How To Focus | Shaila Catherine
Shaila Catherine, founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, shares practical techniques for boosting concentration in meditation. She discusses cultivating the right attitude, the interplay of concentration and mindfulness, and the advanced states of jhanas.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Introduction to Concentration and Jhanas
Defining Concentration in Meditation Practice
Overcoming Frustration and Hindrances in Practice
Cultivating the Right Attitude for Meditation
Distinguishing Mindfulness from Concentration Practice
Different Kinds of Samadhi
The Role of Intentions and Agendas in Practice
Understanding Conceit in Buddhist Philosophy
Jhanic Factors Versus Jhana States
Exploring the Four Jhanas: Altered States of Absorption
Purpose and Value of Jhana Practice
Attainability of Jhanas for Meditators
Practical Concentration Techniques for Daily Practice
The Impact of Ethical Behavior on Concentration
Strategy for Distraction: Talking Back to the Mind
8 Key Concepts
Concentration (Samadhi)
In meditation, concentration refers to an undistractedness, stillness, and ability to apply and sustain attention to an object with deep engagement. It's not a rigid, forced focus but a spacious mind free from distraction, also known as unification of mind, collectedness, or steadiness.
Hindrances
These are mental obstacles like desire, aversion, restlessness, and self-doubt that prevent the mind from settling and deepening concentration. Purifying the mind of these hindrances by being mindful of them is a primary condition for developing concentration.
Mindfulness Practice
A practice where one is aware of whatever is dominantly arising in the present moment, whether it's sounds, sensations, or thoughts. It can involve an open, broad field of attention, but within that, one is still concentrating on the present experience without distraction.
Kanaka Samadhi
A type of concentration that develops by observing changing experiences, such as a sound here, a sensation there, or a thought arising. The mind remains present and mindful, but the objects of attention keep shifting.
Apana Samadhi
A type of concentration based upon a fixed object, such as the breath or loving kindness. By focusing narrowly on one object, it opens the possibility for deeper, absorptive states of mind.
Conceit (Mana)
A technical Buddhist term referring to a comparing function in the mind that maintains the delusion of a solid 'I am.' It's one of the last fetters to fall away and can manifest as superiority, inferiority, or equality, all stemming from an attachment to the experience of body and mind, rather than a functional sense of self.
Jhanic Factors (Intensifying Factors)
Five qualities of mind that develop with strong samadhi: directing attention, sustaining attention, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness. These factors are present in powerful, undistracted states of mind and are conditions for the deeper jhana states.
Jhanas
Four altered states of consciousness (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th jhana) attained through deep concentration on a fixed mental object. They involve seclusion from unwholesome states and sensory distractions, suffusing the mind with non-sensual bliss and happiness, and are intended to make the mind fit for insight practice.
8 Questions Answered
In meditation, concentration refers to an undistracted, still mind capable of applying and sustaining attention to an object with deep engagement, often translated from the Pali term 'samadhi' meaning unification of mind. It's not a forced focus, but a spacious and steady attention that also applies to daily tasks.
Frustration often arises because the 'wanting' of concentration can itself be a hindrance if it's rooted in attachment or aversion. When we put too much pressure on the situation, expecting a specific outcome, it can lead to anger or self-criticism, which are obstacles to deepening concentration.
Cultivating the right attitude involves being mindful of hindrances like desire, aversion, envy, or self-criticism as they arise, rather than pretending to do concentration practice. By settling these hindrances and purifying the mind, one creates conditions supportive of deep concentration.
Mindfulness involves being aware of whatever is dominantly arising in the present moment, which can be a broad field of attention. Concentration is a continuity of mindfulness, where the mind is undistracted. While all mindfulness involves some concentration, a practice focused on a specific, fixed object can lead to deeper, absorptive states, whereas open awareness focuses on changing experiences.
Not all agendas are unskillful; some intentions or aims can be wholesome and supportive of practice, inspiring possibility. However, agendas become unskillful if they are unrealistic, controlling, demanding, or rooted in unwholesome states like pride, self-criticism, or anger, rather than a commitment to liberating the mind.
In Buddhism, conceit (Pali: mana) is a subtle comparing function that maintains the delusion of a solid 'I am.' It's not just arrogance but includes superiority, inferiority, and equality, all stemming from an attachment to the experience of body and mind, rather than a functional sense of self.
While not for beginners, and typically requiring prior mindfulness skill, jhanas are considered available to people who commit to the specific practice. Most people who attend jhana retreats experience deeper samadhi, even if they don't fully enter the jhanas, because the path itself is enriching and refines understanding of the mind.
Ethical behavior is crucial because right concentration is based upon virtue. If one's actions, speech, or thoughts are unskillful or impure, it can lead to restlessness and agitation in the mind during meditation, making deep concentration difficult to achieve.
20 Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate Right Attitude
Approach concentration by purifying the mind of obstacles and hindrances, rather than forcing it, as this creates the necessary conditions for deep focus. This involves letting go of attachment-based wanting and aversion (anger or criticism) if desired concentration isn’t immediately achieved.
2. Mindfulness for Hindrances
When hindrances (like desire, aversion, envy, or self-criticism) arise, apply mindfulness to observe and settle them, allowing them to dissipate and clear the mind for concentration. This is the primary way to ‘deal with’ mental obstacles.
3. Continuity of Mindfulness
Develop a continuous state of mindfulness throughout your practice, as this sustained awareness naturally wears away distractions and supports the development of concentration. This is a fundamental step towards deeper focus.
4. Question Your Mental Attitude
Regularly check your mental state during meditation by asking, ‘What’s the attitude in the mind right now?’ This helps you become aware of underlying intentions, unrealistic expectations, or unwholesome states like pride or self-criticism.
