Different Aspects of Mindfulness

A Collection of Talks
on Mindfulness Meditation

Venerable Dhammasami
May 2000

**

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

COPING WITH FAILURE

         IN MEDITATION, there are people who think of themselves as failures. Not being able to make one's mind concentrated is enough to make one feel a sense of failure, particularly when they hear other people talking that once they enter into meditation, the mind just becomes calm and concentrated, never straying away from breathing. Some set a target for themselves but the mind keeps wandering and at times they get more frustrated, it appears to them that realising the desired result may not be achieved. Bringing the mind back to the primary object does not seem to help either. The mind never seems settled.

         There are many reasons for one feeling a sense of failure. May be the expectation is too high and one is not aware of one's own expectation or one has not learnt how to deal with expectation itself. By and large, people come to be disappointed in meditation when they are unable to keep the mind focused on one point, especially breathing or abdominal movements. There are those also who feel defeated in their efforts because sounds and various thoughts disturb them. The experience seems to be driving them to the limit of their ability. The problem is one of being unable to accept the inability.

         This is largely due to the judgmental mind. The principle of a non-judgmental approach to Vipassana is not being heeded. A judgmental mind conditions many things — wanting to be something and not wanting to be something. There is a strong desire "to be." Vipassana essentially aims at seeing such desire. However, it could be very despairing to see some of our own real experiences in Vipassana meditation. We are not yet ready to see things such as disappointment and the prospect of unfulfilled expectation. While hoping for the best, we are not at all prepared for the worst.

         Taking the wandering mind just as another meditation object to observe and contemplate, we could have avoided being disappointed. By observing the judgmental mind, there could be an escape from being trapped in confusion. The mind keeps wanting to be something else (a concentrated mind) all the time, unable to open to the conditions at that present moment, which is wandering. There is also an element of "want" manifested in wanting not to be something, like having a wandering mind. The judgmental mind itself is trapped in two extremes, wanting to get rid of something and wanting to be something else. Just watching and observing these extremes can help one out of being judgmental. Watching and not reacting, are other aspects of mindfulness working the Middle Way which abandons the two opposite extreme approaches.

         There is no failure in meditation. Any effort is rewarding in one way or another. We come to learn a lot about how the mind functions, not least the danger of leaving it untrained. It is helpful to remind ourselves that not all failures are necessarily an indication of weakness. The ascetic Gautama, before his enlightenment, went through some kinds of failure, if we may say so. He did not obtain the solution he was seeking from the two best-known meditation masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. Having decided to leave a princely life, he found himself not nearer the set goal. A few years, not just a few meditation sessions, of harsh practices that followed did not bring him any reward either. Six years is a long time for someone who is searching extensively and making an earnest effort like ascetic Gautama. He could have called off all his efforts if not for his strong resolve and patience. He made progress through learning from his own failures. His efforts bore fruits in the end, and we benefit them now Therefore, determination and patience are important friends in coping with failure.

         Meditatively, we should endeavour to cope with failure in two ways. First by cultivating the right attitude towards failure or rather, a perceived sense of failure as discussed earlier. Secondly, we should be mindful of the sense of failure itself and the responses to it such as disappointment, frustration and impatience.

         Awareness in these cases will prove that developing concentration alone is not sufficient. There are also other very indispensable qualities like determination (aditthana), and patience (khanti) to develop in meditation. Mindfulness helps one to achieve them.

SKILFUL FOCUS

         THE WORLD is full of things that can irritate us and make our whole life miserable. You can think of what you did not have in your childhood and go on blaming your parents. We all want to have the best in our life but that is exactly what does not happen. Although born royal, Princes William and Harry can still create miseries in their mind by blaming their parents for not sticking together as a happy family, something which many who are not royal enjoy

         There is no end to experiencing misery if we keep focusing on what we do not have. No one has everything in this world. We all have to go without having one thing or the other. Satisfaction does not come by having everything but by being able to enjoy what you have and the ability to share with others.

         Often you feel disappointed for having thoughts and emotions. What you want is a concentrated mind, not a wandering one. Before seeing how they arise and cease, it is difficult to accept either without being judgmental. It is almost inevitable that you may even feel discouraged for the mind wanders off quite often.

         The desire to keep the mind on one object is barely noticed. Without being aware of it, you are under pressure to concentrate and that makes you unable to achieve the very thing you are striving for. Before mindfulness is mature, meditation seems a disaster never giving the slightest hint of calm and peace you heard of before starting.

