Geshe la began the teaching by reminding us of the important meditative sequence that appears on p. 89 of Stages of Meditation: moral ethics gives rise to single-pointed concentration, and when such concentration is attained, we can then begin the meditation on wisdom which will lead us to "pristine awareness." And through this awareness, our moral conduct is perfected. The circle is then complete: ethics > concentration > wisdom > pristine awareness > ethics. Typically, we feel the reverse is true, that single-pointed concentration, the ability to control our minds, will lead to our living better, more ethical lives. But in fact this model suggests precisely the opposite. This model suggests that if we refrain, for example, from harsh or divisive or angry speech, then whenever we sit to meditate, our minds will be calmer, and a focused mind will arise more easily, more naturally than it would have were it riddled with anger. So ethics, avoiding the 10 non-virtues, as they are called, leads to meditative stability.
Geshe la also spoke of the importance of understanding the rudiments of the philosophy that will gradually help us to remove our misconceived thoughts and habits. This philosophy, he reminded us, is doubly important when we are not actively meditating because the logical force of its argument, once we have understood it properly, stays with us when we arise from the cushion. Its logic will not desert us.
On the following Sunday, 28 October, Geshe la began by speaking of "laxity and excitement," the two extremes of the mind that disturb its balance during meditation. Each of these concerns has three fundamental levels: 1) subtle, or flickering, like a snake's tongue; 2) medium or moderate, when we are beginning to lose focus; and 3) gross level, when our minds have been hijacked by our wayward thoughts. Laxity, of course, leads to numbness, and in the worst case, sleep, while excitement leads to mental chaos, or a complete surrender to our uncontrolled thoughts.
Geshe la used several phrases that we would all do well to remember. First, we must continually beware
of our mind's tendency to "chase after objects," and we must continually try to "build up new habits" of perception until we are able to "make sure that these new habits become second nature." And to do this, Geshe la, said we must cultivate "confidence in the goals of meditation." These in short will lead us to a fresh reconsideration of The Six Perfections: generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration, and wisdom. It is also important to realize, as Geshe la reminded us, that the first four of the Perfections are very practical, active virtues that will lead as we learned earlier, to the cultivation of concentration and ultimately wisdom. So again, ethics leads to mental focus.
Geshe la concluded with a brief comparison of shamatha and vipassana meditation. Shamatha meditation, calming the mind, bringing it to a state of tranquility, cannot remove the subtlest, latent imprints from our minds; however, it can bring us to the point where vipassana meditation can direct us to an understanding of the ultimate nature of all phenomena, thereby allowing us to uproot these imprinted seeds that are continually coming to fruition and binding us to cyclic existence. You will often see these terms used differently in American culture--shamatha is often ignored and vipassana is broadened to include both what Geshe la means by shamatha and vipassana. But Geshe la is always very precise in differentiating between them.
So even though these teachings were spread over two Sundays, they were focused and logically connected by a single concern for elucidating the relationship between ethics and single-pointed concentration, and that's an important lesson.
Sidney Burris
