Vipassana - The Two Levels of Understanding

Computer Studies in Buddhism - Meditation
"Vipassana Meditation Course: Series of Eight Talks", by Ven Sayadaw U Janaka
Buddha Dhamma Meditation Association, Sydney, AUSTRALIA



Talk 7
The Two Levels of Understanding



  I will review my talk on the two levels of understanding so that you can
  remember it. The first level is understanding the specific characteristics of
  mental and physical phenomena. The second is understanding the general or
  common characteristics of mental and physical phenomena. Each mental process
  or physical process has its specific characteristics. Those characteristics
  are not concerned or connected with other mental processes.
  The three main roots of evil, called mula priyaya in Pali, are anger, greed,
  and delusion or ignorance (I prefer ignorance): lobha, dosa, moha in Pali. You
  should have these terms because they are not very difficult to remember. Lobha
  is greed, desire, craving, attachment. All the senses of these words are
  covered by lobha. So when you say lobha, it means desire; when you say lobha
  it means greed; when you say lobha it means craving; when you say lobha it
  means lust; when you say lobha it means attachment. To cover the senses of all
  these words we use the word attachment. So, lobha or attachment or desire,
  greed is one of the main roots of evil, evil things, evil deeds, evil speech,
  evil mind. When the mind becomes evil it's due to one of these three roots.
  Either lobha or dosa or moha.
  Dosa means anger, hatred, ill will, aversion. Dosa is anger, hatred, ill-will,
  aversion. Moha is ignorance. Occasionally it is translated delusion. I do not
  like this word delusion. I preferred 'ignorance,' because when you say
  illusion sometimes you get confused with wrong view: sakaya-ditthi,
  atta-ditthi. Say when you stretch out your legs towards the Buddha statue,
  does it mean respect or disrespect to the Buddha? When you stretch out your
  arms towards the Buddha statue then do you mean it as respect or disrespect to
  the Buddha? Respect, when you stretch out your arms. When you stretch out your
  legs towards the Buddha statue what do you mean? Disrespect. Yes. But
  sometimes you did it out of mere ignorance because you did not know it was
  disrespectful. You happened to stretch out your legs towards the Buddha. That
  behaviour is regarded as something with no volition or motive. Without
  disrespect you happened to do it. So if you feel disrespect towards the Buddha
  when you stretch out this leg then you must withdraw it. But if you do not
  withdraw it and keep stretching out then it's disrespect. It's done out of
  ignorance.
  There's a Burmese story but it may be everywhere in the world. There were two
  carpenters working together. One was the father, the other his son. The son
  was very foolish. The father was chopping a log when a deadly fly, one that is
  very harmful, that bites and sucks the blood of human beings, came to the
  father's forehead. The father was occupied over this work. He couldn't do
  anything with the fly. Then the son saw it. Out of compassion for his father
  he took an axe and he killed the deadly fly. The dead fly has gone. And father
  is very happy. He lie down and sleep for good. Now that killing was done out
  of ignorance, moha. This evil thing was done out of moha, ignorance.
  So to eradicate this ignorance is the most important thing, in your daily life
  as well as your meditative life too. What should you do? Ignorance must be
  replaced by right understanding. Moha must be replaced by wisdom, or insight
  knowledge or enlightenment. To attain this what should you do? Yes, be mindful
  of your body-mind processes as they really are. You can learn scriptures so
  that you have a theoretical knowledge of the teaching of the Buddha, but
  theoretical knowledge has nothing to do with insight knowledge or
  enlightenment. While you are being mindful of any mental or physical process,
  if any theoretical knowledge comes to your mind and you use it for analysing
  any experience or technique then that theoretical knowledge is a hindrance to
  your concentration. It can't eradicate the ignorance. Ignorance must be
  replaced by right understanding through personal experience of Dhamma,
  body-mind processes.
  Any evil deed or evil speech, evil mind, arises dependent on any of these
  three roots of evil, on lohba or on dosa or on moha. So these three roots of
  evil are completely destroyed. There won't arise any evil deed, evil speech or
  evil mind, and you have a wholesome speech and mind which result in happiness
  and peace. For example lobha: greed, desire, craving, lust, attachment. Lobha
  has as its characteristic the nature of clinging to the object. So clinging or
  being attached is the specific characteristic of lobha. The specific
  characteristic of dosa is rudeness. Dosa is translated 'aversion.' It cannot
  have any characteristic of clinging because aversion is the opposite of
  clinging. Every mental state or emotional state, mental process, has its own
  specific characteristics.