         Some lose self-confidence and come to think of them selves as being unable to make any progress in meditation. They want to give it up. This is because they think of the moments they cannot focus on their breathing rather than the ones they can.

         The moment you can focus on breathing may be very short but it is something you have done and after every session, you should focus your mind on those moments, not on wandering mind. Rejoice in the moments your mind is concentrated, maybe just one minute out of thirty. Why should you focus on the 29 minutes and feel miserable? Life already has too much of a misery

         There are mistakes we have made in our life starting with doing a lesson badly in school, in the relationship with our parents and friends, not doing something that should have been done today, or in making a big decision that could change our life. If we dwell on those mistakes, there is no way we can have confidence in ourselves and be happy.

         There are many good things that as a person we have done. We only need mindfulness to discover them and rejoice in them. It is extremely important that we focus on the good things we have done and go on building upon them. This is not to say that we have to ignore all the bad things or mistakes we have done. We, of course, have to learn lessons from them. However, it would be a very unskilful way of living a life to dwell on such things.

         Had Angulimala dwelled on his past he would have missed all the opportunity to transform himself and become one of the arahants. Had the Lord Buddha Himself focused only on His failure with His six years ascetic practice, He would have never become a Buddha. He learnt a mistake from it, abandoned it and started focusing on a new path, which we now know as the middle path.

         Do not be discouraged. Focus on the moments you have mindfulness rather than when you do not have it. Continue to build on what you have. Do not dwell on your wandering mind or any emotional reaction to it. Let it cease. That is the way it will be if you do not cling to it.

         Skilful reflection is the starting point and the foundation of all goodness in this world. It is an ability of the mind. All the worry, anxiety, irritation, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, fear, anger, hatred and attachment begin to get weakened with skilful reflection. Loving-kindness, compassion, appreciation and peace start to arise at this same point — skilful thought.

         Without this, we cannot even appreciate what our parents have done for us. There always seems to be one or other reason to complain about life. We never appear to have what we want. This is because we keep focus on what we do not have and are lacking. We start looking for educational qualifications, a job, money, a house, family life and fame and so on. One can be satisfied with what one has achieved while continuing to work. Or one can ignore what has achieved while working. In both cases, one is still working. However, one way is conducive to happiness and the other stress. This is due to difference in focus point.

         In the Shan Buddhist culture, people often make a vow after donating something to the Buddha or pagoda or the Sangha. It has become like a prayer through which one asks something from God in other religions.

         Many Shans would pray for the intelligence of Venerable Sariputta, the brightest among the immediate disciples of the Buddha, the miracle power of Venerable Maha Moggallana, the luck of Venerable Sivali, the hand some appearance of Venerable Kaccayana, the excellent health of Venerable Bakula and a beautiful voice as sweet as the sound of piano. They want everything and all in one. You can just see their devotion and admiration of those Arahants (Saints). There is an undeniable unskilful focus that keeps driving them to do what is nevertheless a good thing: sharing and refraining from harming others. Nevertheless, because of unskilful thoughts they are being driven by that desire rather than being guided by understanding in doing what they do.

         There is no way that a person will have all those qualities. It is not just possible. Are you going to judge if yours is a worthy life by having or not having all those things? What a wrong focus! You may rejoice in the Venerable Sariputta's intelligence but should not feel low and depressed for not having it. Peace does not necessarily depend on having all the best things in this world but on skilful reflection, which is made possible through awareness.

MINDFULNESS OF ORDINARY THINGS

         IN VIPASSANA (mindfulness) meditation, the object of meditation is something that exists in reality by itself, not the one we create in our mind. It has to be real. Breathing in and out is a real object that is there whether we are aware of it or not. Pain, numbness and itchiness are not new to us either. Nor are the emotions and thoughts particular to meditation practice. They are our ordinary experiences in daily life. And they are real, not artificial.

         Look at walking meditation. Lifting, forward, placing, stopping, standing and turning are perfectly known to any one of us, meditator or non-meditator, Buddhist or non-Buddhist.

         Clearly, the purpose of this meditation practice is not to seek out something extraordinary and have all the excitement to yourself. Rather to look at our daily routine in a different way through mindfulness without being judgmental. It is about observing the same thing but with different attitude and from a different angle. Through mindfulness, we try to experience things as they happen and as they truly are without any preconditioned mind.

