[Gem]

Initially I wasn't going to talk about existential things such as am I or am I not? Or if I am, then what? (That rhymes!).


I was just starting with refuge because that's the first step in a formal meditation retreat, and I moved on to sila because that's also an initial vow, and hoped to follow a progression of topics which match the progression of the meditation practice.


Hence I want to bring it back to the subject of morality (sila) and discuss how that enhances the meditation, as well as how morality pertains to more inherent notions of virtue.



I have taken the sila vows formally many times and these are important in establishing a code of conduct in the cultural context of an ashram, but outside of that environment most of it isn't relevant. Such vows as what kind of bed I sleep in and when I take meals aren't relevant to 'virtue' in any universal sense. On the other hand, not harming living things is arising from a universal aspect of compassion, and is thus 'virtuous'.


Just as refuge is important to undertake in the context of meditation, sila is also foundational. For example the desire to harm things arises from deep disturbances of anger, jealousy, spite, hatred and so forth, so it's not so much the hurting of things in itself that is immoral, but it's immoral because the intent behind it generates suffering. The one doing harm is generating their own suffering and spreading it around to make others suffer. That's basically what 'immoral' implies.


Of course a mind agitated by ill intent isn't able to meditate, a because meditation is awareness with stillness, and agitation is the disturbance of that still poise. In this way, 'good intent', like refuge, is primal to mindful practice.


This has very deep implications because our ill-willed intentions just come up and we might recognise it as 'that's not nice' but be unable to 'not feel that way'. Bearing a grudge, for example, doesn't stop because you want it to. You can't help feeling that spite over some terrible injustice even though you know that burning wish to see them suffer is making you suffer as well. You can't stop it on the surface because the cause is deeper. Attacking the surface feeling is like chopping off weeds above the ground. They remain unseen for a while, but they return with renewed vigour. The meditation is going to the unseen roots, and enables you to take the thing out whole, and that is a different intent entirely.