What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Let’s talk a little bit about meditation. At this center, we practice Satipaṭṭhāna or mindfulness meditation on the four foundations of mindfulness (body, feelings, mind, and dhamma). However, before we begin, we need some clarity on what we are doing and why we are doing it. It’s important to begin this practice like we would begin any major project, with an understanding of the ideas and underlying principles behind what we will be doing. We need the right background information and right ideas regarding the nature of mindfulness meditation so that we can practice skillfully. We don’t want to start blindly!

What is mindfulness meditation? What is our purpose in practicing? What kind of mind and what kind of attitude should there be when we are meditating? How do we practice?

To me, mindfulness meditation is basically working to transform the mind. Meditation is about cultivating wholesome states of mind, nurturing a Dhamma mind, and bringing out the good qualities in the mind. Mindfulness meditation is not work done by the body or work done by objects (what is happening, what is being observed, explained further in the section What are objects?).

Objects do not meditate. It is the mind that meditates. That’s why meditation is called “mind work” and that’s why you need to know about the mind.

HoW Do you kNoW THAT THERE IS A MIND?

Do you know that you have a mind? How do you know that you have a mind? You can see or observe the mind through its workings/functions e.g. knowing, thinking, experiencing, feeling, wanting, focusing, etc. Now, put your hands together and look at your clasped hands. You know that your hands are touching, right? How do you know this touching sensation? What is the mind doing that you are able to know this? You know because the mind is aware and paying attention to it now.

Do you know that the mind is paying attention and aware? Would you know that your hands were touching if your mind was thinking about something else? No. So you can see that it is not merely because your hands are touching that you know but because the mind is paying attention and awareness is a quality that is a part of this attention that you know they are touching.

Can you shift your attention from your palms to your feet? You can, right? This shift in attention is actually the mind at work. It is the mind paying attention. If you know that you are paying attention, then you are aware of the mind. There is no need to go searching for the mind, as everyone more or less knows it. Knowing, thinking, planning, and intentions are all workings of the mind. It’s just not as easy at first to recognize the mind as it is other objects because of a lack of understanding of what the mind is.

PERSISTENcE

What kind of effort do we need when we are meditating? Right now many people know of only one type of effort, which is energetic, forcing effort. However, it is wrong effort when it is motivated by defilements like craving (lobha), aversion (dosa), or delusion (moha). This kind of effort will only feed more defilements in the process.

How then, do we meditate? We use the wholesome (kusala) effort and the right effort of patience and perseverance in our practice. Awareness (sati) needs to be balanced. Confidence in oneself and faith (saddhā) in the practice should be balanced. Effort or energy (viriya) should also be balanced. These spiritual faculties, along with stability of mind (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā), make up the five spiritual faculties (indriya) working together in meditation.

Insights don’t have an opportunity to arise when we are very intent on one object without exploring or investigating what is happening (dhamma-vicaya). We can’t say we are practicing insight meditation (vipassanā) when we are just focusing or paying attention because vipassanā is the practice of learning about mind and body processes (nāma-rūpa).

WHo IS MEDITATING?

You are not meditating; it is the ideas operating in the background (in the mind) that are meditating. If these underlying ideas are wrong, then the rest of the meditation will be done in the wrong way. Only with the right idea, right attitude, and right understanding in the meditating mind (the mind that’s aware or the observing mind) do you have right practice.

The information in this book, Dhamma discussions, Dhamma discourses, and reminders are all meant to give us right information. We then use this information, what we have learned, heard, and know about right practice, as well as our intelligence during the practice (a type of wisdom) in order for wisdom to develop.

We need right view (sammā-diṭṭhi) and right thinking. We also need inquiry and dhamma investigation, which is the investigation of phenomena and reflection on how we are observing or practicing, while we are practicing. The emphasis is on the need for wisdom along with the awareness (also referred to as “awareness+wisdom” in this book) so that the wisdom acquired through direct experience has a chance to arise.

The meditating mind, the mind that’s aware, or the observing mind needs to be a Dhamma mind, a wholesome mind. We have right meditation only when we practice with a wholesome mind. We can’t say we are meditating properly when we are practicing with craving, aversion, or delusion operating in the meditating mind.

When we practice with wanting or expectations, we are meditating with greed. When we practice with dissatisfaction and discontent, we are meditating with aversion. When we practice without having a real understanding of what we are doing, we are meditating with delusion.

