Mindfulness is an essential starting point

Last Saturday I taught in Krabi Province. The room was filled with as many as 500 people. I flew from Suvarnabhumi Airport and flew back to Don Muang Airport. Suvarnabhumi Airport was crowded with Westerners. Most of the passengers on the plane, who were Westerners, didn’t wear masks anymore. Even the kids. They had become familiar with the infection, so they were not scared. Only the Thai wore masks. Now a lot of Westerners live in Thailand because of the lower cost of living and their home countries’ economic downturn. Some people simply don’t want to live in their country and chose Thailand as a long-term residence after retirement.

The Thais want to live abroad. They aren’t satisfied with what they have and be, so they struggle. Students daydream about living in Korea after graduation. If they had ever lived abroad, they would know what discrimination is like in developed countries. The Caucasian especially discriminate against people of color, making them become second-class citizens. Even though you were a first-class citizen here, you could only become a second-class citizen in those countries. You won’t possibly achieve what you want in such a situation. But the kids are innocent and inexperienced. If only they knew that so many foreigners want to live in Thailand.

If we are conscious of the body and mind,

we’ll be able to learn the truth of the body and mind

Quite a few people are interested in mindfulness practice. Listen to what I taught and keep practicing. Some already know how to. Some still don’t. That’s normal. The first thing we aim for in practice is to awaken the mind. It needs to be stable-knowing, being aware of the body and mind. We can’t truly practice if the mind wanders off the body and mind. The reason why we practice mindfulness is that we want to see the truth of our body and mind. If the mind goes away, how can it see the truth? Never. Therefore, the starting point is to awaken the mind. The mind needs to be knowing, awakened and delighted.

If our mind is asleep or dreaming, it will be unaware of the body and mind. When we’re sleeping and dreaming, we forget our body and mind. We’re unaware of ourselves. When most people wake up, only the body is awake. The mind is still dreaming, unconscious within the world of thoughts. As long as we are dreaming, we won’t be able to see the truth. Just like when we are dreaming in our sleep, though we have the body and mind, we forget about them. When we wake up, only the body is awake. The mind is still in the thoughts and dreams. Though we have the body and mind, we forget them alike.

To end suffering with mindfulness practice, losing all attachment to our body and mind is a must. We will lose attachment in the body and mind when we see their truth. The body and mind are by no means wonderful. They are temporary and impermanent. It is suppressed to dissipate in every moment. That is called suffering. It is not subjected to our desire but to its cause. That is called non-self.

If we can see the truth of the body and mind, that they are subjected to impermanence, suffering conditions to dissipate, and non-self, from any one of these three perspectives, the mind will let go of the attachment. As the Lord Buddha said, “Seeing the truth leads to boredom. Boredom leads to the release of attachment. Releasing attachment leads to letting go and being free from suffering.” We can see the truth of the body and mind only when the mind is awake. If the mind is lost in thought or dreams, it won’t be aware of the body and mind even if they exist.

That’s why mindfulness is the first and most important step in mindfulness practice. We must be mindful. Leave the world of dreams and live in the real world. Be aware of the body’s existence. Be aware of the mind’s existence. Don’t forget the existence of the body and mind, and get lost in daydream all the time. If we are conscious of the body and mind, we’ll be able to learn the truth that the body and mind are impermanent, suffering conditions to dissipate, and non-self. When we see the truth of the body, the possessive attachment to the body will gradually decrease. In the end, the mind will totally lose attachment to the body.

If the mind still loves the body, possessive attachment still remains. It loves the body because it thinks that the body is a good and superb thing. When we keep observing the body, we’ll come to see that the body is not good or superb at all. This body suffers all the time even when we are sitting, standing, walking or lying down. When we are lying down, we have to toss and turn because of pain and soreness in the body. We can only feel comfortable for a short while, and then the body becomes suppressed and suffers. If we cannot toss and turn, soon we’ll have bedsores and die because of infection. We then toss and turn, or keep changing body positions, to escape suffering.

If we are aware of the body, being mindful of it, we’ll see the truth that the body is not superb but suffering. The body is an elemental object, where elements keep coming in and out. For example, when we breathe in and out, and breathe out and in, elements shift. We eat and drink, and then move our bowels and urinate. Elements circulate like this. In fact the body, that we think is us, is simply an object. It belongs to the earth, not truly us or ours. We simply borrow it from the earth. Soon we’ll have to return it, allowing others to reuse it.

