VIPASHYANA (Insight) MEDITATION
THE SELFLESSNESS OF THE PERSON:
SUBTOPICS:
The selflessness of the Body & Forms
The selflessness of Feelings
The selflessness of Perceptions
The selflessness of Intention
The selflessness of Consciousness/Awareness
Signs of Progress
We now begin the process of Vipashyana Meditation according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The object of our meditation is no longer the breath as in Shamata meditation, but is now focussed on the nature of our True Self.
We focus on looking for our True Self, and, during this process, when we find that we have become too restless or agitated, then we return for a few moments to focussing on the breath, until we are less agitated and more relaxed. If we find ourselves losing attention and falling into dullness, then we try to bring our mind back to our search for our True Self. - In this way we are using Shamata meditation to develop Insight (Vipashyana).
In our day-to-day lives after practicing Vipashyana meditation for awhile, we have a bit of the perception of the selflessness of the aspects of ourselves. It is then easier to perceive these same characteristics in other phenomena and that is why emphasis is first placed on the selflessness of the person. There are 2 methods for contemplating this selflessness outside of meditation.
The first is to focus our mind on the space behind events more than on the events themselves. These events could be thoughts, feelings or perceptions, or they could be events that occur in the comings and goings of people and situations around us. By focusing on the space, we look for a solid, permanent self in all aspects of our environment. Of course, as we practice this, we cannot find a permanent solid self, and this exercise strengthens that perception.
The second method is to regard all events, internal and external as a mirage, an illusion, a dream. Just as in watching a magic show, we see the magic and know that it is an illusion, in the same way, we try to regard reality as an illusion, and our clinging and aversion to it loosens and our confusion disappears.
Within our actual Vipashyana meditation, there are 4 points of Analysis used in the examination of the selflessness of the person. These are the analysis required to arrive at a direct perception of the selflessness of the person. Once that direct perception begins to be experienced, we have entered the insight stage of the path to Buddhahood.
These 4 points of analysis are:
1) Being certain as to what is to be refuted.
The relative self is mixed with a concept of a fixed self and this is the point that needs to be examined and the solidity and existence of this fixed self needs to be refuted. We look inside and outside in an attempt to find this fixed self. The more we try to find this fixed self, the more we understand the relative self that depends upon the five skandas (collections).
2) Absolute certainty
Our Body/Mind collection is the relative self, and it is this which is grasped at and mistakenly believed to have independent existence. There are 2 kinds of self-grasping, inherent and conceptual. The first is the natural tendency of all sentient beings to feel that there is a fixed self independent of the 5 Skandas. Conceptual grasping is the grasping to objects that results after inherent grasping. Here we try to remind ourselves of the vase and wagon-type descriptions and apply them to all of our experiences.
3) Eliminating the illusion of an independent self separate from the 5 Collections.
The third reasoning is that things cannot exist independently either as a whole or as any of its parts. For example, because it is composed of parts (the 5 Collections), then the self does not exist independently as one. And since the parts can not exist separately, then the self cannot exist independently as many. If the self existed independently of the 5 Collections, then it should not have to experience the results of the actions of the Collections and that is clearly not the case. The phrases "I am sick" or "I am old" or "I am sad" would have no meaning in that case.
With similar analysis and searching through our body and mind, we look for our self outside of the 5 Collections of Form, Feeling, Perception, Intention, and Consciousness. The more we look for this self, the more we are unable to find such an entity.
4) The point of searching for an independent self within the 5 Collections.
We can examine if the self exists as a unit of the 5 Collections, but then there couldn't be one self, because there would have to be one self per Collection, which does not exist. Also, at death, all 5 Collections would have to re-appear in the same way so that identical people would re-appear after death. Because we cannot separate one part of the 5 collections from the others, and yet we cannot treat them as a whole because they are constantly changing individually, there is no one individual self to which the collections belong and there is no one collection that can claim to be the self.
Again we search individually through the collections for the self within our Form, Feelings, Perceptions, Intention, and Consciousness. As we do, we can't find an ultimate, permanent self, but we do begin to understand our relative, momentary self. We also learn about the continuity of this relative self and begin to learn how dependent arising operates.
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