Right Mindfulness
When one follows the Tathagata's gradual training path, which includes renunciation, fostering strong virtue, adhering to precepts, skillfully guarding the sense doors, practicing moderation in eating, and dedicating themselves to wakefulness and alertness, unskillful qualities of mind and behavior are significantly diminished. This sets the stage for the practice of Right Mindfulness.
In simpler terms, one has significantly lessened the coarse affliction of body, speech, actions, and livelihood, has greatly decreased disturbances in one's life, and is dedicated to being alert and mindful of one's thoughts and actions in their daily life. One has gained enough tranquility that they can now address more subtle forms of clinging and aversion, specifically clinging to the Five Aggregates themselves.
And what, disciples, is to be done? You should be endowed with mindfulness and clear knowing. When going forward and returning, you should act with clear knowing. When looking ahead and looking away, you should act with clear knowing. When bending and stretching, you should act with clear knowing. When wearing the robe and carrying the bowl, you should act with clear knowing. When eating, drinking, chewing, and savoring, you should act with clear knowing. When urinating and defecating, you should act with clear knowing. When walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, speaking, and keeping silent, you should act with clear knowing. This is how you should train, monks.
What is Right Mindfulness?
So how is Right Mindfulness different from the mindfulness of practicing virtue, guarding the sense doors, mindfulness in eating, and in the practice of wakefulness?
In these previous practices, our attention is on practicing mindfulness in our everyday activities and in regards to the objects of the world. Right Mindfulness, whether walking, sitting, standing, or lying down, requires a more subtle level of appropriate attention, paying attention to the source of formations, the Five Aggregates.
The goal of Right Mindfulness is to collect and establish attention fully in memory and not scattered among the objects of the "world" . It involves letting go of clinging to the Five Aggregates, starting with the body, the Form Aggregate.
As covered before, phenomena like time and space, and our sense of self as a separate being apart from the objects of the world, are not inherent characteristics of light waves coming in contact with our eyes or sound waves sensed by our ears. This three-dimensional world, in which we perceive ourselves as separate from objects of the world, is created in consciousness and is a fabrication or projection created to facilitate our interaction with the environment.
This creates the perception that there are things to be grasped and that there is someone who grasps, that there is a doer and things to be done, a thinker and thoughts to be thought.
So, for example, regarding regular mindfulness of the body, any perceptions, feelings, memories, and thoughts are experienced as separate objects or formations that appear in awareness. This causes us to take these objects or formations personally and as 'self,' a self that must react or interact with these objects.
By letting go of clinging to the perception of object or subject, the perceiver and what is being perceived, bodily, verbal, and mental formations are significantly reduced. This quiets the mind sufficiently so that the knowing element inherent in consciousness or intuition can naturally discern the source of greed, aversion, and delusion.
Right Mindfulness of the body is attention established in memory of the Form Aggregate, keeping track of the impermanent, always-changing nature of phenomena originating, arising, passing away, and ceasing in the body. Seeing that all phenomena in the body neither exist nor do not exist, and that clinging to these phenomena and clinging to the Form Aggregate give all bodily phenomena the appearance of some permanence, substance, which causes stress.
Stress results when we cling to the arising, the appearance of phenomena or sensations in the body, but do not pay attention or keep track in memory of their passing away and cessation. This clinging causes perceptions, feelings, etc., related to the body to become trapped in memory. For example, feeling body pain as something constant instead of keeping track of this pain in memory and feeling it pass away and cease.
Appropriate Attention
The basic principle of appropriate attention is that attention must be placed at the source, the origination of formations. For example, one can't let go of formations when one is interacting with or entangled in them. This is because where you actively pay attention, this causes the mind to fabricate new feelings, perceptions, intentions, and consciousnesses. This gets in the way of true seeing. To have appropriate attention, we need to look at the source of the formations, the Five Aggregates themselves.
