Sarnatha

Insightfrom a meditation tradition

Issue 6 0 Installation of the Buddha Relics at

the Samatha Centre, Summer 2000
 Sarnatha
Published by The Samatha Trust
Issue number 6 Summer 2000

Contents

Contributors
The Last Days of the Buddha 1 Ajahn Brahmavarnso
Paul Dennison
Pictures from Sri Lanka 4 Peter Harvey
Peter Jones
Travelogue to the Four Jhanas 6 UshaMcNab
Valerie Roebuck
Sarah Shaw
The Way of the Meditator 14 Bertie Sisson

The Symbolism of the Stupa 17

mustrations
and technical
Have you seen a Buddha? 20 assistance
Alex Barr
In Awe of my Reflection 23 L & M Callow
Valerie Roebuck

And sometimes ... 26

Editor
Redistribution of Buddha Relics 28 Jackie Callow

Samatha 6
 The Last Days of the Buddha
(from the mahaparinibbanasutta and other sources)

On reaching the village of Kusinara (in the modern-day Gorakhpur district of

Uttar Pradesh). the Buddha realised that his end was fast approaching. He
told Ananda to prepare a couch for him with its head turned towards the north
between two Sal trees. which was to be his last resting place. In reply to a
question of Ananda. the Buddha named four places worthy of pilgrimage after
his death. that would arouse dispassion (saf!lvega): Lumbini. where he was
born; Bodhgaya. where he attained enlightenment; the Deer Park at ISipatana
(modern Sarnath) where he gave his first discourse. Turning the Wheel of the
Law; and Kusinara where he was to pass away.

Ananda attending Buddha's parinibbana, Gal vihara, 12th century AD,

Sri Lanka

When Ananda asked the Buddha how the last rites were to be carried out,
the Buddha replied that they should be the same as for a Universal Monarch
and that a Stupa should be erected in his honour at the junction offour roads.
The Buddha added that four kinds of persons - Buddhas. Pacceka Buddhas.
disciples of the Buddha and Universal Monarchs may be honoured by erecting
stu pas. After consoling Ananda in his grief and praising him to the attendant
Bhikkhus. the Buddha requested that the Mallas of Kusinara be informed of
his impending death. and they came to pay respects to him. Among them was
a mendicant named Subhadda. a 120-year-old Brahmin who had earlier been
turned away by Ananda. When the Buddha overheard this he called Subhadda
to his side. and after instructing him he was admitted to the Sangha. the last
monk to be ordained during the Buddha's lifetime.

Samatha 6
 vv nen me tnlTd quarter of the night approached. the Buddha asked the
assembled monks three times if there were any doubts about the teachings.
The Bhikkhus stood silent. 'Not one. Ananda. has misgivings. All will eventu-
ally reach enlightenment.' The Buddha then uttered his final words. 'Listen.
Bhikkhus, I say this: Subject to decay are all conditioned things; strive with
earnestness' ('Vayadhammii saflkhiirii, appamiidena sampiidetha'). Then the
Buddha entered the first jhana... the second ... the third ... the fourth, in the
realm ofform; followed by the first... the second ... the third ... the fourth. in the
formless realm; and then withdrew into cessation of perception and sensation.
At this pOint Ananda asked the venerable Anuruddha ifthe Buddha had passed
away, and Anuruddha. who had followed the Buddha's stages of jhana. told
Ananda 'Not yet... he has entered into saflfliivedayitanirodhajhiina'. The Bud-
dha then steadily reversed the progress from the ninth level back down to the
first jhana; then ascended again to the second jhana, the third jhana, and to
the fourth jhana, and emerging from that state immediately passed away, in
the last watch of the full moon ofVesakha. The year might have been between
487 and 483 BC, although in the Sri Lankan tradition and other south-eastern
countries it is believed that it was 544-543 BC.
The Great Stopa at Kusiniira before restoration
For the next six days the body was laid in state, after which it was prepared
for cremation according to the procedure reserved for Buddhas and Universal
Monarchs. First wrapped in a layer of new cloth and a layer of corded cotton
Samatha 6 2
wool. this was repeated up to 500 layers. The body was then placed in an iron
container, filled with oil, which was covered and placed inside a second iron
container. This was placed on the funeral pyre and burnt with perfumed woods.
According to the Commentaries and tradition, the Relics that remained after
cremation included some bones still in their proper form - four canine teeth.
parts of the skull and a clavicle - with the remainder, apprOximately four litres.
as, not ashes. but small relics resembling jasmine buds or pearls. or golden
grains of the size oflettuce seeds.
The relics were honoured for seven days by the Malla Kings in Kusinara.
before being divided into eight portions among the eight kingdoms of ancient
northern India, including a portion enshrined in the Great Stupa at Kusinara.
Some of these relics were again subdivided after excavations by King Asoka in
the eighth year of his reign (251 BC). to be distributed and enshrined in (ac-
cording to tradition) 84.000 stu pas and monasteries that he built.
This Ananda, is the way they should treat the remains of the
Tathagata, and whoever shall offer garlands or perfumes or lights,
or make salutations there, or become in its presence calm in
heart; that shall long be to them a profit and joy.'
(Mahaparinibbanasu tta)
3 Samatha 6
 the massive Rock Temple carvings at Polonnaruwa. The monkeys scrambling
Pictures from Sri Lanka allover them. feasting on the food offerings.
The approach to the Temple of the Tooth is lined with stalls selling incense
The trouble with the mosquitoes is that you can't hear them and lotus flowers. There is a slow-moving queue of local families. some chat-
coming! Previous travel in Europe had not prepared meJor the ting. some chanting. but all With offerings. We go through the two full body
silent mosquitoes oj Sri Lanka or Jor the large. colourful stat- searches performed by armed guards. pass the shoe stall and Wind up the
ues oj the Buddha on street corners and roundabouts-but stairs. It takes over an hour to reach the severe looking monks who guard the
there was something comforting in being part of a majority ... Tooth Relic and receive the offerings. The huge piles oflotus flowers on a stone
table are scooped into plastic dustbins at regular intervals and taken away so
These are just a few impressions of a first visit to a Buddhist country. The there is room for offerings yet to come.
monks are everywhere - the airport lounge. standing at the bus stop reading
the paper. in the local cafes. scurrying through Kandy in the rain with their
umbrellas. trekking up to the top ofSigiriya rock fortress. sweeping round the
dagobas. having their photographs taken. A small procession with pipes and
drums Winds along the beach. between the scantily clad tourists. on the way
to bless a house. The monks adjust their dress according to their roles. the
administrators cover both shoulders and carry an umbrella. teachers cover
one shoulder and also carry an umbrella. those in 'social service' cover one
shoulder and carry a palm leafl
The spectacular sights defY description! The gUide books do not prepare
you for the impact of the everyday ritual which is so much part of the culture.
The Dambulla cave temples. humid. thick with mosqUitoes and magical
statues. is momentarily transformed as the hordes of tourists pass through.
leaving two women chanting the offering verses.

Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy

Between the major sights. the plastic flags announce the route from home
to burial or burning ground of a layman (white) or a monk (yellow).
A small shack which is a roadside pottery shop sells cooking pots next to
plaster of Paris rupas ready for home decoration. from the same kind of rubber
moulds which our children use to make Disney characters.
At Columbo airport my last few rupees are spent. not at the local equivalent
ofW.H. Smith. but at 'The Buddhist Bookstall'- a little Dhamma for the long
Buddha's parinibbana, Gal vihara (Rock Temple), Polonnaruwa
flight home.
The New Year's Day offerings - such delicate. intricate patterns of flower
petals arranged With great care in wheels. stupas. coils and stars at the base of

5 Samatha 6
Samatha 6 4
 Travelogue to the Four Jh3nas
The second half oj a talk given by AJahn Brahmavamso during a re-
treat at his monastery in Australia and printed here with his kind per-
mission The first half oj the talk appeared in issue 5 and describes
the experience oj the jhiina Jactors and ojfirst jhiina itself. Ajahn
Brahmavamso, originally Jrom England, practised Samatha medita-
tion many years ago with Nai Boonman.
You find, as you develop these jhanas more and more, that they are very enjoy-
able things to develop. Sometimes people feel that a holy life, a spiritual prac-
tice, should be harsh and severe. If you want to make it harsh and severe
that's up to you, but if you want to go on a happy path, a path of bliss which is
also going to lead to enlightenment at the same time, this is it. Even though
these are very strong pleasures, mental pleasures, the Buddha said that they
are not to be feared. He said this in many places in the Suttas. and there was
one place. in the Digha Nikaya. where he told the monks that if a person devel-
ops these jhanas. makes much of them. is almost attached to them, attached
to their development. then there are four consequences of that attachment to
that development. The word I am translating here as attachment is anuyoga.
Our word 'yoke' comes from this word yoga which means 'tying onto'. Anu
means 'along with' or 'tied along with'. so it literally means 'practiSing fre-
quently'. dOing it again and again and again. which is what some people would
interpret as 'being attached to.'
So there are four results from practisingjhanas in this way: not five results.
not three results. but four results. And those four results of practising jhana
again and again and again are Stream Entry. Once Returner. Non Returner
and Arahat [the four stages of enlightenment]. The Buddha was unequivocal
about this. It does not lead to more attachment to the world, it actually leads
to the enlightenment experiences. to the separation from the world. The way
to develop them is. that as you develop the first jhana more and more, you can
aim towards the higher jhanas. The only way you can aim towards the higher
jhanas is to do it before you enter this whole area ofthe mind we call the jhana
realm. This is because once you are in any jhana. you are stuck there and you
cannot give any orders or any commands; you cannot drive your vehicle once
you are in any of these absorptions. The aiming. the driving. the putting in of
instructions. has to be done beforehand.
It is very difficult to find Similes for this. A very weak simile, but one I've
used before. is that it is like someone charging into a house with four rooms;
the fourth room is way down the back. the third room is just a little bit before
that. the second room a bit before that and the first room is the one just inside
the door. The floors are made out of this very. very slippery ice so you cannot
make any more momentum once you have got in the first door. All your mo-
mentum has to be built up from outside, so you charge the first door and if you
are going very fast. you may be able to slip right through the first room and
into the second room. If you are going really fast you may even get into the
Samatha 6 6
going very. very fast as you charge the front door. you may slip all the way into
the fourth room. But once you are in any of these rooms you cannot add to
your momentum. So the only way you can gain these deeper jhanas is making
sure. before you enter any of these states. that your effort to let go. your re-
solve to abandon. your desire to settle all disturbances. is so strong that you
settle the disturbance of this doing mind and next settle the vitakka-viciira.
this movement of the mind, and settle many other things as well. The mind
settles down. onestage after the other. as it settles down into the jhanas.
~
The second jhana is the first true state of samiidhi, because here you've settled
down that which was a disturbance of the first jhana, which was a wobbling of
the mind; that is, the vitakka-vicara has been abandoned. So now the mind
has the object of bliss firmly unified with it. This state is one of rock-like
samadhi, where there is this one object in the mind, of bliss. and there is no
room in the mind at all. lt is completely one-pointed, stuck, solid as a rock,
and blissed out. so the object is not moving at all, not changing one iota; it is
there one moment after another moment after another moment. Because of
the solidity and stability of that state, the second jhana will last much, much
longer than the first jhana; the deeper the jhana the longer it will last, and you
are usually talking in terms of hours for the secondjhana, simply because it is
a very solid state. Whereas the first jhana can be just for a matter of minutes,
a good second jhana should be quite long-and it is very solid. Once you are in
it there is no way you can get out until the energy of that jhana just uses itself
up. That's the only way, because you cannot form the resolution, "Now's the
time to come out." If someone calls you, you just will not hear them, if some-
one taps you on the shoulder. you will not recognise that, because you are
completely separated from the external world. You are literally right in the
centre of your mind and you cannot be contacted. Again, that second jhana,
once it starts to break up, will break up into what is tantamount to first jhana,
then it will break out into the verbalisation of thought. You come down again.
For those who want to explore these states a lot, there is one important
thing one can do. Rather than just leaving it to the momentum of your energy
to quieten down the energy of samadhi, you can make resolutions before you
enter these states. You need to say to yourself, ''I'll just enter the jhana for half
an hour or for one hour." Because the mind is very refined in these states it
will have power; your suggestion will be like programming a computer and,
once the hour is up, the mind will just come out of the jhanas. I can't say
exactly how it works, but it does. It is the same as the way you can go to sleep
saying, ''I'll wake up at three 0' clock", and you do wake up at three 0' clock, or
five minutes either side, without the use of an alarm clock. The mind. if you
programme it with mindfulness, responds. And so that is a very useful way
and a very good instruction; to use those resolutions so that you do not spend
over long in those states when you have maybe an appointment or some things
you have to do-make a resolution first of all. However, when you are in that
7 Samatha 6
State you cannot make a resolution. you cannot think. you cannot analyse. All
you know is that you are blissed out. you are not quite sure what is happening
and only afterwards you have the opportunity to emerge and then to analyse
and to see what has gone on and why.
If one wishes to go deeper into the jhanas. then at this point one has to
understand that that bliss which in the second jhana is born of samadhi and of
unification of mind. still has an aspect to it which is troublesome to the mind.
and this is pm. PIti is almost like a mental excitement and it can be overcome
if one aims to quieten down. almost to abandon, that bliss of the second jhana.
