Yoga Life Book
Page 8
Vipassana Practice
Conscious Conduct: The Five Training Precepts
The first aspect, conscious conduct or virtue, means acting harmoniously
and with care toward the life around us. For spiritual practice
to develop, it is absolutely essential that we establish a basis
of moral conduct in our lives. If we are engaged in actions that
cause pain and conflict to ourselves and others, it is impossible
for the mind to become settled, collected, and focused in meditation;
it is impossible for the heart to open. To a mind grounded in
unselfishness and truth, concentration and wisdom develop easily.
The
Buddha outlined five areas of basic morality that lead to a
conscious These training precepts are given to all students who wish
to follow the path of mindfulness. They are not given as absolute
commandments; rather, they are practical guidelines to help us
live in a more harmonious way and develop peace and power of
mind. As we work with them, we discover that they are universal precepts
that apply to any culture, in any time. They are a part of basic
mindfulness practice and can be cultivated in our spiritual life.
The
first precept is to refrain from killing. It means honoring all
life, not acting out of hatred or aversion in such a way as to cause
harm to any living creature. We work to develop a reverence and caring
for life in all its forms. In the Eightfold Path this is called
one aspect of right action.
The second precept asks us to refrain
from stealing, meaning not to take what is not ours. Not to steal
is called basic non-harming. We need to let go of being greedy
and not take too much. More positively, it means to use things with
sensitivity and care, to develop our sense of sharing this life,
this planet
We're all interwoven. If we can learn to love the earth, we can
be happy whatever we do, with a happiness born of contentment. This
is the source of genuine ecology. It's a source of world peace, when
we see that we're not separate from the earth but that we all come
out of it and are connected with one another. From this sense of
connectedness we can commit ourselves to share, to live a life of
helpfulness and generosity for the world. To cultivate generosity
directly is another fundamental part of living a spiritual life.
Like the training precepts and like our inner meditations, generosity
can actually be practiced. With practice, its spirit forms our actions,
and our hearts will grow stronger and lighter. It can lead us to
new levels of letting go and great happiness. The Buddha emphasized
the importance of generosity when he said, "If you knew what
I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal
pass without sharing it in some way."
The third precept of conscious
conduct is to refrain from false speech. The Eightfold Path calls
this right speech.
Our speech is powerful. It can be destructive
or enlightening, idle gossip or compassionate communication. We
are asked to be mindful and let our speech come from the heart. When
we speak what is true and helpful, people are attracted to us.
To be mindful and honest makes our minds quieter and more open, our
hearts happier and more peaceful.
The fourth precept, to refrain from sexual misconduct, reminds
us not to act out of sexual desire in such a way as to cause
harm to another.
To refrain from the heedless use of intoxicants
is the fifth precept. It means to avoid taking intoxicants to the
point of making the mind cloudy and to devote our lives instead
to developing clarity and alertness." "A foundation of
virtue brings great happiness and liberation in itself and is the
precondition for wise meditation. With it we can be conscious and
not waste the extraordinary opportunity of a human birth, the opportunity
to grow in compassion and true understanding in our life.
Concentration of Mind
Out of a foundation of conscious conduct, the
first steps of the mindful way, grows the second aspect of the
path, which is called the development of samadhi, or steadiness and
concentration of mind. As we bring the grace and harmony of virtue
into our outer lives, so we can begin to establish an inner order,
a sense of peace and clarity. This is the domain of formal meditation,
and it begins with training the heart and mind in concentration.
It means collecting the mind or bringing together the mind and body,
focusing one's attention on one's experience in the present moment.
Skill in concentrating and steadying the mind is the basis for
all types of meditation and is in truth a basic skill for any
endeavor—for
art or athletics, computer programming or self-knowledge. In
meditation, the development of the power of concentration comes through
systematic training and can be done by using a variety of objects,
such as the breath, visualization, a mantra, or a particular feeling
such as loving kindness. . . . Most fundamentally [concentrating
the mind] is a simple process of focusing and steadying attention
on an object like the breath and bringing the mind back to that object
again and again. It requires that we let go of thoughts about
the past and future, of fantasies and attachment, and bring the mind
back to what is actually happening: the actual moment of feeling,
of touching the breath as it is. Samadhi doesn't just come of
itself; it takes practice. What is wonderful is the discovery made
by the Buddha and all great yogis that the mind can actually be trained.
In
order to penetrate the nature of the mind and body we must collect
and concentrate our resources and observe with a steady, silent
mind. This is exactly what the Buddha did: he sat, concentrated his
mind, and looked within. To become a yogi, an explorer of the heart
and mind, we must develop this capacity as well.
Wisdom
Built on the foundation of concentration is the third aspect
of the Buddha's path of awakening: clarity of vision and the development
of wisdom.
Wisdom comes from directly observing the truth of
our experience. We learn as we become able to live fully in the
moment, rather than being lost in the dreams, plans, memories, and
commentaries of the linking mind. It is only by being fully the moment
that the fundamental questions of the heart can be answered; it is
only in the timeless moment that we can come to that intuitive,
silent knowing of the truth. It is the intuitive wisdom that
liberates us.
Inquiry and Observation
Wisdom grows out of our clear seeing in each
moment. Seeing the arising and passing of our experience and how
we relate to it. It arises through our gentle and careful inquiry
into the workings of the body land mind and through an open inquiry
into how this body and mind prelate to the whole world around us.
For insight to develop, this spirit
of observation and deep questioning must be kept in the forefront.
We lean collect and quiet the mind, but then we must observe, examine,
I see its ways and its laws.
As we meditate we can learn more about
desire, see what its root is, see whether it is pleasant or painful,
see how it arises and affects our life. We can equally well observe
moments of stillness and contentment. We can also begin to observe
the inner workings of cause and effect, the laws of karma. Similarly,
the law of impermanence can reveal itself under our attention,
how it operates, and whether there is anything in our experience
that does not change. As things change, we can also observe how
attachment works and see how tension and grasping are created
in our body and mind. We can see what closes our heart, and how it
can open. Over time we may discover new levels of stillness in
ourselves or find lights or visions or a whole array of new inner
experiences. We can also discover our shadow and bring our awareness
to the fears and pains and deep feelings we have long suppressed
in our lives. Insights about the psychological patterns we live
by will arise, and we can see the functioning of the level we
call the personality. When we bring the same spirit of inquiry and
awareness to our relation with the whole world around us, our observation
can also show us the illusions of our boundaries and how to truly
connect the inner and the outer.
Insight meditation [Vipassana]
is a path of discovery. It is straightforward and direct, with
no frills or gimmicks. It is simple, though not easy. Although the
forms vary, the genuine practice of insight meditation is this single
quest: to establish a foundation of harmonious action, to collect
and concentrate the mind and body, and to see the laws of life by
our own true, careful, and direct observation, the way of practice
and realizing that meditative life process of awakening, there is
only one thing left to undertake it ourselves.
By Jack Kornfield
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