Like tending a seedling – Cultivate your meditation

Imagine you just planted an apple tree. Well, you actually took one little apple seed and found a nice spot for it to grow. Then you covered it with some earth and sprinkled water over the spot.

Every day you come back to see – nothing. The days go by and by the time it gets boring to stare at the empty spot in your garden, suddenly you see a tiny seedling peeking through the lumps of earth.

Lets imagine that you are really excited about this little seedling and you dream of the huge large tree it one day will become. But the next thing you do is to turn around and trample over the seedling with your feet walking back home. The next day you come back again and wonder why this seedling looks crushed and did not really show any signs of strength. Well, it just had to cope with someone walking over its head. But again, this day too, after watching and tending to the little seedling, when it is time to go home, you stand up and walk over the tiny plant, crushing and harming its progress.

This story has two endings: In the bad ending, you do not realize that it is your own carelessness which hinders the cultivation of this seedling. It will never become a tree, not even getting close to supporting itself (and you) and eventually you give up your (failed) tending and walk away.

In the second scenario you realize how stupid your approach had been. So everytime you finish watering and tending to the young apple seedling, you carefully stand up, and carefully watch it while leaving. Yes, in fact, you even try to watch over the tiny seedling from your kitchen window and even in the living room you think about it and try to peek through your windows, once in a while, into the garden, to look if your new project develops as it should.

Does the second approach take lots of effort? Sure it does. But more than effort it will need a certain mind set, an understanding of the nature of “cultivation” – in pali “Bhavana” – translated, in most cases as “Meditation”.

Yes, the Buddha never actually used the word ‘meditation’ (lat. meditatio – contemplation, thinking over) to denote what he had in mind when it came to ‘mental development’. His generic word of choice was ‘bhavana‘ from the root “to be”, to “make it being”, “development”, “cultivation” (…of certain qualities, faculties etc. we might add).

Many meditators are frustrated when they feel that their intensely cultivated meditation object which generated calmness and concentration starts to slip away from them during the day. Or, when they come back from a retreat and see how day after day their gained concentration and inner strength starts to fade away. They might continue to sit regularly but it seems as if their tiny seedling – their meditation object – starts to wither away.

One way to practice after realizing that cultivation is a process similar to tending to a tiny seedling is to look at the stories of ancient meditation masters and see what they suggested (in case your local meditation teacher did not tell you already).

In many instances, the Buddha himself and the old commentaries point out that we need to hedge our meditation object in all four bodily positions: Sitting and Standing. Walking and Lying down. Not separated from each other but rather making them one continuous process of tending towards the meditation topic. This is done in order to let the meditation object grow in strength. Once the apple tree reaches a certain height and strength it will continue to flourish or at least not get harmed even if we might neglect it for a while.

Eventually the young tree will grow into a strong one full of fresh apples and the meditator will be able to reap the fruits of his practice.

Therefore it is only partially a question of  “how long” someone already practiced – in the light of this example it is equally important how well he cultivated (in whatever timeframe was available to him) his little seedling. The quality in this example is an equivalent to how successful you are in “carrying” your meditation object with you from one posture to the next throughout the day.

Let us hear some voices of yore:

“And further, O bhikkhus, when he is going, a bhikkhu understands: ‘I am going’; when he is standing, he understands: ‘I am standing’; when he is sitting, he understands: ‘I am sitting’; when he is lying down, he understands: ‘I am lying down’; or just as his body is disposed so he understands it. (MN 10)

I stayed in the sort of places that are awe-inspiring and make your hair stand on end, such as park-shrines, forest-shrines, & tree-shrines. And while I was staying there a wild animal would come, or a bird would make a twig fall, or wind would rustle the fallen leaves. The thought would occur to me: ‘Is this that fear & terror coming?’ Then the thought occurred to me: ‘Why do I just keep waiting for fear? What if I were to subdue fear & terror in whatever state they come?’ So when fear & terror came while I was walking back & forth, I would not stand or sit or lie down. I would keep walking back & forth until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was standing, I would not walk or sit or lie down. I would keep standing until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was sitting, I would not lie down or stand up or walk. I would keep sitting until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was lying down, I would not sit up or stand or walk. I would keep lying down until I had subdued that fear & terror. (MN 4)

Bhikkhus, even while walking sensual thoughts, angry thoughts and hurting thoughts arise to the bhikkhu, if he does not endure them, dispels them and removes them, destroys them and makes them not to arise again while walking, he is said to be active, scrupulous and forever with aroused effort to dispel. – …standing …. sitting ….Bhikkhus, even while lying if awake sensual thoughts, angry thoughts and hurting thoughts arise to the bhikkhu, if he does not endure them, dispels them and removes them, destroys them and makes them not to arise again while lying, he is said to be active, scrupulous and forever with aroused effort to dispel. (AN 4.2)

“Mahanama, you should develop this recollection of the Buddha while you are walking, while you are standing, while you are sitting, while you are lying down, while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your home crowded with children. (AN 11.13)

Standing, walking, sitting, lying, for as long as he is without torpor, he should be resolved on this mindfulness {i.e. metta}, for this, they say here, is like the dwelling of a (Brahma) God. (SNip Mettasutta)

It is said that Great Elder seated in his day-quarters bent his arm quickly whilst talking to his resident pupils and then after putting back his arm to the position in which it first was, bent it again slowly. The resident pupils questioned him thus: “Reverend Sir, why, after bending the arm quickly, did you, having placed it in the position in which it first was, bend it slowly?” “Friends, until now I did not bend this arm with a mind separate from the subject of meditation ever since I began to attend to the subject of meditation. Therefore, having put back the arm in the place it was first in, I bent.” “Good! Reverend Sir. A bhikkhu should be one who acts thus.” Here, too, it should be understood that the non-abandoning of the subject of meditation is clear comprehension of resort. (Satipatthana Commentary)

Tip: The next time you finish a meditation session, do not get up right away. Remain seated for a while. Eventually open your eyes. Remain seated and continue to meditate. Then slowly stand up. Try to be focused on your meditation object all the while. Now standing, tend to your meditation object. Add some walking. If time allows come back to the seated position. Never allowing your mind to stray away from the cultivation of your meditation topic – whatever that might currently be. Good luck with your bhavana!