  So in the course of your meditational practise when the mind becomes deeper
  and deeper and more and more concentrated you come to realise mental or
  physical processes which are observed in their true nature. In the beginning
  of this realisation of mental and bodily processes you rightly understand
  their specific characteristics which are observed. So when you note
  attachment: attachment attachment attachment attachment, the attachment
  doesn't go away. It passes there in you mind and you continue to note
  attachment attachment attachment attachment attachment. The more mindful of
  attachment the more concentrated your mind is on it. When the mind is well
  concentrated on the attachment you come to realise attachment has the clinging
  nature to the object. You come to realise this. That is insight knowledge you
  have attained through your experience of mental processes. That is the first
  level of understanding of the specific characteristic of lobha, attachment.
  Then when you observe the rising and falling movements of the abdomen very
  attentively and energetically, when concentration becomes deeper you come to
  realise the rising and falling movements without being conscious of the form
  of the body or the form of the abdomen. The form of the abdomen has
  disappeared in your mind; you are not aware of it. What you are realising is
  just the rising movement and falling movement and the mind that notes it. When
  your realisation becomes more and more clear and sharp what you are realising
  is just motion, movement, outward movement and inward movement. These are two
  processes of movements rising and passing away alternately. And also you know
  the mind that notes it is also rising and passing away. When you are realising
  the motion without being aware of yourself and your bodily form and the
  abdomen it means you are rightly understanding the specific characteristic of
  the wind element vayo-dhatu.
  Why can you say this understanding of the process of dual movement is right?
  It may be wrong, because we have an abdomen and that abdomen rises and then
  falls back. If we are not conscious of the form of the abdomen and the form of
  the body and note just movements then it may be wrong. We can say definitely
  it's right because this right understanding has destroyed the false idea of a
  self, a soul, a person, a being. When you rightly understand just the outward
  movement and inward movement only you do not identify any movement of rising
  and falling with yourself, with your person, with your being. Then that idea
  or concept of a person a being an I or a you has been destroyed. When you
  don't have any idea of an I or you, a person or being, there won't arise any
  mental defilements such as lust greed hatred ignorance and so on. When mental
  defilements are destroyed there won't arise any suffering at all. Then you
  have attained the state of the cessation of all kinds of suffering. This
  cessation of suffering is attained through right understanding of the specific
  characteristic of the wind element which is constantly observed.
  It leads you to the cessation of suffering because you follow any teaching of
  any religion to destroy dukkha, suffering and live happily and peacefully.
  That's your aim of following any doctrine, is it not so? That aim can be
  fulfilled by right understanding of mental and physical processes, especially
  here, rightly understanding the specific characteristic of the wind element
  Wyandotte. Is the doctrine which instructs you to be mindful of any mental or
  physical process so you can rightly understand it in its true nature right or
  wrong? Right, why? It leads you to the cessation of suffering which is
  undesirable for you. So out of two levels of right understanding, as soon as
  your concentration is good enough, deep enough, you come to realise the first
  understanding, the specific characteristic of mental and physical phenomena.
  Then when you proceed with your practise mindfulness becomes clear and sharp
  and concentration becomes deeper.
  When concentration becomes deeper you come to realise the second aspect of
  mental and physical processes. That's the second level of understanding, that
  is, impermanence, suffering, and the impersonal nature of the process or no
  soul, no person. In Pali these are called anicca, dukkha, anatta. Anicca,
  impermanence; dukkha, suffering; anatta, impersonal nature or no soul no self.
  These three characteristics are concerned with all mental and physical
  processes. They are called common characteristics of mental and physical
  processes because they are in common with all mental and physical processes.
  So when you have lobha, attachment to have tea at this time, then does that
  lobha, attachment last very long? No. Then how long does it last? Yes. It
  lasts until you note it. When you note it you no longer have attachment to
  having tea. Then could we say attachment lasts very long or attachment is
  permanent? Because it rises and then passes away, it's impermanent. In other
  words lobha has the characteristic of impermanence, and the same with dosa and
  moha and the other mental and emotional states.
  Some meditators are very sensitive to the arising of anger. So if you feel
  anger then is that anger everlasting or transient? Transient. Yes. When you
  note it very attentively it goes away, it disappears. It arises and then
  vanishes, so it's impermanent. There, dosa has also the characteristic of
  impermanence. In the same way, the rising and fall of the abdomen has the
  characteristic of impermanence. The bending movement and stretching movement
  of the arms has the characteristic of impermanence. Lifting, pushing, putting
  movements of the foot have the characteristic of impermanence. So it's the
  nature of impermanency to be in common with every mental and physical
  phenomenon. So they are called common or general characteristics.