For example, in regards to mindfulness of the body, any sensations or thoughts arising and passing away are the result of clinging to the body itself. If we focus on any of these sensations, this would be inappropriate attention, as the origination of the clinging is clinging to the body itself, the Form Aggregate.
Right Mindfulness of the body involves keeping attention established at the Form Aggregate, maintaining awareness of the body in memory, keeping track of any objectification, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, etc., without becoming entangled in their details.
This requires letting go of the doer, cognizer, watcher, observer, judge, and all active processes in awareness.
As one does this, one sees the origination, arising, passing away, and cessation of formations. One sees their impermanent, unsubstantial, and not-self nature, becomes dispassionate, and does not cling to anything.
True Right Mindfulness
For most people, the concept of "right mindfulness" and "right discernment" is very vague. Here, I'll use a popular saying from the internet that might help everyone grasp what "right mindfulness" and "right discernment" mean more clearly.
Resaerch has shown that teh order of English characters does not necessarily affect reading comperhension.
After reading this sentence, I believe many people didn't notice that the characters in the sentence are actually jumbled. Strictly speaking, this sentence doesn't convey any meaning, but our brains overlook this fact.
In this example, ignoring the position of each character while reading the sentence is an example of "not having right mindfulness." Because of "not having right mindfulness," various understandings and concepts generated in the mind are also not accurate, which is "not having right discernment." If we had initially paid attention to each character and its position as they are, that would be "right mindfulness," and the various accurate understandings and concepts arising from "right mindfulness" would be "right discernment."
The correct understanding of a sentence is based on having accurate knowledge of the words, just as the correct understanding of the world is based on having accurate knowledge of consciousness.
It's important to note that there is nothing within the body and mind that can observe or be aware of other things. All cognition is the result of interactions between the senses and objects. So, to have right knowledge of consciousness itself, nothing else is needed to know or observe consciousness. It's like a self-illuminating light source; it doesn't need another light to shine upon it.
There's also no need to actively observe; consciousness is always arising, various forms of awareness are also always arising. This world doesn't cease to exist because we don't make an effort to observe it, and our sense of existence and various emotions and feelings don't disappear because we don't make an effort to observe them.
Just as I wrote in "My Meditation Experience":
One day during meditation, I thought, If I don't make an effort to observe, does that mean I won't know what's happening in the present moment? Will I become completely unaware like a piece of wood?' The answer was very clear—no one turns into a piece of wood just because they're not trying to observe.
So, at that moment, I completely renounced, gave up all active and passive observations and all acts of will. I simply allowed phenomena of body and mind to arise and pass away on their own. The restless me suddenly became calm, and the phenomena of body and mind became even clearer than before, but I was no longer involved in them. My mind remained stable in a state beyond all phenomena.
A form of knowing, one that I had never experienced or seen before, arose: when phenomena of body and mind occurred, there was already knowing within them. There was no need for extra, redundant observation. This knowing was the inherent function of the phenomena themselves. What people call 'observation' is nothing more than another phenomenon arising afterwards.
It reminded me of an insight I had years ago when I first started practicing meditation. At that time, I simply paid attention to what arose on a small patch of water's surface. Following a similar feeling now, I no longer actively observed the phenomena of body and mind; I only pay attention to what knowing arises within the scope of body and mind.
Nowadays, my concentration is completely different from what it used to be. When I use this method again, the knowing generated by the phenomena of body and mind is timely, complete, and clear, while I remain relaxed, as if I had just taken a heavy burden off my shoulders.
Just like between a worker and a boss, previously, I kept observing the phenomena of body and mind, like a worker continually doing a job, exhausted but earning meager wages. Now, I've discovered that knowing is the inherent function of the phenomena of body and mind themselves, so I no longer need to do this job. I only need to collect the results of labor from these workers (inherent knowing in consciousness), which is not only effortless but also highly profitable."
