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Precursors to Buddha's Right Concentration: Meditation
Right Concentration
"Concentration . . . is . . . one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e., concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels of concentration also in everyday situations."1
The practice of meditation goes to the very roots of the Jewish culture. Genesis 24 mentions that Isaac (circa 1900 B.C., the son of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people) meditated:
Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.2
The context text offers no clue as to what kind of meditation Isaac was practicing, or of what he was focusing on. This incident occurred over 1,360 years before Buddha became a monk.
In a well-known passage, Joshua (circa 1250-1450 B.C., Moses' successor as leader of the Jews as they reached the Promised Land) exhorted the children of Israel to meditate:
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.3
Psalm 39, written by Solomon's father, David, also refers to meditation:
I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased. My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: "Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain."4
David reigned from 1007 to 967 B.C. The above psalm clearly expresses some opinions that coincide with the Right View of a Buddhist: (1) Life is fleeting; (2) A person's days are a mere hand-breadth; (3) A man's life is an illusion and we hustle around in vain. Furthermore, David exhorts himself to practice Right Mind-fulness ("I will watch my ways."5).
Psalm 1 (apparently written by an author other than David) underscores meditation as the key practice in inducing spiritual and physical blessings:
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.6
Notice that the opening verse of Psalm 1 is also a strong exhortation to renounce keeping company with unworthy people, of three different types. But more importantly, for the purposes of our current discussion, is that this psalm is a precursor to one of Buddha's proverbs about meditation:
Even the gods envy those who are awakened and not forgetful, who are given to meditation, who are wise, and who delight in the repose of retirement (from the world).7
So great are the blessings of those who seriously meditate on the laws of the Jews, as those blessings are symbolized in Psalm 1, that crooked, pleasure-seeking people would likely be envious of them. This same theme was expressed by Buddha:
He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give himself to meditation, forgetting the real aim (of life) and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in meditation.8
It is believed that most of the psalms written by authors other than David were composed before or during Solomon's reign [967-938 B.C.]. At a minimum, Solomon was quite aware of meditation as it was practiced in his day. As further evidence, we can cite Asaph, an important tabernacle musician during King David's reign.9 He referred to meditation in Psalm 77:
I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.10
In addition, the sons of Korah were known as temple singers. David put them in charge of the service of song in the tabernacle (the "tent of meeting" used for worship before the temple was built) after the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred box covered with gold containing the tablets of Moses and other sacred items, was brought to Jerusalem.11 In Psalm 48, the Korahites refer to meditation:
Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.12
The belief that those who meditate deeply, habitually, and for prolonged periods of time attain some rarefied spiritual state has definite precursors in Psalm 119:
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.13
This Jewish outpouring of pride ends with a claim to have attained a modest form of enlightenment.14
One of Buddha's proverbs extols being "radiant in meditation," a state approaching that of the Awakened One, who showers his entire surroundings with light:
The sun is bright by day, the moon shines by night, the warrior is bright in his armour, the Brahmana is bright in his meditation; but Buddha, the Awakened, is bright with splendour day and night.15
Many precursors to Buddha's practice of meditation are evident in pre-Solomon Judaism. What is less clear is whether there are also close similarities in the nature of meditative practice.
Solomon and Meditation
Solomon never directly referred to meditation. However, the following proverb of Solomon presumes some kind of meditation as a central, critical element in living a moral life:
My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.16
How would one go about writing Solomon's words and commands "on the tablet of your heart"? Surely the most obvious way would be through dedicated repetition and memorization, as is done in guided meditation on a text.
Solomon's exhortation is immediately followed by strong warnings against the seductress, who symbolizes the temptations of the senses:
Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words. . . . Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.17
What Kind of Meditation Was Being Practiced?
