds with good (positive) thoughts for an extended period of time. One of the keys to our success in our spiritual lives is to increase the amount of time we spend being attentive.

The goal of meditation is to maintain mental focus or healthy (good) thought patterns. Additionally, concentration requires us to keep our attention on a single, healthy item for a protracted period of time when we meditate. What makes us meditate? Being happy is everyone's ultimate goal. Whether we are happy or unhappy depends on how we interpret the world. We are not at peace if our mind is corrupted by want, rage, or ignorance. Our minds are happy when they are full of positive thoughts like generosity, lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy, or wisdom. The greatest benefit of Buddhism is meditation. According to the Buddha, pursuing virtue also entails pursuing bliss (Sukho punnassa uccayo).

Most often, want and rage causes us pain. We can avoid pain if we can keep our thoughts free of want and rage. By meditating, we can clear our minds of impurities. Additionally, we consistently direct our attention to thinking positively. In other words, we make an effort to maintain a happy mindset. We can settle the mind and make it quiet, focused, and joyful by engaging in some form of meditation, such as breathing or loving-kindness meditation. Our bodies are incredibly calm, comfortable, and pleasurable while our minds are focused. Happiness results when we can free our minds of unhealthy (negative) thoughts because it affects both our mental and physical health.

When we first begin to meditate, our minds wander. That is how the mind operates. Not to worry. Bring your attention to the meditational object. If we are bright, observant, and courageous, we can manage our minds as we please by doing it again. We can begin by meditating for only five minutes a day, and then we can gradually extend that time.

Both insight (Vipassana) and serenity (Samatha) meditation involve focusing the mind on a single, healthy idea for a significant amount of time. An example of such a concept is loving kindness. We can maintain our mind calm and quiet for a prolonged period of time with happiness and without defilements by engaging in serenity meditation. Sometimes we can survive for a very long time without any other amenities, like food, if we can grow our minds to the highest level possible through quiet meditation. Our mind is extremely content and rich in virtues under this circumstance. This mental state, though, is not enduring. It is changeable at any time. Defilements could enter our minds after we stop meditating. We could be disturbed by suffering since that tranquility is transient.

Reflecting on the universe as Anicca—the impermanence; Dukkha—dissatisfaction; and Anatta—selflessness—is the goal of insight meditation. It helps us end all of our misery. With a focused mind, if we can think about all the experiences that fit into the first three categories progressively, we can gradually get rid of our sorrow. When five aggregates originate simultaneously and cease simultaneously, it suggests that we have some sort of sensory experience. There is no delay. When the five aggregates are together, we experience things with our senses, including our eyes, ears, noses, tongues, and bodies. The experience ends when the causes are divided. The intelligence that "Not being occurred (in)" is the ultimate intelligence in Buddhism.

Buddhism holds that morality, focus, and wisdom are three essential ingredients for the success of meditation. Morality is the control of speech and conduct. It is crucial to be careful with our words when we communicate. And when acting, we ought to be careful what we do. We should be disciplined enough to practice meditation before beginning. It is challenging to realize our aspirations in terms of spirituality if we lack strong speech and behavior discipline. It is simple to succeed in focusing and practicing meditation when we have good discipline. In meditation, we develop the two different mental capacities of mindfulness, awareness, and serenity. If we possess a genuine understanding of the world as The Supreme Buddha suggested, as the

 

Buddhism's ultimate goal of meditation is the development of our mind in accordance with Anicca, or impermanence, Dukkha, or unhappiness, and Anatta, or selflessness. We fully understand the six senses and six things as a result of our understanding of the three traits mentioned above. With this insight, we are aware that six senses and six objects simultaneously arise and vanish.

 

the most profound reflection on all of our experiences that the Buddha made clear to Bahiya;

 

"In that case, Bhiya, train yourself accordingly: In what is seen, there must only be what is seen; in what is heard, there must only be what is heard; in what is sensed, there must only be what is perceived; and in what is cognized, there must only be what is cognized. This is how you should discipline yourself, Bhiya.

“Tasmātiha te, bāhiya, evaṃ sikkhitabbaṃ: ‘diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṃ bhavissati, sute sutamattaṃ bhavissati, mute mutamattaṃ bhavissati, viññāte viññātamattaṃ bhavissatī’ti. Evañhi te, bāhiya, sikkhitabbaṃ”

(Bahiya Sutta, Udanapali)

Even though we find ourselves in extremely complicated situations, this awareness leads to our ongoing serenity, which is true bliss without any sorrow. According to the Buddha, this is the highest form of refuge we are capable of obtaining on our own. Dwell with yourself as an island, with yourself as a refuge, and without any other refuges; with the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as a refuge, and without any other refuges. Live as if you are an island as if you are a refuge, and as if there is no other shelter than the Dhamma.