The body is what we love and cherish. When we die, someone will bury or dispose of our body. Worms eat the body. Birds eat the worms. Humans eat the birds. The cycle continues like this. Or if the body is cremated, the earth element will be burned. Fat will evaporate. The wind element will stop. The body will turn into soil or whatsoever. The water element will separate and become water. The earth element will separate and become soil. The wind element will separate and become wind. The fire element will separate and become fire. The energy will return to the earth. Others will reuse them. Like our blood, which is the water element in our body, might have been the lymph from a corpse. That’s because the water element belongs to the earth, so it’s circulated this way.

If we are mindful and awake, when awareness of the body arises, we will see the truth of the body. It is full of suffering and suppression. It is not us or ours but belongs to the earth, where we borrow temporarily. One day we’ll have to return it to the lender. If we are mindful, we will be aware of the body and eventually see its truth. But if our mind wanders off, if we indulge in social networks daily, giving evil and kind comments, pressing this and that button, even though we have our body, we’ll forget it as well as the mind.

As we forget the body and mind, we lose our mindfulness. Then how could we see the truth of the body and mind? That’s why the practice begins with mindfulness as an essential starting point. Your suffering will never end as long as you don’t have mindfulness. It’s easier said than done when it comes to mindfulness. Some of the monks in this temple have practiced for as many as 20 years when they were laymans. But once they have entered the monkhood for 2-3 months, then they realized that for all this time they didn’t have mindfulness. They had been dreaming. If they were not in the dreamy state, then they would focus either at the body or mind. Focusing is not being mindful.

The state of neither wandering off nor over-focusing is the state of mindfulness

Being mindful is to not forget our body and mind. At the same time, we don’t focus on them or other things either. So “not forgetting” and “not focusing” will allow us to be mindful. Honestly, a hundred percent of people in the world are unmindful. Their mind wanders off to the world of thoughts and dreams. Only the body is awake. The mind always daydreams, imagines, and wanders in thoughts, feeling that these are real. Some thoughts are true. Some are false. All of them are nonsense. Indeed very few people can become mindful.

How can we become mindful? If we know the phenomenon of being unconscious or forgetting the body and mind, as soon as we are aware that we have forgotten the body and mind, that state will disappear and mindfulness will arise. It’s that simple. It’s like a coin that has two sides. It flips either heads or tails. We are either conscious or unconscious. Try to learn this. Have an object of meditation. And when the mind goes off, know right away. For example, if we breathe in “Bud” and breathe out “Dho”, when the mind goes off to other thoughts, forgetting “Bud-dho”, know that right away. When it has forgotten breathing, know that the mind has lost in thought. Like, thinking about Gunkhmer, for example. The mind is off. Know that the mind is off. As soon as we know that the mind is off, that state will disappear. Mindfulness will arise. The mind becomes aware of the body and mind.

The number one enemy of mindfulness is mindlessness. That means forgetting yourself. Though you have the body and mind, you forget about them, busy thinking of something else. The number two enemy is over-focusing, which is actually a form of mindlessness. In fact, I want to use a straightforward term with it. “Over-focusing” is not quite right. The correct one would be “mindlessly over-focusing”. It’s not simply over-focusing but mindlessly over-focusing. Like when we practice by breathing, we mindlessly over-focus at the breath, sinking in it without knowing. The mind mindlessly over-focuses without knowing. But if we know that the mind has over-focused, then that is not called mindlessly over-focusing.

However, when most of us practice, say we watch the stomach inflate and deflate, the mind has sunk in the stomach and we don’t know it, that is called mindlessly over-focusing as well. Or when we practice walking meditation, and the mind wanders out by focusing on the feet or the floor, that is mindlessly over-focusing. When we move our hands in patterns and the mind concentrates on the hands, that is also mindlessly over-focusing. So there are 2 kinds of mindlessness. The first and worst one is forgetting the body and mind. The second one is mindlessly over-focusing, where the mind overly concentrates on a particular object. Like when we watch the breath and focus on the breath. Or when we watch the stomach inflate and deflate but we focus on the stomach and don’t know that the mind has moved to the stomach. That is called mindlessness, not mindfulness.

