Chapter 5 - Conclusion

From Lord Buddha’s teachings recorded in the collections of Suttapiṭaka and in the Mahāyāna Buddhist literature, the writer has presented as well as discussed the Buddha and the origin of Dhyāna, two main Schools of Buddhism, the meaning and purpose of Dhyāna, two types of basic Meditation: Tranquility Meditation (samatha-bhāvanā) and Insight Meditation (vipassanā-bhāvanā), the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Dhyāna in Mahāyāna sūtras, the transmission of enlightenment in Indian and Chinese Patriarchs, and the practice method of Dhyāna.

The author has introduced dukkha as essential to life, and no living being in the world can evade this. This is mentioned in the Lord Buddha’s teachings.

The hearts of human beings in this world are a drift in the ocean: the flood of sensuality, the flood of becoming, the flood of views, the flood of ignorance. These four oceans are deep: deeper than the water in the sea. We depend on our minds that are swimming in these oceans, sinking in salt water. When people are in really salty water, the waves are strong. If they lie down to sleep, they toss and turn just like waves in the sea. And where do these waves come from?

The ocean. In other words, they come from:

-The flood of sensuality: sensual desires, attachment to sensual objects;

-The flood of becoming: wanting to be this, wanting to be that, struggling to escape from the state we’re in;

-The flood of views: holding fast to our own views to the point of getting into arguments–a sign that we’re adrift in salt water; and

-The flood of ignorance: darkness behind us–not knowing the past; darkness in front of us–not knowing the future; darkness in the present–not knowing what’s good and evil within ourselves, letting the mind fall for the ways of the world of rebirth. That’s what’s meant by ignorance.

Arthur Schopenhauer in “The World as Will and Idea” has pointed out to man the great truth that the nature of all that exists consists in willing. Every creature, from the first moment of its existence to its last breath, wills, and all its powers, mental as well as physical, are exclusively for the service of this will; yea, they are nothing but will itself made visible. If man no longer wills, if he has become entirely without will, each of himself feels that he has become impossible as a human being; we feel that because of the annihilation of his will, and thereby of his real nature, he must vanish from the world. And if mankind were not to will anything, if every being were to be entirely without will, then the whole world within a very short time would simply disappear, because every kind of existence is based solely upon will. ^[1]

The normal nature of the human mind is to be floating adrift in this way, which is why the Buddha had the great kindness to want us to develop our practice of Dhyāna in the life.

Modern life is moving at such a rapid pace that there is no time even to breathe. Our fiercely competitive world is like a rat-race where, in spite of all the technological and economic improvements and multifarious pleasures, people are still unhappy. Humankind has made tremendous progress in the fields of science, industry, and political systems, etc., resulting in materialistic development. Man is the promoter and consumer of these advancements, which aim at improving our standard of living and total well-being.

But does this really happen? Look at the so-called “developed countries” of the world, which try to ensure a high standard of living. Despite their advances in such fields as health, education and technology, they are experiencing an increased incidence of mental illness, delinquency, crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, and suicide, etc.

Every society is made up of individuals. The individual in a modern society is a victim of varying degrees of stresses and strains. His or her existence is full of constant conflict between the world within and the world outside. The materialistic world holds humans under a hypnotic spell. Engaged all the time in filling their stomachs by earning and spending money, people are slaves of their own cravings, euphemistically called ambition, aspiration, aims or ideals. These, alas, are seldom fulfilled, which causes deep distress, frustration and dissatisfaction, whether one belongs to the “Haves” or the “Havenots.”

Suffering, then, is a common problem of humanity. It is a universal disease, not the bane of any one nation, or persons of any particular colour or creed. So the remedy must also be universal. Meditation offers such a remedy.

The basis of any healthy, harmonious society is always the healthy, harmonious individual. Only if each individual has a pure, peaceful mind only then we expect peace and harmony in the society. Meditation is a unique technique for obtaining peace and harmony within an individual at the experiential level.

The great sage of India, Gotama the Buddha, discovered, or rather rediscovered this technique through his deep meditation. He attained enlightenment through this technique and was liberated from all the defilements of the mind. Then with great compassion and love, he distributed it to the suffering mankind. He did not establish any dharma “ism” or “cult.” He taught meditation, a way to purify the mind of its negativities of craving and aversion.

