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Guided Meditation: Virtue; Dharmette: Buddha’s Mind (2 of 5) Manifest - Kim Allen

The following talk was given by Kim Allen at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on October 08, 2024. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Guided Meditation: Virtue

The meditations this week will be pointing toward various wholesome qualities in our experience. These qualities might have something to do with the attributes of the Buddha that we are exploring this week. These various wholesome qualities are a sound basis for beginning our meditation and also for deliberate reflection.

In Buddhist practice, we are meant to let the good register on our body, heart, and mind. The Buddha knew that our hearts need that and that it is possible to do so without any conceit or unwholesomeness coming in. Those things could arise if we build ourselves up in some way or grasp onto these qualities, but it is also possible to do it in a very simple, easeful, and happy way. It is not too hard to land on that with some practice. The Buddha very much encouraged this "registering of the good."

Today, we will bring in a brief reflection or recollection of our virtue: our intention and ability to have wholesome speech and action in the way that we are in the world. It is always tricky as a teacher to use words like "virtue," "ethics," or "ethical conduct," because they tend to bring up memories of all the times we didn't do that, or the ways in which we feel we aren't "there" yet. I want to say very clearly that the point of this reflection is not to bring in a comprehensive assessment, make a chart, or create a plan for improvement. It is a registering of the good on the heart. Everyone who is interested in the Dharma and has come to a sit like this has quite a bit of good manifesting in them. We are going to touch into that to the degree that we can.

Finding a Dignified Posture

Finding a posture that is upright and relaxed—it is also okay to be lying down—have a certain straightness to the body so that our posture is dignified. Sometimes this is said to be "Noble," but if that word doesn't work, you can choose "dignity." Find some degree of self-respect and confidence there.

Bring the attention inward, closing the eyes if that's appropriate for you. Allowing yourself to settle back and rest down. Sometimes with the computer, we can lean forward toward it, so balance your posture. Tune into the place where you are sitting, standing, or lying down, and find a place of balance on those contact points. Letting yourself settle into a place that feels easeful and balanced, where there isn't so much effort to maintain an upright posture. For me, it feels like there is a bowl shape around the position I'm sitting in, and I can settle into the bottom of the bowl where it is easy to rest.

Then, perhaps on the next out-breath, softening the body. Just letting it settle into this posture. Mentally, we can accept the support of what we're sitting on. Sometimes there is a habit of trying to hold ourselves up by ourselves—a "bootstrap" kind of approach—but it is nice to just let yourself be supported by the chair, the cushion, the floor, and ultimately the Earth. Feel that rest. I find when I do that, there's almost a response in myself of uplift. It’s like, "Oh, I know that the base I'm sitting on is stable," and so the body has some lightness and rises up. It’s a nice, balanced feeling.

Softening the eyes and the eye sockets, the jaw, the shoulders, the belly, and the legs. In places where we tend to brace a bit, just invite some ease. It is fine if there is still some tension or if you have pain in your body today. Softening the mind.

Reflecting on Non-Harming

Now, we will invite the skillful use of the thinking mind to bring to mind the intention we carry of non-harming, to whatever degree that feels present for you. I know it is there to some degree. We aren't racking up all the moments we missed or areas where we are unsure. Generally speaking, we are walking through the world not intending harm. Send into that feeling in the heart, the body, and even the mind.

Can you touch that feeling? It may not be easy to describe; there may not be words that go with it. Is there a certain feeling? For me, there is a kind of gentleness to it and a clarity that comes when I connect with that. Nothing specific, but it's like the air clears around me a bit. As you breathe, breathe that feeling through the body.

Softening the face, feeling any sense of goodness, beauty, or health that goes with this feeling. Further, you can bring to mind some moment where you manifested this through an act of kindness or the restraint of a comment that wouldn't have been useful. There is no need for a long story; focus more on the moment. Feel into that moment with that person or animal. If truly nothing is coming to mind for you, you can imagine a time when you witnessed it in someone else and noticed, "Oh, that was a nice thing they did." Feel the energetic effect of that on the world and on you.

