The Tree of Enlightenment
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism
by Peter Della Santina
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Part Four
The Abidharma
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Chapter Thirty-Four
The Form and Formless Spheres
In Chapter 33 I introduced several schemes for classifying
consciousness that may be
difficult to grasp, particularly for
newcomers to Abhidharmic studies.
Hence there are
two additional
points I would like to make as we proceed with our
discussion.
First, to acquire understanding, one needs to cultivate (1) study, (2)
consideration, and (3)
meditation. It is not enough just to hear or
read about the
classifications of consciousness:
one needs to
consider exactly how they function, exactly what their
meaning is.From my
own experience, these schemes of classification will not
begin to make
sense until one
spends some time running them back
and forth in one's mind. Finally,
after study and
consideration, one
can use them in one's meditation.
Second, to understand these classifications, it helps to
consider a
more concrete and
accessible model. Suppose you
want to know how many people are likely
to watch
daytime
television in Singapore. You might classify the population into
employed and
unemployed; again, you might divide the
unemployed group into
English-speaking and
Chinese-speaking, so
you know how many are likely to watch English
programs
compared to Chinese ones. You might divide the population into
male and
female, or into
school-going and non-school-going, and
the school-going group into
those who attend
English schools and
those who attend Chinese schools. Given a certain
group of
factors--
in this case, the individual people who make up a
population--there are
many ways to
classify them depending on
what you want to find out.
It is the same way with the Abhidharmic classification of
consciousness: we have a set of
types of consciousness, and we
classify them in different ways
according to what we
want to find
out. If we remember this general rule about why and how we
classify factors
of consciousness, and then run the schemes back
and forth in our minds,
they will begin
to make more sense.
In this chapter we will look at the form-sphere consciousness
(rupavachara) and the
formless-sphere consciousness
(arupavachara; see Chapter 33). Here we
are primarily
concerned
with the analysis of types of consciousness that arise from
meditation,
concentration, or absorption (jhana). As in the genesis
of the
Abhidharma itself, Sariputta
played a vital role in the
beginnings of Abhidharmic analysis of
consciousness. In the
Anupada Sutta it is mentioned that, after achieving the various
states
of meditation,
Sariputta applied an Abhidharmic type of
analysis by enumerating,
classifying, and
identifying the types of
consciousness he had experienced.
Much emphasis was placed on analysis even in the early
period of
Buddhist history,
because the experience of extraordinary
states of meditation can be
easily misinterpreted.
In non-Buddhist
traditions, such states are consistently misinterpreted
as evidence of
a
transcendental, supranatural being or of an eternal soul.
By pointing out that states of meditation, like experience in
general,
are characterized by
impermanence, transience, and
insubstantiality, analysis wards off the
three defilements
of: (a)
craving or attachment to the supernatural and extraordinary
states
of consciousness
achieved through meditation; (b) false views, that
is, the
misinterpretation of these states
of meditation as evidence of
the existence of a transcendental being or
eternal soul; and
(c)
conceit, which arises from the notion that one has achieved
extraordinary states of
meditation.
The cultivation of states of meditation and the attainment of the
absorptions is a very
important part of Buddhist practice because it
is the aim of mental
development, which is
one of the three major
divisions of the Buddhist path (i.e., morality,
mental development,
and wisdom). To achieve these states of meditation, one needs to
create
the foundation of
morality and withdraw to some extent from
involvement in worldly
activities. Having
achieved these preliminary
conditions, one then proceeds to cultivate
the states ofmeditation through various methods.
Briefly, one proceeds by means of some forty traditional
objects of
meditation, which
include ten supports (kasina). These
objects are coordinated to the
temperament of the
meditator. In
other words, particular objects of meditation are
prescribed for
certain kinds
of temperament. In general, one begins with an
external support,
gradually that external
support is internalized and
conceptualized, and finally that support is
discarded and one
enters
the state of meditation proper.