         We experience pain all the time, while watching television, entertaining guests, working and even while sleeping. What we usually do is to change our posture in order to get rid of pain. We know how to do it even in sleep. This is the way we deal with pain physically.

         However in meditation we have a look at the same pain in different way, through mindfulness, which means dealing with physical pain mentally. This is totally a different way of dealing with pain. Actually, not only the pain but also all the reactions to the pain are observed with constant awareness.

         Sound, thoughts and a wandering mind are all the experiences we do not need an explanation to understand. They are so ordinary an object for anyone. It is the aim of Vipassana meditation to focus on those very ordinary things we experience on a daily basis because without doing so people spend a large part of their life looking for excitement, as they cannot enjoy these ordinary things. They always imagine either the past or the future to be more exciting rather the present moment! They cannot see the usefulness of the present moment any more.

         How much can we afford everyday to have an excitement one after another? All the excitement loses it exciting magic after we go through it a few times. No single song can create an exciting beat all time. We have to have a new song one after another to keep ourselves excited.

         If you apply this to your family life, what a disaster it could spell if you have to keep looking for excitement all the time. How long can the physical attraction and exclusive loving and caring words and thoughts you have for each other last? If they do not give you any excitement any more, are you going to change your partner every now and then just to satisfy your thirst for excitement? Or are you going to resort to drink and drugs to make you feel ecstatic? They all can but offer you fleeting excitement and bring loads of unhappiness, misery, quarrels, harm to health and destruction to your life.

         It is, indeed, really great if you can still enjoy being with one another when things become ordinary. Not excitement but an ordinariness is a challenge to human mind. It is difficult to grasp and to penetrate. There are enormous beauties in such ordinary activity we repeat everyday of our life. Take for example, walking, eating, washing, speaking, sleeping and so on. If we discover their beauties and enjoy them, we will then start living every moment of our life, no more feeling bored.

         There is no pressure in enjoying the beauties of ordinariness. You only need constant awareness, which is twofold; first the kind of awareness we try to develop through intensive practice of meditation and general awareness that we should have in our daily life. Walking simply gives you a lot of joy Going to work, driving back home, meeting the same people in your life, doing the same job, eating almost the same things, taking your children to school, earning and spending — they do not make you bored any more. You just enjoy every moment of doing your routine. This is the secret of happiness.

         This is what is called simplicity, which is the core message of the Buddha for a happy life. Contentment, detachment or living at the present moment! Call it what you want. It is the ability to see the usefulness of very ordinary things and discover the beauties of them. Simplicity is not only a way of life achieved with the help of Vipassana meditation practice but is one of the fundamentals of Metta, loving-kindness, as well. Mindfulness practice has its ultimate aim at this kind of life here and now. Once the beauties of ordinariness are discovered, happiness is no longer conditioned nor does it depend on excitement and acquiring something new. It is an ability of a well trained and powerful mind that enables you to enjoy your life without any pressure of ignorant desire. It is a wisdom-guided life.

LET IT GO

         PEOPLE WOULD normally say that to "let go" means not to think about something, be it a disturbing thought or regrettable past. A young man actually put a question to me on this practice of "letting go". He could not understand why on earth we have to note when a thought arises, if we want to let it go. "Through observation by way of noticing it, you merely cling to it, not let it go", he said "to let go means to ignore it and forget about it". He was a beginner genuinely trying to understand mindfulness.

         You cannot let a thing go unless you go through it mind fully by way of paying bare attention to it when it arises. Otherwise, it may stay in your mind most probably unconsciously at times and surface to trouble you at other times because you have not fully dealt with it. However, you think it is gone because you do not see it is there.

         You can find people being haunted by their past memories. Ajahn Sumedho said in his Dhamma talk "Refuge — Safety amidst the unsafe" that he came across a monk when he was practising meditation in Thailand. That monk was a soldier in the Laotian Royal Army and has killed a lot of people, in the light of his duty. Now, when meditating, the horrors of those killed came back to haunt him disturbing him continuously so that he wished Ajahn Sumedho was with him all the time. He dare not face them in a meditative way. It was too much for him and he left meditation practice soon after.

         Had he decided to face this experience meditatively he might have thrown it out of his mind. We know that during the time of the Buddha, a man called Angulimala killed hundreds of people. Nevertheless, he faced his memories meditatively and came to terms with them. Actually, he uprooted the unpleasant and unwholesome thoughts together with their causes. This is the way to let go.

