Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute talk, Ven Jampa Ignyen opens with a striking diagnosis: our minds operate like monkeys, constantly leaping between objects and unable to settle. From this insight, he systematically introduces calm abiding (shinne), the foundational concentration practice of the intermediate scope, using two complementary methods. First, he teaches the five faults and eight antidotes framework (laziness, forgetting instruction, sinking and excitement, non-application, and application, with their corresponding remedies); second, the nine stages of mental placement that progress from initial focus to effortless sustained attention. Throughout, he emphasizes that mastering the mind’s stability directly enables genuine insight and wisdom. For practitioners already engaged with Lamrim study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 18 2001 06 14 LR.mp3
UUID: 3a7328a4-c269-46c2-80eb-a55f6a1caf54
Teacher: Ven Jampa Ignyen
Collection: Lam Rim 2001 Month 04-06 (Ven Jampa Ignyen)
Date: 2001-06-14
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.9 minutes
Words: ~4,951
Then as one of the main practices of the intermediate scope, we have the practice of calm abiding. So the practice of calm abiding in general in the Lamrim tradition is it it’s explained in the the great scope section. But here we’ll do preliminary discussion on the topic. Of course, it’s a very broad and extensive topic. It’s really involves the second of the three higher trainings, the higher training in concentration.
So, actually, I printed out something that might be useful to photocopy. It’s just a very brief summary of the process of developing calm abiding. So if anyone’s read this section of the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, you realize that there isn’t much detail given in this section on calm abiding. So I have just been examining some other sources, and there’s a text by Jetsunpa called Samzug, which means absorption or samten, and zug meaning zugme, which means the formless realm. So there’s a particular text called the really the form and the formless realms.
And in that particular text, it gives some discussion on the development of shinne or calm abiding. So calm abiding is something that as yet we haven’t attained. We do have a certain amount of concentration, but our concentration doesn’t last very long. Our concentration maybe lasts a second or two or three, but then we tend to be distracted, come back again to the object, distracted, come back. It’s not easy for us to hold our mind on the object, whatever the object may be.
If we sit and we and we watch this, we see that our mind does. It’s always being distracted to new objects. And that’s why the third link of the twelve links of dependent arising does anyone remember what the symbol there is? Sorry? Monkey.
Monkey. Exactly. Our mind is a bit like that. Monkeys has the habit of just going from tree to tree, from branch to branch, grasping whatever is nearby and so on. Our mind is like that.
Whatever we’re doing, whether we’re seated, walking around, doing something, our mind is still leaping from one object to another. This is quite a natural process. It’s automatic for us, but it’s really a fault. That the fact that our mind does tend to jump from one object to another is a fault. And the fact that our mind does that then is an indication that we don’t have single pointed concentration.
We don’t have calm abiding. Really calm abiding occurs when the mind can be placed on an object and the mind will simply rest on the object of its of itself. We won’t have to we can put a little bit of effort to put it firstly on the object, but then it would just stay there. And it won’t drift to another object. It would just rest in that object.
And we’re probably wondering, well, what’s the use of having such a mind? Is that isn’t it better to have a bit of variety to have otherwise, we get bored. We’re stuck with one object all the time. Stuck with one object all the time. The purpose of having a mind like that, a tamed mind, is that it allows the arrival of wisdom.
If our mind is continuously jumping from one object to another, it’s very hard for us to gain insight into anything. Our mind will tend to stay on the surface because it’s simply examining one object. And then another thought will come up with another object and we go into that one, then we come back to the first object. And then we start thinking about yesterday, and we come back to what we’re doing, and then we’ll go to next year and so on. And during the course of the day, it’d be good if we actually had a notepad and we could write down all the different objects we think about in the course of a day.
How many times and so on. And the fact that our mind acts in this way is an indication that our mind is not tamed. And not being tamed, it therefore does not experience peace. Not being at peace, it doesn’t experience pliancy. Not experiencing pliancy, Therefore, we don’t have mental or physical pliancy.
Lacking mental or physical pliancy, we’re not at ease with ourselves. It’s hard for us to gain a state of rest, in other words. We’re our mind is busy all the time with different things. And for that reason, the mind is likened to a monkey. So this practice of calm abiding is the practice of calming the mind.
In Tibetan, it’s Shin Ne. Shi means to be at peace or to pacify. Ne means to abide. In a sense, it means abiding in peace, abiding with a pacified mind. The mind is able just to rest.