Five factors of absorption (jhananga) are crucial to developing
the
states of meditation
that result in the type of consciousness
belonging to the form and
formless spheres: (i)
initial application
(vitakka), (ii) sustained application (vichara),
(iii) interest,
enthusiasm,
or rapture (piti), (iv) happiness or bliss (sukha), and (v)
one-pointedness (ekaggata).
These five factors are also evident in
most types of consciousness,
including the sense-
sphere
consciousness and even the consciousness of some of the more
developed animals.
Take, for instance, one-pointedness. Every
conscious moment
participates in one-
pointedness to some
gree.
This one-pointedness enables us to focus on
a particular
object in
our conscious experience. If it were not for one-pointedness,
we
would not be
able to pick out an object of consciousness from the
stream of objects
of consciousness.
The five factors of absorption
play a particular role in the
development of meditative
consciousness in that they raise our consciousness from the sense
sphere to the form
sphere, and thence to the formless sphere,
through intensification.
Intensification implies
the enhancement and
development of the power of particular functions of
consciousness.
Intensification of the first two factors, initial application and
sustained application, leads
to the development of the intellect,
which can then serve to develop
insight. Similarly,
intensification of
the fifth factor, one-pointedness, leads to the
development of fully
concentrated or absorbed consciousness. Intensification of all five
factors leads
progressively to the attainment of supernormal
powers.
The five factors also help elevate one's consciousness from the
sense
sphere to the form
and formless spheres by removing the five
hindrances (nivarana):
initial application
corrects sloth and torpor;
sustained application corrects doubt;
enthusiasm corrects ill-
will;
happiness corrects restlessness and worry; and one-pointedness
corrects sensual
desire.
Let us look more closely at the five factors of absorption to
see how
they produce
concentrated consciousness. To do this, we
need to look in greater
detail at their meaning.
In the context of
developing meditative consciousness, initial
application (vitakka) is
better termed 'applied thought,' since it means 'hitting upon,'
'striking,' or 'mounting.'
Vitakka mounts the mind, placing it on the
object of meditation;
vichara (sustained
application) then keeps the
mind firmly on that object, maintaining the
placement of the
mind.
The third factor of absorption--enthusiasm, interest, or rapture
piti)--motivates
one to pursue the activity of meditation diligently.
It may be helpful to contrast interest (piti) and happiness
(sukha) to
understand the
relationship between the two. Interest
and happiness belong to two
different classes of
experience:
interest to the volitional class (sankhara), and happiness
to the
feeling class
(vedana). On the one hand, interest is active
anticipation and
enthusiasm; on the other
hand, happiness is a
feeling of contentment or bliss. The commentaries
have given the
following example to illustrate the relation between the terms.
Suppose
a man in a desert
is told that there is a pond of fresh
water at the edge of a village
nearby. Upon hearing the
news, he
experiences a keen sense of interest (piti) and is motivated
and
encouraged by
the information. But when he actually reaches the
pond and quenches his
thirst, he
experiences happiness (sukha).
Thus it is interest or enthusiasm that
encourages us to
proceed
toward concentrated consciousness, whereas happiness or bliss
is
the actual
experience of mental happiness that results from
concentrated
consciousness.
One-pointedness (ekaggata) is collection, non-distraction of
the mind,
focusing the mind
without wavering on the object of
meditation. It is like the flame of a
lamp which remains
steadfast in
a room free of drafts.
When all five factors of absorption are present, we have the
first
form-sphere
consciousness, or absorption. As factors of
absorption are eliminated
one by one, we
progress step by step to
the fifth form-sphere consciousness. In other
words, when we
eliminate initial application, we have the second form-sphere
absorption; when sustained
application is removed, we have the
third form-sphere absorption; when
interest is
removed, we have
the fourth form-sphere absorption; and when happiness
is
removed, we
have the fifth form-sphere absorption.
