Basics Aspects of Dhyana Practice | The Six Paramitas

The basics of dhyana practice can be summarized in six aspects: seeking, waiting, enjoyment, bliss, oneness, and putting down.

Seeking is the starting point of practice, wherein one actually engages in contemplation. For example, if we are practicing counting the breath, the mind is aware of , and focused on, counting the breath. This is seeking.

Waiting is the state of stillness, when one stays on the focus of the meditation, such as the breath. This is not the literal meaning of ‘waiting.’ Moment after moment, one is clear of being on the method. Having the same thought after thought after thought is waiting.

Enjoyment, bliss, and oneness are states one may experience during dhyana that one should not attach to, and should put down. Whatever one experiences at this stage should be let go. So, these six aspects are the entry to practicing the four dhyanas and eight samadhis. After getting to the sixth stage, one continues putting down until there is nothing left, and that is when one enters the seventh and last stage, supreme in the world.

Before entering the first dhyana, one must use the Five Methods of Stilling the Mind and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Seeking and waiting are present during the first
dhyana, and persist after leaving the first dhyana. Prior to entering the second dhyana, the dhyana of in-between, there is only seeking but no waiting.

In the second dhyana, there is neither seeking nor waiting. Only enjoyment, bliss, oneness, and putting down remain. One lets go of everything, including ideas of existence and emptiness, and continues practicing to attain enlightenment.

PREVIOUS: The Seven Expedient Means | The Six Paramitas
NEXT: The Fourth Dhyana Level | The Six Paramitas