1.6. Enlightenment Factor of Concentration

[Full title: The Seven Factors of Enlightenment—(6): Concentration (samādhi-sambojjhaṅga or samādhi-bodhiyaṅga)]

Samādhi derived from sam+ā+dhā, to place well, the term samādhi in the phraseology of Buddhist philosophy means concentration of a concentrated, self-collected, intent state of mind and meditation. Its ethical desirability for the system of Buddhist self-culture lies in the fact that, concomitant with right living, it is an essential condition for the attainment of higher wisdom and emancipation. It is usually defined as stability (ṭhiti), solidity (saṇṭhiti), and absorbed steadfastness (avaṭṭhiti) of though which is the absence of distraction (avisahāro), balance (avikkhepo), unperturbed mental procedure (avisāhaṭa mānasatā) and quiet (samatho).^[1] All these synonyms bring out clearly the thoroughness and intensity of self-collectedness with characterize samādhi.

It is only the tranquillized mind that can easily concentrate on a subject of meditation. The calm, concentrated mind sees things as they really are (samāhito yathābhutaṃ pajānāti). The unified mind brings the five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇāni) under subjugation.

One who is intent on samādhi should develop a love of virtue, sīla, for it is virtue that nourishes mental life, and makes it coherent and calm, equable and full of rich content. The unrestrained mind dissipates itself in frivolous activity.

Many are the impediments that confront a yogi, an aspirant for enlightenment, but there are five particular hindrances that hinder concentrative thought, samādhi, and obstruct the way to deliverance. In the teaching of the Buddha they are known as pañca nīvaraṇa, the five hindrances. The Pāli term nīvaraṇa denotes that which hinders or obstructs mental development (bhāvanā). They are called hindrances because they completely close in, cut off and obstruct. They close the doors to deliverance.

The five hindrances are:

1. kāmacchanda—sensual desires,
2. vyāpāda—ill will,
3. thina-middha—obduracy of mind and mental factors,
4. uddhacca-kukkucca—restlessness and worry,
5. vicikicchā—doubt.

Kāmacchanda or sensual desires or intense thirst for either possessions or the satisfaction of base desires is the thirst that binds man to saṃsāra, repeated wandering, and closes the door to final deliverance. What is this sensuality? Where does this craving (taṇhā) arise and take root? According to the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta). “where there is the delightful and the pleasurable, there this craving arises and takes root.” Forms, sounds, smell.taste, bodily contacts and ideas are delightful and pleasurable; there this craving arises and takes root.

Craving when obstructed by some cause is transformed to frustration and wrath. As the Dhammapada says:

Taṇhāya jāyati soko—taṇhāya jāyati bhayaṃ
Taṇhāya vippamuttassa—natthi soko kuto bhayaṃ.^[2]

From craving arises grief, from craving arises fear;
To one who is free from craving, there is no grief, no fear.

The next hindrance is vyāpāda—ill will hatred or aversion. Man naturally revolts against the unpleasant and the disagreeable, and also is depressed by them. To be separated from the loved is painful, and equally painful is the union with the loathed. Even a disagreeable dish, an unpleasant drink, an unlovely demeanour, or a hundred other trifles, may cause indignation. It is wrong thinking, unsystematic reflection, that brings about hatred. Hatred on the other hand breeds hatred and clouds the vision; it distorts the entire mind and its properties, and thus hinders awakening to truth, blocks the way to freedom. This lust and hatred based on ignorance, the crowning corruption of all our madness (avijjāparamaṃ malaṃ), are indeed the root causes of strife and dissension between man and man, nation and nation.

The third hindrance consists of a pair of evils; thina and middha. Thina is lassitude or morbid state of the mind, and middha is a morbid state of the mental properties. Thina-middha, as some are inclined to think, is certainly not sluggishness of the body; for even the arahats, the perfect ones, who are free from this pair of evils, also experience bodily fatigue. Thina-middha retards mental development; under its influence mind is inert like butter too stiff to spread or like molasses sticking to a spoon.

The fourth hindrance also comprises twin drawbacks: uddhacca and kukkucca, restlessness and brooding, or flurry and worry. As a rule anyone who commits evil is mentally excited and restless; the guilty and the impatient suffer from this hindrance. The minds of men who are restless and unstable are like flustered bees in a shaken hive. This mental agitation impedes meditation and blocks the upward path. Equally baneful is mental worry. Often people repent over the evil actions they have committed. This is not praised by the Buddha; for it is useless to cry over spilt milk. Instead of brooding over such shortcomings one should endeavour not to repeat such unwholesome deeds. There are others who worry over the good deeds omitted and duties left undone. This, too, serves no purpose. It is as futile as to ask the farther bank of a river to come over that we may get to the other side. Instead of uselessly worrying over what good one has failed to do, one should endeavour to perform wholesome deeds. This mental unsteadiness (kukkucca) also hinders mental progress.

