The Seven Expedient Means | The Six Paramitas

The first expedient means are the basic practices of the Five Methods of Stilling the Mind. The second expedient means are the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The third are the four mindfulnesses practiced together, as described below. The fourth through sixth expedient means are warmth, summit, and forbearance. I will not discuss these but go straight to the seventh, supreme in the world.

As we said above, the first expedient means correspond to the Five Methods of Stilling the Mind. The remaining six means are actually based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, with the
stages from one to the next being manifestations of one’s level of practice. Among the Five Methods, the most commonly used are the first two: contemplation on the breath and contemplation of the impurity of the body. The remaining methods are supplementary: the third is contemplation of causes and conditions, and the fourth is contemplation of the four boundless mentalities (including compassion). Depending on your source of information, the fifth method will be either the contemplation of mindfulness of the Buddha, or the contemplation .of the kinds of dharmas.
Of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the first is mindfulness of the body, the second is the mindfulness of sensation, the third is the mindfulness of the mind, and fourth is the mindfulness of dharmas.

Let’s look again at the Five Methods of Stilling the Mind. The first method is contemplation of breath, and of course, it is the body that breathes. The second method is contemplation of the impurity of the body. Thus, the first two of the Five Methods are definitely related to the first of the Four Foundations, having to do with the body When we contemplate impurity it is the mind that contemplates. When using the method of breathing, one is really contemplating the sensation in the nostrils. When thoughts arise in one’s mind, mindfulness of such phenomena or dharmas is the fourth foundation practice.

Thus, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness are really the continuation of the Five Methods of Stilling the Mind, and practicing them as a whole can actually lead to liberation. Very often, people think mindfulness is a simple, low-level practice, but being related to the seven expedient methods, it can lead to liberation.

The seventh stage–supreme in the world–is the first fruition level of Buddhist sainthood, or arhatship. The distinction between the dhyana of ordinary beings and the dhyana of the Hinayana is that the former utilizes the four dhyanas and eight samadhis, while the latter employs the seven expedient means.

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