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 bodily pleasant feeling, one is aware: Feeling a
bodily pleasant 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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In every mind
moment, consciousness takes a single, particular object to be aware of,
and a particular feeling tone coarises with that moment of
consciousness. While knowing the object, we also know whether it feels
good or bad, or has a feeling tone that is not obviously one or the
other. This sensation becomes a focus point for establishing the
presence of mindfulness. Just be aware of that feeling tone, arising and
passing.
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In this passage
we are focusing only on pleasant bodily feeling tones. Yes, we are
allowed to experience pleasure and even to focus on it exclusively. As
you sit in meditation, notice what feels good in your body. Even if
there is discomfort in some parts of the body, there will also be
comfort in other parts. Seek out the pleasure in your bodily experience,
noticing its texture and how it changes, arising and passing away.
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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)
When one sees oneself purified of all these unhealthy states and thus liberated from them, gladness is born. When one is glad, joy is born; in one who is joyful, the body becomes tranquil; one whose body is tranquil feels pleasure; in one who feels pleasure, the mind becomes concentrated. (MN 40)
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When the mind
is temporarily free of afflicted states, it enters upon a natural path
towards concentration. Whether or not you practice the jhānas, some
degree of focus is an essential part of meditation practice, and this
passage describes how you can gently follow the process of relaxing into
concentration.
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See if you can
tread the path of gladness, leading to joy, leading to peace. This is
not the enthusiastic joy of winning the lottery or dancing at a wedding,
but is a more subtle and deeper joy that comes from gladness, from a
softening of the mind in response to its being free for some time from
restlessness, sluggishness, sense desire, ill will, and doubt. Subtract,
as you sit, and see if you can refrain from adding anything.
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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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