  Not only impermanence but also suffering, dukkha. Also the impersonal nature
  of mental and physical processes, anatta, no self-nature. So these three are
  called the common or general characteristics of body-mind processes. But at
  the third stage of insight knowledge you can more clearly realise these three
  characteristics of mental and physical processes. In the first stage of
  insight knowledge you realise the specific characteristics of mental and
  physical processes. Then it goes on the second stage and the third stage too.
  So when you proceed with your practise strenuously and intensively,
  concentration becomes deeper and deeper. Then you come to realise the movement
  of the foot and, say, the second level of right understanding. That's the
  general characteristic of the wind element vaya-dhatu.
  When you note lifting what you are aware of is the lifting movement of the
  foot. When you note pushing what you are aware of is the pushing movement of
  the foot. When you note dropping what you are aware of is the dropping
  movement. When you note touching what you are aware of is the touching
  sensation. When you note pressing you note pressure. There, when you are aware
  of the lifting movement with deep concentration you do not realise it as
  permanent, a single process of movement. You realise it as a series of broken
  movements rising and passing away, from the very beginning of the lifting of
  the foot. There are many many movements which are rising and passing away.
  Then sometimes meditators report their experience like this. 'When I note the
  lifting movement - lifting lifting lifting - there are many many movements I
  experience, from the very beginning of lifting many tiny movements.' Then
  sometimes they said, 'When I note lifting I find it as a folded Chinese fan.'
  This is folded, then it's stretched out it. The yogi knows it. He realises
  there are a series of many tiny movements arising and passing away one after
  another and he thinks, 'Oh this is like a Chinese fan.' That means he realises
  the impermanence of each movement. One movement arises and then passes away,
  then another movement arises and passes away. In this way he sees a series of
  many gentle and soft tiny movements arising and passing away one after
  another. Then he realises impermanence. When he experiences the state of
  impermanence he is sure to realise the other mental and physical processes too
  as impermanent. So when he bends the arm he aware of bending bending bending,
  slowly slowly. Then because his concentration is good enough, deep enough, he
  comes to realise this bending movement is a series of many bending movements
  arising and passing away one after another. That is the realisation of the
  impermanence of mental and physical processes. Also he realises the mind that
  notes it is impermanent. This realisation is the second level of right
  understanding upon the general characteristic of the wind or air element,
  vayo-dhatu. When you are realising this impermanence of phenomena you come to
  realise they are rising and passing away, never lasting even a minute or
  second, ever changing, always appearing and disappearing. So they are not good
  or bad.
  Then he comes to dukkha, suffering, because when he sees any mental or
  physical process ever changing, constantly rising and passing away every
  instant, the so-called mind is oppressed by that constant appearance and
  disappearance of phenomena. That is dukkha. Then when he discovers nothing is
  permanent, everything is transient and ever changing, appearing and
  disappearing, then does he take this mental process of ever changing as a
  person or a being, an I or a you? No. The idea of a person, a being arises
  dependent on the idea of a permanent body-mind process.
  When you take this body of mine as permanent then you take it as a person, a
  being, an I or a you. When you realise this body-mind process is ever changing
  and transient and impermanent, it doesn't last even a millionth of a second,
  you don't take it to be a person, a being, an I or a you. Then you don't have
  the idea of atta. When you don't have the idea of atta it's called anatta.
  Anatta means non-self, non person, no person, or the impersonal nature of
  mental and physical processes. So in this way you come to realise the general
  or common characteristics of physical processes and at the same time the mind
  notes it.
  When your right understanding or insight knowledge of mental and physical
  processes as impermanent becomes clearer, you come to realise the mind that
  notes it is also impermanent. Then you don't take any of the dual processes of
  mentality and physicality to be a person a being an I or a you. What you are
  realising at that moment is the incessant and continuous and constant changing
  of mental and physical processes which are arising and passing away one after
  another. When you take a set of phenomena which are forever changing you don't
  take them to be a person or a being. That false idea of a person a being, a
  self or a soul has been destroyed by right understanding of mental and
  physical processes.
  So when you have rightly understood these body-mind processes in their true
  nature in these two aspects ignorance has been replaced by right
  understanding, insight knowledge we call it: vipassana nana. Vipassa nana. In
  other words, right understanding, vipassana nana, insight knowledge or
  experiential knowledge, has destroyed ignorance. Yesterday I told you
  ignorance has the characteristic of covering the truth. When ignorance has
  been destroyed, you uncover the truth. You can realise this truth:
  impermanence, suffering, no soul, no self nature of mental and physical
  phenomena. But because they are ever changing and constantly appearing and
  disappearing you come to realise it's dukkha. Then, do you want that to occur?