The Buddha did not expound revolutionary philosophical theories, nor did he attempt to create a new material science. In plain terms he explained both what is within and what is without, so far as it concerns emancipation from the ills of life, and revealed the unique path of deliverance.

Furthermore, the Buddha did not teach all that he knew. Though, his mind had penetrated the abysses of existence in other directions also, more deeply than any other mortal; but with deliberate intention he communicated nothing of it to mankind:

Once upon a time, the Venerable One was staying at Kosambi in a Sinsapa-forest. And the Venerable One took up a few Sinsapa leaves in his hand and said to his disciples: “What do you think, my disciples, which are more, these few Sinsapa leaves I hold in my hand, or the other leaves in the Sinsapa wood above?”–“The few leaves, Lord, that the Venerable One holds in his hands, are small in number; much more are the leaves in the Sinsapa forest above.”–“Even so, disciples, what I have perceived and have not communicated to you are much more than what I have communicated to you. And why, O disciples, have I not revealed this to you? Because it does not promote the higher life in all its purity, because it does not lead to disgust with the world, to annihilation of all lust, to the ceasing of the transitory, to peace, to the higher knowledge, to awakening, to Nirvāṇa. Therefore I have not communicated it to you. And what, disciples, have I communicated to you? What Suffering is, disciples, I have communicated to you; what the arising of Suffering is disciples, I have communicated to you; what the Ceasing of Suffering is, disciples, I have communicated to you; and what is the Path that leads to the Ceasing of Suffering, disciples, I have communicated to you.^[2]

The author has introduced and presented the nature and Function of two types of Dhyāna as mentioned in Hinayāna literature viz., Samatha and Vipassanā.

The function of Samatha and Vipassanā are clearly explained in the following passages of the Aṅguttara Nikāya:

Monks, these two conditions lead to knowledge. What two? Samatha and Vipassanā (tranquility and introspection). If cultivated, what benefit does Samatha confer? The mind is cultivated. What benefit does result from a cultivated mind? All lust is abandoned (yo rāgo so pahīyati). Monks, if Vipassanā is to be cultivated, what benefit does it confer? Insight (paññā) is cultivated. If insight be cultivated, what benefit does it confer? All ignorance is abandoned (yā avjjiā sā pahīyati). A mind defiled by lust, monks, is not set free; not can insight defiled by ignorance be cultivated. Indeed, monks, the freedom from lust leads to release of the tranquility of mind (rāgavirāgā ceto-vimutti), the freedom from ignorance leads to the release of the insight (avijjāvirāgā paññā-vimutti).^[3]

Samatha and Vipassanā are compared to the fair of swift messengers (Sīghaṃ dūtayugam), who carry the message of truth, that is, Nibbāna to the consciousness who is the Lord of the town, viz., the body, mindfulness (sati) being the gatekeeper of the six sense, and the Noble Eightfold Path leading to Nibbāna. ^[4]

The purpose of samatha is to induce concentration in the mind and free it from all distraction (Vikkhepa). The essence of Vipassanā is to see the truth as it is (anupassanā). The two jointly act as a single harmonious entity as the way to Nibbāna.^[5]

Sometime an aspirant develops Vipassanā preceded by Samatha (samatha pubbanamam). In him the fetters (samyojanāni) are abandoned, the lurking tendencies (anusayā) come to an end. Sometimes the aspirant develops samatha preceded by Vipassanā (Vipassanā-pubbangamamm). In him also, the fetters are abandoned and the lurking tendencies come to an end. Sometimes the aspirant develops samatha and Vipassanā together (yuganaddaham). As he does so, the fetters are abandoned and the lurking tendencies come to an end.^[6]

³⁴⁰ Aṅguttara-Nikāya II. p. 166.

Author has mentioned that the essence of Vipassanā is anupassanā, that is, to see the truth as it is. Such anupassanā is practised by the discipline called satipaṭṭhāna which is translated as Foundations of Mindfulness (Retention of Mindfulness). ^[7] The discourse on Satipattāna occur at several place in the Pāli scriptures, for instance, in the twentysecond discourse of the Dīgha Nikāya, the tenth discourse of the Majjhima Nikāya, the forty seventh discourse of the Saṃyutta Nikāya, and the seventh vaggga of the ninth Nipāta of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. The Patisambhidāmagga is also replete with passages that throw abundant light on the theme of Satipatthāna.

