Page 49 - 加拿大佛教会湛山精舍杂志季刊第60期

Discipline (sila), and wisdom (prajna)are close- Dhyanais absorption meditation at varying levels;
ly related to meditation (dhyana). Proper discipline when extended over long periods of time, it is some-
leads to dhyana,and dhyanagives rise to wisdom.It is times referred to as samadhi. These levels (usually
by means of discipline that the defilements are dis- four) are accounted for in Ch’an practice, and there
pelled, and this eases the way for the cultivation of are, as well, several different kinds of Ch’an. There
dhyana(established in the same region as prajna). The are, for example, mundane Ch’an, supra-mundane
great Ch’an Ting(Chinese for dhyana-related medita- Ch’an, and the Ch’an of the highest Mahayana reali-
tive practice) is said to be secluded from defilement zation, to mention only three.
and suffering as the result of self-discipline. To free Meditation can be practiced while sitting, standing,
oneself from defilements is the main purpose of the walking or lying down and anywhere in between;
practice of pure discipline. By means of discipline, but because our minds are ordinarily so very disor-
defilements are dispelled. Then, dhyanacan become ganized, the best way to practice for most of us is to
established; defined variously as voidness, the ab- sit regularly in a quiet place. Having seated yourself,
sence of subject and object, Ch’an Ting,or that which simply put everything else aside and concentrate on
is not of the flow of suffering, it is the access route to whatever your object of concentration may be. With
wisdom (prajna). your mind, speech and action already cooled down
through discipline, there is occasion for natural and
The Levels Of Buddhist Discipline steady access to samadhi.When no thought arises, the
Also Known as Cumulative Discipline pure substance of mind appears; and the state of still-
Formally stated, the sevenfold assembly consists of ness and illumination gradually manifests itself.
the upasaka(male lay devotee), upasika(female lay The quality of that stillness is undefinable, and yet
devotee) siksamana(female candidate for novitiate), it is not as if the sitter were a statue carved from
sramanera(novice monk),sramanerika(novice nun), stone. In this context, illuminationis understood as
bhikhu(fully ordained monk), and bhikhuni(fully or- awareness without subject-object duality. There is
dained nun). These terms designate levels of commit- no longer someone being aware of something, and,
ment to practice, starting with the basic five precepts, consequently, there is no need for thought or verbal-
or training rules, for laity. ization.
Not formally stated, but of equal importance, is the The early sages emphasized that a moment of medi-
vow to do good and refrain from doing evil. One’s tation honors Buddha more than building pagodas as
actions should always be for the benefit of all sentient numerous as the sandgrains in the Ganges River. The
beings. The thrust of Buddhist discipline is a blame- pagodas, it is argued, can be demolished, unlike the
less coexistence with the rest of the world, as well one-pointed mind that transcends time and space.
as improved mindfulness and inner peace. There are It cannot be repeated often enough that very little can
two ways to uphold the precepts. One is called stop be achieved without observing the precepts. Indeed,
and hold,which means that one should stop,or refrain discipline dispels the attachment and the suffering
from doing evil, and holdto the precepts. The second that accompany it and leads to the passionless, pure
one is called to do and to hold.This simply means that path to Nirvana. Anasrava,or passionless purity, is
you should do good and abide by the discipline. The the opposite of asrava,the outflow of the passions and
discipline has the function of helping you avoid evil their filth. Asravais further known as the discharge of
and do good, and upholding it enables you to puri- mind-energy leading to the loss of truth. Anasrava,by
fy your body and mind. While that is being accom- definition, means the absence of outflow and seclu-
plished, the outflow of impurities, or asrava,diminish- sion from the stream of passion and, thus, from the
es; and these conditions, in turn, facilitate samadhi. stream of suffering.
Stay tuned for part II in the next issue

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