Some people claimed that they were mindful all the time such as knowing the stomach inflating and deflating. However, they weren’t aware that the mind was concentrating on the stomach. That was not real mindfulness but mindlessness. It is mindlessly over-focusing. On the other hand, wandering off is forgetting the body and mind. You’ll likely be reborn in unpleasant realms. However, mindlessly over-focusing can lead you to pleasant ones though never nirvana. The Lord Buddha mentioned this before. Once a divine being asked Him, “How did you cross over the expanse of water, or defilements?” He answered, “I crossed over the expanse of water, or defilements, by neither wandering off nor over-focusing. If I wandered off, I would sink. If I over-focused, I would float. I neither wandered off nor over-focused. That was how I crossed the expanse of water.”

The state of neither wandering off nor over-focusing is the state of mindfulness. When we are mindful, the mind won’t go extreme on wandering off. To wander off is to indulge in defilements called “the extreme of sensual indulgence”. When we indulge in defilements, they overpower our mind. When we die, we’ll go to unpleasant realms. If we over-focusing because we are scared of sins and evil, when we die, we can go to pleasant realms as a human, divine being, or Brahma divinity, but not nirvana. Why not? Because actions still exist. To act means to intentionally create karmas. If the intention is to pamper defilements, that mind is mindlessly wandering off. If the intention is to counter defilements, the mind is mindlessly over-focusing. As long as intention is there, karma is also created to satisfy defilements. The mind will be busy creating karmas by watching objects or listening to sounds, for example. The mind keeps working endlessly without awareness. That’s how the mind keeps creating realms of existence on and on.

The mind has a natural inclination to descend because it indulges in defilements. It’s easier that way. On the contrary, resisting defilements needs a strong will to fight. That’s why the mind has a natural inclination to descend. If we don’t fight, the mind will become more and more evil. A good example is a decent and well-mannered woman. After marriage, establishing a family comes with a lot of annoyance caused by the husband and children. The woman fights back by becoming fussy. She might not complain much at first but she will gradually become good at it. As she gets old, she will become professional in complaining, so she complains about everything. Hot weather, dogs walking pass by, everything. This is a result of small vices accumulation. The more you allow them, the stronger they’ll become.

Those of us who surf social networks these days are alike. We don’t regulate the eager mind. At first we might aim to surf social networks for 15 minutes. The first day is 15 minutes. The next day will be 30 minutes. And in the end, we spend all day long surfing social networks, just like many of us do.

Therefore, indulging in defilements will lead us to the destination of unpleasant realms, not a pleasant one. As we keep controlling our body, words, and mind, stress will arise. However, as long as we don’t say unkind words or mindlessly think of someone’s business but stay at our breath or stomach, we don’t violate the Five Precepts. As a result, we can go to a pleasant realm. At least when the mind is over-focusing, it doesn’t violate the precepts. Over-focusing in itself is also a concentration but the wrong one because it focuses on a single object. Can wrong concentration take us to pleasant realms? Yes, it can. Brahma Divinities are good at concentration. They overfocus and forget about themselves. They went to a pleasant realm but not Nirvana.

That is why mindfulness serves as an essential starting point. Mindfulness is the state in which the mind neither wanders off nor over-focuses while being aware of the body and mind as they are. Eventually this will lead to wisdom cultivation. Know the body as it is. Know the mind as it is. Seeing the three characteristics of existence in the body and mind is called Vipassana. In the initial stage of learning mindfulness, we become aware of the existence of the body. We become aware of the presence of the mind: emotions, feelings and consciousness. That is called formless phenomenon or mind.

We must be aware of the body and mind instead of letting the mind wander off all day through the senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Otherwise, it will become the path to unpleasant realms. We also must not over-focus on the body and mind, as it can cause stress. Overfocusing can lead to pleasant realms but not nirvana. Why not? Because wisdom doesn’t arise from such action. We won’t see the three characteristics of existence this way. For example, if we overfocus on the breath, the mind will sink into the breath. We won’t see the three characteristics of existence. Or if we watch the stomach, the mind will sink into the stomach. We won’t see the three characteristics of existence, either. For the mind to see the three characteristics of existence, the mind must be a stable knowing mind. It must revert from an actor to a watcher. It must change from an actor, producer, script writer, or critic, to become a watcher, seeing the body and mind as they are.

