My current meditation is Buddho recitation. I am seeking to understand how to use Buddho recitation as a vipassana practice aligned with Abhidhamma. That is, how can one apply Buddho recitation as a formal practice of vipassanā?
I look forward to your replies.
Many thanks.
I add a passage from my book (A path without Ownership) Paulo.
Today I was listening to a translation of a sutta about dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) while watching my
children swimming. At different times I was in admiration of the
Dhamma, of the Buddha who discovered it, and the Sangha who
preserved it. We should be aware though that simply bringing
to mind one of the recollections (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha,
our virtue, our generosity, and virtues of the devas) is not a
guarantee of kusala citta. Regarding the development of satipatthana, this depends on correct intellectual understanding
of Dhamma. There should be understanding of the void nature
of the world (suññata), that everything is ceasing immediately.
We may make effort to see the present moment but with the idea
of a person who is doing so, unaware that what we are trying
to be aware of is already past. Right effort arises with panna
(wisdom) and with detachment—it is not merely a matter of
bringing attention to an object. Kusala citta can’t be forced to
arise.
What is critical, in both samatha and vipassana bhavana is whether there is kusala citta.
Reciting the Buddha’s name or chanting a short text can be with kusala as this is directly reminding us of his virtues. Or it might be done mechanically without kusala …
I continue with the section from my book:
Difference between samatha and vipassana
The Visuddhimagga explains that one intent on development of samatha:
should sever any of the ten impediments that he may
have. A dwelling, family, and gain, A class, and building
too as fifth, And travel, kin, affliction, books, and supernormal powers: ten. Vism. III 29.
[…] Iddhi, here, means the supernormal powers of a
worldling. It is difficult to manage—like a child lying
on its back or like tender young crops. It can be broken
even by a small thing. However, it is an obstacle to
vipassanā (insight), though not to samādhi (concentration), because it is something attainable after attaining
concentration.
Therefore, for one intent on insight, the obstruction of
supernormal powers should be removed; for the other
[i.e., one aiming at concentration], it may be left as it is.
Vism. iii 56
This can help us see the different ways of insight and samatha.
For those who develop samatha superpowers are not an impediment as iddhi are a result of samatha. But all the other nine:
the ‘dwelling, family, and gain, a class, and building too as fifth,
And travel, kin, affliction, books’ are impediments. [Note, that
as I mentioned earlier the six recollections can be developed
in a busy daily life]. However, for the one who is developing
vipassana it is reversed, as the way of insight can be developed
even in the midst of all these nine. Why is it indicated that only
the iddhi are impediments to vipassana? It is because of their
fragility that one would have to be so careful to maintain them,
it distracts from the main goal.
Question: You say that vipassana can be developed in daily life. My
job is demanding and when I am trying to solve the issues
at work I am not thinking about Dhamma at all.
When we are fully preoccupied with worldly matters, as we
often are, at those times there is not development of intellectual
understanding (pariyatti). This is the way things are. Nevertheless, there may be opportunities that can arise naturally to
reflect on Dhamma or even have direct insight, if only for a few
moments. There may be some understanding of hardness or
that thinking goes on naturally by itself. These moments can
come unexpectedly.
Q: Shouldn’t we set aside quiet periods to devote to bhavana,
insight meditation.
Anytime we spend contemplating the Dhamma is beneficial. I
certainly appreciate those minutes and hours when I can read
a section of the Tipitaka or ponder at leisure the teachings.
We need to be careful though that we are not closing off the
possibility of understanding arising at other times. Also we
should be awake to the possibility of self-deception. If we don’t
have enough understanding at the level of pariyatti then what
we are calling ‘insight meditation’ might not qualify. And even
if we are well versed in the texts we should be patient and place
the principles of anatta to the fore: sati and wisdom don’t arise
at anyone’s will.
One who Dwells in the Dhamma 74(4): > It is said, Bhante,
‘one who dwells in the Dhamma, one who dwells in the
Dhamma.’ In what way is a bhikkhu one who dwells in
the Dhamma?
(1) Here, bhikkhu, a bhikkhu learns the Dhamma—the
1
discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses,
inspired utterances, quotations, birth stories, amazing
accounts, and questions-and-answers—but he does not
go further and understand its meaning with wisdom.
