Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana

by Shaila Catherine

Wisdom Wide and Deep is a comprehensive guide to an in-depth training that emphasizes the application of concentrated attention (jhana) to profound and liberating insight (vipassana). With calm, tranquility, and composure established through a practical experience of jhana meditators are able to halt the seemingly endless battle against hindrances, eliminate distraction, and facilitate a penetrative insight into the subtle nature of matter and mind. It was for this reason the Buddha frequently exhorted his students, Wisdom Wide and Deep follows and amplifies the teachings in Shaila Catherine's acclaimed first book, Focused and A Meditator's Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity. Readers will learn to develop this profound stability, sustain an in-depth examination of the nuances of mind and matter, and ultimately unravel deeply conditioned patterns that perpetuate suffering. This fully detailed manual for the mind sure to become a trusted companion to many inner explorers.

Genres: Meditation, Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Unfinished

603 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2011

About the author

Shaila Catherine has been practicing meditation since 1980, with more than eight years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She has taught since 1996 in the USA, and internationally. Shaila has dedicated several years to studying with masters in India, Nepal and Thailand, completed a one year intensive meditation retreat with the focus on concentration and jhana. She has extensive experience with the practice of metta, including seven months exploring metta as the meditation subject in retreats. In recent years, Shaila had continued her study of jhana and insight with the guidance of Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw of Burma.

Reviews

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thick, hands-on, compassionate meditation handbook suitable for the medium to medium-advanced practitioner. Some of the instructions described in here are so elaborate that I find it difficult to implement them within a busy daily life schedule. Some retreat from worldly affairs, the extent of which should be evaluated by the individual practitioner on the basis of their goals, is in one way or another called for.

Also a nice complement to Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, which I'd read before this one, and an effective introduction to the Brahmavihara, among the (many) other teachings.

[Totochelamouche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please take a cup and spit in it. Now drink that spit. Does the idea instill a sense of revulsion, or are you happy to drink your spit? You swallow your own saliva all day long, yet this little experiment may reveal an underlying response of repulsion to the body.

Dispassion implies the ending of suffering or the absence of passion. The term passion is derived from the Latin root which means suffering. Just as compassion, composed of com (with), and passion (suffering), describes the heart's capacity to stay open in the presence of suffering, dispassion describes the heart's capacity to stay open without suffering. Dispassion refers to a mind that stays steady and unperturbed by truth.
When clear seeing is established, you will find that much of what you had clung to regarding personality, social role, and personal preferences simply no longer feels attractive.

Piti has the characteristic of being pleased with the object of meditation. This intensity of interest in the meditation object serves to overcome the hindrance of aversion. It functions to refresh the body and mind, but it can also intensify to excessive manifestations of elation or excitement. You may be thrilled that something is finally happening, find the energized appearance of rapture pleasant, or consider it quite irritating. Let piti arise and suffuse the knowing of the breath, but don't allow it to divert your attention from the breath. Observing piti tends to amplify its more caustic attributes and cause it to manifest as an agitating field of vibration in the body. Whether you like it or hate it, this energized delight must settle in order to perform the function of refreshing consciousness and effectively enabling jhana.

Make a list of all your thoughts that are essentially comparisons; include ranking, judging, and assessing thoughts. Do you compare yourself with others or rate your performance against memories of how you functioned in youth? Do you compare the weather that you hope will occur on the day that you scheduled a picnic with the wind and sun as it is actually appearing? Do you assess your present mood against ideal standards? Note how frequently comparison occurs as a feature of your mental life. Are those assessments verifiable? Do you know them to be true?

Skill in maintaining jhana opposes the tendency to become complacent, lazy, and negligent - to just coast along.

The Buddhist tradition recommends five daily remembrances. Recite them each morning and allow the reflection to influence your choices each day. [...]
4. All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me.

