It is important to understand the etymology of the modern idea for soul for the western mindset. Early Greek philosopher Plato 427 – 347 BC, drawing on the words of his teacher Socrates, considered the soul ‘as the essence of a person, being, that which decides how we behave.’ He considered this essence; ‘as an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. As bodies die the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies.’  The Platonic soul comprises three parts:

1.  the logos (mind, nous, or reason)

2.  the thymos (emotion, or spiritedness, or masculine)

3.  the eros (appetitive, or desire, or feminine)

An early glimpse of the idea of soul has a Buddhist framework.  Not surprising when considering the time line. Buddhism had been in existence for over 200 years and Buddhist monks traveling the trade routes were present in Greece at that time.  Some 1500 years later Thomas Aquinas 1225 – 1274 AD understood the soul to be the first principle, or act, of the body. However, his theory required that, since the intellectual soul is capable of knowing all material things, and since in order to know a material thing there must be no material thing within it, the soul was definitely not corporeal. Therefore, the soul had an operation separate from the body and therefore could subsist without the body. Now we have the framework for western thought, and the idea of a separate soul and body.

Remember that Buddhism characteristically describes ‘existence’ in terms of process and relation rather than an entity or substance or creation, and therefore does not believe in the existence of a self or soul.

The idea of selflessness is a concept of Buddhism, perhaps one of the most important Buddhists teaching is a core idea called anattā, which translates to “selflessness” or “no soul”. The existence of selflessness promotes a genesis of non-attachment to people, places, things, ideas and the notion of self. Thereby in itself, promoting attributes of kindness, altruism, generosity and compassion.

The Buddha felt that all existence is characterized by anattā, impermanence (anitya), and suffering (dukkha). The Buddha taught the doctrine of anattā because he believed that a “self” resulted in egoism, craving, attachment and consequently in suffering.

There are two ideas or mental concepts that are psychologically rooted in the human psyche: self protection and self preservation. Man created, outside the existence of God, a notion of God as a protection for the self and reason for existence. Man conceived the idea of a immortal soul as a means for self preservation.   However in his ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, man needs justifies these two concepts to comfort himself.  He clings to them obsessively. Wars have been fought and countless lives wasted on the clinging to these two notions. This is the idea or notion of selfishness. Selfishness is the constant desire to fill all the voids, to answer every craving, to fill every cup to its fullest.

In the west the question of selflessness is often answered by what is the opposite of selfishness.  It is difficult for westerners to find reason for a need in selflessness because of the concept of goodness.  For Buddhism goodness is and activity and action and understanding of what is good. It is learned.  In the west we are told all goodness come from god.  The idea that good; any good can only come from outside the self negates the right understanding, notion and right action of any person exercising the will to create good.

Doing some act of goodness is an altruistic act which promotes the development of goodness and causes no harm. Altruism is action motivated by desires whose object is another’s benefit. We have every reason to believe that there are such desires and so our intuitive practice is justified.  Believing in the pure act of selflessness we give way to the benefit of others.  In any act of kindness we are thinking of others.  Thinking causes investigation. Investigations uncover the truth, and as my counterparts in western religions are fond of saying; “and the truth will set you free”.

Be at peace with all you do.  Happiness is really very relative.  If a thought plagues you as to whether you’re doing something just for your own edification, expand the notion to fully accept your part in it and how it will affect the other persons in the involvement.  Do this without losing sight of yourself.  Make your motive pure. Do things not out of sympathy or some form of self gratification, but rather because it is good for the betterment of all. Try to keep in the forefront of your thoughts, not to harm anyone….including yourself.

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319

There are found in Buddhism chiefly two types of meditation techniques. The Buddha developed two interrelated systems of meditation which enabled him to achieve enlightenment. The first meditational system is called the development of serenity or tranquility (samathabhavana).

