During that Thiền session, Ni Sư's smile appeared many, many times in my consciousness mind. The idea of going to India and Ni Sư’s smile was instilled in my mind even after I got home. I could not resist her smile and the home feeling of being in India, so I made up my decision that I would go to India in 2016. On the 23rd of September I told my mother and sister Yen Khanh that I am going to India again. Yen Khanh smiled and said nothing. That night I sent my personal information to Ni Su and registered. I told my sister again that I have registered. She then asked me to put her name in as well. I was thrilled that she wanted to come with me.
I have been to India for pilgrimage four times in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. I documented each time I went with photos and stories. This time will be my fifth time that I am not going to write about the four Buddhist holy places. Instead I am going to write about the pilgrimage I have travelled on Thiền Tánh Không.
As a Buddhist we cannot merely base our religion on beliefs. We ought to ask four questions and Thiền Tánh Không or Ni Sư has answered them clearly and concisely:
A) Why? Why do we want to learn from Buddha?
B) What? What is Buddha Nature?
C) Which? Which part of the human body that contains the true-mind (Buddha-mind; precuneus)?
D) How? How can we achieve our goal?
A) Why? Why do we want to learn from the Buddha?
Firstly, we need to understand what Buddha had awakened from and his enlightenment before we can answer why we want to learn from him.
I read Gotama Buddha's biography many times, and have read and retold this story many times. Previously I had interpreted his life as a novel, not as something that I could learn from.
I knew Prince Siddhartha saw the impermanence and the suffering, which motivated him to search for liberation. I never thought about these things deeply when I read his biography:
1) The right method/technique of practice is more important than a teacher.
2) The four jhanas (định có tầm có tứ, định không tầm không tứ, tỉnh giác định, định bất động) he attained under the bodhi tree
3) What Buddha actually realised and discovered.
The young prince’s first awakening was when he saw old age, sickness and death. His second awakening was after when he was taught by his two yoga teachers (Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra). He realised the right method was more important than a teacher. He could not liberate himself through the cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death from his two teachers.
After 6 years of extreme ascetic life, he still couldn't liberate himself. His third awakening was when he realised that tormenting one's physical body was not the right way to seek for the ultimate truth or indulging one's pleasures. (middle way as a path of moderation)
He went through four levels of jhanas under the Bodhi tree. After the fourth week of deep samadhi, his mind became calm and tranquil. He acquired the power of being aware of all his previous lives. Through further insight, he acquired the divine vision, the power to see all things and to know the future rebirth of all beings. He thus came to realise that unceasing the circle of death and rebirth of all beings is solely a manifestation of one's karma; that is, one's thoughts and deeds. Finally he observed that the ultimate cause of turning the wheel of birth and death in the vast sea of suffering is ignorance and the attachment to transient and illusory pleasures - the twelve links of dependent origination. He had discovered the cause of and the method of elimination of all suffering.
Base on his profound discovery about the truth of nature (Buddha nature or the Suchness), we ought to have this right understanding of the phenomenon. This can help us to the realisation of liberation.
B) What? What is Buddha Nature?
When the Buddha became enlightened he realised that all beings have the same nature and potential for enlightenment, and this is known as Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature is simply the true nature of reality and all sentient beings. This true nature has the nature of emptiness, non-self and is continuously changing. Thus the true nature of the phenomenon (including us) is as such; The Way is as such; we are as such; the whole universe is as such. It cannot be named or described because it is just as such. It is always there. It has no beginning or ending. We have to have direct experience to see it with our wisdom. Thiền Tánh Không has explained very clearly and concise in their teaching material. This is very difficult to explain without science’s help. I have not found a clear explanation about this true nature of things as Thiền Tánh Không. (If anyone wants to know more, please attend the Intermediate Meditation Course Level 2 from TTK)
C) Which? Which part of the human body that contains the true-mind (Buddha-mind; precuneus)?