In Buddhist cultures, monastics may observe autopsies in hospitals or decomposing corpses when devout Buddhists have donated their cadavers for such contemplation. I was privileged to engage in these practices as part of my traditional training at a Thai forest monastery. Most meditators in the West will not have this opportunity; anatomy books and medical illustrations can provide clues about each body part and where it is found. Since this is meditative contemplation and not precise medical science, don't feel that it is necessary to get caught up with anatomical intricacies. If your concentration is extremely strong, you will literally perceive the specific body part with the mind. This is a practice of discernment - a noncritical, nonjudgmental contemplation of the body. It involves viewing the body from the perspective of a detached observer, as plainly as one would see a bag of grains and sort through them knowing which were beans, peas, or rice.

Persistence is needed to prevent the stalling of momentum. For now, even things that previously interested you, such as personal growth, sensual pleasures, meditative attainments, and heavenly potentials, will not appeal to the mind so infused with disenchantment and dispassion. Some meditators may also lose interest in the meditation practice, or find their commitments derailed by finding fault with food, housing, or teaching styles. Suspend all complaints. Strive to sever attachment. Remember your aim. Continue with diligence. And let nothing deter you from your search for peace.

The Visuddhimagga explains, "Conformity is able to dispel the murk of defilements that conceal the truth, but is unable to make nibbana its object. Change of lineage is only able to make nibbana its object, but is unable to dispel the murk that conceals the truth." This series of knowledges is amazingly quick - just a matter of a few mind-moments that occur in the process of perceiving nibbana and constitute the cognitive series of the path. Although incredibly brief, each is listed as a distinct knowledge in order to highlight its specific function in this significant transformation that marks the change of lineage from an ordinary person to a noble one [...].

For some meditators, both jhana and insight practices feel dreadfully coarse now, and there is no wish to engage in them until the experience of nibbana is repeated or the sublime bliss subsides. During this period, you may gain mastery in this supramundane experience. Apply specific resolves to remain in the fruition attainment for one hour, two hours, or longer. Thoroughly and repeatedly experience the fruition attainment of stream-entry. Although jhana-like, the realization of nibbana is not a concentration state. Supramundane attainments are the result of vipassana and occur through dispassion toward arising and passing phenomena, not fixation upon a chosen object.

Realizing that even innocuous pleasures such as smelling flowers can perpetuate craving and clinging, the monk welcomed the deva's reprimand and invited him to intervene anytime. But the deva refused to watch over him to correct his faults, insisting that the monk must take responsibility for himself. Likewise, we must each take responsibility for our own desires, for the hindrances that obsess our minds, for the restlessness and distraction that plague attention, and for the consequences of our actions. It is not that sensual pleasures are evil; they simply do not have the capacity to satisfy us. Genuine peace occurs when we relinquish every conceivable attachment. As the Buddha taught, "Dry up the remains of the past, and have nothing for the future. If you do not cling to the present, you shall go from place to place in peace."

Resolve to clear your mind of obstructive states and refuse to fuel the reproduction of unwholesome states. For example, when you become aware that your mind is entertaining a stream of judging thoughts, mindfully examine the formation called judging. It will probably be composed of the eighteen or twenty mental formations associated with states of hatred. Once you make the decision to not condition hatred, direct your attention in a wholesome way in the next moment. In all likelihood the energy that supports chronic judging will have dissipated through wise examination. Contemplate how rapidly mental states change.

Some meditators will have very bright and stable breath nimittas, although many meditators find that the kasinas, especially the white kasina, appear bigger, brighter, and more powerful than the nimitta associated with the breath. Kasinas, with their infinite and expanded qualities, often dwarf the breath nimittas, which in comparison appear constrained and less impressive.
Kasina meditations were common meditative trainings that predated the Buddha. The Discourses of the Buddha mention these six kasinas but provide few practical instructions. The Visuddhimagga therefore serves as our treasure trove, filled with explicit instructions and procedural details to support the eager meditator.

