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Two Types of Thought Dvedhāvitakka Sutta MN 19
Hi @eww. I think from your question maybe you’re coming at it from a non-dual background? Maybe you’re familiar with some non-dual teachings? Otherwise maybe you’ve heard references in the Mahayana tradition?
First thing to mention is that dualism and non-dualism are terms that have lots of different meanings in different contexts. Some say there is a degree of “nondualism” in some later Buddhist traditions but they are often quite different from the very specific teachings of the contemporary non-dual movement. Thise teachings have usually arisen out of the Hindu tradition or have come out of more recent consciousness movements like those espoused by Ekhardt Tolle and Mooji. But these are not necessarily ideas that we can retrospectively apply to the thought world of the Buddha. It’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges.
Contrary to some ideas that are out there in the world, in the early Buddhist texts, the Buddha didn’t teach a non dual doctrine. He often spoke about the path in dualistic terms. We can see this most especially in the two terms kusaka and akusala which are opposite mental states actions and speech. Kusala is wholesome/good/skilful/beneficial. In terms of Right Effort (Sama Vayama) these are states which we should try to develop and maintain. Akusala on the other hand are unwholesome/bad/unskilful/unbeneficial states, which we should prevent and abandon. This combination of cultivating the good and abandoning the bad is at the very core of the Buddhist path, and so, we need to be able to distinguish thoughts of each type. Essentially this is what the Two Types of Thought Sutta is about.
In the Sutta the Buddha is remembering a period when he was not yet enlightened, when he was still the bodhisattva. He deliberately divided his thoughts into two categories:
‘Why don’t I meditate by continually dividing my thoughts into two classes?’ So I assigned sensual, malicious, and cruel thoughts to one class. And I assigned thoughts of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness to the second class.
This is the second factor if the Noble Eightfold Path,
Sama Sankappo or Rightt Thought or Right Motivation. Here the division pairs each type of right thought with its opposite: renunciation is the opposite of sensual thought etc.
The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that these different mental qualities have certain results. Seeing this, the bodhisatta can determine which types of thought to cultivate and which types of thought to abandon to overcome the problem of suffering.
I understood: ‘This sensual thought has arisen in me. It leads to hurting myself, hurting others, and hurting both. It blocks wisdom, it’s on the side of anguish, and it doesn’t lead to extinguishment.’ When I reflected that it leads to hurting myself, it went away. When I reflected that it leads to hurting others, it went away. When I reflected that it leads to hurting both, it went away. When I reflected that it blocks wisdom, it’s on the side of anguish, and it doesn’t lead to extinguishment, it went away. So I gave up, got rid of, and eliminated any sensual thoughts that arose…
This has important ramifications for us, as over time the results of the ways we think will end up defining us:
Whatever a mendicant frequently thinks about and considers becomes their heart’s inclination. If they often think about and consider thoughts of renunciation, they’ve given up sensual thought to cultivate the thought of renunciation. Their mind inclines to thoughts of renunciation. If they often think about and consider thoughts of good will … their mind inclines to thoughts of good will. If they often think about and consider thoughts of harmlessness … their mind inclines to thoughts of harmlessness.
So the purpose of deliberately creating a dualistic framework in this sutta is to help people understand the different types of thoughts that arise, and how to recognise which ones are helpful and unhelpful to overcome suffering.
In this sutta, we see that there are qualities like investigation and evaluation of the types of thoughts arising and the act of letting them go or cultivating them. This might seem a bit “thinky” for some non dual teachers, who prefer to go beyond verbalising or beyond mental concepts, but it demonstrates the ethical nature of thought in the Buddha’s meditation practice. The Buddha didn’t insist that all meditation should be free of thought. In fact, in this Sutta he acknowledges that thinking occurs and tells us how to work with it for the best results.
Also note that in the sutta, these thinking and evaluating processes occur prior to the description of jhana and are only used up to a point before being abandoned for more stillness and deeper meditation :
If I were to keep on thinking and considering this all night … all day … all night and day, I see no danger that would come from that. Still, thinking and considering for too long would tire my body. And when the body is tired, the mind is stressed. And when the mind is stressed, it’s far from immersion. So I stilled, settled, unified, and immersed my mind internally. Why is that? So that my mind would not be stressed.
Maybe they could be considered like a contemplation or a preliminary practice, which helps to prepare the mind for the deeper states of jhana. That is where we can expect to see discursive thought disappear, the hindrances being suppressed and the mind becoming unified. This experience of ekkaagata, one-pointedness or unification is not dualistic, the mind is completely unified and absorbed. It’s reaches it peak in the 4th jhana:
With the giving up of pleasure and pain, and the ending of former happiness and sadness, I entered and remained in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness.
It’s in jhana that all the boundaries and distinctions dissolve. This is sometimes talked about as oneness or integration or non-dual, but it’s quite debatable that it is the same exact thing that we find talked about in non-dual teachings. Still, this feeling of oneness and connection is something that many meditators feel at various stages of the path.
Hope this helps with your question.