  If that occurs it's not wanted, not desired. Then you have to be mindful of
  whatever arises in your body and mind so that you can rightly understand
  mental and physical processes in their two aspects, their specific and general
  or common aspects: specific aspects of materiality and mentality, and general
  characteristics of materiality and mentality. Specific characteristics are
  where any mental or emotional state has its own characteristics, which are
  nothing to do with the other mentalities and physicalities.
  There are only three common and general characteristics. Anicca, dukkha,
  anatta. Anicca means impermanence, transience, transitoriness, and flux.
  Dukkha, suffering, dissatisfaction, discomfort, and so on. Then anatta,
  no-self, no soul, no person, non-ego. These are the three characteristics of
  the whole of existence. If you rightly understand, if you can penetrate into
  these three aspects of body-mind processes, mental and physical phenomena, you
  are sure to be able to destroy attachment to any living being or non-living
  thing. When attachment, the cause of suffering has been destroyed there won't
  arise any suffering, dukkha at all. Without suffering, dukkha, you live in
  peace and happiness, when the cessation of suffering you have attained.
  I think now you have rightly understood the aim of your mindfulness about all
  daily activities. So do not be reluctant, do not feel lazy. Be aware of all
  daily activities in more detail so you can have continuous mindfulness and
  deep concentration and a penetrating insight which realises the specific and
  general characteristics of mental and physical phenomena.
  May all of you practise your meditation very intensively and continuously
  without any laziness, reluctance and tiredness and anger.

Vipassana - The Six Doors of the Senses

Computer Studies in Buddhism - Meditation
"Vipassana Meditation Course: Series of Eight Talks", by Ven Sayadaw U Janaka
Buddha Dhamma Meditation Association, Sydney, AUSTRALIA



Talk 6
The Six Doors of the Senses



  We'll continue our discourse on the chapter of clear comprehension in the
  Maha-satipatthana Sutra. Before I go to this chapter I would like to continue
  to explain the six sense bases and the six objects, and the six
  consciousnesses, because yesterday I dealt with contemplating on the
  consciousness of seeing with several objects.
  In the chapter of Dhammanusati, Contemplation of dhamma, the Buddha said,
  'Whatever you see you must be mindful of as it really is. Whatever you hear
  you must be aware of as it occurs. Whatever you smell you must be aware of as
  it really occurs. Whatever you taste you must be aware of as it really occurs.
  Whatever you touch you must be aware of as it really occurs. Whatever you
  think or think about you must be aware of as it really occurs.' The Buddha
  teaches us to be aware of all six sense bases and all six objects and the six
  final kinds of consciousness.
  When we see a visible object the consciousness of seeing arises dependent on
  the eye - one of the six bases - and the visible object. When your eye has
  contact with a visible object then there arises a consciousness of seeing. So
  consciousness of seeing arises dependent on the eye and the visible object.
  The eye is one of six sense bases. The visible object is one of six objects.
  So when you see something you must be aware of it as seeing, seeing, seeing.
  As long as you see it you must be aware of it, you must note it. When you note
  the consciousness of seeing, it means you note the eye and visible object too,
  because when there is no eye and when there is no visible object the
  consciousness for seeing doesn't arise. Consciousness of seeing arises
  dependent on both eye and visible object.
  So if you observe the consciousness of seeing then it means you observe eyes
  and visible object too. So whenever you see something you must not watch the
  thing which is seen. You must not watch the thing with which you see. What you
  need to observe is seeing, the consciousness for seeing - because when you
  observe the visible object which is seen then you have to note seeing, seeing,
  not object, object. When you note seeing, seeing, seeing it's the
  consciousness for seeing, not the visible object.
  Only when you note the consciousness for seeing, the noting mind disturbs the
  process of seeing. So the process of seeing becomes weak and it doesn't see
  the object very well. It cannot judge about the object, whether it is pleasant
  or unpleasant, bad or good. Then you won't have any defilement arising
  dependent on the consciousness for seeing or the visible object.
  So whatever you see you must be aware of by making the mental note seeing,
  seeing, seeing. Whatever you hear you must be aware of by making the mental
  note hearing, hearing. Whatever you smell you must observe the consciousness
  of smelling, making the mental note smelling, smelling. Whatever you taste you
  must be aware of it, make a mental note tasting, tasting. Whatever you touch
  you must observe it as touching, touching, touching. Whatever you think about
  you must be aware of it, make a mental note of it as thinking, thinking, and
  so on.