A part of the work in meditation is to begin to recognize unwholesome tendencies when they arise. We can’t help having these motivations while trying to meditate. We can recognize when there are wrong or unwholesome tendencies and when there are right or wholesome tendencies and their corresponding effects. This means learning what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. To do this, we use the theoretical information we get, as well as our intelligence and wisdom while practicing to recognize when there are defilements in the mind. We also need to appreciate this process of learning.

WHAT ARE oBjEcTS?

We often use the word “objects”. What is the meaning of an object? An object is what we experience, what we observe, and something that is known by the mind. There is always something happening so there is no lack of things to observe. They are all happening (or “arising”) according to their nature. In mindfulness meditation, we are not controlling our experiences. We observe when something happens or arises, the mind’s attention is attracted to it, and so we observe it. The nature of an object is to be known, sensed or experienced by the mind.

In any given moment, there are many, many objects arising at the six sense doors that the mind can possibly be aware of and know. How many sense doors are there? There are six sense doors! How we observe the sense objects is the mind at work. While we need an understanding of the object side, we also need to recognize that meditation is not done by objects. Meditation is done by the mind. That’s why in order to practice well, it’s important to understand the mind, including how it observes, how it works, and its underlying attitudes. What kind of mind are we meditating with?

When we are focused on an object, we can’t see the workings of the mind. When we look through the glasses we are wearing at what we want to see, we may not realize that we have glasses on! Likewise, if there’s too much focusing on objects, we no longer see the mind, what it’s doing, or how it’s operating. If we don’t concentrate so much on an object, we may at least realize that we are wearing glasses. That’s how the mind works.

That’s why I caution you not to focus if your goal is to get a complete picture and to understand the nature of mind and objects. Do you understand? When you practice, the difference between what you observe and how you are observing (the act of observing) will become even clearer. In other words, this knowledge of the object and the mind will become clearer. You recognize for yourself, “Oh, this is object and this is the mind” and that their natures are different. You’ll see this as you are practicing. I am explaining this to you now so that you have the information to help you when you are meditating.

Think about this carefully: Are you practicing mindfulness meditation when you sit and focus on an object? Is it mindfulness meditation when you are just paying attention to something? No, that’s just focusing on an object. Or what if you are just being aware? What if the meditating mind is full of unwholesome mental qualities?

Let’s say you are knowing, watching, and being aware: What is object (mind and/or body) and what is mind, or in other words, what is being observed and what is doing the observing? Shouldn’t you investigate this? Can this kind of investigative quality arise in a yogi who is just intent on observing objects? Can a yogi who’s just contented with peaceful mental states get insights into the nature of the mind and body? No. The yogi will just cling to that peaceful state, working to stay longer in that state. There’s no possibility for wisdom to arise then.

So, in mindfulness meditation, we don’t need to cultivate or work on objects or what we observe. We can and will need to develop how we observe. We do this by first noticing or acknowledging how the mind is already observing. Is it agitated or calm? Is there some kind of wisdom present? (More on different kinds of wisdom: Sutamayā paññā, cintāmayā paññā, and bhāvanāmayā paññā in the previous book Awareness Alone is not Enough). You don’t need to try to change how the mind is observing. You do want to take note of how it is observing and the corresponding effects of observing in that way.

Over time, you will notice different causes and effects. When you have repeatedly observed and seen different scenarios, you will begin to better understand the relationship of how the state of mind and the thoughts in the mind affect the way you feel about the object or what you are observing.

START WITH ANy oBjEcT

Start with an awareness of any object. As you maintain awareness, keep checking the mind. What is the mind aware of? When it is aware, is the mind at ease or not? Is it relaxed? What is the attitude in the mind? Keep checking. Be mindful that you are not just intent on objects!

While being mindful in walking, keep checking the mind to see whether it is impatient or relaxed. Is that hard to know? No! You just have to keep checking the mind, right? Is it so hard to be aware of the mind? At this point, it’s fine to be aware of more apparent mental states and workings of the mind. Don’t go looking for anything subtle just yet. How is the mind? Is it feeling at peace or is it tense? Is it tired? You can know, can’t you? Observe the mind. What is happening? Here are some things you might want to know:

With what kind of mind are you being aware?
How does the mind feel when you are aware of this object?

Try to observe mind-object relationships like this. It is important to have an awareness of these kinds of causal relationships and connections in practice.

uSE ANy oBjEcT To DEvEloP AWARENESS

Which is better: Watching the breath or watching the abdomen? Neither is better than the other. They’re the same! You should not prefer one over the other. If you do, you are attached to an object.

