Virtue

A truly powerful Recollection. The joy at recognising "we are getting it right" can almost literally throw you into Metta. As with all three in this series of posts, they are long, they need rewriting and you will be better off copying & pasting into a Word document.

Silanussati

Recollection of Virtue/Good Habits

Q. What is the recollection of sila? What is the practising of it? What are its salient characteristic, function and near cause? What is the procedure?

A. Through sila one recollects pure morals. This is recollectedness and right recollectedness. Thus the recollection of sila should be understood. The undisturbed dwelling of the mind in the recollection of sila is the practising of it. Awareness of the merit of sila is its salient characteristic. To see the fearfulness of tribulation is its function. Appreciating the unsurpassed happiness of sila is its near cause. Twelve are the benefits of the recollection of sila thus: One honours the Teacher, esteems the Dhamma and the Sangha of Bhikkhus, respects the precepts of sila, esteems offerings, becomes heedful, sees danger in and fears the smallest fault, has no fear of this world, has no fear of the other world and enjoys the many benefits accruing from the observance of all precepts. These are the benefits of the recollection of sila.

“What is the procedure?”: The new yogin goes to a place of solitude and keeps his mind undisturbed. With his undisturbed mind, he recollects that: “My sila is unbroken, in-defective, unspotted, unblemished, liberating, praised by the wise, untainted, conducive to concentration.”

Vimutti Magga page: 152

The Suttas. 

4.1.1 “On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. At that time the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him , and asked:

‘What, Lord, is the benefit of virtuous ways of conduct, what is their reward?”

“Non-remorse, Ananda, is the benefit and reward of virtuous ways of conduct.”

“And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of non-remorse?”

“Gladness, Ananda.”

“And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of gladness?”

“Joy.”

“And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of joy?”

“Serenity.”

“And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of serenity?”

“Happiness.”

“And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of happiness?”

“Concentration of the mind.”

“And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of concentration?”

“Knowledge and vision of things as they really are.”

“And what, Lord, are the benefit and reward of knowledge and vision of things as they really are?”

“Revulsion and dispassion.”

“And what, Lord, are the benefit and reward of revulsion and dispassion?”

“The knowledge and vision of liberation.”

“Hence, Ananda, virtuous ways of conduct have non-remorse as their benefit and reward; non-remorse has gladness as its benefit and reward; gladness has joy as its benefit and reward; joy has serenity as its benefit and reward; serenity has happiness as its benefit and reward; happiness has concentration as its benefit and reward; concentration has knowledge and vision of things as they really are as its reward; knowledge and vision of things as they really are has revulsion and dispassion as its benefit and reward; revulsion and dispassion have knowledge and vision of liberation as their benefit and reward. In this way, Ananda, virtuous ways of conduct lead step by step to the highest.”

An 182

4.1.2 “For one who is virtuous and endowed with virtue, there is no need for an act of will: “May non-remorse arise in me!” It is a  natural law, monks, that non-remorse will arise in one who is virtuous.

For one who is free from remorse, there is no need for an act of will: “May gladness arise in me!” It is a natural law, monks, that gladness will arise in one who is free from remorse.

For one who is glad in heart, there is no need for an act of will: “May joy arise in me!” It is a natural law that joy will arise in one who is glad at heart.

For one who is joyful, there is no need for an act of will: “May my body be serene!” It is a natural law, monks, that the body will be serene for one who is joyful.

For one of serene body, there is no need for an act of will: “May I feel happiness!” It is a natural law, monks, that one who is serene will feel happiness.

For one who is happy, there is no need for an act of will: “May I be concentrated!” It is a natural law that one who is happy that the mind will be concentrated.

For one who is concentrated, there is no need for an act of will: “May I know and see things as they really are!” It is a natural law that one with a concentrated mind to know and see things as they really are.

For one who knows and sees things as they really are, there is no need for an act of will: ”May I experience revulsion and dispassion!” It is a natural law for one who knows and sees things as they really are to experience revulsion and dispassion.

For one who experiences revulsion and dispassion, there is no need for an act of will: “May I realise the knowledge and vision of liberation!”  It is a natural law for one who experiences revulsion and dispassion to realise the knowledge and vision of liberation…

Thus, monks, the preceding qualities flow into the succeeding qualities, the succeeding qualities bring the preceding qualities to perfection, for going from the near shore to the far shore.