Again, the resolution or the intention has to be formulated outside of any jhana.
Then, having gone into a first jhana and gone a bit further into the second
jhana, that happiness and bliss. which is attracting the mind, will dissolve and
there will remain another type of bliss, which is the bliss of pure sukha which
is far more refined, more deliCiOUS and that is the object of the third jhana.
Because it is more refined, because it is more deliCiOUS. the mind will be even
more stable and you wonder how it can be possible that these actual states
exist. You think that first jhana is the most blissful thing that can ever occur
in the universe and then you find that there's a deeper bliss.
In the second jhana you think "Wow! This must be the limitl" and then you
find there is a deeper, more profound happiness which is pure sukha. This is
pure happiness without the addition of pIti. Trying to find similes to describe
it is almost impossible. I just have not got the ability to describe a simile for
these states. There is an aspect of happiness that has been removed and
another, more profound aspect, which remains; sukha. And eventually one
wants to abandon even that happiness which remains, and one aims for that
when one gets outside of the jhana. If one has enough resolution, if enough
ability has been built up, enough momentum, then one will go all the way into
a fourth jhana, where the mind is not concerned with such coarse things as
bliss and is fully occupied with equanimity. An unmoving equanimous state.
&1b
These are the stages ofjhana and, as you go into the deeper jhanas, not only do
you usually stay longer, because their stability increases, but also the effect
they have on your mind increases. The deeper jhana you have, the more power,
the more oomph. your mind has afterwards. In particular, as far as gaining
insight experiences is concerned, the first thing I encourage you to do when
you come out of these states, is to look back and analyse, "What was this?"
Analyse it in terms of the Buddha's jhana factors-this is why I am teaching
this-so that it gives you the framework for knowing what has happened, and
then also analyse your own experience deeper. so that you know fully what we
mean by ptti-sukha or Vitakka-Vicara.
Then you've got the framework and you can apply it to your experience and
get to know exactly what was going on: Where were you in your meditation? I
like to make meditation methodical, so you do know where you are gOing, you
do know where you've reached, so you know how to develop this meditation
Samatha 6
8
further. Once you know where you've reached. and if you wish to develop true
insight, the liberating insights. the insights of the stages of enlightenment,
then It's the time to ask the question. "Why?" "What exactly happened to
cause these states?" In particular, "Why is that blissful?" What is the differ-
ence between the bliss which you have experienced and what you experience
next and what you experienced before?
When you investigate bliss, you are also investigating dukkha [suffering].
You are investigating the first Noble Truth. The absence of dukkha is a bliss.
Knowing the absence of one bliss when you get to a higher bliss, is realIsing
that that first bliss is also a form of dukkha. You are seeing an aspect of
reality, of the depth of dukkha, that ordinary people are not privileged to see.
You are understanding how even bliss comes under this word 'dukkha' be-
cause when you let it go there is even higher bliss.
Even getting into a first jhana-the Buddha said that if you can get into a
firstjhana and then look back upon it with insight, that is sufficient to destroy
the defilements, to destroy the iisavas, because what you are looking back on
is the state where you have removed yourself from all sensory activity in the·
five senses. Sometimes people have the idea that what enlightenment means
is being equanimOus to the objects of sensory activity. So if you see a sensory
pleasurable feeling you will just be equanimous to it; if you see a sensory
painful feeling you will just be equanimous to it; if you see a sensory neutral
feeling you will just be equanimOus to it. We think that is letting go. What we
are doing is letting go of the objects ofthe sensory experience. not letting go of
the subject of sensory experience, which is the sensory experiencer itself. We
are still experiencing; we are attached to experience; or. rather, we are at-
tached to experiencing. When we are experiencing. we won't let go of sight, we
won't let go of sound, we won't let go of the other senses. So we will always get
sometimes a happy feeling, sometimes an unhappy feeling. Whether we are
attached to it or not. it is still painful. Whether we are attached to it or not, it
is still happy, depending on which particular feeling it is. The problem has not
been solved at the roots.
As I mentioned in the talk earlier on today, the problem of attachment is not
what you are attaching to. it is what is doing the attaching. If the problem was
what you are attaching to then, when you let go of this object, it should be
finished with. Instead you find yourself letting go of one object and then you
hold onto another object. Then you let go of that object and you are holding
onto another object, and mindfulness will never be quick enough. will never be
able to stop you letting go of any object. Once you have got a hand, then you
will hold onto things. The problem is not clenching the fingers, the problem is
having a hand in the first place.
This you realise though reflection on something like a first jhana. There
you have no sensory activity-no sight. sound, smell, taste or touch; it's gone.
There is the end of an attachment. Not as a theory but as an experience; the
end of an attachment being bliss. Not as a theory; you are exPeriencing bliss.
This is what it's like having given up sight, sound smell, taste, touch. Basi-
cally, those five senses are what constitute your body, that's what a body is for.
9 Samatha 6
A body is just to house these five senses and all the activity of this body is to
keep these five senses going. That's why death becomes an ending to the five
senses, the five senses become inactive. That's what we call death. However,
it's not so much the body dying as the five senses which are dying. That's why
we try to preserve the body, just so we can preserve the five senses. The
attachment is not so much to muscle and to bones, the attachment is more to
experience, to sensory experience. We want to experience our sense of being
and it's tied with a sense of experience. A being is that which is sensitive to the
world. A being isn't something which has a body; a rock has a body, a brick
has a body, but it's not sensitive. It's these five senses which are what we call
the attachment to the body. It's these five senses which define our death ofthe
physical body and we have to get beyond that by learning how these five senses
can be let go of, even while this body is still alive, while the blood is still flowing
through, while it's still warm. We let go ofthese five senses and we realise, this
is bliss! Why are we always holding onto these five senses? Why do we culti-
vate them? Why are we so concerned with them? Because we don't realise
that letting go of them is bliss.
This is one of the great insights which can come as a result of a jhana:
seeing a dhamma which is very hard to see. Only when we have that perspec-
tive can we fully see it. fully see that these five senses are nothing to do with
ourselves. They are non-self, they are impermanent. They are not imperma-
nent because one moment they arise and then they pass away again, then they
arise and then they pass away again quickly, one thing arising and then the
other passing away. That still gives the impression of continuity. This is
ariSing and passing away, and they stay passed away for an hour or two. That's
really what we call impermanence. Really gone. They will come up again
afterwards but they are gone for a long time .. That really shows their insub-