5. Embrace Wholesome Purpose
Engage in meditation with the broader aim of purifying and liberating the mind from defilements, rather than solely pursuing specific achievements or temporary pleasant states. This ensures your practice is oriented towards awakening, not just personal badges of success.
6. Balance Effort & Relaxation
Work to balance your meditative effort, avoiding both excessive forcefulness that creates tension and excessive laxity that leads to distraction. The goal is to be fully engaged yet relaxed to support concentration.
7. Narrow Focus for Absorption
To deepen concentration, intentionally narrow your attention to a single meditation subject (e.g., the breath or loving-kindness phrases) with the aim of absorbing the mind in it. This is akin to a ‘short leash’ approach to attention, fostering a more focused quality.
8. Nourish Jhana Factors
When qualities like sustained attention, joy, pleasure, and one-pointedness naturally emerge from continuous mindfulness, actively nourish and trust them to support deeper states of concentration. These ‘intensifying factors’ are wholesome and can be consciously allowed to deepen.
9. Practice Ethical Behavior
Ensure your concentration practice is grounded in virtue by considering and refining your actions, speech, and thoughts in daily life. Unskillful conduct creates mental restlessness and agitation, making deep concentration difficult.
10. Dedicate Daily Focus Time
Allocate a specific, predetermined portion of your daily meditation (e.g., the first or last 15 minutes) to focus exclusively on a single object like the breath. This simple practice significantly strengthens your ability to direct and sustain attention.
11. ‘Talk Back’ to Distractions
When unhelpful thoughts (like planning, ruminating, or embellishing) arise, firmly and clearly ’talk back’ to your mind by stating, ‘No, I’m not going to think that now.’ This helps to consciously redirect attention away from mental wandering.
12. Counter Untrue Thoughts
Actively question the truthfulness of distracting thoughts; if a thought is found to be untrue, counter it directly and refuse to believe it. This strategy uses your own thoughts to dismantle unhelpful mental patterns.
13. Lighten Conceit & Comparison
Acknowledge conceit (the sense of ‘I am’ or comparing oneself to others) with a light, humorous attitude, rather than getting stuck in it. Use this subtle comparing function as an inspiration to grow without clinging to self-identification.
14. Question Self-Attachment
Systematically question any sense of attachment to experiences of body, feelings, perceptions, or sensory input by asking, ‘Is there a self possessing of that?’ This practice helps to unravel the delusion of a solid, inherent self.
15. Jhana Path for Deep Samadhi
Engage in the path of jhana practice for its inherent value in refining understanding and deepening samadhi, even without the expectation of achieving full jhana states. The skills developed are incredibly enriching to one’s practice.
16. Jhana for Insight, Not Bliss
If pursuing jhana, understand its ultimate purpose is to sharpen and prepare the mind for profound insight into impermanence, suffering, and no-self, rather than becoming attached to the temporary bliss. Jhana makes the mind ‘fit for insight’.
17. Jhana as Letting Go
Practice jhana with the understanding that it is ‘right concentration,’ informed by right view, serving as a practice of relinquishment and letting go, not reinforcement of attachment. This prevents craving for the meditative pleasures.
18. Beginners: Master Mindfulness First
For those new to meditation, prioritize developing strong skills in mindfulness and focusing energy before attempting jhana practice. This foundational work helps in balancing effort and managing hindrances effectively.
19. Advanced: Specific Jhana Skills
Even advanced meditators with strong insight practice may need to learn specific techniques for holding a meditation object in a particular way to achieve the deep absorption required for jhana. This skill differs from open awareness practices.
20. Dedicated Concentration Period
Consider dedicating a specific period (e.g., a year or two) to intentionally focus more on strengthening concentration. This focused effort can lead to deeper insights into the mind that might not be gained through other practices.
5 Key Quotes
When we're talking about concentration, we're not talking about a narrow, rigid, focused, forced attention. We're talking about a spacious mind that is undistracted and able to stay steady in whatever it's engaged in.
Shaila Catherine
Desire and aversion are hindrances to the deepening of concentration.
Shaila Catherine
We don't withdraw from the senses in order to transcend the senses and live in bliss. But the experience of this bliss transforms the mind so that it provides the energy and the perspective to have a different view on the senses and sensory pleasures and to then be able to, I think the texts use the language, make the mind fit for insight.
Shaila Catherine
You sharpen a pencil so that you can write with it. And if it gets dulled, you sharpen it again. Why? So that you can write with it. You don't just keep sharpening and sharpening and sharpening and sharpening to get a perfect point, and then admire it, or to just keep sharpening and sharpening, sharpening, because it's fun, and you enjoy the activity. It's for a purpose.
Shaila Catherine
I also find that anybody who enters the first jhana has no problem with second, third, or fourth. Because to enter the first jhana, you have already abandoned all the hindrances.
Shaila Catherine
2 Protocols
Strengthening Concentration in Daily Practice
Shaila Catherine- Spend a little more time in your meditation practice at home focusing on the breath or a particular perception that you want to explore more deeply.
- Predetermine a specific period (e.g., the first 15 minutes or last 15 minutes) of your daily practice to focus intently on one object.
- Teach your mind that this is what it's doing for that predetermined period.
Dealing with Distracting Thoughts ('Talking Back to the Mind')
Shaila Catherine- Be mindful that distracting thoughts have arisen.
- With clarity, say 'No, I'm not going to think that now' or 'I don't need to think that now.'
- If your mind is telling you something that is not true, counter its beliefs by questioning if it's actually true.