(2) A Call to LIBERATION!

[Niết Bàn Tầm]

A Call for Emergency?
No! More Than Just That: It's A Call to LIBERATION!

While Upavana was standing in front of the Buddha, He said: "Step aside, Upavana, the deities cannot see me!" So did Upavana move. The command and reaction look absolutely normal. However, if we had been at the scene at that point in time we could have known the true meaning of the Buddha's command: It was for Upavana to put aside his ego, not his sentient body. This is just one of the many, many examples where you and I could misunderstand the Buddha's teachings and discourses. The misunderstanding will not stop until we have attained complete enlightenment and emancipation.

We would like to dedicate this book, a collection of various meditation methods and techniques, to those who have once miserably struggled with their incorrect meditation knowledge. These pieces of fundamental information are scattered across and apparently hidden in a very limited number of materials on Buddhist meditation practice. The presentation of this crucial and practical knowledge here can be seen as an effort to bring the glorious life back to the original Buddhist meditation.

Before you move further along in your reading, it is important for you to pause and pay close attention to the following valuable advice and warnings. They will help you set up the right attitude towards your meditation and spiritual development. But first and foremost, Buddhist meditation practice only works for those who have a strong aspiration of liberation and are pious to their parents.

Other advice includes:
(1)   Read SLOWLY so to visualize what you read in your mind (do not skip sections).
(2)   Try hard to make sense of some texts that are apparently incoherent or fragmented.
(3)   Read the whole document to get the general concept of the path ahead.
(4)   The TRUTH is only one. It is not truths (lowercase), realities, actualities, or facts.
(5)   Because of (4) there is neither truth of Theravada nor truth of Mahayana.
(6)   Look closely, listen attentively, read carefully, ask thoroughly, and then practice diligently.
(7)   Do not ever venture into the invisible world without self-protection.
(8 )   Do not modify the procedure while practicing. This never helps.
(9)   Without a zeal for spiritual liberation never comes emancipation regardless of how much Buddhist mediation is done.
(10)   If you want to divest your soul of the body, disembody it through the Bhavanga. However, only attempt this after you have attained the Fourth Jhana. For example, visualize a TV screen, and think of some heavenly realm and want to get there.
(11)   Buddhas do not accept any random coincidence.
(12)   When the comprehension of Dharma is beyond the grasp of an ordinary (i.e., impure, unliberated, ignorant) mind, pushing further will likely result in madness. Put it differently, Dharmic knowledge without mindfulness will lead to delusions. Reversely, mindfulness without Dharmic knowledge will lead to wrongs;
(13)   When facing minor hindrances, think: "Good causes yield good results!" and then press on with your mediation.
(14)   When facing serious impediments, unwavingly persevere with your mediation and think: "This composite body of four elements will dissolve sooner or later. I should not worry about this inevitable happening but focus the most on my meditation hoping to find the right Path in my next life." This is similar to the Buddha's mentality and resolve during his struggle for enlightenment.
(15)   If your meditation goes backward, do not panic. Repent, do good deeds, keep on practicing, and continuously apply mindfulness.
(16)   Do not use incomplete theory: This causes more damage!
(17)   Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) focuses on the operation of things in their sequence using mandalas .
(18)   Sukhāvatī (Pure Land Buddhism) focuses on the development of faith, from low to high.
(19)   How to exit your meditation? If you are in a lying position, simply move as if you are waking up from your sleep. Otherwise, slowly come out of your meditative state [1].
(20)   When a session ends, remember to dedicate your meditation virtues as you wish or by chanting a Mahayana sutra.
(21)   Sometimes you may need to perform a self-protection mudra after a meditation session before going back to your normal activities.



Endnote:

[1] See Master Milarepa's Way of Exiting Meditation, https://www.hoasentrenda.com/smf/index.php?topic=17294.msg61112;topi*** ***een#msg61112