The object at the nostrils is an object. The object at the abdomen is an object. Sound is an object. Heat is an object. In vipassanā, the eyes are one sense door and the ears are another sense door. Can you become aware with any object? Can you start with sounds? Do you have to go looking for sounds? Aren’t they always there? You can know that there is sound. Take whatever object is available. There’s no need to look for very subtle objects.

Vipassanā uses any object to develop awareness (sati), stability of mind (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā). A yogi with awareness+wisdom will use any object to develop sati, samādhi, and paññā instead of growing in craving, aversion, or delusion. The mind will grow in strength as you practice with ease and consistent awareness. Remember that the object is not important; the observing mind with the right attitude is more important.

THE MIND HAS To BE AlERT AND INTERESTED

Dhamma practice is mind work, which means the mind has to have awareness. It also has to be alert and interested in studying itself. But because of our habitual tendency to pay more attention to what is happening out there, we very often forget to check ourselves. That is why we have to keep asking and reminding ourselves in order to maintain awareness.

Momentum comes from practicing moment-to-moment. We want the kind of mindfulness that keeps going without a break so that we eventually have a natural momentum of awareness. Using a simile, we don’t want the type of fire that burns in a flash. We want a long lasting fire from durable materials like wood or coal.

WHAT IS A GooD TIME FoR MEDITATIoN?

Many yogis have this idea that their meditation begins when they hear the bell. That’s not so! The bell is there only to remind you. The right time to practice is from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night. When you wake up in the morning, check yourself. Is the mind clear? Does it feel refreshed? Is it still sleepy? You wake up but you want to continue sleeping. Is that difficult to know? Can you know all these? You just have to ask yourself.

You are practicing to know the mind and body. Let whatever happens, happen; it is not important. The mind’s work is to know and to acknowledge, which can happen in any posture or activity. Sitting on the cushion does not necessarily mean you are practicing. Some yogis sit and fall asleep while others sit and daydream away! Is this considered meditation?

WAITING AND WATcHING WITH INTEllIGENcE

In this practice, we don’t focus, control, exert, restrict or interfere. These actions are motivated by defilements like craving, aversion, or delusion. We have very often used a lot of wrong effort to get what we wanted or tended to exert a lot of energy to get rid of something. We’ve also done things blindly when we weren’t sure what to do.

With this practice, you just wait and watch with intelligence. What can you know naturally while you are sitting? You are not focusing or looking at any special object. You are aware and now you observe yourself:

Are you aware that you are seated?
What is happening in your body?
What can you know naturally?

Expanding abdomen, contracting abdomen, heat, sounds…

Are you aware of your palms touching?
Aren’t your arms tired?

How much effort do you need to know seeing, hearing, heat, cold, touching, or tiredness? Do you need to focus to know any of these? Is that tiring or difficult? See how easy observing is? Would it be tiring to practice like this the whole day?

Ask yourself if you are aware and then begin the sitting or walking meditation. It is the nature of the mind to naturally take up the object it wants and will know as much as it is able to know. Keep checking when you are sitting, walking, eating, or doing daily activities. The mind can know what it wants, can’t it? This “knowing naturally” is easier on you. Trying to find the object you want requires energy.

AWARENESS AloNE IS NoT ENouGH

So far, we’ve talked about awareness and waiting and watching with intelligence. Remember that awareness alone is not enough! There has to be wisdom present in the awareness. Where is that wisdom going to come from? There are three kinds of wisdom: Sutamayā paññā, cintāmayā paññā, and bhāvanāmayā paññā. Sutamayā paññā is information you get from reading, from listening to Dhamma discourses, or from discussions with teachers. Cintāmayā paññā is intelligence or knowledge acquired through thinking, reasoning, or intellectual analysis. Bhāvanāmayā paññā is insight or wisdom gained through direct experience. In short, we refer to them as information, intelligence, and insight. In this book, we may refer to any of these as “wisdom,” or be more specific at times by using the words information, intelligence, or insight.

Are you able to work on a certain subject matter if you don’t know anything about it? You can perform only with right information. So how do you get right practice? Before you begin to practice, you need to have some accurate and complete information so that when you are practicing, wisdom in the form of information and intelligence are present with the awareness. You need right information and right attitude as wisdom for right practice. The Buddha called it mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati-sampajañña).

By having the right information on meditation, you won’t run into problems using the wrong information. This information comes from listening to get Dhamma knowledge, asking for clarification, and having Dhamma discussions. I will give you information, and as yogis, you use this information and your own intelligence when you are practicing. You apply these two kinds of wisdom (information and intelligence) to the practice of meditation. Insight wisdom arises when the right kinds of conditions come together.

