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(Halvor Eifring (Ed) ) Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist M PDF
(Halvor Eifring (Ed) ) Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist M PDF
Meditation
Cultural Histories
Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist
Meditation
Cultural Histories
Edited by
Halvor Eifring
HERMES PUBLISHING
OSLO 2014
Hermes Academic Publishing and Bookshop A/S
hermesac@online.no
ISBN 978-82-8034-201-0
Printed in Norway
Contents
Acknowledgements VI
Contributors Vll
The conference that was the starting point for this book was made
possible by generous support from the following institutions :
Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly
Exchange, Taipei
Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages,
University of Oslo
PluRel, University of Oslo
Kultrans, University of Oslo
The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, Oslo
The initial planning of the conference and the book took place
during the five months the editor spent as a guest researcher at
Research Center for Monsoon Asia, National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu, Taiwan, in 2009.
The conference took place at the Acem International Retreat
Centre Halvorsb0le, Oslo, Norway, in May 20 1 0 . In addition to the
editor, the organizing committee included Svend Davanger and
Terj e Stordalen, both from the University of Oslo.
The following persons helped in the organization of the
conference or assisted in work relating to the book: Wubshet
Dagne, Yue Bao, Regina Cinduringtias Pasiasti, Torbj0rn Hobbel,
Stig Inge Skogseth, Alexander Lundberg, Guttorm Gundersen,
Morgaine Theresa Wood and - last, but not least - the editor' s
patient and loving wife, Joy Chun-hsi Lu.
The editor would hereby like to express his deep-felt gratitude
for all the kind support from these persons and institutions, as well
as others who have provided help along the way.
Oslo, 15 December, 20 1 3
Halvor Eifring
Contributors
Bhikkhu Analayo, Privatdozent, Numata Center for Buddhist
Studies, University of Hamburg; Professor, Sri Lanka International
Buddhist Academy; Researcher, Dharma Drum Buddhist College
Bettina Baumer ' Sharada' , Professor, Institute for the Study of
Religions, University of Vienna; Fellow, Indian Institute of
Advanced Studt, Shimla; Director, Abhinavagupta Research
Library, Varanasi
Jens Braarvig, Professor of the History of Religion, Department of
Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo
Johannes Bronkhorst, Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit and Indian
Studies, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Bart Dessein, Associate Professor, Centre for Buddhist Studies,
Ghent University
Halvor Eifring, Professor of Chinese, Department of Culture
Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo; General
Secretary, Acem International School of Meditation
Stephen Eskildsen, North Callahan Distinguished Profess or of
Religion, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Are Holen, Professor of Behavioral Medicine, Department of
Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology ;
Head o f Acem International School o f Meditation
Gustaaf Houtman, Senior Teaching Fellow, Department of
Anthropology and Sociology, School of Oriental and African
Studies, University of London; Editor, Anthropology Today
Louis Komjathy, Assistant Professor of Chinese Religions and
Comparative Religious Studies, Department of Theology and
Religious Studies, University of San Diego; Founding Co
Chair, Contemplative Studies Group, American Academy of
Religion
Hindu, Buddhist
and Daoist Meditation
The big waves of global meditation interest in the past half-century
have all focused on techniques stemming from Hinduism,
Buddhism and Daoism.
Hindu uses of sound developed into TM, Ananda Marga and the
more strictly secular Relaxation Response, Clinical Standardized
Meditation and Acem Meditation. They also inspired Christian
practices like Maranatha Meditation and Centering Prayer.
Buddhist practices directing attention towards breath or body
have become popular under names like Zen, Vipassana and
Mindfulness, including clinical applications like Mindfulness
based stress reduction and Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Daoist body practices such as Taij i (Tai Chi) and Qigong (Chi
kung) have reached global popularity, along with the Hindu-based
body practices of Yoga. Combining stillness and movement, they
are sometimes classified as meditation, sometimes as exercise.
This collection of essays on Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist
practices is less concerned with modem waves of meditation
interest than with selected topics from the larger traditions
underlying them. Hindu meditation goes far beyond the repetition
of sounds, Buddhist meditation is not restricted to breath and body,
and Daoist meditation does not always include movement or the
manipulation of bodily energies.
The rich and diverse traditions from which the modem practices
have grown include techniques and states of mind that are seldom
heard of in the modern context, terminology catching long
forgotten nuances in meditative practice and experience, larger
visions of the role of meditation within religious, spiritual and even
political settings, as well as the extensive ritual and material culture
often surrounding meditation.
The traditional grounding of these practices does not mean that
they all belong to the past. The "creative contemplation" described
by Baumer is part of a system taught by the 20th-century Indian
ix
1 Shaw 2006: 1 04 .
x
visions come about, and why? Komj athy places Quanzhen c£Jll:
Daoist meditation within its larger cosmological setting, including
notions of time that are manifested materially in the use of water
clocks ( clepsydras) during communal meditation sessions .
The book makes no claim to comprehensiveness. For contrast
and comparison, it may be profitably read along with a volume on
Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (London:
Bloomsbury, 20 1 3), also edited by me. Another volume on Asian
traditions of meditation and a volume discussing the relation
between meditation and culture are under preparation.
Halvor Eifring
The Uses of Attention
Elements of Meditative Practice
Practice as problem
Our emphasis on the technical practice is not unproblematic. Like
most human activities, meditation is embedded within social, cul
tural and historical contexts . It is often understood to achieve its
meaning and effects j ust as much from such contexts as from any
technical features of the practice itself. One of the Daoist texts dis
cussed by Eskildsen in this volume even claims that meditation is
useless unless it takes place at the exact proper times on each day,
because its basic aim is to align the meditator' s activities with the
rhythms of the natural cosmos . In the descriptions of Daoist clep
sydra meditation cited by Komjathy, the emphasis lies on social,
material, ritual and cosmological factors, the actual meditative
practice most often being understood rather than made explicit.
Houtman, moreover, shows how some forms of meditation may be
seen as having strong political implications . However, while by no
means denying the immense influence of sociocultural and even
political features, this essay will focus on aspects of the practice
that are assumed to have effects beyond such contextual elements,
though usually in interaction with them. Frequently, such effects
are attributable to general psychobiological working mechanisms .
Another challenge to our emphasis on the practice itself lies in
the fact that even the sources in which meditation is singled out for
special attention do not always pay much attention to technique,
but are instead concerned with states of mind. Thus, the Buddhist
"first absorption" discussed by Analayo does not primarily refer to
a specific practice, but to a mental state. The Burmese hermitess
interviewed by Houtman gives few technical details of her practice,
but describes with surprising frankness the positive and negative
states and experiences she has gone through in her meditative pro
cess. Bronkhorst likewise emphasises the concern with meditative
states over meditative practice, and questions whether we can ever
achieve a "cultural history of meditation", since a history of such
states is bound to be elusive.
THE USES OF ATTENTION 3
There are even quite a few meditative traditions that look upon
meditation techniques with suspicion. In non-dualistic Buddhist
contexts like Chinese Chan and Tibetan rdzogs chen, techniques
are s ometimes met with scepticism exactly because of the above
cited dualism between practice and effect. In several Christian tra
ditions, a technical orientation is seen as coming in the way of a
personal relation to God or Jesus . A similar attitude is found in
Sikhism, where techniques are held to interfere with the ideal atti
tude of humble devotion. In the 20th century, one of the issues J.
Krishnamurti brought up when he broke away from the Theosophi
cal Society was the reliance on techniques : "The truth is a pathless
land." 2
Many sources, however, including some of the texts under scru
tiny in this volume, do treat technical practice as a core issue . The
Tantric meditation manual Vijniina Bhairava discussed by Baumer
describes 1 1 2 methods of meditation. The Buddhist sources dis
cussed by Dessein go into much detail about the "contemplation of
the repulsive", including the meditative awareness of dead bodies
in various stages of decomposition. One of the Daoist s ources dis
cussed by Eskildsen also clearly specifies the meditative
procedures to be adopted in order to attain the kind of visions
sought after.
Furthermore, in spite of the negative views of techniques in
Christianity and Sikhism, the ubiquity of technical features in the
devotional practices of both has been thoroughly documented. 3
Most scholars agree that early Chan opposition to techniques was
primarily a rhetorical move that did not reflect the actual situation,
in which monks were indeed seen to practise seated meditation. 4
Much the same can probably be said about rdzogs chen. 5 Paradoxi
cal expressions like "the pathless path" and "the gateless pass" 6 are
exactly that: ways of expressing the paradox of having to employ
2 Lutyens, 1 99 9 : 7 8 .
3 Eifring, 20 1 3b; Myrvold, ms.
4 Most famously, the Platform Siitra :l!U& combines critical views of meditation
with admonitions to disciples to continue meditating after their master has passed
away.
5 Per Kvaeme, personal communication.
6 Meister Eckhart: der weglose weg; Chan: wu-men-guiin ���Im.
4 HAL VOR EIFRING AND ARE HOLEN
techniques to achieve results that go far beyond what they can reli
ably produce. With few exceptions, they do not amount to denials
of technical practice, but admonitions to avoid goal-orientation and
passive reliance on techniques .
The historical study o f meditative practices is challenging, and
not only for the reasons cited by Bronkhorst. First, the written
source material is very limited, most sources preferring to discuss
at length the ideological underpinnings of meditation and the often
idealized and excessively systematized states of mind it is sup
posed to bring about, rather than the techniques that may bring the
adept to them. Even so-called meditation manuals, including
Vijniina Bhairava, usually contain little more than brief verses or
aphorisms; they are merely hinting at the technical features of the
methods involved. The details are left to the oral guidance of an
experienced living teacher. That seems to be exactly the way this
ancient work was used by the 20th-century Kashmiri master Lak
shman Joo.
The divulgence of meditative practice is also sometimes sur
rounded by taboos. In many living traditions today, the details of
meditative practice are only discussed with one ' s teacher. Even
Buddhist monks, who live in adj acent cells in the same monastery
and who have been practising communal meditation together every
day for years, often still do not know much about each other' s in
ner practice. 7
In the written sources, accounts of meditations are most often
normative and scholastic and may not correspond to the actual
practice. As Bronkhorst shows for Jainism, formulations that were
never meant to provide descriptions of meditative practice were
sometimes interpreted as such by ancient scholars, who have typi
cally been at least as interested in systematicity as in practicability,
leaving later practitioners with the difficult task of making practical
sense of more or less absurd descriptions . The large scholastic
meditation manuals of southern Buddhism, such as Buddhagosa' s
Visuddhimagga (5th century CE), are typical examples of system
atic expositions with a strong theoretical and doctrinal emphasis,
tions and conj ectures based on comparisons both within and across
cultural and temporal boundaries . This includes contemporary
sources, which are often more informative regarding practical de
tails, as well as the budding knowledge of meditative practice
emerging within the sciences.
This approach may not sit well with the constructivist perspec
tive that has dominated cultural and religious studies in the past
decades . Such constructivism came partly as a reaction against ex
aggerated claims to universality within phenomenological studies
of comparative religion. Constructivism has in turn, however,
brought with it an equally exaggerated readiness to dismiss com
monalities across cultures by characterizing them as superficial,
simply because various cultures conceptualize what looks like the
same phenomena differently. In fact, it is not obvious what influ
ence such different conceptualizations have on the psycho
biological effects of the elements of meditative practice . For
instance, to the extent that the meditative uses of breath in different
cultures resemble each other, the conceptualization of breath as
cosmic energy in Hinduism and Daoism, as an illustration of tran
sience, inconstancy and mutability in some Buddhist practices, as
an aid to concentration or absorption in other Buddhist practices,
and as the breath of life in Christianity may or may not matter for
the actual psychobiological effects of meditation. In this essay, we
shall treat the basic elements of meditative practice, such as the
various uses of breath, as our primary obj ects of investigation,
granting only secondary importance to the conceptual frameworks
surrounding them in the different cultures . 8
Attention-based techniques
According to our definition, meditation is not j ust any form of
practice but a technique and, as such, typically characterized by the
following elements : 9
8 For further discussion, see Eifring, ms. Kapstein' s (2004 :282ff.) discussion of
the psychobiological basis for light experiences across different religions may be
relevant in this context. For a wider discussion of trends and perspectives that
break with constructivism, see Ferrer & Sherman, 2008.
9 Eifring, 2 0 1 3 b : 8 .
THE USES OF ATTENTION 7
Meditation objects
In our terminology, a meditation obj ect is the intended focus of
attention during meditation. Additionally, spontaneous digressions
leading away from this obj ect will often become the focus of atten
tion during meditation, but not as a result of deliberate activity.
In this sense, we shall argue that all forms of meditation make
use of meditation obj ects . When the term "obj ectless" is used about
a meditation in some modem sources, this is invariably because the
notion of a meditation obj ect is conceived in a narrower sense than
here. In such sources, there are at least three ways of understanding
the term "obj ectless". Firstly, it may be used to describe what we
would call a spontaneous obj ect, such as the natural breath or natu
ral bodily sensations, both of which are used as foci of meditative
attention in several Asian meditative traditions, although they are
not produced or generated for the purpose of meditation. Secondly,
Location
A meditation obj ect may be external, bodily or internal. External
obj ects are located outside the meditator, while internal obj ects are
located inside the meditator. Bodily meditation obj ects share prop
erties with both types .
An external meditation obj ect has a physical existence outside
of the meditator. In this volume, the most obvious external medita
tion obj ect is the rotting body of the Buddhist "contemplation of
the repulsive" described by Dessein. There are many others : a
scenery, the sound of trickling water, a burning candle, a material
yantra or mandala, a mantra or a prayer or a text recited by s ome
body else (or, in modem times, played on a CD or MP3 player), a
written text, a cross, a mural or other image of religious scenes etc.
Since such obj ects are perceived by the awareness of the meditator,
they are never purely external but are representations in the mind
of the meditator. Their basis, however, is related to the existence of
a physical obj ect outside the meditator.
An internal meditation obj ect is conj ured up by the meditator,
and its only existence lies within his or her consciousness, with no
direct physical or external existence. This is the case when, for in
stance, a mantra, koan, prayer or text is produced in the thoughts of
the meditator rather than being recited aloud, or when a yantra,
mandala or other image is visualized mentally rather than being
related directly to a physical painting or figure. In Buddhist vipas
sana and mindfulness, spontaneous thoughts and emotions may
themselves become the obj ects of meditation.
In between external and internal meditation obj ects, bodily ob
j ects constitute a third group, which includes both natural breath
and active breathing exercises, natural body sensations and at
tempts at directing energies in specific directions through the body,
spontaneous bodily impulses and specified movements of the body .
The various forms o f Tantric bhavana practices discussed by
Baumer, though highly metaphysical in nature, are still often di
rectly related to the body. This includes the down-to-earth
exhortation to "meditate on the state of fullness" when one is
"filled with j oy arising from the pleasure of eating and drinking",
but also the much more abstract contemplation on "all the elements
constituting the body as pervaded by void" . A bodily meditation
obj ect has its basis in a physical obj ect, the human body, but this
obj ect is not located outside the meditator and is therefore experi
enced from the inside and the outside simultaneously.
Bodily meditation obj ects are widely used within Hindu, Bud
dhist, Daoist and Neo-Confucian forms of meditation. To our
knowledge, they are hardly found in the typically devotional prac
tices of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. In these
traditions, body and breath only occur as secondary or auxiliary
elements, not as primary meditation obj ects .
The following table gives a schematic view of the difference be
tween internal, bodily and external meditation obj ects :
THE USES OF ATTENTION 11
Physical • •
Often the same obj ect has both internal and external variants, such
as mantras listened to (external), repeated aloud (bodily), or repeat
ed mentally (internal). Furthermore, one and the same meditative
exercise may involve external, bodily and internal elements, as
when the Vijiiiina Bhairava advocates "experienc [ing] the con
sciousness . . . in the body of others as in one's own" . Finally, the
link between external meditation obj ects and physical reality is
sometimes quite tenuous, as when the Vijiiiina Bhairava talks of
"fixing one's mind on the external space which is eternal, support
less, empty, all-pervading and free from limitation" (see Baumer's
contribution) .
In many traditions, internal meditation obj ects are considered
more "advanced" than external ones . 1 6 They provide the mind with
less tangible content and are assumed to require more training and
experience . Internal meditation obj ects are also typically seen as
being subtler than the coarse materiality of external and, to some
extent, bodily obj ects . This is true even in cultures, such as the
Chinese, where the distinction between body and soul, matter and
mind, is usually thought to play a rather minor role. Most medita
tive traditions place matter and mind in the same category, both
belonging to the mundane world of forms rather than the divine or
formless realms to which meditation often aspires . However, most
of these traditions also make distinctions between different levels
within the mundane world of forms, the subtler ones seen as being
more conducive to meditative processes than the coarser ones.
Some traditions advocate a process of gradual interiorization of
the meditation obj ect. If the starting point is an external meditation
16
See, for instance, Muthukumaraswamy (forthcoming) on ajapa-japa in the Ta
mil S aiva Siddhiinta tradition.
12 HALVOR EIFRlNG AND ARE HOLEN
Agency
Meditation obj ects may be actively generated during meditation, or
they may be spontaneous - naturally present without any action on
the part of the meditator. As we shall see, this distinction mainly
applies to internal and bodily meditation obj ects, not to external
ones.
Faculty
While all meditation obj ects occupy the focus of attention, they do
so in different ways. The mental faculties involved in the percep
tion of the meditation obj ects may be divided into three main
categories : cognitive, affective and sensory. Each of these may be
further divided into a number of subcategories.
Cognitive meditation obj ects often make direct use of linguistic
elements, such as words, phrases or sentences, and they are based
on the semantic meaning. Typical examples include concepts (love,
no-self, God etc.), names (K:r�na, Amitabha Buddha etc .), prayers
(Jesus prayer) and passages from scripture (Rgveda, Lotus sUtra,
Daode j"ing etc.). Metaphors and symbols (cross, swastika, sun,
light etc.) may also be given linguistic form but are more often im
agined visually. The same applies to narrative elements, as in the
Jesuit visualizations of stories from the New Testament, or Daoist
visualizations of the meditator travelling through space and placing
his body within the Big Dipper. Meditations on existential topics
like death are partly based on a cognitive approach, though they
often aim for going beyond the cultural conceptualizations, in order
to penetrate the naked reality of the issue involved. This can be
argued to apply to other types of cognitive meditation obj ects as
well : by focusing on a concept, one seeks to understand the reality
behind this concept, and by focusing on a metaphor or a symbol,
one seeks to arrive at a deeper understanding of the underlying re
ality to which it points . In the same vein, it may be argued that the
meditative recitation of scriptures is often less focused on a linear
understanding of the literal meaning of the text than on using the
text as a basis for non-linear and associative reflection. The riddle
like koans of Zen go one step further: though linguistic in form,
they are often explicitly stated to have nothing to do with semantic
meaning, thus representing a de-signification of the signifier. Non-
THE USES OF ATTENTION 15
18
In Pali; Sanskrit form: maitrz.
16 HAL VOR EIFRlNG AND ARE HOLEN
1 9 Tanaka 2 0 1 2 .
18 HALVOR EIFRING AND ARE HOLEN
name (auditory) and the placement of this name in one ' s heart (tac
tile). 20 Buddhist breathing exercises may combine the tactile and
auditory sensations of the air passing through the nostrils, as well
as the cognitive element of counting the breath.
So far we have been concerned with the faculties by which
meditation obj ects are perceived. For self-generated meditation
obj ects, there is an additional question of how they are produced.
The main distinction here is between mental and kinetic obj ects,
the latter being based on physical movement. Mentally produced
obj ects include a wide range of cognitive and sensory obj ects, pos
sibly also some affective ones; all internal meditation obj ects that
are self-generated rather than spontaneous belong to this group.
Kinetically produced obj ects typically include the patterned
movement of body and breath in disciplines like Yoga, Taij f and
Qlgong; most bodily meditation obj ects that are generated rather
than spontaneous belong to this group. For spontaneous and exter
nal meditation obj ects, the distinction between mental and kinetic
obj ects does not apply.
20 Bashir 20 1 3 .
THE USES OF ATTENTION 19
Internal
Location Bodily
External
Self-generated
Agency
Spontaneous
I Linguistic - -------- -- -
- - - - -
I Cognitive
1- ----- --- -------------
s �� b�i i �
:- - - - --
II 1_��r:���-� ---------------
I Thematic
.
f-------------------------+-------------------------------------------
I Positive
- - - --- - -------
Perception
I 1-N���ti�� -
Faculty
Affective
� �1 -- ---------------
1- N � t ;
Ir--------------------------r-------------------------------------------
1 I -Visual
- - ----------------
Sensory i A� d it�;;
1I 1---------------------------
.... .
... .........i.. ... . . .. ..... ................. ..... •mm J !��� i i �
. - ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Production l--��-�-���--------------------------------------------------------
1 Kinetic
Mental attitude
While the obj ect of meditation is an important technical tool, both
scholars and practitioners often claim that the core of meditative
practice lies in the mental attitude, defined as the mode rather than
the intended focus of attention. Some even argue that a meditative
mental attitude may be maintained at all times, whether "walking,
standing, sitting or lying down", independently of any specific
technique. Others, however, treat the mental attitude as a technical
20 HALVOR EIFRING AND ARE HOLEN
tool for meditation, just as the meditation obj ect with which it is
combined.