When I wrote Focused and Fearless several years ago, I introduced the immaterial abidings after the fourth jhana attained by mindfulness with breathing. Currently, however, I only teach the immaterial abidings after at least one kasina is firmly established up to the fourth jhana. I now conform to the more traditional sequence of training because greater stability and ease seem to develop when the immaterial abidings are preceded by kasina practice. Breath meditation focuses attention on a specific and narrow location; kasina practice expands consciousness to unlimited proportions and reduces the perception of materiality to a mere concept. This preparation narrows the gap between the fourth and fifth jhanas and softens what might otherwise appear to be a stark contrast between material and immaterial perceptions. If the leap is too large or the contrast too jarring, a meditator could experience distortions of perception similar to the queasiness induced by a high-rise elevator, the peculiar sensation of stepping onto a moving sidewalk in an airport, or the slight disorientation felt when we first step on solid land after a long journey in a small boat.

Notice the first thoughts that arise in the morning. If you discover that you wake to irritated, anxious, worried, fearful, grumpy, or demanding mental patterns, exchange them for the happy ease of metta. If you find that you jump in the shower in the morning already rehearsing how you might respond to confrontations that have not yet occurred, lamenting minor social blunders made in previous days, or armoring yourself against dangers that are not present, your mind has set the stage for a miserable day.

A person who harbors hatred is compared to a fool who in anger reaches for a pile of dog poop to throw at an enemy - she soils herself first. In this practice you train your mind away from hostility and consistently incline your heart toward good will for all beings - those whom you like, as well as those you do not like; those who have helped you, as well as those who have hurt you. Although you cannot control the words others speak to you, you can increase your capacity to bear them with peace, free of hatred. As the ancient illustration describes, when you add a teaspoon of salt to a glass of water, the taste of salt is strong, but if you add a teaspoon of salt to a lake, there will be very little impact. Just so, you can develop a mind so filled with love that it remains unaffected by irritating encounters or verbal abuse.

At first I struggled to keep my bowl bug-free, but this only caused me agitation - I was after all sitting on the ground in a jungle, there was no "bug-free" place. Finally, I began to offer each ant one grain as it approached my leg. The ant would gently accept the rice grain from my finger-tip and scurry away. There was no more struggle or annoyance. It was a simple shift that removed the conflict and cost me only six to ten grains of rice each meal.
Human relations are often more complicated, though, and the people we love the most are often the ones who trigger our anger, because we expect more from them than others. When an untrained mind does not get what it wants, it lashes out. Metta provides a radically different response.

Like metta, compassion is a mental factor, an intention or attitude that you bring to experience; it is not a feeling. A condescending attitude of pity is considered the near enemy of compassion. It is a quality that is commonly confused with compassion, but is corrupted by the judgmental stance of self-interest. The far enemy of compassion, its opposite, is cruelty.

The smell of road kill might spark fear, disgust, or sadness, or it might lead to a fruitful reflection on impermanence. How you apply your attention will determine whether an object functions as an obstacle or as an asset to concentration. Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw explains:

One may go for a walk in the forest, and one may enjoy the flowers, trees, bird singing, and so on, delighting in the "beauty of nature": that is sensual pleasure. Such consciousnesses are associated with pleasant feeling, but they are greed-rooted consciousness: greed-rooted consciousness is not wholesome; it is unwholesome

Through meditation we look deeper into the truth of things, rather than settle for superficial, conventional, or broadly sweeping notions. We see the components of existence as raw phenomena. The thrilling precision of this approach is completely devoid of personal drama. Through direct observation you will recognize, with vividness and certainty, that there is no person, me, you, brother, monk, student, or president; no entity; no inherently existing being that possesses experience. Without attachment to our personal narrative, we investigate and map how the mind functions.

Notice in your daily activities when the activities of I-making and mine-making form. Watch for the construction of a possessive relationship to experiences. Learn how identification and possessiveness operate. You will find they occur when a sensory contact is met without wise attention. When you enter a room and take your seat, consider if there is a possessive relationship to that place. Do you think of it as "my seat"? Who do you choose to sit next to and why? If there is any attachment to that position, you could be constructing a sense of being the one who has a place or exists in relation to another. It can be interesting to observe these formations of I, me, and mine arising in community dining rooms where no one owns anything; sometimes people form an entrenched routine and feel threatened if that routine is interrupted.

