Audio (TCP7, Day 06): Nine Stages, Stage Four (Upasthāpayati), Antidotes to Laziness

A short talk on the fourth stage of śamatha (calm abiding), upasthāpayati (close placement), and the antidotes to laziness — faith, aspiration, effort, and pliancy — followed by a self-guided silent sit (breath awareness or loving-kindness offered as practice options).

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

So, good morning dear friends. Welcome once again to our morning meditation sessions, part of TCP 2026 here at the International Buddhist Academy in Tinchule, Kathmandu. We are continuing with our exploration of śamatha-vipaśyanā, of stopping and looking deeply. We have been meeting some key texts such as the Ānāpānasati Sutta, the sutra on full awareness of breathing.

We have occasionally made reference to the Satipaṭṭhāna sutra, sutra on full foundations or establishments of mindfulness, sati. We have been using as our framework the nine stages of śamatha as found in the Śrāvakabhūmi of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra attributed to Asaṅga and also the bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla.

We have been invited to consider that śamatha and vipaśyanā are, in some traditions, taught as distinct practices. In the Mahayana we have a tendency to combine them from the beginning and this calming of the mind combined with a quality of insight even into the Vajrayana.

This capacity to clearly see, to pay attention with continuity to the object of our choosing forms part of the six pāramitās, dhyāna-pāramitā. It is part of the Noble Eightfold Path, sammāsamādhi. It is a factor of awakening, samādhi-bojjhaṅga and it is a taste of liberation, a temporary freedom from pleasures, from afflictions, from defilements, nourishment for the meditator in body and mind.

But as we know in our Mahayana practice, this is not a place where we escape to dwell in isolation. It is a process of purification that we offer to others through our calm, clear presence, and this willingness to be present, to offer one’s energy to others, is also a key aspect, which we have met in the brahmavihāras, the four divine abodes, the four immeasurable minds, these qualities of the heart-mind, virtues of none other than Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of great compassion, kindness, kinship and friendliness, a resonance with the suffering of others, a joy unstained by jealousy and a balance and inclusivity of mind, equanimity.

And in our sessions we have been working so far with mettā, maitrī, loving kindness, recognizing that it is not only a fruit but also a foundation for our practice that the Buddha himself recommended loving-kindness meditation as a preliminary practice also, one that prepares the mind for calm abiding, an antidote to aversion, a quality of acceptance. And we began with none other than our very selves in that cultivation, creating a safe harbor in this body and mind for the cultivation of mindfulness of breathing.

The stages of that calm abiding, that awareness of the breath, we have met already placing that initial practice of turning the mind inward and meeting the breath. We have been exploring perhaps in our own practice also placing the mind with more continuity.

In both of these stages the quality of attention we have met is one with an energy of pushing behind it, a forceful attention perhaps, balavāhana-manasikāra, forceful transporting, the āvahana, of mind to object.

We have been relying on our listening, śruta-bala, and our thinking, cintā-bala in these two stages and in the next stage in which we have been patching up and replacing our attention on the object. Avasthāpayati, mindfulness itself comes into play, notifying us when the mind has wandered from the object, allowing us to recognize even to rejoice at the arising of mindfulness.

Sati, the recognition of distraction, allowing us to return the mind to the object of our choosing and perhaps already we are letting go of some of the pushing so that our attention rather than being so forceful is now simply interrupted. Sacchidra-manasikāra, sacchidra-āvahana-manasikāra, interrupted attention. As a support in this stage we introduced gaṇanā, counting of the breath.

You can remember the instruction there was to count in breath and out-breath as one, in-breath, out-breath, two, in-breath, out-breath, three and so on up until 10 for example and back down to one. Knowing that if we get distracted we can patiently perhaps with a smile rejoicing that mindfulness has allowed us to see distraction, returning to one to start again.

Keeping a check on our mindfulness, the development of that factor of awakening because it is indeed the first factor of awakening. Patiently, diligently returning the mind to the object, patching up and replacing avasthāpayati and whilst our attention may continue as interrupted and mindfulness remains as the most important power in this stage, the next stage close placing.

Our familiarity with sensation of the breath with the object is increasing. It starts to become fulfilling, staying for longer periods in the foreground of our experience, allowing other sensations, feelings arising in the body, sounds, thoughts of past or future, allowing those to fade into the background.

Upasthāpayati, close placement and at this stage we have perhaps already met and overcome a kind of coarse laziness. We are rising early to join the meditation. We have experienced some of the fruits of meditation that encourage us to sit even for a short time each day. We have some faith, some confidence, śraddhā, that is an antidote to this type of laxity.

We make use of our willpower, chanda, our energy, vyāyāma and we perhaps have begun to taste some of that tranquility, that fruit, in the form of clarity and relaxation.

So that monkey mind or that wild elephant initially, unruly, difficult to restrain is slowly becoming more pliant, another way to translate passaddhi, qīng’ān [輕安 qīng’ān, “light and at ease” — Chinese gloss for pliancy], pliancy, flexibility. So we have plenty of markers, signposts, concepts to help us locate ourselves in this map.

Tools to practice with, slowly we can begin to apply these tools, not leaving them as concepts, as ideas, but bringing them onto the cushion. One thing to listen, to learn, to recollect, and another to apply, not just the power of listening and thinking, but also the power of mindfulness, this continuity of awareness. Our last session was a guided meditation decision. Our sit will be a silent one.

Take a moment to establish ourselves in a comfortable sitting position, grounded and stable, softly upright, space for the breath, relaxing shoulders, opening in the heart, gently closing the eyes or leaving them open as needed. We can establish a clear motivation for this practice, not for ourselves alone. Do we cultivate this pliancy tranquility of mind for the benefit of others also?

We can establish a clear intention for this particular sitting session as we will be self-guiding through the practice now for about 35 minutes, choosing which object or practice we will work with principally.

We have among those to choose from, the breath of course, in its gross form or more subtle appearance in the body, the touching place, the nostrils and upper lip, or even in the whole body, counting in breath and out breath, one, etc.

We have loving kindness practice which we can make use of if we wish, beginning with the auxiliary object, oneself, dear, neutral, difficult, harmonizing mental image, perhaps of the object as a child, feeling in the heart space and the intention, the wish that this being be free from pain and suffering, etc.

Setting that clear intention, determination to stay with that practice or object, knowing that if we become frustrated, dull, drowsy, we can mindfully shift position or change the object without making a habit of indecisiveness in regard to our object, allowing ourselves to be flexible, skillful. I’ll invite three sounds of the bell and we can begin.

Body, speech and mind in perfect oneness, I send my heart along with the sound of this bell. May its sound penetrate even into the darkest reaches of the cosmos and may the hearers awaken from forgetfulness and transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow.

So as we conclude reflecting on our sit, we can take a few moments if there are any questions, any reflections, something, an experience that someone would like to share, something that feels in need of clarification. Everything is clear, wonderful. So this brings us to the end of our morning session. Thank you to those friends who waited patiently outside. Your support is appreciated.

Thank you also to our translators making it possible for Chinese and Spanish speakers to also participate in these sessions and just to let you know that these sessions are also being recorded so they will be made available by IBA. More information about how to access those will be forthcoming.

And for those interested, I can also share the vocabulary, so some tables of these quite a few lists that we are working through so you don’t feel like you need to take notes and memorize them in every session. I will share the key terms so that you can frame your recollection around those. And yeah, that’s all from me. Thank you once again. Have a lovely day.