The Happiness of a Beautiful Mind 喜滿禪心- 幸福來自美麗的心 燃燈禪師 (Sayalay Dīpaṅkara)

The Happiness of a Beautiful Mind喜滿禪心- 幸福來自美麗的心燃燈禪師(Sayalay Dīpaṅkara)

Here, Sayalay emphasized the importance of the practice of loving-kindness, both to oneself and others, as a crucial support for the practice of sīla, samādhi and paññā. She gave examples of how loving- kindness supports oneself to practise peacefully in a meditation retreat, and how it can be used as a basis for samatha and vipassanā. She also explained the importance of balancing loving-kindness with equanimity, especially in our daily lives.

Loving-kindness

Today I would like to explain what is mettā or loving-kindness. Many have heard this talk before but we have new meditators today. It is also good to practise again and again.
Loving-kindness meditation is very important. The Buddha taught many different kinds of meditation objects for concentration.

sīla, samādhi and paññā

In the Buddhasāsana the practice of sīla, samādhi and paññā are very important. bhikkhu, bhikkhuṇī and sayalay continue to this day and they have their own precepts to keep by the teachings of The Buddha.

Keeping precepts is also very important for lay people. We keep eight precepts here. Keeping the eight precepts is very important. However, if you have any physical or medical problem you can take the five precepts instead of the eight precepts. At the least, as meditators we need to keep five precepts.

Knowing the meaning of the precepts is very important. The first precept which we must try to keep, is to abstain from killing, even insects and all living beings.

The second precept is to abstain from stealing. The third precept is to abstain from sexual misconduct and the fourth precept is to abstain from telling lies. The fifth precept is to abstain from drinking alcohol which is an intoxicant.

In this meditation retreat smoking is also disallowed. These five precepts are very important.

The sixth precept is to abstain from solid food, fruits included, after the noon hour. We can drink fruit juice or certain kinds of herbal drinks, milk is not used in the making of drinks like milo or coffee These are made daily and in accordance with the method as laid down by The Buddha. Dinner is also not served. Sorry about that but I want you to keep this precept. If you are ill or unwell you may drink milk or take food as medicine.

The seventh precept is to abstain from listening to music and singing. Do not follow the loud music coming in from the village. And if you are unable to concentrate do not start to sing in your head, because it is not good for your precepts. We also need to abstain from adorning the body.

The eighth precept is to abstain from sleeping on high and luxurious beds. Beds for sleeping should not be more than twenty-seven inches high; in The Buddha’s time a cotton mattress is considered too comfortable and too soft. Here at the vihāra we use a simple mattress.

The practice of mettā or loving-kindness is the ninth precept.

Everyday when you practise loving-kindness meditation, when you send mettā to yourself or to all beings you are practising the ninth precept.

mettā before samatha and vipassanā

The Buddha taught loving-kindness meditation for the practice of concentration and also for the practice of vipassanā, all these practices are in the framework of sīla, samādhi and paññā.
It is not easy to keep the five precepts without mettā and compassion to all beings. Without mettā to yourself, it is also very difficult to keep the precepts.

When you are kind to yourself and know how to take care and love yourself, you will also take care of your kamma.

If you love yourself, then you want to practise, you want to train your mind to be good. It is simple, very simple yet complicated. As it is important to practise sīla, mettā is also very important.

You may already know that there are forty meditation objects in the practice for concentration or samādhi.

The practice of the four brahma vihāra refers to the practice of mettā, karuṇā, muditā and upekkhā, i.e. loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity.

In the practice of loving-kindness, The Buddha taught us, as a first step to send mettā to the four types of persons. The first type of person we send mettā to is ourselves. We need to practise until peaceful feeling arises, until we get mettā feeling in our heart, from our mind, from our intention.

This is very important. This is the reason why we need to take care of ourselves.

The second type of person we send mettā to at the beginning, is to someone of the same gender whom we respect. We think of the person- and then send mettā to the person. This second type of person can also refer to a few persons or a group of people we really respect.

The third type of person is the neutral person. These are persons that are neither our friends nor our enemies. The fourth type of person is the enemy. Or we may call them unfriendly persons.

So, beginning the practice with ourselves, we send mettā to ourselves as a protection. It is very important, as we need to have a peaceful mind and a healthy body.

How then do we give ourselves this peaceful mind, free from mental suffering, free from danger?

We need to understand the meaning of the words and the intention, not just ‘going through the ritual’ of chanting, “May I be free from danger...may I be free from danger...” Repeating the words alone will not give you the feeling of peace, the freedom from mental suffering or from danger. You need a contemplative mind, to be able to feel the peace and freedom from mental suffering.


Happy or Unhappy

From the time we are delivered from our mother’s womb, life is either happy or unhappy. We call the unhappy time ‘suffering’, do we call the happy time ‘suffering’? Do we think we are suffering when we are happy? Do we think this way? When life is good and comfortable, we forget about suffering.
But The Buddha taught otherwise. Rebirth means either human birth, or existence in some other realm. With life comes rebirth, ageing and death. This we call life. We go from one lifetime to another.

Rebirth, ageing and death- all are suffering. Being happy or not happy is later. Suffering is when you have body and mind.

Sometimes you feel happy, other times unhappy. When you are unhappy, you contemplate there is so much pain in your body and mind. When you feel life is suffering, you want to be free from suffering. When times are good, you are happy, you will forget about yourself and about your life, and think that ‘everything is ok’
.
That is why The Buddha taught that even when there is happiness, you need to practise vipassanā. You need to contemplate that happiness is also impermanent, that it cannot last.

Happiness after a while will also disappear. Happiness forever is very difficult to find. So, whether happy or unhappy, but mostly during time of suffering, we want to be free from suffering.

We do not want a difficult suffering body or a suffering mind. We want to be free from mental and physical suffering. We want to be happy, to have a good life, to be free from danger. This is the reason we need to take care of our mind. With understanding and intention, we want to protect ourselves.

The intention to take care, to want to be free from danger, we call that the sending of mettā. The intention to send mettā, it is done not only when you are sitting, not only during meditation, and not only in the hall. Where else do you go to practise? The answer is everywhere. Everywhere- in the room, in the meditation hall, the walking paths, inside and outside the compound, dining hall- you practise mettā. Everywhere you go it is better to have a contemplating mind.

Except if you are contemplating on the breath, otherwise try to do mettā. If you know how to contemplate, you can also join the practice of mettā and breathing together.

Is it not good and safe if you can do that? Isn’t it good to be free from danger and mental suffering? But it is important that we have pure intention.