This aspect of meditation is often associated with concentration,
an exclusive attention towards the meditation obj ect. As the 1 6th
century Spanish mystic Francisco de Osuna says, "meditation at
tends fixedly to one thing". In a somewhat surprising image, he
goes on to compare the attitude of meditative prayer to "the little
dog that with upraised head excitedly and attentively wags its tail
beside the dinner table, all its moYements see111in� 'w bi:g for food",
then proceeds to advise the meditator: "Remembering the little
dog, fix your inner and outer person with total attention and alert
ness on the One seated at the table, who is God. " 2 1
In Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist contexts, a number of terms as
sociated with meditation are routinely translated as ' concentration' ,
most notably the Sanskrit terms dharm:za, dhyana and samadhi (see
Braarvig' s contribution). Note, however, that these terms do not
always refer to concentration as an aspect of technical practice but
equally often as a state of mind resulting from such practice, what
we might more aptly call ' absorption' (see Bronkhorst' s contribu
tion) . Sometimes a distinction is made between the active concen
tration of dharaflii and the more advanced mental state of effortless
absorption associated with samadhi, with dhyiina hovering some
where in between the two (or, as in the Tantric practices discussed
by Baumer, taking on other meanings such as visualization). Since
the resultant state of one level of meditation may be taken as a
starting point for the practice of the next level, it is not always easy
to distinguish between practice and effect, or between mental atti
tude and state of mind.
There also exist, however, explicitly non-concentrative forms of
meditation, in which the field of attention is kept open to spontane
ous influences. In Buddhism, these are often referred to as
vipassana, 22 often translated as "insight meditation", and in the
modern context also referred to as "mindfulness" practices or
"open monitoring" (as opposed to "focused attention"). Vipassanii
21
Osuna, 1 9 8 1 :483 .
22
Sanskrit vipasyana, Chinese guan fl or nei-guan pgfl. See Houtman' s contri
bution.
THE USES OF ATTENTION 21
tensely, but not to the exclusion of the halo surrounding it, corre
sponding in this image to thoughts that come and go. In tape
recorded lectures from the early 1 960s, Mahesh Yogi argued
against concentration, which he saw as bringing with it too much
strain. In the psychology of meditation developed by the N orwe
gian organization Acem, spontaneous thoughts are considered to be
just as important for the meditation process and its effects as the
gentle repetition of a meditation sound. 26
The distinction between a concentrative and a non-concentrative
(or a directive and a non-directive) mental attitude may be defined
in relation to the following three dimensions :
Concentrative Non-concentrative
Focus of attention on Narrow Open
meditation object
Elements diverting
attention from Suppressive Inclusive
meditation object
Self-generation of Forceful Effortless
meditation object
26
See Holen, 20 1 3 .
THE USES OF ATTENTION 23
27 Ch. 3 : lope to penk on ou3t bot on hym-self, so pat nou3t worche in pi witte ne
in pi wille bot only himself (p. 1 6; Wolters, 1 978 : 6 1 ); ch. 7 : smite doun al maner
pou3t vnder pe cloude of for3eting (p. 2 8 ; Wolters, 1 97 8 : 69f.).
28 tf � tll ml ffif , �ml�m'J: - � , Jl.U � tll § � (Hanshiin taoren mengy6ufi p.
1 53).
24 HALVOR EIFRING AND ARE HOLEN
Wherever the mind goes, don't restrain it from [going] there; fo r what
is restrained becomes stronger, what is not restrained becomes peace
ful. The mind is like an elephant in rut, which becomes stronger when
restrained with effort, but comes to peace after satisfying its needs
without restraint. 3 0
29 Jlngye zhifin 3 54 .
30 ceto 'pi yatra yatra pravartate n o tatas tato varyam I adhikibhavati h i varita111
santim upayati I matto hasfi yatnan nivaryamal)o ' dhikibhavati yadvat I anivaritas
tu kaman labdhva samyati manas tadvat (Yogasastra, transl. Bronkhorst, ms. ; cf.
Qvarnstrom, 2002: 1 92).
3 1 Ch. 7: bete on pis cloude & pis derknes abouen pee (p. 28; Wolters 1 978 :69).
3 2 Ch. 4 6 : wirche more wip a list pen wip any liper strengpe (p. 87; Wolters
1 978 : 1 1 4) .
3 3 j ili t�JJ, j ij i ��' zhu6li �)J.
THE USES OF ATTENTION 25
Conclusion
This essay has argued that meditation implies working with atten
tion in a number of ways.
On the one hand, meditation involves the intended and sus
tained focus of attention on a meditation obj ect. Meditation obj ects
may be external, bodily or internal (location), self-generated or
spontaneous (agency), and cognitive, affective or sensory (faculty),
or a mixture of these in various combinations . Apart from the fact
that they are used as foci of attention during meditation, there may
be no common denominator to the obj ects considered suitable for
meditation, at least according to what Sarah Shaw (ms . ) found with
regard to Buddhist meditation.
On the other hand, meditation involves a mental attitude that
may manifest to various degrees along a continuum from concen-
37 Ch. 26: it schal be maad ful restful & ful li3t ynto pee, pat bifore was ful harde;
& pou schalt haue ouper litil trauaile or none (p. 62; Wolters, 1 97 8 : 94).
3 8 Lutz et al. , 2008.
26 HALVOR EIFRING AND ARE HOLEN
Johannes Bronkhorst
1 For a translation of the Chinese and Japanese sources related to the Crab Nebula,
see Clark and Stephenson 1 977: 140 ff., and Duyvendak 1 942.
CAN THERE BE A CULTURAL HISTORY OF MEDI'l:ATION? 29
Moderne (2009: 2 1 ) : "In Bezug auf die konkreten Weisen des Meditierens geht es
mir einerseits um eine Formgeschichte, also um die Darstellung verschiedener
Weisen des Ubens und ihrer Entwicklung, sowie andererseits um deren Ein
bettung in die sinngebenden Zusammanhange, innerhalb derer sie situiert sind."
30 JOHANNES BRONKHORST
3 I am happy to note that the editor of this book takes the same position as I on this
Jainism
My first example will be taken from Jainism, due to the fact that it
presents an extreme and most curious example of a cultural inter
pretation of meditational states that were not meditational states at
all.
Canonical classificatory texts of the Svetambara Jaina canon
enumerated everything that can be covered by the term jhiifia (Skt.
dhyiina) . This is the term generally used in connection with medita
tion, primarily in Buddhism yet also in Jainism, but in the early
Jaina texts it also covers other forms of mental activity, such as
'thinking' . By collecting together all that can be covered by this
term, these classificatory texts arrived at an enumeration of four
types of dhyiina : (i) afflicted (atta I Skt. iirta), (ii) wrathful (rodda I
Skt. raudra), (iii) pious (dhamma I Skt. dharmya), (iv) pure (s ukka
I Skt. s ukla ) . 4
For reasons unknown to us, these four kinds of dhyiina came to
be looked upon as four types of meditation, enumerated among the
different kinds of inner asceticism; so Viyahapawatti 2 5 .7.2 1 7,
2 3 7 f./5 80, 600 f. and Uvavaiya section 3 0 . 5 The later tradition,
when it looked for canonical guidance regarding meditation, was
henceforth confronted with a list of four kinds of 'meditation' , only
the last one of which (viz. 'pure meditation' ), should properly be
regarded as such.
But things did not stop there . The later Jaina tradition adopted
the position that ' pure meditation' is inaccessible in the present age
(in this world). Sometimes this is stated explicitly, as, for example,
in Hemacandra' s Yogasiistra. 6 More often it is expressed by saying
that one has to know the Purvas in order to reach the first two stag
es of pure meditation. The fourteen Purvas once constituted the
twelfth Aii.ga of the Jaina canon. They were lost at an early date.
7 In later times the reason adduced for this was often that liberation would become
possible after rebirth in the time of a future Buddha, esp. Maitreya; see Kloppen
borg, 1 982: 47.
8 This is not to say that the canonical description of 'pure meditation' is very satis
factory. Hemacandra (Yogasastra 1 1 . 1 1), for example, rightly points out that the
last two stages of 'pure meditation' concern the body rather than the mind.
34 JOHANNES BRONKHORST
forms of meditation into the J aina tradition, and along with them,
of course, the cultural interpretations that accompanied those other
forms of meditation. Yet those who were less enterprising, or more
traditional, may have gone on trying to practice meditation follow
ing guidelines that were not based on meditative experience of any
sort whatsoever.
Buddhism
The case of Buddhism is less extreme, and also less bizarre, than
that of Jainism. Buddhism too, however, preserved canonical
guidelines for the meditating monks which were a scholastic com
bination of two altogether different practices . The well-known list
of nine meditational states is, as I have argued elsewhere, a con
struction composed of two shorter lists . The two kinds of medita
tion that find expression in these two shorter lists are quite different
from each other and pursue different goals .
One of these shorter lists is the list of four dhyiinas ; the other
one the list of the Four Formless States (iirupya, Pa arupa), to
which sometimes a fifth is added, the Cessation of Ideation and
Feeling (sal'J1}niivedayitanirodha) . The second of these two lists
aims at the suppression of all mental activities . The former has a
different goal, which I have called "the mystical dimension" for
want of a better word. The four dhyiinas seek to attain an ever
deeper "mystical" state, whereas the Four Formless States only aim
at suppressing mental activities.
Later Buddhist meditators, like their Jaina confreres, were
therefore confronted with confusing canonical guidelines . Those
who did meditate made no doubt the best of the situation; some
may have decided that the canonical guidelines were of only lim
ited use . However, to my knowledge Buddhist literature never
abandoned them. The result is that the philologist who tries to
study the cultural history of meditation in India appears to be con
fronted with data whose connection with real meditation is artifi
cial at best. 9
In these two cases it can b e shown, o r at least argued, that the de
scriptions of meditation do not correspond, at least not directly, to
real meditational states or to real sequences of meditational states .
There may b e other cases where our textual material is not suffi
cient enough to determine whether we are confronted with a scho
la stic construction rather than a description or interpretation of
meditational states . This, of course, makes a cultural history of
meditation very difficult.
Where does all this leave us? I stated earlier that a cultural his
tory of meditation must be a history of cultural interpretations of
states that are, in their core, not culturally determined. The exam
ples I have discussed show that some of the presumed cultural
manifestations of meditational states are nothing of the kind, and
may indeed lead us astray. To use the comparison with supernovae :
some of the recorded "supernovae" may not correspond to real su
pernovae; some of the so-called meditational states recorded in re
ligious texts may not correspond to any real meditational states . In
some cases, as in the ones j ust discussed, mere philological dili
gence may bring to light that there are no meditational states or
sequences of meditational states behind certain claims of that na
ture. In other cases, philology may not be sufficient to render us
this service. In those other cases we would like to know more about
the "real supernovae'', i.e. the real meditational states that hide be
hind their cultural manifestations . In other words, j ust as the histo
rian of the so-called historical supernovae needs to know some
thing about real supernovae, in the same way the author of a cul
tural history of meditation needs to know something about what
meditational states really are .
It seems that the editor of this book agrees with this. He speaks,
for example, about the "the difficult question of whether or not su
perficially similar ideas in different cultural contexts still point to
the same reality, or whether superficially disparate ideas really
point to different phenomena, or are j ust surface manifestations of
the same underlying unity. " He seems to think that a solution has to
be reached, and can be reached, by way of an in-depth study of the
different sources of information, including texts that describe medi
tative practices, material culture and visual art, and present-day
information about meditation techniques . In other words, he wishes
36 JOHANNE S BRONKHORST
Absorption
One of the features of the theory presented in Bronkhorst (20 1 2) is
that it presents the human mind as having two levels of cognition:
the non-symbolic and the symbolic . Of these two, the non
symbolic level of cognition is fundamental, whereas the symbolic
level of cognition is superimposed onto it, largely as a result of the
acquisition of language at a young age. The overall combined cog-
CAN THERE BE A CULTURAL HISTORY OF MEDI�TION? 37
niti on resulting from these two levels i s deeply colored by the mul
tiple associations "added" by the symbolic level of cognition.
Normal cognition cannot therefore be directed at an obj ect, say a
telephone, without an implicit awareness of its purpose, its rela
tionship to other obj ects etc . ; in short, its place in the world. Non
symbolic cognition does no such thing, but is normally "veiled" by
symbolic cognition.
However, non-symbolic cognition can, in exceptional circum
stances (and more easily for some individuals than for others), rid
itself either wholly or in part of the veil of symbolic cognition. This
may happen spontaneously in psychotics and mystics, but also, to
at least some extent, through the voluntary application of certain
techniques . These techniques may vary greatly, but they will have
one thing in common: the special form of concentration I call ab
sorption (see below) . Absorption, j ust as ordinary concentration
does to a lesser degree, reduces the number of associations (most
of them subliminal). It follows that, if the degree of absorption is
high enough, this will have cognitive consequences : experience of
the world will be different, and will be accompanied by the convic
tion that this "different" reality is more real than that of the world
ordinarily experienced. It will indeed be more real in the sense that
the "veil" that normally separates us from the obj ects of cognition
will have been removed, or at least thinned, resulting in less that
separates us from them.
We might, provisionally, call "meditation" all those techniques
that "thin" the "veil" that is due to symbolic cognition. This kind of
meditation, whatever precise form it takes, will then be character
ized by absorption and, if the absorption is deep enough, will have
an effect on cognition. However, there is more.
Absorption has a further effect. Deep absorption gives rise to
feelings of bliss. This is an effect quite different from the one men
tioned earlier - modified cognition - and is due to a different
mechanism, although this is not the occasion to describe that
mechanism. Its consequence is all the more interesting in the pre
sent context, for it adds a further characteristic to what we provi
sionally call "meditation" . This kind of meditation is characterized
by absorption, by modified cognition (access to a "higher reality"),
and by bliss.
38 JOHANNES BRONKHORST
Conclusion
It follows from the above that not all the practices that go by the
name meditation (in India: dhyiina, etc.) necessarily have much, or
indeed anything, in common. At the same time it is reasonable to
assume that practices that on the surface have nothing in common
may yet belong together. The main characteristics of meditationi,
for example - absorption, bliss, cognitive effects - may result
from a number of superficially different practices such as yogic
concentration, fixing the mind on God, reciting texts and rhythmic
movements . Even completely "non-religious" practices (say, surf-
10
See, e.g., Bronkhorst, 1 993a: 1, 4 8 .
40 JOHANNE S BRONKHORST
Jens Braarvig
them derived from Indian and Buddhist traditions . From such start
ing points the word has penetrated into general usage within mod
em languages, and the practices designated with the word have
suffused substantial parts of modem religious life.
Thus, though meditation in some forms may be found in other
cultures, even those of Europe and the Middle East, most of the
concepts and rhetoric of modem forms of meditation seem to be
derived from an Indian background, generally through the agencies
and activities of Theosophy and various Buddhists sects ; firstly the
Pali tradition, then Zen and Tibetan meditation ideologies within
the Tibetan Diaspora - not to mention the multiplicity of medita
tion systems founded on the classical "Hindu" philosophies and
sects, and even the academic scholarly work on these traditions .
Thus, during the last hundred to hundred and fifty years, the activi
ty of "meditation" has seen a steep increase in the modem context,
accompanied with a steadily increasing terminology in Western
languages . This terminology is probably, at least historically, suffi
ciently connected with an Indian background to make it meaning
ful to delve into the plethora of Indian meditation concepts in
terms of trying to understand meditation as a phenomenon, be it
"Eastern" or "Western", and in trying to find out what meditation
is, or might be.
The above, very general, description of meditation would most
likely also hold strong for the Indian traditions of meditation, but
j udging from the classical literature of India, the belief in medita
tion as the solution to nearly everything, be it worldly aims or the
ultimate liberation, must be said to be very prevalent, much more
so than in other traditions . It is no surprise, then, that the Sanskrit
language displays an enormous terminology connected with that
activity, and that the various words referring to aspects of what we
in general may term "meditation" have different meanings in dif
fering contexts and ideological systems.
In the following pages, therefore, we will scratch the surface of
Indian thinking about "meditation" and gain a brief overview on
some much-used meditation words and how they acquire special
ized meanings in certain contexts . Emphasis will be put on the
classical Yoga system and the meditation words of the Buddhist
Abhidharma, as these may be said to give the historical premises
WORD S FOR "MEDITATION" IN YOGA AND BUDDHISM 43
from which the terminological complexity has grown. One can in
deed be surprised by the grandiose terminology connected with
what may seem to be a fairly simple human behaviour, namely sit
ting in this or that way with eyes closed or almost closed, and not
falling asleep .
I will thus relate to the words of "meditation" in two Indian
contexts which have a rich terminology of meditation practice, viz. ,
the "Classical Yoga" as described in Patafij ali ' s Yogasfitras and in
the traditional system of meditation in Buddhism. It is character
ized by its progress from the sensual realms of kiimaloka to the
form world of rfipadhiitu, through this sphere of existence into the
formless world of iirfipyadhiitu, resulting in the kind of meditation
which transcends the world of suffering and provides the final lib
eration from it. The terminology of this system is fairly universal
throughout Buddhism, though some of its importance has been lost
in the traditions of the Mahayana. The meditation words of Yoga
are often shared with those of Buddhism, but having been placed
into other semantic fields they receive other definitions and mean
ings, meanings which are also shared by other treatises in the same
meditation tradition as the Yogasutras. One can find, for example,
the complete set of technical terms of the a:f{iingayoga in the Bha
gavadgfta. 1
Clearly these two (I say two for the sake of simplicity) tradi
tions of meditation in India have a lot in common, they have grown
out of the common background of the Upani$ads and the origin of
meditational ascetism in India in the middle of the last millennium
B.C. Thus the terminologies are similar, but not identical. As we
will see, the flavour of the various words for meditation are, in
their context of the afore-mentioned traditions, different, and their
meanings may vary. To some extent this is influenced by the un-
1 The Yogasiitras have been edited a great number of times, and are easily availa
tarka and vicara, expressions used for intellectual activity and in
vestigation. Perhaps "introspection" or "reflection" might be an apt
translation here for vicara, and "investigation" for vitarka. In this
state, concentration is also called samapatti, etymologically mean
ing "coming together", and then "attainment". One should not fail
to note that both the words samadhi and samapatti are connected
with the concept of j oining or keeping something together, loosely
connected with yoga. "Joining" presumably indicates the collecting
of diversified thoughts into a concentrated state, indeed the words
"concentration" and "focusing" also have some of the same import.
The usual Buddhist definition of samadhi is likewise in accordance
with these meanings, namely, that the "mind is directed towards
one point" ( cittasyaikagrata), a definition which is shared by the
Yogasutras : "The transformation of thought by means of concen
tration is the end of being diverted among all kinds of obj ects, and
the production of one-pointedness" (sarvarthataikagratayol:z
k�ayodayau cittasya samadhiparb:zamal:z, III, 1 1 ) .
It is of course not at all surprising that the Buddhist views on
mental discipline are very similar to those of the yoga schools; in
deed they grew from the same fertile intellectual ground and have
influenced each other throughout the course of their development,
and, being part of the same Sanskrit world of concepts, certainly
the semantics of these were naturally shared.
It seems now that the mentioned sabija forms of concentration
are only connected with the necessary evils of intellectual life, as
with that of logic, for example -tarka does indeed mean logic in
general, and forms of mental activity are also the pramafla, or
"means of knowledge". This is also in-tune with the Buddhist tra
dition, which developed logic with a definite sophistication, but
always looked upon it as inferior to the experience of the "reality",
or the "divine". Thus in the Yogasutras these kinds of mental activ
ity are mentioned, but they are rather to be done away with for the
sake of the prajna, of the absolutely concentrated state of samadh i,
where the essential state of all-knowledge is reached.
This kind of concentration, however, is reached rather by the
following methods, eight in total : 1 ) the control of one ' s ethical
behaviour, 2) one ' s self-control, then by 3) the correct postures,
and 4) control of one ' s breathing, accompanied by 5) drawing the
WORD S FOR "MEDITATION" IN YOGA AND BUDD H ISM 47
senses back from their outer obj ects . One cannot help but notice
the strong emphasis on control and effort required to reach the
three last, most essential members of the eight, namely those of
meditation proper which loosely may be translated as : 6) "keeping
focus", 7) "meditation" and 8) "concentration" . (yamani
yamiisanapriif!iiyiimapratyiihiiradhiiraf!iidhyiinasamiidhayo '$fiiv
angiini II,29 and explanations of the eight members in the follow
ing verses .)
In so keeping oneself focused on an obj ect, dhiiraf!ii, is defined
as "binding one ' s thought to a place" (de8abandhas cittasya
dhiiraflii III, 1 ) and, as a more intense form of mental discipline,
meditation is defined as continuous single-mindedness directed
toward an obj ect (tatra pratyayaikatiinatii dhyiinam III,3) while
samiidhi, the final member of the afore-mentioned eight and ulti
mate aim of yoga, takes over as being the only obj ect of concentra
tion itself: "Concentration is the shining forth of only that only ob
ject, as empty of any own form" (tad eviirthamiitranirbhiisarrz
svariipasiinya iva samiidhifl III,3 ) . From this also shines forth the
light of knowledge (tadjayiit prajniilokafl III,5), the knowledge that
the seer and the seen are definitely different, and thus the isolation
of the seer takes place. On the path to the final consummation of
meditation, however, all kinds of knowledge and powers are be
lieved to be attained, as is the belief in all Indian meditation cul
tures.