“Atta deepā bhikkhave viharatha atta saranā na anna saranā, Dhamma deepā bhikkhave dhamma saranā na anna saranā”

(Attadeepa Sutta)

The practice of mindfulness is a strategy for becoming a haven for oneself. Three disciplines steadily expand as one becomes more attentive, as the Buddha explained.

They are;

1. Virtue (Seela)

2. Concentration (Samādhi)

3. Wisdom (Panna)

When these three disciplines develop, the five spiritual faculties increase.

They are;

1. Confidence (Saddha)

2. Energy (Viriya)

3. Mindfulness (Sati)

4. Concentration (Samādhi)

5. Wisdom (Pannā )

Since we are moving forward on the path of freedom while reducing suffering every day, developing these five abilities is the true success of our existence.

·       The Goals of Meditation (goals of Buddhist mental culture)

The attainment of Nibbana and the cessation of dukkha, or suffering, are the ultimate aims of Buddhism and are also the aims of meditation. However, Nibbana transcends all other types of common human experience and the sphere of cognition. Therefore, unless we ourselves advance to recognizing it as a direct experience that transcends logic and sense perception, we cannot be convinced that it exists. Nibbana can be described as the state of being when one has reached the pinnacle of moral and psychological development. There isn't much else to say.

As a result, the Buddha spoke little about Nibbana and focused most of his teachings on two other, less important objectives that are concrete realities with easily ascertainable value. The first of these was the development, enhancement, and cultivation of positive emotions, such as love, compassion, calmness, mental purity, and the joy that comes from making other people happy. Second, he promoted the abandonment of negative, unwholesome emotions like greed, wrath, illusion, conceit, agitation, and others.

Love, compassion, and other pleasant emotions are revealed to be fulfilling, significant, and healthy experiences in and of themselves when we gain experience, self-awareness, and a complete appreciation for the nature and quality of our own feelings. In other words, they are independent of any worldview or religious ideology and possess their own intrinsic worth and value. On the other hand, dukkha, or agitated, uncomfortable experiences, such as greed, hatred, lust, etc., prevent people from fully experiencing the bliss that comes from love and peace when they are present. Therefore, the main objectives and driving forces behind meditation are the realization of happy sentiments and the renunciation of bad feelings.

Although the fundamental and secondary objectives of meditation are to reach Nibbana and the cessation of suffering, there are also a number of tertiary objectives that must be accomplished in order to fully actualize the primary and secondary objectives. They are insight, concentration, and non-attachment.

Freedom from wanting and obsession with sensuous pleasure is non-attachment. It is not a persistent condition of apathy or rejection of the presence of sensory perception. Instead, it involves psychological freedom from our "enslaving impulses and our addictions to sensory and emotional pleasures." Non-attachment is hence comparable to independence, composure, and serenity.

Buddhist meditation aims to achieve both of the two senses of the word "insight." Insight (vipassana) is a term used in ancient Buddhism to refer to complete awareness of the three aspects of existence: impermanence, pain (dukkha), and impersonality. The human psyche is not an exception and is not an immortal soul, so full realization of the fact that everything in the universe is transient and changing is what this means, to put it another way. As a result, suffering is always inevitable because no state of mind, whether pleasant or unpleasant, can last forever. To distinguish it from merely conceptual information, which frequently falls short of having a long-lasting impact on one's sentiments and values, the term "awareness" is italicized in this sentence.

More Reference -

01. Buddhism, by Richard A. Gard. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1961.

02. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, by Nyanaponika Thera. London: Rider & Co. 1962. 

03. An Experiment in Mindfulness, by E.H. Shattock. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1960.

04. Samyutta Nikaya.

05. Visuddhimagga, IV, 40-41. Translation by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli. Colombo: R. Semage, 1956. 

06. Buddhism as a Way of Life, by Douglas M. Burns. San Carlos, California: Neo-Dhamma, 1964.

07. The Foundations of Mindfulness. Translation by Nyanasatta Thera. BPS Wheel No. 19. 

08. Samyutta Nikaya, 35:152. The reader will note that this passage also demonstrates the highly experiential aspect of Buddhist epistemology