THINkING WHIlE PRAcTIcING

So, should you think or not think while practicing? You should be watchful of the kinds of thoughts that will increase craving, aversion, or delusion. When people say there shouldn’t be thinking, they are referring to defilementmotivated thinking. Of course you can’t help thoughts that just arise naturally but you don’t help these defilement-motivated thoughts to grow even more.

You don’t stop all sorts of thinking! You should think about the Dhamma you have heard, information you’ve read here, and reflect on the work you are doing and consider how you are practicing. This kind of thinking will help wisdom grow. This information I’m giving you now will be working in the mind when you are practicing and you use the theory along with your own intelligence to work skillfully with the situation at hand. Utilizing the good qualities of the mind (i.e. sati, viriya, paññā) and applying intelligence is the work of mindfulness meditation.

Question: There is the object and there is the watching or observing mind. Which is more important?

Answer: The watching or observing mind is more important.

You need to pay attention to the observing mind if you want to understand the truth. Regularly check on how you are practicing. Can wisdom arise in the presence of craving, aversion, or delusion in the observing mind? What attitude is the mind practicing with? Check your attitude regularly. Don’t be fixated on experiences. They will arise according to their nature and they only serve to keep the awareness.

A wise yogi uses the six sense objects to develop awareness, stability of mind, and wisdom. For those who are not so mature, the same objects will only increase craving, aversion, and delusion.

Question: Which object is better, the incoming / outgoing breath at the nostrils or the rising / falling motion of the abdomen?

Answer: It’s neither! One object is not better than another. An object is just an object. If you perceive one object to be better than another object, you will naturally become attached to the preferred object. Later, when you can’t pay attention to that specific object, then you may find that you are not able to practice.

Craving will surely arise when choosing one object over another. Aversion comes in when you don’t find the object of your choice. Believing that an object is “good” is really delusion at work!

So, is it your responsibility to develop the object or the faculty of awareness in meditation? Objects will always present themselves according to their nature; your work is to develop awareness. You are not trying to change anything that is happening but working to strengthen and improve the mind that is not yet strong in awareness. Right now, there’s little stability of mind, wisdom is weak, effort feeble and faith lacking. Meditation is the work of cultivating and strengthening the spiritual faculties of sati, samādhi, viriya, saddhā, and pāññā.

kNoW WHATEvER IS HAPPENING

Understanding that something is not beneficial is very different from thinking or judging that something is “not good”. If the mind labels something as “good,” there is craving already. With any object that arises, delusion is already on the scene. Delusion conceals an object’s natural characteristics (but not the object itself) and labels it as “good” or “bad”. Lobha or dosa then do their work of grasping or rejecting. So how are we going to meditate? Meditation is the recognition of gross and subtle forms of craving, aversion, and delusion, and all their relatives that are present in the mind while it is observing objects. In this meditation, we practice to know whatever is happening.

Instead of trying to make the mind still, we just acknowledge and observe the agitation, with the right attitude. Because we want to learn about the nature of the mind and objects, we don’t try to calm the mind down or try to remove objects. We don’t interfere or control but observe, because we want to understand the mind and objects in their natural state, as they are happening. This is right view.

As such, we also don’t try to remove aversion when it arises. We are not trying to get rid of aversion. As soon as we try to push aversion away, there is more aversion. Aversion is always negative, having the quality of pushing something away. We are observing aversion because we want to know its true nature. This is what it means to meditate.

STuDy EvERyTHING THAT HAPPENS

If our goal is to have understanding, we need to get to know the nature of as many objects as possible, how the mind and body processes work, and the cause and effect relationships. Merely knowing one aspect of an experience will not lead to any insight. The data is still incomplete and wisdom is still weak.

It is important to study everything that happens and to be able to know all objects. So we work with any object that arises; there is no need to create any experience or to keep our attention on one particular object. We need to use our wisdom along with awareness to learn about whatever is happening in that moment. Only then our view broadens, our horizon expands, and wisdom develops. We need a lot of information (sometimes referred to as “data”) for this to happen.

Watch out for craving that can arise subtly in the form of attachment for or aversion to objects. Take a step back and observe, using the investigative mind with the right attitude working in the background. Ask yourself these questions: What is happening? Is what is happening good or bad? Is it really good or bad? Is it right or wrong? Why is it happening? Because you want to understand what is happening, you observe and investigate with intelligence. The inclination to know is already there in the mind. The observing mind with the right attitude and investigative faculties needs to be present. So you now understand a little more about the difference between focusing versus waiting, watching, and observing with wisdom.