This is called a bhikkhu who is absorbed in learning, not
one who dwells in the Dhamma.
(2) Again, a bhikkhu teaches the Dhamma to others in
detail as he has heard and learned it, but he does not go
further and understand its meaning with wisdom. This
is called a bhikkhu who is absorbed in communication,
not one who dwells in the Dhamma.
(3) Again, a bhikkhu recites the Dhamma in detail as
he has heard it and learned it, but he does not go further
and understand its meaning with wisdom. This is called
a bhikkhu who is absorbed in recitation, not one who
dwells in the Dhamma.
(4) Again, a bhikkhu ponders, examines, and mentally
inspects the Dhamma as he has heard it and learned it,
but he does not go further and understand its meaning
with wisdom. This is called a bhikkhu who is absorbed in
thought, not one who dwells in the Dhamma.
(5) Here, a bhikkhu learns the Dhamma—the discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired utterances, quotations,birth stories, amazing
accounts, and questions-and-answers—but he goes
further and understands its meaning with wisdom. It
is in this way that a bhikkhu is one who dwells in the
Dhamma. The Numerical Discourses.
The recitation of the Buddha’s name you mentioned can be related to the recitation in this sutta, if it comes with enough understanding of the qualities of the Buddha.
Essentially the more we know about the triple gem, the more we know the suttas and Abhidhamma, the more respect we have for the Buddha and the more often kusala citta with understanding can arise.
Hi Paulo,
Your question is actually very similar to one asked two days ago by HapinessSeeker (as the four foundations of mindfulness is the same as vipassana as it is being used here), except his has kasinas as an object and yours has Buddho recitation:
R
If the Sobhana Cetasika group is present, you have a kusala mind. Many people of different subjects seems to forget that part. It is very important to know these qualities.
Many thanks, @RobertK , @renaldo , @bksubhuti for all replies!!
Thank you, everyone, for your replies.
I still have a few questions:
During the recitation, from a Vipassana perspective, if a kusala factor arises, should I note it and direct my attention to that factor? Even if I recognise the kusala and akusala factors, I would like to know whether the focus continues to shift to Buddho when reciting ‘Buddho’ from a Vipassana perspective.
For vipassana any dhamma that is real is suitable as an object. While developing the recollection you might feel bored or distracted at times - great objects. Or happy or interested: equally good. Seeing and sound, heat and hardness may also appear. The test is whether they are understood as mere conditioned phenomena, or are they clung to..
Reciting Buddho repeatedly is actually a little outside typical Theravada.
Here is a section of the Visuddhimagga on the recollection (omitting most of it).
(1) RECOLLECTION OF THE ENLIGHTENED ONE
2. [198] Now, a meditator with absolute confidence who wants to develop firstly the recollection of the Enlightened One among these ten should go into solitary retreat in a favourable abode and recollect the special qualities of the Enlightened One, the Blessed One, as follows:
That Blessed One is such since he is accomplished, fully enlightened, endowed with [clear] vision and [virtuous] conduct, sublime, the knower of worlds, the incomparable leader of men to be tamed, the teacher of gods and men, enlightened and blessed
(M I 37; A III 285).3. Here is the way he recollects: “That Blessed One is such since he is accomplished, he is such since he is fully enlightened, … he is such since he is blessed”—he is so for these several reasons, is what is meant.
[ACCOMPLISHED]
4. Herein, what he recollects firstly is that the Blessed One is accomplished (arahanta) for the following reasons:
(i) because of remoteness (áraka), and
(ii) because of his enemies (ari), and
(iii) the spokes (ara) having been destroyed (hata), and
(iv) because of his worthiness (araha) of requisites, etc., and
(v) because of absence of secret (rahábháva) evil-doing.³5. (i) He stands utterly remote and far away from all defilements because he has expunged all trace of defilement by means of the path—because of such remoteness (áraka) he is accomplished (arahanta).
A man remote (áraka) indeed we call
From something he has not at all;
The Saviour too that has no stain
May well the name “accomplished” (arahanta) gain.6. (ii) And these enemies (ari), these defilements, are destroyed (hata) by the path—because the enemies are thus destroyed he is accomplished (arahanta) also.