         Regret is another meditation object. However, it is a very strong and troubling emotion. It creates a huge burden on the mind. It is like experiencing nothing but hell here and now. However, one can actually burn away the result of unwholesome action (akusala kamma vipaka) by facing, accepting and experiencing it in such a contemplative way. Contemplate such thought on the spot. Do not fear it. By contemplating it, you are not clinging to it but rather you are letting it go!

         Any kind of thought, even clinging thought is to be dealt with in this way. We do not let it go by ignoring it or by trying not to think about it but only by contemplating and watching it momentarily. This practice of "letting go" is a practice to train our mind to live in the here and now. It hardly involves any intellectual exercise certainly, no thinking process is involved. Investigation, done at a stage when mindfulness is mature, is not part of thinking as we understand it in ordinary sense. This practice of "letting go" in meditation can be understood and done only with the help of constant mindfulness.

A FIXED MIND

         BEFORE MINDFULNESS is sufficiently established and investigative nature becomes a dominant feature of the mind, our mind tends to work rigidly. That often becomes a source of conflict in our mind. The mind does nothing but creates conflicts with what is being perceived through eyes or ears.

         I remember someone came and shouted at our Vihara. It was a woman who became insane after her mother died. As she studied a bit of Buddhism and knew something about it, she was accusing somebody of being a hypocrite, not following the true path discovered by the Buddha. We were in the mid of our meditation session that Sunday afternoon.

         Many people in the session just got very annoyed and upset by what they heard, not necessarily because of the content (as they reported to me later!) but because they thought that she was making their meditative life difficult. Some paid attention to the content and went on thinking about what was being said. That was no longer bare attention, the mind had become judgmental adding all the values they had.

         For instance, shouting at somebody is not good — this is a value that one usually forms. It is indeed a good value ethically and a valid one. Nevertheless, this good value must not create misery in our minds.

         According to the Buddha, what is good has two characteristics: causing no harm to any one and making us happy. If a certain value brings no harm from or to others, yet if it still creates unhappiness in our mind we have to train our mind further in order to enjoy the benefit of this value. It is in this sense that we have to look at or rather examine this value from non-value-added aspect. It can only be done through mindfulness practice.

         In Buddhist terms, the above value is about Five Precepts that cover the course of action and words but not the mind. Meditation is to learn and then control the mind. The domain is the mind, which is a driving force behind all our physical and verbal action. Observing the precepts is not enough. We have to meditate, develop mindfulness in order to get the full benefit of the precepts.

         Even with such a good value, one should not form a perception. Just knowing and being aware of pains caused by such an action (shouting) is enough to deter one from shouting. A perception is not necessary. Once a perception of it is formed, the mind becomes fixed and will act from that fixed view rather than an open and liberal one. When our view is fixed, the world we live in gets narrow because our mind makes it narrow. We have more limits to what we think is good and to what we can enjoy It is a source of unhappiness.

         The following are some of the elements that make the mind rigid:

         i. Attachment

         ii. Clinging

         iii. Anger

         iv. Agitation

         v. Irritation

         vi. Hatred

         vii. Fear

         viii. Jealousy

         ix. Suspicion

         x. Pride

         xi. Identity

         xii. Ego

         They may not operate obviously on the surface but as an unconscious force lying deep at the bottom of our mind influencing all the way a conscious mind works and reacts.

         By paying bare attention to a fixed mind and its conditions, observing them initially as secondary object before mindfulness is strong enough to penetrate, one can weaken the force of a fixed mind and its causes. Do not resent having a fixed mind and consequent reactions that keep creating a conflict with what you see or hear. Do not allow yourself to be immersed in them either. Just pay bare attention. Observe them initially three or four times and move back to primary object.

         A fixed mind is also about creating an identity of some thing or about something. You imagine (create) an identity of a meditation session as a peaceful and quiet environment. However, when you do not get that, then there is a clash between the created or perceived meditation session and the real one. An identity makes the mind fixed, not flexible. An unenlightened mind tends to create an identity out of what you see or hear.

         If you form an identity of someone as a good person and he turns out not to live up to your expectation, you are disappointed. This is because of the formed identity has made your mind rigid, not being able to accept him as he is at the moment. We are not talking about helping or not helping him, not even expecting or not expecting him to come up to a certain standard. We are only talking about how to keep our mind calm in the face of such a situation.

