THE FINAL MEDITATION PRACTICE

This is just a temporary title. You can give it another name if you like. For example: Meditation in Daily Life, or Maintaining Mindfulness, or Live Simply, or The Value of Mind, or The Wondrous Knowing, or The Essence of Meditation, or The Only Path, or Let Go of Everything, or No Self – No Dharma, or Living Beyond Words, etc. Any of these is fit for it.

This morning, before I was fully awake, before even not yet whispering, “Sesame, open!”, the Sesame Treasure already tossed a seed, the piece titled “The Final Meditation Practice.” I must write it out today but not tomorrow. What if tomorrow I can no longer get up?

Just last week, it was too hot – over 100 degrees during the day and still blazing at night. I turned on the AC in my room to the lowest setting for a few hours, knowing that during sleep body temperature often drops, so I didn’t want the AC on all night. Early the next morning, I woke soaked in sweat. As I turned my head, I felt dizzy. Slowly, with one hand, I pushed myself to sit up, but suddenly everything spun, and I collapsed back onto the cushion. That day, I had to skip the sitting meditation and the Buddha ceremony. I felt better around noon. The next morning, it happened again. I had to rest another day, drank more water, and was more careful using the stairs.

I reflected on the Buddha. The Lord spoke poignant words about old age:

“Ananda, now I am old, senior elderly, reaching near the end of my life with the age of 80. Anada, just like a worn-out cart, held together only by straps, so too is the Tathagata’s body held together and sustained by similar bindings. Ananda, only when the Tathagata does not launch the mind to any external appearance purposedly, eliminates certain sensations, attains and abides in the signless concentration of mind, that’s when the Tathagata’s body is at ease.”

When young, the Buddha possessed unmatched strength. Later, his wisdom and spiritual powers were perfectly manifest. Yet, he perceived his body was held together only by the tendons binding limbs to the trunk. Now, each time my limbs get weak and weary; I feel deep sympathy for the Buddha’s Sangha in those early days. Though there were many arahats, endowed with powers, even the Buddha himself, they all walked, barefoot and bareheaded under the scorching sun or in the freezing cold. They all ate and slept out in the wide open. How could their physical bodies not grow worn and exhausted?

Y’all, life is exceedingly precious. When your health is gone, it doesn’t return as it once was. Say what needs to be said.  Speak out words of kindly-loving and words of benefit. Whoever wants to be close to you, welcome them with open and cherishing arms. Whoever turns away, let them go, no regrets.  Live each day in any style that later you have no regrets is fine.

Now, let’s get into the point: How should we live every day? What follows is only my personal view. You may see it differently. That’s fine. Each of us has the absolute freedom to be the master of our own life. Don’t expect something new in this writing. Nothing new. Everything has a been taught in the scriptures. What could possibly surpass the sagacious teachings of the Buddha and the Patriarchs?

Usually early in the morning, we sit in meditation. The air is still and fresh. After a restful, dreamless sleep, our minds are light and refreshed. I gently put the meditation mat in front of the Buddha altar, then place the meditation pillow in its right position. After quietly sitting down on it, I adjust my posture till I feel stable on the cushion. Both knees rest on the mat.  The body keeps upright while head and back stay aligned.  Two arms naturally relax along the sides. One hand lies upon the other and two thumbs lightly touch.  The chin is a little bit up so the breath flows freely. With eyes slightly looking down, I loosen the facial muscles (no need to force a smile) and slacken the shoulders.

Since entering the meditation hall, by now, five minutes might pass. Guys, do you start your meditation?  To some of you, it might be not yet; it’s only prep. That’s true. No theme yet. But actually, we do such small preps in silence, right? We clearly know the order of small actions, no thinking required. It means we’ve been doing them with the procedural cognition. The key point is we know what we are doing, and the mind isn’t thinking of anything else. Are we practicing the Four Establishments of Mindfulness?  Yeah! That’s the Mindfulness of Bodily Actions. During those five minutes, the mind was completely clean; no unwholesome or evil thoughts arose.

