Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

or on the inside of the bladder, etc.) which may be
chosen as the focal point of inward insight. One whose
mind is often sleepy should choose one of the upper
points; one whose mind is easily distracted should
choose a lower point. Whichever is chosen, one should
keep it steady during the time of concentration, without
moving the point up or down. Usually the point inside
the navel is a very good one, often used not only by
Buddhists, but also by Taoists and Hindus.
A disturbed, sleepy, or low-spirited mind can never
meditate on any kind of truth. In the history of thought
of all mankind, in philosophy, science, or literature, no
one, not even Socrates, Plato, Newton, or Shakespeare,
approached ultimate truth, and in all of them this was
due to the lack of samatha practice. Their minds had
never been trained. According to the Buddhist view,
such knowledge contains only ignorant delusion.
After one succeeds in the training of samatha, all kinds
of truth may be meditated upon with this clear and pure
mind which is the real samapatti. Although Hinduism
and Taoism have something more or less like samapatti,
they are not free from egoism, egotism, and the
prejudices that go along with them, which are like a
snake in the grass. Each of them told a great lie: Jesus
said, "I am the king of Israel"; Jehovah said, "I am the
creator"; Brahman said, "I am the only God of this
world." Hence they never touched the ultimate truth. On
the one hand, Buddhism is free from the obstacles of
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