Basic Meditation Practice
Having worshipped the Triple Gem, it is now time to practice meditation. Sit in a half-lotus position by folding your right leg over your left leg, rest your right hand over your left hand so that your right index finger touches the tip of your left thumb and place them comfortably on your lap. Close your eyes lightly as if you are about to fall asleep. Do not squeeze your eyes shut. Adjust your posture to allow good circulation so that you will not feel achy.
Comfort lies at the heart of meditation practice. Mindfulness and comfort must go hand-in-hand whatever meditation technique you choose to practice. Mindfulness means practicing what you have been taught by your meditation teacher. In the case of Luang Pu Wat Paknam, he teaches the practitioner to visualize a clear sphere as the object of mental focus as well chanting the mantra, Samma Arahang. By focusing on a visualized image and chanting the mantra in a relaxed manner, one is practicing mindfulness.
Mindfulness and comfort must go hand-in-hand the entire way from start to finish. If you can do this, your mind can easily become still and quiet. Once your mind has been brought to a complete standstill, you will be able to see the Dhamma Sphere. Do not be too intent or uptight. The First Base: The nostril (left for females and right for males)
The Second Base: Corner of the eye (left for females and right for males)
The Third Base: The nerve center
The Fourth Base: The palate
The Fifth Base: The throat
The Sixth Base: The center of the body at the navel level
The Seventh Base: The center of the body, the permanent dwelling of one’s mind (two finger’ width above The Sixth Base)
This half-lotus position is the standard meditation posture which Luang Pu Wat Paknam copied from the Dhammakaya.
The Dhammakaya is all-knowing when it comes to the reality of life and He sits in a half-lotus position with His right leg over His left leg and His right hand over His left hand with His right index finger touching His left thumb.
It is important that the practitioner keeps his hands close to his body so that his torso can be upright.
However, when practicing meditation at home, one can sit however way one wants as long as one can be both mindful and comfortable. Make sure that no part of your body feels strained.Once you are sitting in a comfortable position, you should then turn your attention to your mind. There are many ways to keep your mind comfortable and relaxed. There are ten different methods as taught by the Lord Buddha. These are called Anusati-10* starting with Buddhanusati, Dhammanusati, Sanghanusati, etc.
*Anusati-10 means ten different recollections as follows:
1. Buddhanusati – recollection of the Buddha-Virtues;
2. Dhammanusati – recollection of the Dhamma-Virtues;
3. Sanghanusati – recollection of the Sangha-Virtues;
4. Silanusati – recollection of one’s Precepts observation;
5. Caganusati – recollection of one’s alms-giving activities;
6. Devanusati – recollection of the virtues which lead to rebirth in the Celestial Realm;
7. Maranassati – recollection of the inevitability of one’s death;
8. Kayagatasati – recollection of the reality of one’s body;
9. Anapanasati: being mindful of one’s breathing; and
10. Upasamanusati – recollection of Nibbana as being devoid of defilements and suffering.
Some of you may feel comfortable and relaxed recalling scenes of nature when you practice meditation.But the best shortcut is to keep your mind empty and quiet and you feel as though you were the only person on earth. You have no concerns at all about school, family, work or anything else. Imagine that you are sitting all alone in space and there is nothing and there is no one around you. This is the best way to feel comfortable and free.The word “comfort” here initially means neither happiness nor unhappiness. It is the feeling one has when one can imagine that there is nothing and no one around. It is the state of mind that should be nurtured calmly and unhurriedly. One feels content with this kind of feeling which will eventually lead to a higher level of comfort.
Comfort as applied to meditation practice has many different levels. For now, just keep your mind empty, quiet, spacious and calm like being in space. If you can do this, what you used to think of as being difficult will become easy for you.You have probably heard that the Dhamma is so profound that it is difficult to attain, and how it requires superhuman effort and being in a place of solitude somewhere in the forest. But now you will hear that although the Dhamma is profound it can be easily attained by deploying mindfulness and comfort.
The term “Dhamma” has fifty different meanings in Buddhism but suffice it to say that Dhamma means cleanliness, purity, righteousness.In some Buddhist texts, the Dhamma is described as being a clear sphere. In others, the Dhamma means the Dhammakaya, the crystal clear Buddha inside one’s body. When one’s mind is comfortable, it will become still and quiet. The still and quiet mind leads to the attainment of the Dhamma.
The Most Venerable Luang Pu Wat Paknam discovered the Dhamma Sphere as taught by the Lord Buddha. Basic Dhamma appears as a clear and pure sphere. Its size can be as small as a star in the sky or as large as the full-moon or even larger like the midday sun.He also discovered that when one’s mind can be kept still, quiet, and comfortable in the center of the sphere, in time different Inner Bodies will appear one after another. These Inner Bodies exist in layers, one inside another. The Refined Human Body lies inside the Coarse Human Body.
The Coarse and Refined Celestial Bodies lie inside the Refined Human Body. The Coarse and Refined Form Brahma Bodies lie inside the Refined Celestial Body. The Coarse and Refined Non-Form Brahma Bodies lie inside the Refined Form Brahma Body. The Dhammakaya lies inside the Refined Non-Form Brahma Body. These Inner Bodies exist inside each person. They are real. They are not the products of one’s imagination. Any person who can keep his mind still, quiet, calm, and comfortable in a continuous manner will be able to access these Inner Bodies regardless of his race or creed. Human beings may differ on the outside but inside everyone is the same.When one’s mind reaches a certain level of refinement, it will see the respective Dhamma Sphere or Inner Body. Therefore, all one has to do is to keep one’s mind still, quiet, calm, and comfortable in a consistent manner and in time one will be able to attain the Dhamma.
