The English term “contemplation” does not seem to carry or convey a clear, universal meaning when it is used in the context of Buddhist practices. This came to my attention after observing the usage of the term on several retreats. “Contemplation” was often being interpreted as “sitting and thinking” or ruminating on a topic from an intellectual perspective, which in turn lead to further questions around how to contemplate, and rarely, what was actually meant by “contemplating”.
My hope for sharing this perspective on contemplation is that it may in turn be a resource or clear up confusion for some, which may then lead more beings toward the realization of liberation.
How does contemplation liberate?
One way of describing how this process plays out is as follows. One begins to practice an appropriate meditation method diligently and over time the experience grows more still. A healthy delight and pleasure arises as the mind attends more closely to the present moment leaving thoughts and concepts behind. This aids in quieting and calming the mind and in time the mind settles into a stable, calm, clear and much less reactive state.
The practice perspective shifts as the contemplation is undertaken from this place, and over time the mind begins to realize directly how phenomena behave. Regardless of the phenomena, the same shifting nature is seen again and again, here…there…now there… More and more, the mind realizes that what it has seen as changing and transitory is not compatible with the behavior of holding on. So it begins to change its behavior, often in sweeping ways that go beyond immediate conscious awareness.
This process begins to build up a growing feeling of lack-of-enchantment and the mind begins to explore acting from this new perspective. This builds over time into a weariness or fading of the “holding-on” behavior itself, regardless of the object, and eventually the mind simply chooses to explore letting go of this behavior.
What is contemplation?
So what exactly is contemplation? To start, I decided to look up the definition of the word “contemplating” in English. Here is one definition:
“The action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time.”
For the purposes of this post, this definition seems to carry a similar feeling to the Pali word “nijjhāyati”, the word often translated as “contemplate”. The New Concise Pali English Dictionary gives these definitions:
“Looks at, observes carefully; scrutinizes; reflects on; meditates (on)”
“To be consumed (by sorrow), to fret”
Between these three definitions I think we have enough information to further explore contemplation, so let’s dive in. From my perspective and experience, contemplation in Buddhism is something akin to:
- Observation, often over a prolonged period of time
- Carrying out this observation with interest
- Observing is often done from a specific perspective
- Direct experiencing without words and concepts is often involved
An example of contemplation
So for instance we might use the example of contemplating a bonfire. To do so one might set up a chair next to a roaring bonfire, and then sit, noticing what it is like. Over time through observation, direct experiencing and experimentation, one might begin to realize:
- The relationship between how hot the bonfire feels, and how close one sits to it
- How the fire can overheat the shoes if no discernment is used when placing the feet
- How wind, direction and placement can influence where smoke travels
- How long by the fire is generally sufficient to warm up, to eventually get too warm, and how far back one might wish to move away to continue to sit by the fire
- How long different types of fuel burn
- Etc.
We can see from this example that these experiences and realizations do not generally require a lot of language or thinking to be arrived at, they are realized primarily through experience. The more observant and curious one is, the greater, in many cases, the chance is of learning more.
We can also see that we could learn from contemplating the fires of others from afar, but that this learning is greatly supported by having spent time around a fire. These two might be said to correspond to the Buddhist concepts of “observing internally” and “observing externally” as in this quote from the Sattipatthana Sutta:
“…so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally.”
Majjhima Nikāya 10
Liberating contemplation
So how does this plug into Buddhist practice? From the Buddhist texts we are provided with examples of what to contemplate and perspectives to use during contemplation that lead towards realizing liberation.
Examples of what to contemplate include:
- The 4 satipatthana (body, feeling tone, mental states, phenomena)
- The 5 khandas (body, feeling tone, conceptualization, volitions, object based consciousness)
- The 6 āyatana (the 6 sense bases and their objects)
- The dhātus (lightness/heaviness, temperature, collecting/dispersing, movement, space, consciousness)
- Nama/rupa (mind and body)
Examples of perspectives to use while contemplating include:
- Noticing what changes
- Noticing what is stressful
- Noticing what is not done by me/I, what is not under my control
- Noticing what conditions lead to this arising, and what conditions lead to this ceasing
- Noticing what disturbance is present, what disturbance has been let go of, and what disturbance remains
How does it come together?
Let us use an example formed from the lists above. How might one contemplate nama/rupa (mind and body experience) from the perspective of what changes?
- Ideally, one will have taken the refuges and precepts. Living in this way quiets the mind down and allows practice to stabilize and deepen, limiting distraction.
- Undertake a practice method that strengthens both samatha (tranquility and calm) and vipassanā (clear observation), either in a balance, or by strengthening one, and then the other until balanced. This allows the mind to operate in a stable environment, knowing and adapting come more quickly and intuitively, and often with greater speed. What is observed and realized carries much more impact.
- Direct the mind to the contemplation and perspective. In this case observation might begin by directly experiencing the body (either the touch sense alone, or all 5 of the body senses) and noticing moment to moment, what changes. Observe and experience with interest and fascination, and leave language, concepts and other thoughts in the background or absent. As this practice gains momentum and sensitivity, open up the observation to include all of the senses, including mind. Observe any changes, moment to moment, while directly experiencing all observed phenomena.
In conclusion
It is my hope that perhaps this may for the curious, shed some light on contemplation and provide direction and incentive to further explore and experience these practices first-hand. While the example of change was used above, each contemplation and perspective plays out in a different but related way, resulting in the mind arriving at the realization of letting go.
Also, while thought can perhaps be involved, the methods described above do not result from, and are not primarily practiced by thinking, conceptualizing, or using words and language. Attending to direct experience from a liberating perspective results in realization and change.
May all beings benefit from this practice.