Two Forms of Meditation Posture, and Their Different Effects

Phra Ajarn Suraphong opened the sitting by explaining that there are two forms of sitting posture for meditation. One is the "standard posture" -- an important posture in which our body and the Dhamma-body overlap and become one. The other is any posture we find convenient -- standing, walking, sitting with legs extended, or sitting cross-legged loosely. He explained that both forms can settle the mind, but they produce different results.

The Story: A Fellow Monk Who Overcame Insomnia Through the Standard Sitting Posture

To illustrate the difference, he shared an example from many years ago. A fellow monk who had entered the monkhood had, before ordaining, needed to rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep. He intended to use his time as a monk to break free of the medication, and once ordained he stopped taking it entirely. As it turned out, he could not sleep at all for two nights running.

At that time, a senior monk brought him to ask Phra Ajarn Suraphong what to do. Phra Ajarn asked whether the monk had been sitting in meditation -- yes, both during the day and before bed. He then asked whether the monk had been using the standard sitting posture before bed; it turned out he had not. Phra Ajarn advised him to go back that night and use the standard posture before sleeping, telling him he would fall asleep within 30 to 45 minutes.

Sure enough, once the monk returned and used the standard posture as advised, he was able to sleep. From that day forward he never needed the sleeping medication again, simply by relying on the standard sitting posture. Phra Ajarn pointed to this as proof that the standard posture has a real, demonstrable effect.

The Reason Why: Body and Dhamma-Body Overlapping as One

Phra Ajarn explained the reason behind this: the standard sitting posture is the posture in which our body and the Dhamma-body -- the Triple Gem residing within us -- overlap and become one, since the Dhamma-body extends and overlaps our entire body. But whenever we stretch out our legs or move any part of the body outside that standard form, the subtle mass associated with that part settles outside the correct position, and this is what disturbs sleep. That said, Phra Ajarn stressed that for ordinary meditation aimed at settling the mind, any posture will do at the beginner level -- the standard posture is not always required.

The Buddha's Words: Determine to Know Body, Feeling, Mind, and Dhamma Clearly

From the topic of posture, Phra Ajarn moved to the second essential point: steadiness. He returned to the Buddha's own words, taught to the monks over 2,000 years ago on the cultivation of right mindfulness: "Monks, you should determine to know clearly the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, in order to eliminate covetousness and grief regarding the world."

He explained that "to determine" means to mark, to pinpoint, or to specify a location for the heart clearly -- it may be the breath, the physical sensation of the body, or the center of the body -- but the location must be specified clearly, and then we go in to know it. Wherever we determine, that is where the heart goes; this is called "paying attention."

Knowing Is Mindfulness: It Arises Only at the Heart

Wherever attention is placed, mindfulness (sati) establishes itself there. Sati is knowing -- a clear, round, radiant sphere, a wholesome quality that can arise in only one place: the heart. It cannot arise anywhere else. Once this quality of mindfulness is established, it draws pure energy -- merit -- to flow in at the center of its brightness. This is why our late revered teacher taught us to "stay continuously aware, without lapsing" -- because this sphere of knowing draws in pure merit-energy, which then drives the wholesome system to correct every defilement.

Phra Ajarn gave examples: we may determine to know at the feet, aware of touch, of warmth, coolness, softness, or firmness; or we may determine to know at the folded hands. Wherever we know, that is where sati is established.

The Index Finger and Thumb as an Indicator: The Same-Pole Magnet Simile

Phra Ajarn offered another technique many practitioners favor: resting the index finger against the thumb. While the mind is in samadhi, the two fingers are gently, softly drawn toward each other. But the moment an unwholesome state takes hold of the mind, the index finger and thumb separate instantly, as though repelled -- like two magnets of the same pole flung apart. This becomes a signal to the practitioner that an unwholesome state has taken over and mindfulness has lapsed, prompting them to gather their mindfulness once more. The fingers thus serve as an indicator of whether the wholesome system still holds the seat of the heart, or whether something else has slipped in.

Choosing a Meditation Object With a Clear, Continuous Signal

Besides determining to know the body, one can also determine to know the center of the body, using a marker such as a crystal Buddha image. If it is not yet clear, that's fine -- all that is needed is a marker for the heart to anchor upon. Phra Ajarn stressed that a good meditation object needs a signal that is clear and continuous, one we can consistently perceive. As long as the signal remains, sati continues to perceive it; if the signal disappears, we simply determine to know that it has disappeared -- that's fine too -- and continue determining to know until the signal reappears.

He compared our life to floating in the middle of a vast ocean with no shore in sight, so we need a buoy to hold onto. That buoy is the meditation object (kammatthana), and it needs to be easy to hold onto. If we already have something familiar that has worked before, we should choose that.

Dhamma-Investigation: Choosing a Lifelong Meditation Object

Phra Ajarn explained that this process of testing and selecting a suitable meditation object is, among the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga), called "dhamma-vicaya" -- investigation of dhamma. Investigation means gathering information and then analyzing it for benefit. In the same way, we must take the meditation objects available to us and test and analyze how effective each one is, to see whether it is suitable to adopt as our lifelong object. He noted that this matters enormously for our life, because once chosen, it can be used for the rest of our life -- like earning a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree: graduate once, and it serves you for life.

Reciting "Samma Arahang" Paired With the Mental Image

Once a meditation object is chosen, we determine to know it with the heart anchored firmly upon it -- for instance, resting the heart at the seventh base, the center of the body, while reciting "Samma Arahang" paired with the mental image of the Buddha image. When we utter his name, the Buddha image appears. "Samma Arahang" refers to the one who has practiced well and rightly, whose practice leads far from every defilement. Once the Buddha image appears, it expands and overlaps, becoming one with us.

Phra Ajarn explained that reaching this Buddha image can be easy or difficult -- easy for those who know and understand, difficult for those who do not. The degree of attainment ranges from 1% to 100%; whatever degree we reach, we should be content with that for now, and continue practicing repeatedly -- the degree of attainment will then increase on its own, automatically.

Liberation, Dimension by Dimension -- Like a Child Growing Little by Little

Phra Ajarn explained that as long as the sphere of knowing is established, it continuously draws pure energy in. This pure energy drives the wholesome system to correct the elements of Dhamma within us, allowing us to move easily from one dimension to a subtler one, even while things remain dim and unclear. We are liberated without even realizing it.

He compared this to a child growing a little every day -- a millimeter here, half a millimeter there -- and only after some time has passed do we clearly see the growth. It is the same for us: before sitting we feel one way, and after sitting we feel another -- the body lighter, the heart lighter, more refined, gentler, more at ease. This is the result of the difference between the dimension we occupied before and the one we have moved into.

Stopping Within Stopping, Stillness Within Stillness, and the Closing Chant

Phra Ajarn closed the sitting by leading the determination to stop within stopping, still within stillness, with the body and heart relaxed and at ease. As we determine to stop, the sphere of stopping establishes itself -- a wholesome sphere -- and this stopping halts every system except the wholesome one, moving inward to stop within each successive sphere, resting in stillness within stillness. The sphere of stillness then arises, dissolving all vibration; as that vibration subsides, liberation from one dimension to the next continues, unbroken.

He then led the closing chant of homage to the Triple Gem: Sabbe Buddha balappatta, paccekana nca yam balam, arahantananca tejena, rakkham bandhami sabbaso. Sabba-Buddhanubhavena, sabba-Dhammanubhavena, sabba-Sanghanubhavena, sadda-sotthi bhavantu te.