stantiality. They can disappear and if they can disappear for an hour, then
they can disappear for an eternity.
~
This gives us a very deep understanding of impermanence. This gives us a
deeper understanding of dukkha, of all the suffering in the world. One of my
favourite sayings of the Buddha is that, only because we haven't thoroughly
understood dukkha do we keep on getting reborn. Because we haven't fully
understood the Four Noble Truths. Do you understand the Four Noble Truths?
Anyone can recite the Four Noble Truths but what is it that we don't under-
stand about it, that makes us not enlightened beings? When the Buddha said
things like that, I always take what the Buddha said seriously and ponder it in
depth. The Buddha said it's through not seeing fully the Four Noble Truths
that you monks over there aren't enlightened. And I say, "I know the Four
Noble Truths." It's the word 'fully' that we should really dwell upon: not fully
understanding the Four Noble Truths, not fully understanding dukkha. Be-
cause when we look at dukkha, the truth of suffering, there is an area which
we call our blind spot, which we don't apply the name 'Dukkha' to. Part of our
Samatha 6 10
experience which we take to be a self, which mindfulness has not seen, which
mindfulness will not see, refuses to go even close to that area and we cannot
see a blind spot. That's why it's called a blind spot.
I can give you a simile. It's about Ajahn Anando--he visited here a few
times, he's dead now-he was a US Marine in Vietnam and got shot in the back
of the head. That is how he got out of the army and actually it knocked a bit
of sense into him and he eventually became a monk instead of a tough marine!
When I knew him in his later years it was really hard to equate this really soft
and kind monk with a US marine. He had been a delinquent in the United
States, and that's what delinquents used to do; join the Marines to get tougher.
He volunteered to go to Vietnam and to fight. Anyway, because ofthe injury to
the back of his head, he had a blind spot to his vision. And it was only months
after he was released from hospital that he realised he had a blind spot.
He described it to me:- he was playing baseball and somebody hit the ball
high into the air. He went to catch it and he was following it with his eye and
then suddenly it just disappeared. The ball vanished and then, a few seconds
later, it appeared again. That's what a blind spot is like. The mind had
actually filled up this black hole and made it sky, or whatever. That's how
blind spots work. You don't see them as blackness. lfit's blind, you are blind
to its very existence.
It's a very beautiful analogy for avy;a, or ignorance, or illusion. While we
are ignorant, there is no way in the world we will know we are ignorant. It's
only afterwards that we know, "Ah! I was ignorant", that there was illusion.
At the time we cannot know it. There is an area of our experience we call our
blind spot. We don't know that area even exists at the moment. Mindfulness
hasn't even gone close to it. That's the area where the defilements live. That's
where one hasn't applied dukkha to. That is what one is attached to. That is
what keeps one in saIhsara. That, one takes to be oneself. The blind spot.
~
Doing something like jhana meditation uncovers that blind spot. When you've
got rid of the five senses, you've got a completely different experience, a per-
spective which is so powerful. I'm talking non-sensory experience: experienc-
ing the experiencer, the one who knows, the one who receives all this informa-
tion. I took that to be beyond dukkha, beyond suffering. Therefore I was at-
tached to it. I was attached to experience itself. Or to the experiencer. I want
to be, I want to feel, I want to see, I want to think, I want to cognise. These are
the blind spots and the only way you can get close to this is by doing some-
thing like these jhanas. Suddenly, the experience comes ofthe sensory expe-
rience disappearing and all you are left with is mental experience. Again, you
cannot imagine what the non-sensory experience is like. It is completely dif-
ferent experience to what you've ever known before. A jhana is like that. The
deeper the jhanas the more weird they become. They are weird in the sense
that they are very different from ordinary experience. They are blissful but they
are very different. And it is because of that difference-you are starting to
.~nrnnthn R.
II
 explore a part of the universe which you never knew before--and it's a part of
the universe which will inform you, which will leave you with a wisdom which
you never knew before. If you use those jhanas wisely, and don't just bliss out
on the pleasure ofthem, but also analyse them with insight, then these are the
insights which you will come up with. It will blow away your blind spots and ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
quite naturally, whether you like it or not, you will become one ofthe enlight- •
•• •••
ened ones. The Buddha often said that the cause of seeing things as they truly
• •
are is samadhi; deep samadhi sees things deeply, the way they are. And whether
• •
you like it or not, the whole process starts to happen: boom, boom, boom, • •
• •
seeing things as they truly are, with dispassion.
• •
The idea arises: "Why was I doing all this craving in the first place?" "What •• •
a stupid person I've been for lifetimes." And you let go. Letting go is not done
•• •••
from yourself, as an act of will. because you think it is good for you. Letting go
••
is done as a natural, unavoidable consequence of seeing the dhamma. You
don't do it, the Dhamma does it. Enlightenment happens not because you ••• ••
decide you want to become enlightened, or you don't want to become enlight- •• •
ened. You haven't got a choice in this matter. This is a natural process, a •• ••
natural consequence, unavoidable, you haven't got a say in the matter.
•• ••
So this is one ofthe most powerful consequences of developingjhanas. This
is why if, haVing emerged from ajhana, you use the resulting mind to contem- •• ••
plate in this way, you can contemplate without hindrances. The mind is strong •• ••
and powerful because these five hindrances-sensory desire, ill-will, restless- ••
ness and worry, sloth and torpor and doubt-have been eradicated, knocked ••• •
out and they stay unconscious, as it were, for many hours. Every time you go
•• ••
into a bliss state you come up afterwards and your mind is cleaned, tuned up,
empowered. Whatever you look at, if you go out and look at the flowers, just •• ••
the flowers are amazing. Just one little flower and there's so much going on in •• ~ ••
there. In the old terms of the hippies, your mind gets blown apart just by one
•• ••
flower. Because the mind is that sensitive, that strong, that penetrating. And
•• •
you will know that, after a good meditation, you experience that. You go out- ••
side and sometimes you just get stuck on a flower, maybe for an hour, just •• ••
watching it, blissed out on its beauty. You can't do that with an ordinary mind.
An ordinary mind is too restless. It sees that that's a nice flower, and then it •• ••
goes on to something else. It never truly sees deeply into something. And •• ••
that's just looking at a flower. You can get high just looking at a flower with •• ••
such a mind. But you don't get enlightened. If you are one who is aiming at
enlightenment, if you are interested in the truth, the dhamma, the nature of •• ••
reality, then that's where your mind will incline to: you'll look, you'll analyse, •• ••
you'll penetrate and you'll discover. Because the mind has the power. •• •
This is the way that not just monks and nuns but lay people in the past ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
have uncovered the dhamma and become enlightened beings, Stream Enterers,
Once Returners, Non-Returners, Arahats. So this is why I like to teach jhanas,
to see if we can get some more enlightened people in the world. So there you
are. That's how it's done. Van Phradhatu (relics yan)