The grand vision of the Yogasiitras is even more extended in
the Buddhist context, as the Buddhists in addition correlated their
meditation experiences with a cosmological setting: The cosmos is
seen as really no more than the states of consciousness as experi
enced by those living in the corresponding world-spheres, thus
reaching subtle and thoughtless states of mind entails rising to
more subtle world-spheres in the Buddhist cosmological system,
ultimately transcending the cosmos altogether. At that point one
reaches nirviifla after death, or in the meditative state of vajrop
masamiidhi, "the concentration which is like a diamond", "touch
ing nirviifla while still in the body", also called nirodhasamiipatti,
"the attainment of cessation" .
As in many religions or movements built upon an ideology,
however, the conceptual systems are not complete from the begin-
48 JENS B RAARVIG
lightenment.
Two other concepts which also have found resonance in modern
meditational "methods" or "types of meditation" are vipassana and
samatha, or vipasyana and 8amatha in Sanskrit. These two words,
which are poorly defined in the classical Buddhist literature, seem
rather to be qualities of meditation, the first one meaning some
thing like "insight (meditation)" (which it has often been translated
as) or even "expanded vision", which would be a more etymologi
cal translation. The second concept is translated as "peacefulness".
With the developing tradition of scholasticism of Buddhism,
however, the kinds of meditation so far mentioned, viz. ,
satipatthana, vipassana and samatha, are placed in the preparatory
stages of the carrier of the adept of Buddhist practice. In other
words, they belong to the stage where the ridding oneself of pas
sion, hate and delusion has not really started. This process of get
ting rid of the world, getting rid of all life and clinging to the pain
ful states of the world - be they coarse or subtle, belonging to the
world of passion or to the formless states - is described as increas
ingly subtle states of consciousness, and increasingly concentrated
states where the obj ects of meditation are decreasingly complex,
until the states of existence disappear altogether in order for vajro-
so JENS BRAARVIG
While each of the limbs of the a/jfangayoga builds upon the one
before (tasya bhumi(iu viniyogafl, III,6), this is not the case of the
eightfold path of Buddhism; these items are to be practiced all to-
gether. However, the last three members o f the eightfold path are
meditation words, those of mental effort (vyayama from the root
yam-), mindfulness (smrti) and concentration (samadhi), the group
of three, though, collectively being called samadhi. These three are
reminscent of the last three members of Yoga, collectively called
sar(lyama (III,4 et passim), again meaning "control" . It is of course
nothing new that the two systems of eight members seem to be
competing systems of rhetoric trying to describe how to achieve
human development by meditation.
Another meditation word, bhavana, which denotes "to make
happen", or "to develop", and translated by Herbert Gilnther3 as
"making a living experience of', has rather an epistemological or
even pedagogical value : it is placed into the triad of srutamayf
prajna, "insight derived from hearing'', cintamayf prajna, "insight
derived from pondering on", and lastly, bhavanamayf prajna, "in
sight developed into real understanding". This denotes a process of
increased interiorization of learned knowledge rather than a pro
cess of meditation, though of course one might say that such interi
orization of knowledge mi ght be called a kind of meditation. With
time, however, bhavana developed into a word for meditation, as
did many other words for "pondering on" and "reflecting on", as
with the term nidhyapti, which is used in a Mahayana context and
may also mean "understanding" . The movement from srutamayf
through cintamayf to bhavanamayf, represents a movement from
what we might in modern language style "only intellectual
knowledge" as heard or learned, to something we take seriously
and reflect and ponder upon, to a knowledge cultivated within our
selves to be integrated and part of our inner being.
With the Mahayana, meditation words became somewhat less
important as part of this mostly, it would seem, literary movement
placed great emphasis on intellectual discussions on the one hand,
and on piety, faith, generous acts and ethics on the other. The
meditation practices of monks and recluses were often derided, and
the addiction to such a peaceful life, .§amabhirata, was nothing for
the bodhisattva; he was in a state of meditation whatever he did,
and he could enter any samadhi at will, preferably with a fanciful
Summary of terms
y : Yoga
b: Buddhism
m: Mahayana Buddhism
The Sanskrit form is given first, and the Pali second, if different.
uphold, support, keep, in the case, in mind, y: the first and least
developed stage of meditation
dharm:zf cf. dharm:za, the two words are from the same root. Orig
-
pattikrama.
sadhana "making it happen" literally, m: a meditational proce
-
1 Although Buddhism uses the same concepts, the implications are often different,
mystique" .
58 BETTINA B AUMER
Bhiivanii, ' contemplative insight' is the most general term used in the
context of meditation. It is the repeated mental engagement with an
obj ect of contemplation to the exclusion of all others . (Vasudeva,
2004 : 22 1 )
find the repeated phrase ya evam veda sa eva bhavati, "he who knows thus be
comes it", the "it" referring to one form or other of brahman meditated upon. But
we are not going here into the history of this practice.
CREATIVE CONTEMPLATION IN VIJNANA BHAUlAVA 59
I t is certain that the learned sever the root of this tree ( o f differentiated
awareness), which is difficult to cut, with the hoe (kufhara) of correct
judgement (sattarka), its edge sharpened. The wise call it "insight
contemplation" (bhiivana), the cow which grants all wishes, who man
ifests even what is inaccessible to desire. (TA 4 . 1 3 - 1 4, translated by
Vasudeva, 2004 : 420)
upaya), the way of Energy (sakta upaya), and the lowest, individu
al way (a7Java upaya). Each one (except anupiiya, as the name
says) has its own practices and level of consciousness. The inter
mediary way is that of Energy, mediating between activity (kriya)
and the divine will (iccha), hence non-activity, as well as between
duality (bheda, difference) and non-duality (abheda) . Bhavana as
dynamic, transformative meditation is clearly situated at this level
of Energy, mediating between the individual and the divine. Thus
bhavana is rooted in the divine Energy, as it is experienced in an
intermediary zone of silence preceding thought and language, a
zone between thought-construct (vikalpa) and the thought-free non
dual state ( nirvikalpa ). 5 Yet it is also based on a conviction or in
sight, which it integrates into contemplation:
lo oking down into an abyss or a deep well, which frees the mind
from all thoughts .
These practices and experiences can be classified according to
the three or four upayas as described in Abhinavagupta' s Tantralo
6
ka, as has been done by Swami Lakshman Joo .
Here we are concerned with those practices or meditations clas
sified under the way of Energy (Saktopiiya), and especially those
where the practice is described by the verb bhiivyate, connected
with bhavana. The verb itself expresses the dynamism of transfor
mation.
The noun bhavana occurs in five verses of significance (20, 3 9 ,
47, 1 45, 1 5 1 ) . In the introductory verse 2 0 , the connection of
bhavana with divine Energy is immediately established, thus plac
ing all the following practices in their proper context.
The Energy of the Void is here derived from the silence following
the recitation of mantra : It is through this silence passing via the
supreme Energy of the void that the state of pure Void is attained.
There is thus a transition from the mantra to the void through S ak
ti, or from sound to silence and to the source of silenc e : sunyata.
A group of practices ( 4 3 -4 7) often called dharm:za, but here
more appropriately called bhavana, are concerned with meditation
on the body as empty. The purpose is to de-identify consciousness
from the body, and thus to reach a state of transparency. The Tan
tra suggests some variations of this contemplation, the first being:
One should meditate on the void in one ' s own body on all sides simul
taneously. When the mind has become free from thoughts, one experi
ences everything as the Void. (Lakshman Joo, 2 0 0 7 : verse 43 ) .
If one contemplates simultaneously that one ' s entire body and the
world consists of nothing but Consciousness, then the mind becomes
free from thoughts and the supreme awakening occurs . (Lakshman
Joo, 2007: verse 63)
When one is filled with j oy arising from the pleasure of eating and
drinking, one should meditate on the state of fullness. Then the great
bliss will arise. (Lakshman Joo, 2007 : verse 72)
One should contemplate the entire sky which is the nature of Bhairava
as if it is pervading one ' s head. Then (one experiences) everything as
the form of Bhairava and one enters into the glory of His nature. (Lak
shman Joo, 2007: verse 85)
"Knowledge, will etc. are not only found within me, they are also pre
sent in j ars and others obj ects". Meditating in this way on the omni-
CREATIVE CONTEMPLATION IN VIJNANA BHAIRAVA 65
Here again, the meditator starts with a thought which is then trans
formed into the reality of a universal insight. This bhiivana serves
to overcome the dichotomy of subj ect-obj ect, one of the main aims
of an advaitic understanding of reality. 1 0 The important overcom
ing of the duality of self and other is the topic of another bhavana:
The intuitive insight which is born from intense devotion in one who
is detached is the very Energy of S atikara: ever contemplating on her
one becomes S iva. (Lakshman Joo, 2007 : verse 1 2 1 )
10
Cf. the immediately following verse 1 0 6 : "The perception of subj ect and obj ect
is common to all embodied beings. But characteristic of yogis is that they are
aware of this relationship. "
66 BETTINA B AUMER
The unknowable, the ungraspable, the void, that which pervades even
non-existence, contemplate on all this as Bhairava. At the end (of this
contemplation) illuminatio11 will dawn . (Lak5hm;m Joo, 7007 : verse
1 27)
Fixing one ' s mind on the external space which is eternal, supportless,
empty, all-pervading and free from limitation, in this way one will be
absorbed in non-space. (Lakshman Joo, 2007 : verse 1 2 8)
Since they have the same nature, knowledge and the knower should be
contemplated as inseparable. (Lakshman Joo, 2007: verse 1 3 7cd)
In the concluding verses, the Tantra substitutes ritual acts with spir
itual practice. Here we find a brief but revealing summary of what
bhavana is all about, as the recitation of mantra or japa, the most
common religious practice, is substituted by bhavana:
B hikkhu Analayo
Introduction
With the present paper I shall explore the practical implications of
the attainment of the first absorption (dhyana). 1 My source texts
are the " early Buddhist discourses " , which take us back to the be
ginning stages of Buddhist thought. 2 In order to complement a
prevalent focus in studies of early Indian Buddhism on the Pali dis
courses preserved by the Theravada school,3 I mostly utilize dis
courses from the Madhyama-agama preserved in Chinese transla
tion, representative of the canonical collections of the Sarvastivada
school. 4
3 For a study of the absorptions based on canonical and commentarial Pali litera
the description does not intend excluding women from the practice, even though
the standard account of absorption attainment in early Buddhist discourse have a
"monk'', bhikkhu/f;c£i:, as their subj ect. In such contexts, the reference to a
"monk" acts as an umbrella term for any practitioner and does not imply that the
passage is only concerned with male monastics or only meant for them; cf. the
gloss on bhikkhu (in the context of mindfulness meditation practice) at Ps I 24 1 , 3 ,
translated in Soma ( 1 98 1 [ 1 9 4 1 ] : 3 1 ).
6 MA 1 64 at T I 695a23 : Ml�. M�::f�Z.5�, 1§"1';, 1'l°llt M1:��. i�*JJt-'RlG
:§it� .
7 For a comparative survey cf. Meisig ( 1 990 : 543 -547).
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDr.IISM 71
[The practitioner thinks] : 'I have lost the first absorption, my concen
tration has ceased.' That practitioner of absorption does not understand
as it really is: 'By cultivating right intention my mind, j oyful and calm,
has progressed from the first absorption to the second absorption,
which is superior in calmness.' Not having understood this as it really
is, [the practitioner] turns back the mind [from the second absorption]
and thereon loses the concentration. In this way a practitioner of ab
sorption, [who has actually] progressed, thinks to be regressing. 8
attempt to reach the second absorption without having properly developed the first
absorption to a foolish cow which, trying to get to a new place on a mountain
without firmly planting her feet in the place she had been, is neither able to reach
the new place nor able to safely return to where she was before.
1 0 MA 1 76 at T I 7 1 4c4 : 310�
1Tt,%-�filjffl g!lj��.
1 1 The same principle is also reflected in AN 6 . 7 1 at AN III 427, 1 , which high
lights the importance of properly recognizing what leads to decline and what leads
to progress, etc., though the exposition does not explicitly mention the attainment
72 BHIKKHU ANALAYO
One does not keep that practice, is not mindful of its characteristic
marks, one is only mindful of and has perceptions related to the char
acteristics of engaging in sensual pleasures; one completely regress-
es. 1 2
One does keep that practice and is mindful of its characteristic marks,
one establishes mindfulness in accordance with the Dharma so as to
dwell with a unified mind. 1 3
of absorption.
12 MA 1 77 at T I 7 1 6b23 : i'� :f )'l:Jltf'J, :f�Jl:ct§;f�, !lfEf'JW'\�t§J!!\ � ;!'J{ , i8ijl\JJ"!..
This discourse does not have a parallel in the Pali canon.
13 MA 1 77 at T I 7 1 6b28 : i'� )'l:Jl:tf'J, �Jl:ct§;f� , .TI:�fr0 )$;, 9{.t - }i .
14 This is also reflected i n S N 40. 1 at S N I V 263 , 1 5, which describes how
Mahamoggallana's attainment of the first absorption was disturbed by the arising
of perceptions related to what is sensual and giving attention to them,
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDliISM 73
sual pleasures], they all . . . have abandoned craving for sensual pleasures and re
moved the fever of sensual pleasures", ye hi kec i samm:zii vii briihmm:iii vii viga
tapipiisii ajjhattaytZ vupasantacittii v ihal(lSU (Be: vihasuyt1) vii viharanti vii viharis
santi vii sabbe te . . . kiimatm:zhal{l pahiiya kiimapari/iihal{l pafivinodetvii; for a
comparative study of MN 75 cf. Analayo, 20 1 1 : 407-4 1 3 .
17 MA 203 at T I 774a20 and MN 5 4 at MN I 3 64, 1 2 . For a comparative study of
MN 54 cf. Analayo (20 1 1 : 3 1 3-3 1 7); for a translation of the similes in MA 203 cf.
Analayo (20 1 3 ).
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDHISM 75
18
MA 1 9 1 at T I 738a2 1 : :ftt m_ , �m_, iJ"@"!nm_, /f:ftt . m_, /f�1Yi)f±m• � �.
�1§"�, ��. �:flXZ�, -�. ,�,�. IEftZ� . . . ::6'1�3<0 � �. �/fl!H��. �i
���. The Pali parallel MN 1 22 at MN III 1 1 0,20 makes a similar stipulation
for "the happiness of renunciation, the happiness of seclusion, the happiness of
peace and the happiness of complete awakening'', nekkhammasukharrz paviveka
sukharrz upasamasukharrz sambodhasukharrz (Be and Se: sambodhisukharrz); where
as the Tibetan parallel in Skilling ( 1 99 4 : 1 96, 3) speaks in the same context of
"noble happiness, happiness of going forth, happiness of total seclusion, happiness
of peace, happiness of complete awakening'', 'phags pa 'i bde ba dang, nges
par 'byung ba 'i bde ba dang, rab tu dben pa 'i bde ba dang, nye bar zhi ba 'i bde
ba dang, rdzogs par byang chub pa 'i bde ba dang, for a comparative study of MN
1 22 cf. Aniilayo, 2 0 1 1 : 688-70 1 . The Chinese version's reference to "dispassion'',
literally "no desire", � :flX , and the Tibetan version's "going forth", nges
par 'byung ba, reflect a recurrent vacillation in Buddhist texts between nai:jkiimya
and nai:jkramya, on which cf. also, e.g., B apat ( 1 946), Sasaki ( 1 963), Bapat ( 1 96 9 :
2f), Masefield ( 1 9 8 6 : 74), Sasaki ( 1 992 [ 1 986] : 1 - 1 4), Gethin ( 1 992a: 1 9 l f),
Norman (2004 [ 1 997] : 1 1 5), and Shukla ( 1 99 1 : cxxvif).
76 BHIKKHU ANALAYO
- Sensual desire
- Ill-will
- S loth-and-torpor
- Restlessness-and-worry
- Doubt
The implications of the first two are fairly self-evident, in that the
tendency of the mind to react with desire and aversion has to be
appeased to gain mental calmness . The next two hindrances point
to the need of achieving a state of balance in the mind. In order to
be able to deepen concentration, slackness in the form of sloth or
torpor needs to be avoided as well as over-straining or pushing the
mind, which can result in restlessness. The significance of doubt as
a hindrance for the development of deeper concentration, however,
may at first sight seem less straightforward. Helpful indications can
be found in a Madhyama-agama discourse that treats the mental
obstructions to absorption attainment in considerable detail . The
discourse takes the form of an autobiographical report in which the
Buddha depicts his own struggle to achieve absorption. According
to this report, during his attempts to deepen concentration the Bud
dha-to-be experienced an inner vision of light and forms, which
soon disappeared again. On having this experience, he had the fol
lowing reflection:
'What in the world does not exist, can I see, can I come to know
that?' - in my mind this affliction by doubt arose. Because of this af
fliction by doubt, my concentration was lost and my [inner] eye disap
peared; [once] the [inner] eye had disappeared, the [experience] of
bright light and vision of forms I had earlier attained, that vision of
19 On the term kufola cf., e.g., Cousins ( 1 996b) and Schmithausen (20 1 3).
20
A more detailed discussion of the five hindrances and methods to overcome
them can be found in Analayo (2003a: 1 86-200), Analayo (2009 : 29-76) and
Analayo (20 1 3) .
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDIIISM 77
That is, the doubt that at this point obstructs the deepening of con
centration is caused by the unfamiliarity with what happens, once
the world commonly experienced via the senses is left behind and
mental visions appear. Such a shift from the known world of senso
ry experience to an unknown terrain consisting of purely mental
exp eriences can in fact easily cause the arising of uncertainty of the
type expressed in the above passage, where one may wonder how
what is experienced during meditation fits into one's normal world
with its distinction between things that exist and things that do not
exist. 22
The same discourse continues by listing a series of other mental
obstructions that follow in the wake of doubt and need to be over
come before attainment of the first absorption becomes possible. 23
are present and one is perceptive during the attainment of the first absorption, the
objects of these senses will not be experienced. A related position is taken in AN
9 . 3 8 at AN IV 43 0,22, according to which with the first absorption one reaches
the end of the "world", which the same discourse defines as representing the ob
jects of the five senses.
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDEISM 79
3 0 MN 1 9 at MN I 1 1 7, 6 .
3 1 MN 1 2 5 at MN III 1 3 6,27 and M A 1 98 at T I 75 8b26.
3 2 This can be illustrated with MN 1 2 5 at MN III 1 3 6,25, which reads : ma ca . . .
vitakkam vitakkesi ti. so vitakkavicaranarrz vupasama. From the viewpoint of reci
tation, the negative injunction not to think "thoughts" could easily have lead on to
the idea of stilling of "thoughts". What makes such a shift even more probable is
the circumstance that in this way, after two instances of the word vitakka/vitarka
(vitakkarrz vitakkesl), a third repetition of the same term is made (vitakkavicara
narrz). Given the repetitive nature of the early Buddhist oral transmission, this
flows more naturally than continuing after ma ca .. . vitakkarrz vitakkesfti with so
vivicc ' eva kamehi, etc. On repetition as a central characteristic of the early Bud
dhist texts, cf. e.g. von Simson ( 1 965 : 5ff), Allon ( 1 997 : 273 ff), Weeratunge
(2004), Analayo (2007: 8ff) and Gethin (2007).
33 SA 501 at T II 1 32al 9 : "being completely established in the second absorption,
this is reckoned noble silence", � =t��JE1.± , � ::g���; a statement made
similarly in its parallel SN 2 1 . 1 at SN II 273 , 1 4 : dutiyarrz jhanam upasampajja vi
harati, ayarrz vuccati ariyo tw;ih'fbhavoti.
34 SA 474 at T II 1 2 lb2: "at the time of attaining the first absorption, speech is
stilled", W t�IE�B� , °§lJR;f,j[�, a statement made similarly in its parallel SN
3 6 . 1 1 at SN N 2 1 7, 5 : pathamarrz jhanarrz (B0 and C0: pafhamarrz jhanarrz, S0: pa -
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDHISM 81
not meant in a literal sense. The point behind the idea o f noble si
lence would rather be related to the function of vitarka and vicara
as verbal formations, 3 5 in that these mental factors are required for
being able to speak. The same two mental factors could also be
employed in a way that does not involve breaking into speech,
m erely standing for a directing of the mind towards a theme or ob
j e ct and sustaining it there. 3 6
Now, according to the autobiographical account of the Buddha's
progress towards absorption, as given in the Madhyama-agama
discourse discussed earlier, the Buddha had to struggle through
various mental obstructions before being able to attain the first ab
sorption. The same discourse reports that Anuruddha experienced
similar difficulties, while another Pali discourse describes that the
Buddha had to assist Mahamoggallana in attaining the first absorp
tion. 3 7 This is significant in view of the fact that, according to the
canonical listings of eminent disciples, Anuruddha and Mahamog
gallana excelled all other disciples with their concentrative attain
ments . 38 For them to nevertheless have needed the Buddha's per
sonal intervention to attain the first absorption implies that this lev
el of concentration requires a considerable amount of meditation
practice, even in the case of gifted practitioners . This in tum sug
gests that the first absorption already constitutes a deep level of
concentration. 3 9
dwells secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from evil and un
wholesome qualities . . . this happiness is a noble happiness, the happi
ness of dispassion, the happiness of seclusion, the happiness of peace,
the happiness that leads to complete awakening . . . which should be
cultivated, should be practiced, should be made much ot; I say that it
certainly should be cultivated. 4 5
,iiM� , IE�z � . . . PJ {�, PJ � , PJ ,IJ:1!J , !lt §Jt m-WtJl UPJ {�ii!, . MN 1 3 9 at MN III
233,25 indicates that if someone "dwells secluded from sensual pleasures, seclud
ed from unwholesome qualities . . . this is reckoned the happiness of renunciation,
the happiness of seclusion, the happiness of peace, the happiness of complete
awakening, it should be engaged in, it should be cultivated, it should be made
much of - I say that this happiness should not be feared'', vivicc ' eva kiimehi viv
icca akusalehi dhammehi . . . viharati, idam vuccati nekkhammasukhal'(l pavive
kasukhal'(l upasamasukhal'(l sambodhisukhal'(l, iisevitabbal'(l bhiivetabbal'(l ba
hullkiitabbal'(l, na bhiiyitabbal'(l etassa sukhassiiti vadiimi.
