Sunday, August 25, 2024

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

 


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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 composed, one is aware: “The mind is composed”. . . One is just aware, just mindful: “There is mind.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)
Reflection
A composed mind is unified, peaceful, steady, and clear. We can access such states of mind when engaged in the practice of meditation, and mindfulness of mind is established when you are aware of what a composed mind feels like and you are able to sustain it over time. The mind becomes like a mirror, reflecting itself. 

Daily Practice
Sit quietly, relaxing the body while gently holding it erect, and allow the mind to gradually become more and more composed. With every outbreath, sink deeper and more comfortably into the serenity of the moment. It is like untangling knots, one after another, until the mind becomes smooth. Allow yourself to feel the composed mind, aware simply that awareness is aware of itself, without clinging to anything in the world.


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)

One practices: “I shall breathe in contemplating cessation";
one practices: “I shall breathe out contemplating cessation.”
This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated 
so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (A 54.8)

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

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