The enemies (ari) that were deployed,
Greed and the rest, have been destroyed (hata)
By his, the Helper’s, wisdom’s sword,
So he is “accomplished” (arahanta), all accord.7. (iii) Now, this wheel of the round of rebirths with its hub made of ignorance and of craving for becoming, with its spokes consisting of formations of merit and the rest, with its rim of ageing and death, which is joined to the chariot of
Notes
2. “‘Absolute confidence’ is the confidence afforded by the noble path. Development of the recollection comes to success in him who has that, not in any other” (Vism-mhṭ 181). “Absolute confidence” is a constituent of the first three “factors of stream-entry” (see S V 196).
3. Cf. derivation of the word ariya (“noble”) at M-a I 21.
[..]
66. So when he has thus suppressed the hindrances by preventing obsession by greed, etc., and his mind faces the meditation subject with rectitude, then his applied thought and sustained thought occur with a tendency toward the Enlightened One’s special qualities. As he continues to exercise applied thought and sustained thought upon the Enlightened One’s special qualities, happiness arises in him. With his mind happy, with happiness as a proximate cause, his bodily and mental disturbances are tranquilized by tranquillity. When the disturbances have been tranquilized, bodily and mental bliss arise in him. When he is blissful, his mind, with the Enlightened One’s special qualities for its object, becomes concentrated, and so the jhána factors eventually arise in a single moment. But owing to the profundity of the Enlightened One’s special qualities, or else owing to his being occupied in recollecting special qualities of many sorts, the jhána is only access and does not reach absorption. And that access jhána itself is known as “recollection of the Buddha” too, because it arises with the recollection of the Enlightened One’s special qualities as the means.
67. When a bhikkhu is devoted to this recollection of the Buddha, he is respectful and deferential towards the Master. He attains fullness of faith, mindfulness, understanding and merit. He has much happiness and gladness. He conquers fear and dread. [213] He is able to endure pain. He comes to feel as if he were living in the Master’s presence. And his body, when the recollection of the Buddha’s special qualities dwells in it, becomes as worthy of veneration as a shrine room. His mind tends toward the plane of the Buddhas. When he encounters an opportunity for transgression, he has awareness of conscience and shame as vivid as though he were face to face with the Master. And if he penetrates no higher, he is at least headed for a happy destiny.
Now, when a man is truly wise,
His constant task will surely be
This recollection of the Buddha
Blessed with such mighty potency.This, firstly, is the section dealing with the recollection of the Enlightened One in the detailed explanation.
This recollection as a samatha development depends on knowing enough about the teaching to really value it - as you do. But it seems to me that actual discursive reflecting on the qualities of the Buddha might be more productive.
- So, “Understanding of discernment of conditions thus, ‘Ignorance is a cause, formations are causally arisen, and both these states are causally arisen,’ is knowledge of the causal relationship of states. Understanding of discernment of conditions thus, ‘In the past and in the future ignorance is a cause, formations are causally arisen, and both these states are causally arisen,’ is knowledge of the causal relationship of states” (Paþis I 50), and all the clauses should be given in detail in this way.
- Herein, ignorance and formations are one summarization; consciousness, mentality-materiality, the sixfold base, contact, and feeling are another; craving, clinging, and becoming are another; and birth and ageing-and-death are another. Here the first summarization is past, the two middle ones are present, and birth and ageing-and-death are future. When ignorance and formations are mentioned, thentates, became dispassionate towards them, when his greed faded away, when he was liberated, then he destroyed, quite destroyed, abolished, the spokes of this wheel of the round of rebirths of the kind just described.
- Now, the Blessed One knew, saw, understood, and penetrated in all aspects this dependent origination with its four summarizations, its three times, its twenty aspects, and its three links. “Knowledge is in the sense of that being known, and understanding is in the sense of the act of understanding that.
So it is the understanding of the Buddha’s knowledge that leads to this deep respect, that is arising with kusala citta associated with panna.