46 MA 81 at T I 5 5 5b20 : �ggI)�A��5*R1J\.;fan\G�, 1J\.5Ji)1'.j) �� �JE�1*�
/f�, �;lik . . . M±g�5JU�r)!'.jj 5l, ��3t:�m-Jl:c:§t 9=1 M±g�, 1*� 7F�; for
a full translation of MA 8 1 cf. Kuan (2008 : 1 5 5 - 1 65). The counterpart in MN 1 1 9
at MN III 92,28 additionally mentions an apprentice undertaking the same action
and notes that the ball made of bathing powder and water does not ooze. A back
ground to this simile is provided by passages like MN 93 at MN II 1 5 1 , 1 9, which
spe aks of going to a river to wash. oneself (the parallel MA 1 5 0 at T I 662c26 only
mentions approaching some water), probably reflecting the Indian practice of
bathing out in the open, such as by the side of a river. The Vimuttimagga, T 1 64 8
at T XXXII 4 1 7b8, then explains that j ust a s bath powder i n its natural state can
easily be scattered by the wind (which is indeed the case if one bathes out in the
open), so a mind without happiness and concentration will easily be scattered by
the five hindrances. That is, happiness and concentration are to the mind what
water is to the bath powder, whose kneading would then be comparable to the
action of vitarka and viciira. The theme of water as representative of happiness
continues with the similes for the second and third absorption, which by adapting
the water imagery reflect the different types of happiness experienced: from active
pervasion ( 1 st absorption), via natural pervasion (2nd absorption), to pervasion by
being fully immersed (3rd absorption).
86 BHIKKHU ANALAYO
water. 54
The presence of this happiness disappears with the fourth ab
sorption, 55 which finds its illustration in the depiction of a person
covered from head to foot in a cloth. 5 6 Though the type of happi
ness experienced in the lower absorptions has disappeared, the
fourth absorption can still be reckoned "a dwelling in happiness
here and now". 5 7 This other form of happiness of the fourth absorp
tion is superior to the type of happiness experienced in the lower
.
ab sorpt10ns. 58
Thus the development of inner happiness, aloof from sensuality,
is clearly a central requirement for reaching the attainment of the
first absorption. The path towards its attainment and beyond it in-
Sn 3 .4 at Sn p. 80,2) describe the Buddha seated in meditation with his head cov
ered with his robe. SA 1 1 84 and SA2 99 indicate that he had j ust shaved his head,
suggesting that he may have covered himself with his robe in order to protect his
freshly shaven head from insects.
57 MA 91 at T I 5 73 b2 9 : l'j! )zl;; � }i5, with its counterpart in ditthadhammasukhavi
hiira in its parallel MN 8 at MN 4 1 , 1 8 .
5 8 That the happiness of the fourth absorption is superior to the happiness of the
third and lower absorptions emerges from SA 4 8 5 at T II 1 24b6 and its parallel
Sanskrit fragment SHT II 5 1 folio 41 V7-8, Waldschmidt ( 1 96 8 : 1 0) (in both cas
es the section that treats the fourth absorption is given only in abbreviation), as
well as from their Pali counterpart SN 3 6. 1 9 at SN IV 226,2 8 .
THE FIRST AB SORPTION IN EARLY INDIAN BUDDHISM 89
Abbreviations
AN Anguttara-nikiiya
Be Burmese edition
Ce Ceylonese edition
D Derge edition
DA D'frgha-iigama (T 1 )
Dhp Dhammapada
DN D'fgha-nikiiya
EA Ekottarika-iigama (T 1 25)
MA Madhyama-iigama (T 26)
MN Majjhima-nikiiya
Ps Papaficasiidan'f
Q Peking edition
SA Sarrzyukta-iigama (T 99)
S A2 other Sarrzyukta-agama (T 1 00)
Se Siamese edition
SN Sarrzyutta-nikiiya
Sn Sutta-nipiita
T Taish6 (CBETA)
Vin Vinaya
Vipassana in Burma
Gustaaf Houtman
1 Pe Maung Tin ( 1 92 1 -25) has "the man" but Mahasi ( 1 979) prefers "human being"
(lu).
2 Pe Maung Tin ( 1 92 1 -25 : 1 ) translates P. bhikkhu as "brother'', but Mahasi ( 1 97 9 : 4)
prefers yahan, the Burmese term for ordained monk. Insofar as this state involves
renunciation (from which begging arises), and in keeping with the notion of "monk
of-ultimate truth" as a sexless designation, I prefer the general term renouncer here.
92 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
Vipassanii techniques3
There are endless works on the methodology of vipassana and on the
technicalities surrounding its practice and attainments in doctrinal and
commentarial works . In many cases, however, these have been
stripped of the contexts in which these traditions emerged. My inter
ests lie in understanding vipassana in the context of contemporary
Burmese biographical, cultural, and socio-political contexts from
which these methods emerged and where they are practiced. This
suggests vipassana has a lot to do with the foreigner but not quite in
the way scholars such as Sharf ( 1 995) have suggested, who locates
the popularization of vipassana principally in the demands of the
middle classes and as the result of a reification of "religious experi
ence" by scholars in the west:
What Sharf overlooks is that each of these traditions has its own rami
fications . In the Burmese context not all are so readily reduced to
western influence, whether the western middle classes or Protestant
ism. Indeed, the traditions that I have observed in Burma are less
about copying or aping than they are the product of a conversation
and a genuine attempt to develop new vernacular senses of identity
whilst under siege both by foreign colonialists and by oppressive re
gimes. For example, anyone visiting the area of Monywa will find
that peasants in some villages in these areas are not only perfectly
3 For an excellent critique of those who would postulate vipassana as a separate tech
nique see Cousins ( 1 996a) .
VIPAS SAN.A IN B URMA 93
4 Yoknan hnitpa go aneiksa sa thaw lekhkana a hpyin a htit shit hsin gyin gyin (MAA
1 98 0 : 1 53 ) .
VIPAS SANA IN BURMA 95
The Mahasi technique has been subj ect to controversy (e.g. B ond,
1 9 92: 1 64-65; Sharf, 1 995 :256-57; Jordt, 2007 :228). It is sometimes
re ferred to as a "dry insight" technique because, as taught to laity, it
contains little emphasis on prior practice ofthe samatha jhiinas (con
centration meditation). In particular, Sinhalese monks have criticized
this technique for the way breath is noted via the rise and fall of the
belly and what many interpret as an unnecessary bifurcation between
samatha and vipassanii. This technique is sometimes referred to as
more suitable for monastic practice, as retreats tend to be of longer
duration and a little less structured than the iiniipiina techniques . It is
revealing that this "dry insight" practice came under state support
during U Nu' s period of parliamentary democracy ( 1 948-62), when
samatha methods were particularly de-emphasised.
Largely through the teachings of Goenka, who returned from
Burma to India, the Ledi Sayadaw iiniipiina method is internationally
the more widely practiced among laity. It has been adapted to quick
and short courses that specialise in teaching lay people with little time
off. It is easy to understand with the first three days spent in attaining
mindfulness on breath passing through the nostrils, after which there
is a crossing over to vipassanii through contemplation of the body
(kayanupassana) .
U Nu fostered the institutionalisation of vipassana under his par
liamentary government between the years 1 948-62, which brought to
the fore new generations of teachers to disseminate these techniques
under the umbrella of state sponsorship, amongst whom the Mahasi
Hsayadaw was by far the most influential. The writings of John F .
Brohm ( 1 9 57), Winston King ( 1 96 1 , 1 964a, 1 964b, 1 97 1 , 1 980), the
auto-biographical travelogues and meditation experiences of Rear
Admiral Shattock ( 1 958, 1 988) and Byles ( 1 962, 1 965), and the vi
gnettes by Kornfield ( 1 977), and later work by Houtman ( 1 990,
1 999), Braun (2008), and Jordt (2007) have so far constituted the
main source material in English upon which our understanding of the
se traditions derive.
Winston King and J. F . Brohm demonstrated the link between
popularization of vipassanii techniques, attainment of national inde
pendence in 1 948, and the celebration of 2 5 00 years of Buddhism.
These events all took place whilst they were in Burma for their re
search and is expressed in a popular prophesy frequently recounted in
98 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
5 "Pranke has noted that the V amsadipanai ( 1 799) and the Sasanasiddhipidipaka
( 1 8 1 2) take for granted that no arhats exist in the sangha. But the 1 83 1 Thathanalin
kara sadan states that enlightenment is possible for meditation practices, while the
1 8 6 1 Sasanavamsa states categorically that there are monks living in the sangha who
are arhats." (Braun 2008 : 6 1 )
VIPAS SANA IN BURMA 99
6 As Ferguson ( 1 975 : 257) put it, "After King Mindon [ . . . ] many lay people, particu
larly in Lower Burma, began to honour meditating forest monks, and some of these
developed the belief that meditation was superior to textual memorization as the
means to nirvana."
7 Van Gennep (2004) describes rites-de-passage as a j ourney that is marked across
both territorially across geographical boundaries, as well as across time, i.e. the dif
ferent phases of a life-cycle. In the last paragraph of the conclusion, Van Gennep
deals with Buddhist societies : once we enter ' circular' societies where life is per
ceived as endlessly repetitive rebirths (cf. 'rectilinear' societies where rituals are
understood as one-off in a single life-time), repetitiveness is an impetus towards
(meditation and also) philosophy.
1 00 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
Hermitess Hsayalei
Hermitess Hsayalei (Little Teacher, abbrev. HL) explains to me in the
course of about fifteen in-depth interviews how she started her vipas
sanii contemplation practice in the Ledi iiniipiina tradition, what her
experiences were, and of her concerns about its vulnerability as a con
tinuous tradition. She convinces me that, paradoxically as it may
seem, she found certitude in its practice, which appears to assert such
radical doubts about the material and mental world most of us take for
granted.
Her account of herself gives us an immediate and lively introduc
tion to vipassanii as a Buddhist practice among practices, and as a
Buddhist institution among institutions . Her personal statements re
verberate in many ways in the discursive world surrounding this prac
tice wherever we care to look - whether it be in biographies, histories,
or preachings . Since such experiences are sensitive to misunderstand
ing, however, I have secured anonymity by not identifying her name,
the centre, or the exact region.
HL resides at a vipassanii centre. She had been closely involved in
setting up this centre j ust after World War II in the late 1 940s, and
lived in it for over thirty years . She helped generate most of the fi
nance to keep it going. Officially, she was in charge of running the
catering services, but unofficially she ran the centre virtually sin-
VIPASSANA IN BURMA 101
8 Most Burmese Buddhists regard nuns as having low status, but increasingly there
are Burmese Buddhists who admire nuns, particularly those who take exams in scrip
tural learning at high level. As Mo-hnyin nuns are highly regarded, Hsayalei pre
ferred to be associated with that tradition (See also Mendelson 1 9 75 : 1 46).
9 For example, though the minimum is the 5 permanent moralities for all ordinary
people, there are also 5 special moralities for higher beings. Furthermore, there are
also the 6 moralities for female monks and female probationers (Awbatha 1 97 5 : 626).
Finally, there are the 1 2 moralities of the Hngetwin sect (Mendelson, 1 975 : 1 1 0) .
1 02 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
kingdom were attributed to bad morality on the part of the king, and
there is a strong causality attributable to one ' s transgressions or ob
servances of morality in the past. 1 0 It is a discipline which one "takes"
(yu thi) more or less of, and "wears" (wut thi) at different times of
one ' s life. If this morality is measurable by such delicate and precise
enumeration, meditational achievement is indirectly measurable by
the use of qualitative numeral classifiers, a classifier which distin
guishes lesser or higher beings when subj ecting them to a counting. 1 1
It i s possible to write a whole book on the implications o f these, but I
mention them here because HL has located herself at the "upper end"
of the morality scale for nuns, taking 1 0 precepts instead of the 8,
which indicates how serious she is about insight. 12
HL came from a merchant family trading in lime. When she was
young, her mother contracted Bubonic plague. Though she responded
to treatment and recovered, she was never again able to do any work.
Her father died of tuberculosis when she was fourteen. There was no
one to take care of the children. At the age of thirteen, while her par
ents were ill, she was put in the care of a merchant lady who sold j ag
gery, and with whom she worked to maintain her five younger sisters .
The lady at the market taught her all the secrets of business until the
age of nineteen, when she set up a little shop of her own, selling
household goods such as soap and matches . HL traded like this until
the age of thirty, when the event of the illness and subsequent death
of her mother' s sister, her favourite aunt, took place. This aunt had
lived with the family, where she helped to take care of HL ' s mother
and sisters; HL regarded her as a mother. When this aunt was ill in the
10
See, e.g., Sangermano ( 1 893 : 1 8); Lieberman ( 1 98 4 : 3 5-6).
11
The Buddha is counted as hsu, as are staircases and nets : "No one can measure
him; to speak of him, there are no words; what the mind might conceive vanishes and
all ways of speaking vanish. " (Suttanipata, v 1 07 4) This point about qualification of
selfin meditation vs. quantification of self in terms of morality and charity is btought
home in a perceptive paragraph by King ( 1 964b : 5 1 ), in which he recounts how a
meditator was chided for quantifying the merit achieved in meditation.
12
Interestingly, Burmese Buddhists never refer to the 500 rules of nuns, a reference
common elsewhere (See E. Lamotte 1 98 8 : 42). This may explain the impossibility of
women to be ordained in terms of a strong attitude by Burmese on the status of wom
en, rather than the historical disruption of lineage.
VIPAS SANA IN BURMA 1 03
At that time I met a market saleswoman who was somewhat older than I.
In a conversation with her my morale was not improved; she told me that
the way most people lived in this world was bound to lead to rebirth in
the lower four abodes. The only way out was to practise mental culture .
A man who had founded an insight centre was then running a transport
company, paddling onions and garlic between A and my home town. I
was told that he knew a lot about Buddhism. His teaching, so the market
saleswoman told me, was a teaching which could free from rebirth in the
nether hells .
I went to see him, and for the first time ever I forgot about my shop, and
no longer considered it the most important thing in my life. I started prac
tising by myself for about seven days off and on when I was free from
work.
Soon, however, her mother obj ected to her mental culture and did not
want her to visit the teacher:
HL ' s great sense of early bereavement facing death and illness, the
pressure upon her to provide for dependents while not mentally up to
the task, and finding in a teacher a symbol of renunciation from this
unsatisfactory life that she wished to pursue : these were indeed the
omens that had motivated the Buddha to renounce. HL ' s initial expe-
1 04 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
rience, then, was not so very different from the Buddha' s own experi
ence, and one can imagine that if a method is devised with a particu
lar problem in mind, that this will tend to be reused again and again
by others faced with similar conditions .
I asked HL to recount her experiences during her first course,
which she did somewhat reluctantly : 13
I soon had no sensations in the body anymore, nor of mind, and I felt as
if I could see the constituent elements of my body. Instead of feeling
"shapeful" I was conscious of the various constituent elements of the
body. At the time I did not realize the significance of these experiences,
but when I saw the teacher he approved of them, and explained to me
that it was the experience of impermanence. I was not convinced, and
still felt I did not know what impermanence was about. I did not under
stand the reality of the birth-destruction process, and only believed what I
could see with my eyes.
body, not as a one-off event between the cradle and the grave, but as a
continuous process until there is no substance or continuity to them as
we normally think of them. In this way, the Mahasi puts it, within
every minute 50-60 acts of noting mental events are possible. These
make us realise the flux that goes on and challenges the structuring of
our experience by any other means but a mindfulness as they take
place. Discursiveness, here, is too slow and too misleading to keep up
with reality of being and of becoming.
Such experience, however, does not mean nihilism or a denial of
the reality of one ' s social obligations, for HL explains :
I asked how HL felt after these experiences when she returned hom e :
15
Kyeizushin, or "masters of grace" denotes formally a class of ten beings which
includes : the Buddha; silent Buddhas; the Buddha' s left and right hand disciples;
one ' s mother; one ' s father; those who are more noble in age, qualities, morality and
so forth than oneself; those who feed and dress one; those who teach one the taya
(Buddhist teachings). During subsequent conversations with HL it became apparent
that she was fervently anti-communist because "they did not know their benefactors".
16
The bark root of the thanahka tree is used by women, pounded and then smeared
onto their faces as a cooling beauty cream.
1 06 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
sion in the course of the first session by inviting them all three to con
template :
Two of them did not need much convincing to come along, but Daw T
had cancer at the time, and her family did not like the idea of her going
out to practise mental culture. But when I cried, she understood how
much it meant to me, and came. She died shortly after contemplating.
I t was during this period that the meaning of the Buddha' s teachings be
came suddenly clear to me. Here I went up onto the "path ofknowledge"
• ). 17
(nyanzm
It was j ust prior to the middle of this path that HL experienced great
fear: 1 8
I went to see the teacher, who said that I should face this fear, that I
should go back and practise through it. He preached and encouraged me
a lot. I just did not know what to do with my body. I could not run away
from the sensations, for they were in my head. I could not discard my
body. Yet the encouragement by my teacher made me face my fears, and
I continued.
After some more practice I found my way out, and my knowledge about
impermanence became clear. Had I �scaped and run away, I would have
never had this experience. My fear was the fear of intuitive realisation of
impermanence, but lacking the realisation that there was a way out of
suffering, disease, old age and death, and lacking the realisation that in
sight was the answer to all this. I have never told anyone these experi
ences except my teacher, not even my closest friend.
18
This is known as Bhaya N ana.
108 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
When I returned home, I just gave up all the work at the market, and this
caused big problems, as my younger sisters had no knowledge ofbuying
and selling. B efore insight I had always been fascinated by market life : I
used to be the last to leave the store, and when the gong went I just went
on working until all the others had packed up . But after insight I just
wanted to drop it all.
When I asked for HL ' s experiences during the third period, she said:
I do not want to talk about it. It is improper to do so. If people hear it and
say thadu, thadu, thadu. 19 then all is well, but if they do not believe it or
were to be j ealous, then it would be an obstacle to their spiritual quest.
But she did tell me eventually and not altogether reluctantly, for we
had established a sense of trust and it was all part of a running dia
logue over many sessions :
O n return home I could not live there anymore. I could not even talk
about things: this was all worldly talk. I had the urge only to talk and
read of "otherworldly" things.
I had the experience of feeling like a fish on land, and at one stage I
rolled about like mad exactly like a fish on land. No less than three peo
ple had to hold me, so violently did I shake.
ty. Indeed, to the extent that the centre of Burmese society is at its
periphery - the monastery, and in particular the forest monastery -
personal culture is at one and the same time affirmed by the grand
tradition of renunciation so central to society, so central to everyday
life in terms of charity and morality, and yet at the same time appar
ently so peripheral to the continuities thereby established.
Furthermore, it is not as ifHL opts out completely, for the insight
centre engaged Burmese society, with business, and with other mon
asteries . So while, though in confidence, and with remarkable frank
ness, she had told me of her personal experiences, she also told me
about the difficulties she faces with learned monks who seem little
interested in the insight centre and prefer scholarly learning. With few
1 10 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
20
With the exception ofHL, who was an ordained nun. Though she considers herself
a hermitess, these are not normally ordained. Yet she was ordained by the method of
nuns, though she prefers to be known as a hermitess because of the different status
that this conveys - it is more highly regarded in Burma.
VIPAS SANA IN BURMA 111
particular practitioner most certainly had experiences that are not nec
essarily accounted for, related to or encompassed by any particularly
identifiable "western" influence. Her experiences are embedded in a
Burmese context, where references to renunciation are plenty in eve
ryday social and cultural discourse. Second, perhaps the rarity of re
lating her experiences have to do with the way such experiences are
indeed difficult to relate, interpret and contextualize, which explains
why these particular experiences are, in the Burmese context, rarely
spoken or written about. There is an inj unction on relating experienc
es suggesting higher levels of attainment - whether by laity or Sang
ha - for a good reason: the potential of political instability. The
powers attained in the various kinds of meditation have value for as
pirants to political and military leadership. Also, there is no easy vo
cabulary for relating these experiences (although Cousins ( 1 996a)
does a good j ob giving an oversight of canonical/commentarial terms
involved).
