Datasets:

carecodeconnect

/

jhana-sentences

like 0

To name just a few of the very many examples of this, in the opening chapter there is a clear explanation of what mindfulness actually is, its relation both to memory and to concepts, the feminine nature of its open receptivity and soft alertness , and the fundamental importance of embodied awareness.

Given the current widespread popularity of mindfulness, exploring the nuances of what the term means offers us the possibility of greater depth in its cultivation.

There are also detailed descriptions of various death contemplations that give a vivid immediacy to these practices.

Anlayo comments that if were asked to recommend just one single meditation practice, would probably opt for recollection of death.

And in discussing mindfulness of feelings, he does not simply suggest noticing whether they are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, but understanding the way feelings impact the mind.

In like manner, Anlayo proceeds through mindfulness of mind and of dharmas, detailing ways of practice that illuminate the conditioned, impermanent nature of all aspects of our experience.

These insights culminate in a simple but profound progression from seclusion and dispassion through cessation and letting go, leading directly to Nibbna, the highest peace.

An unusual aspect of Anlayos work is the combination of precision and openness, highlighting the specificity of particular practices and, at the same time, recognizing that there are many different meditative techniques and approaches.

Anlayo continually reminds us to test all the suggestions and to see what works best for each one of us, so that we may all, in the words of the Satipahna-sutta , dwell independently without clinging to anything in the world.

When based on virtue and established in virtue you thus cultivate these four satipahna s, then you can expect growth in wholesome states to come to you, be it day or night, and no decline.

The first book, Satipahna, The Direct Path to Realization , was an attempt to survey and collect relevant material for an understanding of the Satipahna - sutta.

It could be compared to building the foundation for the construction of a house.

It could be compared to the walls of the house.

By studying the Chinese parallels to the Satipahna - sutta , was able to identify those contemplations that form the common core of this discourse in its various versions.

This enabled me to get a better sense of the overall picture of what satipahna is all about.

My exploration is entirely dedicated to the actual practice of satipahna , informed by the previously gathered details and overall picture as it emerges from a study of relevant material in the early discourses.

Of the three books, the present one is also the one most directly aimed at practitioners.

To facilitate tracing the relevant passage from a Pli discourse, a list of quotes at the end of the book gives cross-references to the relevant page in the standard English translations.

In translated passages replace references to a bhikkhu with one, in order to make it clear that the instructions are not meant for male monastics only.

My overall concern in the following pages is to provide suggestions and inspiration for actual meditation practice.

The book comes with audio files that offer meditation instructions, which can be freely downloaded from the publishers website at httpswww.windhorsepublications.comsatipatthana-meditation-audio.

For each of the seven contemplations covered in this book there are audio recordings with guided meditation instructions that build on each other gradually.

This could be done, for example, over a period of seven weeks.

Following such preparation, perhaps each week it would be possible to find time to study one of the chapters on the seven main contemplations, and during the ensuing days of the week cultivate its actual practice.

In this way, alongside whatever other responsibilities we might have, it would be possible to complete a course of self-training within a period of seven weeks.

Following such a course of training, we might then continue letting the practice of all four satipahna s become more and more an integral part of our life.

The basic pattern of mindfulness practice remains throughout being in the present, knowing what is happening, and proceeding accordingly.

Here think it is first of all important to acknowledge that there are various notions of mindfulness.

Diverse understandings of this quality can be found not only among several Buddhist traditions, but also among those involved with its clinical employment.

Each of these understandings has its own value and significance.

In what follows, will present my own understanding of one of these constructs of mindfulness, namely the way sati is described and reflected in the early Buddhist discourses.

The standard definition of mindfulness in the discourses brings in the topic of memory.

It states that one who is mindful is able to remember what has been done or said long ago.

At first sight this can give the impression that mindfulness should be equated with memory.

However, closer reflection shows that such an equation does not work.

The problem is that distractions during meditation practice often involve some memory of the past.

It is a common experience to sit down with the firm intention to be mindful, only to find that sooner or later the mind has wandered off into some past event.

The arising of such episodic memories is clearly a case of loss of mindfulness, even though it involves remembering something that has been done or said long ago.

Mindfulness can also be lost when we imagine something taking place in the future.

Although this does not involve remembering what has been done or said long ago, daydreaming about the future still concerns aspects of memory, such as working memory and semantic memory.

The experience of such distractions during meditation makes it clear that mindfulness cannot just be a form of memory.

Once it has become clear that such a simple equation does not work, another explanation has to be found for appreciating the relationship between mindfulness and memory.

My suggestion here is to understand that relationship as implying that the presence of mindfulness enhances and strengthens memory.

Full awareness of the present moment will make it easier to recall later what has happened.

Moreover, if the receptive stance of mindfulness is established at the time of recalling, it will be easier to access the required information in the mind.

In this way mindfulness can be understood to facilitate the taking in of information to be recalled as well as the subsequent successful recollection of that information.

The need to understand mindfulness and memory as two closely interrelated qualities that at the same time are not identical with each other is of consequence for actual practice.