  When you hear some sound or voice, that is an audible object, that
  consciousness of hearing arises dependent on the ear and audible objects. When
  you note smelling, smelling then consciousness for smelling arises dependent
  on nose and sense odour. When you note tasting, tasting the consciousness for
  taste arises dependent on the tongue and the food. When you note touching,
  touching the consciousness for touching arises dependent on the body and a
  tangible object. When you note thinking, thinking that thought arises
  dependent on the mind and the dhamma, that is what it to be thought about.
  These six sense bases are also called 'sense doors.' The term door is used for
  these three sense bases. Literally it is translated into door. Eye is a sense
  door, ear is a sense door, nose is a sense door, tongue is a sense door, body
  is a sense door, and mind is a sense door. The sense door eye is called
  cakkha-dvara. That means the eye door. cakkhu means the eye, dvara means door.
  Cakkha-dvara means the eye door. In the same way the ear door, the nose door,
  the tongue door, the body door, the mind door, and so on.
  Why these six sense bases are called doors is because the consciousness comes
  to your mind through the eye. Sometimes these mental states come to the mind
  through the ear, sometimes through the nose, sometimes through the tongue,
  sometimes through the body, sometimes through the mind. So they are called the
  doors. Here the Lord Buddha said, 'Your six sense doors must be closed so that
  you don't have any mental defilements.' Then do you know how to close the
  door? By noting of six things, six consciousness of seeing, hearing, smelling,
  tasting, touching, and thinking about.
  This is the point, what the Buddha said. When you see, say, a very beautiful
  rose you realise the rose is very beautiful. Its scent is very sweet. When you
  judge like that there arises a pleasant feeling about the rose. When you feel
  a pleasant feeling what will arise? Attachment, to what? To the rose. To the
  feeling or to the rose? To the rose. And pleasant feeling, attachment, arises
  dependent on that feeling. This attachment is to the rose. Then if the flower
  is not beautiful, is ugly and produces a bad smell, when you see it how do you
  feel, pleasant or unpleasant? Unpleasant. You'll judge the flower is very
  ugly, 'I don't want to see it.' Then what mental state arises? Aversion.
  Anger.
  When you judge the flower is beautiful and pleasant then you have attachment
  or desire for it or to it. When you judge the flower is ugly and produces a
  bad odour then you have aversion or anger depending on the unpleasant feeling.
  Here you could not close your eye doors so these mental defilements come into
  the mind. One of the mental defilements comes to your mind through the eye
  doors. Then when you have defilements is it good or bad? Bad. Yes. Mental
  defilement is dukkha, suffering, and also the cause of dukkha, suffering.
  Then what's the thing with which you have to close these six doors? Noting,
  yes, mindfulness. Mindfulness is called sati, in Pali. So you must close all
  these six doors with mindfulness. And do you know how to close them with
  mindfulness? Yes, noting, being mindful of. That's why the Buddha said,
  'Whatever you see must be noted or mindful of, as it is. Whatever you hear
  must be mindful of or noted. Whatever you smell must be observed. Whatever you
  taste you must be aware of. Whatever you touch must be noted. Whatever you
  think about must be watched, as it is.'
  This is how to close the six doors so that any of the mental defilements
  cannot come into the mind. If you open the door then these mental defilements
  are waiting there outside the door to come into the mind. When the mental
  defilements come into the mind you are lucky or unlucky? Unlucky. Sorrow,
  worry, anxiety, strain, stress and depression, agony, anguish - a lot of
  suffering coming into your mind through these six sense doors. So it's very
  important.
  This technique which closes these six doors is called indriya- samatta in
  Pali. Here indriya means six doors, samatta means their closing or closed. So
  indriya-samatta is the most important factor in the teaching of the Buddha
  which enables a person to get free from all kinds of suffering.
  Sometimes you practise walking meditation say, and here the place for walking
  is very narrow, very small. So sometimes when you pass each other you can't
  help to look askance. Then you feel pleasant or unpleasant, at least
  disturbed. Your concentration is disturbed by the consciousness for looking or
  seeing. Then concentration is gone. Then sometimes through that contact of the
  eye and the visible object, if any desire attachment comes into the mind then
  you suffer. Or any aversion or anger comes into the mind through those eye
  doors then you suffer. Why? Because you do not close your doors.
  Here let me ask you a question. Which of these six doors is the worst thing,
  which makes man suffer? The mind. How do you know it? Through your experience?
  Yes. Though you are meditating sitting here, and noting rising, falling,
  rising, falling, sitting, touching, rising, falling, sitting, touching. At the
  beginning of sitting the mind is concentrated to a certain extent on the rise
  and fall of the abdomen. But gradually when your mental effort becomes less,
  concentration becomes weak. Then the mind goes to your son? Yes, and if the
  son is very good you feel pleasant about him. If the son is bad you feel
  unpleasant about him. Then that pleasantness causes attachment or desire or
  love to arise. Aversion causes anger or hatred or disgust to arise. These are
  mental defilements. Then you suffer. But you are sitting here in the hall. You
  suffer a lot. Why? Because you could not close your mind doors. So to close
  these six doors is very important to live happily and peacefully.