These five types of consciousness are karmically active,
wholesome
types of
consciousness. In addition, there are five
reactive, resultant and five
inactive or functional
types of
consciousness. The first five are karmically active and are
present
in this life.
The second five are the result of the first five; in other
words,
cultivation of form-sphere
absorption results in rebirth in the
form sphere. The third five are
the five form-sphere
absorptions as
practiced by the liberated ones (Arhats), who have
broken the
bonds of
action and reaction; hence the five form-sphere
absorptions are
regarded as inactive when
practiced by them. Thus
there are fifteen types of form-sphere
consciousness: five
wholesome-active, five resultant, and five inactive.
When one has attained the fifth form-sphere consciousness,
one
experiences
dissatisfaction with the limited nature of the
form-sphere absorptions.
One then
progresses to formless-sphere
meditation, again by means of an object
of meditation,
commonly
one of the ten supports (kasina). One achieves this transition
by
extending the
support until it covers the infinity of space, then
discarding the
support and meditating on
the infinity of space,
thereby achieving the first of the
formless-sphere absorptions.
When this is achieved, one progresses to the second
formless-sphere
absorption, which
dwells on the infinity of
consciousness. At this stage, rather than
focusing on the object of
the meditating consciousness (i.e., the infinity of space), one
focuses
on the subject of the
meditative consciousness (i.e., the
consciousness that pervades
infinite space, or infinite
consciousness).
The third formless-sphere absorption dwells on the present nonexistence
of the preceding
infinite consciousness that pervaded infinity. In other words, the
third formless-sphere
absorption dwells on nothing at all, nothingness, or voidness.
Finally, the fourth formless-sphere absorption dwells on the realm of
neither perception
nor non-perception, a condition where
consciousness is so subtle that
it cannot be
described as existent or
nonexistent.
As with the form-sphere absorptions, there are three sets of
formless-sphere
consciousness (but with four instead of five types each). Four
formless-sphere types of
consciousness belong to the wholesome-active category; four belong to
the resultant-
reactive
category, that is, rebirth in the formless sphere; and four
belong to
the inactive or
functional category, the formless-sphere absorptions
as practiced by
the Arhats. In sum,
here twelve types
of formless-sphere consciousness: four
wholesome-active, four
resultant, and four
inactive.
We look at the progression in the
formless-sphere absorptions, we
see a gradual
unification and
rarefaction of consciousness--an absorption in the
infinity of the
object
(space), then an absorption in the infinity of the subject
(consciousness), followed by an
absorption in nothingness, and,
finally, an absorption in neither
perception nor non-perception. You
will remember that, when we talked about consciousness
and its
object
as the fundamental, germinal structure of experience, we had
in the
sense-sphere
consciousness the most fragmented type of
experience, where
consciousness and its
object are broken down into many factors. As we progress through the
form and formless
spheres, gradually we have a unification of the subject and a
unification of the object, so
that when we arrive at the fourth formless-sphere absorption, we have
reached the summit
of mundane experience.
It is interesting that the form-sphere and formless-sphere absorptions
were known to
yogis before the time of the Buddha and were practiced by the Buddha's
contemporaries.We have reason to believe that the two teachers with whom Gotama
studied before his
enlightenment were practitioners of these meditations. The
formless-sphere absorptions
were the highest level of spiritual development to which man could
aspire before the
Buddha, on the night of his enlightenment, demonstrated that absorption
has to be
combined with wisdom to become truly supramundane.
This is why it is said that, although one can achieve the highest
development possible in
meditation and be reborn at the pinnacle of the formless sphere, when
the power of that
meditative absorption--which is, after all,
impermanent--wanes, one
will be reborn in a
lower sphere. For this reason, one must go beyond even these very
rarefied and highly
developed levels of meditative consciousness. One has to couple the
concentrated and
unified consciousness of the absorptions with wisdom; only then can one
progress
beyond the mundane to the supramundane types of consciousness.
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Contents
|
01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11
| 12 | 13
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41
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Update : 11-05-2002
