The Eight Levels of Meditation

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The Eight Levels of Meditation

“	<div class="flexinode-body flexinode-1"> Author: Daniel Carr <div class="flexinode-textarea-5"><div class="form-item"> Article: <p>The real power of martial arts lies in linking physical training to meditation practices. Adepts and neophytes alike practice various breathing and concentration exercises, most of them receiving encouraging results for their efforts. Unfortunately, most serious practitioners never achieve the higher levels, levels well within their reach. For these students, there is a lack of understanding in respect to the relationship between physical practice, breathing exercises, and concentration techniques. Once the understanding is clear, all levels of training can accelerate.</p> <p>The Hindus should be credited with the first systemization of meditation. The Hindu tradition broke down the process into eight levels, which are referred to as &quot;The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga.&quot; They are as follows:</p> <p>1. Self-Restraint/ &quot;Yama&quot; <br />Self restraint can be best defined as the codes of behavior that keep the aspirant at peace with the world he lives in, as well as himself. By engaging in such &quot;self-restraint,&quot; the aspirant is freed from the negative Karma that unwholesome behavior will generate. Typically, this level of practice in all of the esoteric traditions is to instill a sense of righteous behavior in the aspirant, but what many fail to realize is that an abscence of past indiscretions frees the mind in the present. The unhindered and unfettered mind will be at peace and free to meditate. <br />The Hindus have five precepts for self-restraint, which are very similar to the Buddhists' five (the existing literature on Taoism is quite sketchy, so no opinion will be offered). The traditional prayer greeting of the Buddhists and Hindus is considered a conscious recognition of these five principles, one for each finger, by the exchangers of the sign. The precepts are: <br />*Non-killing/ &quot;Ahimsa&quot; <br />*Truthfulness/ &quot;Satya&quot; <br />*Non-stealing/ &quot;Asteya&quot; <br />*Sexual Continence/ &quot;Brahmacharya&quot; <br />*Non-covetousness/ &quot;Áparigraha&quot; <br />2. Observance/ &quot;Niyama&quot; <br />Observances build on the concepts of self-restraint, putting those principles into action in daily life. Purity of action, contentment, austerity, the study of self-development through classic treatises and the honoring of a guru, and surrender of ego to the ultimate universal are all natural extensions of self-restraint. <br />3. Physical Practice/ &quot;Asana&quot; <br />For all practical purposes, this is the level where most Kung Fu practitioners start and end their practice. Although physical practice is considered an absolute necessity to open up and develop the central nervous system, it is not enough. While strengthening the central nervous system channels for energy circulation in meditation and providing the discipline to sit through potentially long, uncomfortable periods in sitting meditation, the physical aspect of training is an absolute necessity in the hierarchy of self-realization. <br />The mystique of Kung Fu physical training leading to higher consciousness roots itself within this function of the levels within this eightfold framework. However, it should be recognized as being only one rung of a longer ladder. <br />In the Hindu tradition, physical practice is most recognizable as the Yoga postures and exercises practiced in a typical studio, everything from Sun Salutations to headstands. The Buddhist and Taoist traditions have used martial arts and various qigongs that are marked by intense, physical exertion. The Buddhist &quot;Muscle/Tendon Washing Classic Series&quot; of exercises is one such qigong and is further evidence that Buddhism and Taoism were initially supported by Hindu body technology. <br />It is not uncommon for the highest adepts within a tradition to study the other traditions' practices. It is rumored that Kwan Sai Hung, the fictionalized version of his life was initially featured in &quot;The Wandering Taoist,&quot; traveled to India and studied as a Yogi for some years. This would suggest that it was traditional for of Yoga and martial arts to combine to provide the optimum training regimen for this level, but that is a matter of debate. <br />4. Breathing Exercise/ &quot;Pranayama&quot; <br />Breathing exercises develop the connection between the cultivation of energy/&quot;Prana&quot; and the breath of the aspirant. Various techniques are used in Yoga, from alternating nostrils to forced exhalations to timed inhalations and exhalations. It is at this point where the first levels of dealing with the production of &quot;Prana&quot;/ &quot;Chi&quot; converge and where the luckier aspirants of Kung Fu end their exploration. <br />An advanced Kung Fu aspirant learns similar breathing techniques, or others, like tracing the sensation of the breath up and down certain limbs or energy lines. Energy develops, and the aspirant presupposes that, in the energy felt, the ultimate goal of his exploration into meditation has been realized- the ability to feel energy travel through limbs. The usual goal of such a practitioner is the ability to execute more powerful martial techniques, and the sensation of energy moving through the limbs provides a premature verification that the ultimate goal has been achieved. Punches, kicks, and throws all improve dramatically. The irony in this is that the sincere aspirant misses out of further self-development because of a preoccupation on achievement in martial ability: the highest levels of martial ability will still not be reached because the higher levels of meditation have not been discovered. <br />5. Sense Withdrawal/ &quot;Prathyahara&quot; Sense withdrawal is the pulling of the five senses back into the mind and the detaching from the various sense stimuli that the surrounding environment is generating. This level is considered to be the precursor of &quot;absorption&quot;/internal listening and the first introduction to spiritual life. <br />&quot;The excited senses of even a wise man, though he may be strong, impetuously carry away his mind. The practice demands considerable patience and perseverance. It is a trying discipline of the senses.&quot; -Swami Sivananda, &quot;Fourteen lessons on Raja Yoga&quot; <br />6. Concentration/ &quot;Dharana&quot; <br />Concentration is possible once sense withdrawal has begun. The refocusing of the senses on a single concentration point begins the inward turning of the mind. The tip of the nose is listed as one such point, the typical starting point used by both the Buddhists and Hindus. The breath and senses merge at the tip nose to open the central nervous system in a way that is not possible by feeling a whole limb or the whole body. It is said that the nerves connecting the nose to the brain enhance the bioelectric nature of the breath when it is actively stimulated in conjunction with the breathing process. Other points are used this same way, along with various visualizations. <br />Raja Yoga has it that if one can inwardly focus on such a point in this way for 12 seconds without interruption, it is considered a &quot;Dharana.&quot; <br />7. Meditation/ &quot;Dhyana&quot; <br />Meditation is the unbroken flow of the mind on a single point for an extended period. Most aspirants can never meditate without successfully structuring their practice, as the mind is interrupted from this task by either physical or emotional considerations. Worldly matters force their way into the mind just as a &quot;Dharana&quot; is achieved, necessitating a restart in Pratayahara. <br />Each attempt, however, strengthens the aspirant. One teacher explained that it was like doing pushups. The first time you try, you can only do a couple and your muscles ache. Years down the road, if you practice hard, doing a couple hundred is quite an invigorating round of exercise. <br />8. Superconsciousness / &quot;Samadhi&quot; </p> <p>Superconciousness is the state of &quot;union&quot; that word Yoga directly refers to. The union achieved is described as: &quot;In Samahi, the meditator loses his individuality and becomes identical with the Supreme Self. Just as the river joins the ocean, the individual soul joins the Supreme Soul, the ocean of absolute consciousness.&quot; -Swami Sivananda, &quot;Fourteen Lesson on Raja Yoga&quot; It is at this level that the martial artist reaches the peak of his evolution. It is also where all of the great esoteric traditions merge into one, beyond their ethnic inflection. </p> <p><strong>Conclusion </strong><br />The practice of Kung Fu is greatly enhanced by structuring it correctly within your meditation practice. The archetypal image of a Kung Fu Master is one of rapture in sitting meditation. Understanding the process that will lead you to this level of achievement will put it within your reach. <br /><br /><em>Daniel Carr is a long time practitioner of Northern Shaolin, internal Chinese martial arts and a well known Sanshou competitor. He is the head instructor of Transformation Arts in Los Angeles and can be reached at <a href=&quot;mailto:daniel@kung-fu.org&quot;><font color=&quot;#003366&quot;>daniel@kung-fu.org</font></a>.</em></p>	”

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I think it would be wrong to call Eight Level of meditation. rather than they would be "Eight Steps towards meditation" and moreover this article seems like a copy from Iyengar's Book.
-TkdWarrior-

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