RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Mind
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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 the mind is devoid of confusion, one is aware: “The mind is
devoid of confusion.”… One is just aware, just mindful: “There is mind.”
And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)
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There are
moments in meditation practice when one stumbles upon a “sweet spot” and
the mind becomes clear, if only for a moment. When the mind is not too
restless and not too sluggish, not drawn toward or away from whatever is
happening, for a moment it seems to emerge from confusion. It is good
to acknowledge such moments and abide in them "ardent, fully aware,
mindful." It is good to feel content.
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As you sit
quietly today for ten or twenty or sixty minutes—or maybe, since it’s
Sunday, for much longer—notice the flow of events in your field of
experience with heightened awareness. Many different factors arise and
pass away, all impermanent. We forget sometimes that confusion too is
impermanent; we are not always in its thrall. Notice the times when the
mind gets free of confusion and knows and sees things as they are.
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RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Approaching and Abiding in the Third Phase of Absorption (3rd Jhāna)
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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)
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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.
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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 the 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.
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Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and Abiding in the Fourth Jhāna
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