If I understand correctly, it is beneficial to recite, memorise, and understand some of the Buddha’s qualities before the actual Buddho recitation. But, if one cannot recite, understand, and memorise all the qualities, which ones are the principal ones?
From the Visudhimagga Commentary:
141. Explanation of “Whatever there is” and “Buddha”
Here, in the phrase “yaṃ pana kiñci” (“whatever there is”), “yaṃ” is an indeterminate relative pronoun, and “kiñci” likewise is indeterminate. “Pana” is merely an ornamental particle of speech. Thus, “yaṃ kiñci” expresses the complete, exhaustive inclusion of all knowable things.
Or again, "pana” may be taken as a particle indicating distinction or emphasis.By this, through the term “sammāsambuddho” (“perfectly enlightened”), the Teacher’s full penetration of the Four Noble Truths is expressed both succinctly and in detail.
By the term “buddho”, however, the comprehension of all other knowable things beyond the Four Truths is expressed.Alternatively, by the former term the power of the Teacher’s penetrative realization-knowledge is shown, and by the latter the power of his knowledge of teaching and exposition is shown.
The excellence mentioned above becomes illuminated here.That which is completely liberated from all opposing states is called vimokkha—the supreme path.
Its culmination is the supreme fruition, and the knowledge that abides there—having been attained and being attainable there—is called vimokkhantika-knowledge.
Together with omniscient knowledge, all of this is included as Buddha-knowledge.Regarding this mode of operation, it is said:
“He is Buddha by omniscience;
he is Buddha by all-seeingness;
he is Buddha by not being led by another;
he is Buddha by full blossoming;
he is Buddha through the destruction of the taints;
he is Buddha through being undefiled;
he is Buddha as one who is completely free from lust;
he is Buddha as one who is completely free from hatred;
he is Buddha as one who is completely free from delusion;
he is Buddha as one who is entirely without defilement;
he is Buddha as one who has gone by the one-way path;
he is Buddha as the one who alone has fully awakened to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment;
he is Buddha because wisdom has arisen in him unobstructed by ignorance.‘Buddha’ is not a name given by a mother, nor by a father, nor by a brother, nor by a sister, nor by friends or companions, nor by relatives or kin, nor by ascetics or brahmins, nor by deities.
‘Buddha’ is a designation grounded in direct realization, arising at the root of enlightenment together with the attainment of omniscient knowledge—this is the term ‘Buddha’.”(Mahāniddesa §192)
This is the method of explanation according to the Niddesa.
Since here there is no difference from the exposition found in the Paṭisambhidā, it is stated—by means of the non-exclusive particle “vā”—that either of the two methods is sufficient for establishing the meaning.
Therein, just as in the world one who has understood is called “one who has understood,” so one who has comprehended the truths is called Buddha, in the sense of a pure agent.
And just as winds that dry leaves are called “leaf-drying,” so one who awakens beings is called Buddha, in the sense of a causative agent—the causal meaning being implied here.“He is Buddha by omniscience” means: he is Buddha because of wisdom capable of comprehending all phenomena.
“He is Buddha by all-seeingness” means: he is Buddha because all phenomena are seen by the eye of knowledge.
“He is Buddha by not being led by another” means: he is Buddha because he awakened by himself, not through another’s instruction.
“He is Buddha by full blossoming” means: he is Buddha because he unfolds like a lotus through the diffusion of diverse qualities.“He is Buddha through destruction of the taints,” and similar expressions, by these six modes of explanation, mean that—like a person awakened from sleep—he is Buddha because of total awakening through the complete destruction of all defilements.
“He is Buddha as one who has gone by the one-way path” means: since “going” has the sense of knowing, and knowing has the sense of going, he is called Buddha because he has gone by the one and only path.
“He is Buddha as the one who alone awakened to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment” means: he is not Buddha through another’s awakening, but because he himself awakened to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.
“He is Buddha because wisdom has arisen unobstructed by ignorance” means: wisdom itself is awakening—there is no difference between them.
Just as a cloth is called red by association with red dye, so he is called Buddha by association with the qualities of a Buddha.And what follows—“‘Buddha’ is not a name…”—is said to show that this designation accords with the meaning, not merely conventional usage.
Thus, for this reason as well, the Blessed One should be understood as Buddha.
