The Brightly Shining Sun - A Step-by-Step Guide to Meditating on the Bodhicharyavatara

(Introduction to the Way of a Bodhisattva)
by Patrul Rinpoche
(Article source)


With devotion I pay homage to the buddhas gone to bliss,
To their Dharma body, noble heirs and all worthy of respect.
In accordance with the scriptures, I shall now in brief describe
How to adopt proper conduct, the way of buddhas’ heirs.[1]

In this, there are four sections:
the practitioner, the person who is the support;
the attitude with which one practises;
the practices themselves; and
the result of practising in that way.

1. THE PRACTITIONER

Firstly, the person who is the support for the practice is someone endowed with all the freedoms and advantages, and who has faith and compassion.

2. THE ATTITUDE WITH WHICH ONE PRACTICES

Secondly, the intention of bodhichitta has two aspects: aspiration and action.

1. Aspiration

Regarding the first of these, it is said:
Arousing bodhichitta is: for the sake of others
Longing to attain complete enlightenment.[2]
In other words, it is the intention of wishing to attain complete enlightenment for the sake of others.

2. Action

The second aspect of action is the commitment to train in the practices of the bodhisattvas.

Taking the Bodhisattva Vow

In order to adopt this kind of bodhichitta within our own mind streams we can receive the vows from a teacher, in which case we should follow the procedure of the specific ritual, whether of the Mind Only or the Middle Way. But here it will be shown how we can practise this by ourselves.

There are three stages to this: (a) preparation, (b) main part and (c) conclusion.

A. Preparation
This has three parts: (i) generating enthusiasm, (ii) the seven branch practice, and (iii) mind training.

i. Generating Enthusiasm

Generate a sense of enthusiasm for the benefits of bodhichitta, as explained in the first chapter of the Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva.

4. This free and well-favoured human form is difficult to obtain.
Now that we have the chance to realise the full human potential,
If we don’t make good use of this opportunity,
How could we possibly expect to have such a chance again?

5. Like a flash of lightning on a dark and cloudy night,
Which, for just a single instant, sheds its brilliant light,
Rarely, through the buddhas’ power,
A mind of virtue arises, briefly, to people of the world.

6. All ordinary virtues therefore are forever feeble,
Whilst negativity is strong and difficult to bear—
But for the mind intent on perfect buddhahood,
What other virtue could ever overcome it?

7. Contemplating wisely throughout the ages,
The mighty buddhas have seen its great benefit:
That it helps the boundless multitude of beings
Easily to gain the highest states of bliss.

8. Those who long to triumph over life’s distress,
And who wish to put an end to others’ sorrows,
Those who seek to experience abundant joys—
Let them never turn their backs on bodhichitta.

9. For the very instant that bodhichitta is born
In the weary captives enslaved within samsara,
They are called heirs of the bliss gone buddhas,
Honourable to gods, humans, and the world.

10. Like the alchemists’ supreme elixir,
It takes this ordinary, impure human form,
And makes of it a buddha’s priceless body—
Such is bodhichitta: let us grasp it firmly!

11. With their boundless wisdom, beings’ only guides,
Have investigated thoroughly and seen its value.
Thus whoever longs for freedom from conditioned states
Should grasp this precious bodhichitta and guard it well.

12. All other virtues are like the plantain tree:
They bear their fruit, and then they are no more.
Yet constantly the marvellous tree of bodhichitta
Yields fruit and, undiminished, grows forevermore.

13. Even those who’ve committed intolerable misdeeds,
Through having bodhichitta instantly are freed,
Just like a brave companion banishing all one’s fears—
Why then would the prudent fail to put their trust in it?

14. Just like a great inferno at the ends of time,
It annihilates terrible misdeeds in but an instant.
Thus its benefits are vast beyond all measuring,
As the wise Lord Maitreya explained to Sudhana.

15. Understand that, briefly stated,
Bodhichitta has two aspects:
The mind aspiring to awaken,
And bodhichitta that’s enacted.

16. Just as one understands the difference
Between wishing to go and setting out upon a journey,
The wise should understand these two,
Recognizing their difference and their order.

17. Bodhichitta in aspiration brings about great results,
Even as we continue to circle within samsara;
Yet it does not bring about a ceaseless stream of merit,
For that will come solely from active bodhichitta.

18. From the moment we genuinely take up
This irreversible attitude—
The mind that aspires to liberate entirely
The infinite realms of beings,

19. From then on, even while asleep,
Or during moments of inattention,
A plentiful, unceasing force of merit
Will arise, equal to the vastness of the sky.

20. This was explained by the Buddha,
Together with supporting reasons,
In a teaching given at Subahu’s request,
For the sake of those inclined to lesser paths.

21. If boundless merit comes to anyone who,
With the intention to be of benefit,
Has the thought simply to relieve the pain
Of those afflicted merely with a headache,

22. What need is there to speak of the wish
To dispel all beings’ boundless sufferings,
Or the longing that they all might gain
Enlightened qualities infinite in number.

23. Do even our fathers or our mothers
Have such beneficence as this?
Do the gods or the great sages?
Does even mighty Brahma?

24. If these beings have never before
Held this aspiration for their own sake—
Not even in their dreams—how could
They have made this wish for others?

25. A thought such as this—wanting for others
What they do not wish for even for themselves—
Is an extraordinary and precious state of mind,
And its occurrence a marvel unlike any other!

26. This source of joy for all who wander in existence,
This elixir that heals the sufferings of all beings,
This priceless jewel within the mind—
How could such merit ever be evaluated?

27. For if the simple wish to benefit others
Surpasses offerings made before the buddhas,
What need is there to mention striving
For the welfare of all without exception?

28. Although seeking to avoid pain,
They run headlong into suffering.
They long for happiness, but foolishly
Destroy it, as if it were their enemy.

29. To satisfy with every kind of joy,
And to cut through all the sufferings
Of those who lack any real happiness,
And are oppressed by sorrow’s burden,

30. To bring an end as well to their delusion—
What other virtue is comparable to this?
What friend is there who does as much?
What else is there which is as meritorious?

31. If even those who do good deeds as repayment
For past favours are worthy of some praise,
What need is there to mention the bodhisattvas,
Whose perfect actions are carried out unbidden?

32. There are those who offer meals occasionally, and to just a few;
Their gifts, which are no more than food, are made in just a moment,
And with disrespect, to bring nourishment for merely half a day—
And yet such people are honoured by the world as virtuous.

33. Yet how does this compare to those who give
Over many ages and to the whole infinity of beings,
Constantly offering them the fulfilment of their every wish:
The unsurpassable happiness born of blissful buddhahood?

34. And those who develop feelings of hostility,
Towards these benefactors, the buddhas’ heirs,
Will languish in the hells, the mighty Sage has said,
For aeons equal to the moments of their malice.

35. By contrast, to look upon them well,
Will yield benefits in still greater measure.
For even in adversity, the buddhas’ heirs
Bring no harm, only virtue that naturally increases.

36. I bow down before all those in whom
This most precious, sacred mind is born!
I take refuge in those great sources of joy
Who bring bliss even to those who harm them.

ii. Seven Branch Practice
Before practising the seven branches for gathering the accumulations, consider that you and all other sentient beings are gathered together in the actual presence of the field of merit, which includes the victorious buddhas and their bodhisattva heirs, and bring to mind all their wonderful qualities.

The branch of offering
Arrange offerings of flowers, scented incense, lamps, pure water and food and drink, as plentiful as you can afford. Then bring to mind jewel-filled mountains, attractive woodlands, and all the uninhabited places of great natural beauty throughout the world. These are known as “offerings you do not own”. Offer both types of gift—those that you possess and those that you do not—with the following verses:[3]

1. In order that I might adopt this precious jewel of mind,
I now make the most excellent of offerings to the buddhas,
To the sacred Dharma—that most rare and flawless jewel—
And to the buddhas’ heirs, whose qualities are limitless.

2. I offer every variety of fruit and flower,
And every kind of healing medicine,
Each and every jewel this world affords,
And all its pure and freshest waters,

3. Every mountain filled with precious gems,
And forest groves, isolated and inspiring,
Trees of paradise garlanded with blossom,
And trees whose branches are laden with fine fruit,

4. Perfumed fragrances from the gods and other realms,
Incense, trees that grant wishes and produce magic gems,
Spontaneous harvests grown without the tiller’s care,
And every thing of beauty worthy to be offered,

5. Lakes and ponds adorned with lotus flowers,
Where the pleasant calls of geese are heard,
Every thing and place of beauty unclaimed by any owner,
Extending to the boundless limits of space itself.

6. I picture them all in my mind, and to the supreme buddhas
And their bodhisattva heirs, I make a perfect gift of them.
Think of me with love, O sublime and compassionate lords,
And accept all these offerings which I now present.

7. Lacking stores of merit, I am destitute
And have nothing more to offer.
O protectors, who consider only others’ benefit,
In your great power, accept this for my sake.

With the following verses offer your own body, speech and mind in servitude:

8. To the buddhas and their bodhisattva heirs,
I offer my body now and in all my lives to come.
Supreme courageous ones, accept me totally,
For with devotion I will be your servant.

9. If you accept me and take me fully in your care,
I will not fear samsara as I offer other beings help.
The harmful acts I did before are entirely in the past,
And from now on, I vow to do no further deeds of harm.

With the next verses offer gifts created in your imagination:

10. To a bath house filled with soothing scents,
With brightly sparkling floors of crystal,
And fine pillars all shimmering with gems,
Where hang gleaming canopies of pearls,

11. I invite the buddhas and their bodhisattva heirs.
I request you: Come to bathe yourselves in scented water,
Poured from overflowing jugs made of exquisite jewels,
All the while accompanied by melody and song.

12. Then let me dry you in cloths beyond compare,
Immaculate and anointed well with perfumed scent,
And dress you finely in the most excellent of garments,
Lightly scented and dyed in vivid colours.

13. I offer clothing made of the finest gentle fabrics,
And hundreds of the most beautiful adornments,
To grace the bodies of noble Samantabhadra,
Manjughosha, Lokeshvara and the rest.

14. With the most sublime of fragrant perfumes,
That gently permeates throughout a billion worlds,
I will anoint the bodies of all the buddhas,
Gleaming brightly, like pure and burnished gold.

15. To the mighty sages, perfect recipients of my offering,
I will present red lotus and heavenly mandarava,
Blue utpala flower and other scented blossoms,
Beautifully arranged in brightly coloured garlands.

16. I also offer billowing clouds of incense,
Whose sweet aroma captivates the mind,
And a rich feast of plentiful food and drink,
Fit to grace the tables of the gods.

17. I offer row upon row of precious lamps,
All perfectly contrived as golden lotuses,
And I scatter the petals of attractive flowers
Upon level, incense-sprinkled ground.

18. I offer divine palaces resonant with songs of praise,
Gleaming with precious pearls and pendant gems,
The most beautiful of structures in the whole of space—
All this I offer to those whose nature is compassion.

19. Jewel-encrusted parasols with handles made of gold,
Whose fringes are all embellished in ornate designs,
Turned upright, well proportioned and pleasing to the eye.
Now and forever, I offer this to all the buddhas.

Then make offerings through the power of aspiration with the following verses:

20. May a multitude of other offerings,
Accompanied by music sweet to hear,
Be made in great successive clouds,
To soothe the pains of living beings.

21. May rains of precious gems and flowers
Shower down in never-ending streams,
Upon all the jewels of noble Dharma,
And sacred monuments and images.

22. Just as Manjughosha and the rest
Made offerings to all the buddhas,
Likewise I too will offer to those thus gone
And all their bodhisattva heirs.

23. With vast oceans of melodious praise,
I honour these oceans of good qualities.
May clouds of sweet and gentle praise
Ascend unceasingly before them.

And with these verses offer your respect and homage:

24. Multiplying my body as many times as there are atoms
In the universe, I prostrate and bow before
The buddhas of the past, present and future,
The Dharma and the supreme assembly.

25. To all supports of bodhichitta
And all stupas, I bow down,
And to preceptors and teachers,
And those who practise discipline.

For all these eight types of offering[4], bring to mind the meaning of the words and offer them sincerely from the very depths of your heart.

All these offerings are made in the presence of the Three Jewels, who are the pure field. The substances themselves are pure, since they are not polluted by unwholesome actions or stinginess. And the motivation is also pure, because there is no expectation of gaining something in return or some karmic reward.