  That's why I also ask you could you note every thought in our interview. I
  want to remind you to note almost every thought as much as possible. Do not
  fail to note the thoughts because these thoughts make you suffer a lot. Their
  rise depends on mind and the thinkable object, dhamma. We call it dhamma, that
  object.
  So, yesterday I explained to you when you look straight you must be aware of
  it; when you look aside you must be aware of it. But the Buddha proceeded with
  his chapter of clear comprehension like this, 'When you bend your arms or legs
  you must be aware of it. When you stretch out you must be aware of it, as it
  is.' So when you bend the arms, observe, bending, bending, bending, bending,
  slowly. Not quickly. Slowly. Why do you need to slow down your activities? If
  you bend fast could you catch each movement of the arm? You can't. So to catch
  and to observe each movement of the arm you have to slow it down.
  And why do you need to observe each movement of the arm very closely and
  precisely? Yes, here as you know there are three aspects of existence, mental
  or physical phenomena. Normally we do not realise or experience these three
  aspects of body-mind processes, or mental and physical phenomena. These
  processes of existence are called general characteristics of mental and
  physical phenomena or common characteristics of mental and physical phenomena.

  Yesterday I told you about two levels of understanding of mental and physical
  phenomena. The first level is understanding of specific characteristics of
  mental and physical phenomena. I explained that the mind has its
  characteristics, cognising or perceiving the object. Then desire or lobha,
  attachment, has the specific characteristic of clinging to the object. Then
  dosa had the specific characteristic of rudeness. When you become angry you
  become rude. So dosa, anger, aversion has the specific characteristic of
  rudeness. And moha is ignorance. Sometimes it is translated into 'delusion,'
  but 'ignorance' is better I think. Ignorance, moha has the specific
  characteristic of covering the truth. When moha covers the truth you can't
  rightly understand it. You can't realise it because the truth is covered by
  moha, ignorance. Ignorance has the specific characteristic of covering the
  truth.
  These are the three main roots of evil, the Buddha said: lobha, desire,
  attachment, craving, and dosa, anger, hatred, aversion, and moha, ignorance of
  the truth. These three mental factors are the main roots of evil, the Buddha
  said, because they make human beings suffer a lot.
  I should continue to explain to you the specific characteristics of the other
  physical, material elements. This body, or physical process, is composed
  mainly of four material elements as you know. What are the four material
  elements which constitute the so- called body? Pathavi-dhatu, apo-dhatu,
  tejo-dhatu, vayo-dhatu.
  Here pathavi means earth; dhatu means the element. Pathavi-datu means the
  earth element. Apo means water; dhatu means the element. Apo-datu, water
  element. Tejo means the fire; dhatu means the element. Tejo-dhatu means the
  fire element. Vayo is wind or air; dhatu is element. Vayo-dhatu, wind element
  or air element.
  These are the four primary material elements which constitute the so-called
  body of a man or a woman. There are twenty-four other minor material elements,
  twenty-eight all together. The primary material elements are four, then the
  secondary elements are twenty-four. But the twenty-four secondary elements
  arise dependent on the four primary material elements, so the secondary
  elements are not so much important as the primary ones. That's why we have to
  watch the four primary elements.
  Here when the say pathavi-dhatu, earth element, actually it is not earth
  because we have not the proper term for this nature, physical characteristic.
  We have to name it as pathavi-dhatu or earth element. Hardness and softness
  are the specific characteristics of the earth element. This hardness and
  softness is called pathavi-dhatu or earth element.
  Did you observe it while you were meditating? It may be difficult for a
  meditator who sits on the cushion to find this element. It's better for you to
  sit on the floor without a cushion, then you'll find this element very
  distinctly. When you sit even on the cushion and your legs touch the floor,
  there you find hardness. When you sit on the cushion you find softness. When
  you feel soft or hard on any part of the body you must be aware of it, you
  must watch it: hard, hard, soft, soft. Why should you watch it? To close the
  door. If you do not observe soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, then you feel it
  pleasant. That pleasant feeling gives rise to attachment, desire for your
  cushion. Because you do not observe soft, soft, soft you are enjoying softness
  of the cushion and a pleasant feeling as well. That pleasant feeling causes
  attachment and desire to arise. So wherever you go you have to take this
  cushion to sit on. Please be careful whenever you observe your physical
  processes. Any of these specific characteristics of these primary four
  elements are distinct, so you should observe them. You can analyse or
  investigate them. Here analyse means not theoretically analysing, but when you
  know the softness or hardness through your experience by means of mindfulness
  of it. Then you don't take that softness as pleasant or unpleasant; you don't
  identify the feeling of softness with yourself.