Science can now prove what Buddha told us in his discourse about the area which his mind was in or attained. He told us about our false minds (consciousness/ý thức - the present mind, thinking mind/ý căn - mind of the past and intellect/trí năng - mind of the future) are constantly changing. If we cling on these false minds, we suffer. He also told us through deep meditation, it could get us into the area of the happiest cells in our human body which is the precuneus (Buddha Nature/The Nature as such). In Pali language it is called Vitakkavacāra (beyond logic).
Through his meditation experience, science has proved what chemicals have produced in each stage of mind. For example science has proven if we meditate with a calm and tranquil (without inner dialogue) mind then our body will produce some chemicals such as acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin and melatonin. That is why after a good session of meditation, we feel relax in our mind and body. A mind full of anxiety and stress will produce chemicals such as norepinephrine and epinephrine, chemicals which can harm our body. The end result will get us into diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. etc.
Through science technology such as EEG (Electroencephalography) and fMRI (Functional magnetic resonance imaging), we know from this false mind (In Buddhism means this shore. In science means frontal lobes of both left and right brain) to the other side of the shore - the true mind (back left side of the brain) is not hard to achieve if we have the right technique.
D) How? How can we achieve our goal?
As a meditator we know we ought to keep our mind calm, tranquil and equanimity but how? There are many ways or techniques to keep our mind calm. The most popular ways are observing our breath, chanting Buddha's name, using mandalas such as meditation objects, using visualisation, using counting methods and so on. Thien Tanh Khong uses the technique ‘Không Nói' (Don't Talk). Before we get into this technique, Ni Sư explains the cognition process.
There are four steps of cognition:
1) Semantic cognition – we need to understand the meaning of our topic. For example ‘Suchness'.
2) Procedural cognition – we set up a procedure to experience further in the topic we have chosen. For example: walking meditation, siting meditation and come out of meditation.
3) Episodic cognition – we experience the warmness, saliva, seeing light and whatever things have happened during our meditation.
4) Evocative cognition – from time to time we remind ourself the topic we meditation such as 'suchness'. We do this for not falling into the stage of losing the awareness.
Before we can use the cognition process we need to use the technique of 'Don't Talk' to reach a level of complete no self-inner dialogue. 'Don't Talk' acts as an order/command. We want our mind to recognise this order. Once our mind is calm and silent we can see the phenomenon objectively, not judgementally through our nature of awareness (seeing, hearing and touching). The basic requirement to activate these nature awareness is no inner-self dialogue.
We need to recognise the status of ‘Don’t Talk’ (ie. silence) when we give this order in our mind. Thus when we meditate, we can bring up this stage of 'Don't talk' as a subject in our mind. This can help us to reach a calm and tranquil stage of mind in an instant. If we practice this daily and consistently then it will lead us into the Suchness mind.
Through our practice we can see for ourselves whether we are on the right path. The more we practice the happier we get and our body is in a healthy stage, then we know we are on the right path. We are not superstitious, nor do we base our knowledge on beliefs. The best of this technique is that you can test it for yourself. For example I measure my blood sugar level before and after meditation to see if this method would work. I have tried the technique of 'Don't Talk' and observed the beneficial effects on my mind and body. As in the Kalama Sutta, Buddha said: "after thorough investigation and reflection, you find to agree with reason and experience, as conducive to the good and benefit of one and all and of the world at large, accept only that as true, and shape your life in according with it."
The beauty to be able to dwell in the Suchness mind is we can unlock our wisdom from within, no conflict in our mind and can see the world around us objectively. Furthermore we make peace between our mind and body. Because this right view, we have no attachment to the things and people around us therefore we have liberated from suffering. We will be a happier person for the sake of being alive.
To sum up this Pilgrimage, it takes me to a journey of understanding of myself, a journey with no return, a journey of spiritual significance - Atakkavacara, a journey to liberation and eventually a journey to enlightenment.
16 October 2016
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