FIvE SPIRITuAl FAculTIES (INDRIyA)

Awareness (sati), steadiness and stability of mind (samādhi), effort or ‘wisdom’ energy (viriya), faith and confidence (saddhā), and wisdom (paññā) are five spiritual faculties that work together in the process of meditation. Mindfulness meditation is the work of cultivating or growing these spiritual faculties to work in balance.

Sati

Sati means not to forget. Sati means to remember. What don’t you forget? You don’t forget what is right and wholesome. It also means not forgetting the right attitude and right object. To be aware doesn’t mean we create awareness out of what was absent before. Sati is about not forgetting—sati is not energetic focusing.

The right object for you is your experience of the mind and body. There is only the nature of mind and the nature of body. That’s all there is. If you don’t forget, you have awareness. If you know what is going on, you also have awareness. So what do you do to have awareness? Most people think they have to bring awareness back to some object with the idea, “Oh, my awareness is gone, I must have awareness again.” That’s a tiring way to practice.

I will give you a simpler, more relaxed way: Remind yourself. When you try to get awareness, you may be focusing on an object. The mind that is already thinking wrong thoughts now tries to be aware of an object. That requires focusing energy. When you remind yourself, the mind thinks about the mind and body and awareness is automatically there. If you don’t believe me, just ask yourself, “What is happening in the mind right now?” You’ll notice something. What is happening in the mind right now? Is it peaceful? Agitated? Upset? What is happening? You’ll see that you can tell what is happening in the mind, even if only roughly. You’ll notice that if you think about the mind, the awareness turns towards the mind. That’s what it means to be aware.

Turning the mind inward

The mind is used to being aware of external phenomena. We are always paying attention to what is happening externally and especially through the eye sense door.

Mindfulness meditation turns the mind inward. So how does the mind turn inward? If you just think about turning the mind in to what is happening at the six sense doors, the mind is already paying attention internally. It is the nature of the mind to take as an object what it thinks about. Doesn’t the mind go directly to your hand if you think about what is happening at your hand? If you ask, “What is happening on my head,” the mind is immediately at your head. How much focusing do you need for that?

Another way to turn the mind inward is to notice that the mind is paying attention to external objects. Then let the mind step back to think about what is happening in the mind and body. The mind’s attention will be at the mind and body. The body is easier to notice at first because it’s more apparent but with practice, the mind will also become easy to observe. I pay more attention to the working or observing mind.

Meditation begins when you wake up

Meditation begins when you wake up, not only when you reach the Dhamma Hall or when you sit down! Just think about yourself from the moment you wake up. Reflect on how you will live with awareness. If you think about yourself, you will have awareness.

What is the mind feeling? What is the mind thinking? Where is the mind? What is it doing? Use the information you now have and what you know about the nature of the mind. Ask these questions from the moment you wake up. If you are able to do this, can’t you practice anywhere or anytime? I began my practice this way.

SAMāDHI

Samādhi means a steady, stable mind; samādhi does not mean focusing. Do we necessarily get concentration by concentrating? Do we get a calm mind every time we focus our attention on an object? Many yogis suffer from headaches and stiff necks because they have used too much energy and wrong effort to focus on objects! It also gets tiring because of exertion of forceful energy as a result of wanting something or pushing something away.

Vipassanā samādhi comes from right view, right attitude and right thought which, together with continuity of awareness, gives the mind stability.

This kind of samādhi is called sammā-samādhi.

We can get flustered when we can’t rationally think through difficulties in life. Alternatively, we maintain our composure when we can think about a situation intelligently. In the same way, a calm mind develops when there is right view, right attitude, and right thought; samādhi can’t develop with wrong attitude, wrong view or wrong thought.

Two kinds of samādhi

There is samādhi that comes about from concentrating on and paying attention to one object exclusively and samādhi borne from right view, right attitude, and right thought. There are two corresponding practices for these two kinds of samādhi: Samatha practice and vipassanā practice (what we are practicing here through mindfulness meditation). In knowing about the differences between these two kinds of meditation, you’ll begin to recognize what you are doing in your own practice.

In tranquility (samatha) meditation, the mind pays exclusive attention to one object, becoming absorbed in it over time. Having concentrated on it for a long time (in the right way), the yogi achieves peaceful mental states. However, because of this very strong grasp on one object, other mental faculties don’t get used and the mind is no longer aware of other objects it could have otherwise known. There is no investigation of phenomena nor is there a broader awareness of mind and body processes, thus blocking the opportunity for wisdom to arise.

