Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna

 

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 liberated, one is aware: “The mind is liberated.”. . . One is just aware, just mindful: “There is mind.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection We are used to thinking of people as being in bondage to suffering at all times until they suddenly “wake up” and are liberated from suffering once and for all—perhaps while seated under a tree. But we can also take things one moment at a time and see that sometimes our mind is in bondage—to anger, for example—and sometimes it is not. Noticing the moments you are liberated from harmful states is inherently valuable. Daily Practice As you practice mindfulness, watching various states come and go in your mind and body, pay close attention to the moments you feel held or restrained by something. Maybe it is a mood of discouragement, or perhaps you feel you are in the grips of an unpleasant story. Watching closely, you may see that later the experience has changed, as all things do. This is a moment in which to relish the fleeting sense of freedom. 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) 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 Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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