Taking Refuge
Consider that you take refuge in those exceptional objects—the three rare and supreme jewels of the uncommon greater vehicle—and you do so with an exceptional motivation— for the benefit of all sentient beings—until you attain complete enlightenment; and recite verse 26 three times:

26. Until I realize the essence of enlightenment,
I take refuge in the buddhas.
And likewise in the Dharma,
And the assembly of bodhisattvas.

Confession of Negative Actions

27. Before the perfect buddhas and bodhisattvas,
Who reside in every direction, in all of space,
And who embody great compassion,
I press my palms together and pray:

With this verse, we pray to those who will receive our confession and we request their understanding. Consider that:
our past misdeeds are like poison within our body;
the Three Jewels, who are our support, are like physicians who can heal the sickness brought on by the poison;
the antidote, which is the sacred Dharma, is like medicine;
and the firm resolve not to repeat such actions in the future is like ambrosia that restores the body to full strength.
Having generated these four ideas, with verses 28 to 46, cultivate the power of regret:

28. In this and all my other countless lifetimes
Spent wandering in beginningless samsara,
In my ignorance I have committed wrongs
And encouraged others to do the same.

29. Overwhelmed by ignorant delusion,
I celebrated the harm that was done.
But now I see it all was done in error,
And before the buddhas, sincerely I confess.

30. Whatever I have done against the Three Jewels,
My parents, my teachers or anyone else,
Through the force of my afflictions,
With my body, speech or mind,

31. All the misdeeds that I, the wicked one, have done,
Faults that cling to me from my many mistakes,
And all the unbearable crimes I have committed,
I openly declare to you, the guides of all the world.

32. Before my negativity has been purified,
My life may well come to an end,
So I pray now: grant me your protection,
Swiftly, to ensure that I am freed!

33. The Lord of Death is fickle, unworthy of our trust,
Whether life’s tasks are done or not, he will not wait.
For the sick and for the healthy alike,
This fleeting life is not something on which we can rely.

34. When we go, we must leave everything behind,
But I have failed to understand this, and so
For the sake of friends and enemies alike,
I engaged in all manner of harmful deeds.

35. My enemies will become no more,
And my friends will cease to be,
I myself will pass from this existence,
And everything in turn will disappear.

36. Like experiences in a dream,
Everything I make use of and enjoy,
Will later turn to faded memory,
And having passed will not be seen again.

37. In this lifetime, which lasts but for a while,
Some friends and enemies are now gone.
But not the harmful acts I did for them—
Those unbearable effects are still to come.

38. Never thinking that I too
Might quickly pass away,
In my delusion, lust and hatred,
I have done so much harm.

39. Never halting, day or night,
My life is always slipping by.
Having gone, life can not be extended,
So how could the likes of me not die?

40. While I lie there in my final bed,
Friends and family may be by my side,
But I alone will be the one
To feel the severing of all ties to life.

41. When I am seized by the emissaries of Death,
What help will be my family or my friends?
At that time it is merit alone that can protect me,
But upon that, alas, I have failed to depend.

42. O protectors! I was heedless,
Unaware of horrors such as this,
And all for this transient existence,
Amassed so many harmful deeds.

43. When led towards the place of torture,
Where his body will soon be ripped apart,
A man is transfigured by his terror;
His mouth turns dry, his pained eyes dart.

44. If that is so, then how desperate will I be,
When stricken down and gravely ill with fear,
I am seized by the messengers of Death,
And their gruesome, terrifying forms appear?

45. Is there anyone who can really save me
From the horrors of this appalling fate?
Staring in terror with my eyes opened wide,
I’ll search all around me for a refuge place.

46. When nowhere do I see such a place of safety,
My heart will sink; depressed, I’ll give up hope.
For if there is no haven to which I might retreat,
What options am I left with? What is there to do?

And with verses 47 to 53 bring to mind the power of support:

47. Thus, from this day onwards I take refuge
In the buddhas, the guardians of the world,
Who labour to protect and benefit us all,
And whose great strength can banish every fear.

48. Likewise, I genuinely take refuge
In the Dharma they have realized,
Which eliminates samsara’s terror,
And also in the hosts of bodhisattvas.

49. Utterly terrified and gripped with fear,
I give myself to Samantabhadra;
And to Manjughosha too,
I offer this body in service.

50. To the protector Avalokiteshvara,
Whose compassion is in all his actions,
I cry out in the depths of desperation,
“Grant me your protection, evil as I am!”

51. To the noble bodhisattvas
Akashagarbha and Kshitigarbha,
And all the lords of great compassion,
From my heart, I call for your protection.

52. And I take refuge in Vajrapani,
Before whom Death’s messengers
And all who threaten us will flee
In terror, dispersed in all directions.

53. In the past I ignored your words,
But now I have seen this horror,
And so I take you as my refuge:
Swiftly banish all my fears, I pray!

With verses 54 to 65 enact the power of action as an antidote:

54. For if, alarmed by common ailments,
I must follow the doctor’s sage advice,
How much more so when perpetually
Afflicted by desire and other faults.

55. If one of these alone brings ruin
To all who dwell within the world,
And no other cure to heal them
Is found anywhere at all,

56. Then the intention not to follow
The advice of the omniscient physician,
Whose words banish ills of every kind,
Is utter madness, worthy of contempt.

57. If I need to take special care when poised
Above a common drop of some small height,
Then how much more so to avoid the one
Of deep duration that falls a thousand miles?

58. It makes no sense to relax and think:
“Today, at least, I shall not die,”
For it is certain that a time will come
When my life will cease to be.

59. Who can offer me reassurance?
How can I be sure I need not fear?
If there is no doubt that I will die,
Then how can I remain at ease?

60. Of my experiences from the past,
What’s left for me? What now remains?
Yet by clinging to them obsessively,
I have disobeyed my teacher’s words.

61. Just as I must eventually forsake this life,
So too must I take leave of relatives and friends.
When I must go alone on death’s uncertain journey,
What concern to me are all these enemies and allies?

62. How can I free myself from non-virtue,
The source from which sufferings arise?
At all times of the day and night,
This should be my one concern.

63. Whatever wrongs I have committed,
In my ignorance and blindness—
Whether actions plainly negative
Or deeds proscribed by vows,

64. Before the buddhas, I join my palms together,
And, terrified by the awful sufferings to come,
Prostrate myself upon the ground over and again,
Confessing all my harmful deeds, each and every one.

65. I call upon you, the guides of all the world,
To accept me, and the harms that I have done.

And with the final two lines of verse 65 commit yourself to the power of resolve from the depth of your heart:

And these actions, since they are unwholesome,
I promise, from now on, I shall never do again.

Rejoicing
Cultivate a genuine sense of joy and celebrate all the mundane and supermundane sources of virtue and their fruits, while reciting these verses:

1. Joyfully I celebrate all the acts of virtue
That ease the pains of the lower realms,
And rejoice as well when those who suffer
Find themselves in states of happiness.

2. I rejoice in the gathering of virtue
That is the cause of awakening,
And celebrate the definite liberation
Of beings from samsara’s pain.

3. I rejoice in the awakening of the buddhas,
And the bhumis gained by bodhisattvas.

4. Gladly I rejoice in the infinite sea of virtue,
Which is the noble intention of bodhichitta,
Wishing to secure the happiness of beings,
And acting in ways that bring benefit to all.

For the fifth branch of requesting the turning of the Dharma-wheel, the sixth branch of requesting not to pass into nirvana and the seventh of dedication, bring to mind the meaning of the following words:

5. Now I join my hands and pray
To you, the buddhas of all quarters:
Shine the lamp of Dharma upon us,
As we suffer in confusion’s darkness!

6. With my palms clasped at my heart,
I urge all buddhas longing for nirvana:
Do not leave us blind and all alone,
But remain with us for countless ages!

7. Through whatever virtue I have gained
By all these actions now performed,
May the pain of every living being
Be cleared away entirely, never to return.

8. For all the beings ailing in the world,
Until their sickness has been healed,
May I become the doctor and the cure,
And may I nurse them back to health.

9. Bringing down a shower of food and drink,
May I dispel the pains of thirst and hunger,
And in those times of scarcity and famine,
May I myself appear as food and drink.

10. For all beings who are destitute and poor,
May I be a treasure, unending in supply,
A source of all that they might call for,
Accessible always and close by.

iii. Mind Training

Then with the verses of mind training, beginning with verse 11, train your mind by dedicating—without any hesitation—your own body, possessions and all your past, present and future virtues towards the benefit of sentient beings. Develop the heartfelt aspiration that this may become a cause for the unsurpassable wellbeing of beings everywhere, on both a temporary and ultimate level.

11. My own body and all that I possess,
My past, present and future virtues—
I dedicate them all, withholding nothing,
To bring about the benefit of beings.

12. By letting go of all I shall attain nirvana,
The transcendence of misery I seek,
Since everything must therefore be abandoned,
It would be best if I gave it all away.

13. This body of mine I have now given up,
Entirely for the pleasure of all who live.
Let them kill it, beat it and abuse it,
Forever doing with it as they please.

14. And if they treat it like a toy,
Or an object of ridicule and jest,
When I have given it away,
Why should I then become upset?

15. Let them do to me as they please,
Whatever does not harm them;
And when anyone should see me,
May that only serve them well.

16. If the sight of me inspires in others
Thoughts of anger or devotion,
May such states of mind be causes
For eternally fulfilling their desires.

17. May those who insult me to my face,
Or who cause me harm in any other way,
Even those who disparage me in secret,
Have the good fortune to awaken.

18. May I be a guard for those without one,
A guide for all who journey on the road,
May I become a boat, a raft or bridge,
For all who wish to cross the water.

19. May I be an isle for those desiring landfall,
And a lamp for those who wish for light,
May I be a bed for those who need to rest,
And a servant for all who live in need.

20. May I become a wishing jewel, a magic vase,
A powerful mantra and a medicine of wonder.
May I be a tree of miracles granting every wish,
And a cow of plenty sustaining all the world.

21. Like the earth and other great elements,
And like space itself, may I remain forever,
To support the lives of boundless beings,
By providing all that they might need.

22. Just so, in all the realms of beings,
As far as space itself pervades,
May I be a source of all that life requires,
Until beings pass beyond samsara’s pain.

B. Main Part

Secondly, for the main part, begin by requesting the buddhas and bodhisattvas to grant their attention:

All you buddhas who dwell in the ten directions
All you great bodhisattvas on the ten levels,
All you great teachers, the vajra-holders,
Turn your mind towards me, I pray!

And then take the vows of aspiration and action simultaneously, by reciting the following verses three times:

23. Just as the sugatas of former times
Aroused the bodhicitta
And established themselves by stages
In the training of a bodhisattva,

24. Just so, for the benefit of beings
I will arouse bodhicitta
And likewise I will train
Progressively in those disciplines.

C. Conclusion

Cultivate joy for oneself with the verses from 26 to 33 and joy for others with verse 34.

26. Today, my birth has been fruitful
I have well obtained a human existence.
Today I am born into the family of the buddhas:
I have become a son or daughter of the buddhas.

27. From now on, at all costs, I will perform
The actions befitting to my family.
I will not be a stain
On this faultless noble family.

28. Just like a blind person
Happening upon a priceless jewel in a heap of rubbish,
So, through some fortunate coincidence,
The bodhicitta has been born in me.

29. This is the perfect nectar of immortality,
Through which the Lord of Death is overcome.
It is an inexhaustible treasury of wealth,
To dispel the poverty of all who live.

30. It is the very best of medicines
That heals the sickness of the world,
And the tree that shelters all who wander
Wearily along the pathways of existence.

31. It is the universal bridge to freedom,
Leading us all from the lower realms,
And it is a rising moon within the mind,
To cool the passions of all living beings.

32. It is the mighty sun whose light dispels
The darkness of ignorance in our minds.
And it is the very purest form of butter
Churned from the milk of sacred Dharma.

33. For beings travelling life’s pathways,
And seeking to taste its greatest joys,
This will satisfy their eternal wanderings,
By granting them the highest form of bliss.

34. Today, in the presence of all the protectors,
I invite all beings to the state of sugata,
And, meanwhile, to happiness and bliss:
Gods, asuras and others—rejoice!

After this, the following aspiration prayer in a single verse can also be recited:
O sublime and precious bodhichitta,
May it arise in those in whom it has not arisen;
May it never decline where it has arisen,
But go on increasing, further and further!
That concludes the section on adopting the bodhichitta attitude in one’s mindstream.

