RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling
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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)
When feeling a neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling, one is aware:
"Feeling a neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling" … one is just aware,
just mindful: "There is feeling." And one abides not clinging to
anything in the world. (MN 10)
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Pleasant and
painful feelings are apparent enough, but the third kind of feeling, one
that is neither pleasant nor painful but neutral, can be harder to
detect. Some say most feeling is neutral, and only a few feelings are
obviously pleasant or painful. Others say that most feelings are either
pleasant or painful, only appearing neutral with insufficient attention,
and that with greater discernment they will resolve into pleasant or
painful. Try out both points of view and decide for yourself.
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Feeling tone is
a component of every mind moment. While breathing in and out, notice
the changing textures of feeling throughout the body. Feelings are
fleeting, numerous, and varied. It is against the backdrop of pleasant
and painful feelings that you can begin to notice feelings like
tingling, perhaps, that don't register as obviously pleasant or
unpleasant yet still make up the strands of experience.
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RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Approaching and Abiding in the Second Phase of Absorption (2nd Jhāna)
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With the stilling of applied and
sustained thought, one enters upon and abides in the second phase of
absorption, which has inner clarity and singleness of mind, without
applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of
concentration. (MN 4)
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Trying to
attain these stages as some form of accomplishment is actually
antithetical to the states of mind accessed by jhāna. One of the reasons
the jhānas have not been emphasized in western meditation circles until
recently is precisely because of the danger inherent in the striving or
comparing mind. Never mind stage one, two, three, or four—just sit
quietly and allow the contentment of the tranquil mind to formlessly
arise.
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As you sit
quietly and your mind becomes increasingly calm and stable, it is
natural for the pleasant sensations that arise from the mind being free
of the hindrances to gradually morph into the pleasant sensations that
come simply from the mind being focused. This unified tranquility is
actually a natural state for the mind, which is much more at home in
serenity than it is in our hectic, multitasking life.
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Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna
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