In that Silent Awareness, we gently and partially close our eyes, softly gaze forward, clearly see the mind as open and empty. Keep observing the body and the mind.   Quiet witness.  Saliva secrets, silently swallowing it. Body warms up. Eyes gently close.  Head feels a little bit heavy, gently raise it. The back relaxes too much, straighten it up.  Chest feels heavy. Straighten it.  Breath becomes light. Exhale longer.  Mind remains empty; no sight of mind. Still awake; body seems weightless like invisible. Neither body nor mind is seen.

Now let’s reflect.  Is there anything present in that moment? Absolutely no. No evil, no unwholesome phenomenon. Thus, no subconscious defilements, no latent tendencies, no invisible fetters; no greed, no hatred and fury, and no delusion; no discursive and sustaining thought. The mind is crystal clear.

Now, a question for you.  What’s the meditation subject at that time?

Very simple answer. It’s the Knowing.

One more question. What’s in the mind then?

Easy answer. At first, there remains feeling and sensations.

Yup!  there's still feeling and sensation of body and mind. Biological processes occur because  the sympathetic nervous system is active now. The mind senses joy and rapture; the body feels airy, the breath is soft, heartbeat is gentle... At this point, with the episodic cognition, we silently respond to those sensations in silence.

From the beginning the subject is only the Knowing. Therefore, no need to bring it up.  Just keep observing body and mind closely without verbalizing.  The breath won’t reach the nose tip until it becomes so faint; then the heart rests. The body rests too; it’s airy like cloud and smoke. Sensation disappears. No more feeling. No more space. No more time. What clearly known is emptiness.  Even the Knowing is not existent. Only the Suchness! Crystalline. Radiant. Boundless. All vanish in the air.

That occurred during the sitting meditation. Now, let’s reflect upon the mind at that time: what was it like? Was there a subjective “I”?  No. All five, form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness, completely dissolved. I truly experienced the emptiness of these five aggregates. Oh, folks, so simple! Once delusive thoughts are cut off, nothing could be any of those five ones.

Let me try to explain more clearly. This meditation went step by step:

• First, I recognize that my mind becomes less suffering, and I resolve to firmly cultivate this serene and clear Knowing.
• Sitting medication in the proper posture comes from the procedural and episodic cognition. Then, the preparatory phase becomes smooth and fluid. One naturally enters the meditation flow thanks to the condensed cognition. That means it’s done through non-verbal awareness.

• The theme is just the Knowing, simply said like that so everyone can be confident they’re able to   do it. Not referring to “non-verbal” will avoid complication.  But when you just Know, without thinking or judging, then automatically it's wordless. No need to say it’s “cognition”. The Knowing has many levels, from rudimentary to profound. When at full depth, it’s the pure cognition. Collectively, it’s named the Knowing. In the scriptures, it’s called Mindfulness (Sati) or Right Mindfulness. Whenever we are fully aware in the clear and selfless Knowing, that’s the Right Mindfulness and Awakening stated in the canons.
• Why is it also called “like an illusion”?
  After coming out of meditation, one realizes: form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are also just like illusions. They only arise when we intentionally act or direct the mind. The five aggregates are, in essence, merely conceptual constructs we ourselves have created. Defilements, fetters, latent tendencies are also illusionary. Without our intentional engaging on them, how could they manifest? Sufferings, afflictions, karmic obstructions accumulated over many lifetimes are like delusional dreams. They dissolve in alignment with the dissolution of this world. When the mind becomes crystal and tranquil, the whole world also vanishes. When the mind is Nirvanic, then the world is Nirvanic, too.
• Folks, that’s the meaning of the writing “The Final Meditation Session”. No matter how many themes or techniques of practice there are, they all ultimately conform to this very framework. Finally, one must also let go of both themes and techniques.