If you can understand this point, you won't waste time on incorrect methods of so-called observation. Instead, you'll simply pay attention to what consciousness arises and what knowing arises in every moment, everywhere. You won't miss it, won't overlook it, and won't misunderstand it. Through this, ignorance is eliminated, and right knowledge arises. When right knowledge arises, the inner logical induction, analysis, summarization, and reflection will remove past misunderstandings, eliminate wrong thoughts, and produce right mindfulness.
The Mental and Physical Body
Understanding the Form Aggregate requires one to differentiate between the physical body and the mental body.
To address stress and suffering, one must be able to differentiate between physical pain and mental suffering. One must learn to discern the difference between suffering, which is a mental phenomenon, and pain, which is physical, and recognize how physical pain is created or increased considerably by mental suffering when we take physical pain personally.
Bearing in mind the analogy of the six animals, the more our senses are engaged in the external world, the more formations are created by the mind because attention is no longer established at the source, the Form Aggregate. This results in increased bodily formations and stress.
Conversely, when our attention is directed inward, closer to the body, fewer bodily formations arise, leading to greater calmness and reduced agitation.
For example, to practice Right Mindfulness of breathing, which is part of the Form Aggregate, one needs to let go of the perception of object or subject, the perceiver, and what is being perceived and establish awareness at the Five Aggregates and discern the difference between the physical breath and the mental breath.
For example, as one develops a more subtle discernment of the breath, one realizes that it is not possible to know the breath outside the mental feelings and perceptions that we experience.
Trying to control the breath physically and mechanically results in increased stress because of our expectations and trying to control the breath in a way that it can't be controlled. This is evident when we practice breath meditation. If we try to control the breath mechanically, this creates tension. The more we try to physically control it or micromanage the breath, the more tension, and the less smooth and calm the breath becomes.
Conversely, if we work only with the mental sensations and perceptions and not the physical breath, we are able to reduce stress, resulting in a calm breath and body.
In other words, we must learn to separate the physical and the mental aspects of the breath.
Keeping in mind that the mind is the forerunner to all experience, when there is tightness in the mind, this translates into tightness in the body. When we let go of the tightness in the mind, this translates into calm in the body.
When there is tightness in the body, we should look for tightness in the mind and calm the tightness there.
In other words, one must become attuned to the bodily formations or sensations, which are mind-made formations of perceptions and feelings, and work with the body on that level, the Form Aggregate.
If we are to stop clinging to the Form Aggregate itself, we must differentiate between the Form Aggregate, its formations, and the physical body.
He abides contemplating the body as a body internally, externally, and both internally and externally.
Practicing Right Mindfulness of Breathing
Breath meditation is practiced similarly to mindfulness of breath in the practice of wakefulness. One simply directs their attention to the breath, akin to how a skilled turner or potter focuses while shaping pots. However, now our awareness is embodied inside the breath. This entails being mindful of the breath not as a separate object being observed, but as awareness embodied within the breath.
With attention and awareness embodied inside the breath, attention and awareness reside in memory or consciousness of the body and are not scattered in bodily formations.
By contemplating the body and breath both internally (memory and the Form Aggregate) and externally (the bodily formations), one can clearly discern how bodily formations arise and how this leads to getting lost in greed, aversion, and delusion.
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Start with the long breath, letting go of any greed, aversion, or tightness or tension anywhere in the mind. Keep track of the whole breath in memory.
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Let go of any sense of being a doer, observer, cognizer, judge, or any active interaction with awareness.
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Let the breath automatically transition from long breath to short breath and then spread breath awareness all over the body. Still, with attention completely in memory, keep track of any objectification, formations.
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With attention and the breath now spread over the whole body, one starts to become aware of parts of attention and awareness that are not embodied inside the breath or memory; these are "bodily formations."
Calming the remaining bodily formations involves becoming aware of these bodily formations or projections, which manifest as sensations, tension, or lack of awareness, and collecting them back, recalling them, keeping track of them in memory, embodied inside the breath.
