Via Dhamma Wheel // Establishing Mindfulness of Mind

 

RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Mind

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)   When the mind is devoid of desire, one is aware: "The mind is devoid of desire." One is just aware, just mindful: "There is mind." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection

The mind is merely aware of an object, either a sensory or mental object, much like a mirror reflecting accurately whatever comes before it. Emotional states, such as desire, co-arise every moment and flood the mind, often distorting or coloring what is seen, heard, felt, or cognized. Sometimes desire is present, sometimes it is not. Here we are being encouraged to notice when it is not.

Daily Practice

Our emotional life flickers moment by moment as quickly as our mental life does, and the stream of consciousness is permeated by a stream of attitudes, intentions, and views. By noticing when desire is present and absent, we learn to recognize that it is just a passing state that sometimes occurs and sometimes does not. Practice "not clinging to anything in the world," including the presence or absence of sensory desire.

RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Third Phase of Absorption (3rd Jhāna)

With the fading away of joy, one abides in equanimity; mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, one enters upon and abides in the third phase of absorption, on account of which noble ones announce: "One has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful." (MN 4)

Reflection

Remember that jhāna practice is not something that can be undertaken lightly or sporadically and usually requires the protected conditions of a retreat center and the guidance of an experienced teacher. The jhānas are mentioned a lot in the early texts and form the core discussion of right concentration. But mostly we just hear the standard formula repeated in various contexts without much detail on how to practice.

Daily Practice

The transition from the second to the third phase of absorption has to do with the mellowing of joy, which is an almost effervescent energetic upwelling of pleasant bodily sensation into an experience of mental and emotional equanimity. The body still experiences pleasure, but the mind settles into an even and balanced awareness of the pleasant feeling tone that is not attached to it in any way.

Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna

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