Sharf s criticism of vipassanfi as a product of the west and of ex
perience largely as an invention, leaves little room for analysis of this
practitioner in Buddhist Burma, a country with a record surely of one
of the longest uninterrupted socio-political and cultural experiences
with Buddhism. Here renunciation, unlike in Japan, is today part of
everyone ' s vocabulary and, furthermore, also a regular practice with
temporary ordination and opportunities for practicing meditation
within reach of most Burmese households, who already support the
estimated 400,000 monks, nuns and novices in the country.
Sharf ( 1 995 : 23 3 , 243) has suggested that "While we do find some
contemporary Theravada teachers touting the benefits of exalted med
itative experience, they are invariably associated with modern reform
movements stimulated by contact with Western missionaries and Oc
cidental scholarship", and that the reason for the stature ofvipassana
and Zen in the West "is no mystery", since "partisans of both vipas
sanfi and Zen have been largely responsible for perpetuating the im
age of Buddhism as a rational, humanistic, contemplative creed that
eschews magic and empty ritual" . While he has many features right
- that these are often linked to reform movements, are on the whole
against extensive ritual, that many will frown on magic, and also that
western discourse may be transfixed on religious experience in the
last century, etc. - he does not quite get to the historical and bio-
1 12 GUSTAAF HOUTMAN
Conclusion
There is plenty of scope here for exploring the relationship between
prevailing polities and the manifestations of meditation techniques
where, for instance, democracies, monarchies and military regimes
may foster very different meditation techniques and experiences. Sa
matha leads to powers controlling rebirth and stands at the pinnacle of
hierarchical relationships that serve a purpose particularly during mil
lennial moments, as it did during the peasant rebellions of Saya San
and the discourse of the Thakins in the 1 920s until the late 1 93 0s .
Aung San was widely interpreted as a rebirth o f samatha-practicing
Weikza Bo Bo Aung in 1 93 9 on the eve of the Japanese invasion, fo
cusing hope on him for hastening demise of British colonialism as
illegitimate . More recently, however, military patronage of samatha
explains the popularization of the Pa Auk Sayadaw methods. Much
more work is needed to fully understand the interplay between the
samatha and vipassana traditions and between these techniques and
the polity. To understand this fully, we must also engage the enor-
VIPASSANA IN BURMA 1 15
Bart Dessein
Introduction
Again: contemplate on the marks [of the corpse] after death, the daily
gradual change - up to seven days:
[ . . . ] the dead corpse gradually changes; its substance deteriorates with
the day. [Contemplate on the] bluish corpse and the other repulsive
[stages of the corpse] as they appear in succession: with the belly
swollen; and streams of rotting pus trickling slowly, and extremely
stinking; and with all kinds of insects that appear. 1
Sources
The earliest stratum of textual evidence for most, if not all,
investigations into doctrinal issues of early Buddhism, is formed by
the Si.itra and the Vinaya literature. Investigation of the origins of
"contemplation of the repulsive" is no exception to this. As in
many other constituents of the Buddhist doctrine, the "repulsive"
( asubha) is the focal element of a series of matrkas, numerical lists
of elements, as they occur in both the Nikaya collections of the Pali
canon and in the Chinese versions of the Agama collections . 8
These numerical lists were further developed and discussed in
the Abhidharma literature. "Contemplation of the repulsive" is
addressed in the following Abhidharma works : Buddhaghosa' s
Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) of the Pali canon; the
Sarvi.istivi.ida *Abhidharmamahavibhii$fisastra (Great Commentary
on the Abhidharma), Dharmatrata' s *Sarrzyuktabhidharmahrdaya
(Essentials of the Abhidharma with Miscellaneous Additions),
xuanyi, T. 1 8 5 2 : 2c2, however, we read that Dharmasre�thin lived more than 700
years after the Buddha' s nirviil)a. See on this: Ryose ( 1 98 6 : 2-3).
i4 See Frauwallner ( 1 9 7 l a: 7 1 -72); Willemen ( 1 975 : viii); Armelin ( 1 97 8 : 7- 1 2);
Ryose ( 1 9 8 6 : 4). The extant Chinese version of this work (T. 1 5 50, �11J g'E;f11L,'�
Apitan xznlim) was done on Mount Lu (JI LlJ ) by Sarpghadeva with the help of �
ill Huiyuan in AD 3 9 1 .
1 5 T.2 1 45 : 74b22 ff. , c3-7. For Huiguan see T.2 1 4 5 : 57a3 -b l 5 . The Chinese
translation by Sarpghavarman et al. of Dharmatrata' s *Sarrzyuktiibhidharmahrdaya
has been translated into English by Dessein ( 1 999) as Sarrzyuktiibhidharmahrdaya.
Heart ofScholasticism with Miscellaneous Additions.
1 6 Upasanta lived one generation pior to Dharmatrata. The Chinese translation of
his work (T. 1 5 5 1 *Abhidharmahrdaya, � g'E; ft'L'�� Apitan xznlitn jlng) was
done by Narendraya8as together with ¥! � Fiizhi in AD 563 . See T.2 1 4 9 : 3 0 1 a2 3 -
24 (:k� � $1:� Datang nezdian lit); T.2 1 5 7 : 954b l 4- 1 7 ( � :lC !i'Jr JE�;f)( § �
Zhenyuan xznding shijiao mitlit); and Dessein (20 1 0) .
1 7 The Chinese translation of this work b y Xu:inzang has been translated into
French by L. de La Vallee Poussin ( [ 1 923 - 1 93 1 ] 1 97 1 ) as L 'A bhidharmakofo de
Vasubandhu. Traduction et Annotations. 6 vols.
1 8 The life of Sarpghabhadra is connected to the life of Vasubandhu, author of the
Abhidharmakofo. As there is, as yet, insufficient evidence to settle the dates of
Vasubandhu definitely to either the fourth or the fifth century, also the lifetime of
1 22 BART DES SEIN
Kasm.Ira monk who was learned in the Vibhiisii and who criticized
the viewpoints of Vasubandhu. The Chi�ese version of the
19
Nyiiyiinusiira was done by Xuanzang between 6 5 3 -654 (T. 1 562).
The Mahiiprajfiiipiiramitiisiistra, finally, is a commentary on a
long recension of the Prajfiiipiiramitiisutra. The Chinese version
was done by Kumarajiva in the 5th century (T. 1 5 09 :::k � ..ltMU Da
zh z'du ' ) . 20
' lun
The "contemplation of the repulsive" is the focus of further
attention in the Dam6dui5lu6 chtin jfng ( Sutra on Meditation by
Dharmatrata) (T.6 1 8), a text translated into Chinese by
Buddhabhadra (3 59-429) around AD 4 1 2. The Dharmatrata of this
text is a different person from the author of the Sarvastivada
*Smrzyuktiibhidharmahrdaya. 2 1 In fact, the Dam6dui5lu6 chtin jfng
is not a text by Dharmatrata, but a text done by Buddhasena, and
entitled Yogiiciirabhumi. 22 Buddhabhadra was of Indian descent.
His family hailed from Kapilavastu but had moved to N agarahara
in present-day Afghanistan. After his ordination, Buddhabhadra
moved to Kasmir where he became the disciple of Buddhasena. At
that time, the region of Kasmir, the region in which the
*Abhidharmamahiivibhii�iisiistra had been compiled, was a place
where many Chinese monks went to study meditation (dhyiina). 23
Around 4 1 0 AD, Buddhabhadra lived in Chang' an. He was later
invited to the South of China by Huiyuan who resided on Mount
Sarµghabhadra cannot be settled with certainty yet. See on this Cox ( 1 99 5 : 53).
On the problem of dating Vasubandhu: see Anacker ( 1 984 : 7 - 1 1 ), Frauwallner
( 1 9 5 1 ) , Hirakawa ( 1 973 : ii-x), Nakamura ( 1 9 8 0 : 1 09), Takakusu ( 1 904), La
Vallee Poussin ( 1 97 1 : Vol. 1 , xxiv-xxviii), Pradhan ( 1 97 5 : 1 3 - 1 4), Mej or ( 1 989-
90), Schmithausen ( 1 992 : 396-3 97).
19 See Cox ( 1 995 : 54-55).
20 See Lamotte ( 1 970: v-lv). This Chinese version was translated into French by
Lamotte ( 1 970) as Le Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nagarjuna (Mahii
r:raji'iaparamitasastra) . .
1 There further i s a Dar�tantika Dharmatrata, mentioned as one o f the four
masters of the *A bhidharmamahavibha:Ja and author of the ti::\ HI� Chiiyao jfng
(T. 2 1 2) . See on this Dessein ( 1 999, vol. 1 : xxii-xxiv) .
22 See on this Renou and Filliozat ( 1 996: 4 1 7) .
23 Renou and Filliozat ( 1 996 : 40 1 -2, 4 1 7) .
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE . B ONES AND SKULLS 1 23
24
Our textual material for an investigation into "contemplation of the repulsive" is
supplemented by contemporary witnesses of the practice. See Obeyesekere ( 1 98 9 :
1 3 1 - 1 3 3 , 1 47) and Boisvert ( 1 996). S e e also Shaw (ms.).
25 See on this Collins ( 1 997: 1 85). It can be recalled here that the Buddha decided
to renounce his princely life when, among others, having seen a dead body . It,
moreover, is in attaining nirviilJa that the Buddha vanquished Mara, the "king of
death'' . See Bond ( 1 9 8 0 : 2 4 1 ) . See also B oyd ( 1 975 : 1 40- 1 42).
26
T.6 1 2 : 242a28-cl 7 (�ill, � Shen guan jfng) . See also Despeux (20 0 8 : 1 3 2).
124 BART DES SEIN
27 See Lannoy ( 1 9 7 1 : 1 46- 1 4 7). Also outside the Indian tradition, the very fact of
embodiment means pollution. As remarked by Williams ( 1 997: 209), "The body,
embodiment, genuinely is and has been a source of great suffering for many
people throughout history". Even in cases where the body may be perceived as a
source of enj oyment, the possibility that it at any moment can turn into a source of
suffering, and the eventual certainty of death, place physical enj oyment under
constant threat.
28 See on this Lannoy ( 1 97 1 : 1 46- 1 48); Collins ( 1 997: 1 97- 1 8 8); and Williams
( 1 99 7 : 209).
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE . B ONES ANU SKULLS 125
29 Williams ( 1 997 : 1 87) remarks that, "on the individual level, the ideal-typical
Buddhist monk or nun lives a religious life in which the body, sex, and death are
perceived to be immediately and inextricably related: they constitute the realm of
desire, suffering, and rebirth from which release, nirvii"(la, is sought". It can
further be mentioned here that pieces of cloth found in cremation grounds is one
of the possibilities mentioned in Vism : 62 for a monk to procure his robes. The
yellow color of the monk's robes is associated with the color of the executioner' s
clothes. See Rhys Davids and Stede ( 1 992 : 2 1 2); Rahula ( 1 974 : 8). This
symbolizes that monks have died to profane existence. See also B ond ( 1 980 : 252-
253). In contradistinction to the sriivaka who, contemplating the repulsive, wants
to enter nirvii"(la rapidly, the bodhisattva in the Mahayana feels compassion with
all beings. He knows that worldlings suffer because of lust, hatred and ignorance .
That is why the bodhisattva teaches the notion of the bluish corpse t o those beings
who like colors, and proceeds according to what they desire after. He, however,
knows that also the repulsive is composed and therefore, actually, impermanent
(See T. 1 509: 2 1 8b 1 8-c 1 8) . Where in early Buddhism the renunciation of the body
is on a par with a social dimension of renunciation of worldly life, and thus of
purity, of the monk and nun; in the Mahayana, this social dimension is extended to
working for the benefit of all sentient beings . As Williams ( 1 997 : 2 1 6) states : "It
is no longer a question of deconstruction in meditation and reconstruction in social
behavior, but rather two types of meditation linked to different stages on the
spiritual path and therefore different doctrinal categories. The ideal then is that the
use of the body realized and appreciated through meditation on the bodhicitta, and
the beneficial ways in which one can help others, should be expressed in actuality
through the bodhisattva' s social involvement and engagement".
3 0 See AN III : 1 6 (Hardy, ed., 1 95 8a) Bodily secretions, particularly those whicl:
come from below the waist, such as are mentioned in the passage of the Shen guiir.
ffng quoted above, are not only polluting, but can also represent a physical, mental
and spiritual weakening. See on this Lannoy ( 1 97 1 : 1 53 ) . For classical sources or
the particularly polluting nature of the body below the navel : see Meyer ( 1 9 3 0 : 248-
9, note 5). On the association of sex with a loss of spiritual power in Theravad2
Buddhism: see Spiro ( 1 98 2 : 297-299). In this respect, Buddhist writers were heirs tc
the Briihmanic world-view. See on this Williams ( 1 997 : 2 1 0). On the possibility of 2
Briihminic origin of Buddhist meditation: see Wynne (2007 : 1 1 3 - 1 1 7).
126 BART DES SEIN
At one time the enlightened one, the lord, was staying at VesalI
in the pavilion of the Gabled Hall in the Great Wood. At that
time the lord talked in many ways to the monks on the subj ect
of the impure, he spoke in praise of the impure, he spoke in
praise of developing [contemplation of] the impure, he spoke
thus and thus in praise of taking the impure as a stage in
meditation. [ . . . ] Then the monks said: "The lord has talked in
many ways on the subj ect of the impure, he spoke in praise of
the impure, he spoke in praise of developing [the
contemplation of] the impure, he spoke in praise of taking the
impure as a stage in meditation" . These [monks] dwelt intent
upon the practice of developing [contemplation of] the impure
in its many different aspects ; [but] they were troubled by their
own bodies, ashamed of them, loathing them. 3 1
3 1 Vin III : 68 (Oldenberg, ed. , 1 964b); Homer ( 1 949: 1 1 6) . See also Vin 1 : 1 52
(Oldenberg, ed., 1 964b), Homer ( 1 962 : 202). Also in the Satipaffhiina-Sutta (DN
II:295 [Rhys D avids and Carpenter, eds., 1 947] and MN 1 : 5 8 [Trenckner, ed.,
1 964] ) a monk compares his own body to that of a corpse, in this mentioning nine
stages of decomposition of the corpse. See also MN l:424; AN IV : 3 5 7 (Hardy, ed.,
1 9 5 8b).
3 2 T. 1 54 5 : 206c 1 5- l 7 (* [A bhidharma]mahiivibhii$ii[Siistra], lliif �JUii!t;;\;J'MU.1>
� Apidam6 da pip6shii lun). See also T. 1 5 5 8 : 1 1 7b 1 0 ; T. 1 5 6 2 : 67 1 a6
(* [Abhidharma]Nyiiyiinusiirasiistra, llilJ � Jl .® Jl� .il !l � Apidam6 shun zhengl'f
lun); T. 1 509: 2 1 7c 1 8 - 1 9 . According to T. 1 5 52: 925c27-926al ( *Smr1yuktiibhi
dharmahrdaya [Siistra], • lliif � it 'L'� Za iipitan xfnlun) and T. 1 5 5 8 : 24-27,
attachment to color is cured by contemplation of the repulsive, and attachment to
carnal enj oyment is cured by equanimity (upe'/cyii). Equanimity (upe'fcyii), as
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE. BONES AND SKULLS 1 27
discussed by Wynne (2007 : 1 23), implies that one is aware of something and
indifferent to it.
33 T. 1 545 : 205a27. See also T. 1 509: 2 1 8b 1 4 - 1 7.
34 T. 1 54 5 : 205b l-9.
128 BART DES SEIN
retreated and stood at one side, and spoke to the Honored One :
[ . . . ] At that moment, the Honored One made this reflection: "I
have to bring up contemplation of the repulsive regarding
them" . His thoughts then had already entered the first
meditation (dhyana), but he could not bring up contemplation
of the repulsive. He proceeded until he entered the fourth
meditation, but still could not bring up contemplation of the
repulsive. He thereupon thought: "These four heavenly women
contain matter of all kinds [in them] , and therefore I cannot
observe them as unclean. If they would simply only make one
kind of matter, I definitely would be able to observe the
repulsiveness [in them] " . He thereupon told them : "Ladies, is it
possible that you all manifest the bluish corpse for me?"
Thereupon, all heavenly ladies performed a bluish corpse, but
the Honored One could not consider them as unclean. He let
them manifest yellow and red, but he still could not [consider
them as unclean] . He then thought and said: "If you make a
white-colored skeleton, I will definitely be able to observe the
uncleanliness," and thereupon he told them : "Ladies, could you
change your bodies to white [skeletons] for me?" They did so,
but he still was unable to observe the uncleanliness [in them] ,
because it was difficult to bring forth detest regarding the
heavenly women who were so beautiful" . Question: "Why did
the Honored One let the heavenly ladies make blue, yellow, red
and white - four colors?" Answer: "Because he wanted to
observe all deteriorating characteristics of matter. Furthermore,
because the change in characteristics of matter [makes it] easy
to bring up detest. Furthermore, because the blue color makes it
easy to bring up the concept of a bluish (vb:(ilaka) corpse;
because the yellow color subsequently leads to the conception
of a swollen (vyadmataka) corpse; because the red color leads
to the idea of a bleeding (vilohitaka) corpse; and because the
white color leads to the idea of a skeleton (asthika).
Furthermore, blue, yellow, red, and white are the basis of all
colors". 35
eliminate desire for colors; contemplation of the cut up and scattered corpses
serves to eliminate desire for nice forms; contemplation of the worm-infested
corpse and of the skeleton serves to eliminate desire for the tangible; and
contemplation of the immobile cadaver serves to eliminate desire for honors.
Vism : 1 5 8 - 1 59, explains that the bloated suits one who is greedy about shape since
it m akes evident the disfigurement of the body ' s shape; the livid suits one who is
greedy about the body ' s color since it makes evident the disfigurement of the
skin' s color; the festering suits one who is greedy about the smell of the body
aroused by scents, perfumes, etc. , since it makes evident the evil smells connected
with this sore, the body; the cut up suits one who is greedy about compactness in
the body since it makes evident the hollowness inside it; the gnawed suits one who
is greedy about accumulation of flesh in such parts of the body as the breasts since
it makes it evident how a fine accumulation of flesh comes to nothing; the
scattered suits one who is greedy about the grace of the limbs since it makes it
evident how limbs can be scattered; the hacked and scattered suits one who is
greedy about a fine body as a whole since it makes evident the disintegration and
alteration of the body as a whole; the bleeding suits one who is greedy about
elegance produced by ornaments since it makes evident its repulsiveness when
smeared with blood; the worm-infested suits one who is greedy about ownership
of the body since it makes it evident how the body is shared with many families of
worms; and the skeleton suits one who is greedy about fine teeth since it makes
evident the repulsiveness of the bones in the body. The contemplation of the nine
types of corpse is also outlined in T. 1 509: 2 1 7b6-c 1 8 and 2 1 8a l 3 -29. One
particular type of matter under discussion as to its usefulness for the practice of
contemplation of the repulsive is the material body of the Buddha. Different
opinions on this are given in T. 1 54 5 : 207b2- 1 0 . See on the latter also Harrison
( 1 982) and Williams ( 1 997 : 2 1 9).
36 T. 1 545 : 207c5-23 .
130 BART DES SEIN
"foulness". The shortest such list is the one included in AN III :446.
Here, "contemplation of the repulsive" is one of a series of three
types of contemplation that each take another type of evil as obj ect:
( 1 ) contemplation of the repulsive ( asubha) as antidote for lust
(raga), (2) development of loving kindness (metta) as antidote for
vice (dosa), and (3) development of wisdom (panna) as antidote
for ignorance (moha). The first two types of contemplation of this
series are part of a list of four types of contemplation in AN IV: 3 5 3 ,
3 5 8 : ( 1 ) contemplation of the repulsive a s antidote fo r lust, (2)
development of loving kindness as antidote for malice (vyapada),
(3) development of mindfulness on in-breathing and out-breathing
( anapanasati) as antidote for distraction (vitakkupa ) , and ( 4)
development of the thought of impermanence (anicca) as antidote
for the conceit "I am" (asmimana). 3 7
A list in which "contemplation of the repulsive" is developed as
such is the list in AN II : 1 50, 1 5 1 , 1 55 - 1 56, 38 where the
contemplation of ( 1 ) the unloveliness of the body, of (2) the
repulsiveness of food, of (3) distaste for all the world, and of ( 4)
the impermanence in all activities, are said to lead to (5) the
thought of death being well implanted. 39 These five are also listed
37 Parallel MA: T.26, p. 492b23-2 5 (Madhya m agam a , i:j:I �iiJ *� Zhong ah!m jlng).
On the conceit "I am", Williams ( 1 997: 207) remarks that the body, in Buddhism,
"is not an independent entity set against others, "me" contrasted with and in
opposition to "you", but is just the coming together in a patterned heap of a
collective of material elements, a coming together which, in conjunction with the
mind, is capable of sensing". See also Dharmasarp.gltisutra (Vaidya, 1 96 1 : 1 24).
3 8 Morris, ed. , 1 9 5 5 .