Mind actually can take a rest. It doesn’t have to continually take up new objects all the time. Because we can see ourselves that thinking about many different objects isn’t really of great benefit to us. We’d probably be better if we had a tamed mind and just focused it on a virtuous object. Right.
So now talking about the practice of shinne or calm abiding or Samatha, then Jetsunpa in his text called Samzug, the absorption and formless states, and on the general meaning, therefore, of calm abiding, then states that there’s two methods for generating calm abiding or establishing calm abiding. And the first one is discussed in a text called Uta. Uta is a text by Maitreya, and it means the center and the extremes. It means the analysis of the center and the extremes. And that particular text gives one method of developing calm abiding.
Then there’s another text called Kuntu. So this Kuntu here is Kuntu or Abhidharmasamuccaya, a text by Asaṇga. And then there’s another text called Dode Gyen, the ornament to the sutras. And those two texts teach the second method of attaining calm abiding. So in the first text, the text by Maitreya called Uta, Uta Namche, then the five faults and the eight antidotes or the eight applications are taught.
So we’ll firstly investigate those, and they’re on the chart there, the five faults. Here they’re listed as going upwards from one five. So here in a sense, going up means improving or overcoming faults. First, the grosser faults are the the lower ones and the subtler faults are the higher ones. So here, firstly, Jetsunpa says that there are five types of fault.
That is laziness, forgetting the instruction, then sinking and excitement, non application and application. So first he says that in the beginning when we’re trying to develop concentration or calm abiding, laziness is the biggest fault we have, like, not only for attaining calm abiding, but many of the things that we’d like to achieve in this lifetime are stopped or interrupted by laziness. But here, at the time of preparing to meditate, to attain calm abiding or single pointed concentration, then the counter condition is laziness. This is true. If we have the have the thought to look, I’ll go off and I will practice calm abiding and develop through the stages, the nine stages of mental placement.
Still, the main obstacle for us in doing that is laziness. Also, there’s other conditions we have work to go to and so on. But assuming those other things are taken care of, then the main fault, the main obstacle is laziness itself. However, if we overcome that, if we got plenty of money in the bank, we got a place to practice meditation and so forth, And we overcome laziness. We decide, okay, we’re going to practice calm abiding.
Then the next fault is forgetting the instruction. And that arises because once we’ve established the place for meditating, which is generally a remote place, some isolated place where there’s not too many distractions, say, off in the forest somewhere or up in a in a mountain somewhere and so on. That when we’re actually engaging in the meditation to establish single pointed concentration, then the next fault that arises or becomes apparent is forgetting instruction, forgetting the instruction on how to practice, in other words. So we’re there. We’re at the cave.
We’ve got six months of supplies packed away, the gas bottle, we’ve got, you know, the batteries, everything’s there, all the emergency supplies. Finally set ourselves up. We’re sitting on a seat. We’ve done the water bowls. And then we realize, what am I gonna do?
What am I supposed to be doing? And so on. Or in fact, as we start, even though we may know how to start, okay, I’m gonna take the an image of the Buddha and okay. I’m watching the Buddha, then what? What am I supposed to be watching for?
How do I continue? Then doubts will begin to arise about what one should do. These are included in the section of forgetting the instruction. Forgetting the instruction then simply means not not having a clear idea about how to proceed in the practice. So then we have the third fault.
Third fault is then when actually we remember the instruction, we’re able to apply the instruction successfully, then we’re going to experience sinking and excitement or sinking and agitation or dullness and agitation. These two that when we finally have the object in front of us in our meditation, the conceived object, here we’re using the conceptual mind, of course, to practice calm abiding. So when is the conceived object there, once holding that in meditation, there’s some degree of clarity. It’s the mind is holding that over a period of time. Then the mind either sinking from the object, starting to fall asleep, or excitement starting to lift one from the object.
Those two faults will occur. So when actually engaged in meditation, then sinking or excitement, agitation will occur. Now when these occur, Then practicing the antidote, which is applying the antidote or not applying the antidote when these occur, non application is the fourth fault. So when either sinking or excitement occur, then not applying the antidote to those is non application, so the fourth fault. And then when one is free of sinking and excitement in one’s meditation, one continues to apply the antidotes to those, then this is the fault of application.
So in general, let’s say therefore there’s five faults that one has to overcome. Oh, it’s applying when you don’t need to apply it. When sinking and excitement don’t occur, but one’s still applying the antidotes to them, that becomes an obstacle. That’s a fault. So in general, these five faults that we need to overcome.