         An identity always brings about clinging to that identity. With clinging, we tend to live in the past, not in the present. Observe any manifestations of a fixed mind. Let it go. Do not be judgmental. Pay only bare attention to it before you can reflect on it.

SATIPATTHANA
Mindfulness Meditation

         THE NAME Satipatthana is directly taken from a discourse known in the Pali Canonical scriptures as the Satipatthana Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundation of Mindfulness. Sati means mindfulness, bare attention, contemplation or awareness. Patthana means foundation or leading factor. In this discourse, the Buddha gives details of Vipassana practice. It is a very long discourse so it is included in the Collection of Long Discourses (Digha Niknya).^* It is difficult to understand when going through it for the first time. The words and phrases are rather simple but the philosophy and psychology behind the instruction are so deep that it requires a long intense practice to understand them.

         (* Also in the Majjhima Nikaya, The Middle Length Sayings. )

         For ordinary lay folk, it may be explained as follows: The core of the Satipatthana practice is to establish mindfulness in order to make use of it as a foundation at the beginning and also as a guiding factor along the way. Mindfulness is not only a foundation but also a factor that must lead all the way before the seven factors of enlightenment become established and balanced. The seven factors are mindfulness, concentration, investigative nature, calm, effort, balance of mind and rapture. They form different aspects of an enlightened mind. They are to be acquired by first establishing mindfulness. This is very important. This is the main difference between Samatha and Vipassana, the two meditation techniques in Buddhism.

         However, even in many traditions where the Satipatthana is the main practice, people often go off the track by giving priority to concentration, and not mindfulness. As a result, it becomes Samadhipatthana, and not Satipatthana. People often ask each other in the retreat if one's mind is concentrated. Very rarely do they ask if one is mindful of what is going on in the mind including wandering. Samadhi, concentration is the main factor in Samatha technique. You do achieve calm and peace of mind once concentration is sustained.

         Sometimes, after beginning meditation, a person may expect the mind to calm down and focus on the chosen object, for instance, breathing. When this does not happen, he starts speculating on what might be going wrong with his practice. He may start losing confidence. This is because the practice is centred on developing concentration (samadhi), not mindfulness (sati). This is what is nor Satipatthana.

         In developing mindfulness, what one has to do in this particular instance is to observe the mind that is not calming down. In other words, one should make an effort to notice the wandering mind and should not cling to the breathing object if it is not the most obvious one at that particular moment. Personal reactions to wandering minds such as disappointment, impatience and frustration should also be eagerly and keenly observed. Observing these objects as they arise is Satipatthana practice. It centres on being aware of what is here and now presenting itself to our senses.

         All the meditation objects that one comes across in this world are categorised by the Buddha into four, namely physical objects (kaya), sensations (vedana), Mind (citta) and Dhamma.

         The first two are clear but it takes a while to grasp the last two. Observing the mind is called the Mindfulness of the Minds (citta-nupassana). The last category is somewhat difficult to define especially without long and sufficient practice. The Dhamma includes both physical and mental, that is to say the word Dhamma covers all the objects we have defined in the first three categories. One good example of it is the five aggregates. The body, the first category of meditation object (kaya) is the first aggregate and is considered to be the Dhamma. The sensations (vedana) which are the second category meditation object are known as the Dhamma. The mind, the third category is again taken as the Dhamma. We shall have more opportunity to talk about it in detail, another time.

         For today, just remember that we can put meditation objects into three categories, physical objects (kaya), sensations (vedana) and mental meditation object (citta). Breathing or abdominal movement is a meditation object, which is physical. Numbness, tension and pain are sensations we experience most in sitting session. Wandering mind or any reaction (here to pain) such as impatience, restlessness and frustration are mental. As you keep noting any object that arises, you are practising Satipatthana meditation, which is better known as Vipassana.

         The purpose of dividing the objects into three categories today is to show you that the objects have different natures. It is not necessary to analyse the type of contemplation. Be it physical, sensation or mental. Just observe the most obvious object arising in the here and now.

CONTEMPLATION OF THE DHAMMA
(Dhamma-nupassana)

         THERE ARE four categories of contemplation, namely the contemplation of (any part or movement of) the physical body (kaya-nupassana), the contemplation of the sensations (vedana-nupassana), the contemplation of the different minds^**(citta-nupassana) and the contemplation of the Dhamma.