An 183

“Further, Mahanama, a noble disciple recollects his own virtue thus: ‘I possess virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, untorn, unblemished, un-mottled, freeing, praised by the wise, un-adhered to, leading to concentration.’ When a noble disciple recollects his own virtues thus, on that occasion his mind is not obsessed with lust, hatred or delusion; his mind is straight, with virtue as its object….This is called a noble disciple who dwells evenly amidst an uneven generation, who dwells un-afflicted in an afflicted generation, who has entered upon the stream of the Dhamma and develops recollection of virtue.”

An 116

“This was said by the Lord…

“Bhikkhus, as to those bhikkhus who excel in virtue, excel in concentration, excel in wisdom, excel in release, excel in the knowledge and vision of release, who are advisers, instructors and demonstrators, who can exhort, inspire and encourage, and who are competent teachers of the true Dhamma—seeing those bhikkhus is very helpful, I say; listening to those bhikkhus, approaching them, attending upon them, and following their example in going forth into homelessness is very helpful, I say. For what reason?

“By following such bhikkhus, by associating with them and attending upon them, the aggregate of virtue as yet incomplete reaches completion of development; the aggregate of concentration, of wisdom, of release and knowledge and vision of release as yet incomplete reaches completion of development. Such bhikkhus as these are called teachers, caravan leaders, fault abandoners, dispellers of darkness, light bringers, makers of radiance, luminaries, torch bearers, bringers of illumination, noble ones, possessors of vision.”

For those who are knowledgeable

This is a state making for joy—

Living the life of Dhamma

Under the noble ones perfected in mind.

They clarify the true Dhamma

Shining forth and illuminating it,

Those light bringers, heroic sages,

Endowed with vision, dispelling faults.

Having heard their teaching,

The wise with perfect understanding

By directly knowing the end of birth

Come no more to renewal of being.

Iti 104

“Thus I have heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:

“Bhikkhus, dwell possessed of virtue, possessed of the Patimokkha (monastic precepts), restrained with the restraint of the Patimokkha, perfect in conduct and resort, and seeing fear in the slightest fault, train by undertaking the training precepts.

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I be dear and agreeable to my companions in the holy life, respected and esteemed by them, ‘let him fulfil the precepts, be devoted to internal serenity of mind, not neglect meditation, be possessed of insight, and dwell in empty huts.

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I be one to obtain robes, alms food, resting place and medicinal requisites, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May the services of those whose robes, alms food, resting place and medicinal requisites I use bring them great fruit and benefit, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I become a conqueror of discontent and delight, and may discontent and delight not conquer me, ‘ let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I become a conqueror of fear and dread, and may fear and dread not conquer me; may I abide transcending fear and dread whenever they arise, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish:  ‘May I become one to obtain at will, without trouble or difficulty, the four jhana that constitute the higher mind and provide a pleasant abiding here and now, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial and transcending forms, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I with the destruction of the three fetters, become a stream enterer, no longer subject to perdition(hell), bound for deliverance, headed for enlightenment, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

“If a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I, with the destruction of the three fetters and with the attenuation of lust, hate, and delusion, become a once returner, returning once to this world to make an end of suffering, ‘let him fulfil the precepts…

Mn 6

 Modern Teachers   

“ So that’s what the aspects of self control and self discipline are about within the Buddhist training—just making sure that the brakes on your car work. Having a car that can accelerate and go places fast is fine, but if you don’t have brakes, when the road bends you will be in trouble. When we reach a stop sign or cross roads we need to be able to stop. Life is not all about empty roads and green lights, other traffic, red lights and so on abound.”

Ajahn Amaro “Silent Rain”

“I practised Dhamma without knowing a great deal. I just knew the path to liberation began with virtue(sila). Virtue is the beautiful beginning of the Path. The deep peace of samadhi is the beautiful middle. Panna(wisdom) is the beautiful end. Although they can be separated as three unique aspects of the training, as we look into them more and more deeply, these three qualities converge as one. To uphold virtue, you have to be wise. We usually advise people to develop ethical standards first by keeping the Five Precepts so that their virtue will become solid. However the perfection of virtue takes a lot of wisdom. We have to consider our speech and actions and analyse their consequences. This is all the work of wisdom. We have to rely on our wisdom to cultivate virtue.”

Ajahn Chah “Food for the Heart”

“We practise Skilful Action not because we want to avoid breaking the Buddha’s rules or because we fear that someone will punish us if we do. We avoid cruel and hurtful behaviour because we can see the consequences of such actions---that they lead to profound unhappiness for us and everyone around us, now and in the future. We practise Skilful Action because we want our lives to be helpful and harmonious, not destructive and contentious, and because we want a calm and happy mind, untroubled by regret and remorse.”

