Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The lute-string image — strings too tight or too loose will not produce sweet melody — frames Khensur Rinpoche’s systematic treatment of meditation faults in this 50-minute session. He works through subtle and gross sinking, where the mind droops inward and loses the strength of its hold, and subtle and gross scattering, where excitement or proliferating thoughts break focus. For each fault he gives a graduated sequence of remedies: tightening or loosening attention, reflecting on impermanence or the qualities of the Three Jewels, the forceful syllable “phat” with a white-light visualisation, and stopping the session as a last resort. He stresses that short, clean sessions outperform long ones riddled with both faults, then closes by describing the culmination: when mindfulness and introspection are fully developed, mental and physical pliancy arise and calm abiding is attained. For practitioners already engaged in concentration meditation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 09 CA 1994 06.mp3
UUID: 38380d3e-ca17-4eda-a3d4-954a366ec252
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Calm Abiding Retreat (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1994 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 49.8 minutes
Words: ~2,824
Now when in the focus, if there is abiding or retention of the focused object as well there is appearing quite clear of the object of focus. But if there is as well the clear appearing of the object of focus, but if there is no strength, then that means there is subtle sinking creeping into one’s concentration. That there is no strength of clarity. The object appears to a certain degree clear but it is not strong enough. That means subtle sinking has crept into one’s concentration.
Now why does subtle sinking happen? It is a result of the mind glooming down, down on low esteem. The word actually means the state of mind has gone down. So you can perhaps call it the downward state of the mind. Therefore, the appropriate method to apply would be to uplift the state of mind.
But this in the practice would mean that already there is a loosening of the retention and clarity of the object, so one has to slightly tighten one’s concentration. If the subtle sinking has crept into while one is at the end of the session, it is not right to end the session on that note. Instead, one continues with the session and try to remove the subtle sinking by tightening the grip onto the focused object and continue for a while in this session. If while the mind is a bit loose, therefore, to describe when it is with sinking, then one needs to tighten it.
But if one tightens too much, then scattering would creep into because tightening it too much would result in scattering. And then again, the object of focus would be lost. So it is a it is a what’s called a case where the retention is not too loose, but it’s not too tight. So it really is. One has to be very, very delicate, and that’s where the latter part was.
One has to be very, very delicate. One has to be very skilful, and it is kind of an undescribable balance between looseness and strictness, tightness, looseness and tightness, and that’s how one has to maintain the focus. So there is an example in accordance to teaching by Buddha himself. Let’s say what the example was with the traditional lute. So that’s where the hand gestures were, the instrument of that type lute played with strings.
Now if the strings are too high, then the right tune will not reproduce. And if the strings are too loose, again, it will not be right tune, and whole music will not be sweet. There in the example, we would then say the string needs to be just of the right tightness and looseness, and then there will be sweet melody produced. So how broadly that one has to do in the actual practice? Well, one when it is a bit tight, one loosen it a little bit, but if it is getting too loose, then one needs to be aware, oh, I should not let it become too loose, otherwise sinking is going to happen.
So one, again, tighten it a little bit, but if one tightens it too much then one has to be aware of thinking, or if I have it too tight, scattering would happen. In that way of self scrutiny, of tightness and looseness, one try to maintain the right balance. Therefore, when it is bit too tight, one needs to loosen it, and that becomes the countermeasure called applying the right tightening. And that becomes the antidote against subtle sinking. But if it is getting too tight, then again one knows that it would lead to scattering, subtle scattering.
So one needs to not make it too tight. Therefore, that covers the antidote for not applying. So we can see the two antidotes: applying the tightness of concentration is the measure against subtle sinking, and not applying the tightness is the measure against subtle scattering. So here at this part at this point there is a outcry of helplessness by one of the past great Siddhas, a great practitioner in India, and it says, when I am too hard working, there is the scattering creeping into. When I’m not too hard working, there is sinking creeping into.
So my practice to achieve calm abiding is becoming very difficult. So that’s where these two points seem to be very nicely put in the sort of helpless outcry. Then we can put it in in another example where if the cup is full of tea, then that one if one holds the cup full of tea in one’s hand, then the cup has to be pulled off right tightness and looseness because if it is not tight or held well, then the cup would fall down. But, again, if it is hold held too tight, then there is a risk of the tea spilling over and that because of that, it is necessary that I the eyes of the person have to keep in watch whether the tea is spilling over with the grip becoming tighter and tighter. So that is an example and the eye keeping watch would be corresponding to introspection keeping an eye corresponding to introspection keeping an an eye on thinking and scattering.
