Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute instruction, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen guides practitioners through the nine mental settings—the classical Buddhist stages for developing calm abiding (śamatha) meditation. He works systematically from stages four through nine, explaining how to detect subtle dullness and excitement through introspection, when the disciplining stage gives way to pacifying, and when effort finally becomes unnecessary. At the heart is the threshold to genuine calm abiding: the arising of physical and mental pliancy, experienced as lightness and bliss throughout the body. He then points to special insight: applying the same stable focus to investigate emptiness directly. Throughout, he grounds the teaching in realistic commitment—achieving genuine calm abiding requires at least six months of unbroken intensive retreat. Aimed at serious practitioners with established meditation experience.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 06 CAR.mp3
UUID: d122dd90-4447-4cd9-a25e-d762c5fb3dfe
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Calm Abiding Retreat (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.0 minutes
Words: ~2,596
Means or or other delusions arising, whether it is arising or whether that those delusions arise or not, one inspect that. And when one sees that you, yeah, you discipline and that is the discipline your mind, which is that is the fifth power or the fifth setting of the mind. So discipline in mind is that not letting your mind go under the influence of the dullness, the and the excitement and other delusions like attachment, hatred, and so on, and and setting your mind on the opposite. So so on that stage, again, by by by disciplining your mind, from a being getting it too disciplined disciplined that your mind getting getting too disciplined and there’s a, again, danger of rising the subtle dullness? So so so there’s a danger of arising in subtle dullness.
So at that stage, you should apply a strong inspection introspection to also not to let the the subtle dullness to arise. So on on these two states of the mind, the the fourth, that is the the resetting of the mind and then the fifth one that is the disciplining. The difference between these two mental states is that the formal one still has a danger of rising the gross dullness. Then when you come to the fifth stage, the disciplining stage, there’s no danger of gross dullness, but there’s a danger of rising the subtle dullness. If and then if if it’s if one have a how to say?
If one is if one if it’s too disciplined, if one discipline too much of one’s mind into the internal object, is the object of meditation, then again, there’s this danger of arising subtle numbness. So so so there’s a danger of the subtle dullness. So you need a strong power of inspection. So so So then to applying a strong introspection or inspection data, when it, what’s it? So then after that, we achieved this sixth mental stage, which is the pacifying one.
Being pacified which is that on the fifth stage, there’s still the danger of the subtle, I would say, dullness and excitement. And then you apply a strong introspection and then through a strong introspection there’s no rising of subtle dullness and excitement, that is the one come to again see qualities of concentration. And then when one reach that, when one come to that state, then that stage is known as pacifying, pacifying stage which is the sixth one. So the difference among the fifth and sixth method setting, there’s the differences whether, what to say, the needs of introspections and not meeting the introspections. And then then next comes the seventh mental setting or the mental stage, which is completely pacifying.
So when you reach the seventh stage, then it’s the introspection and the mindfulness. The power of introspection and the mindfulness doesn’t need to be applied. So so so because there’s a very little chance for for for the dullness and excitement to rise. So on on this stage, there’s a very little chance of rising of these deep these these subtle subtle subtle what is it, subtle dullness and excitement and subtle anger or subtle attachment and so on. So but still at that stage, one need to put effort one need to put effort one need to put effort not to not not not to, how to say, not to arrive, not to not to, I would say, not to have these these subtle, I would say, subtle destructions.
So so so on this stage, like, completely pacified mental state which is that through the power of effort you even see the faults of those subtle delusions. And and and completely pacify those delusions. So so on the on the on the seventh stage, even if this dullness and excitement arises, even if that arises through the power of effort, you you won’t you won’t you won’t be able to harm our meditation. So so from second stage of the mind to up to the seven, there are five mental settings. So on the on these fifth up like, from the second to the fifth, our concentration is strong.
So So we have a strong concentration, but still then there is the dullness and excitement arises and disturbs our concentration. So because of that, this that type of mental engagement is known as the interrupted mental engagement. Second one of the the four. So so the the first setting of the mind, the very first one, at that stage, we need to we need to need to put pause to able to set our mind on the object, which is the force mental engagement. So the next is that those are from second to the seventh mental abidings.
Is the interruptions which is the dullness and the excitement arises. So so it is at that stage, the mental engagement is known as the the interrupted mental engagement. So so then coming to the next one, next mental setting. What do call it? Like a continuous continuous setting?
So on this stage, there is the power, I wanna say, the power of excitement and the power of dullness is weakened. So so there’s no danger of rising of these two, the dullness this dullness and excitement. And and and because of that, there’s no need of this no need of the inspection. No what do say, no like a opposite factor that is from the of the concentration. The opposite factor that is the destructions and so on cannot disturb your one’s concentration on that stage.
And one can set the mind, like, continuously on the object. Or or it is also known as, like, single pointed single pointed concentration. So so on this eight stage mental stage, if one put some effort, then one can single point concentrate on the object for for long long durations. So so then because one can like one can have single pointed concentration on the object for longer durations, on that stage, the mental engagement is known as the, what I call, the uninterrupted mental engagement. So so then then continue with with the with the sixth power, that is the power of familiarity or acquaintance.
Yeah. So so through the power of familiarity that one one need no effort to concentrate on the on object. So so that’s the sixth power, which is power of familiarity. So so it’s it’s like on that stage when when you you get when you are familiar with something like like chanting a prayer, then as soon as you start, you can you can without distraction, you can complete the whole prayer. So it’s it’s like that as as soon as you you concentrate, you can concentrate till the end.
Oh, And that is the the the ninth mental the ninth mental setting, which is the mental setting known as equipoise. So so as the example given before that when one is familiar with the with the practice, then just just this needs to start. One is started and one can complete, without distraction, one can complete the practice. So similarly, on that, when one come to the ninth mental abiding(s), one when one starts medicate concentrating on the object, one can stay on that object single pointedly as long as one wishes. So so just what do I want you to put the effort or be mindful with the object in the very beginning.