3. THE PRACTICES: HOW TO FOLLOW THE TRAINING OF A BODHISATTVA

The practices of the bodhisattva are all included within the six paramitas, and in essence they are defined as follows:
An attitude of giving that is endowed with four special features.
An attitude of restraint that is endowed with four special features.
An attitude of imperturbability that is endowed with four special features.
An enthusiastic attitude that is endowed with four special features.
An undistracted state of attention that is endowed with four special features.
A precise discernment of things and events that is endowed with four special features.
What are these four special features? As it is said:
Generosity in which adverse factors have disappeared,
Endowed with wisdom that is non-conceptual,
Completely fulfills all wishes,
And brings all beings to maturity at the three levels.
The adverse factors for the paramitas are stinginess, wayward discipline, anger, laziness, distraction and misguided intelligence[5] respectively.

The various ways in which they fulfil the wishes of beings are as follows:
generosity leads to the giving away of possessions and so on;
discipline is an inspiration to others;
patience allows us to face harmful situations;
diligence helps us to do what is necessary;
concentration produces miraculous abilities and supernatural perceptions which inspire others;
and wisdom allows us to point out what must be adopted and abandoned.
These [paramitas] bring all that could be wished for, and bring beings to maturity, directly or indirectly, by leading them to enlightenment, as a shravaka, pratyekabuddha or fully enlightened buddha.

How These Paramitas are Brought into the Practice of Training the Mind

1. The Paramita of Generosity
Firstly, there is the training in generosity according to which we reflect on the faults of not giving away our own body, possessions and virtues from the past, present and future, and then on the benefits of actually giving them away, and also on the reasons why they must be given away, and so on.

2. The Paramita of Discipline
Secondly, in terms of discipline, there is an explanation of (1) the means of keeping discipline and then (2) how to keep discipline through these means.

1. The means of keeping discipline

The means of keeping discipline are:

Conscientiousness (Tib. ba yö), which is a meticulous concern for what is to be adopted and what is to be avoided;

Mindfulness (Tib. drenpa) , which means not forgetting what should be adopted and abandoned;

And vigilance (Tib. shé shyin), which involves continually checking the status of our body, speech and mind.

2. How to keep discipline through these means

Firstly, through mindfulness, we do not lose sight of what should be adopted or abandoned. Then secondly, because we are checking the status of our body, speech and mind with vigilance, we recognize any occasions when we are tempted to avoid something virtuous or to do something negative. At that time, because of our conscientiousness, we recall the benefits of virtuous actions and undertake them, or remember the faults of negative conduct and unwholesome actions and avoid them.

Since the underlying cause for all of this is a confident trust in the effects of karma, we should follow the authoritative statements of the victorious buddhas and develop trust. We must generate a heartfelt conviction about the sufferings of samsara by considering that if we act negatively this will certainly lead us to states of misery, and once we are reborn in these unfortunate states we will face such suffering that not only will we fail to accomplish the benefit of others, we will not even secure our own wellbeing!

There are many categories of discipline to be maintained, but the three principle things to avoid, which run contrary to bodhichitta in aspiration, are:
mentally forsaking sentient beings;

developing the attitude of a shravaka or pratyekabuddha;
and the four impure practices.

The four impure practices are mentioned in the following verse:

Deceiving those who merit veneration, regret that is misplaced,
Criticizing great beings and cheating ordinary folk—
Renounce these four impure practices and adopt their opposites,
Which are the four pure dharmas.

The favourable factors (for bodhichitta in aspiration) are:
heartfelt aspiration towards the result of perfect awakening and its cause which is enlightened conduct;
sympathetic joy and heartfelt appreciation for all the good done by others;
dedication of all these fundamental virtues towards complete enlightenment for others’ benefit.

We must take these three mahayana meditations to heart.

Of the factors that are incompatible with bodhichitta in action, it is generally said that one must give up all harm to others, together with its basis. In particular, the greatest faults of all, such as stealing the property of the Three Jewels, slandering a bodhisattva, or abandoning the Dharma must be guarded against with the utmost care, just as we would take every possible measure to secure our own lives.

As for the supportive factors, we must not neglect even the slightest of positive deeds, and we must be sure to practise with the three noble principles.

3. The Paramita of Patience

There are various situations that require our patience, beginning with the following four:
When someone treats us with contempt,
Addresses us with harsh words,
Slanders us behind our back,
Or causes us pain.
And similarly, when these four are done to our teachers, or our friends and relatives.

Or:
When our enemies and those who oppose us find pleasure and wellbeing,
When they receive honours and rewards,
When they are offered praise,
Or when people speak well of them.

In addition, there are also those situations in which their opposites, the twelve desirable circumstances, are prevented from occurring, making a total of twenty-four opportunities for us to practise patience.

When any of these occur, we must avoid becoming disheartened by the events themselves or the suffering they bring, and instead accept the suffering. We must not become angry with those involved, but disregard the harm they do to us, and settle the mind in meditation upon the reality of profound emptiness.

In this way, by multiplying each instance a further three times, we arrive at seventy-two types of patience in which to train.

There are three reasons for accepting suffering:[6]
Suffering can exhaust our negative actions, so we should accept it with the understanding that it is like a broom for sweeping away our misdeeds.

Through suffering we develop renunciation for samsara, compassion for other sentient beings, and a wish to adopt wholesome actions and avoid unwholesome ones. So we should accept it in the knowledge that it spurs us on to virtue.

Suffering subdues our pride, takes away the sting of envy, overcomes the strength of desire and attachment, and leads us on towards accomplishment. So we should accept it with the view that it is an embellishment of the mind.

The patience of disregarding the harm done to us by others can be cultivated for the following three reasons:

By seeing those who harm us as objects for compassion: If we think how deluded sentient beings will inflict harm even on themselves through the influence of their disturbing emotions, is it any wonder that they do so to others?

By putting all the blame on ourselves: Consider how all the harm that is done to us now must come from our own past karma and how we are conducting ourselves in the immediate situation.

By thinking that it is only with the help of our enemies that we can gain the merit of practising patience, which in turn becomes a support for bodhisattva activity. In this way, we can consider enemies as friends who actually bring us benefit.

Patience can be cultivated by contemplating with certainty the profound teachings in the following three ways:

Considering the ultimate truth of emptiness, beyond any conceptual elaboration, we can cultivate patience by reflecting on how the harm that is done to us and the one who is doing the harm are both lacking in any true reality.

Considering the relative truth of magical dependent origination, we can cultivate patience by realizing how neither the harm-doer nor the suffering itself is independent.

Considering the inseparable unity of the nature of mind, we can cultivate patience by recognizing our anger to be pure and lacking any basis or origin.

4. The Paramita of Diligence

In this there are two sections: (i) overcoming factors incompatible with diligence, namely the three kinds of laziness, and (ii) cultivating conducive factors, i.e., the six forces.

i. Overcoming Incompatible Factors
Spurred on by the hook of impermanence, we can overcome the laziness of inactivity.
The laziness of attachment to negative behaviour can be overcome by thinking about the joys of the sacred Dharma.
The laziness of self-discouragement can be overcome by encouraging ourselves and bolstering our self-confidence.
ii. Cultivating Conducive Factors

1. The preparation, which is the force of aspiration, is an aspiration to practise the Dharma that comes from reflecting on the benefits of virtue and the faults of harmful actions.

2. The main part, which is the force of self-confidence, is the stable commitment, born of strength of heart, ensuring that once a virtuous act is begun, it will reach completion. This has three aspects:

(a) The first is the self-confidence of action. Take the example of the sun rising over the earth: this indicates how we should avoid falling prey to obstacles or being affected by circumstances. Take the example of the sun moving alone: this indicates how we should defeat the forces of Mara by ourselves, without relying on others, and in so doing, accomplish perfect enlightenment. Finally, as in the example of the sun shining its light on the whole world, having been blessed by the wisdom, compassion and aspirations of the bodhisattvas, we ourselves can sustain the lives of beings. In other words, we earnestly strive to bring about the welfare of living beings everywhere, throughout the whole infinity of space.

(b) The self-confidence of capacity means considering ourselves to be of superior capacity, and vowing not to be stained by any downfall, great or small.

(c) Self-confidence in the face of negative emotions means regarding negative emotions as insignificant and disregarding adversity.

3. The force of special joy means practising virtue with joyful enthusiasm, but without any expectation of a positive result, celebrating all the good things that we do.

4. The force of moderation means to clear away hindrances by resting for a while whenever we are physically tired or disheartened, in order to continue with renewed vigour shortly thereafter.

5. The force of sincere application means to overcome what is to be abandoned, devoting ourselves to the vanquishing of the disturbing emotions by employing mindfulness and vigilance.

6. The force of mastery means to train ourselves in all disciplines, remembering the advice about conscientiousness, and maintaining control over our own body, speech and mind.

5. The Paramita of Meditative Concentration

This has two parts: (i) abandoning factors that are not conducive to concentration and (ii) working with the objects of shamatha meditation.

i. Abandoning Adverse Factors

In the first part, giving up adverse factors, there are two subsections: (a) giving up mundane concerns, and (b) letting go of discursive thought.

(a) Giving up Mundane Concerns
As regards renouncing mundane concerns, our mind will never settle into a state of one-pointed absorption as long as it is under the sway of attachment to parents, relatives and friends or attendants. So we must give up all our habitual preoccupations and busyness, and remain alone in an isolated place suitable for meditation.

Being attached to rewards and honours, praise or good reputation, or trifling necessities and then pursuing them will only obstruct the authentic path, so we must cut through any expectations and anxieties about such things, and train in being content with whatever comes our way.

(b) Letting Go of Discursive Thought
Even though we may be in an isolated place, not seeking possessions and such like to any great extent, if our mind falls under the power of desire, a genuine state of meditative concentration will not arise in our being, and our mind will be unable to rest in a state of absorption. Therefore thoughts of desire must be given up. To turn our thoughts away from attachment to desirable things is particularly important for gaining the special higher levels of concentration, so we should certainly turn the mind away from craving after members of the opposite sex by reflecting on the cause, the fact that they are not easy to obtain; their nature, which is impure; and the result, which involves a lot of harm, and so on.

Moreover, we must understand that the eight worldly concerns and all thoughts of the present life are our real enemies. We must reflect, therefore, at some length on the problems caused by negative thoughts of desire, and, generating a sense of inner dignity, make heartfelt efforts to abandon them, no matter how many may arise.

ii. Focusing on the Objects of Practice

As regards the main practice of meditative concentration, there are many methods for meditation, but here the practice is to cultivate bodhichitta. This has two aspects: (a) the meditation on equalizing oneself and others, and (b) the meditation on exchanging oneself for others.

(a) Equalizing Oneself and Others
We must recognize how unreasonable it is that we care only for ourselves and not for others, since we are the same as others in wanting happiness and not wanting suffering. Meditate therefore on the equality of oneself and others.

As it is said:
The thought of the equality of oneself and others
Is to be cultivated in the beginning with exertion.
Since we are all equal in terms of happiness and suffering,
We should care for everyone as we do ourselves.[7]
As this states, in the beginning meditate on the bodhichitta of equalizing oneself and others. This is done in the following way:

Sentient beings are as infinite as space itself, and yet there is not a single one who has not been our own father or mother or dear friend. As the master Nagarjuna said:
If each mother in the lineage of mothers
Were considered as a ball the size of a juniper seed,
The whole earth could not contain their number.[8]
With such quotations and through reasoning, we can determine that all sentient beings have been our close relations.

Then whenever we experience happiness, we can cultivate this thought from the depths of your heart: “May all beings find such happiness and its causes!” And likewise, whenever we experience suffering, we can cultivate the following wish from the very core of our bones: “May I and all beings be free from suffering and its causes!”

At this stage, it is possible that an obstacle might arise in our thoughts; we might develop a shravaka’s attitude, thinking: “I will dispel my own suffering, without expecting anything from others, but I will not work to dispel the suffering of others.” Yet as the Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva says:
Why guard against future pain,
If it does not harm me now? (VIII, 97)
As it says, why do we exert ourselves acquiring good health, food, clothing and so on for the future? We are actually ceasing every moment, and in the next moment we become an “other”. At this point, due to the habit of ignorance, we may think that the future one is also us, but that would simply be delusion. It is just as the Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva says:
“But I will be the one who suffers,”
You say, but it’s wrong to think this way.
This “I” will presently cease to be,
And later, another will be born. (VIII, 98)
For instance, foolish people think, “These are the rapids in which I lost my coat last year,” or,” This is the river I crossed yesterday,” but the water of last year that swept away the coat is “other” than the water of the present, and the water forded yesterday is also different. In exactly the same way, the mind of the past is not us and the future mind is not us either, but something different.