The idea in vipassanā is to relate to and be aware of as many objects as possible without trying to create any particular result or experience. Because vipassanā is the process of understanding things as they are with the goal of achieving wisdom, it needs an awareness of whatever object or process happening in that moment. Awareness collects data and when the picture is complete, wisdom arises. This openness allows us to see cause and effect and processes from different angles, giving wisdom a chance to grow.

In vipassanā, instead of paying attention to one object, we pay attention to the mind, specifically the observing, meditating mind. We check the mind to see if there is wisdom present or if there are defilements present in the mind. We are interested in whether the meditating mind is operating with craving, aversion, delusion, or any of their relatives because insights can’t arise in the presence of these defilements. So while meditating, it’s very important to have wisdom in the meditating mind.

Wisdom samādhi begins with wisdom

Consider an example of two yogis: One yogi is bothered by sounds while another yogi considers them as objects or natural phenomena. Which yogi will have samādhi? The yogi with aversion to sounds will become even more agitated whenever she hears sounds, with aversion increasing. On the other hand, the yogi who neither likes nor dislikes these sounds will remain calm and peaceful.

In vipassanā, the mind is learning how to not become attached to or have aversion for any object. Wisdom samādhi begins with wisdom and invests in wisdom. Because there is right view, right attitude, and right thinking, the mind does not react with craving or aversion. There is no attraction to or aversion for an object. The mind is calm, peaceful, and still. The mind also feels light, alert, and fresh. This kind of samādhi is inherent in wisdom and gives opportunities for more wisdom to arise.

vIRIyA

How do you understand viriya? Viriya is the spiritual faculty of patience and perseverance. I understand viriya as persistence, not exertion or force! Please don’t wear out your mind or body by striving forcefully when you meditate. Understanding can’t develop when your mind or body is tired.

Can you learn something thoroughly if you start and stop the process many times? You will miss the storyline in a TV series if you catch a few episodes and miss a few episodes. Similarly, only if awareness is continuous, where you see the beginning, middle and end, will you then understand the true nature of nāma-rūpa. That comes about through consistent practice, from moment-tomoment.

Be cool and calm about it. Be interested. There should be consistent effort but not exertion. Instead of using our energy to focus, we use our intelligence and wisdom, by waiting and watching. If wisdom is present, right effort is already there. For mindfulness meditation, we accept, examine, and study whatever is happening as it is. We don’t interfere with what is happening. We don’t make something unwanted to disappear or stop, nor do we need to try to create preferred experiences. The mind is doing its own work through recognizing, being aware, knowing, thinking about the practice, and being interested, for example. We’re just seeing and acknowledging what is happening.

What is happening? Why is it happening? If there’s no need for what is happening to go away, or what is not happening to appear, what sort of energy do you need to use?

It’s all already here, as it is! You just need to have your wisdom eye open. Just recognize what is happening. If you are not looking for anything specific but just sitting there with your eyes open, seeing still happens. Do you need to make an effort to see or hear? Are you still aware without having to focus on something? Mindfulness meditation is that restful and gentle.

Practice in a relaxed way, but don’t stop practicing

What kind of effort do we use in our daily lives? We have automatically used some kind of force primarily motivated by craving, aversion, or delusion. It has become a habit. Viriya with wisdom, however, knows that mindfulness practice is beneficial, so we persevere and we know our motivation for practicing. We are running a marathon. Would a seasoned runner use up all his energy from the very beginning? No! He runs at a steady pace, picking up momentum as he goes through each mile. We want this type of dhamma momentum that arises naturally in our practice. It is not a forcefully created momentum.

Practice in a relaxed way, but don’t stop practicing. At this center, we meditate the whole day, from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep. If we put in a lot of energy or effort, can we meditate like this the whole day? We certainly can’t! We’ll burn out and probably get depressed. Faith in the practice will go down. That is why we don’t exert force; we just use persistence and we don’t give up. We keep applying ourselves as much as we can, but we don’t slip.

Remember that this is not a 100-meter dash. We need to use wisdom effort and energy, not craving effort. That is why we do what we can, steadily, but we don’t give up!

Question: When do you start practicing?

Answer: From the moment you wake up to the time you fall asleep.

Is this work difficult or exhausting? No. Just don’t forget. Keep checking yourself and how much effort you are putting in. You need to recognize these things for yourself.

SADDHā

Saddhā is the spiritual faculty of faith and confidence. You need to have confidence in your practice and you need to have faith in what you are doing. You need trust in the practice and trust in yourself. Be interested in the practice and how you are practicing. More importantly, faith in what you are doing will grow when you comprehend and see the benefits of your work.

