A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and the First Jhāna
RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Body
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)
Breathing in and out, aware of long and short breaths . . . one is
just aware, just mindful: "There is body." And one abides not clinging
to anything in the world. (MN 10)
Reflection
Breathing is
universally recommended as an object of meditation because it is always
present and always changing. Sometimes it is long, sometimes short. This
is not about controlling the breath but following along with it however
it naturally unfolds. We are breathing all the time, but today is a
good time to sit intentionally for some period of time and do nothing
but be aware of breathing in and out, long and short.
Daily Practice
There is a
wealth of guidelines for practice here. What does it feel like to be at
the same time both ardent (intent, energetic) and content, or to be
aware of the breath while not clinging to the object of awareness? These
are questions to be investigated in your own experience. Sit down in an
empty place, establish the presence of mindfulness, and see for
yourself what these words are pointing to.
RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the First Phase of Absorption (1st Jhāna)
Having abandoned the five
hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded
from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, one enters
and abides in the first phase of absorption, which is accompanied by
applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of
seclusion. (MN 4)
Reflection
Absorption
practice begins by finding the sweet spot in the center of the mind, the
place where there is neither too much energy (restlessness) nor too
little (sluggishness), neither wanting (sense desire) nor not wanting
(ill will) anything. When these hindrances, along with doubt, are
abandoned temporarily, the mind naturally settles down into a state of
tranquil alertness and equanimity.
Daily Practice
Sit quietly and
comfortably in a peaceful place and allow everything swirling around in
your mind and body to gradually settle down. Like dust settling in the
air or particulates settling in water, there is nothing to force or make
happen. Patience will be rewarded by the experience of deeper and
deeper modes of peacefulness, clarity, and stability of mind. Don’t try
to measure anything; just let it all be what it is.
Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and the Second Jhāna
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