And then Jetsunpa gives a quote from that particular text that then says laziness plus forgetting the instruction, sinking, excitement, non application and application. These are the five. These are asserted to be the five faults. And then he goes on to say that there are actually eight eight antidotes. Well, there’s in fact eight which abandon those those five.
And those eight are listed there, faith, aspiration, exertion, pliancy. Those four are antidotes to laziness. Then we have mindfulness, introspection, application, and equanimity. So firstly, says that faith faith arises when one sees the qualities of concentration. One initially needs faith in the qualities of calm abiding and concentration.
So whatever method one can apply to generate that sort of conviction or a comprehension of the qualities of of calm abiding, then one should apply those and generate a confidence in calm abiding, faith in calm abiding. So that calm abiding, one understands calm abiding to really possess qualities that we need to assimilate. We need to generate ourselves. Without having that faith, then overcoming laziness is not gonna be very easy at all. In the present, we have laziness in relation to generating calm abiding.
And that laziness, we’re not able to overcome that laziness in the beginning because we don’t have faith in the qualities of calm abiding and concentration. But in generating the faith in calm abiding, then one develops an aspiration to actually attain or to generate calm abiding. And then through that aspiration here, aspiration means the one actually begins to seek the means to establish calm abiding. That aspiration is a type of aspiration that will be seeking out calm abiding, seeking out the actual methods, the proper methods to establish it. And then once one has that aspiration, one will begin to put effort into meditating on meditating on concentration or calm abiding.
And from that effort, then a degree of pliancy will arise. And that pliancy will act as an antidote to the the laziness, which this inflexibility, laziness that prevents one from engaging in meditation on calm abiding or concentration. So in a sense, those four are linked causally. If we have firstly, we develop faith. Through faith, we develop the aspiration.
Through that aspiration, we develop exertion or effort. And from that effort comes a degree of pliancy, flexibility that allows us to really oppose the laziness in that practice, in the practice for developing calm abiding. And then Jetsunpa himself then gives a further quotation for those four. And actually, he says that those four actually exist in a cause relationship. Although, in order to develop single pointed concentration, firstly, need faith.
That acts as a cause for aspiration. That acts as a cause for exertion. That acts as a cause for pliancy. So if we don’t have faith in the practice to begin with, then the others are not going to arise. And then having over then finding the antidote to laziness, then one actually engages in the in the meditation, in meditation on calm abiding or on single pointed concentration.
And then one has to overcome or find the antidote to forgetting instruction, and this is mindfulness itself. So that mindfulness is the antidote to forgetfulness. So that’s quite straightforward. And then introspection is the state of mind which is analyzing internally when sinking or excitement arise. So it’s checking internally for the existence of those states.
And so therefore, introspection acts as an antidote to those states. And then we have application. So application there is the antidote to non application. So that’s okay. When those states arise and we don’t apply the antidote, then the thought to apply them is application.
And then when we don’t have sinking and we don’t have excitement arising within our mental continuum, then through introspection we realize they’re not there. So therefore we just abide in equanimity and that acts as an antidote to application. Abiding in equanimity gives us the space we can just relax with the mind as it is without being tense and applying an antidote when one is the antidote is not needed. So in brief, this is just a very brief list on the five faults and the eight antidotes. And these are taught extensively in this particular text called Uta Namche or the analysis of the center and the extremes, or the middle and the extremes.
And then secondly, we have the method of meditating on calm abiding that’s given in the other two texts that is in Kuntu or the Samuchaya and the Dode Gyen or the Sūtra Alankara. And there, that talks about the the next nine states, the nine mental placements. And so those nine mental placements are reading upwards from the grossest to the subtlest types of mental placement that form the pathway for developing calm abiding. So firstly, have mental placement itself. And mental placement initially when we it’s said that when we meditate to develop calm abiding, we need a an object to do that.
Any object in the universe is fine. We can use anything to develop calm abiding. We can, you know, use a golf ball or any object whatsoever in the universe. In the Theravāda system, forty objects are set out. But, in fact, those are set out in accordance with the particular dispositions of different beings.
Here in this text, a statue of the Buddha is recommended, which is useful for any any being of any disposition. So that means we it’s useful useful if we have one in front of us that we can check on. So what we need to do initially is look at the image carefully and settle the detail of the image. And then we close our eyes and we generate a conception of that image. It’s important that we understand that it needs to be conceptualized image for us to develop single pointed concentration.
We can’t take an object of we can’t, say, take the breath as an object for developing single pointed concentration. So we need a a conceptualized image. And then we direct the mind to that image with conception. And that concentration, which in meditation is directed towards the that image is the first stage. That’s basically what the first level is.
