Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna

 

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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)   One acts with full awareness: When eating, drinking, tasting, defecating, and urinating . . . one is just aware, just mindful: “There is a body.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection So much of the time we engage in everyday actions without paying much attention to what we are doing. Indeed the mind and body are capable of doing most of what they need to do without any mindfulness at all. This is why establishing mindfulness in every little thing we do is a deliberate practice that takes some effort and commitment. By cultivating conscious awareness over automatic reaction, we gain important insights. Daily Practice Over a century ago the king of Burma said he was so busy that the only time he could practice mindfulness was when he went to the toilet—which he did with full awareness. We too are often busy, but never so busy that we cannot make the effort at every opportunity to attend carefully to what we are doing while we are doing it. Mindfulness practice is always accessible. Let’s act with full awareness, not clinging to anything. 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) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second Jhāna Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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