At this point we might think: “Well, the future mind is not the present ‘me’ but it is a continuation of my mind, so I will work for my own welfare!” In that case, we should act for the welfare of others with the idea that although other sentient beings are not us, they are our sentient beings.

If we think: “Everybody should work for his or her own welfare, just as they would shake the snow from their own heads,[9] but it is not possible for everyone to help each other,” then consider this from the Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva:
The pain felt in the foot is not the hand’s,
So why, in fact, does one protect the other? (VIII, 99)
As it says, why does the hand remove the painful thorn from the foot? It is the same with the hand and dust that is in the eye, or parents helping their son, or the hand putting food into the mouth. It would follow that they must all be doing this for their own benefit.

In short, if there were no collaboration with everyone working for the sake of others, and instead everyone were only to operate in their own interest, then it would be extremely difficult for anything ever to be accomplished. Therefore, with this understanding, we should act for the benefit of sentient beings.

(b) Exchanging Oneself and Others
Secondly, there is the meditation on the bodhichitta of exchanging oneself and others.

The Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva says:
If I do not give away my happiness,
In exchange for others’ suffering,
Buddhahood will never be attained,
And even in samsara, I’ll find no joy. (VIII, 131)
As it says, we must give away our own happiness to sentient beings and take their sufferings upon ourselves. As for the visualization, it also says:
Put yourself in the position of an inferior and so on,
Then regard your self as if it were someone other,
And, with a mind devoid of any other thought,
Cultivate feelings of envy, rivalry and pride. (VIII, 140)
The meaning of this is as follows:

In the first meditation, the ‘other’ is someone in a position lower than ourselves, for whom we are someone of higher status. From the point of view of this less privileged other, we practise feeling envious of our superior selves. When we have finished the meditation, the following feeling will arise:

“Look how even in a practice like this, if I am the superior one and others are inferior, to feel envious causes such distress! What is the point of envying others?” With this, our envy will subside.

Similarly, there is a meditation of rivalry focusing on those of equal standing to ourselves. In this, we take the position of an ‘other’ of similar status to ourselves, and from their point of view consider ourselves as an opponent. Then, as the other, we cultivate an attitude of rivalry towards ourselves from every possible angle. When we let go of this meditation, the following feeling will arise:

“If considering myself as an enemy and imagining the malicious and competitive attitude of others causes such distress, then what is the point of wishing harm upon others and feeling rivalry?” With this, our rivalry will naturally be pacified.

Again, following the same principle, there is a practice of cultivating pride, in which we are in the position of an inferior, and the other is our superior. As the superior other, we cultivate feelings of pride based on our superior family, better education and so on. When we finish the meditation, we will think, “If considering the arrogance others feel towards me creates this much distress, then how can I feel arrogance towards others?” With this, our arrogance will be naturally pacified.

We can practise these by following the detailed descriptions given in the Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva itself.

If we are unable to do these meditations, and we would like to do a brief form of the practice, we can consider this quotation from the Precious Garland:
May their misdeeds ripen on me,
And all my virtues ripen on them.
As long as any sentient being
Anywhere has not been liberated,
May I remain for the sake of that being
Even if I have attained unsurpassed enlightenment.

If the merit of saying this
Had form, it could never be contained
In worlds as vast in number
As the sand grains of the Ganges.

This was stated by the Buddha,
And it is also apparent through reasoning.[10]
And the Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva says:
May the pains of living beings
All ripen wholly on myself.
And may the bodhisattva sangha
Bring about the happiness of all. (X, 56)
We can meditate on the meaning of these quotes, and even recite them aloud if we wish. This way of meditating on equalizing and exchanging oneself and others is similar to the methods found in the writings of Sakya Pandita. Although it is slightly different from what we find in most commentaries, we can practise in whichever way seems best suited to our minds.

6. The Paramita of Wisdom

Wisdom is firstly identified and then it is applied to the topic of selflessness.

i. Identifying Wisdom

Firstly, wisdom is identified as the recognition during the formal meditation session that all phenomena are empty, and the knowledge during the post-meditation phase that all phenomena are unreal, like a magical illusion or a dream.

ii. Applying Wisdom to Selflessness

Secondly, this wisdom is applied to the topic of selflessness. In this there are two meditations: one on the selflessness of the individual, and one on the absence of ‘self’ in phenomena.

Selflessness of the Individual
In the first, we consider how foolish people label the one who accumulates karmic actions and experiences their results as a self, an individual, a person or a sentient being. We must ask ourselves whether such labels apply to the body, speech and mind or something different? To what is inanimate or animate? To what is permanent or impermanent? and so on.

By investigating along these lines, we will come to the conclusion that although we cling to a “self” where there is no self and an “other” where there is no other, this is due to the power of mind’s delusion, and in fact there is no such thing as a “self” or a “sentient being” that is established from the side of things themselves.

The Absence of ‘Self’ in Phenomena
Secondly, when it comes to the selflessness of phenomena, there are the four applications of mindfulness.

(i) Application of Mindfulness to the Body
All phenomena of appearance and existence—samsara and nirvana—are simply appearances arising in our own mind, and do not have the slightest existence apart from that which we attribute to them with our minds. This very mind also depends on the body, and so we should investigate the physical body by asking questions, such as:
Is what we call the “body” the same as or different from the assembly of its parts?
Where does the body originate?
Where does it remain?
Where does it go in the end?
Finally, we should rest evenly in meditation on the theme of the body’s unreality.

Whenever we experience physical desire or attachment, we must meditate upon the impurity and ‘illusoriness’ of our own and others’ bodies, and we will overcome attachment towards the physical body.

(ii) Application of Mindfulness to Feelings
Feelings of pleasure and pain are the basis for negative states of mind such as craving and attachment, so we must investigate whether they are the same as or different from the mind and so on. Meditate on the unreality of feelings, and consider how all other [i.e., neutral] feelings[11] are ultimately suffering, without essence and so on.

(iii) Application of Mindfulness to the Mind
Consider the mind that is made up of the ‘six collections of consciousness,’ and investigate whether this stream of consciousness, appearing in various aspects—earlier and later moments, positive and negative states and so on—is a single thing or several different things. Consider whether all these various states of mind that appear—like and dislike, faith and lack of faith, states in accord with the Dharma and not in accord with the Dharma, happiness and sadness, attachment and aversion, and so on—are the same or different. If we decide that they are one, consider what the cause could be for a single mind appearing in several modes, such as happy, sad, desirous, angry and so on. If we think that these states arise due to temporary circumstances, then consider what mind is like in its essence, when it is not even slightly affected by conditions and not in contact with any object. Is it existent? Or is it non-existent? Is it permanent? Or impermanent? Analyze the mind again and again with thoughts such as these, and arrive at the certain conviction that mind is without basis or origin.

(iv) Application of Mindfulness to Phenomena
Recognize with certainty how all phenomena other than the body, feelings and the mind—everything included within the three categories of perceptions, formations and the unconditioned— also arise through the interdependence of causes and conditions, and are therefore lacking in true reality. Know them to be simply emptiness beyond every kind of conceptual elaboration.

4. THE RESULT OF PRACTISING IN THAT WAY
By seeing the relative to be a mere display like a magical illusion or the experiences of a dream, we will train in vast enlightened activity in which the seven kinds of attachment[12] are relinquished. And with the understanding that on the ultimate level all things and events lack even so much as an atom’s worth of true existence, we will take this practice to heart without becoming attached to anything whatsoever.

May the Dharma, suffering’s only cure,
And the source of all real happiness,
Always be valued and respected,
And remain long into the future![13]

This was spoken by Ragged Abu.

May all be virtuous and auspicious!

| Translated by Adam. Revised and updated August 2007.


[1] Bodhicharyavatara, I, 1.
[2] Abhisamayalankara, I, 18.
[3] Patrul Rinpoche expects his audience to be familiar with the Bodhicharyavatara, or to be reading it together with this text. Whenever he quotes from Shantideva’s work he gives only the first few syllables of a verse. For this translation however we have given the verses in their entirety.
[4] The eight types of offering are real things which includes (i) one’s own possessions, (ii) things that are unowned, and (iii) and one’s own body; offerings created through one’s imagination including (iv) a ceremonial bath, and (v) pleasant substances; (vi) offerings made through the power of aspiration; (vii) unsurpassable offering; and (viii) melodious praise.
[5] Zenkar Rinpoche gives the example of misusing our intelligence when we reflect on how all sentient beings have been our fathers and mothers in the past. By thinking about this in the wrong way we might decide that all beings have harmed us in the past and so they are all our enemies! That would be using our intelligence in the wrong way.
[6] These reasons are given in Bodhicharyavatara, VI, 21
[7] Bodhicharyavatara, VIII, 90.
[8] Suhrllekha, verse 68.
[9] Zenkar Rinpoche says a modern analogy for this would be clearing the snow from our own driveway, but not from anyone else’s.
[10] For an alternative translation, see Hopkins, J. Buddhist Advice for Living and Liberation, Snow Lion, p.162
[11] According to Zenkar Rinpoche, this means neutral feelings. They are still suffering in the broadest sense, because they come under the category of the all-pervasive suffering of conditioned existence.
[12] According to Arya Asanga’s commentary on the Mahayanasutra-alamkara, where they are explained in connection with the paramita of generosity, the seven kinds of attachment are: (1) attachment to possessions, (2) postponing the practice, (3) being satisfied with just a little practice, (4) expectation of something in return, (5) karmic results, (6) adverse circumstances, and (7) distractions.
[13] Bodhicharyavatara, X, 57




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Projecting the Dharma: Film and the Transmission of Buddhism to the West

Watch Projecting the Dharma: Film and the Transmission of Buddhism to the West, a public talk given by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche at Yale Law School, New Haven, Connecticut on 25 January, 2008


Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche: Projecting the Dharma from Siddhartha's Intent on Vimeo.

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Heart Sutra Explained by Ven Sheng kai (Audio in chinese language)

This is a very concise explanation on Heart Sutra by Venerable Master Sheng Kai in Chinese Mandarin. Do take the time to listen to it frequently to understand the very profound Heart Sutra.



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All About Change

by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
(Article source)

Change is the focal point for Buddhist insight — a fact so well known that it has spawned a familiar sound bite: "Isn't change what Buddhism is all about?" What's less well known is that this focus has a frame, that change is neither where insight begins nor where it ends. Insight begins with a question that evaluates change in light of the desire for true happiness. It ends with a happiness that lies beyond change. When this frame is forgotten, people create their own contexts for the teaching and often assume that the Buddha was operating within those same contexts. Two of the contexts commonly attributed to the Buddha at present are these:

Insight into change teaches us to embrace our experiences without clinging to them — to get the most out of them in the present moment by fully appreciating their intensity, in full knowledge that we will soon have to let them go to embrace whatever comes next.

Insight into change teaches us hope. Because change is built into the nature of things, nothing is inherently fixed, not even our own identity. No matter how bad the situation, anything is possible. We can do whatever we want to do, create whatever world we want to live in, and become whatever we want to be.

The first of these interpretations offers wisdom on how to consume the pleasures of immediate, personal experience when you'd rather they not change; the second, on how to produce change when you want it. Although sometimes presented as complementary insights, these interpretations contain a practical conflict: If experiences are so fleeting and changeable, are they worth the effort needed to produce them? How can we find genuine hope in the prospect of positive change if we can't fully rest in the results when they arrive? Aren't we just setting ourselves up for disappointment?

(Photo source: flickr.com)

Or is this just one of the unavoidable paradoxes of life? Ancient folk wisdom from many cultures would suggest so, advising us that we should approach change with cautious joy and stoic equanimity: training ourselves to not to get attached to the results of our actions, and accepting without question the need to keep on producing fleeting pleasures as best we can, for the only alternative would be inaction and despair. This advice, too, is often attributed to the Buddha.

But the Buddha was not the sort of person to accept things without question. His wisdom lay in realizing that the effort that goes into the production of happiness is worthwhile only if the processes of change can be skillfully managed to arrive at a happiness resistant to change. Otherwise, we're life-long prisoners in a forced-labor camp, compelled to keep on producing pleasurable experiences to assuage our hunger, and yet finding them so empty of any real essence that they can never leave us full.

These realizations are implicit in the question that, according to the Buddha, lies at the beginning of insight:

"What, when I do it, will lead to my long-term well-being and happiness?"

