Let’s be aware of ourselves. If we’re not aware of ourselves, we cannot truly practice Dhamma. Some people think that dhamma practice is simply doing sitting or walking meditation. Those are merely different forms of practice. The essence of Dhamma practice is being aware of your body and mind, whether you’re being mindful or not. If you’re absent-minded or tense-up while practicing sitting meditation, not being aware of yourself, that is not considered practicing Dhamma. While practicing walking meditation, being absent-minded or forcing yourself and hence tensing-up at times, even doing so for the entire night is also not considered practicing Dhamma. Dhamma practice is about being aware of your body and mind.
Like this moment we’re sitting, we see our body sitting. We see by being aware, not with our eyes. Right now, everyone is sitting. Are you aware that your body is sitting; that you’re clasping the palms together; that your head is nodding? Be aware with an ordinary mind. For you, you’re forcing yourself too much, the mind feels tight. We need to be aware with an ordinary mind. Dhamma is the ordinary truth; if we want to understand Dhamma, then don’t behave in an unordinary way. The Buddha taught Dhamma that is ordinary; the practice that he taught falls within the four foundations of mindfulness.
He said “O, Bikkhus!”, and taught them to sit cross-legged. Why sit cross-legged? Because people in India at that time did not sit on chairs; they sat on the floor. Since sitting on the floor with both legs tucked back to one side is very tiring, so The Buddha told them to sit cross-legged. In ancient language, to sit cross-legged is basically to cross the legs together while sitting down, just like a Buddha statue, with the back upright; upright but not tensed-up. Don’t lean to either side, for doing so discourages mindfulness. Sit upright in an ordinary way, but not too upright like a soldier – that is tiring. Some of us are old, so the back is somewhat bent naturally. So, sit cross-legged, back upright, don’t lean to either side, otherwise you’ll tend to lie down. Be mindful in the moment.
The Thai word for ‘in the moment’ is ‘chaporna’ which translates to ‘in the moment at face’. So, some people try to be mindful of just the face. This is wrong. Be mindful in the moment means to be aware of the present moment; aware when breathing out, aware when breathing in. The Buddha did not say to tense up our mind, neither did he say to close our eyes. “O, Bikkhus! Come sit cross-legged, back upright, be mindful in the moment. When you breathe out long, know that you breathe out long. When you breathe in long, know that you breathe in long.” There is no mention about closing the eyes. Did you notice that all Buddha statues have eyes opened, not closed? Even the reclining Buddha statues have eyes opened.
Why are the eyes opened? A Buddha statue with eyes opened is the symbol of being awakened, not asleep. And the symbol of being awakened is awareness of the body and mind. The Buddha simply said, “When you breathe out long, know that you breathe out long. When you breathe in long, know that you breathe in long”. He did not teach us to stiffen up the mind first, then observe the body breathing. Stiffening up our mind is something extraneous that we conjure up ourselves.
The essence is being aware of the body and mind, aware of the present, namely mindful in the moment. Now we are just aware, aware of the body breathing out, aware of the body breathing in, aware with an ordinary mind. The Buddha did not advise us to stiffen or tighten up our mind; but to just use our ordinary mind to learn something ordinary about our body. The ordinariness of the body is not permanent. It breathes out and then it breathes in; it breathes in and then it breathes out. The body works this way. We will start to see our body working – it is not us, it is like a robot that keeps moving, and our mind is just the observer. Don’t force the observer to remain rigid; let it be natural.
We know the ordinariness of the body with an ordinary mind; we know the changes within our mind with an ordinary mind. Now let’s observe feelings as the foundation of mindfulness. Just now I mentioned about our body; we see our body breathing out, our body breathing in, our body standing, walking, sitting, sleeping, moving, stopping. Just observe, observe with an ordinary mind. We’ll then see that the body is not us; it is something that is being seen and observed.
The second foundation is contemplation of feelings, or Vedananupassana – observing the feeling of contentment and the feeling of dissatisfaction. Contentment and dissatisfaction can occur within 2 bases – one within the body, another within the mind. Some people are healthy, the body is contented; yet they’re worried, their mind is not contented. Therefore, contentment and dissatisfaction can occur within the body and within the mind, each is separate. Contentment and dissatisfaction within the body are easily observable if we uphold sufficient Samadhi, otherwise we could go delirious. Like if we were to observe dissatisfaction within our body, they’d tell us to sit absolutely still for many hours without even wriggling slightly; that is indeed very tortuously painful.
If the mind lacks Samadhi, it’ll become scattered and restless. Therefore, observing contentment and dissatisfaction within the body is achievable if we have sufficient Samadhi. If we have sufficient Samadhi, we will observe that the body is one thing, contentment and dissatisfaction are another, and the observing mind is yet another; and each is uncontrollable. We cannot order the mind to only be contented, neither can we order it to not have any dissatisfaction. This is called cultivating wisdom by observing feelings.
