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 beset by desire, one is aware that "the mind is beset by desire." One is just aware, just mindful: "There is mind." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection The third establishment of mindfulness is mindfulness of the quality of mind manifesting in any given moment. It is awareness of awareness itself, in particular of whether or not awareness is influenced by the influx of greed, hatred, or delusion. We start here with desire, a common state that can in many cases be quite subtle and hard to see. Here we are practicing becoming conscious of something that is normally unconscious. Daily Practice Sometimes the presence of desire can be detected in our experience. This is not bad or wrong—just something to be noticed. For example, seeing an object is one thing, while seeing it with a tinge of desire, of wanting it, is another. Notice that wanting is simply a quality of mind that is sometimes present and sometimes not. We are not trying to change anything here, just to learn to see what is really happening. 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 into 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) Reflection Some people move easily and naturally through the stages of absorption, but many people do not. This is not something to be forced if it does not come on its own, and we should never judge our progress against the schema of four jhānas. As we can see, mindfulness and concentration each involve the other, so at a certain point it becomes unnecessary and unhelpful to compare the two and distinguish two different practices. Daily Practice As you settle into the pleasant feeling tones of the second level of absorption, the pleasure gradually subsides and resolves into a state of equanimity or even-mindedness. The body still feels tranquil and at ease, but the mind becomes more balanced as it becomes more mindful and fully aware. Simply rest at ease, doing nothing and striving for nothing, and let the mind settle naturally. 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 Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Listen to Your Suffering

 

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Listen to Your Suffering Your body needs you, your feelings need you, your perceptions need you. The wounded child in you needs you. Your suffering needs you to listen and acknowledge it. Go home and be there for all these things. Thich Nhat Hanh, “Listening to Our Ancestors” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

A Life in Shadows Directed by Edward A. Burger This month’s Film Club pick sheds light on an art of shadows. Witness the beauty of shadow puppet theater in Shaanxi Province, where farmers by day become performers by night—fighting to preserve an ancient tradition in the face of modernity.  Watch now » End of Year Giving Help Us Make Buddhist Teachings Available to All As the year comes to a close, we invite you to reflect on how Tricycle has supported your practice. If our work has inspired or guided you, please consider donating today. Together, we can continue connecting people with the dharma wherever they are on the path. Donate » Follow Us Forward today's wisdom to a friend »

Via New Offering The Tricycle Community \\ From the Academy: Yogacara

 

DECEMBER 2024

From the Academy Welcome to “From the Academy,” a new newsletter inspired by a previous Tricycle column by the same name. This monthly email series, exclusive for Premium subscribers, introduces a topic of interest in the world of Buddhism from an academic perspective, and offers recommended reading for going deeper. This month’s newsletter discusses the history and importance of Yogacara philosophy, known as the “mind-only” or “consciousness-only” school, and provides resources for further learning. Yogacara What if everything you experience is a product of your mind? This idea isn’t new to most Buddhist practitioners, and versions of it permeate much of modern Western Buddhist thought. But its source in the Yogacara, one of Mahayana Buddhism’s most philosophical schools, is less well understood. Known as the “mind-only” or “consciousness-only” school, Yogacara’s teachings turn our everyday understanding of reality on its head. But what does it mean that everything is mind-only? And why should we care? What is Yogacara? Emerging from various Mahayana sources, Yogacara thought developed in India around the 3rd century CE, and by the 4th or 5th century, two half-brothers and scholar-monks named Asanga and Vasubandhu had systematized this new thread of Buddhist teachings. The central idea is vijnaptimatrata, a Sanskrit term translated as “mind-” or “consciousness-only,” which suggests that what we perceive as the world around us is actually a construct of our mind. This doesn’t mean that the external world ultimately doesn’t exist (which some have interpreted the Yogacara to claim) but rather that our experience of it is mediated through our karma, perceptions, and past experiences. Yogacarins sought to understand these workings of the mind with the final goal of liberation from suffering.

Early 13th-century Japanese statue of Asanga and Vasubandhu Why is Yogacara important? Yogacara’s examination of consciousness provides a map of the mind’s movements, showing us how habitual patterns (vasanas) and mental afflictions (klesas) shape our experience. Drawing from the insights of Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka school (c. 2nd century CE), which emphasizes the emptiness (sunyata) of all phenomena, Yogacara focuses on the mechanisms by which we perceive and interpret that emptiness. It provides a framework for how we construct our reality and experience suffering due to our ignorance of the processes of the mind. It’s difficult to overstate the school’s influence. Yogacara teachings directly or indirectly influence most East Asian Buddhist traditions and are of major concern in Tibetan Buddhism. In Zen, the concept of mind-only converges with the experience of awakening to the illusion of distinctions and the nondual nature of the mind. Yogacara’s insights can be seen in many of the most well-known Zen teachings. In Tibetan Buddhism, Yogacara’s understanding of consciousness fueled debates about the nature of reality and mind, stimulating a tradition of vigorous exploration that continues to produce ever more refined awareness of the intricacy of the mind and its functions. Across Asia, Yogacara’s views provide the foundation for practices aimed at freeing ourselves from the habitual constraints of our minds. Why should we care about this esoteric 3rd-century teaching? Although scholars are often careful not to conflate Buddhist teachings and science, for many Westerners, Yogacara complements modern psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science. As a model of the mind, it offers a way to bring Buddhist wisdom into conversation with contemporary theories of perception. Studying its teachings can sharpen mindfulness practice, helping us see how every moment of awareness is shaped by a complex relationship between the objective and subjective aspects of the mind. By learning the role of the mind in constructing the world in which we live, we become better equipped to recognize and let go of harmful thought patterns. Yogacara also challenges us to rethink the nature of our personal identity. In a rapidly developing and hyper-connected global culture that often emphasizes individual achievement and scientific objectivity, realizing that the “self” is just another mental construct can be transformative and aid in cultivating an unbiased bodhisattva-like compassion—building a better world for ourselves and others. Learn more about Yogacara: Sonam Kachru, Other Lives: Mind and World in Indian Buddhism (Columbia University Press, 2021) Dan Lusthaus, “What is and isn’t Yogacara,” Yogacara Buddhism Research Association (2014) William Waldron, Making Sense of Mind Only: Why Yogacara Buddhism Matters (Wisdom Publications, 2023)

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