Exhorting his disciples to practice Satipatthana in all earnestness, the Buddha said:

The one and only path, Bhikkhus, leading to the purification of beings, for overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for destroying pain and grief, for reaching the right path, for the realization of Nibbāna is the way of the fourfold Foundations of Mindfulness; these fourfold foundations are: (i) Contemplation of the Body, (ii) Contemplation of Feeling (iii) Contemplation of Mind, (iv) Contemplation of Mind-objects. These are practised by the aspirant, remaining ardent, self possessed and mindful, having overcome both the hankering and the dejection common in the world. ^[8]

All these fourfold foundations are gathered in the body and mind. This is one way of looking at them, called anuloma, or in line with the standard way. The other way is called patiloma, in reverse of the standard way, in which we take all four and turn them into one.

Satipatthana is the way to vipassanā, even as Anāpānasati, is the way to Samatha. It is said that the meditator can put away the five hindrances (nīvaranas), the five sensual desires (kāmagunas), the craving for the five aggregates (skandhas), the five lower fetters (orambhāgiyāni samyojanāni), and the five upper fetters (ouddhamabhāgiyāni samyojanāni) by practicing the Satipattāna. ^[9]

Of the four contemplation, the contemplation of the body consists of:

1. mindfulness of breathing (ānāpāna),
2. the postures of the body (iriyapatha),
3. mindfulness with clear comprehension (samapajāna),
4. the reflection on the repulsiveness of the body (paṭikūla-manasikāra),
5. the reflection on the material elements (dhātumannasikāa) and
6. the nine cemetery (sīvathika) contemplation.

In the contemplation of feelings, the meditator takes care that he does not cling to any sort of feelings, whether pleasant or painful or neutral. In the contemplation of mind the meditator perceives his mind as it is. He perceives the mind ‘with lust’ as ‘with lust,’ ‘without lust,’ as ‘without lust,’ ‘with hate’ as ‘with hate’ ‘without hate’ as ‘without hate,’ and so on.

In the contemplation of mind-objects, the meditator muses upon:

1. (i) the five hindrances,
2. (ii) the five aggregates of clinging,
3. (iii) the six internal and the six external sense bases,
4. (iv) the seven factors of enlightenment, and the four noble truths.

By the practice of Vipassanā, the meditator gets an insight into threefold nature of things, viz, impermanence, painfulness and substancelessness aniccatā, dukkhatā and anattanā. The most important impact of Vipassanā on the meditator’s mind is his perception of constant change that is taking place in his body and mind. These leads to proper understandings of the fact of aniccatā, impermanence of things-mental and material. From this experience of universal flux, the direct perception of the facts of dukkhatā, and anattatā, impersonality or substancelessness of things, emerge in due course. Coming face to face with change, the meditator now starts to see things as they actually are, and feel that the frequency of change in an infinitesimal fraction of time is beyond his ken. The incessant change now challenges the meditator most vehemently to appreciate the fact of suffering. Gradually, the meditator arrives at the profound truth that all existence is devoid of an abiding substance of any sort. Vipassanā supplies novel information about one’s emotions and passions and the working of one’s mind, one’s latent instincts and motives, and ultimately purges the mind of its defilements and evil tendencies. It also teaches to live with full awareness here and now and too look well before engaging in any act and take a complete view of things with circumspection and composure.

The right understanding of the nature of the pleasurable, painful and neutral feelings by means of Satipatthana is the right way to the attainment of Nibbāna.

This is indicated in the following passage of the Samyutta Nikāya:

Who sees the pleasure as pain,
And pain as a piercing barb;
Who sees as impermanent,
The state of feeling neutral;
That monk sees right indeed,
And feelings understands.
Understanding the feelings,
In this life is freed from intoxicants.
On the cessation of body, perfect in dhamma,
Crosses the world, past all reckoning. ^[10]

There are several benefits we will get from the practice of mindfulness. They are as follows:

This is the only way to overcome sorrow and lamentation

The first benefit the Buddha mentioned is purification of mind. If we want to overcome sorrow and lamentation or crying aloud we should practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is the only way to overcome sorrow and lamentation. Here sorrow is a mental state. Lamentation is crying aloud through sorrow and saying this thing or that. To overcome sorrow and lamentation also we should practice the Foundations of Mindfulness.This is the only way for the disappearance of pain and grief.

