Recollection of theDhamma (Pi.dhammānussati; Skt.dharmanusmrti; Tib.ཆོས་རྗེས་སུ་དྲན་པchos rjes su dran pa)
Recollection of theSangha (Pi.saṅghānussati; Skt.sanghanusmrti; Tib.དགེ་འདུན་རྗེས་སུ་དྲན་པdge 'dun rjes su dran pa)[b]
TheDhammapada (Verse 296, 297 & 298) declares that theBuddha's disciples who constantly practice recollection of theTriple Gem "everawaken happily".[5] According to theTheragatha, such a practice will lead to "the height of continual joy".[6]
Unlike other subjects of meditative recollection mentioned in this article, the Triple Gem are considered "devotional contemplations".[7] The Triple Gem are listed as the first three subjects of recollection for each of the following lists as well.
The Buddha tells a disciple that the mind of one who practices these recollections "is not overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with delusion.[c] His mind heads straight, ... gains joy connected with the Dhamma..., rapture arises..., the body grows calm ... experiences ease..., the mind becomes concentrated".[10][d]
InMahayana Buddhist practices, the first six recollections were commonly taught and the Buddhaanussati was particularly emphasised in many popularsutras such as theMedicine Buddha sutra.[11]
In the Pali canon'sAṅguttara Nikāya, it is stated that the practice of any one of these ten recollections leads tonibbana (Sanskrit:nirvana).[13] The Ten Recollections are listed among thekammaṭṭhāna,[11] forty classic meditation subjects listed in theVisuddhimagga useful for developingconcentration needed to suppress and destroy thefive hindrances during ones pursuit ofnibbana.[f] Although the Pali canon refers to mindfulness of death (maraṇāsati), theVisuddhimagga refers to the recollection of death (maraṇānussati).
In terms of the development of meditative absorption, mindfulness of the breath can lead to all fourjhanas, mindfulness of the body can lead only to the firstjhana, while the eight other recollections culminate in pre-jhanic "access concentration" (upacara samadhi).[7]
The recollection of death is connected with the Buddhist concept ofnon-self: devotees recollect on the inevitability of their own demise, and in that way learn to understand that their physical body is not a permanent self.[14] To often reflect in such a way, is believed to strongly affect the devotee's motivations and priorities in life, and to help the devotee become more realistic.[15]
It has been suggested that the recollection of the Buddha identified in theTheravādin'sPāli Canon might have been the basis for the more elaborately visual contemplations typical ofTibetan Buddhism.[16][g]
TheAṅguttara Nikāya provides the following verse for the recollection of theDhamma:
"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be realized by the wise for themselves."
The Teaching of the Buddha has six supreme qualities:
Svākkhāto (Sanskrit:Svākhyāta; "well-expounded, well-proclaimed, or self-announced"). The Buddha's teaching is not a speculative philosophy but an exposition of the Universal Law of Nature based on a causal analysis of natural phenomena. It is taught, therefore, as a science rather than a sectarian belief system.[17] Full comprehension (enlightenment) of the teaching may take varying lengths of time but Buddhists traditionally say that the course of study is 'excellent in the beginning (sīla;Sanskrit:śīla; "moral principles"), excellent in the middle (Sanskrit:samādhi; "concentration") and excellent in the end' (paññā;Sanskrit:prajñā; "wisdom").
Sandiṭṭhiko (Sanskrit:Sāṃdṛṣṭika; "able to be examined"). TheDhamma is open to scientific and other types of scrutiny and is not based on faith.[h] It can be tested by personal practice and one who follows it will see the result for oneself by means of one's own experience.Sandiṭṭhiko comes from the wordsandiṭṭhika which means "visible in this world" and is derived from the wordsandiṭṭhi. Since theDhamma is visible, it can be "seen": known and be experienced within one's life.
Akāliko (Sanskrit:Akālika; "timeless, immediate"). TheDhamma is able to bestow timeless and immediate results here and now. There is no need to wait for the future or a next existence. TheDhamma does not change over time and it is not relative to time.
Ehipassiko (Sanskrit:Ehipaśyika; "which you can come and see" — from the phraseehi, paśya, "come, see!"). TheDhamma invites all beings to put it to the test and come see for themselves.