Perhaps the most crucial aspect of mindfulness practice is to stay in the present moment.

This is what really counts and why it is so important to distinguish clearly between mindfulness and memory.

Satipahna meditation is not about remembering something from the past, but about being fully in the present moment.

This vital distinction can to some degree be lost sight of with the understanding of mindfulness in the Theravda commentarial tradition.

The commentaries consider mindfulness to be a mental quality that is invariably wholesome.

The discourses, however, clearly recognize that there can be wrong types of mindfulness, micch sati.

These could hardly be considered wholesome.

Yet, a discourse in the Satipahna-sayutta presents the four satipahna s as a heap of what is wholesome.

But when mindfulness is cultivated in the form of the four satipahna s, then such practice does indeed become something definitely wholesome.

problem with the commentarial understanding, according to which mindfulness itself is invariably wholesome, is that contemplation of an unwholesome state of mind becomes retrospective.

This is because, according to the commentarial understanding, wholesome and unwholesome qualities cannot exist simultaneously in the same state of mind.

Therefore it becomes impossible for a type of mindfulness that by definition is wholesome to coexist with an unwholesome mental condition such as lust or anger.

This does not reflect what emerges from the early discourses.

The instructions on satipahna meditation describe being aware of lust or anger, for example, or of any of the five hindrances at the time when they are present in the mind.

From this viewpoint, mindfulness can indeed remain established when an unwholesome mental condition is present.

In fact it is precisely when unwholesomeness manifests that mindfulness needs to be present.

The wholesome repercussions of satipahna thus do not imply that certain mental conditions are excluded from being potential objects of direct observation with mindfulness in the present moment.

Instead, the point is only that such contemplation has wholesome repercussions.

Such an understanding helps to preserve a key aspect of the early Buddhist conception of mindfulness, which is to be fully aware of what is happening right now.

The type of mindful presence to be cultivated in this way is similar to how we would try to be alert and attentive when something takes place that we later have to remember.

When walking a path for the first time with the help of a guide, for example, knowing that the next time we will have to find our way on our own, we will make an effort to notice and clearly remember which turns to take.

It is this same effort or diligence that we can bring to anything that happens.

Regardless of whether we expect to need to remember later what we did, the task is invariably to be fully present, fully there, and fully aware.

Another aspect of the early Buddhist conception of sati is that mindfulness is a mental quality that we have to bring into being.

Mindfulness has to be established it is not just a quality that is present anyway in any type of experience.

This marks the difference between mindfulness and consciousness.

Consciousness, as one of the five aggregates, is a continuously present process of knowing.

This does not mean that consciousness is permanent.

It only means that the changing flow of moments of being conscious is continuously present.

Without this flow of knowing, we would not be experiencing.

Whether we are mindful of a meditation object or caught up in a dream or fantasy, the flow of consciousness is always there.

The same does not apply to mindfulness.

In fact the notion that there is a constantly present form of awareness which needs to be recognized and which equals the liberated mind does not square with the early Buddhist understanding of mindfulness.

Apparently the outcome of a complex development with a starting point in a discourse that contrasts the luminous mind to its adventitious defilements , the resultant notion runs counter to the recurrent emphasis on impermanence in the Satipahna-sutta , found in the part of the discourse like to refer to as the refrain.

Although mindfulness requires cultivation, being a quality that needs to be established, such cultivation is not a forceful matter.

Here it can be useful to take into consideration that the word sati in the Pli language is feminine.

My suggestion would be to relate to sati , to mindfulness, as a feminine quality.

In this way, sati can be understood as receptively assimilating with the potential of giving birth to new perspectives.

Right away from the moment of waking up in the morning our good friend sati can already be there, as if waiting for us.

She is ready to accompany us throughout the rest of the day, encouraging us to stay receptive and open, soft and understanding.

She never gets upset when we happen to forget about her.

As soon as we remember her, she is right there to be with us again.

Visualizing the practice in terms of a coming back to the presence of a good friend helps to avoid mistaking sati for a forceful type of hyper-attentiveness that requires strained effort in order to be maintained.

Instead, being in her presence carries the flavours of an open receptivity and a soft alertness to whatever is taking place.

Once established in this way, mindfulness can coexist with the employment of concepts.

In fact the instructions in the Satipahna-sutta , whose function is precisely to foster the establishing of mindfulness, clearly encourage the wise use of concepts.

At times the discourse presents these concepts in quotation marks, making it clear that some form of mental verbalization is meant.

understand this to refer to the input provided by the quality of clearly knowing, sampajaa , in relation to what has become evident through well-established mindfulness.

The forward thrust of satipahna towards liberation does not require keeping the mind free from concepts.

The main task is to cultivate a free mind even in the presence of concepts.

The path to such freedom is based on the skilful use of certain concepts, namely those that trigger insight.

In other words, our attitude towards concepts and thoughts is best informed by the distinction between unwholesome and wholesome types.

Although we need to beware of confusing actual practice with just thinking about the practice, wholesome thoughts and concepts can serve as a tool for progress, and in the form of clearly knowing are an integral dimension of satipahna meditation.