Shantideva's Guide to Awakening: A Commentary on the Bodhicharyavatara by Yeshe Tobden

Author:Yeshe Tobden [Tobden, Yeshe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
Published: 2017-07-17T18:30:00+00:00

8

CONCENTRATION

THE TEXT SAYS, “Having developed enthusiastic effort in this way, I should place my mind in concentration, for the person whose mind is distracted abides between the fangs of disturbing conceptions.” [1]

Concentration is the capacity of the mind to dwell for a long time on an object. Its opposite is distraction, which causes the mind to wander and prevents it from holding a single object steadily for even a minute. In such cases we will never succeed in keeping our mind concentrated and realizing samadhi, because both will be hindered by the various disturbing conceptions.

As a man bitten by a tiger will surely be devoured, so it is certain that the distracted person will fall prey to mental afflictions and will not be able to escape them. However, this will not happen if body and mind remain in solitude, which means, respectively, living in isolated places such as mountains, and not thinking of mundane things, but only of the Dharma. We must not give too much importance to food, clothes, and fame, but instead forsake those thoughts that keep us preoccupied in this direction, as well as all distorted views that make us unhappy, for they lead us to worry about the fact that others think or speak evil of us. [2]

We are very attached to this life, but we have to forsake desire and craving, for otherwise we will not even be able to practice.

As far as attachment to material things goes, it is not that we should not use them, for Dharma practitioners too need food and clothes, but we should not cling to them, in the same way that ill people do not cling to the medicines they take due to necessity. [3]

Disturbing conceptions can be overcome by superior insight combined with calm abiding, and it is this state of mental peace that we must strive to attain. The best samadhi is the samadhi that takes emptiness as its object. The realization of emptiness eliminates all mental afflictions at their root. The verses now state that we must acquire peace through the genuine joy typical of those unattached to worldly things. [4]

The main hindrance to such realization is attachment, which, when we are meditating, for example, provokes a particular distraction that manifests in the thought of having to do or buy a certain thing, so that our concentration vanishes.

We must not generate attachment to material objects, to people, to our bodies, to servants, or to friends, because all these things are by nature impermanent. Our bodies will become old, ugly, and undesirable, and in the same way everything will one day be harmed or destroyed.

If we become attached to something or someone, for thousands of lives we will not see that object or being again. [5]

You might wonder whether it is right to have attachment to the guru, the spiritual teacher. Attachment to the guru can have two meanings: devotion and out-and-out attachment. The former is a positive attitude, the latter is a mental affliction. Likewise, one can have two types of attachment to the Buddha.

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