Bhante Gunaratana “Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness” 

 This recollection is the first of the two recollections that involve the Perfections. Virtue and generosity are two of the Ten Perfections and this recollection is the first occasion where we direct the mind not only to an awareness of them, but also a conscious cultivation of them. Some,  will argue that there is no need for them to cultivate this recollection, because they already are aware of their virtuous and generous behaviour. The counter argument is, yes this is no doubt true, but there is a significant difference between awareness of something and actively encouraging the mind to adopt the object we are aware of  as natural expressions of itself. I can be aware of a broken toe, but is the bandages and aspirin that will heal the break.

In recollecting virtue, we move from the passive to the proactive. The recollection is a recognition that we are doing something that is rare. In the Recollection of the Sangha, we recollected someone else’s virtue, here we recollect our own. Westerners can display this quite remarkable and in many ways quite sad ability to turn a joyous recollection into an inquisition. This perhaps one reason why  some Buddhist teachers in the West seem so loathe to teach about virtue…too many of their students carry guilt from their Christian upbringing. Virtue is equated not with the joyful, but with sin and a need to repent. Buddhism adopts a diametrically opposite approach to Christianity.  When we recollect that our observance of the Precepts was a long way from perfect, we accept that and resolve to do better. We refrain from wanting to take a whip to ourselves as an exercise of repentance. Wisdom arises not from self mutilation either physically or mentally, but from a willingness to learn from our mistakes. If we are keeping just one Precept, then we take joy in that. We must always remember that the Precepts are trainings, that’s what the Pali word ‘sikka’ means and upon reflection ‘training’ is perhaps a better translation than ‘Precepts’ . No one responsible trains a horse or a dog with a cattle prod & neither should we train ourselves that way. There is the simple reality that the mind inclines towards that which it finds pleasurable, make the mind associate the Precepts with pleasure and it will happily observe them. Make them a source of pain & discomfort and the mind will refuse to go anywhere near them.

As lay people we can base our recollection on our observance of the Five Trainings of:

1.                        Not killing

2.                        Not stealing

3.                        Not engaging in sexual misconduct

4.                        Not engaging in harsh and divisive speech, lying

5.                        Not indulging in intoxicants.

This is perfectly adequate for the purposes of this recollection. Most of us have degrees of difficulty with keeping these trainings. It is because the observance of the trainings is anything but easy, that we take joy in succeeding at the observance. For some, including myself, giving up a cold beer after a hard days work mowing lawns, is a major renunciation. Thus the joy I take when I opt instead for a ginger cordial.  If you are one of those blessed people who have little or no difficulty in keeping the Five Trainings, take joy in the fact that for you they are easy to keep. Don’t be egotistical, but cultivate an awareness, that for you this difficult thing is easy, that you are in a way as I’ve already said, blessed. It also gives you a chance to practice this Recollection at a deeper level, a more refined one.

For a lay person there are four other trainings that can be undertaken. With the Eight Trainings we change the third Training from ‘sexual misconduct’ to celibacy. Then there are three additional Trainings:

Not taking food after midday.

Abstaining from music, movies, TV. Perfumes (including After Shave, though interestingly not the body sprays so popular in the West at the present time)

Abstaining from high & luxurious beds.

It would come as no great surprise that these additional trainings are rather difficult for most of us. Our culture suffers from media saturation…the sheer quantity of available information, entertainment, distraction is just overwhelming. Food is increasingly available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are the most affluent generation to have lived, physical comfort is seen as a right. Sex is, courtesy of reliable contraception, amazingly easy to find. The Eight Trainings require planning and a level of commitment that our culture seems devoted to undermining.

A certain degree of flexibility and intelligence is allowed with the observance of the trainings. This is to say that if work for example prevents us from observing a training, then we can undertake other trainings. Illness is an allowable exception. Diabetics need to regulate their blood sugar level, so the training regarding eating after midday isn’t something set in concrete. Working in a cinema precludes the training regarding entertainments.  The one absolute exception to this is intoxicants, there is no acceptable intake of alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, heroin, morphine, ecstasy, methyl amphetamine or anyone of the designer drugs. Caffeine (& to a lesser extent nicotine) is not regarded as intoxicating line removed. The third training is a grey area as well. If we are observing Eight Trainings then all sexual activity is excluded. If we are observing Five Trainings, then so long as we are responsible, then there is no problem, unless signs of addiction manifest themselves. For example if we spend all our available time & money for the procurement of sexual pleasure to the exclusion of all else, then there is a problem. Obsessive use & watching of pornography is also a sign that we need to have a chat to someone responsible. Or we use sex as a weapon. There are plenty of people in relationships who use sex as a means of control over their partners, either by demanding activities that the partner is unwilling to do, or by the simple act of denying them sexual activity. Or using sex outside the relationship as a form of revenge for mistakes, neglect or abuse by their partner.  These are to me are clear examples of sexual misconduct. 