Pain here means physical pain, pain in the body, and grief means mental pain, depression, ill will, hatred; all these are included in the word “grief.” For the overcoming and disappearance of pain and grief we should practice the Foundations of Mindfulness. One may not conquer pain, one may not overcome pain altogether, pain may not disappear altogether. But, if one practises mindfulness he will be able to live with pain and accept it. In that state of mind will not be disturbed or perturbed by the physical pain. If one’s mind is not perturbed by physical pain, pain is virtually non-existent. So, for the overcoming of pain, we should practice mindfulness meditation. For the overcoming of grief, overcoming of ill will, depression and so on we should practice mindfulness meditation.-This is the only way for reaching the Noble Path.

“Path” as a technical term is a name for the combination or group of the eight Factors of the Path–Right Understanding, Right Thought and so on–that arise at the moment of enlightenment. The type of consciousness that is accompanied by these factors is called “Path Consciousness.”

According to Buddhism, enlightenment means the eradication of mental defilements and seeing Nibbāna directly.As a person practises Vipassanā meditation and progresses from one stage to another, to higher and higher stages, as the result of this Vipassanā practice, a time will come when in his mind a type of consciousness arises which he has not experienced before. That type of consciousness, along with its mental concomitants is so powerful that it can eradicate mental defilements altogether, not to come back again. At the same time it takes Nibbāna as object. So, what we mean by enlightenment is “what happens at that moment”–a moment, when that consciousness arises, eradicates mental defilements and takes Nibbāna as object.

That consciousness is called “Path Consciousness.” Immediately following that Path Consciousness are two or three moments of Fruition Consciousness. One has to understand Abhidhamma to understand this fully.

When a person reaches the Noble Path, when the Path Consciousness arises in him/her and that consciousness takes Nibbāna as object, that is when he/she is said to have realized Nibbāna. So, reaching the Noble Path and realization of Nibbāna mean the same thing.

Buddha said that the practice of mindfulness is the only way to purify our minds, the only way to overcome sorrow and lamentation, to overcome pain and grief, to reach the Noble Path and to realize Nibbāna, namely, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

In the satipatthāna-sutta, Buddha said that there were four foundations of mindfulness. When one practises Vipassanā meditation at a retreat like this, one practises all these four foundations of mindfulness without following the sequence given in the Discourse.

Sometimes the body, sometimes feelings, sometimes consciousness, and sometimes Dhamma objects, one has to take these objects as they come without any choice. That is why sometimes Vipassanā meditation is called “choiceless awareness.” One has to practice these four foundations of mindfulness at random when you practice Vipassanā meditation. In short, practicing mindfulness is one of the most important parts in the life of a Buddhist practitioner. Mindfulness is the technique used to observe the mental and physical processes going on in our body and mind. Being mindfulness means being aware of our physical and mental activities or any phenomena which are taking place. A very important scripture, the Satipatthana sutta, denotes four foundations of mindfulness: body, sensations, mind and mind’s objects.” ^[11]

The Dhyāna School has for over a thousand years been one of the most popular schools in China and has played a great part in the development of Chinese philosophy and art, as well as giving a peculiar impression of the psychology of the Chinese people.

The Chinese claim that the school originated in the following way, though the story is not recorded in any known Chinese text or even Pāli or Sanskrit. This, however, is in keeping with the claim that Dhyāna School whose teachings were handed down orally or by silent understanding between teacher and pupil and not committed to writing.

With the essence of Buddhism in the verses, suttas, dhamma talks excerpted above, we may reflect on the meaning of each one and derive from it what a Buddhist practitioner has to do and how to behave in the daily life.

Practicing Buddhism is to live simply, to observe precepts, to study Dhamma, to reflect on oneself, to practice mindfulness for developing the mind leading to peace and happiness.

The study of the Five Collections of Discourses (Nikāyas), the Pāli Canon (Tipṭtaka) is very beneficial in finding the way of practice leading to the understanding of Body and Mind. However it is necessary to practice Meditation for reaching the insight of Mind and Matter, Cause and Effect, etc.

