Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna

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RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects 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 sluggishness is internally present, one is aware: "Sluggishness is present for me." When sluggishness is not present, one is aware: "Sluggishness is not present for me." When the arising of unarisen sluggishness occurs—one  is aware of that. And when the abandoning of arisen sluggishness occurs—one is aware of that . . . One is just aware, just mindful: "There is a mental object." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection Formal practice involves sitting down deliberately for a stretch of time and committing to being aware of all that unfolds in your experience. At its best this is an enterprise of great contentment, even though it requires effort to maintain an ardent and wakeful mind. Even if all you are noticing is that your mind is getting sluggish and you need to generate some energy, it is valuable that you can see that. Daily Practice As we practice becoming aware of the five hindrances in succession, we come to working with sluggishness. Like all the other hindrances, this is just a mental state that is inherently impermanent and that comes and goes under different conditions. When you notice a lethargy of mind, just be aware of it. This is just what is happening now. But notice also that it goes away and that you can help it go away by abandoning it. RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Fourth Phase of Absorption (4th Jhāna) With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one enters upon and abides in the fourth phase of absorption, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. (MN 4) Reflection Equanimity is the attitude and emotional state that is truly transformative. Being able to be entirely neutral while at the same time being fully aware is a special state of mind to be cherished. Neutral is sometimes regarded as a negative word, suggesting disinterest or detachment, but that is not at all how it is used in the Buddhist tradition. Rather it is the pinnacle of the developed mind, the state to which the jhāna practice delivers us. Daily Practice See if you can work with these descriptions of the mind as a living practice. Can you feel what it is like for the mind to be "bright"? Can you relate to how the texts are using words like "unblemished" and "rid of imperfection" not to judge the mind harshly but to appreciate its capacity for luminosity? Can you sit tranquilly in equanimity and feel the mind as "malleable"and "wieldy," imperturbable in the face of any experience? Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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