Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and the Second Jhāna

 

RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling 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)

Reflection Feeling tones are always present, but we tend to notice only the really strong ones. In between the obvious pleasures and pains of the body, and the more dramatic pleasant and unpleasant mental states, is a midrange of sensation. As pleasure and pain become increasingly subtle, they gradually merge into a neutral state in which a sensation is neither pleasant nor painful. See if you can notice this in your own experience. Daily Practice Learn to become more sensitive to the feeling tones arising and passing away in your mind and body by deliberately becoming aware of them. Notice when sensations in your body hurt and when they feel good; notice also how it feels good to think about some things and painful to think about others. A great deal of our experience is neutral, however. There is still a feeling tone, but it is neither pleasant nor painful. RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Second Phase of Absorption (2nd Jhāna) 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) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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