Audio (TCP7, Day 04): Nine Stages, Stage Three (Avasthāpayati), Six Powers

A short talk on the third stage of śamatha (calm abiding), avasthāpayati (“patching up and replacing” attention), and the six powers (bala) that support progress through the nine stages, followed by a self-guided silent sit. Includes a teaching on breath-counting as a mindfulness support.

Sakya tradition · IBA Kathmandu · The Complete Path (TCP) 2026 · English · Talk + silent sit

For the full Sanskrit/Pali/Tibetan glossary and nine-stages reference table, see the Glossary and Summary for Morning Meditations.

Transcript

This recording begins partway through. The opening (approx. 3 minutes 41 seconds) is missing from the English recording and is reconstructed here via back-translation from the Chinese interpreter’s recording (CH-04) — a translation of a translation, not verbatim original English. The paragraph below marks where the verbatim English recording resumes.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to this morning’s practice session. Earlier we gave a brief overview — that is, regarding zhi and guan [止觀, śamatha-vipaśyanā], some of the main methods of practice. These come from the Buddha’s early, original teachings; the practices of the Mahayana and Vajrayana also cannot do without these methods. We previously discussed focusing on one object — actually, what’s difficult about this is… there’s a saying: in a dark cave, trying to see clearly a picture — in that darkness, it’s very difficult to see clearly.

In darkness, impossible to discern, to see it. In flickering light, also very difficult to see it clearly. We need a steady illumination in order to understand what it is that we are looking at, to penetrate to its essence.

So we have been learning about the connection between mindfulness and this practice of calm, abiding the close connection which we find in the Ānāpānasati Sutta, the sutra on full awareness or mindfulness, Sati, mindfulness of breathing.

We have touched briefly on the correspondence between this sutra and the sutra on the four establishments of mindfulness also, which connects this fundamental practice of mindfulness gone into the body, kāyagatāsati, beginning indeed also with awareness of breathing and connecting that to mindfulness in daily life of the cushion.

We have met the basic posture, especially using the seven-point posture of Vairocana, a stable base, one in which we can find some ease and stillness, a foundation in which the mind can also grow still, subtle. We have been meeting the nine stages. So far, we have just been exploring the first two, Placing Sthāpayati in which we are aware of a forceful attention directing the mind to the object.

Balavāhana-manasikāra, forceful transporting of the mind to object or making of the object in the mind. Manasikāra. We have also met the type of power that is required here from among the powers, the six powers, the power of hearing, knowing the instructions related to śrutamayī-prajñā here, śruta-bala, a power of listening, of learning only.

Next, we met this closer placing or more continuous placing to be accurate. Saṃsthāpayati, placing for longer duration. Here, the attention is still forceful, pushing. We might have that feeling of pushing the mind towards the object. Power that we bring, cintā-bala, thinking. The thinking mind is still active. The instructions are clear, but we need to think about those instructions.

And today, I would like us to meet the next stage. Though for each of us in our practice, we may find that we are working with an earlier stage, mostly in our session. But here, familiarizing ourselves in these morning sessions with some of these key stages and concepts that support us in understanding what it is that we are doing, where we are at in our practice.

And in this next stage, we are engaged in a process of patching up and placing or re-establishing connection with the object. We have been placing, we have been slowly placing for longer duration, beginning, middle, end, even maintaining that awareness in the pauses between in-breath and out-breath. And we start to notice when the mind wanders.

And at that moment, we give rise to the power that is active in this stage, which is none other than mindfulness itself. Noticing that the mind has wandered. smṛti-bala, nianli [念力 niànlì, “mindfulness-power” — Chinese gloss].

The type of attention that we are bringing in this stage, we move to, rather than a forceful attention, we have been noticing that pushing and perhaps able to let go a little bit. Relaxing a little bit as the object becomes familiar, the mind becomes a little calmer. Rather than a balavāhana-manasikāra, this forceful attention, our attention becomes just interrupted from time to time.

Sacchidra-āvahana [occasionally-interrupted attention]. And one of the key practices that helps us in this stage is counting of the breath. Gaṇanā from the Śrāvakabhūmi, Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, which has a detailed explanation of counting the breath.

But the basic principle is to give the mind a practice that allows us to notice when the mind has wandered, to keep a check on that wandering of the mind. So the power active here is mindfulness, and noticing when the mind has wandered, bringing the mind back to the object so the attention becomes, rather than forceful, it just has occasional interruptions. There is already some relaxation there.