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Buddha or Arahant? – Don’t take the finger for the moon!

What is the difference between a Buddha and an Arahant? Before “deciding” which way to go, lets hear what the Buddha has to say on this topic:

At Savatthi… “Monks, the Tathagata — the worthy one, the fully enlightened one, who from disenchantment with form, from dispassion, from cessation, from lack of clinging (for form) is released — is termed ‘fully enligthened one.’ And a wisdom-liberated monk — who from disenchantment with form, from dispassion, from cessation, from lack of clinging (for form) is released — is termed ‘liberated by wisdom.’

“The Tathagata — the worthy one, the fully enlightened one, who from disenchantment with feeling … perception … fabrication, from dispassion, from cessation, from lack of clinging (for feeling … perception … fabrication… consciousness) is released — is termed ‘fully enlightened.’ And a wisdom liberated monk — who from disenchantment with feeling … perception … fabrication… consciousness, from dispassion, from cessation, from lack of clinging (for feeling … perception … fabrication) is released — is termed ‘liberated by wisdom’

“So what difference, what distinction, what distinguishing factor is there between one fully enlightened and a monk liberated by wisdom?

“For us, lord, the teachings have the Blessed One as their root, their guide, & their arbitrator. It would be good if the Blessed One himself would explicate the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it.”

“In that case, monks, listen & pay close attention. I will speak.”

“As you say, lord,” the monks responded.

The Blessed One said, “The Tathagata — the worthy one, the fully enlightened one — is the one who gives rise to the path (previously) unarisen, who engenders the path (previously) unengendered, who points out the path (previously) not pointed out. He knows the path, is expert in the path, is adept at the path.

And his disciples now keep following the path and afterwards become endowed with the path.

“This is the difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing between one fully enlightened and a monk liberated by wisdom.” (SN 22.58)

This short sutta found in the Samyutta Nikaya directly contradicts one pillar of Mahayana philosophy, namely the idea that an Arahant is not finished in his spiritual development and that his attainment is not as complete or at least of an inferior quality as that of a Buddha.

In fact, this discourse by the Buddha shows that the path and the abilities of Arahants (those who follow the path pointed out to them and realize its goal) and Buddhas (those who in addition have to ‘discover’ the path by themselves before pointing it out to others) are different – yet the quality and completeness of the realization are the same!

If we read in the suttas even the concept of Arahants lacking compassion seems pretty narrow. Many circumstances are reported were we find the disciples of the Buddha showing compassion in teaching and sharing the Dhamma just like their teacher did. Following in the Buddha’s footsteps and passing on the information.

So, you could say, that the Buddha is an Arahant with the special ability of a master in teaching and a long re-collectable experience from which to draw. In fact, you probably even say that regularly, chanting: “iti pi so araham sammasambuddho…”

Here is another nice story in which the Buddha qualifies himself vice versa his students:

“It is just as if a man, traveling along a wilderness track, were to see an ancient path, an ancient road, traveled by people of former times. He would follow it. Following it, he would see an ancient city, an ancient capital inhabited by people of former times, complete with parks, groves, & ponds, walled, delightful. He would go to address the king or the king’s minister, saying, ‘Sire, you should know that while traveling along a wilderness track I saw an ancient path… I followed it… I saw an ancient city, an ancient capital… complete with parks, groves, & ponds, walled, delightful. Sire, rebuild that city!’ The king or king’s minister would rebuild the city, so that at a later date the city would become powerful, rich, & well-populated, fully grown & prosperous.

“In the same way I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, traveled by the fully enlightened Ones of former times. And what is that ancient path, that ancient road, traveled by the fully enlightened Ones of former times? Just this noble eightfold path: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. That is the ancient path, the ancient road, traveled by the fully enlightened Ones of former times. I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of aging & death, direct knowledge of the origination of aging & death, direct knowledge of the cessation of aging & death, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of aging & death. I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of birth… becoming… clinging… craving… feeling… contact… the six sense media… name-&-form… consciousness, direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness, direct knowledge of the cessation of consciousness, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of consciousness. I followed that path.

“Following it, I came to direct knowledge of fabrications, direct knowledge of the origination of fabrications, direct knowledge of the cessation of fabrications, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of fabrications. Knowing that directly, I have revealed it to monks, nuns, male lay followers & female lay followers, so that this holy life has become powerful, rich, detailed, well-populated, wide-spread, proclaimed among celestial & human beings.” (SN 12.65)

He had to break-through all by himself. However, contrary to Mahayana belief, in their realization of Nibbana there is no difference between an “Arahant” and a “Buddha”. How could there be a difference in the extinguishing of a candle and the extinguishing of an oil lamp. The fire has been put out (nibbana) and the fuel consumed (upadanakkhaya), the preparations silenced (sankharasamatho), all resting places given up (sabb’upadhi patinissagga).

Monks, there are roots of trees, there are empty houses, concentrate, do not be negligent and repent later. This is our advice to you. (Sn 42.1)

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