Mindfulness and Insight Meditation in Early Buddhism
A brief discussion
Rather than rely on prayer, the Buddhist path to salvation is based on deeds including cultivation of the mind in the form of meditation, whereby it is important to maintain the right balance between the three components of wisdom, morality and mental culture. Meditation is thus an essential Buddhist practice, with a distinction being made between mindfulness mediation and insight meditation.
Whereas the quality of mindfulness as such is not considered something inherently Buddhist, the function of mindfulness as one of the awakening factors, on the other hand, is, as these factors are considered to be indeed something only revealed by the Buddha. In other words, it is not mindfulness as such, but rather its practice in the form of the four satipaṭṭhānas, i.e. leading up to a cultivation of the awakening factors, that should be considered a distinctly Buddhist contribution, in the form of harnessing mindfulness to progress to wakening. According to Conze, ‘in Buddhism […] mindfulness occupies a central position. […] Mindfulness is not only the seventh of the steps of the holy eightfold path, the third of the five virtues, and the first of the seven limbs of enlightenment. On occasions it is almost equated with Buddhism itself’.
Mindfulness meditation is the development of mental concentration (samatha), which focused on one-pointedness of the mind. This type of meditation already existed before the Buddha and, although the Buddha himself studied these practices, it is not a purely Buddhist technique. Mindfulness meditation is practiced to develop concentration and involves both body and mind. The practitioner typically focuses on the breath to reach a peaceful state of mind and promote concentration. The aim is to be present in the here and now, hence acting with awareness to experience life as it is at this very moment and ultimately overcome attachment.
The other type of meditation, and the more important practice for Early and Modern Buddhism is that of insight meditation (vipassanā). Insight meditation is closely linked to the Buddhist doctrine of the Four Noble Truths and the associated Noble Eightfold Path, which will first of all be explained in the following.
The Four Noble Truths are the noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the arising of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering and the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering, which is the Eightfold Path. Through insight meditation, Buddhist practitioners strive to fully know and see the four noble truths and associated phenomena as they really are. This includes gaining an understanding of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and not-self (anatta).
The first noble truth is the truth of suffering, i.e. an understanding of sickness, ageing and ultimately death. Human beings tend to get attached to things that are not theirs to keep or not theirs in the first place, including the self. Notably, sentient beings are said to be composed of five aggregates, namely that of material form, that of feeling, that of perception, that of activities and that of consciousness. Human beings tend to think of the material form (the body), their perception and their consciousness as ‘theirs’ in the sense of belonging to an entity called the self and become attached to them. In the Buddhist interpretation, the material form is seen as matter, while the other four aggregates are considered aspects of the mind.
These mental components and the material aspect are closely linked and interconnected. As humans get attached to these components, suffering arises because everything humans crave is impermanent and always changes. This is the second noble truth and includes the self, which is why part of the goal of insight meditation is the realisation of not-self. The third noble truth is an understanding how suffering can cease, specifically by ceasing craving. According to the Buddhist doctrine, this can be realised by practicing insight mediation, as this will lead to the practitioner fully seeing and knowing that phenomena are important and that craving and attachment to them will lead to suffering, as well as the realisation of not-self.13 This is in fact a key component and central goal of insight meditation in Early Buddhism. The fourth noble truth, finally, is the insight that the Eightfold Path leads to the cessation of suffering.
The Noble Eightfold Path comprises the right view, the right resolve, the right speech, the right livelihood, the right effort, the right mindfulness and the right meditation. The first aspect, the right view, in essence means seeing and accepting the Four Noble truths. This insight can come about through insight meditation as a crucial component for the development of wisdom. Its Pali designation vipassanā means to fully know and see things or phenomena as they really are. This includes the notion of non-self and to see ourselves as we really are, namely not-self and not-soul. In contrast to deist religions, which demand practitioners to bey and blindly believe in taught doctrines, Early Buddhism focused on personally seeing and coming to know things as they really are by practicing insight meditation.
Further, to achieve the right view and corresponding wisdom, insight mediation in Early Buddhism focused on fully knowing and seeing the Middle Way, which means avoiding the two extremes of existence versus non-existence or indulgence in sensual pleasure versus asceticism, for the former was seen as low and common and the way of the ordinary people, while the latter was considered painful and unworthy. By emptying oneself of the two extremes, meditation practitioners could overcome attachment and therefore ultimately suffering.
Other aspects of the Eightfold Path closely linked to insight mediation are, in particular, the right effort, the right mindfulness and the right meditation. As the names suggest, the right mindfulness involves developing a constant awareness in relation to the body, one’s feelings and thoughts. The right meditation served to develop one’s mind and improve one’s mental state in order to obtain clarity of thought and ultimately insight.
In contrast to other major religions at the time, Early Buddhism did not require any belief in a supernatural entity or creator as the mean cause for the metaphysical experience. Rather, the five aggregates of sentient beings were seen as interconnected and ever changing. By the same token, Hindu meditation and yoga focuses on the soul or self and the self (atman) being one with Brahman as a universal soul. Buddhism, on the other hand, does not believe in the self or soul, so Buddhist insight meditation has no such focus, but instead its key purpose is to obtain insight into the cessation of suffering, in other words how suffering can be overcome.
In summary, in Buddhism salvation, or nirvana, can only be reached through enlightenment by following the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of eight practices, namely having the right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditative absorption or union. Insight meditation is a practice that allows practitioners to fully see and know these aspects and therefore ultimately overcome attachment and consequently suffering.
References:Bhikkhu Anālayo, ‘Once Again on Mindfulness and Memory in Early Buddhism’, Mindfulness, vol. 9, iss. 1–6Mun-Keat Choong, The Notion of Emptiness in Early BuddhismEdward Conze, Buddhist Thought in India: Three Phases of Buddhist PhilosophyViktor A. Gunasekara, ‘The Buddhist Attitude to God’Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown, Introducing BuddhismSusan Rakow and Timothy Capehart, ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation. (Buddhism. World Religions Resource List for Teens).’, Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 29, iss. 1Walpola Rāhula, What the Buddha TaughtTilmann Vetter, The ideas and meditative practices of early Buddhism
