Buddhism Meditation: Bringing Up And Clearing Up

QUESTION 126: WHEN THE BREATH BECOMES APPARENT, I FOCUS ON IT, BUT THERE IS A TENDENCY TO CONTROL THE BREATH INSTEAD OF OBJECTIVELY OBSERVING IT. I ALSO FORGET THE WHOLE BODY AND AM QUICKLY SWEPT AWAY BY WANDERING THOUGHTS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?ANSWER: The tendency to control the breath and lose awareness of it is influenced by past karma. If you cannot maintain stable attention on the breath or the l...

QUESTION 125: WHILE MEDITATING WITH THE INTENTION TO RELAX THE WHOLE BODY, WHY DOES THE CHEST AND ABDOMEN FEEL TENSE, AND SOMETIMES THE NECK AND SHOULDERS AS WELL?ANSWER: Many people make the mistake of trying too hard to relax, unintentionally creating tension and stiffness in the neck, shoulders, chest, or abdomen. This is a psychological rebound effect—trying to relax ends up causing strain, ju...

QUESTION 124: WHY DOES RELAXING THE WHOLE BODY BRING ON DROWSINESS AND CAUSE THE BODY TO SWAY AND LOSE STABILITY?ANSWER: Relaxing the whole body induces a sense of ease, but if you haven't had enough sleep, or if you don't maintain an effort to keep the body still, or if past karma is still heavy, drowsiness (lethargy) may arise. When sitting in the full lotus posture, practitioners must s...

QUESTION 123: WHAT SHOULD I DO IF IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SENSE THE WHOLE BODY WHILE MEDITATING?ANSWER: Feeling the whole body (during inhalation and exhalation) is a crucial technique in meditation practice. Our entire body is covered by a large surface area of skin, meaning there are countless tactile nerve endings. When we sense the whole body, we activate this tactile nervous system, which gre...

QUESTION 122: WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FEEL ITCHING ON MY FACE OR A SENSATION OF ANTS CRAWLING ALL OVER MY BODY WHILE MEDITATING?ANSWER: This is a common sensation for beginners in meditation, and it will subside with prolonged practice. Some schools of thought interpret this as residual "negative energy" (bad electric currents) from the past being released during meditation, causing itchin...

QUESTION 121: IF SOMEONE HAS HAD LEG FRACTURES, JOINT INJURIES, OR LIGAMENT DAMAGE AND CANNOT BEAR THE PAIN OF SITTING IN THE FULL LOTUS POSTURE FOR LONG, SHOULD THEY CONTINUE?ANSWER: Those who suffer from medical conditions or physical limitations related to bones, tendons, or joints, making it difficult to sit in the full lotus posture, face a significant disadvantage. This is because the full l...

QUESTION 120: WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY LEGS HURT TOO MUCH WHEN SITTING IN THE FULL LOTUS POSTURE?ANSWER: Leg pain during meditation arises from two causes:1. Physical Structure:The body has not yet adapted to the full lotus posture, causing tendons to stretch, and blood vessels to become compressed, resulting in uncomfortable, numb pain.2. Past Karma:Those with lighter karma experience less pain whe...

QUESTION 119: WHAT MUST A DISCIPLE OF THE BUDDHA DO TO HELP ENSURE THE LONGEVITY OF THE DHARMA?ANSWER: The Buddhas of the ten directions and three times attained enlightenment through meditation and taught sentient beings to follow the path they traveled. If no one practices meditation, Buddhism will decline. It is theprofound meditative practice, oriented toward non-self, that preserves the sacre...

QUESTION 118: IN DAILY LIFE, IF WE HAVE TO WORK, ORGANIZE, OR CALCULATE, HOW SHOULD WE PRACTICE?ANSWER: In daily life, we are often preoccupied with tasks, moving our hands and feet, walking back and forth, making it difficult to follow the breath as we do during sitting meditation. Therefore, while walking, standing, lying down, sitting, or working, we should be mindful of the entire body and rem...

QUESTION 117: CAN A PERSON WHO IS EXTREMELY POOR OR EXTREMELY WEALTHY PRACTICE MEDITATION?ANSWER: Extreme poverty means rarely having enough to eat, being tormented by hunger hour by hour, and not knowing where the next meal will come from. The anxiety of finding food to stave off hunger creates a strain on the brain, leaving no mental space for contemplating the freedom and ease of meditation. Hu...

QUESTION 116: BECAUSE WORK IS TOO BUSY, I CAN'T SIT IN MEDITATION CALMLY OR FOCUS MY MIND. SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL RETIREMENT TO PRACTICE MEDITATION?ANSWER: At the beginning of meditation practice, no one can immediately calm their mind, except for those with great spiritual potential. Whether practicing correctly or incorrectly, the initial stages yield no immediate results, and the mind remains...

QUESTION 115: WHY DO SOME PEOPLE EXPERIENCE SEXUAL AROUSAL AFTER PRACTICING MEDITATION FOR A WHILE?ANSWER: Sexual arousal has been observed in some practitioners during intense meditation retreats. The cause lies in excessive focus on the upper part of the head. Although the sensation of arousal arises in the genital area, the mechanism that controls sexual feelings is located in the brain. When a...

