Before start practising Citta Meditation, it is necessary to know the practice itself as, these days, there are so many meditation masters. However, whatever the case may be, we must practice according to the principles of truth to make our Citta progress to a high level and realising with wisdom.
The main reason is that during the meditation it is the time for the inside ‘Ayatana - sense base ’ and the outside ‘Ayatana-sense bases’ to clash with one another and therefore we must utilise our Citta with wisdom to penetrate to its source to see the creation which caused the Citta to be confused.
At the outset, I would like to explain about the ‘Citta Meditation’ in accordance with what has been allowed by Lord Buddha. We must use it appropriately - not too relax or not too stringent - which is called the Middle Way-Insight Meditation according to Visudhimagga Principles which I have been practising and experimenting for so many years. The Citta Meditation has four conditions:-
Standing Meditation:- Here we can also practice Citta meditation by fixing our Citta peacefully and then examine all things that surround us such as our eyes seeing a picture. Here we must see only that picture and nothing else. Remember that we only examine a picture and do not include its assumptions. When our eyes can only see a picture which is called ‘Rupa Dharma’ and what the Citta can see is ‘Nama Dharma’. As for its assumptions, the picture is interpreted to be nice, ugly, good, bad or should be like this or like that;
Walking Meditation:- Here we can practice Citta Meditation while walking. We must utilise our Citta when walking along the road. Again, what is important, at this point, is not to include what has been assumed.
Sleeping Meditation:- Here when lying down before going to sleep, we can practice Citta meditation while fixing our Citta to sleeping only. Again, the Citta Meditation must not include what has been assumed.
Sitting Meditation:- Here when practising meditation while sitting down, we must concentrate our Citta on our breathing only. According to my understanding, in practising this aspect of meditation, we must focus our knowledge to the breathing itself and focussing our Citta to what is inside our body. When breathing, what reaction do we experience to make the Citta to have a feeling and then use our wisdom to examine the reality while focussing the Citta at that particular point. The Citta meditation will be slowly refined. This is called Citta Meditation as per Dharma principles.
However, before the Citta could be assembled as one, we must practice by focussing in front of ourselves. For example, an object or a plate containing a glass of water. We must focus our eyes only to the plate and nothing else until the Citta accepts that it is a plate.
Here we must control out Citta not to wander to anywhere, like what should be assumed, except the plate right in front of ourselves. Our eyes must focus the plate until the Citta becomes ‘Ekang Cittang - the Citta becomes One’. When this happens, we then slowly take away our eyes from the plate and focussing our eyes to the glass of water. At this point, we must only focus our eyes to the glass, and not to the water inside the glass or to the plate.
Again, at this point, we must not pay attention to what should be assumed, for example, the plate should be like this, or the glass should be like that, or the water should be nice etc. We must start practising like this until the Citta becomes ‘ Ekang Cittang- the Citta becomes One’. The next step is to focus our eyes to the water inside the glass. At this point, one more important point to remember is that we must not pay any attention to what should be assumed.
Once this has been achieved, that means, when the Citta becomes ‘Ekang Cittang - becomes One’ then we must remove our Citta from all materials that makes the Citta becomes stable and then take the Citta to examine any reaction which might have occurred.
Even while doing nothing, we must make the Citta be aware of any characteristics of the feeling, of the breathing or even to examine the whereabouts of the Citta. As a result, wisdom will develop by making the Citta very bright and suddenly we feel extremely peaceful.
This means the Citta has finally managed to dispense itself of all the Kilesa. If wishing to go‘ Lokkotara -the transcendental stage’ the Citta must be stable within the limit of emptiness. As for the happiness which has occurred at this stage, it is beyond explanation to anyone person. It is a complete bliss in the Citta Meditation.
