Cattāri Brahmavihārā

You may or may not know that I’ve made the aditthana to use buddho as my main subject of meditation for three years and, as I would expect, it can be a slog at times. But, if there’s anything that my years of practice have taught me it’s that there is no silver bullet. There’s no magic technique that will bring about jhana.

Rather it is dedication to the meditation object and a sufficient amount of undisturbed time (such as a retreat) that has produced concentration for me (jhana, not quite yet). Failing a retreat environment the one thing I can do is remain committed to buddho but that doesn’t mean simply rote repetition. Rather, the Ajahns remind us to be creative and resourceful with our kammaṭṭhāna. Some might even say to have fun with it. And that is precisely what today’s post is about.

Ajahn Achalo constantly reminds us that buddho can mean “the one who knows” which got me to thinking: knowing was not the only faculty perfected by the Lord Buddha. He was also carana sampanno: perfect in knowledge and conduct. So, it occurred to me while following buddho with the breath that I could also focus on metta while in public and radiate buddho to myself and all beings as the highest expression of loving-kindness.

From there it has been an ongoing experiment. This morning I touched on buddho with upekkha parami and khanti parami when it was tough to stay on the cushion. Sacca parami when honestly viewing the contents of the mind stream and aditthana parami when decided that I would stay for the whole hour and add an extra five minutes at the end. All of these qualities are embodied by the Buddha and when reciting buddho it has been invigorating to recall just how awe-inspiring he was and how majestic is the path that we are trying to walk.