QUESTION 114: IT IS SAID THAT MANY PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE MEDITATION DEVELOP BRAIN, PHYSICAL, OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESSES. WHY IS THAT?ANSWER: There are four reasons why meditation can lead to illness:1. Insufficient Merit and Ambition:2. Failing to focus on creating merit and helping others, practitioners lack sufficient merit but aspire to achieve high results prematurely, leading to ambition.3. Con...

QUESTION 113: IF KARMA BLOCKS PROGRESS DESPITE PERSISTENT PRACTICE, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?ANSWER: When practice does not yield progress, it often means struggling with drowsiness, battling discursive thoughts, and enduring years of physical pain, fatigue, and inner turmoil that can feel like a dead end. So, when faced with stagnant practice, what should one do? First, honestly face the truth and acc...

QUESTION 112: WHY DO SOME PEOPLE PUT IN THEIR BEST EFFORT, PRACTICE WITH SINCERITY, HAVE A TEACHER WHO INSTRUCTS THEM IN THE RIGHT METHOD, YET MAKE NO PROGRESS?ANSWER: We are in the dense forest of ignorance with no clear path out. Many are lost in this forest, distracted by blooming flowers, singing birds, flowing streams, or the company of woodcutters and mountain maidens, unaware that there is...

QUESTION 111: DO THE FOUR JHANAS, THE FOUR SAINTHOOD, AND THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS ALL LEAD TO COMPLETE ENLIGHTENMENT?ANSWER: Yes, that is correct. There are three meditative paths that lead to complete enlightenment:- The Four Jhanas - Through breath-focused meditation, the mind progressively deepens from the First Jhana to the Fourth Jhana, ultimately culminating in the realization of...

QUESTION 110: THE BUDDHA'S SUTTAS MENTION THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS. COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS FURTHER?ANSWER: Alongside the Four Jhanas (four levels of meditative absorption) and the Four Stages of Sainthood, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana) are a unique method of classifying the progressive results of practice, guiding a practitioner from the initial stage to...

QUESTION 109: HOW CAN ONE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A PERSON WHO ATTAINS MEDITATIVE ABSORPTION (JHÂNA) AND ALSO ATTAINS SAINTHOOD, AND A PERSON WHO ATTAINS MEDITATIVE ABSORPTION WITHOUT REALIZING SAINTHOOD?ANSWER: Both share the commonality of having achieved meditative absorption, yet they follow two distinct paths:One who attains jhana but not sainthood focuses on supernatural powers and personal mast...

QUESTION 108: WHAT ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE END OF MENTAL DEFILEMENTS (ÁSAVAKKHAYA-ÑÁNA)?ANSWER: The Knowledge of the Exhaustion of Defilements refers to the realization attained by an extraordinary Saints in Buddhism. This supernatural power grants one absolute mastery of moral discipline, ensuring that no lapse or even the slightest error, as small as a speck of dust, ever occurs. A Saint who...

QUESTION 107: WHAT IS THE DIVINE EYE (DIBBACAKKHU)?ANSWER: The Divine Eye is the ability to observe the cycle of life, death and rebirth of countless beings, clearly perceiving the workings of karma and its consequences. The Buddha likened this ability to a person standing on a high tower at a crossroads, able to see people entering and leaving houses, walking along the streets, or sitting in the...

QUESTION 106: WHAT IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF PAST LIVES (Pubbenivãsãnussati^ãna)?ANSWER: The Knowledge of Past Lives, is a supernatural insight that enables one to recall past existences, beginning with the most recent life and extending back to the very origins of birth and death. At this level of supernatural power, Enlightened Beings can answer the profound question: “Why do sentient beings continue...

QUESTION 105: WHAT IS MAGICAL POWER (Iddhi-vidhã)?ANSWER: Magical Power is the ability to move and transform at will. An Arhant possesses the capability to manifest one body into many, or many into one, appear and disappear at will, pass through walls as if they were empty space, walk on water without sinking as if on solid ground, and sit in full lotus posture while levitating in the air like a b...

QUESTION 104: WHAT IS MIND-READING (CETOPARIYA-ÑANA)?ANSWER: The Mind-Reading ability of an Arahant is the capacity to delve into the minds of sentient beings and clearly discern all their thoughts, emotions, and intentions within the Dharma realms. From the human realm to the animal realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, hell, and even the celestial realms, No sentient being can conceal anything from...

QUESTION 103: WHAT IS DIVINE EAR (DIBBASOTA)?ANSWER: The Divine Ear is the ability to hear and comprehend all sounds in the world, including the voices of sentient beings across different realms, unhindered by language, species, or spatial distance. In the Fruits of the Contemplative Life Sutta, the Buddha described one who attains the Divine Ear as follows: "With a mind that is calm, purifie...

QUESTION 102: WHAT ARE THE TRANSCENDENT THREE SUPER WISDOM AND SIX SUPERNATURAL POWERS OF AN ARAHANT?ANSWER: The Fourth Jhana is the foundation for the Three Super Wisdom and the Six Magical Powers. These supernatural powers were repeatedly explained by the Buddha throughout His life of teaching and are recorded in many suttas, such as the Great Discourse Sakaludayi (the Mahãsakuludãyi Sutta), the...