So in a sense, we’re already on the first level, mental placement. We can sit down and simply direct our mind at a visualized object. So that’s mental placement, placing our mind on that image. Next one is continuous placement. So this one is concentration again, which is meditating on that image over a period of time continuously.
So it’s not for a long period of time, maybe a number of seconds, but being able to hold the image clearly without our mind being distracted one way or another for a certain period of time. In brief is the method of attaining the second. So it’s a continuous placement of the mind on the object. Then the third one is resetting placement, len te jokpa, or patching placement or resetting placement. Here, the mind this refers to the mind being replaced on the object.
So as it’s described here so on the on the focal object that one has already taken, on the prior focal object, when distraction causes one to leave the object, then one again places the mind on the the focal object to which the mind is focused in meditation. That’s basically the meaning of the third resetting placement. These are quite broad definitions. Anyway, there’s no time that’s given this stage of the text as to how long one should place the mind on the object. Then the fourth one is called close placement.
So here here the meditation has really developed and improved in relation to the focal object. So here we’ve gone from mental placement to continuous placement into resetting placement or patching placement. In the fourth level, it’s in accordance with the particular source text that describe this state, then one improves. One has a certain level of being able to to continue with the object with clarity on the focal object. The text here is just saying that it’s an improved stage above and beyond the third resetting placement.
Then the fifth one is taming placement. So so when here it’s described as when meditating on concentration, when sinking occurs, one when sinking occurs, then one focuses on the advantages of or the qualities itself of concentration. So here it’s the fifth level one is actually combating directly combating sinking. Prior to this one is not in a state not as one is not able to to actually achieve this. But by the fifth stage, one is actually aware of sinking as it arises and is applying the antidote.
And here the antidote that’s given is one meditates on the advantages of single pointed concentration. So it stops the mind from sinking, going to sleep, and so on. Then the sixth level is pacifying. So pacifying is when one’s meditating, now here it’s talking about excitement. If excitement arises, then the disadvantages of distraction are contemplated.
And in this way, then excitement is countered. So therefore, it’s called pacifying, that sixth level. Then on the seventh level, it’s also called closely pacifying. Nyer Shiwai Tsikchikpa. And so when meditating on that focal object so when attachment or mental unease occur, then immediately after one pacifies those.
So really when a mind of attachment, as soon as a mind of attachment arises or as soon as a mind of mental unease arises, one pacifies them. And that type of concentration focused on the focal object, which is doing that is the seventh type here called closely pacifying. Then the eighth level is called single pointed placement or one pointed placement. Placement or one pointed placement. And here, when one is focused with effort on the object, then one is able to able to place the mind just how one wants to in any way one wants to on a focal object, but still with effort.
So by the the eighth stage of single pointed or one pointed placement, with effort, one is able to hold the mind as one wants to on the object. So one’s getting close to developing calm abiding. So, actually, to get to this stage is is a great a great progress. You hear of people actually spending a year, up to a year in retreat trying to gain single point of concentration. And some people may get to the sixth or even the seventh level of calm abiding.
But here in the eighth level, one is really has quelled the major faults that arise. And one with effort is able to hold the mind on the object. So by that stage, it’s a great advance. Then on the ninth stage, it’s called equipoise or even placement. So spontaneously without effort at that point, one is able to hold the mind on the object.
So here in the text, what the author is doing is giving an explanation of the terms themselves, why they’re called placement, continuous placement, resetting or patching placement, close placement, taming placement, pacifying, closely pacifying placement, one pointed or single pointed placement and equipoise. Now also here, we have mentioned six strengths and four attentions. And these are like opponents that are generated during the nine stages, which help to which are means by which one advances one’s practice. Initially, hearing is very important. Hearing instruction on the means for developing calm abiding and single pointed concentration, then contemplating that instruction, then mindfulness of that instruction, then introspection is developed in relation to whether sinking or excitement are arising.
Then effort is the strength by which one overcomes the faults to be overcome on the seventh and eighth stages. And then thorough familiarity is the strength by which one establishes the equipoise of the ninth stage. And again, are four types of engagement. There’s forcible engagement for hearing and contemplation. There’s interrupted engagement for mindfulness introspection in the first half of enthusiastic effort.
Then there’s uninterrupted engagement which occurs from the stage of one pointed. That un uninterrupted engagement there is really with effort, one is able to hold the mind on the object itself without the mind falling away from the object at all, but one still needs effort, but it’s uninterrupted engagement at that state. Then spontaneous engagement really comes when there’s no further effort required. So in a sense, it’s spontaneous. Spontaneous.