  The feeling of softness and the pleasant sensation is away from you. The
  feeling, the sensation of softness and pleasantness is here. Then you note it:
  pleasant, pleasant, soft, soft, soft. This pleasantness and the feeling of
  softness is not a person, not a being, not I, not you. You know that through
  your experience. Because you observe it you are mindful of it, you are aware
  of it. When you don't feel this pleasant or unpleasant sensation of soft as a
  person a being, an I or a you, then there won't arise any attachment or anger
  or aversion depending on that softness. Then you shut up your bodily sense
  doors and mental defilement cannot come to your mind through these doors.
  That's why the Buddha said, 'When you feel soft or hard you must be aware of
  it.' That is the specific characteristic of the hard element.
  The water element actually is not water. Its characteristics are fluidity and
  coalition. Fluidity and coalition are the specific characteristics of the
  water element and your body. Did you find fluidity and coalition in your mind
  when you were meditating? Yes, you experience them when you sit and note
  arising, falling, sitting, touching, arising, falling, sitting, touching.
  Sometimes you have a tearing, and also sometimes you have a sweating. These
  are the specific characteristics of the water element. Sometimes you feel some
  fluidity on your face or on your back. Then you have to note fluidity,
  fluidity and so on. Then when you open your eye and see, there's nothing
  because the fluidity is internal not external. Your internal bodily process,
  material process, had fluidity as its characteristic.
  Then tejo-dhatu. We call it the fire element. Except that's actually not fire.
  It's temperature. Tejo-dhatu has as its characteristics heat and cold. Heat
  and cold are the specific characteristics of tejo-dhatu the Fire element or
  temperature element. Then do you experience that tejo-dhatu when you sit for
  meditation? A lot! Sometimes you feel as if you are sitting on the fire.
  Sometimes you are sitting on a block of ice. Cold and hot. Then you have to
  watch it, cold, cold, hot, hot. If you do not observe it then you'll identify
  that feeling of cold with yourself: 'Oh I am cold, I am cold. I need some
  sweater or some blanket to cover on me,' because you identify the cold with
  yourself.
  Actually cold is not yourself. Theoretically you know cold is not a person,
  not a being, not a man or not a woman, but you perceive it to be a person
  because, 'I cold.' I am the man who feels cold. I am the woman who feels hot.
  Then cold and hot are identified with yourself and your person. Why? Because
  you do not close your door. Then what should you do? You should close your
  door, and note cold, cold, hot, hot, hot.
  When your mindfulness becomes powerful and concentration deeper then you
  realise cold separate from your body or away from your body. The feeling of
  cold or hot is there. You are here, you are realising and noting it. Sometimes
  when concentration becomes deeper then there's no you or no person who notes
  the cold. But there's the mind that notes it. Then you come to realise the
  dual process of mentality and physicality and sensation too. At that moment
  your bodily form has disappeared from your mind. You are not aware of it; you
  are not conscious of it. Then you feel there's no person, no being, no I or no
  you, no self. What is really existing is a dual process of feeling of cold and
  the mind that notes it, that's all. Then there won't arise any mental
  defilement because these mental defilements arise dependent on the idea or the
  concept of a person, a being, an I or a you, a self. If you have destroyed
  that idea of a personal being then there won't arise any mental defilements
  because it has no seeds to grow out of it. Then here you have closed your
  doors.
  After that there's the fourth one, vayo-dhatu, the Wind element or air
  element. It's also not actually wind or air. The wind element has movement as
  its specific characteristic: movement, motion, vibrating, supporting. Did you
  experience these specific characteristics when you sat in meditation? Rising
  falling, yes. Rising and falling, then sitting down and rising from the seat,
  you have the wind element. When you rise from the seat you have to rise
  gradually. Then that movement is the wind or air element. Both. So when you
  note rising, rising, rising, rising, or getting up, getting up, getting up,
  then what you should realise is the process of the rising movement from this
  your seat until you stand still.
  There you realise the specific characteristic of the wind element, a series of
  many movements arising and passing away. The same way when you sit down, you
  have to be aware of sitting, sitting, sitting, sitting, sitting, sitting,
  sitting. Here what you are aware of is this sitting movement, all the
  movements which are involved in the act of sitting. Then you know the wind or
  air element. Then when your concentration is good enough and you come to
  realise when you sit down you don't find any man or human being or any body.