C" _ _ _ .LL _~ ,.,.

l'l
Sarnatha 6 12

The Way of the Meditator
MaitrI Upani~ad VI.24-29 (trans. Valerie J. Roebuck)
This allegorical account ofthe meditator's path comes from the Maitri Upani~d, a Hindu
text dating probably from the early centuries AD. This text, which here and there shows
traces of Buddhist intluence. is important within Hinduism as a source for teachings on
meditation and yoga. Here liberation is viewed as the union of the self (atman) of the
meditator with the supreme reality (brahman). The meditation practice envisaged is one
based on the use of mantra, particularly the sacred syllable O~
disease. Then one is like a heated pot. Just as a heated pot blazes up through
contact with melted butter. grass or sticks. the one who is called 'not-breath'
blazes up through contact with breath. That which blazes up is the form of
Brahma, Vi~I.lU'S highest step, the Rudra-ness ofRudra.' Divided up into count-
less parts it fills the worlds." Someone has said:
"Just like sparks from fire
Come rays from the sun,
And so too do breaths etc.
Come forth in order here."

Elsewhere it has been said: "The body is the bow; OM is the arrow; the mind is Elsewhere it has been said: "This is the brightness of brahman, the supreme
its point. By piercing the target of darkness one comes to the darkness which immortal. the bodiless. The warmth ofthe body is its ghee. It is set. visible, in
is pervaded by non-darkness. Then by piercing that which is pervaded, one space: they dispel the space within the heart with one-pointed mind so that its
has seen the supreme brahman, blazing like a Circle oftorch-light; the colour light strikes them, as it were. Then one quickly attains the state of that," just
of the sun, powerful, beyond the darkness. That which is in the sun shines as a lump of iron placed in the earth quickly attains the condition of earth.
also in the moon, in fire and in lightning. By seeing it, one becomes immortal." Just as fire, blacksmiths and so on have no power over a lump of iron that is in
Someone has said: the clay-like state. thought perishes along with its support.''';
"The meditation on the supreme entity2 within Someone has said:
Is placed on the objects of sense, "The treasury formed of the space in the heart,
So the knowledge that is without distinction Joy, the supreme abode ...
Becomes subject to distinction. 3 It is itself,7 and our yoga
And the splendour of fire and the sun."
"The joy that is witnessed by the self
When the mind is dissolved Elsewhere it has been said: "When one has gone beyond the elements, senses
Is brahman, the immortal, the pure: and objects, then one seizes the bow whose string is the renouncer's life and
It is the bourne, it is the world." whose stave is steadfastness, and with an arrow made of freedom from conceit
one strikes down the primal door-keeper of brahman. (That overseer of con-
Elsewhere it has been said: "When one's senses are hidden as if by sleep, then, ceit, who has confusion as his crown, craving and envy as his earrings, and
unmastered, with completely pure mind one sees, as if in a dream, in a gap in sloth, drunkenness and impurity as his staff of office, seizes the bow whose
the senses, the one who leads on out who is called the OM, in the form of light, string is anger and whose stave is greed, and kills beings with an arrow made
free from sleep, free from old age, free from death, and free from sorrow. Then of wanting.) After killing him. one crosses to the farther shore of the space
one also becomes one who leads on out who is called OM, in the form of light, within the heart on the boat of the OM·
free from sleep, free from old age, free from death, and free from sorrow." Some- .. "Then, as the space within becomes Visible, slowly, as a miner in search
one has said: of minerals enters a mine, one should enter the hall of brahman. Then by the
"Since one joins or unites (yuj-) guru's instruction one should throw off the sheath of brahman with its four
In many ways layers of net." Then pure, cleansed, void. at peace, without breath, selfless,
Breath and OM and all, without end, indestructible, steadfast, eternal, unborn, independent, one rests
It is known as yoga. in one's own greatness. Then, seeing the one who rests in his own greatness.
one looks upon the wheel of sarpsara as a wheel that rolls on:'
"Since it is the oneness of breath and mind Someone has said:
And senses too,
The renunciation of all becoming "For the embodied one who has practised for six months,
Is named yoga." Eternally freed,
The endless supreme secret.
Elsewhere it has been said: "Just as a bird catcher draws up the water-fowl The right yoga, moves on:
with a device made of net, and offers them in the fire that is his belly, so one
draws up the breaths with the OM and offers them in a fire that is free from

15 Snmnthn fl
Samntha 6 14
 r
But never for the embodied one The Symbolism of the Stopa
Who is all ablaze.
Pierced by passion and darkness.
Attached to children. wife and family." The Stiipa (Pall Thiipa). also known by such terms as Pagoda, Dagoba. Cetiya.
Chedi and Chorten, probably derives from pre-Buddhist burial-mounds for
By the practice of yoga one achieves contentment, endurance ofthe pairs." and Kings and Heroes. known in a variety of cultures. In Buddhism the most
peacefulness. "One should not make known this supreme secret to one who is important function of a Stiipa is to act as a container for relics: remains of the
not a son. not a student, or not at peace": so one should give it to one who is physical body of Gotama Buddha. Arahats, or past Buddhas, or portions of
devoted to nothing else. who is endowed with all virtues. their possessions, such as bowls. These act as reminders of these great be-
ings, but more importantly are seen to radiate a beneficent influence that they
OM· One should be in a clean place. clean. resting in purity. studying truth. previously absorbed from them. The Burmese see the relics as the 'heart' of a
Stiipa, and some ancient texts speak ofthem as like 'seeds' inside the dome as
speaking truth. meditating on truth. sacrificing to truth. Then one finds
fulfilment in the true brahman. that delights in truth. Having become other.
~ an anda or 'egg', suggesting a process of spiritual growth for those who revere
and cut what binds one to the fruits of that!O one lives free from expectation i) what a Stiipa contains and symbolises.
towards others as to oneself. freed from fear, without desire, having attained Below the dome. there are usually several platforms which elevate the dome
indestructible, measureless joy. This is the ultimate digging up ofthe supreme into a place of honour. Sometimes there are four gateways surrounding the
treasure-freedom from desire. Stiipa, or staircases up the sides of its square base, indicating the open and
inviting nature of the Dhamma. The key way to express devotion at a Stiipa is
to circumambulate it in a clockwise direction, so as to keep it to one's right,
Notes
just as people used to honour the Buddha by keeping him on their right side
I.. The illusory circle of light fonned by whirling a torch.
2. The self (atman). viewed as pennanent and divine.
when taking leave of him. Such circumambulation expresses the idea that
3. As the attention moves out from the centre and is caught up in the external world. what one walks around represents something that is at the centre of one's life.
4. Brahma, Vi~~u and Rudf"d (Siva) are the three supreme aspects of the divine in Hinduism. The dome, sometimes known as the kumbha or 'pot'. is a key feature of a
5. I.e. the light. Stiipa: it is the outermost container of the relics within, which may be con-
6. And sense-desires etc. have no power over it. tained in a series of precious caskets deep in the dome. The 'pot' also symbolises
7. Or our self/ourselves. the relics, as pots are fragile, just like human bodies. It also connects to the
8. Higher realms thought of as coming between us and the supreme reality, identified in this text 'vase of plenty' symbol. to suggests a container full of life-enhancing Dhamma.
with the heavens of Sun, Moon, Fire and Purity (the original state of mind and matter).
The Dhamma is also alluded to by the Circular form of the dome (from above),
9. Of opposites: pleasure and pain, praise and blame etc.
10. (Probably) right and wrong action.
whose internal architecture sometimes suggests a Dhamma-wheel. The circu-
lar form can also suggest a Circular lotus-blossom medallion; and lotus de-
(Published by kind permission of Penguin Books India and Penguin UK.)
} signs are often seen on domes, and the Burmese see the whole Stupa as shaped
like a lotus-bud. The dome also symbolises Mount Meru, home of many ofthe
) gods, with the human world at its base.
Above the dome is the spire, which originally conSisted of a series of sepa-
rate rings on a pole above a small structure known as a harmika or 'top-enclo-
sure', like a cool chamber on top of a house. The rings were seen as parasols,
long used as symbols of royalty. and the multiplication of parasol discs were
seen as appropriate to the Buddha as supreme Dhamma-King. The pole and
discs, and the parasols as royal symbols, also suggest a tree, and so the spire
of a Stiipa can be seen to link to the Buddhist sacred tree, the Bodhi tree. In
fact early harmikas were sometimes like structures surrounding the base of
Bodhi-tree shrines, and metal pieces shaped like Bodhi leaves sometimes hang
from the top of a Stiipa's spire.
Within the centre of the dome itself, early Stiipas also had a wooden or
stone axis-pole, which ran to the base of the parasol pole. This axis was oc-
tagonal in shape, like the sacrificial pole (yiipa) used at the site of Brahmanical