141.Yaṃ pana kiñcīti ettha yanti aniyamitavacanaṃ. Tathā kiñcīti. Panāti vacanālaṅkāramattaṃ. Tasmā yaṃ kiñcīti ñeyyassa anavasesapariyādānaṃ kataṃ hoti. Panāti vā visesatthadīpako nipāto. Tena ‘‘sammāsambuddho’’ti iminā saṅkhepato, vitthārato ca satthu catusaccābhisambodho vutto. ‘‘Buddho’’ti pana iminā tadaññassapi ñeyyassāvabodho. Purimena vā satthu paṭivedhañāṇānubhāvo, pacchimena desanāñāṇānubhāvo. Pīti upari vuccamāno viseso jotīyati. Sabbaso paṭipakkhehi vimuccatīti vimokkho, aggamaggo. Tassa anto aggaphalaṃ, tattha bhavaṃ tasmiṃ laddhe laddhabbato vimokkhantikañāṇaṃ, sabbaññutaññāṇena saddhiṃ sabbampi buddhañāṇaṃ. Evaṃ pavattoti ettha – ‘‘Sabbaññutāya buddho, sabbadassāvitāya buddho, anaññaneyyatāya buddho, visavitāya buddho, khīṇāsavasaṅkhātena buddho, nirupalepasaṅkhātena buddho, ekantavītarāgoti buddho, ekantavītadosoti buddho, ekantavītamohoti buddho, ekantanikkilesoti buddho, ekāyanamaggaṃ gatoti buddho, eko anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddhoti buddho, abuddhivihatattā buddhipaṭilābhā buddho. Buddhoti netaṃ nāmaṃ mātarā kataṃ, na pitarā kataṃ, na bhātarā kataṃ, na bhaginiyā kataṃ, na mittāmaccehikataṃ, na ñātisālohitehi kataṃ, na samaṇabrāhmaṇehi kataṃ, na devatāhi kataṃ. Vimokkhantikametaṃ buddhānaṃ bhagavantānaṃ bodhiyā mūle saha sabbaññutaññāṇassa paṭilābhā sacchikā paññatti yadidaṃ buddho’’ti (mahāni. 192) – Ayaṃ niddesapāḷinayo. Yasmā cettha tassā paṭisambhidāpāḷiyā bhedo natthi, tasmā dvīsu ekenāpi atthasiddhīti dassanatthaṃ ‘‘paṭisambhidānayo vā’’ti aniyamattho vā-saddo vutto. Tattha yathā loke avagantā ‘‘avagato’’ti vuccati, evaṃ bujjhitā saccānīti buddho suddhakattuvasena. Yathā paṇṇasosā vātā ‘‘paṇṇasusā’’ti vuccanti, evaṃ bodhetā pajāyāti buddho hetukattuvasena, hetuattho cettha antonīto. Sabbaññutāya buddhoti sabbadhammabujjhanasamatthāya buddhiyā buddhoti attho. Sabbadassāvitāya buddhoti sabbadhammānaṃ ñāṇacakkhunā diṭṭhattā buddhoti attho. Anaññaneyyatāya buddhoti aññena abodhanīto sayameva buddhattā buddhoti attho. Visavitāya buddhoti nānāguṇavisavanato padumamiva vikasanaṭṭhena buddhoti attho. Khīṇāsavasaṅkhātena buddhoti evamādīhi chahi pariyāyehi niddakkhayavibuddho puriso viya sabbakilesaniddakkhayavibuddhattā buddhoti vuttaṃ hoti. Ekāyanamaggaṃ gatoti buddhoti gamanatthānaṃ buddhiatthatāya buddhiatthānampi gamanatthatā labbhatīti ekāyanamaggaṃ gatattā buddhoti vuccatīti attho. Eko anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddhoti buddhoti na parehi buddhattā buddho, atha kho sayameva anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddhattā buddhoti attho. Abuddhivihatattā buddhipaṭilābhā buddhoti buddhi buddhaṃ bodhoti anatthantaraṃ. Tattha yathā rattaguṇayogato ratto paṭo, evaṃ buddhaguṇayogato buddhoti ñāpanatthaṃ vuttaṃ. Tato paraṃ buddhoti netaṃ nāmantiādi atthānugatāyaṃ paññattīti bodhanatthaṃ vuttanti evamettha imināpi kāraṇena bhagavā buddhoti veditabbaṃ. 