The Simile of the Beauty Queen
To properly understand Right Mindfulness, read the following Sutta, "The Simile of the Beauty Queen". It demonstrates the right mindset needed to practice mindfulness of death when walking.
Notice that when one is faced with extreme danger, the mind cannot cling to self and its formations, which would obscure true seeing. All attention is at the source of awareness, the Five Aggregates.
The mind must also increase the speed of the congnition process, which normally is too slow to capture the smallest details.
This is appropriate attention and Right Mindfulness.
Minding the Body as Treading on Thin Ice
Before I understood the simile of the beauty queen in the scriptures, I contemplated how to avoid generating delusions and how to achieve complete right mindfulness regarding all phenomena occuring at my feet during walking meditation.
At that time, I thought of the phrase "as treading on thin ice."
Imagine walking on the fragile surface of a frozen lake. A momentary lapse in concentration, and you could fall through the ice. One must be extremely cautious, lightly touch the ice with their feet, slowly shift their weight, and only once one foot is steady, can you raise the other foot, move it, and touch the ice again.
Throughout this process, even during moments of standing still, attention is completely alert to all sensory perceptions underfoot. It's neither lax nor fixated, and certainly not distracted. Upon finding this sensation, I frequently practiced walking meditation in this manner.
On one occasion, with a mind of extraordinary clarity and right mindfulness, I recognized that when the sensation of my foot touching the ground arises, I immediately know that it's been touched. At that moment, various feelings arise, all independently arising, unentangled, and fleeting. They didn't exist before arising, and they don't persist after ceasing. They have no inherent existence, and they're devoid of substantiality.
When I mindlessly attached to these feelings, the perception of my foot, my movement, my awareness of movement, the intention, and the perceived cause and effect between them would give rise to thoughts. And within those thoughts existed craving and aversion.
Similarly, during movement and when standing still, my legs and body experienced various sensations, all of which were discrete and continually vanishing. When I mindlessly attached to these sensations, perceptions of my legs, my bodily movement, and my standing, corresponding thoughts rooted in craving and aversion would also arise.
I came to realize that the so-called "body" consists solely of diverse feelings originating from contact. These feelings are momentary and ever-changing, vanishing and reappearing. The various perceptions and thoughts that arise from these feelings have no intrinsic reality. They may appear rich and colorful, yet they are ultimately empty illusions.
During this time, I practiced right mindfulness by not attaching to feelings. I didn't cling to the arising perceptions or thoughts related to my body or movement. I refrained from speculative thinking and craving. My mind abided in liberation.
In the past, during my practice of Theravada Buddhism, I once believed that there was an intention for movement, and thus, movement of the legs existed. There was also a knowing mind that recognized this movement. But now, as I directly face the present, I understand that the only true reality is the arising of feelings due to contact. The concepts of "feet," "movement," "awareness of movement," "intention," and the causal relationships between them are simply perceptions and thoughts that arise from a lack of insight into the nature of feelings. When all feelings are mindfully acknowledged without clinging, all these illusory perceptions and thoughts vanish.
This is akin to an old-fashioned television, where the electrical impulses and the flickering of the screen only give rise to momentary flashes. The countless fleeting flashes create the illusion of a continuous image in our minds. It's due to people's thinking and memories about these ever-changing images that various narratives form. Yet, the only true reality within that TV is the instantaneous flickering of the electrons and the screen.
The movement of footsteps is no different. The sensations in the feet and the contact with the ground give rise to momentary feelings. Numerous fleeting feelings create the perception of having feet. It's due to people's thoughts and memories about these changing perceptions that the concept of movement forms.
Subsequent analytical thoughts and the conception of intention cause movement. However, in reality, the only true phenomenon in the present moment is the diverse, fleeting feelings due to the contact of the feet.