Because if we are pushing the mind, then there is a tendency for it to rebound. It’s as though we are trying to train a puppy. Imagine training a puppy by force. Eventually the tension becomes too much, and the result is the opposite of what we intend. The mind can even become more unruly, more agitated from forceful pushing. So here we have already started to relax that forceful attention.

And so how can we keep track of whether we are staying with the object? We can count in-breath, out-breath, one. In-breath, out-breath, two. In-breath, out-breath, three. And so on, up until about ten, no higher. Because if we count higher, then the mind has a tendency to decide that numbers are more interesting than the breath. And we are counting to 153, 154.

And actually the breath is kind of in the background now, the numbers become the foreground. But also no less than five. Because at such a low number we don’t really have a very good test of the power of our mindfulness in this stage. Because what I will do if I lose count, if I breathe in and I breathe out, and then the thought comes, oh, what number am I up to?

I know it is because my mindfulness has weakened at that moment. And so I patiently, with a smile, rejoicing, because in the past I may have just continued in my distraction for five minutes, ten minutes, until the bell rang again. But here, because of counting, I have a check. I have a notification, if you like, that my mindfulness has weakened.

And I patiently bring myself back to one and begin again, in-breath, out-breath, in-breath, out-breath, two, and so on, up until one day I reach ten without an interruption. And in that moment I rejoice and diligently begin counting back down to one. So in the instructions there is this phrase, anuloma pratiloma.

And this is, I guess, was a common place saying in those times, but it refers to the way we would stroke a cat more and more. More, more, more, more, like stroking a cat. If you go with the hair, it’s in one direction and against the hair is in the other direction. So it’s just a way for us to remember that it’s counting up to ten and back down to one.

So from ten back down to one it gets a tiny little bit more engaging. We have to remember how to count backwards. So it’s kind of the next level of challenge.

And if we become very, very comfortable with that, the next stage, and I don’t expect anyone to push themselves to try to reach this stage, is to count in-breath, out-breath, in-breath, out-breath, one, in-breath, out-breath, in-breath, out-breath, two, up until ten. And in the text it says you can even continue this practice until you are counting ten in-breaths and out-breaths, that’s one.

So to get to ten you need a continuity of awareness for one hundred in-breaths and out-breaths, which is clearly quite a lot. But it’s also true that for some of us this becomes not just boring but even frustrating. There is a certain moment when the mind recognizes that there is calmness enough to stay just with the breath and the counting has become a distraction.

And at that moment we can use our common sense, let go of this support and just come back to the breath, stay with the breathing. So we can be our own guide in that respect, using our common sense.

A tip that I have also found helpful in counting is to be watchful for a habit of counting the numbers with the breath in the background, just as I mentioned that risk if we count to high numbers above ten or so, though in some lineages they recommend other auspicious numbers like twenty-one, there’s various different methods, but the principle is the same.

If I’m counting one, one, two, two, the breath again has moved into the background. The numbers are kind of displacing the foreground object.

So the recommendation is to be watchful for that and you can just simply almost whisper the number to yourself internally at the end of each breath cycle, ensuring that the feeling of the breath, the tactile impression, the touch of the breath remains the main object of our attention. And we may notice that there are certain moments when we are more likely to lose connection with the breath.

And when might this be? Does anyone have an idea? Have you noticed when in the cycle of the breath you tend to lose concentration? Anyone? Is there a particular moment? Many of us experience that in the pauses in between the breath. At that moment the object becomes quite subtle.

There’s no longer the spectacular rising and falling of the belly, expansion of the ribcage, the friction, the flow of cool air coming into the body, warmth of the outflow. There is kind of an interregnum, a gap, subtle breath. The breath is still going. Every cell in the body is vibrating, pulsating at that moment.

The blood stream is flowing, transporting that oxygen to the cells, to tissues, to organs. The breath has not stopped. It’s just that it’s become the subtle breath. At that moment when the mind is less wieldy, less well trained, at that moment it decides, hmm, I think I ate too much breakfast. I wish I hadn’t watched that YouTube video just before I went to bed last night.

Or I wonder if we will have tofu for lunch again today. So many other objects propose themselves into the mind stream as worthy of our attention in these moments when the object becomes subtle, vague. So at that moment if our mindfulness is strong, we rejoice. Ah, I have noticed this tendency of my mind to move from subtle object to gross, to preference the exciting, the new, the different.