This is a heartfelt question, motivated by the desire behind all conscious action: to attain levels of pleasure worthy of the effort that goes into them. It springs from the realization that life requires effort, and that if we aren't careful whole lifetimes can be lived in vain. This question, together with the realizations and desires behind it, provides the context for the Buddha's perspective on change. If we examine it closely, we find the seeds for all his insights into the production and consumption of change.

The first phrase in the question — "What, when I do it, will lead to ..." — focuses on the issues of production, on the potential effects of human action. Prior to his Awakening, the Buddha had left home and gone into the wilderness to explore precisely this issue: to see how far human action could go, and whether it could lead to a dimension beyond the reach of change. His Awakening was confirmation that it could — if developed to the appropriate level of skillfulness. He thus taught that there are four types of action, corresponding to four levels of skill: three that produce pleasant, unpleasant, and mixed experiences within the cycles of space and time; and a fourth that leads beyond action to a level of happiness transcending the dimensions of space and time, thus eliminating the need to produce any further happiness.

Because the activities of producing and consuming require space and time, a happiness transcending space and time, by its very nature, is neither produced nor consumed. Thus, when the Buddha reached that happiness and stepped outside the modes of producing and consuming, he was able to turn back and see exactly how pervasive a role these activities play in ordinary experience, and how imprisoning they normally are. He saw that our experience of the present is an activity — something fabricated or produced, moment to moment, from the raw material provided by past actions. We even fabricate our identity, our sense of who we are. At the same time, we try to consume any pleasure that can be found in what we've produced — although in our desire to consume pleasure, we often gobble down pain. With every moment, production and consumption are intertwined: We consume experiences as we produce them, and produce them as we consume. The way we consume our pleasures or pains can produce further pleasures or pains, now and into the future, depending on how skillful we are.

The three parts of the latter phrase in the Buddha's question — "my / long-term / well-being and happiness" — provide standards for gauging the level of our skill in approaching true pleasure or happiness. (The Pali word, here — sukha — can be translated as pleasure, happiness, ease, or bliss.) We apply these standards to the experiences we consume: if they aren't long-term, then no matter how pleasant they might be, they aren't true happiness. If they're not true happiness, there's no reason to claim them as "mine."

This insight forms the basis for the Three Characteristics that the Buddha taught for inducing a sense of dispassion for normal time- and space-bound experience. Anicca, the first of the three, is pivotal. Anicca applies to everything that changes. Often translated as "impermanent," it's actually the negative of nicca, which means constant or dependable. Everything that changes is inconstant. Now, the difference between "impermanent" and "inconstant" may seem semantic, but it's crucial to the way anicca functions in the Buddha's teachings. As the early texts state repeatedly, if something is anicca then the other two characteristics automatically follow: it's dukkha (stressful) and anatta (not-self), i.e., not worthy to be claimed as me or mine.

If we translate anicca as impermanent, the connection among these Three Characteristics might seem debatable. But if we translate it as inconstant, and consider the Three Characteristics in light of the Buddha's original question, the connection is clear. If you're seeking a dependable basis for long-term happiness and ease, anything inconstant is obviously a stressful place to pin your hopes — like trying to relax in an unstable chair whose legs are liable to break at any time. If you understand that your sense of self is something willed and fabricated — that you choose to create it — there's no compelling reason to keep creating a "me" or "mine" around any experience that's inconstant and stressful. You want something better. You don't want to make that experience the goal of your practice.

So what do you do with experiences that are inconstant and stressful? You could treat them as worthless and throw them away, but that would be wasteful. After all, you went to the trouble to fabricate them in the first place; and, as it turns out, the only way you can reach the goal is by utilizing experiences of just this sort. So you can learn how to use them as means to the goal; and the role they can play in serving that purpose is determined by the type of activity that went into producing them: the type that produces a pleasure conducive to the goal, or the type that doesn't. Those that do, the Buddha labeled the "path." These activities include acts of generosity, acts of virtue, and the practice of mental absorption, or concentration. Even though they fall under the Three Characteristics, these activities produce a sense of pleasure relatively stable and secure, more deeply gratifying and nourishing than the act of producing and consuming ordinary sensual pleasures. So if you're aiming at happiness within the cycles of change, you should look to generosity, virtue, and mental absorption to produce that happiness. But if you'd rather aim for a happiness going beyond change, these same activities can still help you by fostering the clarity of mind needed for Awakening. Either way, they're worth mastering as skills. They're your basic set of tools, so you want to keep them in good shape and ready to hand.

As for other pleasures and pains — such as those involved in sensual pursuits and in simply having a body and mind — these can serve as the objects you fashion with your tools, as raw materials for the discernment leading to Awakening. By carefully examining them in light of their Three Characteristics — to see exactly how they're inconstant, stressful, and not-self — you become less inclined to keep on producing and consuming them. You see that your addictive compulsion to fabricate them comes entirely from the hunger and ignorance embodied in states of passion, aversion, and delusion. When these realizations give rise to dispassion both for fabricated experiences and for the processes of fabrication, you enter the path of the fourth kind of kamma, leading to the Deathless.

This path contains two important turns. The first comes when all passion and aversion for sensual pleasures and pains has been abandoned, and your only remaining attachment is to the pleasure of concentration. At this point, you turn and examine the pleasure of concentration in terms of the same Three Characteristics you used to contemplate sensual experiences. The difficulty here is that you've come to rely so strongly on the solidity of your concentration that you'd rather not look for its drawbacks. At the same time, the inconstancy of a concentrated mind is much more subtle than that of sensual experiences. But once you overcome your unwillingness to look for that inconstancy, the day is sure to come when you detect it. And then the mind can be inclined to the Deathless.

That's where the second turn occurs. As the texts point out, when the mind encounters the Deathless it can treat it as a mind-object — a dhamma — and then produce a feeling of passion and delight for it. The fabricated sense of the self that's producing and consuming this passion and delight thus gets in the way of full Awakening. So at this point the logic of the Three Characteristics has to take a new turn. Their original logic — "Whatever is inconstant is stressful; whatever is stressful is not-self" — leaves open the possibility that whatever is constant could be (1) easeful and (2) self. The first possibility is in fact the case: whatever is constant is easeful; the Deathless is actually the ultimate ease. But the second possibility isn't a skillful way of regarding what's constant: if you latch onto what's constant as self, you're stuck on your attachment. To go beyond space and time, you have to go beyond fabricating the producing and consuming self, which is why the concluding insight of the path is: "All dhammas" — constant or not — "are not-self."

When this insight has done its work in overcoming any passion or delight for the Deathless, full Awakening occurs. And at that point, even the path is relinquished, and the Deathless remains, although no longer as an object of the mind. It's simply there, radically prior to and separate from the fabrication of space and time. All consuming and producing for the sake of your own happiness comes to an end, for a timeless well-being has been found. And because all mind-objects are abandoned in this happiness, questions of constant or inconstant, stress or ease, self or not-self are no longer an issue.

This, then, is the context of Buddhist insight into change: an approach that takes seriously both the potential effects of human effort and the basic human desire that effort not go to waste, that change have the potential to lead to a happiness beyond the reach of change. This insight is focused on developing the skills that lead to the production of genuine happiness. It employs the Three Characteristics — of inconstancy, stress, and not-self — not as abstract statements about existence, but as inducement for mastering those skills and as guidelines for measuring your progress along the way. When used in this way, the Three Characteristics lead to a happiness transcending the Three Characteristics, the activities of producing and consuming, and space and time as a whole.

When we understand this context for the Three Characteristics, we can clearly see the half-truths contained in the insights on the production and consumption of change that are commonly misattributed to the Buddha. With regard to production: Although it may be true that, with enough patience and persistence, we can produce just about anything, including an amazing array of self-identities, from the raw material of the present moment, the question is: what's worth producing? We've imprisoned ourselves with our obsession for producing and consuming changeable pleasures and changeable selves, and yet there's the possibility of using change to escape from this prison to the freedom of a happiness transcending time and space. Do we want to take advantage of that possibility, or would we rather spend our spare time blowing bubbles in the sunlight coming through our prison windows and trying to derive happiness from their swirling patterns before they burst?

This question ties in with wisdom on consumption: Getting the most out of our changing experiences doesn't mean embracing them or milking them of their intensity. Instead it means learning to approach the pleasures and pains they offer, not as fleeting ends in themselves, but as tools for Awakening. With every moment we're supplied with raw materials — some of them attractive, some of them not. Instead of embracing them in delight or throwing them away in disgust, we can learn how to use them to produce the keys that will unlock our prison doors.

And as for the wisdom of non-attachment to the results of our actions: in the Buddha's context, this notion can make sense only if we care deeply about the results of our actions and want to master the processes of cause and effect that lead to genuine freedom. In other words, we don't demand childishly that our actions — skillful or not — always result in immediate happiness, that everything we stick into the lock will automatically unlatch the door. If what we have done has been unskillful and led to undesirable results, we want to admit our mistakes and find out why they were mistakes so that we can learn how to correct them the next time around. Only when we have the patience to look objectively at the results of our actions will we be able to learn, by studying the keys that don't unlock the doors, how finally to make the right keys that do.

With this attitude we can make the most of the processes of change to develop the skill that releases us from the prison of endless producing and consuming. With release, we plunge into the freedom of a happiness so true that it transcends the terms of the original question that led us there. There's nothing further we have to do; our sense of "my" and "mine" is discarded; and even the "long-term," which implies time, is erased by the timeless. The happiness remaining lies radically beyond the range of our time- and space-bound conceptions of happiness. Totally independent of mind-objects, it's unadulterated and unalterable, unlimited and pure. As the texts tell us, it even lies beyond the range of "totality" and "the All."

And that's what Buddhist practice is all about.




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Buddhism in a Global Age of Technology

A distinguished scholar of Buddhism, Lewis Lancaster founded the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative to use the latest computer technology to map the spread of various strands of Buddhism from the distant past to the present. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion & Society" [6/2008] [Humanities] [Show ID: 14331]



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The Potter Ghatikara & Jotipala

MAJJHIMA NIKAAYA II

II. 4.1. Gha.tiikaarasutta.m
(81) The Potter Ghatikara

I heard thus.

At one time the Blessed One, was going on a tour in the country of Kosala, with a large community of bhikkhus. The Blessed One, coming to a certain region, stepped out of the path and smiled. Then it occurred to venerable Ananda. The Blessed One does not smile for nothing. Why did the Blessed One smile? Then venerable Ananda, arranging his robe on one shoulder, clasped his hands towards the Blessed One and said. ‘Venerable sir, for what reason did the Blessed One smile?’ ‘Ananda, in the past in this region, there was a chief village named Vebhalinga. It was very prosperous and highly populated. The perfect rightfully enlightened one Kassapa abode suppoted on this village. Ananda, the perfect rightfully enlightened one Kassapa sat here and adivsed the community of bhikkhus.’

Venerable Ananda folded the robe in four and placing it there said. ‘Then venerable sir, sit here, so that it would be partaken by two perfect rightfully enlightened ones.’ The Blessed One sat on it and addressed venerable Ananda. ‘In this chief village Vebhalinga there was a potter named Ghatikara the chief supporter of the Blessed One, and he had an apprentice named Jotipala, a young lovable man. Then the potter Ghatikara addressed the young man Jotipala. Friend, Jotipala, let us go and see the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect, and rightfully enlightened. It is good to see such enlightened ones. Ananda. When this was said, the young man Jotipala said thus: Friend, ghatikara, what use comes seeing these monkish shavellings. For the second time the potter Ghatikara said Friend, Jotipala, let us go and see the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect, and rightfully enlightened. It is good to see such enlightened ones.. For the third time the potter Ghatikara said Friend, Jotipala, let us go and see the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect, and rightfully enlightened. It is good to see such enlightened ones,--- For the third time the young man Jotipala saidFriend, Ghatikara, what use comes seeing these monkish shavellings.

