The Emergence of Dhammakaya Meditation Technique in the Post-modernism and the Early Teaching of the Tradition
Author: Eleanor Choke-jaya
Date: 1st September, 2020
Keywords: #enlightenment, #Dhammakaya, #Paknam, #middleway
Length: 1616 words
History said a short time before his eleventh rains-retreat, Venerable Candasaro in that morning alms round reflected that he had been ordained for eleven long years but still had not tasted the Truth found by Lord Buddha, although he had studied both meditation and scriptures without rest during all that time. He resolved that he ought to be called a wastrel, if he did not continue to try his utmost.
His alms round completed, he finished his daily duties before going to the main shrine hall to meditate. He resolved that if he did not hear the midday drum which signaled lunchtime, he would not break off from his meditation. Not only this, he resolved not to waver in this practice of sitting meditation, whatever suffering might disturb his single-mindedness. He resolved not to swerve from his purpose until he recognized some portion of the real Truth taught by the Buddha.
He fully realized that taking such a vow might cost him his life, but acknowledged that he could not continue to be considered a worthy monk unless he could fulfil this act.
It was about eight in the morning when he started to meditate with the mantra ‘Samma-arahang’. The intense pain in his legs made him feel that the time passed extraordinary slowly. The pain increased in his body so much that he felt as if every bone was going to tear apart.
The pain increased his agitation until suddenly he realized he had never felt such pain before. The more he thought, the more agitated he became. He nearly gave up many times but because of the strength of his fighting spirit after making such a resolution, he felt it was essential to carry on to the end, even if it cost his life.
He knew that when the mind is agitated, it cannot find peace. So, he rose to a new level of tolerance and began to let go of the pain, detaching himself from the suffering. Suddenly his mind became still and firmly established at the very center of his body.
He perceived a bright clear shining sphere of Dhamma. The size of the sphere of Dhamma was equal to the yolk of an egg. The experience which filled his whole body was one of inexplicable bliss which rinsed away all the agony. At that moment he heard the sound of the eleven o’clock drum.
That morning his midday meal had a special flavor which he had never tasted before, the flavour of spiritual success. This experience in meditation which had arisen in his awareness uplifted his whole existence.
He thought even as he was sitting there and eating, he could not avoid concentrating his attention at the very center of that sphere of Dhamma. Indeed, it was wonderful to observe the stability and security of that sphere of Dhamma. And what brightness too! Even the brightness of the sun was inferior! The light of the sun was as a firefly compared to the huge torchlight brightness of that sphere of Dhamma!
He was reminded of a saying of the Buddha: ‘Natthi santi parang sukhang’ which means there is no higher happiness than peace itself. He thought further about the height of this achievement, realizing that for him this was just the beginning.
Later that afternoon it rained heavily, beating down in torrents. He bathed and found that he was detaching himself more and more from the environment. He entered the temple compound later that afternoon. The rain continued to pour uncommonly hard as if foretelling good fortune for him, foretelling the attainment of the goal he had longed for during all his years of monkhood.
In hindsight, this was a portent loaded with meaning. The secret of #Dhammakaya meditation that had been lost to the world for thousands of years, was going to be recovered. He sat down to meditate with a strong resolution to dedicate his life for the goal of insight:
‘O Lord! Impart to me the Dhamma which you attained on that day of your Enlightenment. If my enlightenment will be of virtue and benefit to Buddhism, then please, 0 Lord! Transport to me the greatest Dhamma: I shall be Thy champion to maintain and uphold the greatness of Thy Teaching. But should my enlightenment be in vain, of no benefit to Thy Teaching, then Lord, I will sacrifice my life in this meditation, as the only offering I have for Thee.’
The bright clear sphere of Dhamma which he had first perceived before his midday meal was still the same size as the yolk of an egg and firmly established at the center of his body. As he meditated, the clarity of the sphere of Dhamma increased until it was as lucid as a flawless sphere of crystal. The brightness grew more intense until it outshone the midday sun. He contemplated on this object of meditation for hour after hour, from early in the evening until well after midnight.
He found that his meditation could not progress any further than the sphere of Dhamma because he did not really know how to work with this newfound object of meditation.
In all his past experience of learning meditation, there had been no master who had described a technique such as this. Then, coming from the silence at the center of the sphere of Dhamma, there arose the gentle sound of the ancient words, ‘majjhima-patipada: a technical term from Pali meaning ‘#Middle Way’. He thought to himself:
‘Ah!... The ‘Middle Way’! From my scriptural study, we define this as ‘a way of life which steers between the two extremes of asceticism and sensual indulgence.’
But now this sound came directly from the center of his body. The center of the sphere of Dhamma was becoming inordinately bright as if it were source of all the brightness in his body -bright, intense, cool and soothing.
The illumination blazed so that the brightness was multiplied enormously, and deep in the brightness of the sphere of Dhamma he knew there existed something else, something he had never known before. Then he started to realize that there must be a hidden meaning to the ‘Middle Way’. That tiny spot at the center of his body might be the doorway to hidden inner dimensions.
He then tried an experiment by contemplating deeper and deeper at the center, it started to expand until it reached the size of an egg-yolk. Meanwhile, the former sphere of Dhamma also gained in size until it became so huge that it reached the horizons and then faded away.
When he contemplated deeper at the center of the new sphere of Dhamma, another one appeared at its center. He continued this experiment of expanding and concentrating deeper at the center of each successive sphere of Dhamma. More and more spheres appeared, thousands of them, each one replacing the last.
As he meditated deeper, each new sphere of Dhamma was brighter and clearer than the last. Going yet deeper he could see within each sphere of Dhamma bodies of hidden dimensions of himself. Then, at the end of the succession covering all dimensions of himself, he recovered the key to understanding human nature through all its countless dimensions.
At the innermost part of every human being’s nature, nested deep within the myriad of multi-dimensional bodies, there exists the body of the Buddha called ‘the #Dhammakaya’.
It is of the form of the Buddha sitting deep in meditation. The topknot of the #Dhammakaya is a lotus bud, beautifully clear and pure. Suddenly, this Buddha spoke in a resonant voice, ‘That is right!’ Having spoken, the mouth of the #Dhammakaya immediately closed again.
The delight overwhelmed him. He whispered to himself: ‘Ah!...It is so hard like this. This is why no one else could manage to achieve it. Sensation, memory, thought and cognition: all these things must be united into one single spot. Once the mind is still, it ceases to be. Once it ceases to be, the new one can arise.’
He contemplated further on his finding for a long while, then afraid that his discovery would disappear he sat for a further period of thirty minutes. During this short period while he was meditating, a temple came into his vision. He remembered it at once as Bang Pla Temple, the temple in which he had studied long ago as a boy of eleven.
At that moment he felt himself already inside that temple which made him feel sure that in this temple there might be someone ripe for the path. After the end of the rains retreat, upon receiving Kathina, he bade the abbot of Boatbon Temple farewell and moved to Bang Pla Temple permanently to teach the Dhamma. After four months, three monks (Phra Sangvam, Phra Baen and Phra Oam) and four lay people attained #Dhammakaya.
This is how #Dhammakaya meditation system emerged, how the first batch of #Dhammakaya meditators came into existing and how #Dhammakaya tradition was established.
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Remark: The origin of this article is in the book named: THE LIFE & TIMES OF LUANG PHAW WATPAKNAM
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