It is fair to say that this needs rewriting, just as I need the time to rewrite it. You might find it easier to simply hilight it and copy & paste into a Word document.
Santinussati
Recollection of Peace
Curiously enough for this recollection it is the Vimutti Magga that has nothing useful to contribute and the Visuddhi Magga that does have a lot that is useful.
The Visuddhi Magga has this to say on the Recollection of Peace:
“One who wants to develop the recollection of peace mentioned next to mindfulness of breathing[1] should go into solitary retreat and recollect the special qualities of Nibbana, the stilling of all suffering, as follows:
‘Bhikkhus, in so far as there are dhammas, whether formed or unformed, fading away is pronounced the best of them, that is to say, disillusionment of vanity, the elimination of thirst, the abolition of reliance, the termination of the round, the destruction of craving, fading away, cessation, nibbana’.
Herein in so far as means as many as. Dhammas[means] individual essences. Whether formed or unformed: whether made by conditions going together, coming together, or not so made. Fading away is pronounced the best of them: of these formed and unformed dhammas, fading away is pronounced the best, is called the foremost, the highest.
Herein fading away is not mere absence of greed, but rather it si that unformed dhamma which, while given the names ‘disillusionment of vanity’, etc., in the clause ‘that is to say, the disillusionment of vanity,…nibbana’, is treated basically as fading away. It is called disillusionment of vanity because on coming to it all kinds of vanity (intoxication), such as the vanity of conceit and vanity of manhood, are disillusioned, undone, done away with. It is called elimination of thirst because on coming to it all thirst for sense desires is eliminated and quenched. It is called abolition of reliance because on coming to it reliance on the five cords of sense desire is abolished. It is called termination of the round because on coming to it the round of the three planes [of existence] is terminated. It is called destruction of craving because on coming to it craving is entirely destroyed, fades away and ceases. It is called nibbana (extinction) because it has gone away from (nikkhanta), has escaped from (nissata) , is dissociated from craving, which has acquired in common usage the name ‘fastening’(vana) because, by ensuring successive becoming, craving serves as a joining together, a binding together, a lacing together, of the four kinds of generation, five destinies, seven stations of consciousness and nine other abodes of beings.
This is how peace, in other words, nibbana, should be recollected according to is special qualities beginning with disillusionment of vanity. But it should also be recollected according to the other special qualities of peace stated by the Blessed One in the suttas beginning with: ‘Bhikkhus, I shall teach you the unformed…the truth…the other shore…the hard to see…the undecaying…the lasting…the undiversified…the deathless…the auspicious…the safe…the marvellous…the intact…the unafflicted…the purity…the island…the shelter…’
As he recollects peace in its special qualities of disillusionment of vanity, etc., in this way then: ‘On that occasion his mind is not obsessed by greed or obsessed by hate or obsessed by delusion, his mind has rectitude on that occasion, being inspired by peace’.
So when he has suppressed the hindrances in the way already described under the recollection of the Enlightened One, etc., the jhana factors arise in a single moment. But owing to the profundity of the special qualities of peace, owing to his being occupied in recollecting special qualities of various kinds, the jhana is only access and does not reach absorption. And that jhana is known as ‘recollection of peace’ too because it arise due to the special qualities of peace.
And as in the case of the six recollections, this also comes to success only in a noble disciple. still, though this is so, it can also be brought to mind by an ordinary person who values peace. For even by hearsay the mind has confidence in peace.
A bhikkhu who is devoted to this recollection of peace sleeps in bliss and wakes in bliss, his faculties are peaceful, his mind is peaceful, he has conscience and shame, he is confident, he is resolved [to attain] the superior[state], he is respected and honoured by his fellows in the life of purity. And even if he penetrates no higher, he is at least headed for a happy destiny.
So that is why a man of wit[2]
Untiringly devotes his days
To mind the noble peace, which can
Reward him in so many ways.
This is the section dealing with the recollection of peace in the detailed explanation.
Visuddhi Magga page: 285
What the suttas have to say.
All of the following quotes are sourced from pages 106-8 of Nyanatiloka Thera’s book: “The Buddha’s Path to Deliverance”.
“One contemplation, O monks, developed and frequently practised, leads to perfect turning away from the world, to detachment, cessation, peace, enlightenment and Nibbana. And which is this contemplation? It is the contemplation of peace.”
AN 1:16.10
“What, Ananda, is the contemplation of cessation? There the monk goes to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, and there he considers within himself thus: “This is peaceful, this is sublime, namely the coming to rest of all kamma formations, the abandoning of all substrata of existence, the vanishing of craving, cessation, Nibbana. This, Ananda, is called the contemplation of cessation.
AN 10:60
“Whatever, O monks, there are of conditioned and unconditioned things, detachment is considered the highest of them that is the destruction of vanity, the overcoming of thirst, the rooting out of clinging, the breaking through the round of rebirths, the vanishing of craving, detachment, Nibbana.”