This understanding applies to all sensory experiences: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mental phenomena. As the Buddha stated: "Eye and visible form, eye-consciousness, and eye-contact give rise to eye-feeling. The same principle applies to ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, as well as their respective sensory experiences, awareness, and contact, which give rise to feeling. This is what the Buddha termed 'all phenomena.'"
However, because people don't correctly perceive these real phenomena, scriptures can sometimes, mistake many illusory phenomena for reality. This confusion can mislead people onto the wrong path to liberation.
So, do not attempt to observe the body with a mind tainted by wrong views. Cultivate right view. With the similes of the beauty queen and treading on thin ice, consistently keep your mind on the body. Practice right mindfulness and right understanding. This is the contemplation of the body.
With much practice in contemplating the body, you'll be able to perceive feelings accurately. By contemplating feelings, you'll be able to perceive the mind accurately. With the contemplation of the mind, you can perceive all true phenomena accurately. And when you perceive them accurately, you'll cease to give rise to craving and aversion, and your mind will attain liberation.
Understanding Alertness
Under normal conditions, the senses don't capture every detail of our experience. For example, eye conciousness typically recreates what is captured by the eye in the form of light waves at slower intervals and just fills in between the intervals with the same picture or a partially updated one. However, to clearly observe fine details in our experience, the speed of sensitivity or capture needs to be increased. This is what we normally call "being alert." Part of the practice of wakefulness is developing alertness, attending to perception in a way that fine details are observed, without getting entangled in their details.
Study the following Suttas to better understand mindfulness of death:
Mindfullness of Mind and Dharmas
Layperson: I’m still a little confused as to whether the practice of watching the mind is the same as the practice of cittanupassanā as taught in the four satipatthāna. If it is the same, shouldn't we all do it, because the practice of satipatthāna is the way to go beyond suffering?
Ajahn Dtun: Yes, watching the mind is what is called cittanupassanā. To practice cittanupassanā correctly one must see the characteristics of aniccā, dukkha, and anattā: the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and absence of self in all one’s thoughts and emotions. In truth, cittanupassanā is the path of practice for an anāgāmī practicing for the final breakthrough to arahantship. Anyone else can only contemplate the mind at a very gross or superficial level because their faculties of mindfulness and wisdom are not yet subtle enough to penetrate deeply and uproot the mental defilements. Hence, contemplating the last two satipatthāna, the mind and dhammas, in great detail or refinement requires one’s mindfulness and wisdom to be extremely subtle, so as to be aware of the subtle delusion still remaining in the mind. As I just said, this is the practice of an anāgāmī developing arahattamagga, the path of practice that leads to full enlightenment.
The mindfulness and wisdom of ordinary, unenlightened beings are too slow and too coarse to penetrate to any real depth within the mind. Actually, their mindfulness and wisdom can't even stay abreast of all the emotions and thoughts arising within the mind. If we think in terms of percentages, they would be aware of no more than 10% of the mind’s thoughts and emotions. A sotāpanna (the first level of enlightenment) would be aware of perhaps 20%, a sakadāgāmī (the second level of enlightenment) would be aware of about 30%, and an anāgāmī would be aware of about 50%. To destroy the mental defilements completely, 100%, by way of practicing cittanupassanā is solely the task of the anāgāmī.
Those who like to practice of watching the mind always say that mental defilements exist within the mind, and so we must seek them out and deal with them at the level of the mind.
Their practice is all about watching thoughts and emotions, but no matter how many thoughts and emotions are watched, they will never cease. Every day new thoughts and emotions will arise. For example, as we experience sights, sounds, odors, flavors, and bodily sensations today, feelings of liking or disliking will arise. Tomorrow we will again meet with forms, hear sounds, smell odors, taste flavors, and experience bodily sensations, all of which will cause feelings of liking and disliking to arise. It’s never-ending.
No matter how much they watch their mind, those who like to practice the method of do jit cannot remove the mental defilements. The only way to do so is to go to the very source of the defilements—the body. It is our deluded attachment to and identification with the body as being ourselves that give rise to clinging and anger. The body and the mind are interrelated.