Photo source: Flickr.com

Then friend Jotipala, take the soap powder and the brush and let’s go to the river, to bathe. To that he agreed and and they went to the river to bathe. At the river too the potter Ghatikara addressed the young man. Good friend, Jotipala, the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect and rightfully enlightened one’s monastery is close by. Let us go and see him, it is good to see such enlightened ones. When this was said, again the young man said, Friend, Ghatikara, what use comes seeing these monkish shavellings. Ananda, for the second and third time the young man Jotipala said this. Then the potter Ghatikara took hold of the young man Jotipala by his girdle and said again, Friend, Jotipala, let us go to see the Blessed one Kassapa, perfect, and rightfully enlightened. It is good to see such enlightened ones. The young man released himself from that hold and said, Friend, ghatikara, what use comes seeing these monkish shavellings. Then the potter Ghatikara, held the young man’s well washed hair and said. Good friend, Jotipala, the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect and rightfully enlightened one’s monastery is close by. Let us go and see him. It is good to see such enlightened ones. Ananda, then it occurred to the young man Jotipala, it is wonderful, how this potter Ghatikara should think to touch the washed hair of one of high birth like me. He does not think it should not be touched. Then he said. ‘Let it be your wish.’ ‘Good friend, Jotipala, let it be your wish too!Seeing, these perfect rightfully enlightened ones is good.’. .

Friend, Ghatikara loosen the hold and let us go now. Then Ananda, the potter Ghatikana and the young man Jotipala approached the monastery of the perfect, rightfully enlightened one, Kassapa. The potter Ghatikara worshipped the Blessed One and sat on a side, the young man Jotipala exchanged friendly greetings with the perfect rightfully enlightened Blessed One Kassapa and sat on a side. The potter Ghatikara said thus to the perfect, rightfully enlightened one Kassapa. ‘Venerable sir, this is my loveable friend and assistant, Jotipala, give him the Teaching.’. The Blessed One Kassapa perfect, rightfully enlightened one adviced, instructed incited and made the hearts light of the young man Jotipala and the potter Ghatikara. Then the two of them delighted and pleased got up from their seats, worshipped, circumambulated the Blessed One and went away.

Then the young man Jotipala said to the potter Ghatikara. ‘Friend, Ghatikara, you hear this Teaching, why don’t you leave the household and become a homeless?’

‘Friend, Jotipala, don’t you know, that I support my mother and father, who are blind and decayed?’

‘Then friend, Ghatikara I will leave the household and become a homeless.’

.The young man Jotipala and the potter Ghatikara approached the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect, rightfully enlightened, worshipped and sat on a side. Then the potter Ghatikara said thus to the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened. ‘Venerable sir, this is my loveable friend and assistant Jotipala, give him the going forth.’. The young man Jotipala received the going forth and the higher ordination from the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect, rightfully enlightened. Ananda, the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened two weeks after confering the higher ordination on the young man Jotipala, went on a tour to Benares, and gradually reached Benares.

Then, Ananda, the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened lived in Benares in the deer park in Isipatana. The king of Benares Kiki Kaasiraajaa heard, the Blessed One Kassapa perfect, rightfully enlightened has arrived in Benares and he got good conveyances arranged for himself, and came to see the Blessed One Kassapa in all royal splendour. Covering as far as the conveyances could go, he approached the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened on foot. Worshipped the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened and sat on a side. The Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened, advised, instructed, incited and made the heart light of the king of Benares, Kiki Kaasiraajaa. Then the delighted and pleased king invited the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened for the next day’s meal together with the community of bhikkhus. The Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened, accepted the invitation in silence. Then king Kiki Kaasiraajaa knowing that the Blessed One Kassapa had accepted the invitation got up from his seat worshipped and circumambulated the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened and went away. King Kiki Kaasiraajaa in his palace made preparations of various nourishing eatables and drinks, with cooked rice with the fine rice of the colour pale yellow with the dark seeds picked and informed the Blessed One: Venerable sir, the meal is ready, and it's time for the meal.

Then Ananda, the Blessed One Kassapa putting on robes in the morning and taking bowl and robes, together with the Community of bhikkhus approached the palace of king Kiki Kaasiraajaa and sat on the seats prepared. The king served and satisfied the Blessed One Kassapa perfect, rightfully enlightened and the community of bhikkhus with his own hands. When the meal was over and the bowl was put away. KingKikiKaasiraajaatook a low seat and siting said thus to the Blessed One: Venerable sir, may the Blessed One accept to spend the rains in Benares, I will attend on the Blessed One and the community in this manner. The Blessed One Kassapa perfect and rightfully enlightened said I have already accepted to spend the rains. King Kiki Kaasiraajaa entreated the Blessed One up to the third time and the Blessed One Kassapa said I have already accepted to spend the rains. Then king Kiki Kaasiraajaa was displeased and unpleasant, thinking, the Blessed One Kassapa perfect rightfully enlightened does not accept my invitation. He asked the Blessed One Kassapa.Venerable sir, is there some other enticing supporter? Great king, in the chief village, Vebhalinga there is a potter named Ghatikara, he is my chief supporter. To you, great king there is a change in the mind (* and displeasure thinking the Blessed One Kassapa does not accept my invitation to spend the rains in Benares. To the potter Ghatikara, such a thing does not happen, and will not happen. Great king, the potter Ghatikara has taken refuge in the enlightenment, in the Teaching and the Community of bhikkhus. Abstains from destroying life, abstains from taking what is not given, abstains from misbehaviour in sexuality, abstains from telling lies and abstains from intoxicating drinks. Great king, the potter Ghatikara has unwavering faith in Enlightenment, in the Teaching and the Community of bhikkhus. Is endowed with the virtues of the noble ones. Great king, the potter Ghatiara has overcome doubts about unpleasantness, about the arising of unpleasantness, about the cessation of unpleasantness and the path to the cessation of unpleasantness. Great king, the potter Ghatikara takes one meal per day, is virtuous and leads a holy life. Great king, he has put aside gold and gems, soverign gold and silver. He does not till the ground with a mammoty or with his hand. He puts rats, mice and dogs into a box in a friendly manner and puts the left overs of rice, green grams or chick peas into it and leaves them saying take away whatever you wish. Great king, the potter Ghatikara supports his blind decayed mother and father. Great king, the potter Ghatikara has destroyed the five lower bonds to the sensual world, is born spontaneously, will not proceed from that world and will extinguish in that same birth.

Great king, at one time I lived in the chief village Vebhalinga, then in the morning I put on robes and taking bowl and robes approached the mother and father of the potter Ghatikara, and told them. ‘Now, where has this good one gone?’ ‘Venerable sir, your supporter has gone out. Venerable sir, take the cooked rice from the pot and soups and curries and partake of the food.’ ‘Then great king I take the cooked rice from the pot and soups and curries, partake of the food and go away. Then, great king, the potter Ghatikara would approach his mother and father and would ask: Who is it that came, took the rice from the pot and the soups and curries, partaking them, got up from the seat and has gone away?’ ‘Dear one, it is the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect and rightfully enlightened that took the rice from the pot and the soups and curries and partaking them, getting up from the seat has gone away.’ ‘Then it occurs to the potter Ghatikara, it is great gain for me, that the Blessed One, perfect and rightfully enlightened has taken me into such confidence. That pleasant joy would not leave him for two weeks, and for the mother and father it lasted one week.

Great king, at one time I lived in the chief village Vebhalinga, then in the morning I put on robes and taking bowl and robes approached the mother and father of the potter Ghatikaara, and told them.. Now, where has this good one gone?’ ‘Venerable sir, your supporter has gone out. Venerable sir, take the bread from the caldron and soups and curries and partake of the food.’ ‘Then great king I take the bread from thecaldronand soups and curries, partake of the food and go away. Then, great king, the potter Ghatikaara would approach his mother and father and would ask: Who is it that came, took the bread from the caldron and the soups and curries, partaking them, got up from the seat and has gone away?’ ‘Dear one, it is the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect rightfully enlightened that took the bread from the caldron and the soups and curries partakingthem, getting up from the seat has gone.’ ‘Then it occurred to the potter Ghatikara, it isgreat gain for me, that the Blessed One, perfect rightfully enlightened has taken me into such confidence. That pleasant joy would not leave him for two weeks, and for the mother and father it lasted one week.

Great king, at one time I lived in the chief village Vebhalinga, at that time my perfumed chamber was leaking, then I addressed the bhikkhus: Bhikkhus, do you know,the grassin the potter Ghatikara’s house? Go! bring them. Great king, when this was said, the bhikkhus said. ‘Venerable sir, there is no grass in the potter Ghatikara’s house. There is his thatched roof of grass.’Then I said, ‘Go bhikkhus, bring the grass of the thatched roof of the potter Ghatikara’s house.’ Then the bhikkhus removed the grass from the thatched roof of the potter Ghatikara’s house. Then great king, the mother and father of the potter Ghatikara said.’ ‘Who is it that removes the grass from the roof?’ ‘Sister, it is the bhikkhus, the Blessed One perfect rightfully enlightened one’s perfumed chamber is leaking.’ ‘Take them! Good ones, you speak good words.’ Then great king, the potter Ghatikara coming home approached his mother and father and asked. ‘Who removed the grass from the roof?’‘It’s the bhikkhus, dear one, the roof of the perfumed chamber of the Blessed One Kassapa, perfect and rightfully enlightened one is leaking.’ Then it occurred to the potter Ghatikara. It is great gain for me, that the Blessed One perfect and rightfully enlightened has taken me into such confidence. That pleasant joy would not leave him for two weeks, and for the mother and father it lasted one week. Then that house stood roofless for three months and it did not rain. Great king, the potter Ghatikara is such a one.’

‘Venerable sir, it is great gain for the potter Ghatikaarathatthe Blessed One spend the rains in this manner.’

‘Then Ananda, king Kiki Kaasiraajaa sent about five hundred cart loads of pale yellow coloured, fine rice, and as much accompanying necessary things for them to the potter Ghatikaara. The royal messenges approached the potter Ghatikaara and said Good sir, these five hundred cart loads of pale yellow coloured fine rice, and as much accompanying necessary things are sent to you by king Kiki Kaasiraajaaaccept them. The king has much work to do, it may be to me from the king.’

Ananda, it might occur to you. ‘Did this young man Jotipala attain perfection then?’. ‘It should not be thought in that manner. I was Jotipala at that time.’

The Blessed One said thus and venerable Ananda delighted in the words of the Blessed One.’

Notes:

(*) A change in the mind ‘ na bhagavaa vassa.m adhivaaseti atthi a~n~nathatta.matthi domaanassa.m’ The change in the mind is, the mind feeling unpleasant instantly. It happened to the king, when the Blessed One Kassapa would not accept to spend the rains in his kingdom


Text source: http://zencomp.com/greatwisdom/ebud/majjhima/081-ghatikara-e1.htm



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Canki Sutta With Canki (excerpt)

A pompous brahman teenager questions the Buddha about safeguarding, awakening to, and attaining the truth. In the course of his answer, the Buddha describes the criteria for choosing a reliable teacher and how best to learn from such a person.

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Canki Sutta With Canki (excerpt)
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
(Text Source: www.accesstoinsight.org

... Now at that time the Blessed One was sitting & exchanging courtesies & conversation with some very senior brahmans. It so happened that a brahman student named Kapadika was seated in the assembly: young, shaven-headed, sixteen years old, a master of the Three Vedas with their vocabularies, liturgy, phonology, & etymologies, and the histories as a fifth; skilled in philology & grammar, well-versed in cosmology & the marks of a great man. While the very senior brahmans were conversing with the Blessed One, he kept breaking in & interrupting their talk. So the Blessed One scolded him, "Venerable Bharadvaja, don't break in & interrupt while the very senior brahmans are conversing. Wait until they are finished talking."

When this was said, the brahman Canki said to the Blessed One, "Master Gotama, don't scold the brahman student Kapadika. He is a clansman, learned, wise, with good delivery. He is capable of taking part in this discussion with Master Gotama."

Then the thought occurred to the Blessed One, "Yes, this brahman student Kapadika must be accomplished in the texts of the Three Vedas, inasmuch as the brahmans honor him so."

Then the thought occurred to Kapadika, "When Gotama the contemplative meets my gaze with his, I will ask him a question."

And so the Blessed One, encompassing Kapadika's awareness with his awareness, met his gaze. Kapadika thought, "Gotama the contemplative has turned to me. Suppose I ask him a question." So he said to the Blessed One, "Master Gotama, with regard to the ancient hymns of the brahmans — passed down through oral transmission & included in their canon — the brahmans have come to the definite conclusion that "Only this is true; anything else is worthless." What does Master Gotama have to say to this?"

"Tell me, Bharadvaja, is there among the brahmans even one brahman who says, 'This I know; this I see; only this is true; anything else is worthless?'"

"No, Master Gotama."

"And has there been among the brahmans even one teacher or teacher's teacher back through seven generations who said, 'This I know; this I see; only this is true; anything else is worthless?'"