Is it difficult? No, it isn’t. Firstly we need to have a homebase. It can be anything that we feel comfortable with such as breathing in “Bud” and breathing out “Dho”, observing the stomach inflate and deflate, or lifting and moving the feet or hands. Any of these can serve as a homebase. The key is to know the mind, no matter what homebase you use. For example, if we breathe in “Bud” and breathe out “Dho”, and the mind has wandered off to think of something else, just know that the mind has. As we are breathing in “Bud”, breathing out “Dho”, if the mind is lost in over-focusing at the breath, just know that the mind has. Similarly, if we watch the stomach inflate and deflate, know the mind. When the mind has lost in thought, know that it has. When the mind has become overly fixated on the stomach, know that it has.

Observe 2 mental phenomena: wandering off and over-focusing. Wandering off means the mind has forgotten its homebase. Most of the time it wanders off to thoughts. On the other hand, over-focusing means the mind sinks right into the homebase and stays there knowing nothing else. Let’s observe these two phenomena. When the mind has wandered off, know that it has. When it has lost in over-focusing, know that it has. Practice these frequently. Have a homebase and practice knowing when the mind has lost either in thoughts or in over-focusing. As we practice often, mindfulness will arise when it has been lost in thought. As mindfulness has arisen, the mind immediately becomes stable and aware of the body and mind.

Nothing came for free, we need to keep practicing consistently, then we will become better at it

We can’t command mindfulness. However, we can practice by having a homebase and know when the mind has forgotten itself, either by wandering off to thoughts or mindlessly over-focusing. If we know that the mind has forgotten itself, that mind will disappear and the knowing mind will arise automatically. The mind will be lost for a longer time at first, but as practice progresses, it will be lost for shorter durations. That’s because the mind remembers vividly what being lost in thoughts or mindlessly over-focusing looks like. When the mind vividly remembers phenomena such as losing in thoughts or mindlessly over-focusing, when they have arisen, mindfulness will arise automatically.

Once mindfulness has arisen, the state of right concentration or the stable knowing mind will naturally ensue. The stable knowing mind is when the mind doesn’t wander off to thoughts as well as to eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body. It neither wanders off nor mindlessly over-focusing. Instead, the mind becomes stable and has concentration. It doesn’t wander off or sway to the past and future, positive and negative thoughts, and sensory perceptions of seeing, listening, smelling, tasting, and feeling bodily sensations while forgetting itself.

Let’s consider an easy example: imagine a mosquito bit us while we were sitting. When bitten, where would our attention go first? To the body that was bitten? Or to the mosquito? Most likely, we noticed the mosquito first, right? It dared to bite us and then flew away. We continued to pay attention to the mosquito and even followed it after it had flown away. You see, the nature of the mind is similar. It doesn’t observe itself but focuses on others. When we were bitten by a mosquito, the mind noticed and concentrated on the insect. It recognized when the mosquito had flown away and intended to kill it. The mind sought revenge and became fixated on the mosquito. We would end up in unpleasant realms after death. If we went after the mosquito, tripped, hit our head against the wall and died, we surely would go to unpleasant realms because of anger in the mind. That’s why we must learn to be aware of our minds.

We must have a homebase so that when the mind wanders to the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind (thoughts), we will know immediately. When it mindlessly over-focuses on the homebase and we are aware of this, it ceases to be mindless or wander somewhere else. It transforms into a stable knowing mind, achieving the right concentration, all without any effort from us. We don’t command the mind to attain the right concentration but it arises naturally. This occurs because the obstacle to concentration, which is the wandering mind, has vanished. Do you get the idea? Have a homebase and observe your mind. Choose any familiar one. However, avoid practicing in the same way you might have in the past. For example, if you are familiar with watching the stomach inflate and deflate, and your mind is accustomed to over-focusing on it, that isn’t a good one. But if you watch the movement of the stomach and know the mind, then you’re on the right track.

