Chapter 6
Activities Required for Meditation Practice

After having selected the appropriate meditation object and having chosen a calm and quiet environment suited for the practice, on the day one actually begins one’s own meditation practice in order to develop the mind, one has to finish the basic activities required in the following order:

1. Cutting down worries

2. Cutting down small worries

3. Purification of one’s precepts

4. Making a formal offering of one’s life to the Buddha and teacher

5. Recollection of the Triple Gem

6. Extension of loving-kindness

7. Recollection of death

8. Recollection of the truth of life

9. Recollection of one’s own merit

10. Making a vow to practice meditation

In this chapter, only the first three will be explained.

“Palibodha” means “to worry about, to be uneasy”. Anyone with palibodha can hardly practice meditation since one cannot achieve the state of Samadhi because the mind, disturbed by worries and uneasiness, is impeded at least only during the actual time of practice. In the Path of Purity (Visudhimagga ) it enumerates the 10 palibodha as follows:

addhanam nati abadho gantho iddhitime tasa.

meaning:

The 10 palibodha are : the residence, clan, gift, companion, job, journey, relatives, illness, education, and power.

(Visuddhimagga 1/112)

1. Worry about the residence. If one is a monk, then one worries about the temple, one’s kuti (house of Buddhist monk in a monastery) and one’s belongings. If one is a layman, then one worries about one’s house and property, that it may be damaged, stolen, or may need to be cleaned or maintained.

2. Worry about the clan. If one is a monk, one worries about the family or the sponsored family, being afraid that those acquaintances may come to visit during one’s absence or if one does not pay usual visits, then they may become estranged or change their mind to sponsor other monks. Or if those acquaintances are ill or are having ceremonies then there will be no one available to advise them.

If one is a layman, then one worries about not being able to pay a visit or give advice to those who may be ill or may be having troubles. One is afraid of becoming alienated from the people that one used to be so close to before.

3. Worry about gifts. One is worried about the income or one’s usual benefits that may be reduced or lost because of one’s absence.

4. Worry about companions. One is worried about not being able to help or to give advice to friends, students, teachers, subordinates, etc. who have long been one’s acquaintances.

5. Worry about the job. One is worried about one’s job at hand (like writing a book), giving lectures, taking care of constructions, etc. One is afraid that the neglected job may not be finished and will cause a big loss.

As a layman, one may be worried about the job, that it may be discontinued. For example a farmer is worried about the field, a seller about the trade, an officer about the civil work. Everyone is worried about his own job, afraid that if they are away, the job will be left undone.

6. Worry about journey. One is worried about one’s planned vacation or business travel.

7. Worry about relatives. One is worried that during one’s absence one’s parents, grandparents, or close relatives may get into some troubles or have some illness, that one may be unable to help in time.

8. Worry about illness. One is worried about the existing illness that it may become worse if one discontinuous to cure it, so one wants to have it cured first.

9. Worry about education. A student may be worried about not being able to finish his education or may be afraid that he will not be accepted to further his education.

10. Worry about power. One is worried that one’s authority will decrease or will be transferred to others if it is not being utilized.

It should not be too hard to eradicate these worries from the mind if one considers that these worries are far less important than the result obtained from the meditation practice and that to be away from those things will only be temporary; one will come back to do everything shortly afterward. If a lot of worries exist, one can meditate with fruitless result. So it is important to decide to cut down all worries before practicing.

Cutting Down Small Worries

A few days before or on the day one begins to practice, one should be free from small worries and should remember:

1. To take a shower so that one feels perfectly clean on the day of practice.

2. To wash the robe (for a monk) or the dress (for laymen) so that one feels that it is clean.

3. To clean personal utensils so that one will not be worried about them.

4. For the monk or man, to have shaved one’s head and beard if they are too long.

5. To cut the nails if they are too long.

6. To prepare enough medicine for the whole period of practice.

7. To prepare all necessities for the whole period of practice.

To practice meditation, the period of practice should be predetermined to suit each person or group, for example, 7 days, 10 days, 15 days, one month, two months, three months, or six months so that the practice will be intensive and continuous for the best results.

On the other hand, somebody may be practicing once or twice a day for half an hour or an hour in the early morning or just before going to bed. Any method can be chosen according to one’s comfort and ability. However, those like the monks who practice in the meditation center may spend long hours each day meditating and will sleep for only 4-6 hours at most; this is done in order to speed the development of the mind. Some meditators may continue controlling their minds to stick with the meditation object all the time that they are awake, being mindful and aware of everything they do.

These worries, however small, have to be cut down completely since it will be hard to control the unstable mind.

Purification of One’s Precepts

Before practice, the meditator should purify one’s Sila (moral precepts) or request for the precepts, i.e., if one is a monk or a novice, then one should confess the transgression of one’s precept(s). A layman should have requested for the 5 (or 8) precepts, whatever one prefers, from the monk(s). This is because Sila is a base for having Samadhi, and Samadhi is a base for the rising of supreme wisdom (Panna). This Triple Study is closely interconnected, as mentioned in the Pali scripture:

Silpaparibhavito samadhi mahapphalo hoti mahanisamso.

Pannaparibhavitam cittam sammadeva asavehi vimuccati.

meaning:

“With sound basis of Sila (or precepts), the full benefits of Samadhi can be obtained. With sound basis of Samadhi, the full benefits of Panna can be obtained. And with sound basis of Panna, the mind will be righteously and completely free from the most delicate kind of defilement (asava).”

Therefore, Sila is the most important cause for Samadhi.

The Benefits of Sila (Virtue)

The practitioners of meditation should make an effort to keep pure the precepts, realizing the danger of the lack of precepts and the benefits of strictly observing them. Sila promotes a lot of good quality, as the Buddha said:

“Monks, should a bhikkhu desire to be dear and precious, to be respected and honored by his fellow-monks, he should fulfill the Sila.”

(The Path of Purity, Part I, p.11)

One impressive description of the benefits of Sila is in Visudhimagga (the Path of Purity) that:

The true religion gives the noble sons

No other stay than virtue. Who can tell

The limit of her power? Not Ganges stream

Nor Yamuna nor babbling Sarabhu,

Nor Aciravati nor Mahi’s flood,

On purity on earth the taints of men.

But virtue’s water can remove the stain

Of all things living. Necklaces or pearl,

Rain-bearing breezes, yellow sandalwood,

Gems, nor soft rays of moonlight can destroy

Heart-burnings of a creature. She alone-

Virtue well-guarded, noble, cool, avails.

What scent else blows with an against the wind?

What stairway leads like her to heaven’s gate?

What door into Nibbana’s city opens?

The Sage whose virtue is his ornament

Outshines the pomp and pearls of jeweled kings.

In virtuous men virtue destroys self-blame,

Begetting joy and praise. Thus should be known

The sum of all the discourse on the power

Of virtue, root of merit, slayer of faults.

(The Path of Purity, Part I, p.12)

Therefore, meditators should purify their precepts or request for the precepts before practice and throw away all worries. Then they can be sure to obtain the result appropriate to their efforts. 

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