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Last week I was speaking of the Enlightenment factor of tranquility and how the happiness that comes from that state of calm leads quite naturally into the next factor of

awakening which is concentration and, the poly word for concentration is somaty.

So tonight I'd like to speak about this enlightenment factor of concentration, of what it is, of why it's important, and how

to develop it in a relaxed and balanced way.

Now the term Somati refers to two related but different things.

The first thing it refers to is the specific mental factor of one pointedness. And the function of this factor in the mind, this mental factor, is to unify all the other qualities of mind, to gather them all and settle them on a single object of concentration.

So in one pointedness is strong, when this factor has been developed, we experience it as non-distractedness.

The mind isn't wavering. It's like a candle which is burning, the flame is burning in a windless place and the flame stays

still.

So that's the quality of non-distractiveness, non-wavering.

And when concentration, this factor of one point in this is strong, both in our lives and in

our practice, we experience it it we feel it as peace.

Now it's interesting to note that in the Abidama,

the Buddhist psychology, one pointedness is a common factor, which

means that it's arising to some degree in every moment of consciousness.

In other words, it's always present.

Somadi is always present to some degree or other. Because if there were no one pointedness at all,

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