Samatha 6 16 17 Samatha 6
 sacrifices. and the term for the axis was in fact yupa. This was probably be-
cause early StUpas were sometImes bullt on sites previously used by Brahmins
as sacred sItes. The StUpa's yupa came to be seen as symboliSing the many
'sacrifices' on the Buddhist path, such as generosity, non-violence. mental
;~'I
calming and letting go. It also suggests the Inda~khila or 'Indra's stake': which
in pre-Buddhist Vedic mythology was the stake by which the god Indra (the
Buddhist Sakka) staked the earth down, to ensure its stability. It also became
the term for huge gateposts, such as the city pillars of Bangkok. and a general
symbol for firm stability. An Arahal. for example. is said to have a 'mind like
an Indra's stake': immovable and beyond suffering. So the axis of a Stupa
symbolises the Dhamma as a path of ennobling sacrifices, and the immovable
mind of a Buddha or Arahal. one with a mind full of Dhamma.
The various symbols incorporated into the Stupa unite in an overall spiri-
!7.,'::,
tual statement. The whole symbolises the enlightened mind of a Buddha - the
spire as the Bodhi-tree of Awakening standing out above the dome, the world
of gods and humans. The symbolism shows that the awakened mind arises
from within the world by a process of spiritual growth as represented by the·
dome as lotus symbol. on a firm base of the practice of Dhamma, represented
by the dome as Dhamma-wheel. This Dhamma, as the axis, is also the path
which leads up out of the world of humans and gods to awakening - repre-
sented by the spire. A personality, the dome as 'pot', full of such Dhamma is
worthy of reverence and has an unshakeable mind - represented by the axis as
Indra's stake, and the pole within the spire as its extension. In brief, the StUpa
symbolises the Dhamma and the transformations it brings to the person who
;.:;, practices it, culminating in Awakening.
At an early date, the various layers of a Stupa's structure came to be explic-
itly seen as symbolising specific aspects ofthe path and the Buddha's nature:
the layers from the bottom up to the base of the spire represent the various
sets making up the 37 factors of awakening, from the four foundations of mind-
fulness to the ennobling Eightfold Path; the spire symbolises the special
knowledges and powers of a Buddha, which were together sometimes seen as
the Dhammalciiya or Dhamma body of a Buddha, which remains for others to
develop even after the death of a particular Buddha.
Overall, the Stupa is a container ofthe precious physical relics of an Awak-
ened One, which allow a devotee to draw on the uplifting power of one who fully
embodied the uplifting power of Dhamma. It also symbolises the various as-
pects of Dhamma as the spiritual body of a Buddha, one who has 'become
Dhamma' and has 'Dhamma as body':
'He who sees Dhamma sees me; he who sees me sees Dhamma', said the Bud-
dha.

Stupas at Ayuttaya. Thailand
(If you wish to follow up any of the above, see P. Harvey, 'The Symbolism of the Early
Stupa', Journal oJ the International Association oj Buddhist Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, 1984,
pp. 67-93; the same material is also included in P. Harvey, 'Venerated Objects and
Symbols of Early Buddhism', in Symbols in Art and Religion. ed. Karel Werner, Curzon
Press, London, 1990, pp. 68-102.)

Samatha 6 18 19 Samatha 6

'Have you seen a Buddha?'
King Milinda wondered how Venerable Niigasena knew there was a
Buddha, if he had never seen him. Venerable Niigasena explained
that he believed there was a Buddha through knowing the articles
enjoyed by him: thefour foundations of mindfUlness, thefour efforts,
the four bases of psychic power, the five cardinaljaculties, the five
powers, the sevenfactors of awakening and the Ariyan Eightfold Path
- 'thus we know that there was a Buddha '.1 He compared the Buddha
to an architect who designed a city, to which we can still go ...
Grand pillars protect the four directions: beryl in the east. ruby in the west.
gold in the north and silver in the south. We stand at the foot of one of these
pillars looking inward and see hills and valleys. Further inward there is some
level ground on which shines the city of Dhamma. We walk towards it.
The encircling walls are well made of sUa. even and upright. protecting the
city within. In the outer surroundings dwell beings who focus on developing
good conduct through working with the precepts. Next we cross over the moats
which shine in the light. We gaze into the water and see clear reflections of
ourselves within, and where we stand with regard to hiri and ottappa (humility
and conscience. the two guardians of our inner world). An attitude of care and
deep reflection awakens us as we fully face ourselves.
We come then to the ramparts around the city gates. and need a password.
from the well of knowledge of dhamma, to enter the gates. Ifwe don't know ithe
password. we may search through reading, meditating and investigating until
we find it. There are others. also searching. who may be able to give a hand. or
we may wish to join and help each other.
Entering the city gates is only the first step. We need renewed effort and a
different kind of energy now. We ascend to the watchtowers to see what needs
to be developed by surveying the outer layers of sUa. hiri. ottappa and knowl-
edge, and also the inner goal of entering the palace of wisdom. By determining
kusala (skill) from akusala (unskill). what to let go of. what to cultivate and
what to maintain accordingly. we realise how to continue.
Alighting from the watchtowers we face a glorious palace supported by 108
magnificent pillars, all with detailed carvings as shown by the architect. It is
awesome in its perfection! The knowledge gained combines with right effort to
shape pillars of confidence which guide and encourage us to move on. Going
through the archways of the encircling pillars. with firm support and strength
within. we reach the inner doors of mindfulness. Here the doorkeepers permit
us to enter the palace of wisdom on condition that the intent of mindfulness is
carried with us throughout.
This palace is like a city in itself where many different kinds of beings abide.
The crossroads have pavilions for sutta recitations and for investigation of
dhamma through listening and working with others on similar quests. There
are also meeting places of four roads where abhidhamma flourishes. to en-
hance our investigation through exploring the detailed relationships of mind
Samatha 6 20
and mental factors, the body and nibbiina.
Now we come to the well-laid gardens of the palace. where the architect has
kindly designed a space for dhamma -farers to recollect their journey so far into
this marvelous city. It's time to measure ourselves by casting our minds right
back to that first support of sila as we entered the city and. when ready. we
may go to the centre of the garden and into the law court created for this.
From time to time everyone needs to weigh up the ground they stand on. Ifwe
are not tipped off the scale. we may then walk along the streets ofthe palace to
go deeper into the heart of the city. However. the sole means of transport
allowed is the vehicle of mindfulness!
We need to proceed vigilantly with care for ourselves and others. There are
many kinds of beings and also several different kinds of shops. each with its
goods displayed to lure us in. The price of transactions in each shop depends
on the type of goods sold.
We see the beautiful colours of many flowers in the flower shop which en-
capsulate objects of support for meditation pointed out by the Buddha. There
are flowers for perception of anicca. anattii. dukkha and non-attachment. to
help us relinquish unnecessary baggage accumulated in the world. Some carry
the object of impermanence of saTikhiiras which opens our awareness of vari-
ous forms of disintegration in the way that the flowers fade. There are also
flowers to take us to the realms of divine abiding (loving kindness. compassion.
sympathetic joy and equanimity). and to help us develop fully through mind-
fulness of breathing. The price for transactions is to know which hindrances
we really want to give up to gain the flowers which will help to purifY our
perceptions. and then to be willing to make the exchange wholeheartedly. How
many do we want to give up at anyone time? How seriOUS are we about it? We
can take our pick!
We might follow the call of the perfume shop if our noses lead us there. and
be anointed with many different kinds of perfumes. Again. we must decide
which ones we need: the sila of going for refuge; or the five. eight or ten pre-
cepts; or the full anointment of the patimokha. to make us fragrant in the
world. In exchange for whichever sUa we are willing to cultivate. we will be
bestowed with the appropriate perfume. As we live by that sila. its fragrance
gradually suffuses the world around us. We will be able to stand firm within it.
because the perfume of a good person goes against the defilements ofthe world.
The next shop beckons us to taste the best of fruits - of stream-attain-
ment. once-return. non-return and arahatship. But to enter this shop we
need to recollect why we started the practice. what our aim is now - what we
want out of our practice and life! If we want to taste these fruits. we must
resolve to develop our practice appropriately and live by it. The more we fulfill
this resolution the stronger is the nourishment of the fruit.
Round the next corner is the shop of antidotes. When we approach this
shop we go through a scanner which highlights the poisons of defilements
within. The payment is a wish to give up these defilements of craving. fear.
ignorance and indolence - to exchange them for true mirrors which reflect the
truths of dukkha. its arising. its ending and the path leading to that.
Samatha 6
21
 The medicine shop displays goods which help to purge us of unsuitable In Awe of my Reflection
addictions. Here we need strong resolution to take the powerful medicine
which can cause us to throw up wrong aspiration, wrong views, wrong speech, They think they are better than me.
wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness and wrong
concentration. We may also take an emetic to vomit up all attachment, aver- They think they are worse than me.
sion, confusion, pride, false views, doubt, conceit, shamelessness and any other They think they are the same as me.
unskillful qualities. In return we acquire some or all of the 37 bodhlpakkhiya- TWs is my conceit.
dhammas.
By now, iffeeling overwhelmed or tired, the next shop is for us! Stepping in
we take a fresh look at our bodies; we may stretch, exercise, walk around, I think I am better than them.
practice different postures, dance or do whatever we wish with refreshing en- I think I am worse than them.
joyment. The price to pay is total body-mindfulness. If anything is under-
taken without mindfulness, our body and mind will suffer. However, ifwe can I think I am the same as them.
maintain mindfulness, we are sprinkled with nectar, a deeply nourishing expe- TWs is my conceit.
rience, deliciously cool and refreshing.
Emerging from the nectar shop, we are dazzled by a display of gifts in the
Buddha's jewel shop. Depending on what we are willing to offer up and to I am in this life and beyond.
strive for, we may receive a gift or have a suitable jewel or gem, to adorn our- I am in this life but not beyond.
selves with. There are the three jewels - Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha - to This is my conceit.
which we may pay homage whenever we wish. Then, there is gold and silver
and pearls, and seven gems - mother-of-pearl, quartz, coral, ruby, cat's-eye,
lapis lazuli and diamond - which are the jewels of sila, samiidhi, pafifiii (intui- I am not in this life but I am beyond.
tive wisdom), vimutti (freedom), vimutti-fiii~dassana (knowledge and vision of I am not in this life nor beyond.
freedom developed through reviewing attainments and deillements, until no
deillements remain), pa!isambidhii (analytical wisdom of apt use of language This Is my conceit.
and meaning, insight and clarity, to elucidate Dhamma), and boJlhanga (the
enlightenment-factors). Have I got your attention now.
And finally there is the all-purpose store - the general shop ofthe Buddha.
Here we can find the beauty of perfect speech ofthe Buddha, the shrine for his Have I got your attention now.
relics, the lineage of Sangha. It stocks all the highest kinds of bliss: of birth, (This Is my conceit)
wealth, long life, good health, beauty, wisdom, the paths and fruits and nibiinna. I am in awe of my reflection.
The price to attain any of these is joyful perseverance and commitment, whether
our journey is difficult or easy, our progress slow or quick. During our journey me.
in this city, we may meet many different kinds of beings: generals, priests,
judges, monks, guardians of Dhamma, shop-keepers, watchmen, sellers of
Dhamma and merchants of Dhamma. We may also meet drunkards, addicted
to Dhamma, partaking only of the juice of the talk without absorbing the gOOd-
ness. Beware! Seek only the company of those going along the good way in
this wondrous city of Dhamma. If you succeed in finding these articles of
Dhamma, you will see the Buddha. For the Buddha has said: 'He who sees
Dhamma, sees me'.

