"Looking amongst my peers, there are not many Hatha Yogins also studying Tibetan Buddhism,nor many Tibetan Buddhists with an interest in Hatha Yoga. For me the two traditions have been like the two wings of a bird - each helping the other to enable flight."

INTRODUCTION

When the editor of Spectrum asked me to write an article on Buddhism and Yoga, without any hesitation I said ‘Yes, of course’. Why it has taken so long for this article to finally appear is partly due to the realisation of the immensity of the task.

Both traditions represent vast areas of knowledge, and I have long had this deep sentiment of ‘the more I study, the less I seem to know’. Doubts began to creep in: I am neither a very accomplished Hatha Yogin, nor a learned Buddhist scholar - so who am I to attempt writing this article?

But then I looked at it from another angle. For the past 30 plus years I have studied and practised Hatha Yoga, and have been extremely fortunate to work at the same time with a number of Tibetan Lamas  and Teachers from what is really, and sadly, the last generation still trained in Tibet. Whilst they were pioneers in bringing the seeds of Tibetan Buddhism to the west, I have been part of the first group of western ‘guinea pigs’ who received these seeds, and fostered them.  In these 30 years (Tibetan) Buddhism has become an established ‘religion’ in the west, and the Dalai Lama is universally recognized as one of the most respected spiritual teachers of this era.

Looking amongst my peers, there are not many Hatha Yogins also studying Tibetan Buddhism,nor many Tibetan Buddhists with an interest in Hatha Yoga. For me the two traditions have been like the two wings of a bird - each helping the other to enable flight. Perhaps I am actually not too badly placed to write this article after all! So I decided to have a go..........

WHAT IS YOGA?
In the broadest sense, Yoga is any path that leads the practitioner from the state of ‘suffering’ (Sanskrit = Dukha) to ‘liberation’ (Sanskrit =  Moksha).

There are therefore many Yogas: Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, Raja, etc., but most of us, when ‘Yoga’ is mentioned, think of the physical and breath related exercises of Hatha Yoga to which we have been introduced  in out local Yoga classes.

To get a clear idea of the totality of Hatha Yoga, there is probably no better place to look than the famous text by Svatmarama, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (or HYP) ( *1). Here we see that Hatha Yoga is a carefully graded path which includes the Yamas and Niyamas (ethical guidelines), the performance of Asana (postures), the Shatkarma cleansing exercises, Pranayama and breath retention with Bandha (locks), the delicate practices of Mudra (hand positions,seals) and Nada (energy channels), culminating in Samadhi (bliss). 

Each technique needs to be learnt under guidance, and then practised until the appropriate results manifest.  If we compare this to driving a car, we need to learn this too under guidance, until the results manifest and we can drive safely with enjoyment. But, for any given journey, unless by looking at a map we get some overview of where we want to go, we will end up driving around aimlessly. Similarly, the activities of Hatha Yoga need a direction - otherwise our Yoga practice will stagnate. This direction is called a View  (Sanskrit =  Darsana).

The HYP makes this very clear. On several occasions it mentions, even warns, that to practice Hatha without reference to Raja Yoga is a waste of time, for instance verses 1.1 and 4.103

...... the knowledge of Hatha Yoga which shines forth as a stairway for those who wish to ascend to the highest stage of Yoga, Raja Yoga (1.1)

All the processes of Hatha and Laya Yoga are but the means to attain Raja Yoga .... (4.103)

One text in which Raja Yoga, or Classical Yoga,  is clearly codified is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (YS) (*2) and here we find a definition of Yoga  in Chapter 1 verse 2 (*3);

Or in plain English: Yoga is to calm down the restless, conceptual mind.

Why we do this is explained in verse 1.3:

The Seer [Self]  abides in His own nature

Or in plain English: so that we relax into what we really are.

