20111105 white lotus sutra and concentration development

Buddhist Association of Canada
Cham Shan Temple

Updated Mar 2010

Cham Shan Temple

ná mó fó tuó
南無佛陀
Namo Buddha

ná mó dá mó
南無達摩
Namo Dharma

ná mó sēng qié
南無僧伽
Namo Sangha

Updated Mar 2010


Factors in Developing
Concentration
1. Mindfulness –
 It brings the mind to the point of
concentration skillfully and becomes
powerful enough to fall into deep
absorption.
 It guards against defilements and
extraneous thoughts.
 It alerts us to take appropriate
action to remedy hindrances.
 It keeps the mind flexible, workable,
soft, balance and so on.
 It is advisable to practice
Satipatthana Meditation to gain a
strong grounding of mindfulness.
加拿大佛教會 © 2006 Buddhist Association of Canada


Satipatthana Meditation
According to Abhidharmakosa , there are four types of
meditation skills to develop the mindfulness. Contemplate the
following truths:
(1) Body is untrue and impure (without form),
(2) Perception is the cause of pain (senses are also false),
(3) Mind is transient (without constant), and
(4) Everything is without eternal substance (without me).

Practicing each of these meditations at first separately, then together,
the adept leads himself to the more advanced stage of meditation.
The purpose of these four types of meditation is to keep in mind that
these bodily and mental functions have no eternal substance and thus
to rid oneself of false views contrary to the contents of these four
types of meditation.


Factors in Developing Concentration
2. Detachment
 Right concentration is referred to
concentration that detached from the five
senses.
 The meditation object is solely that of the
mind door and its concentration is that
above the five sense doors.
 If you have rampant cravings and strong
desires for sense pleasures, you can never
get near the absorptions.
 Detachment has the power to remove the
bondages that tie us to the undesirable
worlds.
 When metta comes with pleasantness and
joy, the detached attitude is an important
consideration.


Factors in Developing
Concentration
3. Patience
 Patience is the opposite of anger which is
associated with agitation.
 If you preserve patience, your mind will
calm down.
 It helps us to remain the object with
equanimity for longer periods of time.
4. Healthy conditions
 Health – good food, enough sleep &
exercise, right postures
 Environment – quite place, right
temperature, avoid draft, suitable clothing
 Companionship – Right group
size, mutual concerning and
understanding, exchange
experience, techniques and ideas


Paramita of Patience
The essence of this paramita of patience is the strength of mind and heart that
enables us to face the challenges and difficulties of life without losing our
composure and inner tranquility. We embrace and forbear adversity, insult,
distress, and the wrongs of others with patience and tolerance, free of
resentment, irritation, emotional reactivity, or retaliation. We cultivate the
ability to be loving and compassionate in the face of criticism,
misunderstanding, or aggression. With this enlightened quality of patience, we
are neither elated by praise, prosperity, or agreeable circumstances, nor are
we angry, unhappy or depressed when faced with insult, challenge, hardship,
or poverty. This enlightened attribute of patience, acceptance, and tolerance is
not a forced suppression or denial of our thoughts and feelings. Rather, it is a
quality of being which comes from having our heart open and our mind
deeply concentrated upon the Dharma. In this way, we have a clear and
correct understanding of impermanence, of cause and effect (karma), and
with strong determination and patience we remain in harmony with this
understanding for the benefit of all beings.



Develop Concentration
1. Following closely and
concentrating into the object.
2. It has to be done with
mindfulness.
3. Shut out all other objects except
keeping the mind onto the metta
object.
4. Bring your mind to stillness and
draw it into states which are
progressively deeper, subtler and
more tranquil.
5. By means of the mastery through
resolution.


Mastering an Absorption

1. Mastery In Adverting
2. Mastery In Entering
3. Mastery In Sustaining
4. Mastery In Emerging
5. Mastery In Reflection



1. Mastering In adverting
Bring up five jhana factors, one
after another upon emerging.
a) Awakening
b) Observation
c) Joy
d) Contentment
e) One-pointed Concentration

Concentration is fully developed.



2. Mastering In Attention
Nature Neuroscience. The figure, from
an accompanying review by Hedden
and Gabrieli indicates some of the
cortical regions associated with
focused and lapsed attention.
The arrows indicate reciprocal
functional connections between
prefrontal and parietal regions, and
top-down modulation of occipital
sensory regions by the prefrontal
cortex. IFG, right inferior frontal
gyrus; TPJ, temporal-parietal
junction.


Lapses in Attention.....

We frequently make errors during lapses in our
attention, and Weissman et al have now looked at
what is happening in the brain during this process. They determined that
attentional lapses begin with reduced activity in anterior cingulate and
right prefrontal regions that act in a top-down fashion to bias posterior
sensory regions in favor of processing task relevant information. This
reduced activation occurred before the stimuli used to test attention
were presented, and was accompanied by decreasing sensory
processing in the inferior occipital cortex. These prefrontal regions
seem to modulate how well focused people are in the moment just
before they have to perform. The same prefrontal areas implicated in
focusing attention before stimulus presentation had greater activation.



3. Mastering In Entering

a. Master In Entering –
Shifting the sensual
consciousness to a jhanic
consciousness. All factors of
concentration is well
developed. Mastery of
resolution is very important.
b. Discover new experience.



3. Mastering In Entering
c. When you know that preparations
have been well made, and faculties
developed to the near access, then the
mind flies off to absorption or sinks
into the object by the switching of the
will power to direct the powers and
development of previous practice
towards the required direction.

d. It is as if jumping off the diving board
into the pool.

e. It is like letting go of everything.



4. Mastering in Sustaining
a. Making sure no one will disturb you.
b. You are not worried about lunch or
appointments.
c. All “so-called important” maters are
put aside.
d. Making a very thorough practice that
bring about lengthy sitting (at least 1
hour).
e. Making suitable resolution for a fixed
period.
f. Making successive resolutions for
increasing periods.
g. Refresh and regenerate energy through
joy.



5. Mastering in Emerging
Emerging means emerging from the
state of absorption:
a. Based on time
b. Based on the event or
occasion.
c. New born mind



6. Mastery In Retrospection/Reflection

a. Reflection of the consciousness
that has just passed.
b. Reflection by the use of
resolution.
c. The reflection has often to be
made many times but care must
be made not to overdo it.
d. One knows which absorption
one has entered as well as the
dissatisfaction of the lower
factors.


Presentation Schedule

1. October 29 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation
Practice by Tom
2. November 5 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation
Practice by Tom
3. Nov. 12 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation
Practice by Tom
Practice by Tom
Practice by Tom
6. Dec. 3 - The white lotus sutra by Angela Masuzzo + Meditation
Practice by Tom



Questions and
Comments 討論

www.ChamShanTemple.org
www.shengguangshi.blogspot.com
ShengguangShi@hotmail.com
Shengguang Shi 釋聖光
Tom Cheung 張相棠
Kam Cheung 張仁勤
Dennis A. Yap 葉普智


回向 yuàn xiāo zhàng zhū fán năo

s ā n

Parinamana (Transfer of Merit)
願消三障諸煩惱
We wish to rid ourselves of the three hindrances and all klesas.

yuàn dé zhì huì zhēn míng
l ĭ a o

願得智慧真明了
We wish to gain wisdom and real understanding.

pŭ yuàn zuì zhàng xī chú
x i ā o

普願罪障悉消除
We wish all sinful hindrances to be totally eradicated.

shì shì cháng xíng pú sà dào

世世常行菩薩道
In one life after another we always follow Bodhisattvas’ paths.

20111105 white lotus sutra and concentration development

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20111105 white lotus sutra and concentration development