Dhamma Talks - Buddhist Insight Meditation :: Buddhapadipa Thai Temple

Buddhism differs from most other religions in that a belief in God is deemed a hindrance. There is no saviour or supreme being who can free us from pain, or give us eternal life, nor who can answer all our questions about the meaning of life and death.

The law of kamma says that all volitional acts will inevitably bring good or bad results at some time in this life or in the future when conditions are appropriate. We must accept responsibility for ourselves and cannot escape unpleasantness by means of repentance.

In Buddhism there is no remission of sin, nor are there any commandments, but there is very sound advice on how to behave in a wholesome way that will not bring suffering to ourselves or others. The Buddhist path which leads to enlightenment, and therefore freedom from suffering, is open to everyone, but each one has to tread the path himself. If we do not achieve enlightenment in this life all is not lost, we shall experience a series of rebirths in which we may gradually progress towards the goal of cessation of all suffering.

Religions are products of the search for meaning and truth. An inner force impels us to strive towards some goal. The Buddha realised that suffering was the chief problem in life and by means of intense introspection he found the reason for it and the way to end it. Suffering, its cause, its cessation and the path which brings it to an end are the Four Noble Truths on which Buddhism is founded.

Being a man and not a God, Buddha was unable to provide a magic formula to cure all ills, but he did point the way towards the realisations of the same universal truths which he had discovered for himself. The Path towards enlightenment is the same as the one that the Buddha took and it arises in the human mind which has been purified by morality, and other virtues, as a series of insights realised by means of meditation.

The understanding of reality comes not from worship or ritual, or accepting the word of a supreme being, it comes from the dispassionate examination of our own mind and body in our moment by moment experience of them.

We can be fully aware of our mental states only at the moment that they are actually present. Looking back is not true awareness because it is influenced by memory, opinions and habits of thought. In insight meditation we are mindful of every changing sensation, feeling perception and thought, noting their arising and ceasing. As the practice deepens it becomes clear that our mind is not fully under our control, any more than the body is. We cannot decide not to remember a dream, or not to hear a sound these things suddenly arise and cease in the same way that mental states, such as anger or fear, arise whether we wish it or not.

Sitting in meditation we gradually become aware that things are changing all the time, that there is no internal controller which we may call ‘myself’ and that we cause ourselves suffering by wanting things to be different from the way they are. We become aware of the three characteristics of being as described by the Buddha – impermanence, unsatisfactoriness (suffering) and non-self.

Meditation is not a form of worship or a ritual, neither is it a way of making the mind blank, or having a kind of holiday from daily life, in fact it is quite hard work. The two main kinds are tranquillity meditation, called samatha, and insight meditation or vipassana. The former is a way of concentrating the mind on one object, for example a word such as ‘Buddho’ so that all thoughts are eliminated and the mind, which has become pure and concentrated, may be turned to the path of enlightenment.

Insight meditation also requires concentration, but not to the same degree. In this practice the mind is focused on an object such as the movement of the body caused by breathing, but the meditator also aims to be immediately aware of any thought which enters the mind. He does not pursue these thoughts but, having acknowledged them, turns the mind back to the meditation object.

The aim is not to withdraw the mind into a state of total calm but to be aware of its functioning in the present moment, and of the connection between mind and body. He aims to experience the Four Noble Truths for himself; the truth about cause and effect and the three characteristics of existence.

Understanding the non-existence of a soul or permanent entity, or self, is particularly liberating, since wrong view of self is a major obstacle. So long as we are attached to the idea of ‘myself’, and believe that we can, somehow, get things as we want them to be, and then prevent them from changing, we are bound to experience disappointment and distress.

The actual technique used to practice insight meditation will be explained later, but it is most desirable to have the help of a wise and experienced meditator with whom to discuss one’s experiences, so as to avoid going in the wrong direction.