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Sila (conduct) as a Samadhi (concentration) practice
not1not2
Veteran
The buddhist 8-fold path can be divided into 3 factors: Sila (virtue/conduct), Samadhi (concentration) & Prajna (wisdom)
To illustrate: Right Action, Right Livelihood & Right Speech would be considered Sila, Right Concentration, Right Effort & Right Mindfulness would be considered Samadhi, and Right View & Right Resolve would be considered Prajna.
Now, while these divisions are useful & accurate, I think it's safe to say that these 3 things are not seperate, as they compliment each other, depend on each other and feed off of each other. Lately I have been noticing that I can take all Sila practice as a concentration practice, as they are the application of Right Effort & possibly Right Mindfulness. It also seems to fit this description of Right Concentration:
The phrase 'any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors' seems to denote that any of the 8-fold path may be approached as a concentration exercise. Personally, I am beginning to apply the 5 precepts in this fashion. I also particularly like Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh's presentation of the Five Precepts as 'the Five Wonderful Mindfulness Trainings'. I think this is because actually applying the precepts involves raising one's mindfulness & ability to not follow distractions. For example, in regard to the 2nd precept, I tend to be very distracted on slow days at work. I sneak onto the internet, read articles that I've archived, & write posts like this one (bad buddhist, bad!). So, I try to be mindful of the states which lead to distraction. I still suck at this, but I am gaining more ability to spot this distractedness as it happens & after the fact through active cultivation. Additionally, these precepts give the mind me something to grab onto, something active to do & be mindful of. As I am just getting out of the 'blueprint phase' of my path & beginning to construct my 'raft', this seems to keep my practice afloat during periods when I am not meditating or studying. Also, the state of mind which occurs when I succeed at this is concentrated & peaceful. I feel better about myself & my life. My guess/hope is that seeing this reality will give me further & further motivation to intentionally practice Sila. This seems to be the case so far, though I am still very mentally undisciplined & unmotivated.
Now, the fact that I am not very motivated to let go of distractions brings me back to the original point of this post. In this regard I am sort of like a person who has to inch their way into the water because they are afraid of the shock of jumping in. What I mean is that, as I have yet to develop full dispassion towards sensuality & distractions, the thought of giving them up is a bit scary at this point. I haven't fully seen the benefit of such abandonment yet, so it's only an abstract. It's hard to be motivated by an abstract. Approaching Sila as a Concentration training seems to undercut that fear & lack of motivation. It allows me to inch my way deeper into the practice despite my lack of desire. For whatever reason, when I approach it this way, it is not that intimidating. It's a one moment at a time sort of renunciation, rather than a "you must never do these things again" sort of renunciation. So, in time I will see the benefit of this activity directly & naturally develop enough faith in the path to take the full plunge. Is that what it means to be a stream-winner? Also, I can tell that my mind is becoming more singular in focus, even though I am pretty sporadic in this right now. Every time I manage to maintain concentration through conduct, I realize I have succeeded at something that I wouldn't have been able to do before at all. So, I will just keep plugging away & eventually it will become a natural habit.
Anyway, this is just something I wanted to share, as it has been a helpful insight to my own practice. I hope you all find some value in it.
May we all attain singleness of mind in regard to the Noble Path. Best wishes & metta
_/\_
To illustrate: Right Action, Right Livelihood & Right Speech would be considered Sila, Right Concentration, Right Effort & Right Mindfulness would be considered Samadhi, and Right View & Right Resolve would be considered Prajna.
Now, while these divisions are useful & accurate, I think it's safe to say that these 3 things are not seperate, as they compliment each other, depend on each other and feed off of each other. Lately I have been noticing that I can take all Sila practice as a concentration practice, as they are the application of Right Effort & possibly Right Mindfulness. It also seems to fit this description of Right Concentration:
"Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, & right mindfulness — is called noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions."
— MN 117
The phrase 'any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors' seems to denote that any of the 8-fold path may be approached as a concentration exercise. Personally, I am beginning to apply the 5 precepts in this fashion. I also particularly like Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh's presentation of the Five Precepts as 'the Five Wonderful Mindfulness Trainings'. I think this is because actually applying the precepts involves raising one's mindfulness & ability to not follow distractions. For example, in regard to the 2nd precept, I tend to be very distracted on slow days at work. I sneak onto the internet, read articles that I've archived, & write posts like this one (bad buddhist, bad!). So, I try to be mindful of the states which lead to distraction. I still suck at this, but I am gaining more ability to spot this distractedness as it happens & after the fact through active cultivation. Additionally, these precepts give the mind me something to grab onto, something active to do & be mindful of. As I am just getting out of the 'blueprint phase' of my path & beginning to construct my 'raft', this seems to keep my practice afloat during periods when I am not meditating or studying. Also, the state of mind which occurs when I succeed at this is concentrated & peaceful. I feel better about myself & my life. My guess/hope is that seeing this reality will give me further & further motivation to intentionally practice Sila. This seems to be the case so far, though I am still very mentally undisciplined & unmotivated.
Now, the fact that I am not very motivated to let go of distractions brings me back to the original point of this post. In this regard I am sort of like a person who has to inch their way into the water because they are afraid of the shock of jumping in. What I mean is that, as I have yet to develop full dispassion towards sensuality & distractions, the thought of giving them up is a bit scary at this point. I haven't fully seen the benefit of such abandonment yet, so it's only an abstract. It's hard to be motivated by an abstract. Approaching Sila as a Concentration training seems to undercut that fear & lack of motivation. It allows me to inch my way deeper into the practice despite my lack of desire. For whatever reason, when I approach it this way, it is not that intimidating. It's a one moment at a time sort of renunciation, rather than a "you must never do these things again" sort of renunciation. So, in time I will see the benefit of this activity directly & naturally develop enough faith in the path to take the full plunge. Is that what it means to be a stream-winner? Also, I can tell that my mind is becoming more singular in focus, even though I am pretty sporadic in this right now. Every time I manage to maintain concentration through conduct, I realize I have succeeded at something that I wouldn't have been able to do before at all. So, I will just keep plugging away & eventually it will become a natural habit.
Anyway, this is just something I wanted to share, as it has been a helpful insight to my own practice. I hope you all find some value in it.
May we all attain singleness of mind in regard to the Noble Path. Best wishes & metta
_/\_
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