39 The perception of the repulsiveness o f fo o d regards the transformation o f fo o d
i n the process of eating, digestion, and excretion. F o o d a s thus regarded only
serves to maintain the body during the monk' s crossing over to nirvafza. See on
this Vism : 3 47 . See also Collins ( 1 997: 1 93 ) . Williams ( 1 997: 2 1 8) remarks that
pollution, in Brahmanic culture, is intimately related to issues of food: "Food can
very easily become polluted through contact with the ground, the bodily fluids of
another, or an outcaste and so on (Lannoy, 1 97 1 : 1 5 1 -4). Polluted food pollutes
the eater. One ' s own bodily fluids are the body ' s discards, again polluting to
oneself and others". In the Udayanavatsarajaparivartasiitra, e.g., it is said that the
nine holes of the body ooze due to pollutions from various foods. See on this Paul
( 1 979: 43). This explains why, in India, glorified beings with pure bodies are
frequently thought not to eat, and not to emit bodily fluids of any type. Williams
( 1 997: 2 1 8-2 1 9) remarks that there is a myth, well known in Buddhist circles, that
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE. BONE S ANJ) SKULLS 131
relates how in the beginning, beings were "mind-made" and born without sex
distinctions. These beings did not eat gross material food. As time went on,
however, a scum formed on the surface of the earth. Some beings tasted it. As it
was delicious, other beings also started eating it. With the eating of food, beings
lost their radiance and bliss, their bodies became coarse, and sex distinctions
appeared. With these came all kinds of immoral behavior. Food thus causes
cosmic decadence. T.3 1 7 : 889c 1 2 - 1 6 (Afil.�a� Biiotiiifing) informs us that as soon
as a child starts to eat, worms enter its body and stay with the individual. See also
Despeux (200 8 : 1 3 1 ) .
40 DN: III, Carpenter, J.E. (ed.) ( 1 947)
41 T. 1 : l l c26-29 (Dfrghiigama, ffi: llliJ � � Chting iihtin jfng).
132 BART DES SEIN
42 T. 1 : 56c22-24.
43 Feer, ed. , 1 960.
44 Hardy, ed., 1 958c.
45 Windisch ( 1 94 8 : 80-8 1 ) .
4 6 Moore ( 1 96 5 : 99-1 00).
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE. B ONES AND SKULLS 133
The connection between the physical and the mental is also evident
from the following matrka in AN 1 : 4 1 -42, 47 that combines the
mental states listed in the above mentioned matrkas with states of
decomposition of the body : ( 1 ) consciousness of the foul (asubha),
(2) death (marm:ia), (3) repulsiveness of food (ahare pa{ikkula), ( 4)
non-delight in all the world (sabbaloke anabhirata), (5) of
impermanence (anicca), (6) of the ill in impermanence (anicce
dukkha ), (7) of the non-existence of the self in impermanence
(dukkhe anatta), (8) of abandoning (pahana), (9) revulsion (viraga),
( 1 0) of ending (nirodha), ( 1 1 ) of impermanence (anicca), ( 1 2) the
not-self (anatta), ( 1 3) of death (marm:ia), ( 1 4) of repulsiveness in
food (ahare pa{ikkUla), ( 1 5) non-delight in all the world (sabbaloke
anabhirata), ( 1 6) of the skeleton (atthika), ( 1 7 ) the worm-eaten
corpse (pu/avaka), ( 1 8) the dismembered corpse (vicchiddaka), and
( 1 9 ) the bloated corpse (uddhumataka) . 4 8 Three of the four states of
decomposition of the corpse mentioned in the above list are also
mentioned in SN V: 1 3 2 : (1) the corpse as skeleton (atthika), (2) the
worm-infested corpse (pu/avaka), and (3) the bluish corpse
(vinilaka); and in SN V : 1 3 1 : ( 1 ) the worm-infested corpse
(pu/avaka), (2) the bluish corpse (vinflaka), (3) the dismembered
corpse (vicchiddaka), and (4) the inflated corpse (uddhumataka).
All types of contemplation listed in these matrkas have in
common that they ( 1 ) envisage the impurity of the body, of food,
of worldly things, etc . , and, (2) serve to make the one who
contemplates aware of the impermanence of everything mundane.
They thus serve the function of control and freedom mentioned in
the introduction to this article. 49 With these lists, we enter the
actual domain of "contemplation of the repulsive," focused on the
5 0 Vism : 1 56 explains that the practitioner should get a monastery attendant or one
studying to become an ascetic or someone else to put such a corpse together in
one place. If he cannot find anyone to do this, he should put the corpse together
himself, using a walking stick or a staff in such a way that there is only a finger' s
breadth separating the parts.
51 See T. 1 54 5 : 205a9- 1 1 . Of these sub-forms of contemplation of the repulsive,
the most common sub-forms are : the cadaver reduced to bones, the worm-infested
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE. BONES AND SKULLS 135
cadaver, the bluish cadaver, the scattered corpse, and the bloated corpse. This
enumeration has no fixed order. *ltllil.r�� Za iihcin jfng, T.99: 22 1 b27-28 has
"bluish, bloated, worm-infested, scattered;" � � llil.r�� Zengyf iihcin jfng, T. 1 2 5 :
780a1 9-2 1 has "skeleton, bluish, bloated;" and T. 1 2 5 : 789b2-5 : "bluish, bloated".
In Zengyf iihcin jfng, the sub-forms are mentioned among a series of other
contemplations that do dot belong to the standardized series of nine
contemplations of the repulsive. The Abhidharmakosavyiikhyii (Wogihara, 1 97 1 :
5 5 , 1 . 1 -2) refers to a sutra that has the following list: vinrlaka, vipuyaka,
vyiidhmiitaka, vipafumaka, vilohitaka, vikhiiditaka, vilcyiptaka, asthika, and
asthisarrikalikii.
52 Vin V : l 3 1 and 1 9 3 . See also Vism : 59-8 3 ; T. 1 42 1 : 26al 8-20 (Mahfsiisaka
vinaya, Sj )j) � $ �U U 1i ?H� MishiisiiibU hexi wiifenlii); T. 1 42 8 : 582b l 5 - 1 7
(Dharmagupta[ka]vinaya, 1211 7.t� Sifen Zii). See also Dantinne ( 1 99 1 : 1 5-2 1 ) .
Gombrich ( 1 98 8 : 94) describes the dhutaftgas a s the outer limit "to what the
Theraviidin tradition will sanction by way of mortifying the flesh" .
53 The primordiality of sexual lust is testified in the following passage from the
Sutra literature : "Monks, when a monk lives much with the perception of the foul
(asubhasafifiii) heaped around (paricita) the mind, the mind draws back, bends
back, turns back from the attainment of sexual intercourse (methuna
dhammasamiipattiyii) and is not distracted (na sampasiiriyati) thereby" (AN 4 : 46-
47). See also Shaw (ms. : 9).
136 BART DES SEIN
else afflicts him", 5 6 that someone can come t o rescue him. Rescue
of the meditator might also be necessary if he was attacked by
robbers . When going to the charnel ground, the practitioner should
also pay attention to all signs on the road leading thereto, so as to
be able to find the way back. He, in addition, should not approach
the charnel ground upwind, "For if he did so and the smell of
corpses assailed his nose, his brain might get upset, or he might
throw up his food" . When it is impossible to approach the charnel
ground downwind because of some hindrance on the way thereto,
such as a mountain, a river, or a ravine, the meditator should cover
his nose with the corner of his robe. 5 7
One more important element of preparation is verification of the
sex of the corpse, for, as Vism : l 46 informs us : "Perhaps the body is
of the opposite sex; for a female body is unsuitable for a man, and
a male body for a woman. If only recently dead, it may even look
beautiful; hence there might be danger to the life of purity". 58
56 N iiI).atnOli ( 1 95 6 : 1 87).
57 Warren ( 1 9 5 0 : 1 48, 1 52); N iil).atnoli ( 1 95 6 : 1 8 8 - 1 89, 1 93 ) .
5 8 N iil).atnoli ( 1 95 6 : 1 87). This i s repeated i n Vism : 1 50 . MN : "Even when
decaying a woman invades a man' s mind and stays there" . Also in the
prescriptions for meditation on loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic j oy,
monks and nuns are recommended not to begin by taking a member of the
opposite sex as their obj ect. See Vism : 296, 3 1 4, 3 1 6 .
138 BART DES SEIN
H e has t o start from the bluish corpse, and proceed up to the burnt
bones. Having come to the burnt bones, he first has to observe the
foot bone, and then the ankle bone, the shinbone, the knee bone,
the thigh bone, the tailbone, the hip bone, the spinal column, the
ribs, the upper-arm bone, the forearm bone, the elbow, the wrist,
the hand bone, the shoulder, the neck, the chin, the teeth, and,
finally, the skull. Having contemplated this impurity with power of
resolve (adhimok$a), he has to concentrate his attention between
the eyebrows . Hereafter, this attention goes over to the application
of mindfulness on the body (kayasmrtyupasthana), and so up to
and including the analysis of the elements
(dhatuvyavasthanabhavana). This completes the short practice. 6 1
For the extended practice, the practitioner does the same
practice as described for that of the short. When having
concentrated his attention between the eyebrows after
contemplation of the different bones, however, the practitioner
does not proceed to the application of mindfulness on the body, but
he has to shift his attention to observation of the skull, the teeth, in
this way proceeding up to and including the contemplation of the
foot bone. After having in this way observed the own bones with
the power of resolve, he has to observe the bones of others,
gradually expanding his reach to one bed, one room, one temple,
one garden, one city, one field, one river, and one country, and,
reaching all within the seas . In his mind and eyes, all these places
are full of bones . He then gradually contracts his attention to the
observation of his own bones again. Regarding his own body, he
contracts his attention to the foot bone and then develops his
attention again to the observation of the skull. When, in this way,
having observed all impurity with the power of resolve, he has to
concentrate his attention between the eyebrows. Hereafter, his
attention shifts to the application of mindfulness on the body, and
so up to and including the analysis of the elements, as next steps
towards the noble path. This completes the extended practice. 62
For the combination of both the short and the extended practice,
the practitioner starts with going to a burial chamber to observe
such corpses as the bluish one, and he follows the same procedure
as with the extended contemplation: i.e., observing all within the
seas as full of bones, and, shifting his attention, observation up to
his own skull. He thereupon, however, does not, as is the case for
the extended practice, concentrate his attention between the
eyebrows to shift to the application of mindfulness on the body and
to the analysis of the elements . He, on the contrary, after having
concentrated his mind between the eyebrows for a while, does the
process all over again until the point is reached where he masters
the process. Only then does he, for the last time, concentrate his
mind between the eyebrows, and shifts to the application of
mindfulness on the body and up to the analysis of the elements . 63
This repeated process is done in order to prove one ' s sovereignty in
the process : when one has attained sovereignty from the actual ·
63 T. 1 545 : 205cl l - 1 8 .
64 T. 1 545 : 205c 1 8-2 1 . T. 1 5 5 2 : 93 6a2- 1 4 explains this as varieties o f scarceness
and varieties of limitedness of supporting objects and self-dependence.
65 T. 1 545 : 206a1 4 - 1 7 .
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE. B ONE S AND SKULLS 141
66 T. 1 5 4 5 : 206al 7-20 .
67 T. 1 5 4 5 : 206a20-23 .
6 8 T. 1 5 45 : 206a23 -25 .
69 T. 1 5 45 : 206a25-28.
70 T. 1 5 4 5 : 206a28-b l .
71 T. 1 54 5 : 206b l -4 .
72 T. 1 54 5 : 206b4-7.
73 T. 1 5 4 5 : 206b7-8. These three types are also discussed in T. 1 5 5 2 : 907c25-908a8;
T. 1 5 5 8 : 1 1 7b22-c22; and T. 1 562: 67 1 a1 8-672b4.
1 42 BART DES SEIN
74 T.2 1 45 : 74b25-c3 . In fact, the text consists of eleven chapters. Chapters eight
through eleven, however, give additional information on the topics discussed in
the previous seven chapters. Watanabe and Mizuno ( 1 93 2 : 7ff.) suggest a slightly
different analysis: the truth of suffering corresponds to the first and second
chapters; the truth of the origin corresponds to the third and the fourth chapters;
the truth of cessation corresponds to the fifth chapter; and the truth of the path,
finally, corresponds to the sixth and scyent.� ;;hapters. See also Prnuwallner
( 1 9 7 1 b : 1 2 3 ) . Armelin ( 1 97 8 : 1 3 ), in accordance with Yamada ( 1 95 9 : 1 1 7)
explains that the truth of suffering corresponds to the first and second chapters,
that the truth of the origin corresponds to the third and fourth chapters, the truth of
cessation to the fifth and sixth chapters, and the truth of the path to the seventh
chapter. The doctrinal connection between knowledge gained and meditation
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE. B ONE S AND SKULLS 1 43
practiced while on the path to salvation, however (see Cox, 1 992), render the latter
interpretation doubtful. See also Dessein ( 1 999, vol. 1 : xxxv).
75 See Frauwallner ( 1 97 1 a: 86).
76 See on this T. 1 552: 947al l - 1 3 . For a study of the annihilation of defilement:
see Dessein (2009).
77 T. 1 5 5 2 : 907c25-908a8 .
7 8 According t o Schmithausen ( 1 976: 253), mindfulness (smrti) which is
mentioned in the description of the four meditative stages (dhyiina), originally
merely concerned the body . T.6 1 8 : 3 1 8b2 informs us that the development of the
analysis of the elements serves to eliminate the idea of "I am" (asmimiina).
1 44 BART DES SEIN
79 On these notions : see Swearer ( 1 973 : 445). On the parallels between the
practice of in-breathing and out-breathing, and cognitive psychology : see Kuan
(20 1 2)
80
T. 1 5 5 2 : 908b2-4 . This is also discussed i n T. 1 5 5 8 : 1 1 7b l l - 1 7; T. 1 562: 67 1 a6-
12.
81
See Swearer ( 1 973 : 44 1 , 443).
82
T. 1 5 5 2 : 908b24-25 .
83
S e e also T.6 1 8 : 3 1 7a28, 3 1 8b l .
CONTEMPLATION OF THE REPULSIVE . B ONES AND SKULLS 1 45
84 For a description and qualification of these immaterial trances, see Shaw (ms.).
8 5 T. 1 545 : 206c22-23 . See also T . 1 5 5 2 : 9 3 0 c l 1 - 1 6, 933cl l - 1 2;T. 1 5 5 8 : 1 1 7c25-27;
T. 1 562: 672b 1 7- 1 8; T.6 1 8 : 3 1 6b20-22.
146 BART DES SEIN
people, there is no actual physical obj ect at hand when going into this kind of
contemplation. The layperson has to evoke this putrescence through various
metaphors of revulsion, the most conspicuous being that of feces. For other
references to internally derived visualization practices, both in early textual
materials and contemporary practices: see Shaw (ms.) and Kuan (20 1 2 : 1 6), with
reference to MN I : 5 8 .
Red Snakes and
Angry Queen Mothers
Stephen Eskildsen
Introduction
A particular sort of vision sequence is described in six different
Daoist texts of diverse date and origin. It commences with an
encounter with a fiery Red Snake (danshe ft�TI), which is directly
followed by an appearance of the ancient goddess, the Queen
Mother of the West (XIwangmu ® I BJ); these initial two visions
are then succeeded by further visions . To my knowledge, the
following texts describe this sort of vision sequence:
1 ) Kushi sz chlzz fa )._ ii[ }il:/, �-T¥� (The Method for Entering the
Chamber and Contemplating the Baby) 1
1 This text is found in the early Northern Song (jcSR ca. I 025) anthology, Yunjf
qzqian *];t--1:;� (DZ I 0 32/TT677-702), 5 5/9b- 1 4a. (Texts included in the Ming
(El}:j) Daoist Canon [Daozang @�] are cited by the formula DZ/TT. The "DZ"
number denotes the number by which the title is catalogued in Schipper and
Verellen (eds.) 2004, The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the D aozang;
1 50 STEPHEN ESKILD SEN
2) Taishang himyuan zhenlit A\ l:. ¥/!B 5G Jl: ijZ (True Record of the
Chaotic Origin of the Most High) 2
3 ) Xianticm Xuanmiao Yitnl1 Taishang Shengmu zfchuan xiandao .tfc::R.
� :WP .:li fr. A\ J: .¥. -BJ:. Ji 1.$ fw m (Way o f Immortality Helpfully
Transmitted by the Most High Holy Mother, the Mysterious and
Wondrous Jade Maiden of the Prior Heaven) 3
4) Hitnyuan shengji ¥/!B5G.¥.�c (Holy Chronicle of the Chaotic Origin) 4
5) Zhiizhen neidan jiyao mi Jll: pg fl" � � (Collected Essentials on
Internal Alchemy from the Genuine Ones ) 5
6) Dacheng jieyao ::k PIHtl! � (Expedient Essentials for the Great
Accomplishment) . 6
the "TT" number denotes the fascicle of the Daoziing [ 1 926 Shanghai Reprint
Edition] in which the text is contained).
2 DZ954/TT604. As Franciscus Verellen points out, the Tang (/l!f) authorship of
this text appears clear from how it avoids using the character shi it!: that was made
taboo during that period in deference to Li Shimin '$it!: � (Emperor Tfilzong 7,\.
* [r. 626-649]) . In Verellen' s view, this text "stands as an early representative of
a new phase of the development of Laozi' s annals", that "took shape against the
background of the sage' s adoption as the Tang imperial family ' s ancestor". See
Schipper and Verellen (eds.) 2004) vol. 1 : 4 1 4-4 1 5 .
3 DZ868/TT579.
4 DZ770/TT5 5 1 -5 5 3 . Compiled by Xie ShOuhao �'if�, ca. 1 1 9 1 .
5 DZ 1 2 5 8/TT999. Compiled Xuanquanzi � 3:: -'f .
6 The two most complete editions of this text i n circulation are those published by
Shanxi Renmin Chiibanshe w ® A � i±l l\&1± of Taiyuan 7,\.� ( 1 988; prefaces
dated 1 929 and 1 93 3 ) and Zhenshanmei Chiiblinshe J!i;'@f� i±l l\&1± ofTaipei Ji��
( 1 966). The latter Taipei edition bears the title, Tiiinjf m iwen *:fl;Jiltlz:: (Secret
Writ on the Functioning of Heaven).
RED SNAKES AND ANGRY QUEEN MOTHERS 151
7 The Hangli Pass was a mountain pass of great strategic importance, located to
the northeast of Lingbiio city, in Herran ¥iiJ1¥i Province. The L6uguan Monastery is
located in Zh5uzhi '.!iii: §[ (f,!ll � ) county, near XI' iin [§1(, ShiinxI (Shaanxi) �[§
Province .
8 Internal alchemy is the type of meditation theory and practice that began t o
emerge around the late Tang t o early Song, an d has been predominant within
Daoist circles (and beyond) since about the 1 1 th century onward. It is
characterized by its appropriation of the metaphysics and terminology of
laboratory alchemy (of the variety represented by the classic text, Zhouyi
ciint6ngqi f,!fJ � � l1'lJ �), which it applies to contemplative techniques and psycho
�hysiological processes.
Societies of this sort expound doctrines that profess to constitute the essential
truths of all the great religions, and are typically engaged in philanthropic
undertakings along with spirit-writing, liturgical services and internal alchemical
meditation. See Goossaert, 2007: 3 1 3 - 3 1 4 ; Lin Wanchuan, 1 9 84, vol. 1 : 1 62- 1 8 3 ;
Wang Jianchuan, 1 995 : 57-82; and DeKorne, 1 94 1 .
1 52 STEPHEN ESKILD SEN
Ritshi sf chizzfa
Ritshz sz chizifa commences with Laoz1 describing the attributes of
his Dao ilt, among which he first takes note of its elusiveness
toward our ordinary senses. He states, "My Dao emerges from
obscurity and is formless. Look at it and it cannot be seen. Listen to
it and it cannot be heard. Follow it and you cannot see its rear.
Beckon it and you cannot see its head" 1 0 l§ilt±�·IJ'tt@rm � % fJ'i,
Z. ::f PJ Ji �Z.::f PJ !iQ \liz::f Jl�1i iiliz::f Jl � i't . The Dao,
Laoz1 also states, is vast enough to envelop the universe, and yet is
also small enough to fit inside a single thin hair. It is the creative
force that emanates and integrates through the functioning of the
10
Yunji qfqiiin, 5 5/9b.
RED SNAKES AND ANGRY QUEEN MOTHERS 1 53
yfn �� and yang llW, sun and moon, sky and earth, husband and
wife, the eight trigrams and the like.
Elusive though the Dao may be to the ordinary senses, Laoz1
nonetheless goes on to describe a meditation regimen by which the
Great Dao can indeed be made to appear. Laoz1 states, "Observe
how my yfn and yang converge their essences and together feed
milk. This is called ' nurturing the Baby ' . Do not miss the proper
times" u fi :�H � � llW 5t ff if§ ojij �L .tl:t � lf � T iJJ � � ERJ * . In
other words, within one ' s own person there are psycho
physiological processes that are the working of Laozr (viz. , the
Dao) which take the shape of the interplay of the bipolar yfn and
yang forces and which serve to nourish an inner "Baby". It is by
attentively observing these psycho-physiological processes that the
subtle Dao can be observed. However, it is essential that this
meditation be carried out at the exact proper times on each day
otherwise, it is useless . On jia lt3 (# 1 ) 12 and gu{ � (# 1 0) days one
must practice during the chin � (7-9 a.m. ), si B (9- 1 1 a.m. ) z{ T ,
11
Yunji qfqian, 5 5/ l Ob.
12 In the traditional Chinese method, days and years are designated and
enumerated according to a sequence of ten characters known as the "ten heavenly
stems (gan T)". Jia and guf are, respectively, days 1 and 1 0 in this sequence.