"No, Master Gotama."

"And among the brahman seers of the past, the creators of the hymns, the composers of the hymns — those ancient hymns, sung, repeated, & collected, which brahmans at present still sing, still chant, repeating what was said, repeating what was spoken — i.e., Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa & Bhagu: was there even one of these who said, 'This we know; this we see; only this is true; anything else is worthless?'"

"No, Master Gotama."

"So then, Bharadvaja, it seems that there isn't among the brahmans even one brahman who says, 'This I know; this I see; only this is true; anything else is worthless.' And there hasn't been among the brahmans even one teacher or teacher's teacher back through seven generations who said, 'This I know; this I see; only this is true; anything else is worthless.' And there hasn't been among the brahman seers of the past, the creators of the hymns, the composers of the hymns... even one who said, 'This we know; this we see; only this is true; anything else is worthless.' Suppose there were a row of blind men, each holding on to the one in front of him: the first one doesn't see, the middle one doesn't see, the last one doesn't see. In the same way, the statement of the brahmans turns out to be a row of blind men, as it were: the first one doesn't see, the middle one doesn't see, the last one doesn't see. So what do you think, Bharadvaja: this being the case, doesn't the conviction of the brahmans turn out to be groundless?"

"It's not only out of conviction, Master Gotama, that the brahmans honor this. They also honor it as unbroken tradition."

"Bharadvaja, first you went by conviction. Now you speak of unbroken tradition. There are five things that can turn out in two ways in the here-&-now. Which five? Conviction, liking, unbroken tradition, reasoning by analogy, & an agreement through pondering views. These are the five things that can turn out in two ways in the here-&-now. Now some things are firmly held in conviction and yet vain, empty, & false. Some things are not firmly held in conviction, and yet they are genuine, factual, & unmistaken. Some things are well-liked... truly an unbroken tradition... well-reasoned... Some things are well-pondered and yet vain, empty, & false. Some things are not well-pondered, and yet they are genuine, factual, & unmistaken. In these cases it isn't proper for a knowledgeable person who safeguards the truth to come to a definite conclusion, 'Only this is true; anything else is worthless."

"But to what extent, Master Gotama, is there the safeguarding of the truth? To what extent does one safeguard the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the safeguarding of the truth."

"If a person has conviction, his statement, 'This is my conviction,' safeguards the truth. But he doesn't yet come to the definite conclusion that 'Only this is true; anything else is worthless.' To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is the safeguarding of the truth. To this extent one safeguards the truth. I describe this as the safeguarding of the truth. But it is not yet an awakening to the truth.

"If a person likes something... holds an unbroken tradition... has something reasoned through analogy... has something he agrees to, having pondered views, his statement, 'This is what I agree to, having pondered views,' safeguards the truth. But he doesn't yet come to the definite conclusion that 'Only this is true; anything else is worthless.' To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is the safeguarding of the truth. To this extent one safeguards the truth. I describe this as the safeguarding of the truth. But it is not yet an awakening to the truth.

"Yes, Master Gotama, to this extent there is the safeguarding of the truth. To this extent one safeguards the truth. We regard this as the safeguarding of the truth. But to what extent is there an awakening to the truth? To what extent does one awaken to the truth? We ask Master Gotama about awakening to the truth."

"There is the case, Bharadvaja, where a monk lives in dependence on a certain village or town. Then a householder or householder's son goes to him and observes him with regard to three mental qualities — qualities based on greed, qualities based on aversion, qualities based on delusion: 'Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on greed that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, "I know," while not knowing, or say, "I see," while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?' As he observes him, he comes to know, 'There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on greed... His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not greedy. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can't easily be taught by a person who's greedy.

When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on greed, he next observes him with regard to qualities based on aversion: 'Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on aversion that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, "I know," while not knowing, or say, "I see," while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?' As he observes him, he comes to know, 'There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on aversion... His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not aversive. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can't easily be taught by a person who's aversive.

When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on aversion, he next observes him with regard to qualities based on delusion: 'Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on delusion that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, "I know," while not knowing, or say, "I see," while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?' As he observes him, he comes to know, 'There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on delusion... His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not deluded. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can't easily be taught by a person who's deluded.

When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on delusion, he places conviction in him. With the arising of conviction, he visits him & grows close to him. Growing close to him, he lends ear. Lending ear, he hears the Dhamma. Hearing the Dhamma, he remembers it. Remembering it, he penetrates the meaning of those dhammas. Penetrating the meaning, he comes to an agreement through pondering those dhammas. There being an agreement through pondering those dhammas, desire arises. With the arising of desire, he becomes willing. Willing, he contemplates (lit: "weighs," "compares"). Contemplating, he makes an exertion. Exerting himself, he both realizes the ultimate meaning of the truth with his body and sees by penetrating it with discernment.

"To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. I describe this as an awakening to the truth. But it is not yet the final attainment of the truth.

"Yes, Master Gotama, to this extent there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. We regard this as an awakening to the truth. But to what extent is there the final attainment of the truth? To what extent does one finally attain the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the final attainment of the truth."

"The cultivation, development, & pursuit of those very same qualities: to this extent, Bharadvaja, there is the final attainment of the truth. To this extent one finally attains the truth. I describe this as the final attainment of the truth."

"Yes, Master Gotama, to this extent there is the final attainment of the truth. To this extent one finally attains the truth. We regard this as the final attainment of the truth. But what quality is most helpful for the final attainment of the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the quality most helpful for the final attainment of the truth."

"Exertion is most helpful for the final attainment of the truth, Bharadvaja. If one didn't make an exertion, one wouldn't finally attain the truth. Because one makes an exertion, one finally attains the truth. Therefore, exertion is most helpful for the final attainment of the truth."

"But what quality is most helpful for exertion? We ask Master Gotama about the quality most helpful for exertion."

"Contemplating is most helpful for exertion, Bharadvaja. If one didn't contemplate, one wouldn't make an exertion. Because one contemplates, one makes an exertion. Therefore, contemplating is most helpful for exertion."

"But what quality is most helpful for contemplating?..."

"Being willing... If one weren't willing, one wouldn't contemplate..."

"But what quality is most helpful for being willing?..."

"Desire... If desire didn't arise, one wouldn't be willing..."

"But what quality is most helpful for desire?..."

"Coming to an agreement through pondering dhammas... If one didn't come to an agreement through pondering dhammas, desire wouldn't arise..."

"But what quality is most helpful for coming to an agreement through pondering dhammas?..."

"Penetrating the meaning... If one didn't penetrate the meaning, one wouldn't come to an agreement through pondering dhammas..."

"But what quality is most helpful for penetrating the meaning?..."

"Remembering the Dhamma... If one didn't remember the Dhamma, one wouldn't penetrate the meaning..."

"But what quality is most helpful for remembering the Dhamma?... "

"Hearing the Dhamma... If one didn't hear the Dhamma, one wouldn't remember the Dhamma..."

"But what quality is most helpful for hearing the Dhamma?... "

"Lending ear... If one didn't lend ear, one wouldn't hear the Dhamma..."

"But what quality is most helpful for lending ear?... "

"Growing close... If one didn't grow close, one wouldn't lend ear..."

"But what quality is most helpful for growing close?... "

"Visiting... If one didn't visit, one wouldn't grow close..."

"But what quality is most helpful for visiting? We ask Master Gotama about the quality most helpful for visiting."

"Conviction is most helpful for visiting, Bharadvaja. If conviction [in a person] didn't arise, one wouldn't visit [that person]. Because conviction arises, one visits. Therefore, conviction is most helpful for visiting."

"We have asked Master Gotama about safeguarding the truth, and Master Gotama has answered about safeguarding the truth. We like that & agree with that,1 and so we are gratified. We have asked Master Gotama about awakening to the truth, and Master Gotama has answered about awakening to the truth. We like that & agree with that, and so we are gratified. We have asked Master Gotama about finally attaining the truth, and Master Gotama has answered about finally attaining the truth. We like that & agree with that, and so we are gratified. We have asked Master Gotama about the quality most helpful for finally attaining the truth, and Master Gotama has answered about the quality most helpful for finally attaining the truth. We like that & agree with that, and so we are gratified. Whatever we have asked Master Gotama, Master Gotama has answered it. We like that & agree with that, and so we are gratified.

"We used to think, 'Who are these bald-headed "contemplatives," these menial, dark offspring of [Brahma] the Kinsman's feet?2 Who are they to know the Dhamma?' But now Master Gotama has inspired within us a contemplative-love for contemplatives, a contemplative-confidence in contemplatives, a contemplative-respect for contemplatives. Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to point out the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama — through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to Master Gotama for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the community of monks. May Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forward, for life."

Notes

1. Notice that Kapadika is careful to safeguard the truth in the way he expresses his approval for the Buddha's teachings.

2. The brahmans regarded Brahma as their original ancestor, and so called him their "Kinsman." The commentary notes that they regarded themselves as born from his mouth, while other castes were born from lower parts of his body, down to contemplatives (samana), who they said were born from his feet.

PTS: M ii 64
Source: Transcribed from a file provided by the translator.
Copyright © 1999 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Access to Insight edition © 1999
For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted, reprinted, and redistributed in any medium. It is the author's wish, however, that any such republication and redistribution be made available to the public on a free and unrestricted basis and that translations and other derivative works be clearly marked as such.



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Awakening in the Body

By Phillip Moffitt

Being mindful of the body is a profound—though often overlooked—opportunity to deepen our meditation and develop our insight, says Phillip Moffitt. Meditating on the body, we discover all four of the Buddha’s noble truths.

Many meditation students view body awareness as just a starting point for their practice. They tend to skip over it in order to focus on their mind states and emotions, believing that’s where they will experience the deepest insights. But the truth is, your body is the ideal mirror for discovering the Buddha’s great truths of suffering (dukkha), change (anicca), and “not self” (anatta).

(Photo Source: flickr.com)

In the Anguttara Nikaya (sutta I, 21) the Buddha states, “There is one thing, monks, that, cultivated and regularly practiced leads to a deep sense of urgency…to the supreme peace…to mindfulness and clear comprehension…to the attainment of right vision and knowledge…to happiness here and now…to realizing deliverance by wisdom and the fruition of Holiness: It is mindfulness of the body.”

Despite the Buddha’s recommendation, practicing mindfulness of the body is often overlooked as an opportunity for awakening, even when the body is demanding attention. For instance, recently a student informed me at the beginning of a ten-day vipassana meditation retreat I was leading that she would not be able to sit still through any of the meditation sessions because she had fibromyalgia. During past retreats her pain had become so intense after fifteen minutes of sitting that she either had to lie down on the floor or leave the hall. I assured her that we would work with her limitations and expressed sympathy for her pain. Then I asked for more details. Listening to her story, it became clear that this well-meaning yogi was conflating two separate experiences, and it was making her miserable. Yes, she had genuine physical discomfort, and at times her body hurt a lot. But she had also developed a reactive mind state to her difficulty. She anticipated that her body was going to hurt even before discomfort arose, and she reacted by becoming stressed and anxious. So even if the pain was minor, she contracted into it. Her mental experience of pain far outweighed the physical experience. And on those occasions when really strong physical pain arose, she fell into negative speculation about how long it would last and how difficult it would be. By conflating her physical experience and her mental reaction, over the course of three years, the pain became her identity—she took birth as a “fibromyalgia person.”

The Buddha taught that being mindful of the sensations that arise in your body without clinging to them is essential to spiritual practice. In the Majjhima Nikaya (sutta 36), the Buddha says, “If the body is not mastered by meditation, the mind cannot be mastered. If the body is mastered, mind is mastered.”

I encouraged the student with fibromyalgia to take a fresh approach to her meditation practice and suggested that a new relationship to her body was possible. During the retreat I taught her some of the many ways she could make her experience in her body the primary object of her meditation. To her credit, she was willing to give this new body orientation a chance, despite her disbelief and anxiety. At the end of the retreat, she reported that, for the first time, she had sat through every session. To her amazement, she had had only mild physical discomfort, and she felt as though she was finally starting to understand why vipassana practice is called “insight” meditation. She also wondered why this retreat had been so different from the others and whether her body would behave so well when she returned to her daily life. “You have begun to use your body as your teacher,” I told her, “and if you make mindfulness an ongoing practice at work and in your home life, it will continue to serve you. But body awareness is not an aspirin you take for pain relief. It is a practice that frees your mind from suffering, regardless of conditions.”