Now when the subtle sinking has crept into one’s focus where the where the mind is not of enough strength of retention and clarity of the focused object, then it is necessary to tighten one’s mind. And in that way, the meditation not to stop it on subtle thinking. And it is possible that subtle sinking when applying the tightness may go away. Yet in the case of those who when subtle sinking has crept into and if tightening if the subtle sinking has not gone away, then that indicates not only there has crept into subtle sinking, but as well gross sinking has crept into. Today, the task handed to the parties.
Gross sinking is where one’s mind is too much drawn inward, not letting it out at all. And that too much drawing inward then would result in that gross sinking. And as a countermeasure, one should not let the mind draw inward too much. Instead, let it be drawn outward slightly and through that way try to overcome it. So one needs to let the mind go slightly outward.
In other words, let the mind slightly be away from trying to concentrate inward on the object of focus. Yet, if by applying that countermeasure still the gross sinking does not go away, then this means, for the time being, one must not think of trying to focus on the object of focus. Instead instead, for time being, one leaves that aside and try to uplift the state of mind because that already indicates the mind is so low. The word depressed is not actually used, but it may be seen in that sense. The mind has gone too low, it is depressed.
So one needs to apply uplifting means for the mind. And that would mean that one may instead for time being leave aside the concentration part and think about uplifting topics like preciousness of human rebirth, how meaningful and great achievement can be attained through it, thinking about the qualities of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, thinking about the qualities of bodhicitta, mind of enlightenment, how beneficial and good outcome it would bring about and so forth. And through that way, try to uplift the state of mind. Now, if applying that method the sinking does not go away, then the next thing is one has to apply forcible method to overcome sinking. Regarding forcible method what it involves is to visualize the white light at one’s heart and sound or utter the sound ‘phat’.
And while uttering that sound, one thinks that white light goes out of one’s heart and up onto the sky, and the entire sky is filled with white light. Yet, by applying such forceful method, if sinking does not go away, then the next step is stop the session, go out, let one’s body freshen up, and through that way freshen up the mind. How that is done is going outward, going outside, let wind strike at your body. And through that way, body may freshen up a bit and try to sprinkle moisture, water onto one’s face, and through that way, try to freshen up the body. So these are the altogether optional methods to overcome sinking, especially subtle sinking if they do come about, and through that way, to remove sinking.
Now with regards to the methods to overcome subtle and gross scattering, let’s first look at the subtle scattering. The very reason why subtle scattering happens is because of the mind being too tight. So that involves the method of attempting to loosen the mind a little bit. So that’s the way how to apply the antidote if there is subtle scattering creeping into.
By applying the method of slightly loosening the mind, if subtle scattering has not gone away, then that indicates gross scattering has also crept into. It is the result of mind becoming too excited, too joyful. Therefore, one needs to bring the excitement down. And as a method of how to deal with it — if that happens, that is the result of over-excitement, too much joy. If that happens, one must not stop the session on that note, instead try to overcome it by applying the necessary method.
And that would involve lowering it down, where it would involve the meditation on death and impermanence. As to the thinking of death and impermanence, one can think there’s no certainty, I may not die this year, I may not die this month. There’s no certainty that I may not die even today. If I die today, what would be the tragic way I have to make the journey by myself alone, leaving behind all my possessions, leaving behind all my dear ones, leaving behind everything I’m attached to and cherish, and so forth. How alone I have to go by myself.
Imagining the very aspect of that would then bring some kind of sorrow, a meaningful sorrow, some kind of sorrow. Through that way, the mind can be brought down from its excitement. And, yeah, that’s so far. One may as well think about the general dissatisfactory and suffering full nature of saṃsāra, the cycle in general, and particularly the dissatisfactory and miserable, the suffering full nature of three lower rebirths. And by thinking on these, that as well would make the mind bring down from its excitement and to the right level of awareness.