It is the extremes that we need to be careful of. Being totally repressive is as bad as total indulgence…we walk the Middle Way. For some of us, the natural expression of our sexuality is celibacy. Celibacy has a place in our lives as meditators…we need times of stillness and sexual activity has a lot of energy both mental and physical. We need times where we are simply still. Sudden & unilateral  observance of celibacy when we are in a relationship can be pure poison for that relationship. A partner that is suddenly and inexplicably uninterested in intimacy is justifiable cause for grief in a coupling. So whilst times of celibacy are both natural and to a degree necessary in our practice, we do need to exercise consideration and intelligence when we observe it.  We need to plan an observance of the Eight Trainings, re-arrange work or discuss with our partners our plans. That there is this need for forethought makes the power of the observance even greater.

To move onto the practice of this recollection. I can’t give you timeframes in which to practice this recollection. What I do suggest, is that since these meditations have their own energy, that you let the mind abide in the particular aspect of the reflection as long as it wants to. Treat the recollection like a fine chocolate…let the flavour of it pervade the mind just like a chocolate pervades the tongue. The flavour of the recollection is of course the wonder and the joy of it.  Once you have settled into the meditation position. Just take a moment to breathe. Then begin to reflect on the power of sila and sila is deeply powerful. Reflect that it was just this sila that you are now observing that enabled the Bodhisatta to become the Buddha. Reflect that every time you observe even just one of the Trainings that you walk in the footsteps of the Buddha. Because this is rare in the world and you are doing this consciously arouse wonder. Reflect on the rarity of virtue in the world. If the observance is difficult( and every last one of us finds observing sila difficult at times, we all have our failings), then reflect that despite the difficulty that you are continuing to observe sila.

Moving onto the Trainings themselves. Tick them off in your head. Sila is not something we are compelled to observe, we exercise a choice in this matter. Recollect, “today I observed the following sila”, and just how wonderful being harmless, gentle, trustworthy, ethical really is. Even making an honest effort to observe sila and failing, is better than not making the attempt to keep sila at all. True, it is better that we keep sila, but the real world has failure in it, and since as I have already explained, this is not an exercise in self flagellation, it is best that you cultivate joy in that fact that you at least tried to observe sila. Considering just how brutal, corrupt and immoral the world is, take joy in the fact that you are choosing ( or trying to at least) not to be a part of that. Take joy in the truth that you are keeping this sila beautifully….all sila is beautiful and the observance of it is unblemished, un-mottled, pure. Even just one Training beautifully observed has a profound effect on us and those around us.

“ Today/yesterday I was kind, gentle, compassionate, moral—this is wonderful, fantastic, beautiful!!”

You can use the traditional words of this recollection that I quoted from the Vimutti Magga. It is absolutely true that this sila is “praised by the wise”, “conducive to concentration”, “liberating”.   You will find that once the mind abides in virtue, that it is able to calm down and concentrate really easily. Sila causes the mind to have a natural luminosity and that luminosity leads readily to stillness and concentration (see 4.1.2).  Might not happen immediately, but   it can and will happen. The aspect of liberation is obvious to say the least, because the Lord Buddha stressed sila as one of the supports to the holy life—Sila, Samadhi (tranquillity), Panna(wisdom)---anyone can see why & where liberation fits in.

It is perhaps worth noting here, that in the Thai Forest Tradition there is more to sila than the at times automatic/robotic observance of rules. Sila  is treated as something that includes how you relate to and interact with the monastic community in which you live. I have heard of instances where the observance of the Precepts was impeccable, but where the persons sila was viewed as less than ideal, because the person was treating his fellows in the community with indifference. Refusal to help with chores in the monastery is seen as having bad sila. The experts will tell me that monastic etiquette is called “khor wat”, but what is “khor wat” other than sila?  Since you, the reader are almost certainly not residing in a monastery, sila can and does extend into how we treat our partners/friends/ family.  There is absolutely no point in observing the Five Trainings faultlessly, if we are selfish and abusive to those we live and work with. Since this actually borders on the territory of the next recollection, that of generosity, I will finish with the Recollection of Virtue. If the reader wishes to explore the topic of Sila more thoroughly I recommend Ajahn Thanissaro’s book “The healing Power of the Precepts, available at: www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/precepts.html

With great joy I bow my head to the Wonderful Sila taught by the Blessed One.