Training the mind to become contented, fulfilled with paying attention to subtle sensation. Something that doesn’t change very much.

And it is this quality that allows us to slowly develop greater and greater continuity of attention with the object that we choose, not the one chosen by the sense doors, by sounds, ear, ear consciousness, sights, eye, eye consciousness, thoughts, mind, mind consciousness. And the joy at that recognition is the reward for our practice.

Not punishment with frustration, self-criticism, yet again I’ve forgotten the object. Rejoicing that mindfulness is present, giving rise to that energy, ātāpī. Clearly knowing what it is that we are doing, I’m meditating on the breath. Samprajanya, mindful, keeping my effort in balance, recognizing when distraction has arisen.

Satimā, and not grasping at or pushing away any aspect of my experience. Equanimous, and this is the satipaṭṭhāna attitude, if you like. The foundation in mindfulness of a balanced relationship to our experience. So let’s do it. Establishing ourselves in a comfortable sitting position, stable. Easeful, upright, space for the breath.

To move if discomfort comes to the foreground, knowing that in mindfulness we can gently shift our posture. Finding once again ease, returning to the breath. We can recognize in our motivation an aspect of selflessness, the seed of bodhicitta, the awakening heart, mind. I do not do this for just my own benefit. To slowly light a lamp of calm and awareness that may also be of support to others.

My loved ones, perhaps those in my community, my workplace, even strangers. Recognizing our intention for this sit, also the logistics. Not only why, but how. Where am I in my practice today? Is it simply placing, tracking the breath more continuously beginning, middle, end? Am I working with that continuity even in the natural pauses between in-breath and out-breath?

I’m noticing forceful attention and gently relaxing, yielding, allowing my attention to flow more continuously towards the object with just the occasional interruption. Perhaps I am making use of counting in-breath, out-breath, one, in-breath, out-breath, two, and so on. Up until ten, back down to one, patiently rejoicing when mindfulness arises so that I notice when I lose count.

Choosing a practice, an object to stay with, setting that intention knowing that we can be flexible if we need to change mid-practice. But being diligent in staying with our intended practice for long enough to start to understand it. A diligent, clearly understanding, mindful, not grasping or pushing away any aspect of our experience.

A silent sit this morning, alternating as we are between guided and silent. And I will invite three sounds of the bell for us to begin. We are giving ourselves gentle massage, somatic reward for our patients. We can adjust our sitting position if it’s become uncomfortable and as always taking a moment to reflect on our sit.

Noting the type of attention that has been predominant, a theme of distraction or an antidote that has been effective. Just a few moments that remain in the interest of clarity if there are any questions, comments, observations that anyone would like to make or offer. Please come up to the microphone so that others can also hear. Everything is clear. Wonderful.

So thank you all for your attention, your diligence, wishing you all a beautiful day. And may this container of calm and clarity be an appropriate one for receiving the teachings from His Holiness. There is a question from Sun Ping. Should we do the nine stages? I’m not sure I follow.

The seven point posture is a systematization of a yoga rule of thumb for a conducive sitting position for practice, asana, that is grounded but also upright and relaxed and allows us to find space for the breath. This is a basic foundation for all practice of sitting. If this is a practice that you find helpful, my understanding of this is it’s kind of a practice from prāṇāyāma.

If your mindfulness is very good, you can indeed expel negative energy through one nostril, then the other, then through both. My yoga teacher would suggest spending months doing this many hundreds of times in order to have benefit. But if our mindfulness practice is very strong, then perhaps we can find some support through this.

If we have received that teaching and this is part of our practice, there is no problem. I think we can begin. In fact, in Bhāvanākrama, in the Kamalaśīla’s instructions, we should create whatever conditions we need in order for our sit to be effective.

We can make prostrations to the shrine, we can deal with other things that we have to deal with in the modern day, putting your phone on silent, closing the door, letting your friend know that you are busy, for this next half hour, whatever we can do to bring the conditions together, to allow us to focus wholeheartedly on the task at hand. This is helpful.

And if that is through breathing practices, whatever it may be, I encourage you to do so. But I am not offering instruction here on any subtle wind practice, which I think this Nima practice is referring to, that is His Holiness’ job. And I am grateful they leave it to him.