Now if to that method the mind still has not been removed of its scattering and excitement, then one may need to apply the alternative method, which is the forcible method to overcome scattering. And that forcible method would involve concentrating or doing the meditation of concentration on breath. Why that is so is that, why that is so is because scattering is a result of too many ideas, too many disruptive conceptualization, too many thinkings, and due to that one has to apply the right forceful method which is the concentration on breath. How one does that is one concentrates on one’s outgoing and incoming air, and a pair of outgoing and incoming air or breath makes one pair. So one may have to do that for a seven round becoming one, another seven, and in that way yet another of three times like that.
Applying that method still, if scattering cannot be moved, then one must not persist with the sessions to instead have a break and in the next session make the session brief, brief, brief, very brief break, not prolong it too much too long. And then that might work to overcome scattering. Personally, many of us seem to be interested in doing long sessions, but it is quite likely that long sessions may turn up turn up to be sessions full of scattering and sinking. So it would be more productive productive if one, instead of long sessions, make it into small, small or short, short, short sessions, and that would be the right way to go. Oh, no.
Let’s look at an example. If two people parted on bad terms, then next time the one sees the other sees the other, there will not be any pleasantness at all. Instead, if two people parted on good note, good terms, then next time each see each other, it will be pleasant encounter. Like that, if we make the session short, whether it is a retreat or whatever practice sessions one is doing in a format, the one makes it short and short then there will be less in the beginning, this is talking in the beginning, then there’s less likelihood of having no scattering and sinking and the session is going as well. And next time when one starts the session, one will have eagerness to start the session, the retreat, and so forth.
On the other hand, if one has a long session and if it is full of scattering and sinking and the meditation itself doesn’t go well, then next time one would not have any eagerness at all to start the session at all. It may even turn out so bad that next time not only starting the session or the retreat, even by the sight of one’s cushion one might have to spontaneously take a breath as if burdened, sort of, and that might happen. Now when one does the retention of the focused object through mindfulness, then as explained, it is possible that scattering and sinking may creep into. And if that happens, then one needs to firstly keep watch for them by applying introspection, and then tighten the mind a little bit if it is sinking, and to loosen it a little bit if it is scattering.
And in that way one does the application and non application in that sense, in that method. So that is how one overcomes sinking and scattering and maintains the practice. But it is possible that once the two, sinking and scattering have been overcome, some may still persist in continuously applying the tightening and loosening although the two faults have already been overcome. That is a mistake. Once they are overcome one then has to go ahead with the actual retention or concentration on the focused object.
In that way of description, one then has to go ahead with the calm abiding meditation continuously and not apply the antidotes at all. And now these points are the applying and the non-applying continuously, and focusing on the focused object would be the antidote of equanimity or non-application as opposed to the fifth fault we found earlier. In doing calm abiding practice, one needs to have then the retention of the focused object, the abiding and clarity of the focused object as well as enough strength, the balanced strength, the strength part, and if these three are complete then it is going to be reliable, firm practice of calm abiding and eventually it is possible through that way to attain calm abiding. Through this way, how calm abiding would be achieved is because all the necessary factors that would produce pliancy on body are complete and all the adverse factors which would hinder in attaining pliancy on body have been overcome. That very is reasoning because generally it is in the inevitable law of nature or law of things, things happening that if something is free to all adverse factors and complete with all the suitable factors, then the production of results is inevitable.
The great teacher, Dharmakīrti says, from a complete cause, a result is produced. If the cause has all the factors gathered, no one can stop the result being produced. So in that saying and instruction, we can see how causes, if they are gathered or complete, nothing can be done to stop the results happening. Now if one has the power of mindfulness and power of introspection very well acquainted, familiarized, then there will come a time that thinking and scattering will not come at all in one’s concentration.
That right the moment one focuses on a given object the mind would remain settled, the mind would remain focused uninterruptedly on the given object. As a consequence that would bring pliancy, physical thorough training, complete training — as a consequence it will bring mental pliancy which would induce bringing about physical pliancy or complete training. And through these two ways, there will be enormous bliss produced on the mind and the body. And subsequent to that, one attains calm abiding.
Whenever one has attained the physical and mental bliss of complete pliancy training, that is the qualification to indicate one has attained calm abiding. When calm abiding is attained