Insight Meditation

Insight Meditation by Somdet Phra Vanarat [Buddhasiri]
[English version by Ven.Phra Dhammavisuddhikavi (Pichitr Thitavanno)


At present, it is remarkable that more people in the world are interested in meditation practice, especially Buddhist Meditation.

This is because they have appreciated mind development and realized the danger of material progress only. In fact, real peace is the state of mind, it does not come from money and property. Buddhist Meditation is the direct way of mind development bringing peace to mankind.

There are, in Buddhism, two kinds of meditation, that is Samathabhavana or Tranquillity Meditation and Vipassanabhavana or Insight Meditation. This book deals with the latter.

The "Insight Meditation" is one part of Buddhist Meditations compiles by Somdet Phra Vanarat (Buddhasiri Thera) who was "a well known meditation master" (B.E.2349 - 2434 / A.D.1806 - 1891).

He was a senior monk in the reign of King Rama 4 and King Rama 5 of Chakri dynasty; he wrote many kinds of books on Buddhism, especially on meditation practice.

 

Insight meditation


May those who develop this Vipassanabhavana - the development of insight - progress and succeed in their own practice.

1. Concise Account of Insjght Meditation

One who wants to practise the Vipassanabhavana, first of all, should know the meaning or the definition of it: "The Vipassanabhavana is mind development realized by a meditator."

Concerning this kind of meditation in Buddhism, the three kinds of doctrine (Dhamma) that should be studied by a meditator are: (1) the grounds or objects of insight, (2) the cause of insight and (3) the insight itself.


What are the grounds of insight?

The grounds of insight are all compounds (sankhara) both animate organisms and inanimate objects in the universe of name and form taught by the Buddha and his disciples, which are composed of

(1) five groups or aggregates (khandhas)
(2) twelve spheres (ayatana)
(3) twenty - two faculties (indriya)
(4) eighteen elements (dhatu)
(5) the Four Noble Truths and
(6) the twelve nidana (cause) of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada).

HXperson who wants to develop Insight Meditation has to study the above mentioned doctrines that are the grounds of insight, together with asking what he does not understand until he has clear understanding, and then remembers and recites them. Such a person can practise Insight Meditation.

 

What is the cause of insight?

Two kinds of purification, that is, purity of morals (silavisuddhi) and purity of mind (cittavisuddhi) are the causes of insight.


It is very necessary for a meditator who wants to practise Insight Meditation to have purified morality before he can proceed to insight. Without purified precepts (sila) and concentration (samadhi) it is fruitless and unsuitable for a meditator to develop insight because morality and concentration are the most important causes of insight.


What is insight itself?

The following five kinds of purity are the insight itself. They are :

1. Purity of view (Ditthivisuddhi)
2. Purity of overcoming doubts (Kankhavitarana visuddhi)
3. Purity of knowledge and insight into the right and wrong paths (Maggamagganana visuddhi)
4. Purity of knowledge and insight into progress (Patipadananadassana visuddhi)
5. Purity of knowledge and insight into the Noble Path (Nanadassana visuddhi).

 

Purity of view...
... is the clear comprehension of name and form (namarupa) with their respective characteristics, essence, manifestation and proximate cause, realizing that there is no being, no person apart from the mere name and form.

Purity of overcoming doubts...
... is the comprehension of the causal relation of mind and body, putting away all doubts belonging to the three phases of time viz. past, present and future, for example, "From what did I come? What am I? Where shallI be born in the future? Is there a deva (god) or not? etc."

