Meditative States in Tibetan 2

3 Background to the Concentrations
and Formless Absorptions
Although the concentrations and formless absorptions are called

unfluctuating actions, "unfluctuating" does not mean that those
who have cultivated these meditative absorptions are necessarily
born in the Form or Formless Realms, for there are many Bodhisattvas who engage in these meditative absorptions not for the
purpose of being born in these realms but for the sake of
enhancing their minds. Many non-Buddhists also cultivate these
eight absorptions; however, they do not use them, as Buddhists
do, to gain other important minds and to progress on the path. In
this context, the four concentrations and the four formless
absorptions are extremely important.
Who can generate the concentrations and formless absorptions?
Those who cannot generate them are the beings in the three bad
migrations- hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals. Even if they
tried to cultivate them, they could not. The reason is that, as a
fruition of their past deeds, they suffer a great deal and have no
opportunity to develop these concentrations and absorptions.
Because demigods are strongly afflicted by jealousy, they, too,
cannot generate these concentrations and absorptions. The three
Background 49
higher types of gods of the Desire Realm, 1 gods of no discrimination in the Great Fruit Land of the Fourth Concentration, and
humans who live in the northern continent, Unpleasant Sound,
are also unable to generate the concentrations and formless
absorptions. Gods of no discrimination do not have.the capacity to
analyze; without the power to analyze, it is impossible to generate
the concentrations and formless absorptions. The three higher
types of gods ofthe Desire Realm and the humans ofthe northern
continent e~perience a continuous wonderful fruition of past
actions. Thus, they do not have untimely death; things go well for
them, and they experience the fruition of good past actions so
strongly that they do not have much to think about and, therefore,
do not have strong power of thought. Because they do not have
the power of analysis, they cannot generate the concentrations and
formless absorptions.
The three lower types of gods ofthe Desire Realm and humans
of the other three continents can generate them. Among these
humans, however, the neuter, the impotent, and the androgynous
cannot generate them. The reason is that such people have particularly strong afflictions; their minds are continuously held by
such affiictions as desire, anger, and jealousy. Because there is no
time at which they are free of these affiictions, they have no
opportunity to cultivate paths. Thus, there is no case of the new
attainment of the concentrations and formless absorptions by the
neuter, the impotent, and the androgynous. 2
Both males and females of the three continents can generate the
concentrations and absorptions. However, not all males and
females in the three continents can generate them. Those who
have accumulated the actions of abandoning religious doctrine
cannot, nor can those who have committed any of the heinous
crimes (anantarya, mtshams med pa), such as killing one's father
or mother. Humans who have committed any of those particularly strong sinful actions have a very strong karmic obstruction. Until they have engaged in a means of purifying it, they
cannot generate the concentrations and formless absorptions.
Thus, those who can generate the concentrations and absorptions
are the three lower types of gods of the Desire Realm and those
50 Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism

males and females in the three continents who have not
committed any of the heinous crimes or who have engaged in a
means of purifying them. 3
What is the mode of cultivation of the concentrations and
formless absorptions? To attain a concentration, it is necessary to
attain a preparation for a concentration. (The means of attaining a
concentration is called a preparation for a concentration; that
which is attained is the actual [maula, dngos gzhz1 concentration.)
To attain a preparation for a concentration, one has to cultivate
calm abiding (shamatha, zhi gnas) and special insight (vipashyanii,
!hag mthong). All auspicious religious attainments arise from the
cultivation of calm abiding and special insight -either from calm
abiding and special insight themselves or from similitudes of calm
abiding or special insight. This is said because these attainments
come from engaging in stabilizing meditation (jog sgom) and
analytical meditation (dpyad sgom ). Stabilizing meditation is the
cultivation of calm abiding; analytical meditation is the cultivation
of special insight.
What are the benefits of cultivating calm abiding? Calm abiding
is a state in which one sets one's mind on an object of observation
(a!ambana, dmigs pa). Setting the mind on the object is likened to
tying an elephant to a post. The rope symbolizes mindfulness
(smrti, dran pa); the post symbolizes the object of observation; the
elephant symbolizes one's mind (chitta, sems). It is said that, if we
tie the elephant ofthe mind to the post of an object of observation
with the rope of mindfulness, we can achieve any good quality we
want - for example, clairvoyance (abhijna, mngon shes). Moreover, tying our minds to an internal object of observation is like
tying up all possible external sources of harm, as well; external
sources of harm will be unable to inflict damage. If we have not
disciplined our .own minds, we cannot succeed in subduing an
external enemy; we will only have more enemies. Therefore,
taming our own minds is explained as taming all external sources
of harm.
What is the benefit of cultivating special insight? Buddha said
that all the various practices he set forth, such as giving, were for
the sake of developing wisdom. The great Indian pal).c;lita
Background 51
Shantideva also said that all other practices are for the sake of
generating wisdom. 4 The reason is that, if we do not cultivate
special insight - if we do not generate wisdom in our mental
continua - it is impossible to uproot the affiictions - desire,
anger, jealousy, and so forth. However, when we have special
insight in our continua, we can overcome our enemies, the affiictions. Another Indian pal)Q.ita, Aryadeva, made this comparison:
ignorance is to the afnictions as the body sense power is to the
other sense powers. Just as all the senses abide in the body and
depend on the body sense power, all the affiictions depend on
ignorance; if we overcome ignorance, we overcome all affiictions.
It is necessary to generate both calm abiding and special insight.
If we cultivate calm abiding but not special insight, we are like
someone who has a strong body but no eyes;even if we deyelop
stability through cultivating calm abiding, if we do not have
special insight we do not have the wisdom to see. However, it
would also be insufficient to cultivate special insight but not calm
abiding. If we did so, we would be like someone who has strong
eyesight but a weak body; because he staggers, he cannot see
f'orms steadily. Thus, a person who has cultivated some special
insight but does not have the stability factor of calm abiding
cannot see reality clearly.
Since both calm abiding and special insight are necessary,
which should we cultivate first? In general, it is said that we
should cultivate calm abiding first and then, after that, cultivate
special insight. This is said because, if we have not previously
cultivated calm abiding, we have no opportunity to develop
special insight. However, there are cases of cultivating a
similitude of special insight before cultivating calm abiding. For
example, to cultivate calm abiding itself, it may be necessary to
suppress such affiictions as desire and hatred. To suppress them
somewhat, we first engage in the cultivation of special insight; we
practise a type of analytical meditation and then cultivate calm
abiding. This will be explained in greater detail later. (See pages
82-86.)

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3 Background to the Concentrations

and Formless Absorptions

Although the concentrations and formless absorptions are called

50 Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism

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