Then sin then afterwards, no needs of any effort. One can concentrate on that object effortlessly. So so so on that stage, on this stage, on the ninth on the ninth, there’s no no need of effort once you once you are in concentration or once you are in single point concentration because of that that mental engagement is known as the effortless mental engagement. So so that which able to effortlessly, what is it, concentrate single point on the object. That is the, what do call, So that that that like effortless setting of the mind on the on the object is known as the like or the calm abiding.
It’s not the actual calm abiding, but it’s like the calm abiding. But then through that, as soon as when you reach or when you achieve the body, the physical the physical pliancy and the mental pliancy, then then then that is the actual, what to say, actual achievement of calm abiding. So so even on that ninth stage, there is also these these two pliances, physical and mental pliances, is similar to that of the real one. So so developing that that pliancy that you achieve through the ninth mental stage. And through that when when when you are able to remove the unwieldiness of the body and the mind and when you are able to remove the unwieldiness of the body and the mind and able to keep your concentration or your concentration on the virtuous object as long as one wishes.
Then that is the actual, I would say, state of calm abiding. So what makes us unable to keep our concentration on the the virtuous state as long as one wishes is that of the unwieldiness of the body and the mind. So so unless one one gets rid of these two unwieldinesses, one won’t be able to reach the the the actual calm abiding. So through through removing the unwieldiness of the body and the mind, one one achieves or one achieves or one gains the mental pliancy. So after reaching or after achieving the mental pliancy, through the power that one reaches or one achieves the physical pliancy.
So so mental plan, which means mental pliancy is achieved after removing the unwieldiness of the mind and the body and where one then one is able to keep one’s single pointed concentration on the object as long as one wishes. At that stage, one achieves the mental pliancy. So so when one reaches the mental pliancy, then through the power of mental pliancy, it brings forth physical pliancy that is through the power of the mind. That the internal wind energy, the internal, let’s say the wind energy in the body. Yeah.
The unwieldiness of the wind energy in the body are moved and through that one achieves the the physical pliancy. So when when the when the when the what is it? When these when when the when this wind energy, pure wind energy, when it fills our body, then the physical unwieldiness is all removed and one achieves the physical pliancy. So so then when when one achieves that stage When one achieve that stage of pliancy, physical pliancy, then also at that stage, our body can, I would say, be led to a virtuous action as long as one wishes? So so when we wanna reach that stage, then our body is not nothing heavy like right now what we have.
It’s it’s like a light light as cotton. So so one reached that stage, which is that that is that is all it’s the lightness itself. It’s known as the pliancy. So so then when when you achieve this physical pliancy, then that induces the physical bliss. And physical bliss, whatever you get contact with, you experience physical bliss.
Like as an example, when you shaved your head and if you put your palm on the top of on the crown of your head, you have a you have experience of this, and that that type of this you experience. So through the power of the physical pliancy, one one one has a strong one experiences strong. So so then, still then if you continuously concentrate on the object, then not only, what is it, you have the experience of not only that your mind concentrates on the object, but you have the experience also your body too is concentrating on the object. So so at that stage when, like, like, body to like, sinks into the object of your concentration. That that that’s what you have the appearance.
And at that time, you you also again have experience of joy. So so so when you have that that experience, then the mental bliss Is that all you experience? So so on that very stage, one have achieved the the actual calm abiding. Mhmm. So so then so then, like, that with that with that concentration, if you if you use the object as an emptiness.
And then you analyze the emptiness with using different reasonings like with using different reasonings and going through this, applying these nine mental settings. When you are able to, what to say, experience mental and physical bliss through that practice of meditation on emptiness, at that stage you achieve the special insight. It’s a that’s we have we have achieved now the state of calm abiding and and the special insight. And as soon as we achieved that or something auspicious, the telephone rang. Someone is telling us that we all have achieved.
So we’ll stop here and if you have any questions. Yeah. You need to, like yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s not you go around, but you visualize the full set.
Yeah. Yeah. So in this in the in the disciplining stage of the mind, we still need to apply the introspections because it’s the danger of rising subtle dullness. So on on this next So so on the even at the stage of pacifying, there’s a danger of the subtle dullness, subtle, what do you call, the dullness and excitement. So you need still, you need a strong, what’s it, strong power of introspection.
So so with a strong intelligence introspection, you have to be aware we have to check whether the these two subtle these two, the subtleness of dullness and the subtle subtle subtleness of the excitement arising on that. So on this state of pacifying, you still need strong inspections whether the subtle problems and the introspection is or not. So with knowing that with knowing that you need to you need to you also look for the qualities of the concentration. So which is here, you when you come to recognize the these two subtle subtle dullness and the excitement, pacify them. Yeah.
Yeah, That’s really nice. I’ve got two questions. So as if one is to looking to achieve the actual calm abiding instead of actual calm abiding, then as Geshe-la explained yesterday, at least it takes six months and that’s the least. That’s the minimum requirement. Yeah, minimum requirement.
And stretch. Stood up at six one times. Eat your own. And only, like, time, like, you’re spending for eating, going to toilets, and sleeping. The rest, you have to concentrate on the object for the six months.
So as right now we have here don’t have that much time and because we have to work and look after the kids and so on. Because of that we won’t have time to do all this long retreat. But just putting some effort in this practice. That is very good. So then Geshe-la is saying that he’s not sure how many numbers or people who have achieved this state in this time.
But if you look back to Nepal and India, like most of the monks, when they become monk, they give up all their all their things and become monk where they, like, use all their life for the practice of Dharma and not one to six months, but whole life. So so that like monks and nuns.