Observing precepts and practicing meditation is the way that will eradicate suffering for others and a method of mental purification which enables us to live peacefully. Once the defilements in one’s mind are reduced, one can expect less bad activities and more good deeds in the society. This practice is really an art of living which brings about good conduct and from it, positive contributions to society.

The essence of the Buddha’s Teaching can be summed up as freedom from suffering through non-attachment. The non-grasping and non-clinging, the meditation practice developing the mind for revealing the Suffering, Impermanence, Not-self are the culmination of the teaching. Realizing the causes of all formations, a “yogi” has to often contemplate on compassion and body impurities, to meditate with diligence, to know how to “live alone.”

Vipassanā Meditation and Educational Psychology

The basic purpose of education must be helping a man understand the truth of him and the world he is living in see his course of life, and be responsible for his deeds. In the Buddhist literature, the Buddha’s teachings for humankind on what the peace and happiness really is, what the world really is, what a man really is, really imply the meaning of a way of education.

Education, said Albert Einstein, is that which remains when everything that is learnt in school is forgotten. If we evaluate modem education by this definition, its chief outcomes can easily be identified as aggressive competition, pride and envy. At its best, the modem educational system imparts some professional knowledge and skills, but it lacks any cultivation of heart. The result is only to make the students conceited materialists. Consequently, at an age when children should be dreaming of beauty, greatness and perfection, they now dream about sensory titillation and wealth, and spend time worrying about how to cam money.^[12] No wonder that our society today is being devoured by the twin devils of acquisitiveness and unabashed consumerism, with the resultant serious social problems of corruption, strife and violence; and ecological problems such as environmental pollution and the rapid depletion of resources which threaten the very survival of humankind on this planet. Thinkers and philosophers of all hues, ^[13] whether in India or abroad, agree that a complete revamping of the educational system is a prerequisite for the solution to these serious maladies besieging mankind. For, unless human beings become harmonized within themselves, through a fundamental change in their animal instincts-which should be the most important purpose of education-all changes in their outer circumstances will ultimately be overwhelmed by their instinctual, animal brutality.

Educational psychology should be concerned with the totality of life and not with immediate responses to immediate challenges. ^[14] Broadly speaking, four different but inter-related aspects of human life can generally be recognized: viz., the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. Holistic education should cultivate all these aspects in full measure. For example, physical education should include not only the performance of physical exercises to keep the body fit, but also the training to use the senses and physical framework wisely.

Similarly, emotional education should emphasize the type of training of mind that develops the positive human emotions of universal love, compassion, forbearance, humility, equanimity, etc., and eradicates the baser instincts such as greed, envy, pride, aggressiveness, etc. In this way, one can establish a healthy relationship with society.

Intellectual education should require not only the development of the ability to think, but also the ability to act independently, rationally and logically on the basis of a deep understanding of the various phenomena of nature.

Finally, spiritual education should cultivate a refinement of the mind, to manifest that elusive “fourth dimension” of the human personality from which springs forth an intuitive understanding of the very purpose of our existence, and a clarity of what ought to be done to achieve it. It is quite clear that the modern educational system completely sidesteps the emotional and spiritual aspects of the human personality, and caters only to physical and intellectual growth-and this, too, only in a superficial manner. It is not as if the educationists and education planners have not been aware of this deficiency, for as early as 1966, the Kothari Commission recognized the need for inculcating social, moral and spiritual values through education. ^[15] But the way to achieve this in a composite society like India, where the notions of caste, creed and religion are very strongly entrenched, has defied a universally acceptable solution. There have, of course, been many attempts to impart moral education indirectly through various means such as prayers, discussions and contemplation sessions, etc. Even direct attempts have been made through meditation methods, lectures and discourses in various institutions such as Christian missionary schools; Islamic schools; Anglovedic schools; schools associated with the Ramakrishna Mission; ISKCON; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi centres; the Krishnamurti Foundation; and the Saibaba Trust, etc. However, these approaches have not been able to gain wide acceptance.

There exists in India and many other countries today, a scientific method of control and purification of mind which, if properly integrated with the educational process, has the potential of becoming a universally acceptable technique for nourishing the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human personality. This technique, an ancient science of mind and matter, is called Vipassanā meditation but how it can be integrated into modern education.