1. MUinda's QuestiOns Vol. 2, p.170.

Samatha 6
23
Samatha 6 22
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Samatha 6
24 Samatha 6
25
 wake up a sense of music in the distance. but not so near the tunes intrude.
And sometimes a thousand twangling instruments There's something about a far-off jig that is definitely conduCive to practice!
The quote in the
played around my ears ... title comes from the
Shakespeare play
I wonder why it is you feel an odd affection for the distractions you have had at The Tempest. where
Samatha classes? the monster
The kind I mean are not the internal ones. but those beginners' classes Caliban. "on whose
when you don't really know anyone there. are still thinking it is rather a strange nature nurture can
practice you are doing. cannot get your legs comfortable. but are just begin- never stick" mo-
ning to get settled... could it be there is something about this meditation after mentarily forgets
all? Was that a moment of mindfulness. of real quiet? And then it starts ... the brutality and
Very loud Boogie. badly played in the university meeting room next door... baseness of his
These distractions recalled years later elicit in us all a kind of rueful com- existence to de-
passion. an amused recollection ofthe hard work, the decided lack of calm you scribe the glories of
felt then... So is it sentimental nostalgia to consider their different forms? I his magical island.
don't think so - while it is most obvious when you are a beginners class, the Prospero. the
phenomenon is very noticeable at any kind of meeting. and oddly. noticing it master magician
often seems to come at a particular time of inner qUiet! And much more who also lives upon
interesting to think about distractions outside than the boring ones inside! the island con-
Anyway, various distractions reported by people practising samatha are: fronts something
Jazz bands about himself and
Debates human nature
Church bells ringing when he is faced
Drunks ringing the doorbell with this recalci-
A hell-fire sermon being preached in the next room. promising destruction trant monster -
and brimstone for sinners who do not repent surely the embodi-
Beautiful chamber music ment of all hin-
Islamic prayer music drances known to
A Women's Institute talk on "Some winetaSting tips for everyone" man or beast! First
he concedes "that
Buddhist texts point out the problems of being somewhere where there is this thing of dark-
too much noise; that sounds are a major impediment to the practice. that you ness I acknowledge
should go to an "empty place" like the entrance of a cave. or the root of a tree or mine". and then he willingly "burn[s] his book": he throws away the magical
a Wilderness. But while it is undoubtedly true that peace around helps us to manual that has lent him supernatural powers to start afresh.
find peace inside. it was also the case. then as now I suspect, that outside Anyway. poor old Caliban seemed to me rather an apt metaphor for the part
noises could come at any time. For once you'd found your wilderness or cave of the mind that we have to acknowledge ours when we practise... and Prospero.
or wherever. I'm sure loud mosquitoes would buzz around your nose or that willing to see any situation in a new light. is the very best kind of samatha
you'd sit with eyes shut wondering what kind of wild beast had just padded up meditator! Perhaps this contradiction is what we smile at when we remember
to you and was probably now eyeing you with great suspicion or interest... the outside "music" that accompanies our attempts to control an unwieldy
noise is everywhere! body into its reluctant posture. and to find some stillness within the experi-
There is also a peculiar poetic aptness about the particular kind of external
noise you get. The hellfire sermon I noticed seemed to come up at a time when ence of the breath.
So this brings us back to the original question ... why is it one has this odd
we were a bit sleepy and laid back. and so was quite rousing. Churchbells. affection for these outside noises. that oddly mirror our mental tunemaking'?
though. seemed to come at a time of active quiet and were very helpful to the Actually I think it is to do with the Fourth Noble Truth. of the path that awakes
practice. like a multi-layered background in the area of sound. The worst in us a different kind ofllstening. a centring in oneself which is also a balanc-
distraction is definitely the most engaging. like a pop tune you want to hum ing in the area of sound ... perhaps compassion for the noises and strange
and can't get out of your head. The Irish jig music from our neighbours at the music our minds can make to pass the time?
Manchester Centre I think is pitched usually just right - just far enough to