One is not placing doesn’t doesn’t need to place more effort into the practice. Oh, yes. That could yes. In the beginning, definitely. You you could open your eyes and look at the object and get it clear and then sit down and and then focus again.
That could that would be one method. Or otherwise, even even if it’s not clear, there’s a presence there that you can focus on. It’s really that you’re holding the mind on an object in order to prevent to overcome distraction to the object. So even though it’s not clear in the beginning, even, you know, a presence, even though the object itself is not clear, we can’t. Right?
We can get maybe an overall outline or one part of it or one is central thing that one’s trying to do is stop the mind being distracted. And so initially, it’s forcible engagement. We’re really forcing our mind to remain on the object, which occurs in mental placement and continuous placement where we really have to put a lot of effort into just holding the mind on the object. Then after that, there’s not is an interrupted engagement where even though the mind has been distracted, we’re bringing it back on the object. Once it’s lost, we’re bringing it back.
We’re applying the opponent, bringing it back. And that’s from resetting placement that occurs where which is really what resetting is or patching. We’re in the first and second in the first stage, one’s not holding the object for a very long period, maybe a couple of seconds. Then in the second level, it’s a much longer duration, but still after a period, one is losing object and getting lost in one’s thoughts still. But then in the third stage, one is losing the object but coming back, it’s resetting on the object reasonably quickly.
And so then from the third stage, one is using one is has this attention called interrupted engagement. It’s engaging the object, but from time to time it’s losing it but coming back through. And there, one’s using mindfulness and introspection. Right. So there’s these eight eight levels, nine levels of mental mental placement.
And as one progresses through these nine, then one has signs that one is developing and overcoming the previous levels. But certainly, the main thing that one is overcoming is in this is one is aiming to overcome is sinking and excitement. Sorry? Yeah. Sinking actually, it’s in Tibetan, it’s Chingwa.
And Chingwa does mean to if the mind is starting to fall from the object. We can see it. It it really does happen like that that we I mean, first the mind mind starts to dip from the object, then our head starts to dip as well and we fall asleep. On the other hand, if we we have excitement, then the mind’s holding the object and then it’s lifting from the object into something else. Distracted to another object here, there.
So these are the two fundamental faults that need to be overcome in attaining single pointed concentration. But all of this depends initially on having faith in the qualities of single pointed concentration. And gaining faith in that then means we need to contemplate the advantages of single pointed concentration. And that also means that we have to contemplate the disadvantages of having a distracted mind like the one at present that we have. And if we don’t see the faults in our current state of mind, then we won’t overcome the laziness of our current situation.
Situation. So developing that sort of faith is not easy. But as long as we have an idea of what needs to be overcome in order to develop single pointed concentration, then it will it will tend to stick and we will remember its laziness first, then we need the aspiration, then we need the effort, then we need the pliancy. And We do. We need to contemplate these issues for a long time.
We also need to study these issues a great deal so that we have enough information to contemplate. Otherwise, if we don’t have enough to contemplate, you know, we’re not we there’s not enough grist. There’s not enough information to to go over. So we do need to study this the whole process by which single pointed concentration does arise. And what it actually is, we need, in a in a sense, to have some idea of what the result is in order for us to gain some interest in it.
So we we need to know what, say, the definition of calm abiding is. So, actually, the text just simply gives a a definition of calm abiding. So as he says, in dependence on the nine means of abidance, which are the nine mental placements. So in dependence on those, in dependence on progressing through those, The concentration which is qualified by the pliancy capable of abiding evenly as one desires on the desired object, desires on the desired object. in dependence on progressing through those nine stages is actually what calm abiding is.
So what calm abiding is, in other words, is that concentration. Calm abiding is concentration. So it’s that concentration which is able to abide spontaneously, effortlessly on the object upon which it’s focused as one desires in whatever way one desires. For as long as one desires. If one wants to hold the mind on the object for an hour, the object will just stay there.
Sorry. The mind will just stay on that object for an hour. And that is qualified by pliancy. pliancy here is mental and physical bliss of pliancy, which is referring to bliss or ease? Which arises through in dependence on the nine stages, is what calm abiding is.
And so there, what’s important there is that calm abiding is concentration. Concentration is one of the fifty one mental factors that a sentient being can have. And, of course, what concentration is, is the ability to hold the mind single pointedly to an object. So in other words, the ability for us to hold the mind single pointedly on an object for as long as we like, And that concentration is qualified by the bliss of pliancy and is generated in dependence on progressively going through the nine stages. Having