Daniel Ingram - Mastering the Core Teachings of Buddha - An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book

I have already mentioned numerous possible exercises, perspectives and emphases that may be used when exploring our reality for the purpose of awakening, and I will continue to mention more as we go along. However, I recommend that the foundation of your practice be 43

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investigation of the Three Characteristics of the sensations that make up your reality. If you find it too complicated to try to investigate all Three Characteristics at once, then I recommend quick and precise

investigation of impermanence. If this seems too difficult, I have found the simple practice of noting very quickly to be more than sufficiently powerful for gaining clear and direct insights into the true nature of thing. Should you find that the numerous instructions and avenues of inquiry I present to be too confusing, remember this paragraph and stick to these simple but profound practices. “When in doubt, note it out!”

ENERGY

So, we diligently investigate the ultimate truth of our experience, and this can actually be really invigorating once we get into it. Just as playing video games can be very exciting, we have lots of sensations coming in all the time that are just screaming to be understood. When we rise to this challenge, things can really begin to jump. Once we have sorted out what is mind and what is body and begun to see a bit of the Three Characteristics, this in itself can produce lots of ener gy , the third of the seven factors. This can be just a bit scary at first until we get used to how quick and powerful our minds can be. As mentioned in the Five Spiritual Faculties, energy is a very good thing, as it obviously energizes our practice. We can almost always call up just a bit more energy when we need it, and this is a good thing to realize. However, being mindful and investigating diligently can also lead to increased energy, so now you have more than one way to go about this! Thank you, Seven Factors of Enlightenment!

RAPTURE

When energy comes on line with mindfulness and investigation, this can produce something called rapture . Rapture has two general meanings, the first of which relates to deep joy, pleasure, and enthusiasm. These are valuable spiritual qualities, and Ye of Dark Puritanical Inklings take heed of this! It is much easier going on the spiritual path if we are generally enthusiastic about what we are doing.

This should be no surprise, but somehow it is often overlooked. I'm definitely not advocating hedonistic Epicureanism here, but to walk the 44

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spiritual path with a sense of joy, a sense of wonder, a bit of a smile and especially a sense of humor is really good for you and everyone who has to be near you. Sure, there will be hard times and difficulties that can have good lessons to teach us, but be open to what joy and happiness life can bring.

Spiritual practice can also produce all kinds of odd experiences, some of which can be very intense, bizarre and far out. This is the other connotation of the word rapture, as these are commonly referred to as

“raptures.” Some of these might be really pleasant, some may just be weird, and some might completely suck. All the strange physical sensations, pains, pleasures, movements, visions, lights, perception distortions, etc., which may or may not show up as a result of spiritual practice are all just raptures. Repeat, just raptures. Don't get hung up on them or make stories out of them, as compelling as they can be, and don't think that they are required either: they aren't. The sensations that make them up come, go, ain't you, and don't satisfy. Most are just byproducts of meditation and strong concentration. Many produce no wisdom. Some, of course, can provide deep insights into the truth of things, but don't get stuck on these. Many of these lessons show up once and never again.

Some people can get so serious and fixated on suffering that they fight the pleasant raptures and even cling to the difficult ones. Don't do this! The joy and pleasure that may arise in meditation has wonderful healing aspects to it, and it can lead to deep tranquility, concentration and equanimity, which are all really good things. Don't cling to pleasant states either, as you will just get stuck and be frustrated when they end, which they always do. In general, if you try to fight or cling to raptures you will get stuck, and if you can accept them as they are this will be of benefit. See equanimity at the end of this list, as well as the expertly written Chapter 9 of A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield.

This is a good place for me to mention the concept of vedena, which is a Pali word that relates to the degree of pleasantness, unpleasantness or neutrality of a sensation. If one pays too much exclusive attention to sensations that are either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, while ignoring the other sensations going on at that time, then one is likely to be missing many opportunities for insight. Preoccupation 45

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with pleasant sensations can cause one to become a vapid bliss-junkie.

Preoccupation with unpleasant sensations can cause one to become dark and depressed. Preoccupation with neutral sensations can cause one to become dull and emotionally flat. (Thanks to the esteemed Christopher Titmuss for the inspiration for this paragraph). Our experience tends to be a complex mixture of many flavors of sensations.

They are all quite worthy of investigation.

The take-home message here is that rapture and raptures are to be understood as they are and related to wisely, accepting all sensations that make them up, be they pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Learn when to put the breaks on practice if the difficult raptures are teaching you their important lessons a bit too fast for you to keep it together, and learn how to open to the wonderful joy and bliss which spiritual practice may sometimes produce.

TRANQUILITY

Joy, bliss and rapture can produce tranqu ility . We can associate being peaceful with tranquility. Focusing on tranquility and a more spacious and silent perspective in the face of difficult raptures can help you ride them out, and just sitting silently and observing reality do its thing can be very powerful practice. There are actually whole schools of spiritual practice dedicated to this. Thus, tranquility is a really good thing in meditation. We may think of great spiritual masters being internally tranquil, and while it may or may not be true, there are reasons why we associate tranquility with spirituality. A mind that is not tranquil will have a harder time concentrating and being balanced. It is just as simple as that. Being kind and moral can help with tranquility, as this lessens the harsh thought patterns in our minds.

This does not mean that non-tranquil moments are not “spiritual”

or that we must adopt some sort of restrained and artificial flatness.

Remember, all types of sensations, mind states and actions are valid phenomena for investigation and real expressions of what is going on.

Real tranquility comes from a deep understanding of all of this, but all too often this ideal becomes some sort of dehumanizing exercise in passivity. Real tranquility often comes naturally, though it may be skillfully cultivated as well. Cultivating equanimity of the kind mentioned later is helpful for cultivating tranquility, as is deepening in 46

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pure concentration practices, the second spiritual training. Tranquility, concentration and equanimity are intimately related.

CONCENTRATION

Co ncentrati on we have seen twice before, and we will see it again in much more detail in Part III. One of the challenges of deep tranquility is keeping the mind concentrated. This may seem like a direct contradiction to what I have just said, but there may be stages of practice where there can be so much tranquility that the mind can get quite dull and hard to focus. So, just as tranquility is good for concentration and acceptance, too much is similar to not having enough energy. Remember, balance and strengthen, strengthen and balance.