Once the mind has become stable, it will stay aware and won’t stray into the realm of thoughts and dreams. It will refrain from mindlessly over-focus on any particular matter. When the mind becomes stable and aware, mindfulness will emerge. Consequently, mindfulness doesn’t arise by chance but we need to cultivate it by having a homebase and knowing the mind. When the mind has lost in thought, know that it has. When the mind has mindlessly over-focused, know that it has. Practice in this manner consistently and mindfulness will gradually develop. When there’s something occurring within the body and mind, mindfulness will promptly arise.

When I was 10 years old, I lived in a shophouse on Boripat Road. Nearby was an alley called “Khmer Alley” by the locals. In those days the Khmer who followed Nak Ong Duang into Thailand resided in the area and established the Khmer community. I’m not talking about the Khmer but just wanted to specify the location. One day I was engaging in stone play with friends from the neighborhood, on the pavement in front of my house. Then, I saw fire breaking out from a shophouse on the same side as mine but about 4-6 units away. I can’t recall the exact number but it was likely around 5 units more or less. The fire erupted from an auto repair shop. For some reason, the flames burst out with smoke and people were shouting in panic.

I was frightened by the scene. Oh, a fire! Panic surged as I grabbed the stones, and ran to inform my father. I saw panic in the first step. Then again in the second step. By the third step, it felt like a switch was turned on from the inside. A sense of wakefulness spontaneously emerged. It was proof that I used to practice mindfulness before. That’s why the knowing mind emerged during the crisis. The mind became awake right after that third step I ran. As the mind became awake, panic had dissipated. I went to tell adults about the fire and saw them panicking while I was simply observing. It was an incredible feeling. The mind stayed aware of the body and mind. It was comfortable, open and light. I saw those around me panicked but I remained unaffected.

If we have practiced before, keep practicing consistently. At a point when a crisis occurs, mindfulness will promptly arise. One of us who used to drive fast, came to learn mindfulness from me but his mind never became awake. One day his car flipped upside down on the motorway. The car spun and flipped around. His mind sprang up and became a stable-knowing mind. Panic didn’t arise. The mind saw the body rolling over and the car spinning around. The mind became a watcher and didn’t feel panicked. That was a state of wakefulness. He hadn’t intended for it to happen. However, it occurred because of practice. How do we practice? We practice by having a homebase and knowing the mind. When the mind has lost in thoughts, know that it has. When the mind has mindlessly immersed in the homebase, know that it has. Keep practicing, and eventually, the mind will awaken on its own.

Take your time practicing. Nothing came for free. We need to practice by ourselves. Consistency will make us become better at it. When the mind has become a stable-knowing mind, wisdom cultivation will no longer be difficult. When the mind is stable, the aggregates will separate. When the mind is stable, acting as a watcher, we’ll see that the body is an object being watched. We’ll see that the body and mind are not the same thing. Look at yourselves now. As you are listening to me, the mind has gained concentration automatically. Try feeling the body that is sitting. Just feel. Don’t fix or over-focus. Simply feel the existence of the body.

Can you feel that the body exists? That’s the first step, feeling the existence of the body. Next, observe the three characteristics of its existence, that the body is not us. It is merely an object on the chair. The mind is the knower. The body is only an object, an element. It isn’t us or ours. This is where wisdom cultivation takes place. For wisdom to develop, we must first feel the existence of the body and mind. The mind needs to be a stable-knowing mind to sense the body’s existence. If it becomes mindless, it won’t feel the body’s existence, as if it doesn’t exist.

That’s why we need to be mindful. Have a homebase and know when the mind has lost in thoughts or mindlessly overfocused. Eventually we’ll cultivate mindfulness. As mindfulness arises, the mind will gain concentration. When we observe the body with mindfulness, we’ll see that it is merely an object. The body is simply an object positioned on the chair. It’s not us but an object, an element. Initially we perceive the body’s existence. Then we see that the body is not us but an object. When we feel the existence of the body, concentration is present, and the aggregates are separated. This is where Vipassana has developed.

Once the mind becomes a stable-knowing one, it becomes much easier for aggregates to separate
Once the mind becomes a stable-knowing one, it becomes much easier for aggregates to separate. This occurs spontaneously, without intention. However, if the mind is not stable, it will immerse in an object, either into thoughts or aggregates, particularly within the body. We must practice until the mind becomes awake, stable-knowing, and aware of the body and mind. Upon reaching this state, a natural awareness of the body’s existence will arise. We don’t intend to feel the body’s existence. Otherwise, we’ll become mindless right away. Sometimes when the mind awakens and it senses the body’s existence, such as the hand moving while brushing the teeth, the mind becomes stable-knowing immediately and sees that the body is not us.