However, even though attaining the first three stages of enlightenment is dependent on body contemplation, we still have to stay aware of all our emotions and know them in line with the truth so that we can let them go. Letting go is a conditional thing; it happens due to causes. For us to let go of our emotions from the mind, we must see their impermanence and absence of self.
The Illusion of Consciousness
Previously, it was mentioned that there are five types of human consciousness: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile. In addition to these, there is another type of consciousness that can be generated without the need for external real-time stimuli, which is the inner consciousness (mind) and the thoughts generated by events. We will temporarily call it the "consciousness of intention."
Therefore, humans have a total of six types of consciousness (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, consciousness of intention), each generated by six senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, inner consciousness or mind) and corresponding six entities (light, sound, smell, taste, touch, events).
Let's start with the principle of a television set. As mentioned earlier, the light in a television picture is produced jointly by the television set and the electromagnetic waves. So, when light appears, it indicates that the television set and the electromagnetic waves have successfully interacted. Obviously, it is not the light that illuminates the television set and the electromagnetic waves, but rather the light depends on them for its existence. The television set and the electromagnetic waves are the prerequisites and causes for the light, while the light is the product and result of the television set and the electromagnetic waves.
The same goes for vision. Eyes and light produce vision. It is not that vision sees the eyes and light, or that the eyes see the light, but vision depends on the eyes and light for its existence. The eyes and light are the prerequisites and causes for vision, while vision is the product and result of the eyes and light.
Audition, olfaction, gustation, tactility, and consciousness of intention follow the same principle. It is not that consciousness perceives the senses and entities, or that the senses perceive the entities, but rather consciousness depends on the senses and entities for its existence. The senses and entities are the prerequisites and causes for consciousness, while consciousness is the product and result of the senses and entities.
However, people often understand that light cannot actively illuminate electromagnetic waves, yet they always believe that consciousness can actively perceive entities. Through the previous analysis, it is clear that when consciousness arises from the interaction of the senses and entities, consciousness is merely a result of their interaction, a new, independent, non-autonomous, non-living, passively arising natural product.
When consciousness arises, the fact of perception has already been achieved. At this point, the senses and entities have already interacted. This consciousness does not need to return to perceive the entity, nor does it need or even can perceive other entities. Because when other consciousness arises, it is also due to the conditions of other senses and entities.
The generation of these consciousnesses does not require an active perceiver or an object to be perceived. The whole process is just A + B = C. Whether people are willing or not, when the conditions of both senses and entities are present, this process will naturally occur, without the need to add anything else to actively see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or think.
Just like fuel and oxygen burning to produce flames, when flames appear, it indicates that the burning phenomenon has occurred. There is no need to add an active burner, as the flames are just the result of the interaction between the first two, and the entire burning phenomenon is just the process of fuel + oxygen = flames.
Therefore, whether within or outside consciousness or the body, there is nothing that has the function of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, or thinking. These consciousnesses are all newly generated, independent, non-autonomous, non-living, passively arising natural products that arise from the interaction of the senses and entities. When these consciousnesses arise, it is the act of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, or thinking.
The relationship between them is like that of a television or a movie. When light appears, it signifies the appearance of the program content; they are two sides of the same coin. Consciousness is the same. When visual consciousness arises, it is the arising of what is seen; when auditory consciousness arises, it is the arising of what is heard; when other consciousness arises, it is the arising of what is known. They are two sides of the same coin.
However, people are ignorant of this and mistakenly divide consciousness into two parts, believing that consciousness is one thing and its content is another, connected by the function of perception. This leads to the illusion that consciousness can perceive entities.
Based on this illusion, most people consider the perceived entities as real, while others believe that the perceived entities are false, illusory, and so on. Regardless of whether the perceived entities are considered real or false, these viewpoints are built on the illusion that consciousness or something else can perceive entities.