Development of Right Concentration

Dhammakaya Meditation is based on four principles: three methods of concentration and the Principle of the Center.

The three concentration techniques are:

1. Meditating on an object of visualization (Kasina),
2. Recollection of Lord Buddha’s virtues (Buddhanussati),
3. Mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati).

And the Principle of the Center specifies that these three methods of concentration are all applied simultaneously at the center of the body.

Thereafter, meditation proceeds to successively higher levels by always focusing at the center of the center. This combination of techniques is effective for meditators of all different types.

1. Meditating on an Object of Visualization

The Dhammakaya object of visualization (Parikamma-nimitta) is usually a luminous sphere or translucent Buddha Statue. In meditation practice, we teach visualization of the light sphere (Aloka-kasina).

When you visualize, your mind resides in the object you conceive. Whatever you see in the mind, your mind is right there. If you think about members of your household, your mind will be with them. If you visualize a sphere and you see the sphere, it means that all four components of the mind have come together inside the sphere. This is why we ask you to imagine a sphere. This helps to concentrate the components of the mind. If you lose mindfulness of the sphere, you will see something else. This means your mind has gone elsewhere. Try to keep visualizing in order to keep your mind inside the sphere.

The four components of the mind are the spheres of vision, memory, thought and cognition. Use all four in imagining the sphere. Visualize it. Remember what the sphere is like. (It is transparent like this, clear like this...) Think about the sphere all the time. There is a transparent spot at the very center of the sphere. Keep your awareness focused there. Don’t let the mind wander away. Know all about the sphere.

Visualization progresses through three stages on the way to the first state of Jhana [Jhana is a state of serene contemplation attained by meditation]. First is ordinary perception. The meditation object (Kasina) visualized at the beginning is called the preliminary vision (Parikamma-nimitta).

As the meditator concentrates on the light object and commits it to memory, the image becomes more and more refined, clearer and clearer, until it looks like a crystal ball. This is known as the learning sign (Uggaha-nimitta) and is the first level of meditation. Luang Phor Wat Paknam taught his disciples to visualize the light sphere or Parikamma-nimitta until the Uggaha-nimitta appears.

When the meditator concentrates at the center of the Uggaha-nimitta until it becomes very clear, bright and still, he or she will become able to enlarge or reduce it. Then, the counterpart sign (Patibhaga-nimitta), which looks like a crystal sphere, will emerge. This is the second stage of concentration, the light object (Aloka-kasina), and is called Parikamma-bhavana or preliminary meditation.

The appearance of the light kasina marks the beginning of substantial meditation. The purpose of this approach is to bring all of the mind components in the crystal sphere to be more and more perfectly concentrated at the center of the body. This concentration helps to remove all the hindrances such as inactivity or sloth, sleepiness and doubtfulness.

When the meditator stops still at the center of the light object, he or she will feel delight in this state of mind and ill-will will be removed. If fear creeps in, the practitioner will lose this state, but if he or she continues to become more and more peaceful, stopping still at the center of each center to become more and more refined, the Counterpart sign will become very brigh t and clear, and the meditator will feel very happy or blissful. Restlessness of mind and anxiety will be removed. By keeping the mind still at the center, all sensual desires will be removed. This stage is the first Jhana. This is concentration on the light object. It is one of the easiest and most effective methods for concentrating the mind.

2. Recollection of Buddha’s Virtues

Dhammakaya meditation combines visualization of the light object with recollection of Buddha’s virtues. Recollection of Buddha’s virtues is cultivated by means of a repetitive word or mantra.

The Dhammakaya mantra is “Samma Arahang”. Samma means Right, Highest or Ultimate. It stands for Samma Sambuddho which means the Buddha’s Supreme Right Enlightenment or Supreme Right Wisdom. The word Arahang means the virtue of the Buddha being far away from passion. In other words, it represents perfect purity. Thus, when you repeat the words “Samma Arahang, “Samma Arahang” you are calling Buddha’s wisdom and purity into your mind. This is Buddhanussati or recollection of Lord Buddha’s virtue.

The meditator mentally repeats Samma Arahang while simultaneously visualizing the light object (Aloka-kasina). The recitation helps to make the vision of the sphere bright and clear.

3. Mindfulness of Breathing

Dhammakaya Meditation also combines Mindfulness of Breathing with Visualization of the Light Object and repetition of Samma Arahang. All three techniques are focused at the center of the body.

Those who perform mindfulness of breathing correctly stay mindful of the breath touching a fixed point and visualize it. They do not follow the breathing in and out or up and down. In this way the mind becomes more and more refined and finally stops still. Luang Phor Wat Paknam applied Mindfulness of Breathing to the center of the body to help the mind become concentrated there.

To focus the mind at the center of the body where your breathing ends, concentrate your mindfulness at the center of the light sphere and observe your breathing in and out. Your breath passes through the sphere and you can visualize it. This is mindfulness of breathing or Anapanasati. Do this until you see the sphere clearer and clearer, then forget about the breathing.

Mindfulness of Breathing helps the mind become concentrated more quickly. As the mind concentrates, breathing becomes shallower. The mind becomes more and more refined until it stops still at the center of the body. This is the purpose of Mindfulness of Breathing.

4. The Principle of the Center

The fourth foundation of Dhammakaya Meditation practice is the Principle of the Center. Luang Phor Wat Paknam discovered that the mind naturally resides at the center of the body, two “anguli” (2 middle finger joints) or about two inches (5 centimeters) above the navel. Only when the mind is at rest at the body’s center can one penetrate to the full depths of the Dhamma as it was revealed to Lord Buddha.

Using the three techniques described, the meditator first brings the bright sphere to the center of the body. Then, he or she proceeds to focus again and again at the “center of the center” of concentric spheres as they appear. In this way, the meditator progresses through more and more refined body-minds to Dhammakaya and Nirvana.

This combination of techniques applied at the center of the body can help meditators of all types to solve their problems and achieve rapid success in Samatha meditation. It is especially effective because all three methods are appropriate across a wide range of psychological tendencies (Next: The Path to the Center of the Body).

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