Viewed from the perspective of holistic education, Vipassanā meditation can be described as a technique of purifying the mind of its baser instincts so that one begins to manifest the truly human qualities of universal goodwill, kindness, sympathy, tolerance, humility, equanimity, etc., and simultaneously gains an insight into the true nature and purpose of human existence. This is achieved in a very scientific manner through a systematic cultivation of Right Mindfulness coupled with non-reactivity; that is to say, development of the habit of paying penetrating attention to whatever is happening in our total organism-the body with its five senses and the mind which operates in and through it-without any admixture of subjective judgments or reactions. The quality which purifies the mind at the deepest level is the mental factor of objectivity, or equanimity, which develops from the constant, thorough understanding of the impermanence of all components of the mind-body phenomenon. ^[16]

An important prerequisite for the systematic practice of Vipassanā is scrupulous observance of five basic moral precepts–viz., abstention from killing, stealing, false speech, sexual misconduct, and intoxicants–since any willful violation of these precepts causes violent mental agitation which makes it impossible to observe the mind objectively. Of course, Vipassanā practice also helps one to gain the mental strength needed to observe the moral precepts in day-to-day life.

The most significant consequence of Vipassanā practice is that it gives the mind a natural slant towards the goal of full enlightenment, the complete liberation from all bondages. Simultaneously, one develops the steadfast confidence that all hindrances on the Path can be overcome.

We can now understand how Vipassanā can fill that vital gap in modern education, viz., the training of mind, leading to a balanced, harmonious and purposeful life. Vipassanā meditation imparts a way to observe all the phenomena of this sensory world objectively and impersonally under the penetrating gaze of an equanimous mind. The multifold benefits which accrue from this practice are being discussed at length in this seminar and have formed the basis for research conducted by the Vipassanā Research Institute (Igatpuri, India) in many areas of human activity. Here, only those aspects related to the field of education are being discussed.

On the positive side, this training of non-reactive observation of facts, coupled with the insight of anicca enhances one’s ability to face the vicissitudes of life squarely and equanimously without taking recourse to such escapist alternatives as smoking, alcohol and drugs, which have become the bane of modern society. This attitude of equanimity also reduces the obsessive preoccupation with indulgence in unending materialistic desires, thereby allowing space for the manifestation of the so-called “higher needs” the self-actualization needs of meaningfulness, justice, truthfulness, service, love, compassion, etc., which modem psychology recognizes as essential components of basic human needs.^[17] Recent research has shown that people able to manifest these “higher needs” are generally much more creative and innovative, because selfactualization needs provide “a more durable fuel for creativity” than the drive for sensual gratification. ^{[18] [19]}

The attitude of Right Awareness coupled with equanimity closely corresponds to the disposition of the true scientist and scholar, which is characterized by clear definition of the subject, unprejudiced receptivity for the facts, exclusion of the subjective factor in judgment, and deferring judgment until a careful examination of the facts has been made. ^[20] This practice should therefore be of great help in augmenting the scientific temper.

Vipassanā meditation reinforces the scientific outlook in another much more direct way. Every meditator, after some length of practice of mindfulness of sensations, reaches a state where he experiences the whole body as a mass of vibrations. This experience is in line with the quantumrelativistic description of matter. ^[21] This direct experience provides much more clarity about the nature of matter than the scores of mathematical formulae produced by classroom descriptions.

The attitude of impersonal non-reactive observation is of profound value in the ultimate deliverance of the mind from all bondages, which is the true purpose of spiritual education. To quote Venerable Nyanponika Thera:

The inner distance from things... as obtained temporarily and partially by bare attention, shows us, by our own experience, the possibility of winning perfect detachment and the happiness resulting from it. It bestows upon us the confidence that such temporary setting aside may well become one day a complete stepping out of this world of suffering. It gives a kind of foretaste, or at least an idea, of the highest liberty, the ‘holiness during lifetime that has been alluded to by the words in the world but not of the world.^[22]

To achieve this objective, the principal requirement is to develop an insight into the basic characteristics of life. Impermanence (anicca) is the fundamental characteristic with which a Vipassanā student is continually confronted. As this experience becomes ingrained, realization of the other characteristics, viz., of suffering (dukkha) and egolessness (anattaa)automatically develops, leading one to a clear understanding of the purpose of life and the way to achieve the very acme of spiritual education.