Cultivating a Felt Sense of the Body

Inspired by the Buddha’s words and by my own experience, I have made awareness of the body a focal point of my teaching. For the last six years I have been part of a team of Spirit Rock teachers that offers an annual retreat called “Awakening in the Body,” in which all the dharma teachings are body centric or First Foundation based. At these retreats we teach two movement classes each day, in addition to walking meditation. In the weekly meditation group I lead, I incorporate movement between sittings. And during most retreats I teach, I include “mindful movement yoga” or have a guest instructor teach yoga or chi gong. These years of emphasizing body awareness in meditation has shown me that it is an effective practice for many Western students, who are all too often engaged in conceptualization. You are embodied consciousness. It greatly limits your developing wisdom if you fail to include the body in your meditation.

In practicing mindfulness of the body, it is your direct experience or felt sense that is important, not your judgments about your body, your wishes for what it might be, or even your stories about how your body came to be as it is. The Buddha called this felt sense “awareness of the body in the body,” meaning that your attention has dropped into the actual physical experience rather than your views and concepts about the body.

You can experience this felt sense or dropped attention through the following exercise: Hold your right hand up and begin by looking at the back of it. What do you see? You might notice the skin color, the veins, and whether there are any wrinkles or scars. Now turn it over and look at your palm. You might notice its shape or the length of your fingers. Alternate between looking at the front and the back of your hand. You might observe the length of the various finger bones in relation to each other or the size of your knuckles. You might notice the pattern that the lines make in the palm of the hand. Just witness these things. That’s a kind of mindfulness, right? However, because you are a removed observer, it is not the same as the felt experience. You are not directly experiencing the essence of “hand.”

Now rest your hand for a moment. (I’m going to ask you to close your eyes, so you’ll need to read ahead, and then do the exercise.) With your eyes closed, raise your hand again. Start to move your hand in space. Let the wrist move with the hand. You might curl the fingers in toward your palm, then extend them out a little. With your attention, “feel” the thumb, the forefinger, the middle finger, the ring finger, the little finger, the palm, and the back of the hand. Lower your hand and open your eyes. This is a very different experience than looking at the hand, is it not? This is the felt sense of the body; it is nonconceptual and lies within the experience itself.

My student with fibromyalgia had some access to this felt sense, but she was so imprisoned by her habitual reactions to what she felt that she could not let her body sensations just be; instead, she tried to avoid, resist, or overcome them. As we worked together during the retreat, she learned to develop what’s called “relaxed attention” as a means of softening into awareness of her physical sensations, regardless of whether they were pleasant or unpleasant. By learning this skill she began to find ease with her physical pain. While her discomfort was real and at times difficult, it was just the sensation of pain in the body. Her suffering, for the most part, was the result of her mind contracting and clinging as it collapsed into reactivity.

The same phenomenon happens around emotional suffering. It too registers in the body. Then the mind contracts and clings, causing the emotional suffering to grow exponentially. But you can use the very same relaxed attention and softening into awareness of your emotions to gain freedom from suffering. For example, the next time you’re feeling hurt and angry because you think your significant other doesn’t hear or appreciate you, rather than succumbing to these hindrances of mind, stay with them as body experiences. You may sense tightness in the belly and around the eyes from the hurt and some heat from the anger. Meet these body experiences with mindfulness and compassion by saying to yourself, “Hurt and anger feel like this.” This is softening into your emotions. You do not judge your feelings, nor do you try to get rid of the hurt or the anger; you simply stay with the sensations, and they will self-liberate in their own time.


Developing Relaxed Attention

To feel the difference between relaxed attention with softening into awareness versus reactivity and clinging, continue with the exercise. Place your right forearm in the palm of your left hand and just feel that for a moment. Now, pretend that you don’t trust your left hand. Keep the right forearm touching the left palm but hold a little tension in the back of the right hand and the forearm, such that they’re slightly hovering above the left hand. There’s contact, but you don’t trust the contact to support you. Now let that tension go, and drop your right forearm into the palm of the left hand. Push down as though you can’t trust the hand not to throw your arm away, so you’re going to hold it there. Now just relax and let the forearm rest in the left palm.

This feeling of resting the forearm—neither hovering nor pushing down—is like relaxed attention. Can you feel the difference? You may be responding to strong desires and difficult situations in your daily life by pulling away from (hovering) or leaning into (pushing) the moment. Neither of those reactions helps you meet life with ease. The cultivation of relaxed attention, however, will prevent you from falling into reactivity.

Through practicing mindfulness of the body and relaxed attention, you learn to be with whatever sensation is arising in the body, regardless of whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, without trying to hold on to or push away the experience. Such is the freedom taught by the Buddha. Having mastered the body, you are then able to turn your attention to your mind states, all of which register in the body, and gradually learn to become nonreactive to each of them. As a result, your mind becomes spacious, alert, curious, and equanimous, and you are able to proceed to the more subtle levels of meditation practice, which require that your mind not be hindered by difficult states.

But as is always true in meditation practice, you have to start where you are, and most likely that is with a fairly undeveloped relationship to your body. So in addition to simply cultivating increasing body awareness, you can also reflect on the nature of the body as a storehouse of your past experience, as a means of staying present in the moment, and as a gateway to liberation.


The Body As Storehouse

As you begin to practice mindfulness of the body, you discover that it is the storehouse of all the physical and emotional events of your life to this point, starting with your genetic inheritance. Through reflection you gain the insight that these conditions, while unique to you, are actually impersonal, like conditions in nature, and that clinging to them with anger, resentfulness, or self-pity only adds to your suffering. Your liberation lies not in what the body has stored from the past but in how you respond to whatever manifests in your body in any given moment. This is the insight of karma—that what is happening in this moment is dependent on past seeds of action that are now blossoming due to the right causes and conditions. Your freedom, now and in the future, will be determined by how you respond to these impersonal conditions. Are your actions wholesome or not? This is awakening in the body.

For example, you may have inherited favorably proportioned leg bones that make it possible for you to sit cross-legged in meditation without any discomfort, or perhaps you inherited disproportionate leg bones that make it difficult for you to sit for long periods, even in a chair. In either case, you learn to sit in meditation with your body just the way it is, feeling neither superior nor inferior. These are simply conditions, and your practice is to respond to these conditions from your deepest values.
Similarly, you might have inherited a gene that increases your chances of developing cancer, or maybe you are haunted by an injury or an act of abuse in your childhood. Rather than being angry that those conditions are unfair, you make your life worthwhile just as it is. Again, what’s given is not your business; it’s how you respond that determines your happiness and well-being. Of course, you work to improve those difficult conditions that can be affected, but you stop resisting their existence and feeling victimized, inferior, or resentful.

Various memories from the storehouse of the body will inevitably arise during meditation. Many of them are unpleasant, and you may have a tendency to get caught up in your emotions about them. If they are pleasant, your mind may be drawn into fantasy or planning and lose awareness. But if you stay in the body regardless of what arises from its storehouse, then you not only maintain awareness, but you also actually start to affect your experience. For example, when a difficult memory from the past shows up, instead of pushing it away, simply notice how it feels in your body in this moment. If it’s a longing for something you missed or once had but is now lost, rather than clinging to it as a desire, focus on it as a body experience in this very moment. You will discover that being mindful of all that arises as sensation from the storehouse of your body purifies the charge that the memory possesses. This purification happens spontaneously, without any doing on your part. Sometimes it takes the form of releases—the body will make spontaneous movements or you will feel vibrations, heat, or pressure release within. Sometimes you will notice the release in the moment it is occurring; other times you may not notice it until days or months later. A number of students have told me that the best bodywork they ever experienced happened during sitting meditation. When you let loose experience that was defining and limiting you, it’s like having a great psychotherapy session without having to pay for it.

By bringing relaxed attention to your experience, you facilitate this process of purification and release. Like the exercise in which you rested your right forearm in your left hand without pushing or hovering, you can bring relaxed attention to the storehouse of the past as it unfolds in the present.


Coming into the Present through the Body

You can learn to utilize mindfulness of the body as a way of training yourself to stay present in this very moment. It’s quite a feat to stay mindfully present in your body despite of the pressures and responsibilities in your life, not to mention all your anxieties and uncertainties. Most people are mindful of their own embodied presence for only brief moments, usually around specific functions; more often than not, they are lost in the past or the future or in escaping altogether through disassociation or distraction. But if you are not mindfully present, you are missing the unfolding of your precious human life and you are forsaking any chance to consciously participate in how it unfolds.

Developing and maintaining a constant awareness of the body is by far the most effective way to learn to stay present in the moment. Try coming into the present through the body the next time you are sitting in a meeting at work, feeling restless or anxious. First, drop your attention to your pelvis resting in the chair and feel whatever sensations arise. Then, notice one specific sensation in your hands and feel the movement of a single breath. Finally, observe what happens to your mind. When you focus your attention on specific body sensations, it frees you from the story in your mind that’s causing you to be reactive, and it allows the possibility of softening into the moment just as it is. You may have to do mindfulness exercises like this a few times, but the feeling of embodied presence will arise, and eventually you will discover a sense of well-being.

One caution: it takes time to develop mindfulness of the body, which is why it is called a practice. My advice is to not go looking for results, but rather to commit yourself to being present in your body as a way of meeting life that reflects your deepest values. When you are willing to feel your own embodied presence no matter what conditions are arising, you have taken a major step toward your own liberation.


The Body as a Gateway to Realizing Dharma

Having discovered this profound level of access to your own embodied presence, you begin to use the body as a gateway to realizing the liberating insights of the other three foundations of mindfulness that the Buddha identified: mindfulness of feeling, mindfulness of mind, and mindfulness of dhammas. You begin to notice in your body how each moment of your experience is conditioned by pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings—the Second Foundation of Mindfulness—and you observe that when you have no mindfulness, what your mind says and does is largely determined by these feelings. Then you turn your attention to the state of the mind itself—the Third Foundation of Mindfulness. It is often easier to identify the state of your mind by noting your body sensations rather than your emotions. Emotions are so charged and so engrossing that perception of them becomes fuzzy, whereas the body tends to clearly manifest what’s happening. Finally, you can begin to look at the universal characteristics that the Buddha identified as they are manifesting in the body—the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness. You begin to see how the mind is hindered by desire, aversion, restlessness and worry, sloth and torpor, and doubt. You also notice the mental factors that lead to enlightenment, such as strong energy and equanimity.

You probably have a felt sense of the Four Noble Truths, which are at the core of and encompass the Buddha’s teachings. The Four Noble Truths are: Suffering—also described as stress, unease, or dissatisfaction—inevitably arises when the mind is untrained; The cause of this suffering is the mind’s tendency to cling to its preferences; Cessation of this clinging and, therefore, the cessation of suffering is possible; and There is a way, which the Buddha called the Eightfold Path, to find this liberation.

Through mindfulness of the body, you begin to see why the Buddha began with the First Noble Truth, dukkha, the stress and anxiety interwoven in all life. You can also experience in your body the Second Noble Truth, since you cling to getting and keeping what is pleasant to the body and removing or avoiding what is unpleasant to it. Through the body you can also discover the liberating insight of the Third Noble Truth: you have choice. In this very body, in this very moment, you can choose to not succumb to reactions to the arising of pleasant and unpleasant. You don’t have to move, for example, because at this moment your leg is hurting. It’s just your leg hurting. Nor do you have to react to something hurtful someone has said at work. Yes, it was unpleasant, but it was just unpleasant. Suffering arises from your unwillingness to be with this moment just as it is. It causes you to distort what’s true in life because you are demanding that the moment be shaped to the way you want it.

When you choose to be present with your body when it is in pain or when it is feeling the tension and contraction caused by your wanting mind, you are accepting your life experience just as it is, in this moment, without clinging. This feeling of nonattachment and nonreactivity is similar to how it feels when you do the exercise of letting your forearm rest in your palm without pushing or hovering. It is a way of meeting life in which you don’t add anything unnecessary to the experience. You don’t identify and contract into it. Like the yogi whose body pain ceased to be an issue, your life gains ease. Each time you have such a moment, no matter how brief, you have a little taste of all the future moments in which you can have such ease. You are aware of your body as a gateway to liberation.


Phillip Moffitt is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers’ Council and the founder and president of the Life Balance Institute. He teaches vipassana meditation and mindful movement at retreat centers throughout the U.S. His book Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Moving from Suffering to Joy will be published by Rodale in early 2008.

Awakening in the Body, Phillip Moffitt, Shambhala Sun, September 2007.



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