CHAPTER FOUR
The General Preliminary Practice for Each Session, Which Makes One a Fit Vessel
G
ENERALLY SPEAKING, WHICHEVER STAGE OF THE PRACTICE
one is engaged
in, it is most important to begin by making use of a pleasant, isolated place where nothing will happen to adversely affect one’s concentration, such as people moving about or disturbances from noise. As the Six Prerequisites for Concentration points out, Like bangles on a young maid’s wrist,a With many there are constant fights; With even two there will be rivalry: So I must remain alone. There, not only should you give up all negative and neutral activities of body, speech, and mind, but also, until you achieve a little stability, you must even for the time being abandon positive actions if they adversely affect your concentration. Once you have stemmed the continuous flow of exhausting tasks, idle chatter, and thoughts and can rely on being free from these three faults (physical, verbal, and mental) related to concentration, make a firm resolve to devote yourself completely to the practice. 21 For this, it is important to have in mind the eight types of mental application that act as antidotes in eliminating the five faults, since they are indispensable accessories to putting the instructions into practice. The five faults, as listed in Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes, are as follows: Laziness, forgetting the essential instructions, Wildness or dullness, Nonapplication, and overapplication— These are said to be the five faults.b In other words, these faults are: • being lazy and uneager to practice; • forgetting the words and their meaning with regard to what one is meditating on; • being overpowered by wildness or dullness; • not using the antidote when either of these two occur; and • applying the antidote too strongly once one has overcome wildness and dullness.