To expand the possibility of choice, learn to pause before reacting to daily events. Take a moment to consider your response before you speak, reply to an email, make a decision, or finalize a purchase. Even a split second of calm can create a space in which you become aware of your body, feelings, views, and emotions. A simple willingness to wait a moment can transform a habitual enslavement into a conscious commitment to act in accordance with your core values. Notice how much of your present response to daily events is influenced by personal history, childhood conditioning, or habitual reactions. Consider: what would be a skillful response?

Five practical steps can help change unwanted habits.
1. Recognize harmful habits and the desire to change. Use the power of your observational skills to examine habitual actions, words, and thoughts and the impact that they have on your mind.

2. Restrain and inhibit conditioned reactions to familiar stimuli. Make the commitment to pause before speaking, acting, and deciding. Give yourself the time to consider your response without reacting to a habitual trigger.

3. Renounce unskillful habitual patterns. Don't act until the harmful impulse to react diminishes and an appropriate response arises.

4. Redirect the mind toward the preferable alternative.

5. Reflect on what you might learn about the patterns and tendencies that lead to suffering, and on a way of being with things that brings ease and clarity.

For example, if you have a tendency to react with angry criticism every time your friend is late, recognize your tendency and decide not to react in that familiar way. The next time he is late, restrain your familiar irritation, renounce the anger, and resolve to remain calm. You might feel your breath as you mindfully track the unfolding of your emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Learn to remain alert in this nonhabitual response; grow comfortable with the practice of restraint. At first, you might not know how else to respond, but if you inhibit the unskillful habit and wait patiently, eventually you will intuit a more skillful response. You don't need to figure out what you will do, plan how you will feel, or script future interactions. This reflection simply suspends the habitual mode of reaction and creates a moment of calm, mindful awareness in which alternative response might emerge. When a more skillful alternative emerges, redirect your energy to this response. Then observe and reflect to learn if this mode might offer you greater benefits than the habitual response.

This book introduces meditation practices adapted from the fifth-century meditation manual The Visuddhimagga, supported by the philosophical structures of Abhidhamma analysis, and securely rooted in the Buddha’s teachings.

H. W. L. Poonja, one of my teachers, curtly informed disciples who indulged in stories of long past events that they were living in a graveyard, digging up corpses that have been dead for a long time.

Habitual thinking rarely leads to revelation.

Progress in meditation requires the willingness to abandon the obstacles.

“Facing the fact of pain conveys us toward an experience of peace and compassion that is deeper than what comfort usually affords; when we hurt, we are rarely complacent.

Many meditation centers follow the Asian custom of leaving the shoes at the door before entering the meditation hall. You might also like to leave your busy discursive mind with your shoes before you sit down to meditate.

The posture may remain upright; hence, it does not have the obvious features usually associated with sleepiness or dullness.

Until the jhāna factors are strongly developed, attention can easily slip away from the nimitta and linger in a dormant state of consciousness—in Pali language this state is called bhavanga.

Beginners may enter the first jhāna with a determination to stay for short stretches, such as ten to fifteen minutes, then gradually increase the time with an intention to remain absorbed for twenty minutes, then thirty minutes, forty-five minutes, one hour, two hours, or longer.

Although some students can enter absorption on retreats as short as one week, many students need a month or more to establish concentration and experience its depth.

[Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Met my expectations. Long book, but the first 100 or so pages were exactly what I wanted. Detailed instruction for absorption states and practical advice between sits.

Shaila is a clear writer, I would recommend the book.

[Tetrijeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

recommended for advanced practitioners, as the levels of absorbtion talked about in this book are not easily reached outside of long retreat context, and sometimes not even then. replete with useful info for deep practitioners

[Lisa Banu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best instructions about meditation. Inspiring and practical. Will be returning for referance often.