It should be evident from the preceding brief description that Vipassanā meditation is a purely scientific technique, a universal culture of mind, which does not subscribe to any sectarian beliefs, dogmas or rituals. It should be universally acceptable, therefore, as an integral part of education. Its benefits have been corroborated by thousands of practitioners-both young and old belonging to diverse castes, creeds, countries and religious beliefs. Vivekananda’s dream of evolving a “manmaking education”^[23] could be fulfilled by the integration of Vipassanā into modern education. It is high time that an action plan in the field of education be drawn, at least on an experimental scale, to scientifically validate the efficacy of Vipassanā over an extended period.

So, here emerges a significant realization that the truth of the practice meditation, of the life happiness, of the world and of human beings the Buddha discovered twenty six centuries ago is an invaluable discovery for men’s new education and culture if it is to be brought today into schools for use. Buddhism must be known as a way of life bringing peace and happiness for individuals as well as for their commonwealth, and must be regarded as a main subject of philosophy, psychology, and educational psychology. This new branch of education will offer people a new regard to values and attitude of life leading to the calm of desire and ill-will, and to the destruction of wrong perception and thought. This branch of education will help individuals analyze their own mind, behavior and trouble to find the right way to live: they will come to recognize that happiness does not ask them to do anything more than stopping their desires, and that the very present moment of the here-and-now is when they really are free from troubles, because it always is completely new. At that wonderful moment, no one, or no power, puts any trouble into their mind. However, to abide in that moment a person should know how to control his self-thought and desire by the continued practice of meditation in the life. And at the end we close our discussion with the following remark: Buddhists way of meditation or any meditation for the matter of that can be practised by followers of all religions because the subject of meditation according to it, is human breath common to all humanity and the vow that one has to take for a moral foundation includes codes of conduct common to all religions.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

George Grimm. The Doctrine of the Buddha: The Religion of Reason, Delhi: Pilgrims Book PVT. LTD, 1926, p.3.

[2]:

Samyutta Nikāya V, pp. 437-438; Kindred Sayings, V, p. 370.

[3]:

Aṅguttara-Nikāya I, p.58.

[4]:

Saṃyutta-Nikāya III, p. 174.

[5]:

Paṭisambhidāmagga, p. 25.³⁴⁰ Aṅguttara-Nikāya II. p. 166.

[6]:

Aṅguttara-Nikāya II. p. 166.

[7]:

See Harcharn Singh Sobti. Vipassanā the Buddhist Way, Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 2003, p. 85.

[8]:

Dīgha Nikāya II. p. 217.

[9]:

Aṅguttara-Nikāya IV. pp. 91-93.

[10]:

Saṃyutta-Nikāya II. p. 185.

[11]:

Mahasatipatthana–sutta, Dīgha–Nikāya, II, p. 245.

[12]:

Krishnamurti. Krishnamurti on Education, Foundation: 1992, p. 34.

[13]:

P.L. Dhar and R.R. Gaur: Appropriate Engineering Education, paper presented at National Workshop on Technology Assessment, a Futuristic Viewpoint, Delhi, 1988, p. 98.

[14]:

Krishnamurti. Krishnamurti on Education, Foundation: 1992, p. 62.

[15]:

Ref. Report of Education Commission (1964-66): Education and National Development, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, 1966, p. 54.

[16]:

Sayagyi U Ba, Khin Journal, Vipassanā Research Institute, Igatpuri, India, 1991, p. 258.

[17]:

Ref. Aṅguttara-Nikāya Maslow. Motivation and Personality, New York: Harper Press, 1954, p. 131.

[18]:

Ref. Pradeep N. Khandwala, Fourth Eye: Excellence Through Creativity, A.H. Wheeler and

[19]:

Allahabad, 1984, p. 201.

[20]:

Venerable Nyanaponika Thera. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, London: Rider, 1962, p. 39.

[21]:

Ref. P.L. Dhar and R.R. Gaur, Science and Humanism-Towards a Unified World View, New Delhi: Common Wealth Publishers, 1992, p. 104.

[22]:

Venerable Nyanaponika Thera., The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, London: Rider, 1962, p. 43.

[23]:

Ref. T.Saṃyutta-Nikāya Avinashilingam (compile), Swami Vivekananda on Education, Coimbatore: Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, 1993, p. 134.