Confidence grows through meditation. When you practice, do you find peace or stress? You will never be stressed when you practice skillfully, with wholesomeness. You may get tired or stressed when you aren’t skillful yet and practice the wrong way. Once you learn how to practice with Dhamma:

both the mind and body are at peace;
you will be free from grief;
vipassanā wisdom will arise;
path knowledge (magga-ñāṇa) and fruition knowledge (phala ñāṇa) will arise; and
the mind inclines towards Nibbāna.

That’s what the Buddha stated in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Right now you are learning how to practice properly. You begin with faith in yourself and the practice. Confidence grows through right attitude and right practice. With new insights, you will naturally feel faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha.

Do you work to get the truth or work so that you know how to practice properly? Don’t think about the getting part yet. Instead of expecting results or thinking about end-goals, take interest in what you are currently doing and how you are approaching meditation.

Have faith in your work and learn how you can become more skillful. Trust yourself. How have you benefitted from practicing?

Intelligence and wisdom are necessary here. The intelligence needed for right effort has to come before there can be any vipassanā wisdom, magga wisdom, and phala wisdom. Can insight wisdom surface before any right effort is made?

First learn how to make this kind of right effort.

Between the mind and body, which one is putting in effort? It is the mind putting in effort. Can you become skilled in the practice if you don’t know:

the mind;
what the mind is thinking;
how much effort the mind is exerting;
what kind of thoughts are present;
what kind of attitudes are present; or
the nature of the mind?

Take interest in your work

Take interest in the work you are doing. Many yogis encounter good and bad experiences in their practice. Sometimes they have good meditation and sometimes they don’t feel satisfied with their practice. When I ask them why, they don’t know! Do you know why they can’t tell me? It is because they don’t study or take interest in the work they are doing. They don’t know their minds, what they are doing, or why they are doing it!

When you see the connection between what the mind does and what happens, then you will begin to understand the nature of cause and effect. With that, your confidence in the practice will grow even more.

PAññā

Paññā is wisdom. It is very important to have the right view when practicing. It’s only when some kind of wisdom is present that defilements are not able to sneak into the mind. So at the very least, the wisdom that must be present in the mind is information (sutamayā paññā). This is information you are getting from reading this book, hearing the Dhamma and having Dhamma discussions. The other kind of wisdom that must be present in the mind is curiosity and interest, a wholehearted desire to really understand.

So when you are being aware, don’t be blindly aware! Be intelligently aware. Applying your own intelligence is a part of cintāmayā paññā.

Can a company manager run a business successfully without an overall understanding of how the different areas of his business are connected? He’ll make all the wrong decisions using incomplete information. In the same way, we need complete information for wisdom to develop and for wisdom to make decisions. That’s why for mindfulness meditation, the mind needs to be willing to relate to any and all objects. The picture is incomplete if we see only a portion of a whole process.

Right Attitude

The objects you are going to observe are the mind and body and the nature of the mind and body. The nature of feelings in the mind, the nature of the mind, the workings of the mind, the patterns of the mind, and the characteristics of the mind are all there. What attitude do you assume when you observe these feelings, the mind and/or body as objects?

It is sammā-diṭṭhi if you observe these objects of the mind and body as nature instead of as “me” or “mine”. When you observe yourself, you see the body and you see the mind. What is happening in the body? Do the sensations of heat, cold, hardness, softness, or itchiness happen to you alone? No. Everyone experiences them. Feelings, happiness, grief, comfort, and mental distress are universal and happening in the mind. How can you view them as yours when these things are experienced universally? They are dhamma nature, natural principles, and objects. Take them as nature; they are not unique to you.

Take heat as heat, not that you feel hot. Everyone feels heat and cold and everyone experiences feelings. It is very important to have this right attitude. You have right practice only when you have this right view and right attitude. Have you ever been angry? When you are angry, and you think, “I am getting angry,” what will happen? The anger grows.

Anger grows when you take possession of the anger with, “This is my anger.”

When people are sad and they say, “I’m depressed, I’m feeling down,” then they really get depressed. Why is that? It’s because their attitude and ideas have assumed the sadness as their sadness.

If you consider sadness as just one aspect of the nature of mind, then you’d feel much better. It’s the mind that is sad, not my mind that’s sad. It’s not, “I want, I’m not satisfied.” It’s the mind that is angry or wanting. It’s harder for defilements to grow stronger in the presence of this right view in the mind. That is why you need to first assume the right view. Awareness with the right view is called sammā-sati. You need to begin your practice with this kind of information and knowledge.