142.Assāti bhagavato. Guṇavisiṭṭhasabbasattuttamagarugāravādhivacananti sabbehi sīlādiguṇehi visiṭṭhassa tato eva sabbasattehi uttamassa garuno gāravavasena vuttavacanamidaṃ bhagavāti. Tathā hi lokanātho aparimitanirupamappabhāvasīlādiguṇavisesasamaṅgitāya sabbānatthaparihārapubbaṅgamāya niravasesahitasukhavidhānatapparāya niratisayāya payogasampattiyā sadevamanussāya pajāya, accantupakāritāya ca aparimāṇāsu lokadhātūsu aparimāṇānaṃ sattānaṃ uttamagāravaṭṭhānanti. Bhagavāti vacanaṃ seṭṭhanti seṭṭhavācakaṃ vacanaṃ seṭṭhaguṇasahacaraṇato ‘‘seṭṭha’’nti vuttaṃ. Atha vā vuccatīti vacanaṃ, attho. Tasmā yo ‘‘bhagavā’’ti vacanena vacanīyo attho, so seṭṭhoti attho. Bhagavāti vacanamuttamanti etthāpi eseva nayo. Gāravayuttoti garubhāvayutto garuguṇayogato, garukaraṇaṃ vā sātisayaṃ arahatīti gāravayutto, gāravārahoti attho. Guṇavisesahetukaṃ ‘‘bhagavā’’ti idaṃ bhagavato nāmanti saṅkhepato vuttamatthaṃ vitthārato vibhajitukāmo nāmaṃyeva tāva atthuddhāravasena dassento ‘‘catubbidhaṃ vā nāma’’ntiādimāha. Tattha āvatthikanti avatthāya viditaṃ taṃ taṃ avatthaṃ upādāya paññattaṃ voharitaṃ. Tathā liṅgikaṃ tena tena liṅgena voharitaṃ. Nemittikanti nimittato āgataṃ. Adhiccasamuppannanti yadicchāya pavattaṃ, yadicchāya āgataṃ yadicchakaṃ. Paṭhamena ādi-saddena bālo, yuvā, vuḍḍhoti evamādiṃ saṅgaṇhāti, dutiyena muṇḍī, jaṭīti evamādiṃ, tatiyena bahussuto, dhammakathiko, jhāyīti evamādiṃ, catutthena aghamarisanaṃ pāvacananti evamādiṃ saṅgaṇhāti. ‘‘Nemittika’’nti vuttamatthaṃ byatirekavasena patiṭṭhāpetuṃ ‘‘na mahāmāyāyā’’tiādi vuttaṃ. ‘‘Vimokkhantika’’nti iminā idaṃ nāmaṃ ariyāya jātiyā jātakkhaṇeyeva jātanti dasseti. Yadi vimokkhantikaṃ, atha kasmā aññehi khīṇāsavehi asādhāraṇanti āha ‘‘saha sabbaññutaññāṇassa paṭilābhā’’ti. Buddhānañhi arahattaphalaṃ nipphajjamānaṃ sabbaññutaññāṇādīhi sabbehi buddhaguṇehi saddhiṃyeva nipphajjati. Tena vuttaṃ ‘‘vimokkhantika’’nti. Sacchikā paññattīti sabbadhammānaṃ sacchikiriyānimittā paññatti. Atha vā sacchikā paññattīti paccakkhasiddhā paññatti. Yaṃguṇanimittā hi sā, te satthu paccakkhabhūtāti guṇā viya sāpi sacchikatā eva nāma hoti, na paresaṃ vohāramattenāti adhippāyo.
You have confidence in the Abhidhamma so that might be an area to consider, thinking of the immense profundity of the Buddha’s exposition. See this post by Renaldo and how a bhikkhu attained.
It probably goes without saying that the right way is very subtle and most of us tend to be looking for results which really hinder the progress. It all has to be with a profound non-attachment.