RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects
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A person goes to the forest
or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having
crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence
of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I
am content.” (SN 47.10)
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The fourth
foundation of mindfulness involves looking at various aspects of our
experience as episodes of phenomena arising and passing away in the
stream of consciousness. Unhelpful habits of mind, acting as hindrances
to inner clarity, come and go along with helpful mental factors, such as
those guiding us to awakening. We learn to observe these changing
states with calm and focused equanimity, without grasping.
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Sit quietly on a
regular basis and take an interest in watching what goes on in your
mind. The challenge is to observe it all without latching on to the
content of your thoughts but simply noting them as events arising and
passing away. Become mindful of mental objects rather than becoming
entangled in them. If you can do this with ardent energy, fully aware
and mindful, you will likely find yourself very content.
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RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Approaching and Abiding in the Fourth Phase of Absorption (4th Jhāna)
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With the abandoning of pleasure
and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one
enters upon and abides in the fourth phase of absorption, which has
neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness as a result of
equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished,
rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to
imperturbability. (MN 4)
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Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna
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