I am unable to explain to you in detail further than this as it is extremely fine. This is why Lord Buddha has once said that ‘ Dharma develops from practising. Wisdom obtained from the true conditions of reality leads to the development of true wisdom, the Citta knows the Dharma Circle - these cannot be described to others. Only those who practice Dharma and reach this level are able to experience such a bliss. I believe that what I have told you is in accordance with the principles of Dharma. As for myself, I have not yet attained this stage, however, I have been searching and looking for this way of life for a long while and I would like to let you know about what I have found in Dharma practice according to Buddhism.
If anyone of you would like to know Dharma, the only thing you can do is keep practising and then you will know yourself. Dharma is so fine and cannot be described in detail.
Vipassana Meditation according to Visudhimagga Principles, as I understand, if practised according to the above mentioned principles will give happiness beyond explanation, but unfortunately this happiness cannot be quantified and related to others in detail. It is a complete happiness within the Visudhimagga principles. However, a word of warning to those wishing to understand; everything must be focussed on the Citta within the Dharma principles. Use wisdom to control the Citta within the limit of the principle of truth according to Lord Buddha Dharma. Otherwise, it would be like one of the Buddha sayings:- Phra Mokhala (One of the most senior Disciples of Lord Buddha) got lost because of going beyond the Dharma principles’.
Therefore, whatever you are doing, it should be done again within the limits of Lord Buddha Dharma principles which is ‘Majjhima Patipada - The MiddleWay’. This is the only path to the Vipassana Meditation on the basis of the Visudhimagga principle. That is when the Citta becomes One ‘ Ekang Cittang’ then you will experience as I mentioned earlier. Another thing which Dharma practitioners must take into account is that ‘ do not be drowned into what has been assumed’.
In the case when the Citta has not yet become ‘ Ekang Cittang-One’ it is only because the Citta has got lost in what has been assumed. In this situation the Citta is uneasy because it is lacking Dharma principles. As a result, the Citta is lost, it gets confused and the Citta becomes ‘ Padhasa Vicikisa - the Citta is in doubt and cannot be trusted’. The Citta goes with the feeling as Dharma has not yet occurred. It wants to find a way to Nibbana as it is lost in the world of assumptions , such as, it should be like this or like that, or we should get here and there. The Citta knows first.
This is like an old saying ‘ You know before you were even born’. Therefore, Dharma practitioners should study in details to avoid falling into the category of ‘ Knowing before being born’ .
Once the Citta has lost its ways, confusion will occur and this will make the Citta ‘Knowing before being born’ . Then everything is fallen into Citta assumptions - everything is created and assumed by the Citta. Therefore, we must use our wisdom to be able to catch up with the Citta, to be able to catch up with the feeling, to be able to catch up with what has been created and assumed by the Citta so that we can get into the source of the Citta meditation for the ‘Samadhi -meditation’ to occur. Then we will know ‘Rupa Khandho-form aggregate, Vedana khandho-feeling aggregate, Sanya Khandho-perception aggregate, Sankhara khandho-body aggregate, Vinyana khandho-consciousness aggregate’ including Rupa khandho, vedana khnadho, Sanya Khandho, Sankhalakha Nakhandho, Vinyana Nakhandho,Rupa Dharma, Nama Dharma. Rupa Dharma (body aggregate) is consisted of the four elements - earth, water, air and fire combined together and finally become rotten and disappeared.
Nama Dharma (mind aggregate) is what has been created by our mind according to the desires of the Citta. Desires are endless. They are ON and OFF. As for Rupa Dharma, it is born once and disintegrates once. The Citta appears and disappears and never stops appearing and disappearing. As a result, it causes ‘Dukkha-suffering’ because it is the way the Citta feels combining with ‘Arammana-object of consciousness’ which is either Good or Bad. Rupa Dharma has Two aspects:-
(1) Sabhava which has been created and disintegrated because it is derived from various factors and then we examine ‘Rupa’ which has been born as imagined by the Citta.
(2) Once born it will disappear as a result of the law of nature or law of karma then we must remove the Citta away from the Rupa to be able to examine the Sankara which consists of the four elements. If one of the four elements is missing, we will be unable to live.