Purity of knowledge and insight into the right and wrong paths...
... is the knowledge in the purity consisting of knowing, "This is the insight which is the Path and its Fruition (Maggaphala), this is the defilement of insight which is not the Path."
... The nine parts of knowledge of insight beginning with Udayavayanana and lasting with Anulomanana are called "Purity of knowledge and insight into progress."
... The knowledge of the Four Noble Paths and Four Noble Fruits is called "Purity of knowledge and insight."
... The last five kinds of purity mentioned above are insight itself.
... Again, three characteristic marks are realized by knowledge as impermanent, suffering and non-self of all compounded things as mentioned in Buddhist Scripture, "What is impermanent (yam aniccam), that is suffering (tam dukkham); what is suffering (yam dukkham), that is non-self (tam anatta); what is non-self (yam anatta), that is not "mine", not "I am", not "my self"; thus it is to be realized as it is (yatha bhutam) by right understanding". Such right understanding is so strong that a meditator feels disgust, does not take delight in the five aggregates, nor is he attached to them; he is thus freed from all kinds of defilements. This kind of full knowledge is also called "Insight".

A meditator who has developed the above mentioned insight perfectly is said to have practised insight in the right way and he can attain the highest goal of the Insight Meditation in Buddhism.

This is the Insight in brief.

 

2. Explanation of Insight

The following is the full explanation of insight.

First of all, it is necessary for a meditator to have pure precepts and the mind being free from mental hindrances through the practice of concentration. He also has to get rid of wrong views by realizing that those wrong views (the defilements of insight) are useless and that they are not the path of insight.

Furthermore, it is necessary for a meditator to know the characteristics, essence, manifestation and proximate cause of insight and its six divisions (vibhagas).


The Characteristics, etc. of Insight

What are the characteristics of insight?

To realize the real nature of compounded things as impermanent, suffering and non-self as they really are, are the characteristics of insight. Apart from realizing the real nature of compounds as mentioned above, others are not insight at all.

 

What is the essence of insight?

The essence of insight is dispelling the darkness of ignorance in compounds as permanent, happy and self; that they are impermanent, unhappy and non-self and impure or ugly.

What is manifestation of insight?

Its manifestation is realizing the compounds as impermanent, suffering and non-self; getting rid of the darkness of delusion which conceals the full knowledge [panna]; being not deluded in the compounded things as permanent, happy, self and beauty.

What is the proximate cause of insight?

Concentration is its proximate cause.

Morality and Concentration are the Basis of Insight.

It is because of concentration that insight can be developed and exit. Without concentration it is impossible for a meditator to practise insight because concentration is the cause of insight.

So it should not be believed at all in a person who has impure precepts and distracted mind, claiming that he has achieved any stage of his insight development. Because the pure moral conduct is the cause of concentration; concentration is the cause of insight, insight is the cause of the Noble Paths, and the Noble Paths are the cause of the Noble Fruits. The nature of Dhamma thus appears, not in any other way.

So the meditator of Insight Meditation should know the characteristics, essence, manifestation and proximate cause of insight as described above.

 

Divisions of Insight

There are six divisions of insight as follows:

1. Aniccam - impermanence.

2. Aniccalakkhanam - the fundamental characteristics of impermanence.

3. Dukkham - suffering.

4. Dukkhalakkhanam - the fundamental characteristics of suffering.

5. Anatta - non-self.

6. Anattalakkhanam - the fundamental characteristics of non-self.

Of these, all compounds, both animate organisms and inanimate objects in the universe or name and form, are divided by the Buddha and his discipkes into aggregates (khandha), spheres (ayatana), elements (dhatu), etc which are the grounds of insight; these all are designated in Buddhist doctrine as aniccam, (impermanent) because they appear (rising), and then disappear (ceasing), and in those which exist they undergo change.

The state of rising (upada), ceasing (vaya) and undergoing change (annathatta) is aniccalakkhana - the fundamental characteristics of impermanence.

All compounds, including name and form which are impermanent, are dukkha (suffering) because they are subject to rising, ceasing and to change under the influence of the fire of suffering, that is, decay or old age, sickness and death that always oppress, crush and burn the name and form.

The state of rising, ceasing and undergoing change under the influence of the fire of suffering as mentioned above is Dukkhalakkhana - the fundamental characteristics of suffering.

All compounds and non-compound (Nirvana) are non-self (Anatta) because they are null, void, empty, ownerless and masterless.

The state of being null, void, empty, ownerless and masterless is Anattalakkhana - the fundamental characteristics of non-self.

The meditator of Insight Meditation should know the six divisions of Insight as mentioned above.