Opanayiko (Sanskrit:Avapraṇayika; "leading one close to"). Followed as a part of one's life thedhamma leads one toliberation. In the "Vishuddhimagga" this is also referred to as "Upanayanam."Opanayiko means "to be brought inside oneself". This can be understood with an analogy as follows. If one says a ripe mango tastes delicious, and if several people listen and come to believe it, they would imagine the taste of the mango according to their previous experiences of other delicious mangoes. Yet, they will still not really know exactly how this mango tastes. Also, if there is a person who has never tasted a ripe mango before, that person has no way of knowing exactly for himself how it tastes. So, the only way to know the exact taste is to experience it. In the same way,dhamma is said to beopanayiko which means that a person needs to experience it within to see exactly what it is.
Paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi (Sanskrit:Pratyātmaṃ veditavyo vijñaiḥ; "to be meant to perceive directly"). TheDhamma is "to be realised by the wise for themselves". It can be perfectly realised only by the noble disciples (ariya-puggala) who have matured insupreme wisdom. No one can "enlighten" another person. Each intelligent person has to attain and experience for themselves. As an analogy, no one can simply make another know how to swim. Each person individually has to learn how to swim. In the same way, dhamma cannot be transferred or bestowed upon someone. Each one has to know for themselves.
Knowing these attributes, Buddhists believe that they will attain the greatest peace and happiness through the practice of theDhamma. Therefore, each person is fully responsible for his or her self to put it into practice for real.
Here the Buddha is compared to an experienced and skillful doctor, and theDhamma to proper medicine. However efficient the doctor or wonderful the medicine may be, the patients cannot be cured unless they take the medicine properly. So the practice of theDhamma is the only way to attain the final deliverance ofnibbāna.
TheAṅguttara Nikāya provides the following verses for the recollection of the Sangha:
"The Sangha of the Blessed One'sdisciples who have practiced well... who have practiced straight-forwardly... who have practiced methodically... who have practiced masterfully — in other words, the four types [of noble disciples] when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individual types — they are the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world."
TheAṅguttara Nikāya provides the following verse for the recollection of generosity:
"It is a gain, a great gain for me, that — among people overcome with the stain of possessiveness — I live at home, my awareness cleansed of the stain of possessiveness, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution ofalms."
TheAṅguttara Nikāya provides the following verses for the recollection of thedevas:
"There are the devas of theFour Great Kings, thedevas of the Thirty-three, the devas of the Hours, theContented Devas, the devas who delight in creation, the devas who have power over the creations of others, the devas ofBrahma's retinue, the devas beyond them. Whatever conviction they were endowed with that — when falling away from this life — they re-arose there, the same sort of conviction is present in me as well. Whatever virtue they were endowed with that — when falling away from this life — they re-arose there, the same sort of virtue is present in me as well. Whatever learning they were endowed with that — when falling away from this life — they re-arose there, the same sort of learning is present in me as well. Whatever generosity they were endowed with that — when falling away from this life — they re-arose there, the same sort of generosity is present in me as well. Whatever discernment they were endowed with that — when falling away from this life — they re-arose there, the same sort of discernment is present in me as well."
"There are deities who, surpassing the company of deities that consume solid food, are reborn in a certain host of mind-made deities. They don't see in themselves anything more to do, or anything that needs improvement."
^A stock phrase in the Nikayas says that one accomplished indhyana recalls one's own past lives, as a prelude to awakening.[3] In this case,anussati is not a meditative subject to achievejhanic absorption or devotional bliss; it is the actual fruit of practice.An example of one who has achieved such a power is described in the following manner by the Buddha in the "Lohicca Sutta" (DN 12):
^For an example, see reference to this type of recollection inDhammapada, Ch. 21, vv. 296-8[5]
^For more information about the import of passion, aversion, and delusion in Buddhism, seekilesa.
^As suggested by this quote and discussed further below,Gunaratana 1988 states that meditation on these recollected subjects leads to "access concentration" but not to higherjhanic attainment.
^For canonical material associated with the recollections of death, body, and breathBullitt 2005 refers readers to the mindfulness (sati) practices identified in theSatipatthana Sutta.
Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid; Ehrhard, Franz-Karl; Diener, Michael S. (1991).The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Translated by Kohn, Michael H. Boston: Shambhala.ISBN0-87773-520-4.
Kamalashila, Dharmachari (1996).Meditation: the Buddhist way of tranquillity and insight (2nd ed.). Birmingham: Windhorse.ISBN1-899579-05-2.Archived 5 April 2005 at theWayback Machine.
Mahathera, Nyanatiloka (1980)."Anussati"(PDF).Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (4th revised ed.). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. pp. 20–21.ISBN955-24-0019-8.
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