Having understood all these, we have to examine ‘Pasava Asava -mental defilement’ with our wisdom in order to cleanse the remaining Kilesa.
If we know that we cannot complete this stage of Citta Meditation, we must keep trying even harder until the Citta is calm and then the wisdom will become clearer, the body will be light, the feeling will be very bright because , at this stage, we can control our feeling. The Citta is firmly established in the Vipassana the Middle Path on the basis of the Visudhimagga Principles.
On the Sense Awareness, there are five factors:-
(1) Cakkhu Eyes Consciousness
(2) Sota Ear Consciousness
(3) Ghana Nose Consciousness
(4) Jivha Tongue Consciousness
(5) Kaya Body Consciousness
On the Sense Objects as perceived by the Indriya (sense faculties):-
(6) Rupa Visible object
(7) Sadda Sounds
(8) Gandha Odours
(9) Rasa Tastes
* (Phothabba - Tangible Objects, not included in this group)
CITTA EXAMINATION OF MENTAL IMAGE (NIMITTA)
Mental object (Nimitta) is something that we use in Citta meditation (Kammathana). The mental image that you see in your Citta represents the object as your ‘Kammathana-meditation’
This mental object (Nimitta) could be anything in learning Kammathana. This could be said softly or say it in your heart. For example, if using an object, we must look at that object while the eyes are open until you remember that object well. Even when you close your eyes, you can still see that object. This is in Kammathana. This exercise must be studied until you understand properly and correctly before practising the Dharma to shine upon you.
CITTA CREATION
At this point I would like to talk about ‘confusion inside’ of Citta creation such as Happiness, Sadness, Suffering, Worrying, Disappointment, Waiting and not knowing what to do - these are all in the Citta as the Citta creates these things. This is mainly because our wisdom cannot control the Citta which makes us suffer endlessly. This is similar to someone working on a number of jobs and cannot control those jobs . Therefore, we have to find emptiness to solve these problems. If our wisdom is able to understand the rise and fall of all things then it is clear that our wisdom is above the Citta and then we will clearly understand what has been created by the mind.
As a result, we will not be fallen into what has been assumed by the Citta. There we have to keep studying and practising Citta Meditation to acquire wisdom and use this wisdom to control the Citta. This is similar to someone working. When he/she is skilful in what he/she is doing then his/her job will become easy and as a result he/she will not be worried about his/her job as he/she is in the position to control it. Nothiong worries him as he can tackle his job with great ease. This is like Citta Meditation which is the foundation of getting out from sufferings. The Citta is very powerful. If the Citta becomes ‘Ekang Cittang - One’ we can get rid of suffering.
Happiness is in the Citta. Sadness is also in the Citta. Wholesome is in the Citta. Unwholesome is also in the Citta. Dukkha is in the Citta. Sukkha is also in the Citta. Love is in the Citta. Hatred is in the Citta. Whatever makes us sad or happy is in the Citta. Everything is lost in the Citta. If our Citta is in ‘Samadhi’ (stable condition) and whatever I have mentioned such as sadness, discontent, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, will be terminated. This is because our wisdom makes us understand the true conditions of all things. It is our wisdom that makes the Citta free from being the slave of `Arammana - sense objects’ and as a result our Dukkha will be at least reduced.
Like I said earlier, everything is in the Citta. If we want to terminate Dukkha, do it at the Citta. If we want to eliminate Kilesa, do it at the Citta. For Nibbana to rise, it is also in the Citta. For Kilesa or Dukkha to rise, it is in the Citta. Happiness, Sadness, Love and Hatred, Kindness and Greed and so on are all in the Citta.
In conclusion, the condition of the Citta is so powerful. If we have sufficient wisdom we can use the Citta to our benefit. Then we will be a wise person. We will become pure and finally free from all worldly materials which makes us commit either good or bad karma endlessly.