It is that simple. But for this to happen, the mind must truly become a stable-knowing one, recognizing the existence of the body and mind, and not wandering off. It must truly have awareness. That’s why mindfulness is an essential starting point for practice. Once mindfulness is present, we can practice samadhi (concentration) with mindfulness, by having the mind stay with one object while being aware of the body and mind still. The mind doesn’t immerse or over-focus, causing stress. Practicing Vipassana is easy, too. With the arising of mindfulness, as it observes the body, it’ll see the body as an object being seen, that the body is not us. When mindfulness recognizes mental feelings (happiness and unhappiness), it’ll see that these feelings are being known, and that they are not us. Anything that is known, is not us.

Mindfulness can be aware of mental formations, proliferation of good and bad. Proliferation of bad includes greed, aversion, and delusion. When mindfulness has arisen, it sees that greed, aversion, and delusion are known. When the mind becomes stable, it’ll see that greed, aversion, and delusion are objects being seen, that they are not us and not the mind itself, either. It’s simply a foreign object entering the mind and it goes away. We’ll see that all feelings and thoughts, whether happy or unhappy, whether good or bad, merely come and go. The stable-knowing mind simply acts as an observer. That’s where wisdom cultivation has occurred. It sees that the body is not us, that mental formations are not us, that mental feelings are not us. And eventually, it’ll see that the mind is not us, either.

Many of us who practice can see that the body is not us, and that happiness and unhappiness, merit and demerit, are not us, either. However, they still perceive the mind as themselves. A majority of those who learn mindfulness from me have reached this point. I shouldn’t use the word “majority” because the number of learners is growing everyday. Quite a few people who have practiced for a while now have a stable-knowing mind. The separation of aggregates has occurred. They see the body and mind as separated entities. They see that mental feelings are separate from the knowing mind. They see that mental formations are separate from the knowing mind. Numerous people can achieve this already. I haven’t precisely counted but there are many. As long as the mind has become stable-knowing, the separation of aggregates occurs spontaneously.

Here the Abhidhamma literature says that “right concentration is the factor that closely brings about wisdom.” The initial level of wisdom involves the separation of aggregates. This requires the right concentration, that is, the stable-knowing mind which is the awareness of the body and mind’s existence. As the mind is in this state, the separation of aggregates can be observed. Give it a try as you are listening to me. Feel the presence of your body. Just feel it without inducing mental paralysis. Just feel. Do you notice that the body is being known? That’s the first step. Do you feel that this body is being known? In the next moment, you’ll see that this body is not us but rather an object being known. It’s the same as other elements in the external world. This marks the cultivation of wisdom known as “Vipassana Panna”.

That’s why the Lord Buddha said that He never saw a Dhamma that is as important as mindfulness. In practicing for the end of mental intoxication, mindfulness is the most important factor. It’s the essential starting point. Mindfulness is the stable-knowing mind, observing objects with the stable and neutral mind and without intervention. Wisdom cultivation occurs this way. Everything will no longer be perceived as humans, animals, us and others. A person becomes a Sotapanna at this point.

Try putting what I’ve taught into practice for 4 months everyday. Engage less in social media. You won’t find success in practicing mindfulness if you continue to engage with it, regardless of whether you’re a layperson or a monk. This morning a monk told me about his previous temple where both monks and novices were immersed in social media such as online games. They interacted with each other and even with people working at the temple. They didn’t commit to practicing at all. Everyday they consumed food, resided in the monk’s quarters, and wore robes – all provided by others. Their indebtedness grew deeper over time. The longer they remained ordained, the more sins they accumulated.

If you are a monk, you must be even more cautious. Be aware of yourself. Don’t forget the presence of your body and mind. We are followers of the Lord Buddha’s teaching. If we become mindful, we can develop ourselves. Don’t immerse in worldly affairs. This world offers nothing fundamental. It only traps people in it. The same applies to laypeople. If using social media is unnecessary, then refrain from it. Invest your time in practicing mindfulness and your life will become better. This will make it more fitting for you to be called a follower of the Lord Buddha.