Now, feelings within the mind are easily observable. Notice that for each moment, our mind is either contented or dissatisfied, or occasionally, indifferent. There’re 3 types – contented, dissatisfied, indifferent. If our mind is contented, know so; if our mind is dissatisfied, know so; even if our mind is indifferent, also know so. Just know however it is; keep being aware of it again and again. We’ll then observe that whether our mind is contented, dissatisfied, or indifferent, we cannot order it. If we can order it, everyone will order their minds to be contented. But in fact, it cannot be ordered. Even when contentment arises and we want it to persist, we cannot order so. Keep observing. When dissatisfaction arises, we cannot forbid it from arising. When dissatisfaction arises, we can’t order it to cease quickly.
Dissatisfaction within the mind is easily observable. Contentment and dissatisfaction within the mind, feelings within the mind are easily observable. That is because every occurrence of the mind must always be accompanied by a feeling; if not contentment, then dissatisfaction, or indifference – there’re three types. In this moment, our mind is contented, know so; our mind is dissatisfied, know so; our mind is indifferent, know so. We’ll eventually see that all is impermanent – contentment is impermanent, dissatisfaction is impermanent, indifference is also impermanent. Keep observing. This is called contemplation of feelings, or Vedananupassana-satipatthana.
The third foundation of mindfulness is contemplation of the mind, or Cittanupassana-satipatthana. We shall observe our mind; one moment it is wholesome, another moment it becomes unwholesome; yet another moment it becomes indifferent, neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Keep observing. Do not force our mind though. Like we’re not forcing our mind to only have contentment, or do not be dissatisfied. This we cannot control. It concerns feelings; the part about contemplation of the mind, or Cittanupassana, is whether our mind is wholesome or unwholesome, we see that we cannot control.
Like when we see someone, we’re determined not to get angry, yet we when see that person, we still become angry; that’s because we cannot forbid it. Thus, when the mind becomes angry, The Buddha taught simply: “O, Bikkhus! When the mind is filled with lust, know so; when the mind is without lust, know so.” You see? These teachings are straightforward, nothing unusual at all. When our mind is filled with lust, know that it is filled with lust; when our mind is without lust, know that it is without lust. “O, Bikkhus! When the mind is filled with anger, know so; when the mind is without anger, know so.” There’s nothing complicated here, such simple things. Dhamma is simple, plain, open, and straightforward; our mental defilements are what make us think that Dhamma is unusual and out-of-the-ordinary.
When I was practicing dhamma with Luangpu Dune, he told me to observe the mind. I saw two aspects of the mind; this was observable when practicing. One moment the mind is contented, the next moment it is dissatisfied, then it is indifferent. The mind becomes wholesome, or greedy, or angry, or lost. I saw the mind changing like this the entire day – one moment good one moment bad, one moment contented one moment dissatisfied, always changing. Not long, the mind eventually understood – it behaves on its own. It is not us. It does not belong to us.
In fact, practicing Dhamma is not something mysterious. Just be mindful; be aware of our body and mind. If we’re lost in thoughts here and there, when the mind is happy, we don’t know; when the mind is unhappy, we don’t know. When the mind is wholesome, we don’t know. When the mind is greedy, angry, or lost, we also don’t know. We don’t know anything about our own body and mind. That’s why when our mind is lost in thoughts here and there, at that moment we’re not practicing Dhamma. Another point is that when our mind is overly focusing, overly observing, overly controlling the body controlling the mind, at that moment we’re also not practicing Vipassana; we’re actually forcing ourselves.
As such, while practicing Dhamma we may have two opponents. One is forgetting ourselves, another is forcing ourselves. Like, when practicing walking meditation, we walk stiffly, or walk sneakily; such is extraneous. People have asked me how to practice walking meditation, I told them simply – how your parents taught you to walk, just walk in that manner. No need to walk like a marching band; just walk like an ordinary human being, like how we always walk.
So, some people when practicing walking meditation, their mind becomes tensed-up; that isn’t practicing yet because the mind is too tight. Some walk so gracefully, but the mind is lost elsewhere, not aware of themselves; this is too lax. The same goes for sitting meditation – you sit so upright and graceful, but the mind has wandered off, lost in thoughts elsewhere – this is also too lax. Or you practice sitting meditation and try to control yourself, control your breathing, control your body, control your mind, forcing it to remain still – this is too tight.
Therefore, there’re 2 opponents – if not too lax, then too tight. Too lax, in pali terms we call this Kamasukhallikanuyoga (sensual indulgence). Too tight, we call Attakilamathanuyoga (self-mortification); making ourselves laborious. The middle path is to know the body as it is, to know the mind as it is; this is the principle of practicing Dhamma. Go practice. There is nothing overly complex, but in fact really simple. That’s why when people who thought that Dhamma was mysterious, incomprehensible, and out-of-the-ordinary, heard The Buddha’s teachings and attained Sotapanna, every one of them exclaimed “O, this is so clear, My Lord! Like something had flipped over and The Buddha simply upturned it.”
Is it that difficult to upturn a bowl? It is just so simple and ordinary. It’s like The Buddha lighted a fire amidst the darkness – one who is not blind can now see; this is something ordinary. When there is light, one can see; this is not a miracle. Therefore, Dhamma is of utmost ordinary. “This is so clear My Lord! Like upturning something that had been flipped over.” The Buddha lighted fire amidst the darkness, hoping those with good eyes can now see. Dhamma is just this simple, just this straightforward. Instead, we conjure up something superfluous and unnecessary; that’s a waste of time.
Wat Suansantidham
15 May 2024