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Dharma Talk June 96 - Concentration and Insight
Mindfulness is the energy of awareness; concentration is to channel that entire energy onto a single object. Without mindfulness, there can be no concentration; it is like a child focusing on solving a math problem, dwelling fully in the present moment with the problem—that is mindfulness, and from there concentration is formed. When practicing walking meditation, each step becomes a dwelling place of concentration, cutting off wandering thoughts, nourishing the wonders of life, and increasing happiness. Mindfulness is likened to sunlight; concentration is like a greenhouse that gathers the light to nurture the seeds of happiness (loving-kindness, joy, compassion, equanimity, faith, non-worry). On the other hand, the seeds of suffering grow quickly if they are not recognized and transformed by mindfulness and concentration. When we embrace our pain with mindfulness, concentration, insight, and loving-kindness, suffering will dissolve like snow under sunlight.
The method of practice has two aspects:
- Nourishing wholesome, positive things to increase happiness
- Using the light of mindfulness and concentration to scan, embrace, and transform suffering
From there, we develop the Three Samadhis, which are the three doors of liberation (emptiness, signlessness, aimlessness), and the Six Paramitas, in which:
- The perfection of giving (dana paramita) must be accompanied by insight to reach the other shore of liberation
- The perfection of precepts (shila paramita)—precepts are mindfulness with insight
- The perfection of forbearance (kshanti paramita)—embracing all states thanks to insight
- The perfection of diligence (virya paramita)—right effort, at the right time, thanks to insight
- The perfection of meditation (dhyana paramita)—calm and insight both need to be illuminated by wisdom
- The perfection of insight (prajna paramita)—prajna is the mother of all bodhisattvas
Insight is different from knowledge in that it is not just knowing, but truly understanding—breaking through blocks of views so that the light of insight can shine through. Precepts, concentration, and insight inter-are and interpenetrate: mindfulness contains concentration, concentration contains insight; insight makes mindfulness powerful, concentration makes insight profound. When dwelling in “one is all, all is one” of the Avatamsaka Sutra, every moment of wakefulness is samadhi and nirvana manifesting right here and now.