Unless we practice Yoga like that, we remain in the state described in verse 1.4:

These verses represent the synopsis of a ‘View’, in that they set out the goal and reason for the Yoga journey. The rest of the YS is a clear description of the Path - it gives us a complete roadmap for the practice of Yoga. The path of Yoga in the YS includes instructions on Samadhi, the famous Eight Limbs (Sanskrit = Ashtanga), and Kriya Yoga. The latter recognizes that there are several obstacles (Sanskrit =  Klesha) to the attainment of the Yoga 'Result':  ignorance, desire and aversion (*4), and gives methods to eliminate them.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga
To discuss the  Eight Limbs in detail is not the topic of this article but, in brief, they consist of:

1. Yama                 = discipline towards others
2. Niyama             = discipline towards ourselves
3. Asana                = ‘posture’
4. Pranayama      = balance of energy through breathing
5. Pratyahara      = non-attachment to the senses
6. Dharana            = ‘concentration’
7. Dhyana             = ‘meditation’
8. Samadhi           = continued non-distraction

These eight parts should not be seen as separate from each other, or as sequential. Rather they are truly like eight ‘limbs’, each one supporting the others.

It is useful here to introduce a threefold division, which will also apply when later we look at another Eightfold Path, that taught by the Buddha:

1. The first two Limbs have to do with our ‘Lifestyle’ - how we relate to others, the environment and ourselves. This is the Yoga we practise ‘off the mat’.
2. Limbs 3 - 7 teach the various methods of ‘Concentration and Relaxation’ that we do ‘on our  mat’
3. As a result of practising the above two aspects, there will be a deepening of our experience of ‘meditation’ and  ‘inner peace’, as well as our understanding and insight, which in turn will re-motivate us to continue with the practice. This third aspect is therefore called ‘Understanding and Motivation’

These three aspects complement each other, and together form a ‘holistic’ Yogic ‘Path’.

We have to remember here that the practice of Hatha Yoga should be part of this wider perspective, which incorporates Lifestyle and an opening up to deeper Understanding and Motivation.

We can also bear in mind that within this wider perspective our success not only depends on what we ‘do’ in terms of application of methods, but also on what we let go of: the practice of Kriya Yoga encourages us to let go of the deeply ingrained Kleshas ignorance, desire and aversion. This echoes some of the fundamental teachings in Buddhism, where these Kleshas are very clearly defined.

WHAT IS BUDDHISM?

We find the same in Buddhism: there is not simply only one Buddhism, but many Buddhist teachings,  which at first glance may be very diverse, even contradictory.  Nagarjuna put it like this:

Not only has the Buddha taught the self, he has also demonstrated there is none. But in addition Buddha demonstrated that there is neither self nor lack of self (*5)

Buddha, in his wisdom, taught according to the needs of his students - they had to start and progress from where they were. Yoga teachers do the same, in modifying practices to suit individual needs.

Which of course makes the question, ‘ what is Buddhism?’ very hard to answer, especially in a short article, because the answer will depend on from which Buddhist tradition’s viewpoint it is given. A Teravadin’s answer will differ from a Vajrayanist’s. As I have studied within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, I will attempt to explore the answer from that angle. I should hastily add that my understanding is limited, that the little I know is due to the kind instructions of my teachers, and that any mistakes are totally and only mine !! (*6)

First of all, what is a Buddha? According to one source: ‘any person who has purified all defilements and developed all good qualities. The Buddha (my italics) refers to Shakyamuni Buddha who lived 2500 years ago in India’ (*7)

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

Central in all Buddhist teachings are the Four Noble Truths. Here Buddha applied the four steps of Ayurvedic diagnosis to the far larger question of our human condition. In Ayurveda, we first identify what the symptoms of an illness are, then identify their causes, then investigate how these causes can be eliminated, and finally prescribe a method to eliminate the causes and thereby the symptoms.

 Do good, avoid doing bad, and train the mind (*8)

However, as the root of the kleshas lies in ignorance, the eventual elimination of suffering cannot take place until ignorance is uprooted. Rather than ‘taking appearances as real’, we need to gain decisive insight into the true nature of both self and phenomena.

Buddha observed that the real culprit is our attachment to a ‘self’. He therefore set out to examine what it is that we call ‘self’, and concluded that just as what we call ‘car’ is the coming together of all its component parts and there is not one single piece that gives the ‘carness’ to the car, we too are no more than a temporary coming together of numerous aggregates (Sanskrit = Skandha), to which we give the name ’I’, ‘me’, ‘mine’ and ‘self’.

Buddha realized that within these aggregates there was no one single, independent, permanent  entity. Instead of finding a ‘Self’ (Atman), Buddha found that there was ‘no self’ (Anatman): our real condition is empty of any inherently existing ‘thing’ or self, and we exist instead only as dependently arising causes and conditions, which are subject to the coming and going called impermanence.