The mind is an aspect of nature

The mind is an aspect of nature, not I, not self, no person. The mind is a natural phenomenon. Only when you have this right idea then can you truly be aware. You are practicing awareness to find out about this nature. While you may not understand or realize the right view at first, you can relate to everything that happens with this right view. You can also think through the information you now have.

Why are you practicing awareness? You want to know the truth, the reality of things; that is why you maintain awareness. Do not forget this purpose.

PAIN AND DIScoMFoRT

What do you do when you sit and feel pain, aches, or tiredness? How do you observe the pain? If you observe the pain directly, it gets worse! Why? Does anyone like pain? What happens in the mind as soon as there is pain? There is aversion! That’s why when there is pain, discontinue observing the pain itself. Don’t look at the sensations just yet when you encounter itchiness, aches, pins and needles, heat, pain, or other discomfort. These sensations can become unbearable if you continue to observe them with the wrong attitude.

What should you do first? You need to first assume the right attitude: Acknowledge the pain as a natural phenomenon, as just nature. Only with this right attitude can you then see how you are feeling. What is the nature of the feeling? What is the attitude at this time? When there is aversion, examine the views within your thoughts. Can these thoughts have right view? There is never right view when there is aversion; there can only be unwholesome views.

It is good if you can see and learn about thoughts, feelings, and body sensations together. How are they related? How are the mind and body related? How are the causes and effects related? Your practice is learning about these connections. Just watch and observe. You don’t need to make objects disappear and it also doesn’t matter whether they disappear or not. Why are you observing? You are observing because you want to know and you want to understand. Observe as much as you can.

SITTING, WAlkING, AND DAIly AcTIvITIES IN BRIEF

Can you change your position when you are meditating? You can move when a certain posture becomes unbearable. If you need to adjust your posture, do so. If it’s not necessary, then don’t move. What is an appropriate time to adjust your posture? I have mentioned before that meditation is developing and cultivating wholesome mental qualities. If unwholesome mental qualities are growing and proliferating because you are forcing yourself to sit still, then you can shift to make yourself more comfortable. Determine what is appropriate based on your own observations.

What do you observe in walking meditation? Start walking, and then ask the mind what it knows. Just ask the mind: What does it know? Or what is it aware of now? You can be aware of walking, sounds, or the movement of your body. How is the mind while walking? If you are too focused on being aware of walking, then you can get tense. How is the mind while sitting or while eating?

It’s the same when you are in your own room, or in the washroom. Ask yourself whether there is awareness. Only when there is awareness, then sit, walk, go, eat, or do whatever you need to do in daily activities.

A yogi’s work is to:

have the right view, right attitude, and right thought, and
be intelligently aware, moment-to-moment.

thoughtS

When you look at your thoughts, don’t get swept away by the story. It is enough if you are aware that thoughts are happening. I don’t advise beginning yogis to look at thoughts for too long or too much as it is possible to get carried away when thoughts can’t be seen as objects just yet. Just acknowledge whenever thoughts happen, check the bodily sensations, and alternate between the mind and the body.

Don’t let the mind be idle for long periods during the day— keep it working! Be aware and remind yourself. Do that the whole time.

WHy Do WE PRAcTIcE THE WHolE TIME?

Why are we asked to practice the whole time? It is because the mind is collecting data through moment-to-moment awareness. When the data is complete, understanding will arise. It is only when we practice consistently and continuously in the right way will momentum build and wisdom grow. You come to this center to practice as well as to learn how to be skillful so you may take this meditation home with you.

Recap: Questions from
“What is Mindfulness Meditation?”

With what kind of mind are you being aware?
How does the mind feel when you are aware of this object?
Are you aware that you are sitting? Walking? Standing? Doing daily activities? What can you know naturally while you are doing these things?
Where is the mind? What is it doing? What is it feeling? What is it thinking?
What is happening? Why is it happening? If there’s no need for what is happening to go away, or what is not happening to appear, what sort of energy do you need to use?
Do you need to make an effort to see or hear? Are you still aware without having to focus on something?
There is the object and there is the watching mind. Which is more important?
Which object is better: The incoming or outgoing breath at the nostrils or the rising and falling motion of the abdomen?
What is happening in the body? What do you know? What can you know naturally?
What is happening in the mind right now? Is it peaceful? Agitated? Upset? What is happening?
When do you begin your practice during the day?
What is the mind thinking? How much effort is the mind exerting? What kinds of attitudes are present?
How are you meditating? Are you practicing the right way? How do you continue with the practice?