The meditator who is endowed with the purity of morality and the purity of mind as thus explained is said to be proper in his insight development; he can indeed achieve his insight practice.

 

3. Objects of Insight and How to Develop Insight According to the Pali Canon

The following is the explanation of the Dhammas which are the objects of grounds (bhumi) of insight, and the way to develop insight as described in the Pali Canon:

"All compounds, both animate organism and inanimate objects, are the objects of insight contemplation." And the insight, having all compounds as its objects, can be found in both Aniccalakkhana and Dukkhalakkhana which are mentioned in Pali: "Sabbe sankhara anicca - All compounds are impermanent.", "Sabbe sankhara dukkha - All compounds are suffering or painful."

Again, all Dhammas, both compounds and non-compound (Nirvana) are the objects of insight contemplation. And the insight, having all kinds of Dhamma as its object, can be found in only anattalakkhana which is mentioned in Pali: "Sabbe dhamma anatta - All states (Dhamma) are non-self."

Or when developing Insight Meditation having all compounds and non-compound as its objects, a meditator can develop it as mentioned in Pali: "Sabbe sankhara anicca. Sabbe sankhara dukkha. Sabbe dhamma anatta - All compounds are impermanent. All compounds are suffering. All states are non-self."

 

Vipassana Development Having Five Aggregates as Its Objects

Again, there are five groups or aggregates :
(1) rupa - body
(2) vedana - feeling
(3) sanna - perception
(4) sankhara - mental activities
(5) vinnana - consciousness

Of these, body (rupa) is so called in the sense of "ruppati" - "to change" or "to decay" under the influence of opposite physical conditions such as heat and could. It consists of its own characteristics, that is, the four elements : (1) earth, (2) water, (3) fire and (4) wind and of twenty-four dependent forms (upadayarupa) derived from the four elements. All kinds of rupa are called "the aggregates of body (rupakhandha)."

Vedana is so called in the sense of feeling or sensation comprises the subjective states whether pleasant, painful or neutral that are produced by contact between the sense and the sense objects. All these are called "A group of feeling (vedanakhandha)."

Sanna is so called in the sense of perception, including everything that has the characteristics of perceiving. It is related to the senses and is of six kinds : the five sense perceptions, and the perception of mental objects. All these perceptions are called "A group of perception (sannakhandha)."

Sankhara (mental activity) is applied to vedana - volition, will or the mental faculty of action and all other mental concomitants (cetasika) except feeling and perception. All kinds of these mental activities are called "A group of sankhara (sankharakhandha)."

Vinnana (consciousness) is applied to all that have characteristics of cognizing. It refers to all states of consciousness in the sense of awareness of various objects, that is, the consciousness arising through six sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, touch and mind); it is either wholesome (good) or unwholesome (bad) karmic effect of neutral. The sum total of all these states of consciousness is called "A group of consciousness (vinnanakhandha)."

These five aggregates as described above are the objects of insight. And such insight can be found in both Aniccalakkhana and Anattalakkhana as mentioned in Pali : "Rupamaniccam - form (body) is impermanent.", "vedanaanicca - feeling is impermanent.", sanna anicca - perception is impermanent", "sankhara anicca - mental activities are impermanent.", "vinnanamaniccam - consciousness is impermanent."

"Rupam anatta - Form is non-self.", "vedana anatta - feeling is non-self.", "sanna anatta - perception is non-self.", "sankhara anatta - mental activities are non-self."

"Sabbe sankhara anicca - All compounds are impermanent.", "sabbe dhamma anatta - all states are non-self."

Insight has the five aggregates as its objects thus mentioned.

Herein Aniccalakkhana and Anattalakkhana are mentioned, not Dukkhalakkhana. Since Dukkhalakkhana is applied in Aniccalakkhana because what is impermanent, that is suffering. Having realized Aniccalakkhana, one also realizes Dukkhalakkhana. So only two, Aniccalakkhana, and Anattalakkhana are given in Pali.

The meditator should develop insight using five aggregates as its objects as thus mentioned in Pali.