With few exceptions, meditation as practiced by Jews prior to and during Solomon's reign (as described in the Old Testament) was focused on the Law, or Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. There are two exceptions. Asaph meditated on God's work and God's deeds (Psalm 77) and the sons of Korah meditated on God's unfailing love (Psalm 48). These are instances of focused meditation on external phenomena, as contrasted with many of the inner phenomena that are often the objects of meditation in Buddhism (e.g., one's breathing, specific parts of the body, or sheer emptiness of mind).
There is only one clear difference between the kinds of meditation practiced by the Jews around Solomon's time and that described in Buddha's earliest published work, the Dhammapada: Jewish meditation directly or indirectly involved God.
Psalm 119 is broken up into twenty-two sections, each labeled by one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In most of these sections, there is mention of some kind of spiritual activity that directly or indirectly involves meditation. All seven of the sections that directly mention meditation focus on self-effort. Many of the remaining sections are direct prayers from the seeker to receive help from God, rather than about using self-effort alone. It is these sections that clearly distinguish Judaic from Buddhist practice. Buddhism is "I will do this." Judaism is "Help me, God, to love and obey your laws." We see that in this excerpt from Psalm 119, where the author's petitions for help from God are emphasized:
Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.18
God and God's laws were a critical part of Jewish meditation in Solomon's time. Divine involvement in Jewish meditation adds numerous enriching elements to this spiritual practice. The importance of meditation is illustrated by the following verses from Psalm 119:
45. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
46. I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame.
54. Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.
58a. I have sought your face with all my heart.
64. The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
71. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
120. My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.
135. Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees.
161b. But my heart trembles at your word.
162. I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.
164a. Seven times a day I praise you.
171. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
172. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.
Judaic meditation in Solomon's time was a practice rich in vitality and diversity of experience. Buddha's proverbs achieve this richness in only one proverb, where it is a virtual copy of a framework of spiritual practice accompanying meditation that appears seven times in Psalm 119:
He who dwells in the law, delights in the law, meditates on the law, follows the law, that Bhikshu will never fall away from the true law.19
We have seen that several key facets of meditation fundamental to Buddhism have precursors in Judaic texts written centuries before Buddha lived. Chief among those facets are:
- The consistent practice of deep meditation as a central, critical element in living a moral life.
- The importance of renunciation and extended absorption in meditation.
- The idea that those who fail to seriously practice meditation will be particularly susceptible to the temptations offered by immoral women and other worldly pleasures.
- The claim that persistent, prolonged meditation can enable a practitioner to achieve a state of enlightenment far above the spiritual condition even of generally devout people. This notion, detailed in Psalm 119:99, is very central to Buddhism.
Return to Interrelationships.
Footnotes
1Thomas Knierim, editor and webmaster, "The Noble Eightfold Path," Raison d'Etre, TheBigView.com, retrieved May 12, 2010 (emphasis added).
2Genesis 24:63 (NASB) (emphasis added).
3Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) (emphasis added).
4Psalm 39:1-6a (NIV) (emphasis added).
5Psalm 39:1a (NIV).
6Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV) (emphasis added).
7Dhammapada 181 (emphasis added).
8Ibid., 209 (emphasis added).
91 Chronicles 6:31-32, 39.
10Psalm 77:12 (NKJV) (emphasis added).
111 Chronicles 6:31-33.
12Psalm 48:9 (NIV) (emphasis added).
13Psalm 119:97-105 (NIV) (emphasis added).
14Psalm 119:105.
15Dhammapada 387 (emphasis added).
16Proverbs 7:1-3 (NIV).
17Proverbs 7:4-5, 25-27 (NIV).
18Psalm 119:33-40 (NIV) (emphasis added).
19Dhammapada 364.
Dhammapada Reference
Friedrich Max Muller, trans., The Dhammapada: A Collection of Verses, Being One of the Canonical Works of the Buddhists, in vol. 10, Part 1, The Sacred Books of the East, translated by Various Oriental Scholars, edited by F. Max Muller, available at Dhammapada (Muller), Wikisource. This work is cited as "Dhammapada" hereafter. To save space, line breaks in quotations from the Dhammapada have not been retained.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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