1 3 Yunji qfqian, 5 5/ l Ob- l l a.
1 54 STEPHEN ESKILD SEN
16
Yiinji q fqiiin, 5 5/ 1 l a-b.
1 56 STEPHEN ESKILD SEN
The Queen Mother and the numinous creatures will appear very
hazy and murky, and after a while will disappear abruptly on their
own. Again, as in the case of the fiery Red Snake, Laoz1 says that
one need not and must not be scared. To make matters more
complicated, however, the Queen Mother is likely to try to make
the individual converse with her. She must not be answered to,
even though this will make her angry . She is likely to persist with
her queries, and remain angry if she is continued to be ignored.
However, if one continues to calmly ignore her, the Genuine
Person will eventually come to the rescue, by speaking to the
Queen Mother on the practitioner' s behalf.
Once the disgruntled Queen Mother has passed on, Laoz'i tells
us, "the Great Dao will come and appear" :::k m 310! . When the
Great Dao appears, "body and form will be vast, brilliant and
without shape or sign" 20 � % JJ Bl � BE � rnH!U� �� . Regrettably
unclear here is whether the "body and form" referred to is the
Dao ' s, the practitioner' s, or both. Laoz1 seems to be saying that the
Dao, even in its epiphany, bears no form or appearance of the s ort
that can be described by words or even seen in the conventional
sense; or, perhaps Laoz1 is speaking of a state of contemplative
oblivion where awareness of one ' s own body is lost.
Whatever the case, Laoz1 tells us that amidst this vast, ineffable
brightness, "Above, you will see the sun, moon and constellations
as though they were there, and yet not there. There will be
Heavenly Masters and Genuine Persons coming and appearing,
along with all sorts of entertainers and musicians" J: Jl!. B jj £ 1N
, � 1f � � o &' 1f � §ip � J{. A * Jl!. o 1� � - JI#ij . One must not
look at these wondrous things, nor look at the Immortals and Jade
Maidens (Xianren Yu.nil 1w A3S.3c) who will also appear. One will
also encounter "dragons, tigers, birds and beasts" nm•�. but
"must not become frightened" t� i7J - fil . In sum, Laoz1 states, all
these sights should be calmly disregarded, since they are "not real"
��A. "They are merely the essences and spirits of the five viscera
20
Yunji qlqiiin, 5 5/1 2b- 1 3 a.
1 58 STEPHEN E SKILD SEN
and six bowels within your body. They are not the true Dao" 2 1 f_§.
§ -T- % r:F .IrJl 1\ IW�� *�:tEl3 � , �� J{.:JJ'! ill .
Laozi goes on to say that when the Heavenly Masters and
Genuine Persons come, "you must remain calm and focused" '--Ji. 1l.'
7E � , and thereby "converse well with the person (or, perhaps,
people)" 'ff �A�J§- j§ . Who, exactly, is this person or people (ren
A) with whom one is supposed to converse? Is one supposed to
converse with the Heavenly Masters and Genuine Persons, even
though they are mere illusions crafted by the spirits of the viscera
and bowels? Is this statement contradictory to what was stated
before? Or rather, are the Heavenly Masters and Genuine
Persons-unlike all the other sights-now understood to be
genuine epiphanies? Or, perhaps, one is supposed to be conversing
with that particular Genuine Person whom the Baby had first met
when he ascended to the Cavern Chamber between the eyes, and
who had kindly protected and mentored him (i. e . , the practitioner)
through the confrontations with the Red Snake and the Queen
Mother. Whatever the case, one ' s comportment and speech needs
to convince the Dao/Laozi that one is "faithful" (xin f§). Laozi
states, "When I see your faithfulness, I will proclaim the Dao to
you. Spreading wide the ropes, I will show it all to you. , ,n 1§-Ji r
f§ 15 -T-m 'J& H ;!=tfo.\Jlitl �5i!.T � Thus, this mysterious and elusive
Dao, whatever it is, entails certain far-ranging insights, unspecified
here, that only Laozi in person can reveal-only if one has proven
to be "faithful" during the course of the contemplative process.
Laozi states that "the divine radiances will become visible" f$
Bjj;i'§l§� within 1 00 days of commencing the regimen, after which
one is to quit. Thus it appears that the visual and auditory
epiphanies should come about in 1 00 days if the practice is carried
out properly and diligently. Why one should quit the regimen at
this point is not stated. Was there perceived to be some sort of
problem or danger that might occur if an individual were to persist
21
Yunjf q!qian, 5 5/ 1 3 a.
22
Yunjf qlqian, 55/1 3 a.
RED SNAKES AND ANGRY QUEEN MOTHER,8 1 59
24 This, at least, seems to be what the name Daqin referred to during the Tang
Dynasty, when we find it used in Nestorian Christian literature to refer to the
region where Jesus was active. The classic Western-language study on Nestorian
Christianity in Tang China is Saeki Yoshiro, 1 93 7 . See also Malek (ed.), 2002 and
2006.
RED SNAKES AND ANGRY QUEEN MOTHERS 161
Immortals and Jade Maidens; one must not pay any attention to
these. Dragons, tigers, birds or beasts may come to attack, but one
must not be scared. As Lord Lao states, "These are all the doing of
the subtle spirits in your body; they are not real" Jl:t� -T % 9=r fft$
JiJT � � � � ill . 30 As we have seen, all of these illusory apparitions
wrought by corporeal deities are also mentioned by Laozl'. in Rushz
sf chzz1fa.
In LLS#4, Lord Lao goes on to describe many additional
apparitions . He mentions that one may encounter "an old woman
and a person of strange form" ��w])t� %�, whom must neither
be spoken to nor associated with. 31 After 25 days in the quiet room,
"two women" m -!x. will come wishing to converse, but one must
not speak with them, nor with the "academy student" ffj: who
will come calling at the 45-day juncture. At the 60-day juncture
"two bright stars will come and linger above the room for three
days" 1l. J: 1f m � £ 1E§.fill �-=- B , but one need not feel that this is
strange. 3 2
At the 85-day juncture, Lord Lao states, "a white-haired old
gentleman, riding on a white deer, will come to beckon you" :ff B
§� 0* 8 Yffi -* O'f -T . It is at this point that one is to finally break
their silence. One should say to the white-haired elder, "I am still
burdened with the transgressions of my forebears . I am still unable
to bring forth worthies" 1%1f jf[;}.. $ jf{ * �� � Jf fil . 33
The reason why the practitioner is not supposed to ignore this
white-haired elder would seem to be because he is no mere illusory
apparition, but is an authentic epiphany. In fact, the possible
implication here is that he is none other than Lord Lao . One can
find instances within Lord Lao lore in which he is said to have
ridden on a white deer. One source, Cui Xuanshan' s 1E -P: w
Laixiiing ji 1*�*1�§c (Record of Lai Village), quoted in the Taiping
yulan Xfi�P I:, cites a stele stating that Lord Lao, mounted on a
white deer, entered Mother Li' s *HJ: womb, and was born 72
years later in Quren Hamlet, Lai Village in Ku County =§'������ ffl:i
1= !1'l. . 34 Hunyuan shengji describes an episode in which Lord Lao,
at the end of a prior earthly soj ourn, ascended to heaven on a white
deer. 35
Lord Lao in LLS#4 goes on to state that at the 1 05-day juncture
"a Heavenly Master will come to examine the merits and virtues of
your ancestors" f'f * §ffi3K�-TfB.*J}J 1� . Hereupon, one should
humbly say to the Heavenly Master, "The transgressions and faults
from past generations have not been exhausted. It is simply for this
reason that I diligently train myself in this room" 5t1� l'.J 3K �:l®*
.A � lJ 11!)1: !]0 � i:j:i ffi�-*� · Thus, as we can see, the undertaking of
isolated contemplation constituted at least in part an exercise for
the purgation of hereditary guilt. 3 6
Humble statements of the sort to be uttered here toward the
white-haired elder and the Heavenly Master are perhaps what
Laozi in Rushi sz chizzfa is alluding to when he says that if one is
able to "converse well with the person (or possibly people)" ��
).j:g. g you will be deemed "faithful" (xin 113 ), and consequently
have the Dao proclaimed to them. One should note, however, that
at this point in LLS#4, the regimen has continued past the 1 00-day
j uncture, which in Rushi sz chizz fa was the point of termination.
Lord Lao in LLS#4 prescribes a much longer regimen which is to
bring much more wondrous results .
see the inside of one ' s body with all its organs. At the 280-day
j uncture, "all malignant diseases will be eradicated from your
body, and wicked qi will not come upon your body" % � @ (p;J \§'
� �� :*\. ::::f 1J D � . Finally, after 1 000 days, "all wounds, scars,
o
blemishes, bums and bruises will disappear, and you will become a
Genuine Person" :�Jf��ff<Ji)f § �i � � j;A * . 3 9
Lord Lao continues the discourse in LLS#4 by enumerating the
"Nine Rooms" (jiushi tL *), which appear to be nine types of
contemplation that one is supposed to successively, progressively
undertake. It would seem that these nine contemplation methods
are supposed to be practiced one after another during the 1 000 days
in the quiet room described above, since they are enumerated in
LLS#4 . Interestingly, a concept of "Nine Rooms" as a regimen of
secluded contemplation by which an individual bodily transforms
into a Divine Person (shenren �!fl A) is mentioned in the Taiping
fing chao j( -Sjl- �� i') ; 40 thus perhaps a method of such sort was
already being practiced during the late Han Dynasty (ca. 2nd c.
C .E.). Unfortunately, from the descriptions that we have in both
Taishang himyuan zhenlit and Taipingfing chao, it is very difficult
understand exactly how the contemplation techniques of the "Nine
Rooms" are to be carried out. Nonetheless, I shall try to make some
sense of it.
The First Room, according to Lord Lao in the LLS#4, is the
Contemplation for the Expulsion of Wickedness (qitxie sf *"�� ,ffi,).
In this contemplation, we are told, "Three Spirits serve as its guard.
Great Yang resides at its left and instructs it. Great Yin dwells at its
46 Taiping fing chew, 5/1 4a. I t should also be noted, however, that the enumeration
of the "rooms" in Taishang himyuan zhenlit betrays subtle evidence of Six
Dynasties-Tang Daoism of the Shangq!ng variety in how it designates the Ninth
Room as the "Contemplation of the Great Cavern", and says that a Genuine
Person is one who has accomplished "the Way of the Great Cavern" ; the central,
most highly revered scripture of the Shangqmg corpus (dating to the latter half of
the fourth century) is the Dadong zhenfing :*:�IPJ J!lj,lll. (True Scripture of the Great
Cavern).
47 Taishang hitnyuan zhenli1, 27b.
48 Taishang himyuan zhenlit, 27b .
1 72 STEPHEN E SKILD SEN
methods for "visualizing the Three Ones" ( cun sanyf :ff - -) and
for "guarding the One" (shouyf 'f -), which might plausibly be
considered as having at one time been connected specifically with
the nine contemplations of LLS#4 (and Taiping jfng chao, for that
matter) . That such was quite possibly the case is hinted at strongly
in Xiantian Xuanmiao Yimil Taishang Shengmu zzchuan xiandao
and Hunyuan shengjz. In both of these texts we find Lord Lao
stating, "Gentlemen who cultivate the Way and obtain the Inner
Elixir can extend their years . Those who obtain the Outer Elixir
can ascend to Heaven. The Three Ones and the Nine
Contemplations are the essentials of inner cultivation. The Nine
Cinnabars and the Golden Liquid are the ultimate among Outer
Elixirs. If you practice these in tandem you will certainly
accomplish the Dao" 49 f�:@: Z ± :f� l*J ft� PJ �U�i:F :f� >7r ft � PJ
� R- � - - fL ,1�, � l*J f�z� m tLtt�1��>7rttzfli1m ifrmf�
Z :@: nlG � � . Both texts then shortly after have Lord Lao
describing the Way of the Three Ones and the method for Guarding
the One in words closely matching LLS# l , while also enumerating
the Nine Contemplations by names that closely match those given
to the Nine Rooms in LLS#4 . 50 Hunyuan shengjz locates these
discourses firmly within the narrative framework, including them
among the teachings conferred by Lord Lao upon Yin Xi at the
guard station at Hangu Pass. After this, we are told, Yin Xi
5 1 One cun during the 3rd century was equal to 2.4 centimeters. During the Tang
Dynasty (7th - 1 0th c.) it was equal to 3 . 1 centimeters. Roughly speaking, thus, a
cun is equal to one inch or a bit more.
1 74 STEPHEN ESKILD SEN
a white vapor (qz �) the size of a cart wheel coming over oneself,
and then visualize a red vapor coming to cover over the white
vapor. After this one can lie down. Additionally, inside the Cavern
Chamber there is a white vapor the size of a chicken egg and
shining like the moon. These visualizations should be carried out
day and night. 52
In some ways, the technique and physiology (or perhaps physio
theology?) described here are reminiscent of Rushz sf chzz( fa. In
LLS# l the B aby and the Genuine Person figure prominently, there
is interaction between the indwelling forces/spirits of the head,
chest and lower abdomen, and there is "feeding" involved. The
most important difference is that LLS# l calls for conscious
manipulation of the inner spirits and forces by means of active
imagination, whereas Rushz sf chzz( fa seems to require primarily
that one stay calm, so that the desirable physiological phenomena
can unfold naturally as they are supposed to . LLS# l also tells the
practitioner to practice the method day and night; apparently the
maximum benefit is to come by practicing as long and frequently
as possible. In the case of Rushz sf chzz(fa, the meditation is only to
occur at specific hours on each day, and the duration of the entire
regimen is limited to 1 00 days.
In LLS# l , Lord Lao goes on to describe the benefits of
"guarding the One" (sh6uyf 'f -). Lord Lao states that if the
practitioner' s mind is on the One (the Dao) in all situations and
activities, the One will protect them, provide for their needs, and
fulfill their wishes. Essence must be retained within because
essence is the "river flow of the blood vessels and the numinous
spirit that guards the bones. If [essence] leaves, the bones dry up,
and if the bones dry up, you die" 53 :3(;ffi 1fiIJJ Z. J i l -mE , 'f 'ftZ. i H�
o 1% "* fl!J 'ft fil , 'ft fil f!1J :JE . Qz transmutes into essence, which
transmutes into spirit, which transmutes into the Infant, which
transmutes into the Genuine Person, which transmutes into the
B aby. This is the True One (zhenyf � - ). If the practitioner guards
the One, they can travel anywhere within Heaven and Earth and
have nothing to fear. After guarding the One for a long time, the
One will become visible, and once it is visible, the 3 6,000 gods in
the body will propel the body upward, and the practitioner will
ascend to Heaven in broad daylight. Such is the outcome for
superior gentlemen (shangshi l:. ± ). Middling gentle-men
(zhOngshi r:J::i ±) will at least be able to avoid disease and live long.
Even inferior gentlemen (xiashi r ± ) , by having their minds on
the One, can survive calamities when they occur. 54
Thus, the divine physiological personages of Infant, Genuine
Person and Baby are actually progressive transmutations of q i,
essence and spirit. The most refined transmutation is the Baby, the
True One, which actually is supposed to manifest itself (it is not
merely imagined or visualized) to the practitioner if they persevere.
When one ' s inner divinity manifests, the inner spirit-forces
converge with a potency that brings about immortal ascension; this,
at least, is the case if one proves to be among the most prodigious
practitioners . Thus, the benefits promised surpass considerably
what is promised in Rushi s'i chiz{fa.
Interestingly, Lord Lao also acknowledges that "guarding the
One" can bring about frightening experiences. He states, "If in
practicing the Way of Guarding the One you have bad dreams or
see apparitions, you should never tell others about it. Just rectify
the mind and continue to contemplate the One, and you will not be
harmed" 55 -'1 - Z.. m 1� ?.£; � l:it-5!'1!: iV 12.f, 1!i-A. 1£LtE 1 L.,�-JW :::f
"P. ({< $
""'l !ft.. -p .
Thus, the regimen-especially if pursued with persistence and
rigor-can wear on one ' s mind and nerves . We are however
reassured that this too is something that the One-the eternal,
universal Dao that dwells and acts in the individual-will protect
the practitioner from if faith, composure and rectitude are
maintained. Why one should not tell others about the bad dreams
and apparitions is not made clear. Perhaps telling others constitutes
a violation of trust with the Dao, which may hinder one ' s prospects
of further progress. 5 6
In LLS#2, Lord Lao speaks of the wonders and benefits that
unfold through sheer clarity and stillness (qfngjfng ��ff). In both
Xiiintiiin Xuanmiao Yimil Taishang Shengmu zfchuan xiiindao and
Hunyuan shengji, a passage identical to this segment appears, and
is conj oined directly with a description of the 1 000-day sequence
of visions and strange phenomena-including the Red Snake and
Queen Mother-found in LLS#4 . 57 As far as what one would
discern from these two texts, the visions and strange phenomena
would seem to come about directly as a result of this clarity and
stillness. According to Hunyuan shengji, this discourse combining
LLS#2 with the vi sionc;/strnnge phenom ena sequence of LLS#4
was conferred upon Yln X1 by Lord Lao at Yln Xl' s mansion in the
Zh6ngnan mountains, after Yln X1 had resigned his government
post. Interestingly, this combined discourse appears virtually word
for word in Zhiizhen neidiin jiyao. 58 In this internal alchemical text
of ca. 1 3 00, however, the discourse is attributed (apparently) 5 9 to
56 Xiandao jfng (Sa) contains the following passage, which would seem to confirm
this interpretation of LLS# l : Someone asked, "If I see specters, will they stop
[coming if I] tell [other] people about them, or not?" Laozi said, "If you tell
people, the spirits will no longer come. Specters are the intermediaries of the
Genuine Persons. Do not yell insults at them. The sound of their footsteps is
good." � F"� m J! l1!f �A 6 ::f :t;-=f B � A1!f :'f$ 1i::f�* l1!f:ffe(. A z� �
t t .
words, " Genuine Man ChUnyang (Lil Dongbin ' s sobriquet) said . . . " #4J � J.: A � .
The second prose commentary segment is where the discourse that concerns u s i s
found. Though this second segment does not start with the words, "Genuine Man
Chunyang said . . . ," such an attribution seems implied.
60
Zhuzhen ne idiin jiyao, 2/8a-9a.
61
Taishang himyuan zhenlit, 24b-25 a.
1 78 STEPHEN E SKILD SEN
Conclusion
In comparing what Ritshi sz chizffa and Taishang hitnyuan zhenlit
have to say about the Red Snake-Queen Mother vision sequence, a
few contrasts can be readily pointed out. Taishang hitnyuan zhenlit
describes a longer sequence of visions and phenomena that occur
over the course of a much longer regimen, which also promises to
bring forth much more glorious results and benefits . Whereas
Ritshi sz chiz{fa describes clearly the specific meditation technique
that is supposed to induce the vision sequence, Taishang hitnyuan
zhenlit leaves us unclear as to what meditation technique-if any
specific one at all-is supposed to serve this purpose. However,
among the various meditation methods mentioned or described in
Taishang hitnyuan zhenlit, several appear likely to bear an intimate
connection with the Red Snake-Queen Mother vision sequence;
one of these-the Way of the Three Ones in LLS# l -involves a
"Baby" and is fairly similar to the method of Ritshi sz chiz{ fa.
Taishang hitnyuan zhenlit also contains statements strongly
endorsing laboratory alchemy, and could be read as suggesting that
the adept experiencing the Red Snake-Queen Mother vision has
ingested alchemical drugs, and is under their influence. Ritshi sz
chiz{fa makes no mention of laboratory alchemy at all, although it
does leave one wondering whether practitioners of its 1 00-day
isolated contemplation method might have graduated on to some
other more advanced, esoteric method promising supreme
immortality-which conceivably could be laboratory alchemy.
Perhaps the most noteworthy characteristic of Ritshi sz chiz{fa s
'
62
See Eskildsen, 2004 : 2 1 -3 8, 95 - 1 1 4 .
1 80 STEPHEN ESKILD SEN
Tantra), 6 3 and which in almost all cases frightens the dying person
and sends his/her consciousness into the bardo state-the
intermediate condition between death and rebirth during which one
encounters all sorts of deluding visions, which will cause one to be
reborn into various sarp.saric conditions if one develops strong
feelings of dread or attachment to them. The Red Snake in our
Daoist texts is similarly bright and shocking (though fiery red
colored, rather than clear), and serves as a prelude to numerous
subsequent visions .