Now, taking a breath and, on the out-breath, letting that reflection go. Returning to the present moment, the sense of your body in whatever posture, and the presence of mindfulness. Knowing this moment as it's unfolding. Tuning into the body and the mind, noticing any aftereffect of that reflection in the heart, the emotions, or the mood. Then connecting in with the breath—the simple flow of life in this moment. Breathing in, breathing out. If there's any feeling of ease or calm, allowing that to settle into the body.

The Momentum of Goodness

If the mind wanders off into thought, story, concerns, or memories—which it will—when mindfulness rearises and we remember that we're meditating, we can bring to mind that momentum. The impulse to come back to the present moment and stay with the practice is also a manifestation of our goodness. We have cultivated that momentum to remember, to return, and to reorient. We can have some happiness at this goodness.

Is there a way in which your appreciation of and commitment to non-harming are manifesting at this moment? Can we feel perhaps a softness in our connection to the body? Or perhaps when the mind brings forth a harsh voice, we just see that with mindfulness: "Okay, there's that one." Or we might deliberately speak to ourselves with kindness or respect. Even when we're not acting "out in the world," there is a way to be with experience in a non-harming way. Notice which aspects of that are present for you right now and appreciate them.

Carrying Virtue Into the Day

We've spent some time during this sit connecting with the feelings associated with virtue, with non-harming, and with meeting experience in an ethical, kind way. Might there be a way in which the understanding or direct knowledge we've gained from that can serve us as we move out into our lives for the rest of the day or evening?

We carry with us an inner understanding of what it feels like to have this clarity about non-harming. Could I carry that into an interaction, while driving, writing an email, preparing a meal, or reading a book? Whether it is something simple or something challenging, this inner reference point of knowing how virtue feels helps us to be steady in manifesting that in our speech and actions.

That will help us stay balanced, and it helps others. They can see it and feel it. Even if it’s not conscious for them, they will have an intuitive sense that this feels safe and non-contentious. It doesn't mean every interaction will go well, but it will go as well as it could based on the total conditions.

Wishing and intending that our care for ourselves and the world can be steady in us. May all beings discover happiness, peace, and freedom right in the midst of daily life.

Dharmette: Buddha’s Mind (2 of 5) Manifest

This week, we are going through nine qualities used in a practice called the "Recollection of the Buddha." These are epithets or attributes—names or qualities of the Buddha—meant to be touched into with our mental faculties. We reflect on them and turn them over in our minds with three purposes: to uplift and inspire, to see aspects of them in ourselves, and to find practical ways they can inform our daily life.

I remembered a time long ago on one of my first retreats when Gil Fronsdal was one of the teachers. When he arrived to teach, he would bow to the Buddha Rupa¹ on the stage before sitting down. Another student asked during a Q&A session, "Why do you do that? What are you doing?" Gil said, very humbly, "Oh, it's mostly gratitude and appreciation... and sometimes a little reflection here," gesturing to his heart. I think we are meant to see aspects of the Buddha in ourselves.

There are technically ten of these attributes, but only nine are used in the practice. The Pali word for them is the Buddha-guṇas². Yesterday, we discussed Arahaṃ³ and Sammāsambuddho⁴, which are about being fully wholesome. Today, we will explore two more.

Vijjācaraṇasampanno: Knowledge and Conduct

The first is Vijjācaraṇasampanno⁵. This means "accomplished in knowledge and conduct." Sampanno means "accomplished." Vijjā is "knowledge"—the opposite of avijjā, or "ignorance." Caraṇa literally means "to walk around," referring to our conduct, how we act, and how we move in the world.

It is one thing to have liberating insight internally, but it is another to fully manifest and apply it. The Buddha did that completely, such that he was always consistent. His internal understanding and his way of being in the world were always in sync and fully liberated.