The fifth and last hindrance is vicikicchā, doubt. The Pāli term vi+ cikicchā literally means medicineless. One who suffers from perplexity is really suffering from a dire disease, and until and unless one sheds one’s doubts, one will continue to suffer from it. So long as man is subject to this mental itching, so long will he continue to take a cynical view of things which is most detrimental to mental development. The commentators explain this hindrance as the inability to decide anything definitely; it also comprises doubt with regard to the possibility of attaining the jhānas, concentrative thought.

Ven. Boddhaghosa defines samādhi as the profitable unification of the mind (kusala cittassekaggatā).^[3] Here the term cittassekaggatā is only a synonym for samādhi and it specifically refers to the agreement or harmony of consciousness and its concomitants. He further remarks that it is the centering (ādhāra) of consciousness and consciousnessconcomitants evenly (samaṃ) and rightly (sammā) on a single object.^[4]

Non-distraction is its main characteristic (avikkhepa lakkhaṇa):

“As the king in battle goes wherever he has gone becomes reinforced and-the hostile army being broken-follows the king, so concentration, from not allowing the wholesome co-existent states to be thrown out and scattered, has non-distraction as its characteristic”.^[5]

“He who is concentrated sees things as they really are”.^[6]

These words indicate not only the essence of samādhi, but also the nature of the relation between samādhi and paññā, i.e. wisdom. It is thus a prerequisite for the realization of nibbāna, for only a concentrated mind can have the vision of truth and reality. It, therefore, is not an end in itself but a means to an end. That end is supreme wisdom or enlightenment, the seeing of things as they are in truth and reality.

Eleven practices leading to the arising of concentration:

The first two have been explained above:

1. Purification of the bases.

2. Balancing the faculties.

3. Skill in the sign: This means skill in meditating on the kasiṇa sign or any other signs that will cause the arising of jhānas.

4. Inciting the mind: When the mind is sluggish, due to excessive lack of energy, it should be incited or encouraged be bringing into being the enlightenment factor of Dhammavicaya, Vīriya and Pīti (investigation of the dhammas, effort, and raptured).

5. Restraining the mind: When the mind is restless or too active, due to excessive energy, it should be checked by bringing into being the enlightenment factors of Passaddhi, Samādhi, and Upekkhā (tranquility, concentration, and equanimity).

6. Gladdening the mind: When meditators cannot get concentration, due to weak application of wisdom or non-attainment of peacefulness, they tend to become discouraged. At such a time, they should gladden their mind, for example, by contemplating on the qualities of the Buddha.

7. Reflecting with equanimity: When meditation is going well, when meditators do not experience sloth and torpor, restlessness and discouragement, they should not disturb their meditation by inciting, restraining, and gladdening their mind. They should just continue to practice with equanimity, like a charioteer looks forward, without interfering, when the horses are running well.

8. Avoiding people who don’t have a collected mind: This means avoiding people who are distracted and lack concentration.

9. Associating with people whose mind is collected: People whose mind is collected are those who have either access concentration or absorption concentration.

10. Reflection on concentration

11. Inclining toward concentration: Directing your mind toward concentration in all postures leads to attaining the desired qualities.

Concentration the enlightenment factor brings the required stillness to the mind by unifying it with undistracted focus on a suitable object. To do so, however, the factor of concentration needs the aid of the factor of energy and the factor of mindfulness. Demanded by the task, factor of energy and factor of mindfulness provide the stability of the factor of concentration to arise. The commentators illustrate the interdependence of the three factors within the concentration group with a simple simile. Three boys who go to a park to play see a tree with flowering tops. Though they decide to gather the flowers, these are beyond the reach even of the tallest boy. Then one of them bends down and offers his back. The tall boy climbs up, but still hesitates to reach for the flowers from fear of falling. So the third boy comes over and offers his shoulders for support. The first boy, standing on the back of the second boy, then leans on the shoulder of the third boy, reaches up, and gathers the flowers.

In this simile, the tall boy who picks the flowers represents concentration with its function of unifying the mind. But to unify the mind, concentration needs energy which is like the boy who offers his back. It also requires the stabilizing awareness provide by factor of mindfulness, which is like the boy who offers his shoulder. When factor of concentration receives this support, then empowered by energy and balanced by factor of mindfulness, fix the mind firmly on its object. Concentration is the factor of enlightenment known as one-pointedness, arising when the mind is steadily focused on an object. It gives the mind tremendous strength. Just as light, when concentrated in a laser has the ability to cut through steel; the concentrated mind has the ability to penetrate deeply into the process of mind and body, offering the opportunity for the wisdom to open up.

As the mind becomes more concentrated, as it becomes focused and still, one begins to penetrate through the layers of thought and see how the thoughts and emotions simply arise and pass away moment by moment. The seemingly solid experience of bodily sensations and sound and sight dissolve and one can see that, like the mind, they too are actually a process that is in constant change. The illusion of continuity that they give is called santati and is the result of the constant and rapid flow of activity. The concentrated mind is able to cut through this seemingly solid process and see its moment by moment impermanence.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Dhs, p. 11

[2]:

Dhp verse 216

[3]:

Vism, p. 68

[4]:

Ibid

[5]:

Expositor I, p. 156

[6]:

SN III, p. 5