We can here recognize the Four Dharma Seals (Sanskrit = Dharma Mudra), common to all Buddhist schools, and which sets the Buddhist Three Yanas (the ‘Vehicles’ of Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana) apart from the Brahmayana of the non-Buddhist traditions:

1. all composite phenomena are impermanent.‘The very conditions that brought them into being also cause their disintegration’ (*9). Simply put: ‘what goes up must come down’.                                  
   
2. all contaminated phenomena are unsatisfactory. i.e all events and experiences that are the result of actions tainted by the kleshas and their underlying ignorance. Ignorance does not just mean to ‘not know’ something, but to actually ‘misapprehend’, to know wrongly.                                      
   
3. all phenomena are empty of self-existence. This is interdependence, no-self. To realize this is the opposite of ignorance, and is the characteristic of Nirvana as opposed to Samsara.                   
   
4.  therefore: Nirvana is true peace, ie not temporarily subject to causes and conditions 

The Sutras (Buddhist Discourses) themselves put it like this (*10):

THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH (*11)

Like Patanjali’s Eight Limbs, this also divides into the three aspects of lifestyle , ‘concentration / relaxation / meditation’, and wisdom with its resulting motivation.(*12)

2 - Right Action (Samyak Karmanta)
We are encouraged to act with generosity and the wish not to harm, and indeed through compassion to be of benefit to others. Specifically we avoid the ‘non virtues’ of the body: killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. We cultivate to actively help others

3 - Right Thinking (Samyak Samkalpa)
Is the direct result of Right View, and precedes our actions and speech. At this mental level it is therefore very important to watch our thoughts and prevent them from being negative or harmful, and encourage them to be positive or beneficial. There are four practices:

• check that our conclusions are based not on assumptions, but on truth
• avoid doing one thing whilst thinking about another
• cut short the habitual chatter that occurs in our mind
• develop Bodhicitta (Buddha-mind), the enlightened attitude of love and compassion.
  

6 - Right Diligence (Samyaka Prandhana)
Also called Joyful Effort, implying an element of ease. Generally, we continually practice the following four aspects:

• preventing the unwholesome from arising
• if already arisen, encourage the unwholesome to decrease and cease
• encourage the wholesome to arise
• when arisen, encourage the wholesome to flourish (*15)
  

The Four Foundations are:

• mindfulness of the ‘body in the body’ (Kaya)
• mindfulness of the ‘feelings in the feelings’ (Vedana)
• mindfulness of the ‘mind in the mind’ (Citta), the mental formations
• mindfulness of ‘phenomena in phenomena’ (Dharmas), the objects of the mind
  

Without constant mindfulness, the other 7 parts of the Path will not come to fruition.

According to a different interpretation, (*17), mindfulness consist of the following qualities:

• mind-awareness - to be constantly vigilant of what goes on in our minds, so that we are able to eliminate any  negative thoughts and emotions ‘at the moment of arising’
• at the same time cultivate the positive qualities of ‘love and compassion’
• develop ‘faith and devotion’. This refers to the gradual increase of experience, understanding and motivation mentioned earlier. We have ‘faith’ in Yoga, and are ‘devoted’ because from experience we know that it works! There are no doubts, nor false beliefs.
  

8 - Right Concentration (Samyak Samadhi)
These are the many methods that exist to develop the two stages of Buddhist meditation:

• Shamatha, or ‘Calm Abiding’ - aiming to calm the mind down. This is generally divided into:-

• Shamatha with object, i.e. simple concentration practices such as on the breath
  
• Shamatha without object, where one focuses directly on the mind itself

• Vipashyana or ‘Insight’, aiming to investigate the ‘true nature of self and phenomena’. This divides into:-

• Analytical Vipashyana, where through logical reasoning we come to a conclusion.  A good example are the writings of Nagarjuna (*18):

• Non-conceptual Vipashyana, where through direct ‘looking’ we realize the nature of our own mind and of the appearances that arise within it. Milarepa’s ‘songs of realization’ are a good example:
  

© Maarten Vermaase 2004

In the next issue Maarten will look at how Buddhism can help us  with our Hatha Yoga.