The practice of samatha, also called Samadhi meditation, produces a calm, serene, and concentrated mind. In this format you are learning to concentrate and distill your mind into a single subject or thought direction. The benefits of this style are characterized by inner peace, and sense of a unified self. Having a firm calm interior is essential in developing a base by which self introspection and self knowledge are possible. It is fundamental to other levels of meditation, that you practice centering the self and improving your ability to concentrate on a single subject. You will develop the skill of not allowing distractions to remain as an impediment to your meditation and your commitment to understanding the self improves through practice.

The reasoning behind concentration and centering is to quell the agitations of the body and psyche. Practicing calmness helps to naturally suppress the mental irritations that impede good spiritual development. These mental impediments are called the Five Hindrances (pancanivarana):

1. Sensual Desire (kamachanda) is the desiring of pleasant sights and sounds, smells, tastes, and feeling of the body. Here you find yourself spending long periods of time thinking about body needs or sensory triggers. Imaginings and attachment to feelings as well as sexual preoccupation are found here.

2. Ill-Will (byapada) is having or harboring bad thoughts or having a disdain or hatred for things, events and, most often, people.

3. Sloth and torpor (thinamiddha) is a heaviness or sleepiness that beginners often find it necessary to overcome.

4. Restlessness and worry (uddhaccakukkuca) is mental activity which is uncontrolled. Remorse, preoccupations with work, time watching and inability to relax are manifestations of this hindrance.

5. Skeptical doubt (vicikiccha) is having an uncertainty about the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha — the Triple Gem — and a lack of confidence that the result of using the training will be to make a difference. Will it be worth the the effort?

The goal of meditation is akin to that of Buddhism in general. It is a way to reduce suffering. As these hindrances arise and affect our meditations, our ability to maintain a calm and serene countenance is drastically reduced. When this occurs, our ability to lessen our own suffering is as well similarly reduced.

I would offer these four basic steps in your quest to develop Samadhi meditation.

1. At the outset develop a suitable meditation place. The choosing of a place to meditate is crucial. Stay away from areas like your favorite easy chair, your bed or favorite place at the family table. Your body is already “function conditioned” to these locations.

2. Practice to first learn the basic step of keeping focused on a certain idea, thought or object.

3. Try to recognize the hindrances as they arise and begin to suppress them. Do not be dismayed by your temporary inability to partially suppress mental irritations.

4. Begin to realize your efforts. At this stage you will to be able to fully concentrate on the idea, thought or subject of your meditation. With practice your meditations grow in length and productivity. Your abilities to concentrate strengthen and the mind is able to remain focused for longer and longer periods of time.

When you start the meditation practice, in this method you must select an object, thought or idea as your point of genesis. There are a number of suitable subjects to choose from. You might try watching your breath (anapanasati) or trying the loving-kindness meditation often referred to as (metta) meditation. Other meditations you want to try later are meditation on feelings (vedanānupassanā) and meditations on the body (kāyānupassana).

Vipassana meditation rests on the foundations that have been formed by understanding the theory and practice of Samadhi meditation. It is important to note that the word Vipassana is a compound word of two parts vi-passana.

Vi meaning to “divide or separate”, and passana meaning “seeing”.

The mind exists in elemental parts. Vipassana attemps to separate the mind parts from the body. This is a special skill that is developed through the practice of Vipassana mediation. Why would we want to do this? The purpose of this meditation is to provide for us a view of what the mind and body connection actually is.

At the outset we need to have a list of the characteristics of life.

They are:

1. Impermanence (annica)

2. Suffering (dukkha)

3. Non-self (anatta)

The center of vipassana or insight meditation is aimed at penetrating these three characteristics. Insight meditation is a journey. Essentially it is a journey of the self into the body and mind and the influences of the senses. We are a product of conditioning. Conditioning is like a training of the mind and body. If we can see the correlations and connections between senses, perception, mind and body, we can learn to understand suffering and its causation.

To understand suffering we must first be able to clearly see it. Suffering is caused by clinging or attachment. Attachment is not easy to identify without knowing the objects of attachment. Buddhism identifies these items as the Five Aggregates of clinging (pancuppadanakhanda):

1. Material form (rupa)

2. Sensations or clinging (vedana)

3. Perception (sanna)

4. Volitional formations (sankhara)

5. Consciousness (vinnana)

The Buddha emphasized the importance of meditation in the daily life of everyone. It is notable that in his time he felt it crucial for people to stay grounded in everyday life.