samatha 6
27
Samatha 6 26
 Redistribution of Buddha Relics
Bangkok, 2000
Mter arriving in India on pilgrimage in 1891, accompanied by Anagarika
Dharmapala, the Burmese monk Chandramani settled in Kusinara, the site of
the Buddha's cremation 2500 years ago, and in 1902-04 took part in excava-
tions of the anCient Chedi during which relics of the Buddha were discovered,
With the help of the Government of India he initiated restoration works in
1927, His Successor Bhaddanta Gyaneshwar, the present monk in charge of
the Burmese Vihara at Kusinara. is involved in further works on the site. When
it was found that the Kusinaran relics had 'multiplied' (historically many re-
markable events have been noted in connection With relics of the Buddha.
including their spontaneous multiplication!). Bhikkhu Gyaneshwar arranged
in March 2000 for a portion of the multiplied relics to be entrusted to the Thai
Sangha for redistribution,
Preparations were made for the distribution to take place over 3 days from
29 April to I May 2000 at Wat Phra Ram Gao (Rama 9 temple Bangkok), The
organising group comprised the Rama 9 monks (including Tan Suvit, well-
known to many Samatha members). the Rama 9 Lay Buddhist Association,
and representatives of the Royal Palace. Our own organisation was repre-
sented at the ceremonies by Paul Dennison, Chairman of the Samatha Trust.
and Nai Boonman,
throughout by the repeated chanting ofthe lti pi so ... again and again by
the large gathering of monks and lay people in the Sala Hall. As a back-
ground to this were the strange and haunting sounds of horns, drum, conch
and gong from a group of Brahmin musicians, a traditional accompaniment
to Royal ceremonies to call the Devas to witness.
Later in the day, someone with an eye for detail commented on the auspi·
cious happening that the Iti pi so ... had been recited 45 times during the
division, the number of years the Buddha taught from his enlightenment to his
death.
Day 2: procession of relics
On the morning of 30 April after again taking the refuges and precepts. the
relics were taken in procession from the Sala Hall of Rama 9 temple to the
Uposatha Hall (the main heart of the temple. consecrated for ordinations and
other Sangha kamma), Over 200 officers from the Royal Thai Naval School, in
full dress uniform. acted as guards of honour to the relics: each miniature
Chedi was carried by an officer. with 2 other officers. one on each side, carry-
ing gold and silver 'disciple' or phum chedis. The whole very impressive proces-
sion was led by the monks. followed by a rather exuberant pupil's brass band
from the Badindecha School, ahead of the relics carried by the naval officers,
and behind that a large number oflay visitors, On approaching the Uposatha
Hall the procession Circumambulated the Hall 3 times before entering,

Day 1: division of relics

The day started at 8,00 am with a large number of lay people, mostly local
and all wearing white, taking the 8 precepts for the duration of the ceremo-
nies, The diviSion proper started at the auspicious time of 9,19 am and was
led by the Abbot, Phra Raj Sumonmuni. With the liberal use of a large
magnifYing glass", " . . "
and USing a pure ,.!IL1'~..··.
gold tweezers and .
spatula specially
made for the
occasion, the tiny
Kusinaran relics
were divided into
groups of nine
which were
placed in minia-
ture Chedis. This
eye-achingly slow
and delicate
process took over
2 hours and was The relics Chedis were displayed in the Uposatha Hall for the rest of the day
accompanied to allow visitors to come and pay their respects. In the evening there was chanting
and a dhamma talk on 'The Power oj Relics' followed by meditation,

Samatha 6
28
29 Samatha 6

Day 3: distribution of the relics
The day again started with refuges. precepts and chanting and visitors. now
arriving in large numbers from all over Thailand. were able to pay respect to
the relics during the morning. At 11.00 am the monks were offered their meal
followed by a group meal in the open air for all present. with 'picnics' scattered
allover the grounds.
The persons who were to receive the relics were carefully registered in the
early afternoon and seated outside the Uposatha Hall in order (each with a
large red rosette bearing a number!). Mom Rachawong Thongnoi Thongyai.
Secretary to the King of Thailand. and Chairman of the Rama 9 temple Lay
Buddhist Association. acted as Master of Ceremonies. After a talk and wel-
coming speech to the huge gathering. there to witness the fIrst major distribu-
tion of relics in living memory. the recipients entered the Uposatha Hall in
their own procession to each pay respect to the relics and the temple's Buddha
Rupa. and to take one of the relic Chedis placed in front of the main Buddha
statue. witnessed by the monks seated along one side ofthe Hall and guests of
honour on the other side. On leaving the Uposatha Hall each recipient was
accompanied by two naval offIcer guards of honour. For a further hour or so
visitors were again eager to pay their respects to the relics before they were
taken away to the various temples throughout Thailand. and overseas.
In the days leading up to the distribution. the total number of recipients
had increased as word of the relics spread to more far flung regions. until
Samatha 6 30
finally in the last hours it reached 80. the age ofthe Buddha when he died. 60
temples and centres in Thailand were represented. including the Supreme Pa-
triarch of Thailand who received relics for his own temple Wat Bovorn in
Bangkok. and another 20 temples and centres overseas. For Great Britain. an
English Buddhist monk based in Thailand received relics on behalf of Amaravati
Buddhist monastery in Great Gaddesdon. and I received relics for our own
Samatha Centre. A list of reCipients is below (a complete list is available from
the editor if required).
Of course this is a great honour. and is partly a recognition of the patient
work that has gone into establishing our particular tradition ofSamatha prac-
tice in England over the last 35 years. since Nai Boonman first started classes
in London and Cambridge in 1964. More than that. though. it now establishes
a direct connection to the Buddha. and carries a responsibility to match this
by developing the Paths proper. in ourselves. for the benefit of future genera-
tions of meditators.
Recipient temples {watsl and centres
Thailand
Bangkok and Metropolitan Region - 14 temples and centres; including
Wat Bovorn (the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. Somdet Phra Nanasangvorn)
and Wat Rama 9
Northeast Region - 24 temples and centres; including Wat Thetlangsi in
NongKhai (formerly Wat Hinmaakpeng. of the late Luang Por Thetej and
Wat PaNanachat in Ubonrajthani (the international monastery of the late
Achaan Cha)
Eastern Region - 7 temples
Northern Region - 10 temples and centres
Southern Region - 5 temples and centres
OVerseas
USA _ Wat Apaikiri and Wat PaChicago. and another centre
UK _ Wat Amaravati and The Samatha Centre
Indonesia- 3 centres
Australia _ Wat Buddharangsi and Wat Chin (Chinese order)
Taiwan - 4 centres
Germany -1 temple
Sweden - 2 temples. one still being built
Switzerland - 1 centre
China - Wat Cheolingsarangthong (Kwangtung)
Hong Kong - Wat Mekthammanaram
Samatha 6
31