( ** The different mind means the mind that becomes different due to different factors associated with it. For example when agitation is dominant, the mind becomes an agitated mind, but changes to a lustful mind when lust exists in it. One looks at the mind as an agitated mind, a lustful mind, a wandering mind or a concentrated mind and so on. )

         The last category is somewhat difficult to define especially without long and sufficient practice. The word "Dhamma" is sometimes translated as "mental objects." This is neither accurate nor concise, because the objects of meditation mentioned as the Dhamma belong to both the mental as well as the material group.^*** The Dhamma includes both physical and mental — that is to say that the word Dhamma covers all the objects that we have defined in the first three categories. One good example of it is the five aggregates. The body is the first aggregate and is considered to be the Dhamma as well as the first category of meditation object (kaya). The sensations (vedana) which are the second category meditation object are known as the Dhamma. The mind (citta), the third category is again taken as the Dhamma.

         ( *** 'THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS' by Venerable U Silananda, Wisdom Publication, Boston, USA, London, England and Chatswood, Australia, 1990 )

         There are, of course, subtle differences in observing a sensation as the sensational object (vedana-nupassana) and as the Dhamma (dhamma-nupassana). In the former, one focuses on the experience of sensation as pain (dukkha), pleasant (sukha) or neutral (adukkha-masukha). In the latter, one actually forgoes that perceptive nature of sensation and focuses on any sensation just as sensation (vedana). More than that, in observing sensation as the contemplation of the Dhamma, one contemplates also the arising and the vanishing of the sensation itself.

         It may be explained in plain terms that when mindfulness of sensation, say pain, becomes mature, one would stop reacting to it. At the same time, one will see the arising and the vanishing moment. It is because one sees sensation as merely an object and deals with it objectively. At this stage, due to developed concentration and sustained awareness, one is able to focus on the nature of the object. Only when there is no or less reaction to an object, can the mind begin its task of being aware of the nature of the object. This is mindfulness of the Dhamma (dhamma-nupassana). If you look at sensation as pain, tension and numbness, not just as sensation, you are contemplating the sensation object (vedana-nupassana). It is quite technical. However, for some one who has been practising constantly and intensively for a certain length of period of time, it is natural that one comes to be able to contemplate in this way. Before sufficient mindfulness and concentration are developed and one tries to reflect on the nature of an object, one may just end up theorising or speculating, not seeing and realising it.

         According to the definition of the first three categories of meditation objects, a meditation practitioner sees an object in somewhat conventional terms but he or she may forsake those conventional daily outlooks and embrace an object in a more natural and objective sense when practising the contemplation of the Dhamma.

         Instead of seeing sensation as pain, a pleasant feeling or a neutral one, he or she may actually see sensation in the context of how it arises and ceases; it may be from the contact between eyes and visual objects or ears and sounds etc. The way we see the world starts changing and we see more of the nature of the way the objects operate.

         When you feel agitated and observe it as agitated mind, you are doing the contemplation of the mind (citta-nupassana). You mainly observe the mind as opposed to its nature or function. When mindfulness is developed to a certain degree, you will see agitation as one thing and the mind as the other. As you choose to watch agitation, how it arises and vanishes and how it creates tension, unhappiness and suffering, you are contemplating the Dhamma (dhamma nupassana). You come to see agitation as a hindrance towards achieving happiness. You come to see through directly experiencing agitation that it is suffering. You no longer wish to justify yourself having it. You do not think that anger makes you a stronger man any more.

         You may see it more or less as a process in the contemplation of the Dhamma. At times, you are aware of the causes, the existence and the absence of an object. This indicates a developed mindfulness being present.

         In hearing a sound, if you note it as hearing, that is the Contemplation of Body (kaya-nupassana). As you hear a sound, if you are able to perceive nor only the sound but also the ears and the reaction to the sound or the absence of it separately, you are then focusing on the Dhamma (dhamma-nupassana). Dhamma-nupassana reveals more of the process nature of the phenomena.

         To my understanding, the last category, the Contemplation of the Dhamma (dhamma-nupassana) can be practised when we become more familiar with the first three meditation objects (kaya, vedana, citta) and have established some degree of constant mindfulness. It is a different way of seeing the same meditation objects already encountered under the first three categories — this time with their natures such as being a hindrance, suffering, the cause of suffering, disturbing or calming and even the link between events. The faculties are more mature at this stage.

First posted on 11th August 2000