• Half close the eyes gently, softly look forward, and no wandering thought arises.
• Once the mind is stable, gradually relax and slowly expand the field of awareness. Keep gazing forward. Observe bodily sensations. You might feel saliva releasing. Sometimes, it might taste sweet and fragrant; silently swallow it.  Heart beats slow down. Breath is gentler and shorter. Chest and head might feel heavy. Lift the head and straighten the spine. Take a long breath and release it. Breathing becomes automatic.
• Mind is empty. The stream of Knowing is clear and continuous. Face feels airy. Breath becomes imperceptible. No longer feeling the legs touching the floor. The body seems to dissolve like floating in the open, cool and vast air. Abide in that. When wishing to end, move your hands, shoulders, cover the palms over eyes, rub the face, and gently open your eyes, etc.
• This is the lesson of the “Final Meditation Practice.” It merely signifies no more theme, no more approach to practice. Or as said in the suttas, “with Dharma but no longer Dharma”. Though at first, I said the subject was “the Knowing”, but that Knowing itself is abstract.  It’s also you or the self. At the end, when you, the subject, and the Knowing, the object, merge into one, there’s no need even to evoke the latter anymore. Only when mindfulness fades and slips, do bring it up again to regain clarity. When it’s fully active, no prompting is needed. This is also the self-generated response, or no sense- bases, no theme, no striving.  Thus, it’s non-desire, non-sign, non-action, non-abiding, non-mind, non-conceptuality akin to “emptiness” or “like an illusion”.

So, for simplicity, why not begin the practice right away with the Knowing? That’s what the scriptures call the right mindfulness (sammā-sati), or the or intuitive wisdom (sampajañña), or knowing things as they truly are (yathābhūtañāṇadassana)?

Above are the most essential meditation steps for entering deep realms of the mind. But sitting meditation is not enough to sustain steadiness and consistency.

We’re living in the world. So, there remains much time ahead. But how could we constantly stay in meditation practice? Never say, “When I retire with much free time, I’ll begin to cultivate the path.” Y’all, lots of guys who check out before ever reaching retirement. Others fall ill before ever practicing. To wait until illness to see impermanence is too late. Some say the spiritual path is neither early nor late. If we believe that excuse, we might not know that we’ve been drifting aimlessly through countless lifetimes.

We must practice meditation within our daily lives.

Saying it might sound a bit vague. To be more precise, according to the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness): whatever we do, we should clearly know it as it is; in whatever state the mind is, we should be aware of that state as-is; whatever feeling arises, we should know that feeling as-is, and so on.

What does this mean? It means we must regularly observe our own mind to clearly know how we are, what our body is doing, and how our mind is at that given moment.

The subject always is the Knowing. In sitting meditation it’s the Wordless Knowing. In daily life we use the Knowing As- Is. But with words, that’s fine so long as our mind is clean and objective.  (The sutta, “Twin Foundations, Dual Mind Directions” also points toward the four levels of meditative achievement.)

When sitting before the computer, do know that we’re working; no evil, no unwholesome thoughts.  If eyes get tired, look far away, relax them; relax mind; without thinking; mind is empty for a few moments, then, energy restored. While cooking or washing dishes, clearly know the work being done, then, mind gets calm and gentle. Eating rice, know that we’re eating; we’ll chew more thoroughly; rice tastes better; digestion gets better, and health improved. Before the night sleep, be sure we’ve lived a full day not making anyone worried, resolving every necessary business in the day, nothing delayed till tomorrow. For example, I often reply to all important emails right away without postponing any. There might be more work the next day. We might forget them or even we might never wake up then.

My life motto: Always be ready to leave this world. When leaving, I’ll never look back. Like taking off a blouse and throwing it away. Like cutting every clinging to anything and anyone.

Guys, it’s also my miraculous trick, “Do not be thoughtless when living”. But simultaneously, “Don’t take life true and real.” With that, the burden of life gets lighter. The load that our Master has draped across my shoulder also becomes featherlike. So long as I can stand, I bear it. But when I lie down, it’ll also dissolve. It’s just a delusion.

Yet, one thing is not illusionary. What’s it? Since the time we’ve been in this world, through countless lives, it remains faithful, side-by-side to us to remind of good and wholesome things.  Many times, we might betray it or neglect it. But it keeps loyal to us.  Who’s it? It’s the Knowing, the Mind. Thus, my friends, remember to live every moment fully with this silent, true-blue and crystal-clear ride-or-die companion.

Bhikkhuni Thích Nữ Triệt Như

Sunyata Monastery, Aug 30, 2021

English version by Ngọc Huyền

Link to Vietnamese article: https://tanhkhong.org/a2645/triet-nhu-snhp025-bai-thien-tap-cuoi-cung