Remarkably he said this over 2600 years ago.

Insight meditation helps us develop the ability to see through the hindrances of the mind, dissolve the power of the ego and become very well acquainted with who we are.

We need to remember when we go out into the world our mind and body go with us. The mind is the instrument by which we stay in contact with the world. It is also the instrument we use to remain in contact with ourselves. If there is a lack of self then we suffer. If we suffer then others around us suffer.

We must develop empathy for feelings of others. Developing empathy for the feelings of others emerges out of a deeper love for others and an understanding of ourselves which is achieved through meditation. True empathy changes behavior. By understanding ourselves and what causes us to suffer, we can relate to others and their suffering even if we can not relate to the cause of the suffering.

Buddhism is a thinking person’s faith. We urge meditators to use discernment and practice openly and freely. Buddhism is a down to earth wisdom. It teaches us to shake off the sensual and sexual obsessions, recognize the elements of frustration and suffering and awaken to our individual possibilities.

When things trouble us we need to look at the source. Four things matter. Life is suffering. Realize the causes of suffering. Liberation exists for the suffering, and there is a way to achieve it.

Continue to practice the meditation experience. It is a path. By being true to ourselves we can follow the path that much easier. Our lives and the relationships we have benefit from the practice of meditation. The experiences of enlightenment come in small moments for most of us. Our lives are filled with so much that it is important to recognize the moments of peace and calm.

It is the goal we give to ourselves. Peace and calm.

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319

He was speaking on the duality of things happening around us. All that we have, we measure against that which we do not possess.

It is our nature to look at a glass half empty or half full. What would happen if we just looked at the glass regardless of its contents? We look at nature around us and see in front of us the tree so barren in winter. We wish it were filled with flowers or flush with green leaves, in the hopes we can make it change. We can not. The wise person accepts everything where it is, and for what it is. Not looking for change or making a judgment of either good or bad, positive or not, is the right step. Allowing things and people to be is a gift you give yourself.

Our lives are a process of light and dark, day and night, winter and spring, summer and fall. Each time passes into another. Nothing remains the same. This is what we acknowledge as a universal law. We can be sad over death and dying yet it is as natural as a blossom, once finished, falling to the ground. All things are transient: happiness and sadness.

We have to come to an understanding of our place in nature and the natural laws that govern all of us. We can live only in the present. We can not change the past and the future remains unfolded until it becomes today. We can acknowledge our transient nature by a comparison to all things found in nature. We are as much a part of each other as the air we share. What we share that is unique is our memory. When you remember a person, you recall his or her physical attributes and characteristics. That image is as alive as you are. But you do not stop there. You also have feelings associated with almost everyone and everything you store in your memory. It is the feelings that teach us of our connections and the fact that relationships like everything else are transient.

The uncontrollable element is time. Time brings us together and takes us back apart. Uncontrollable, meaning too strong to suppress, so what we can not suppress we acknowledge and allow to pass. We are the makers of our own kamma. Our minds are the masters of our thoughts. No one can purify us except ourselves. We are natural beings and can take much from nature. Think of the leaves of any tree. Fresh, they are born in the spring. Young and bright, some are plucked early before the finish of spring. Others live rich full lives filled with color, until leaving the tree to make their way to the earth. It is the same for us. We must celebrate life’s moments as we live them from our beginning to our passing.

So when Charles Dickens wrote “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” He was correct. Both times live side by side. What we can offer each other is comfort to those who need comfort. Share our joy with those who have none, offer security to those who are afraid. Help those who are in need, and learn to love each other as we love ourselves.

So my prayer and hope for you is this:

“May all of you have happiness in your lives, may all your days have joy, and may your many blessings carry you through the difficult times that we all share. May you grant each other peace, and finally may you always know that the purest form of love comes from the self, and it is that which becomes the blessing you share with us all.”

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319