The clear light of Tibetan Buddhism is nothing less than the
Dharmakaya (/ashen ¥! � ) or True Suchness (Tathii, zhenru ��Q),
which is identical to one ' s own innate Buddha Nature (Tathiigata
garbha, foxing 1� 't� ) ; by calmly merging into it one attains
Buddha-hood here and now. Ritshz sf chzzz fa states that the fiery
Red Snake is a guise taken on by the Baby that has been reared by
one ' s innate male and female (yfn and yang) forces and is rising
from the heart to the head. This B aby is perhaps best understood as
personifying one ' s pure consciousness and pristine vitality, which
if properly brought to full capacity can come to possess profound
insight and long life, or perhaps even omniscience and eternal life,
if nurtured to its full potential (such would also seem to be what is
signified by the Great Genuine Spirit mentioned in Taishang
hitnyuan zhenlit, LL S#4). One might say that the Baby and its fiery
serpentine epiphany are something like the Buddha Nature that
manifests as the Clear Light. In the terms of Jungian depth
psychology, one might also understand these images as proj ections
of subconscious forces at work in a psychotherapeutic progress
toward human wholeness (i. e . , individuation) . The B aby, the Red
Snake and the Great Genuine Spirit might perhaps be understood
as embodying the archetype of the "self' (the essence of human
wholeness wherein conscious and subconscious are integrated), or
perhaps as the world-creating spirit (Mercurius, prima materia)
imprisoned or concealed in matter, which acts as an agent of
healing and renewal of one ' s personality. 64
rather, personal awareness from here on looks out from the eyes of
the B aby and witnesses the manifold epiphanies and hallucinations
that subsequently come forth. One first encounters the Genuine
Person and the Queen Mother of the West (with her impressive
retinue) ; it would seem that the former is to be regarded as an
epiphany of a holy, benevolent Immortal, and the latter as a
hallucination (or at best a demon in disguise). This, perhaps, is why
one is to converse with the Genuine One, and not with the Queen
Mother.
Rush! sf chizffa indicates that the Genuine Person comes from
somewhere for the specific purpose of meeting and mentoring the
Baby, although it is unclear whether he is to be understood as
coming from outside the practitioner' s body and psyche, or from
within. In psychological terms, the Genuine Person would seem to
embody one ' s mental faculties of rationality and self-control. The
Queen Mother, on the other hand, could perhaps be understood, in
Jungian terms, as the anima-i.e., the archetype representing the
subconscious, which in men is by nature feminine and affective, is
prone to manifest itself as female figures in dreams and visions,
and which is the deposit of all experiences that men have with
women. 6 5 Perhaps the same interpretation l:ould be gben regarding
the "old woman and a person of strange form" � Pw1SZ. � % :W and
the "two women" � !;:: that are said to appear in Taishang hunyuan
zhenlu (LLS#4 ). Whatever the case, further descriptions in
Taishang hunyuan zhenlu (LLS#4) indicate that these encounters
with female figures form a gateway to visions and communications
that would seem to embody deep-seated concerns and emotions
embedded in the subconscious . The concerns pertain to the guilt of
oneself and one ' s ancestors, and the feelings seem to be those of
fear, affection, guilt, envy, resentment and longing toward those
people whom one is most intimate with.
In sum, Daoist isolated contemplation regimens-especially
those of the sort involving passive inner observation rather than
active imagination-seem to have a way of reproducing visions
and auditions of similar content that reflect deep-seated thoughts
66 Tibetan Buddhism and Daoist Internal Alchemy can be said to share the
assumption that their advanced contemplative techniques replicate the dying
process . Tibetan Buddhist Highest Yoga Tantra bears the character of "death
rehearsal" wherein one replicates the death experience (all the while stopping
short of disembodying the consciousness), so that one will be able to comport
oneself in the optimal manner when death actually occurs. Daoist internal alchemy
endeavors in its advanced stages to repeatedly bring about temporary separation of
the spirit from the body, with hope that the spirit will ultimately liberate itself in a
condition of total freedom and invulnerability. Daoists also had theories on how to
confront the visions at the onset of death, in the event that it occurs prior to the
full perfection of the Yang Spirit (yangshen �*$). See Mullin, 1 98 6 : 1 2 6- 1 9 1 ;
Eskildsen, 2006: 3 7 3 -409; Eskildsen, 2009: 87- 1 0 3 .
Daoist Clepsydra-Meditation
1 Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are my own. Catalogue numbers for
Daoist collections follow Komjathy, 2002.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 1 87
2 This resulted in an influx of Buddhist monks into the Quanzhen order and in
Quanzhen gaining control of some Buddhist temples, though how many were
occupied remains debated. While more research needs to be conducted, there was
clearly cross-pollination between Quanzhen and Chan Buddhism. For example,
members of the Quanzhen monastic order adopted dimensions of Chan Buddhism,
including monastery layout, monastic structure, and monastic rules. A natural
comparison would be between the Quanzhen q'ingguz and the Chrinyuan qzngguz
)Jl!j[�j[;{�:l;i! (Pure Regulations for Chan Monasteries) . On the latter see Foulk, 1 987;
Yifa, 2002. My preliminary comparison revealed few similarities.
3 This temple in Yanjing �:R.: (present-day Beijing ;:!t:R,:) would become the
primary monastic headquarters of the Quanzhen order and its L6ngmen ll'� F�
(Dragon Gate) lineage from this historical moment into the contemporary period.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 1 89
4 F or lineage charts of the early Quanzhen movement and first six patriarchs see
Komjathy, 2007 : 378-8 1 . On the second- and third-generations see Ren, 200 1 :
2 . 72 8 ; Li, 2003 : 460-6 1 .
5 Various dates are given for the establishment o f the Yuan dynasty, but it was in
1 279 that the Southern Song was finally defeated and the Mongols gained control
of the whole of China. The Mongol-Yuan dynasty was the first non-Chinese ruled
dynasty to have nationwide control. Although such historical patterns date back to
the Toba-Wei WI! dynasty (3 86-5 3 4), the Mongols set a precedent for national rule
of the indigenous Chinese population by a foreign people that prepared the way
for the Manchu-Qing ))ff dynasty ( 1 644- 1 9 1 1 ) . Interestingly, the Manchus were
the later descendants of the Jurchens.
6 Like Daoist monasticism more generally (see Kohn, 1 997; 2003 ; 2004a; Reiter,
1 99 8), Quanzhen monasticism is understudied. The most comprehensive study is
Vincent Goossaert's dissertation ( 1 997; see also Zheng, 1 995), and one hopes that
it will eventually be revised and published. S ome important work on late imperial
and early modem Quanzhen has also appeared in print. See Hackmann, 1 920;
1 93 1 ; Yoshioka, 1 979; Esposito, 1 99 3 ; 2000; 200 1 ; 2004; Goossaert, 2004; 2007;
Liu, 2004a; 2004b; Komjathy, 2008; 2009. On modem Quanzhen monasticism see
Herrou, 2005.
190 LOUIS KOMJATHY
7 It was during this period of Chinese history that Quanzhen incorporated more
adherents of the so-called Southern School (Nanzong i¥i*) of internal alchemy as
well as more features derived from Chan Buddhism. These and other dimensions
of intra- and interreligious interaction deserve further study.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 191
adopted or advocated in the early Quanzhen community. This would make sense
in terms of geography, as seafood is one of the primary forms of sustenance in
Shandong. Of the first-generation adherents, it seems that Ma Danyang and Qii'i
Changchun were the most committed to vegetarianism as an expression of
wisdom and compassion.
1 92 LOUIS KOMJATHY
1 3 Although beyond the confines of the present study, the reader should remember
that clepsydra-meditation took place within the larger context of Quanzhen
monastic life . This included precept study and application, adherence to monastic
regulations, spiritual direction, study, liturgical performance and scripture
recitation, work duty, and so forth. On earlier Daoist monasticism see Kohn, 1 997;
200 3 ; 2004a; Reiter, 1 998.
1 94 LOUIS KOMJATHY
misreading of zuo bo might assume that it meant some form of meditation that
utilized an individual monk ' s bowl.
18
These technical specifics on the size and weight are somewhat perplexing
because the Practical Methods for the Bowl-Clepsydra suggests that the
corresponding sinking bowl-clepsydra measures time according to two primary
time divisions : from miio gp (5 am-7am; early morning) to you @ (5pm and 7pm;
early evening), and from you to miio . If this were the case, the clepsydra hole
would need to be quite small because the vessel is so small itself. However, such a
device would have the advantage of easy portability. One can also imagine a
bowl-clepsydra that measures a specific practice duration rather than abstract
"time".
198 LOUIS KOMJATHY
begins to move through the small hole, and the sinking bowl
clepsydra begins to fill and sink . 1 9
19 In the future, one can envision a proj ect to reconstruct the Quanzhen sinking
bowl-clepsydra. This process could be assisted by consultation with the collective
memory of indigenous peoples who continue to use such time-measuring devices.
For example, Hermann Diels reported that a North African tribe utilized such a
clepsydra as a type of hour-glass for the control of irrigation-water sluices into the
twentieth century (Needham et al., 1 95 9 : 3 1 5 , n. h).
20 S ometimes the order of seniority and corresponding monastic hall positions
follow the twelve terrestrial branches, beginning With Zl T and ending with hai Yi,.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 1 99
I I
G
©
Clepsydra
I
I
I I I
I
Sleeping Chambers Meditation Platform
21
In this way, the clepsydra retreat may be seen as an institutionalization of the
earlier Quanzhen ascetic and eremitic practice of "meditation enclosure" (huandii
��'), which often involved periods of meditative seclusion for one hundred days.
On the latter see Goossaert, 1 99 7 : 1 7 1 -2 1 9; 1 999; Komjathy, 2007 : 1 57-66 . On
the former, see Goossaert, 1 997: 2 5 3 - 5 8 ; 200 1 .
200 LOUIS KOMJATHY
If there are those who have fallen asleep , are nodding off, or shifting
their bodies, the bowl-master first walks around on watch with the en
couragement stick. He suspends the stick over the body of the adept
who has fallen asleep. Then he strikes [the adept' s shoulders] three
times and withdraws. Afterwards, [the offender] attentively takes hold
of the encouragement stick, quietly gets up from his position, and be
gins inspecting the others. He is replaced in turn by the next offender.
As long as the clepsydra-meditation has not yet ended, the bell has not
22
yet sounded, and the "stillness" placard has not yet been substituted,
one may not enter or leave, speak, or move without a reason. Anyone
who does not abide by these regulations will be disciplined. (DZ 1 23 5 :
5 ab ; also l Oa)
22 It seems that there was a "stillness placard" (jingpai §Jll1f! ) and a "movement
placard" (dongpai ilJ l\11f ) which were hung respectively when meditation
commenced and ended.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 201
23 Unfortunately, this point must be conj ectural because the texts do not provide
specific guidelines for materials and design. I had hoped to find clarification in
contemporaneous Chan texts, but preliminary research suggests that the earliest
Chan references to the xiiingbc'in date from the Ming and Qmg dynasties. T.
Griffith Foulk (Sarah Lawrence College), Morten Schliltter (University of Iowa),
pers. comm. In contemporary Zen Buddhism, there is a lighter, summer and a
heavier, winter version of the wake-up stick. The former is intended to activate the
corresponding point through lightweight robes, while the latter must penetrate
heavy, winter robes.
24 For a modem American account see Kapleau, 1 98 9 : 1 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 52-53, 206-8 .
202 LOUIS KOMJATHY
perspective, we find that the strike hits an area that generally corre
sponds to three acupoints : Tianz6ng :X* (Celestial Gathering; SI-
1 1 ; in the depression of the shoulder blade), XInshU , c.,,� (Heart
Shu-point; BL- 1 5 ; about three inches laterally from the fifth verte
bra), and/or Jianjfog m fr (Shoulder Well; GB 2 1 ; apex of the tra
pezius) (see Ellis et al. , 1 9 89). Briefly stated, Tianzong, the elev
enth point on the small intestine meridian, is associated with the
heart and is a maj or gathering place of qi. XInshU, the fifteenth
point on the urinary bladder meridian, is the Shu �-point of the
heart; these points indicate an "association point", in this case an
acupoint on the urinary blad der m�ridian. a E: sociated with the heart.
Jianj fog, the twenty-first point on the gall bladder meridian, is a
Jiaohui �-t'-point, or the intersection point of various yang merid
ians (foot shaoyang [gallbladder] , hand shaoyang [triple warmer] ,
foot yangmfng [stomach] , and yang-linking vessel). 2 5 Under my
reading of the monastic and meditative use of the encouragement
stick, it energetically activates the heart, associated with con
sciousness and spirit from a Chinese and Daoist perspective, as
well as the entire organ-meridian system. It would be the equiva
lent of a moderate, but concentrated bioelectrical shock.
The Practical Methods for the Bowl-Clepsydra also provides
important technical details concerning the use of the bowl
clepsydra. It advises practitioners to account for the waxing and
waning of sunlight by adjusting the weight of the bowl-clepsydra;
this was done by subtracting and adding coins as follows (lunar
month/morning coins/evening coins) : l st/ 1 1 /9 ; 2nd/ 1 0/ 1 0 ; 3rd/9/ 1 1 ;
4th/ 1 / 1 9 ; Sth/0/20; 6th/1/1 9; 7th/9/1 1 ; 8th/ 1 0/ 1 0 ; 9th/ 1 1 /9 ;
1 Oth/1 1 /9 ; 1 1 th/20/0 ; 1 2th/1 9/1 . 26 This is especially interesting be
cause it reveals a distinctive Daoist view of time. Here "time" is
not the colossal hoax of clocks and calendars; it is a flexible and
2 5 I am grateful to Kate Townsend of the Daoist Foundation and Center for D aoist
Studies for her assistance in clarifying the specific associations of these points.
26 These can be mapped with rough 24 seasonal node correspondences, beginning
with Spring B egins (approx. February 5) and ending with Great Cold (approx.
January 2 1 ) . Note that the Chinese lunar year generally begins in late January or
early F ebruary on the Gregorian/Western calendar; thus, the first lunar month
tends to be + 1 in relation to the Gregorian/Western calendar.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 203
27 This data comes from the United States Naval Meterology and Oceanography
Command (USNO) and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). See http ://aa.usno .navy.mil and http://www. srrb.noaa.gov.
Accessed on June 1 , 20 1 3 . I have used San Diego, California as the source
location.
204 LOUIS KOMJATHY
This of course varies based upon one ' s relative proximity to the
equator and north-pole/south-pole, or a given place ' s latitude. Ex
amining this chart on a basic level in terms of the beginning of the
seasons, we find the relational pattern of day and night with respect
to the eight primary nodes : ( 1 ) Spring begins ( 1 0h 1 9m of light;
1 3h4 1 m of darkness); (2) Spring equinox ( 1 2h 1 0m of light;
-
=:
-j- E3
8 Fl
;"'it l:l:\
z.. �
month: Heavy Snow & Winter 5th month: Bearded Grain & Sum-
Solstice mer Solstice
Day 5 : Ch6u 11:: : Lin-descent = = : Day 20 : Wei * : Dun-concealed
1 2th month: Slight Cold & Great = =: 6th month: S light Heat &
Cold Great Heat
Day 8: Yin 1§:: Tai-peace -: 1 st Day 23 : Shen � : Pi-standstill :: :::
month: Spring B egins & Rain Wa- 7th month: Autumn Begins & Limit
ter of Heat
Day 1 0 : Mao 9� : Dazhuang-great Day 25 : You jllj : Guan-observation
form : 2nd month: Excited In- § §: 8th month: Pure Dew & Au-
sects & Spring Equinox tumn Equinox
Day 1 3 : Chen BJZ: Guai-certainty Day 2 8 : Xu ,r:IG : Bo-flayed § § : 9th
: 3 rd
month: Clear Brightness &
month: Cold Dew & Frost De-
Grain Rain scends
Day 1 5 : Si B : Qian-heaven : Day 3 0 : Hai $;° : Kun-earth § § :
4th month: Summer Begins & 1 0th month: Winter Begins and
Slight Fullness Slight Snow3 1
30 There are eight primary lunar phases: new moon, waxing crescent (right-side
illumined), first quarter, W1L'l'.ing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous (right-side
darkened), third quarter, waning crescent. The new moon and full moon are
especially significant moments in Daoist practice.
3 1 These are hexagrams 24 (initial yang), 1 9, 1 1 , 34, 43, 1 (complete yang), 44
Quanzhen Clepsydra-Meditation
As we have seen, Quanzhen clepsydra-meditation was a form of
communal and monastic Daoist meditation. Quanzhen monastics
practiced this form of meditation within the larger patterns of mo
nastic life. According to our Yuan dynasty sources, this type of
Daoist meditation utilized a sinking bowl-clepsydra, a water-filling
bowl with a small hole in its center, as a time-keeping device. Dur
ing the clepsydra retreat, which was a hundred-day winter retreat
beginning on the first day of the tenth lunar month, monastics
gathered together for intensive communal meditation. This oc
curred within a meditation hall, referred to as the clepsydra hall, in
the center of which a clepsydra stand was placed. Monastics in turn
gathered around and practiced seated meditation facing towards the
centrally-located clepsydra. Our sources thus provide information
on the actual ritual obj ect, the architectural layout of at least some
3 2 The variant character bi5 flf,$: consists ofjou ffi ("j ar" ; earthenware pottery) and
hen *· The former, which would have an Earth-phase association, might be taken
as a symbol for the center, the lower elixir field, and stillness.
208 LOUIS KOMJATHY
34 Great Ultimate translates taiji :t:tii, literally, "great ridgepole" . It refers to yin
yang interaction, and thus to the source of all differentiated identity.
35 The author is moving back and forth between the dual meanings of xfn 'L' as
"heart-mind" and "center".
3 6 An allusion to chapter 8 of the Daodejfng. See also chapters 1 5 , 4 1 , 65, and 6 8 .
37 "Three minds" (siinxfn .:::_ ,r,, ) is a technical Buddhist term that designates
consciousness of past, present and future. As a Daoist technical term, it may also
designate the "three centers", the three elixir fields.
DAOIST CLEPSYDRA-MEDITATION 211
You must pacify your thoughts and purify your heart-mind, revert
your emotions and return to your innate nature. In your activities, it is
essential that your serenity is constant; in your eating and drinking,
you must refrain from excess. When the uncontrolled heart-mind is
extinguished, there is the silent illumination of original spirit. When
the perfect breath is regulated, there is melded infusion of wisdom and
life-destiny. When entering meditation, contain your radiance in dark
ened silence by means of an empty heart-mind (ibid. : 9b- 1 Oa) .
And
3 8 Half-sheng 7t vessel is a symbolic name for the lower elixir field, the navel
region.
212 LOUIS KOMJATHY
the center o f one ' s being which i s the Dao . The text speaks o f this
as "suchness" (ziran § �), "absorption" (ding AE), and "comple
tion" (cheng fflt). This is complete alignment and attunement with
the Dao through meditative praxis, a meditative experience of mys
tical union with the Dao.
As mentioned, it seems that quiet sitting was the foundational
and most common method utilized in Quanzhen monasteries and
during clepsydra-meditation. The emphasis on stillness- and emp
tiness-based meditation, or Daoist apophatic meditation, is con
firmed by the fact that Quanzhen monastics compiled a guide to
meditation attributed to the founder of Quanzhen Wang
Ch6ngyang. Specifically, discourses 7, 8, 9 and 1 3 (3b-5b) of the
Ch6ngyang lijiao shiwu fitn m. �.ll. � + 11.� (Redoubled Yang' s
Fifteen Discourses to Establish the Teachings ; DZ 1 2 3 3 ; abbr.
Ch6ngyang shiwu lim, Lijiao shiwu lim, or Shiwu lun) appear in the
fourteenth-century Qunxian yaoyu zuanji �{Ul �Bfr�� (Collec
tion of Essential Sayings from Various Immortals; DZ 1 2 5 7 : 2.2b-
4a) (see Komjathy, 2008, handbook 8). The latter text is roughly
contemporaneous with the Pure Regulations of Complete Perfec
tion and Practical Methods for the Bowl- Clepsydra. Similarly, with
respect to Quanzhen internal alchemy practice, there is the Dadiin
zhizhr ::kft i1rm (Direct Pointers to the Great Elixir; DZ 244), an
illustrated manual of stage-based neidiin practice attributed to the
third Quanzhen patriarch Qiii Changchiin. Although there is no
scholarly consensus on issues of dating and attribution, it appears
that this text was compiled, based on earlier material, between the
years of 1269 and 1 3 1 0 . This would make it either slightly earlier
or roug hly contemporaneous w1'th our primary sources. 39 I n a more
.
39 Annotated translations of both the Ch6ngyting lijiao shiwu litn and the Dadiin
zhizhf appear in rny The Way of Complete Perfection: A Quanzhen Daoist
Anthology (Kornjathy, 20 1 3 a). This work includes introductions to the texts that
address issues of dating and attribution.
214 LOUIS KOMJATHY
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Hpo Hlaing 93--4, 99, 1 1 3-1 4 Lliozi ;g'.;.:Y- (Lord Lao) 1 52-3
Hpondawgyi u Thila 99 Kushi sl chiz'!fo)... 'fl. ff!!Jffi.:Y- $
Hsayalei (HL) 1 00-1 1 , 1 1 2 1 5 0-9
Htut-hkaung Hsayadaw 98 Taishang hunyuan zhenlu *
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_t) � iClUffe 1 59-77
Himyuan shengj i 5 � 51; � �[, 1 50,
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210
light 79
see also darkness
imagination, creative 5 9
lists, and contemplation of the
Indian Buddhism see absorption,
repulsive 1 29-3 0
first
location, meditation obj ects 9-1 2
inner transformation 1
Lord Lao see Laozi
insight 1 0 8-9
love 1 5-1 6
internal alchemy meditation
loving kindness 1 5, 1 6, 1 1 2, 1 3 0
1 5 0-1 , 1 8 1 , 1 90n, 1 9 1 , 208, LU Daohe �mfD (Tongxuan w
R) 1 85
213
internal meditation objects 9-1 2,
l lt, 1 9t lust see sexual desire
and agency 1 2- 1 3 Lutz, Antoine 25