AN 4:34
“the vanishing of greed, hate, and delusion: this, O monks is called the Unconditioned…the Boundless…Freedom from Bias…the True…the Further Shore…the Subtle…the Inconceivable…the Ageless…the Permanent…the Beyond of all manifoldness…the Peaceful…the Deathless…the Sublime…the Auspicious…the Safety…the Wondrous…the Sorrowless…Nibbana…the Unoppressed…the Detached…the Isle…the Shelter…the Refuge…the Final Aim
SN 43:12-44
(Sariputta:) “One, brother, Ananda, I dwelt here near Savatthi in the Dark Wood. There I gained such a mental concentration that, though being in sight of the earth, I was without perception of earth: though being in sight of water, I was without perception of water; though being in sight of fire, I was without perception of fire; though being in sight of wind, I was without perception of wind; though being in sight of the sphere of boundless space…boundless consciousness, etc…though being in sight of this world, I was without perception of the world. But I still possessed perception.”
“But which perception did the Venerable Sariputta have on that occasion?”
“That Nibbana consists in the cessation of (the process of) becoming this one perception arose in me, brother, in a wood fire one flame lights up, and the other flame disappears; just so there arose in me the perception that Nibbana consists in the cessation of becoming, and the other perception disappeared. Thus this is the perception I had on that occasion: that Nibbana consists in the cessation of becoming.”
AN 10:7
What the Sangha has to say.
The Sangha doesn’t have all that much to say about peace or any of its synonyms. Happily Ajahn Chah came to the rescue. I quote from the booklet “No Ajahn Chah—Reflections—“ pages 109-17.
“Q. What’s peacefulness like?
A. What’s confusion? Well, peacefulness is the end of confusion.”
“Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hill-top, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.”
“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.”
“Actually, in truth, there isn’t anything to human beings. Whatever we may be, it’s only in the realm of appearances. However, if we go beyond appearances and see the truth, we will see that there isn’t anything there but the universal characteristics—birth in the beginning, change in the middle, and cessation at the end. This is all there is. If we see that all things are like this, then no problems arise. If we understand this, we will have contentment and peace.”
“Know what is good and bad, whether travelling or living in one place. You can’t find peace on a mountain or in a cave. You can even go to where the Buddha attained enlightenment without getting closer to the truth.”
“Anyone can build a house of wood and bricks, but the Buddha taught us that sort of home is not our real home. It’s a home in the world. Our real home is inner peace.”
“The forest is peaceful, why aren’t you? You hold onto things causing your confusion. Let nature teach you. Hear the bird’s song and then let go. If you know nature, you’ll know Dhamma. If you know Dhamma, you’ll know nature.”
“Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a moustache. You won’t be able to find it. but when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.”
With this recollection we recollect and take joy in the stillness, the peace, the tranquillity that may happen in our meditation or our environment. If, at the end of a period practising meditation, you find that there is a stillness, a peace present, take the time to examine it. Try to do this without any thoughts…don’t think: “Oh, this is wonderful” for example, just be aware of it. If you verbalise the peace it will vanish. But examine its qualities, its texture, its lightness, the sense that this peace is something eternal. It is important that you do this, as this peace/stillness is the very beginning of Nibbana. An analogy is caressing something with your eyes closed. You get a sense of the texture, the weight, even the size, but you aren’t adding anything more. Once this is done, then you can verbalise the experience. This is when it is o.k., to mentally exclaim how delightful the peace/stillness was.
I have found that an incredible stillness/peace arises when I wash the alms bowls of the Sangha at the Hermitage I give lunch at. For some reason, for me, washing the alms bowl of the Ajahn gives rise to a profound joy/peace/stillness. Santinussati works if I reflect on this peace/joy/stillness. There is very much the “Wow, that was pretty awesome”, happening when I reflect on that peace. So I would suggest that if peace arises from something as mundane as bowl washing, path sweeping, bowing, that you use it as the object of this recollection. The technique is to sit or walk and recollect the qualities of the mind when it was peaceful/still. Notice the brightness, the absence of a need to do anything or go anywhere, the sense of the mind being at rest. Then clearly mentally/verbally exclaim: “This is wonderful. This is fantastic. This feels great!” The mind always readily returns to what it finds pleasant. In this way the mind is the eternal two year old, if there is a mind state that it likes, it will always be happy to visit. Also the mind is often quite lazy, if there is a place where it can go where things are easy and it doesn’t have to do all that much, then it will quite easily return to it as many times as you want. But if the peace is perceived as frightening or dull, then you won’t have such an easy time inclining the mind to this recollection. This is a real danger in this meditation. Often the first time the mind is truly at rest/peace/still, it will go: “Whoa, not certain about this. Aren’t I supposed to be doing something?” It may simply abandon the recollection. This is why it is important to reinforce delight right at the start.
Even if there is nothing happening in your own meditation practice you can use the quotes from the suttas and Ajahn Chah in much the same way as you used them in the Recollections of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Recollect the profound peace that is Nibbana.
Even instilling a desire for peace along the lines of “How wonderful it would be if my mind was peaceful!”, works in this recollection. Because once you have done this you can remind the mind what the qualities of peace are, mentally or verbally tick them off one by one. Get the mind interested in peace. Once it is interested, then you can practice the recollection.
I would suggest that you practise this recollection often. In the Vimutti Magga this recollection is treated as a recollection of jhana…the high states of concentration, bliss and rapture. It can be used to incline/interest the mind in these things, certainly the suttas I quoted suggest that Santinussati can be used to incline the mind towards Nibbana. Often people have fear arise if they suddenly get profound peace, stillness and joy in their meditation and this recollection by conditioning the mind to take refuge and happiness in these states removes that fear.
So it is that we come to the end of the Recollection of Peace.
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