The "knowledge" here refers to the liberating understanding of how not to get caught in any experience. Whatever was happening for the Buddha—encountering people, dealing with food, animals, sleeping—he had a full understanding of how not to get caught up in it. There wasn't reactivity in his mind. As a result, he was free in how he acted and spoke, making him fully safe and skillful.

We are meant to tune into this in our own world. We can notice, be inspired by, and even imitate the goodness we see around us. Gil tells a story about living at Tassajara and seeing the head cook walk across the courtyard to the kitchen. There was something about the way he was walking—very present, clear on what he was doing, not rushing, not worried. He was just doing the next thing to be done. As an early practitioner, Gil felt very inspired by this. It showed it was possible to be in the world in a straightforward, direct, and unhurried way.

There is a sutta that says laypeople should look to others who have four qualities: virtue, generosity, faith, and wisdom. We should emulate those qualities. I like how the language is careful; it's not expected that we find people accomplished in all four all the time. But we may know someone who is consistently generous, for example. The encouragement is to admire that and try to do more of it ourselves. We aren't trying to "become" them, but we can absorb good qualities and bring them forth in ourselves.

This deepens our understanding of ethics. We often see ethics as "prescriptive"—a list of rules or precepts we need to live up to. But there is another side: ethics is also "descriptive." It describes how someone with a commitment to non-harming naturally behaves. Virtue comes from within.

Sugato: The Happy One

The next quality is Sugato⁶. Literally, su means "good" or "well," and gata means "gone." So it means "well-gone." Sometimes it is translated as "The Happy One." We could say more casually that the Buddha has "gone happy." It has very much to do with the well-being that comes from wholesomeness. Who wouldn't be happy manifesting goodness?

In the Buddha, this is deeper; the peace of Nibbāna⁷ is always present for him. We don't always have that, but there is still a happiness that comes from our connection to goodness.

There is a mythical story⁸ where the monks arrive at a Brahman village intending to get water from a well. The Brahmans, being unfriendly, fill the well with grass and chaff so the water can't be accessed. The Buddha asks Ānanda to fetch water. Ānanda explains the situation: "I can't, the well has been filled." The Buddha asks a second and third time. Finally, Ānanda goes to the well. As he approaches, the well throws up all the grass and chaff and stands filled to the brim with pure, clean water. Ānanda is impressed and brings the water back, saying, "Drink the water, Lord! Drink the water, Sugata!"

The Buddha then makes a Dharma point: "What use is there for a well if there is water everywhere? When craving’s root is severed, what should one go about seeking?" Freedom is not a place we go; it is right here. If we understand there is always a wholesome thread we can follow, we have enough wholesomeness in us to meet any situation. It’s like there is "water everywhere." Nothing can block us from having a wholesome moment.

I See You, Māra

For us, since we aren't always in contact with Nibbāna, we can learn to see a thread of ease in any given situation. This is easy when conditions are pleasant, but what about when we are in a tough conversation, or when our mind is "misbehaving"—when we are depressed, angry, or sad?

Dharma practice says even those moments are part of the path. If we can bring in simple, calm awareness—"This is how it is"—that is enough to make the moment wholesome. To know, "Wow, my mind is really caught up right now," is to re-establish wholesomeness.

There is a common phrase in the suttas: "I see you, Māra⁹." It is okay when the mind has unwholesomeness in it, as long as we see it. Seeing it is good enough.

These two qualities, Vijjācaraṇasampanno and Sugato, relate to the Buddha manifesting his pure mind. Today is about manifesting purity and goodness, which leads to a "happy way of being." See if you can notice the manifestation of wholesomeness today—those small moments of goodness—and find some happiness in them. Soak in that. The more we are "soaked" in our own goodness and our willingness to be present, the better we are able to see how the mind and the world actually work. Knowing and seeing things as they are is a fruit of goodness and happiness.