  What you find is a series of many movements going on.
  You don't identify those movements with yourself. In other words you don't
  regard them as a person, a being, an I or a you. What is it? That's a natural
  process of physical phenomena. When you know that there won't arise any
  concept of a being a person an I or a you depending on that movement. You
  close your door. There won't arise any mental defilement, desire or
  attachment, anger or aversion. Then you live happy.
  So, these are the specific characteristics of the primary material elements. I
  explained you the three specific characteristics of three groups of evil,
  lobha, dosa and moha, and also the specific characteristics of consciousness,
  mind. You have to realise them in the first level of understanding. Then when
  you proceed with your practise intensively and strenuously, when mindfulness
  is continuous and concentration deep, then you come to realise the general
  characteristics of mental and physical phenomena.
  Those three aspects of existence, anicca, dukkha and anatta, Impermanence,
  suffering and impersonal nature, these are three characteristics of the
  existing mental and physical phenomena. Or these are known as general
  characteristics of mental and physical phenomena. After you have well realised
  the specific characteristics of mental and physical phenomena you are able to
  realise these three general characteristic of existing physical phenomena:
  impermanence, suffering, and impersonal nature or no- soul, no self, non-ego
  nature, of mental and physical phenomena.
  What's impermanent? When a mental process arises and then passes away, that's
  impermanence. Having, raising, and then passing away very instantly. So when
  your concentration is good enough to note rising, falling, rising, falling,
  then you have to realise a series of many rising movements one after another;
  a series of many falling movements. A series of many movements means one
  movement arises and then passes away, then another movement arises and passes
  away, then another movement arises and passes away. Then we come to realise
  these elements are impermanent because they arises and then very instantly
  pass away. You have to go to that stage.
  May all of you be able to realise both specific characteristics and general
  characteristics of body-mind process and achieve your goal.

Vipassana - The Way of Mindfulness

Computer Studies in Buddhism - Meditation
"Vipassana Meditation Course: Series of Eight Talks", by Ven Sayadaw U Janaka
Buddha Dhamma Meditation Association, Sydney, AUSTRALIA



Talk 5
The Way of Mindfulness



  Yesterday I explained briefly the five mental faculties of meditators. Of
  these five mental faculties the last one, pannya, wisdom, realisation or right
  understanding is the predominant factor of the five. So you have to practise
  insight meditation, vipassana meditation in order to rightly understand of
  mentality and physicality. When you have rightly understood mental and
  physical processes as they really are you'll be able to do away with mental
  defilements which are the causes of suffering. That's why you have to develop
  your mindfulness, which is the cause of deep concentration on which right
  understanding or insight knowledge is built up.
  So to do right understanding, bodily processes and material processes as they
  really are, you need deep concentration of the mind. To gain deep
  concentration of the mind you need continuous powerful and diligent
  mindfulness. To have continuous and constant mindfulness you need strenuous
  effort in your practise, intensively so that your mindfulness becomes
  continuous and constant for the whole day.
  And to attain the continuity of mindfulness for the whole day you have to not
  only practise sitting meditation and walking meditation, but also awareness of
  our daily activities. Because aside from the times for sitting and walking
  there are times when you are doing your daily activities such as washing or
  showering, taking meals, drinking, and laundering, and also preparing your bed
  at bed time. So if you apply this mindfulness only to sitting and working, if
  you do not apply it to the other general activities of the day, then your
  mindfulness is not continuous and constant. It doesn't become powerful and
  sharp and diligent.
  Mindfulness becomes continuous, constant and uninterrupted only when you make
  proper effort and awareness of your daily activities, and it becomes sharp.
  Only when mindfulness becomes continuous and constant does your mind become
  well concentrated on any mental or physical object which is observed. That
  concentration gives rise to right understanding or insight knowledge which
  penetrates into the true nature of mental and physical phenomena. That's why
  it's indispensable for a meditator to put a reasonable effort into awareness
  of daily activities, as much as possible.
  To be aware of your general activities of the day you have to slow down all
  actions and movements, all activities. Then you can be aware of almost all
  daily activities in more and more detail. Though you do these general
  activities of the day normally, in a normal pace, you can be aware of them but
  not in detail. But you can do it generally. General awareness is not so much
  powerful. It doesn't make your mindfulness continuous and constant,
  uninterrupted.
  So meditators need to have detailed mindfulness of daily activities as much as
  possible, slowing down actions and movement as much as possible. Only then
  does mindfulness become continuous and constant and gives rise to deep
  concentration of the mind which is the cause of right understanding. That is
  why the Lord Buddha dealt with a separate chapter on awareness of daily
  activities in his discourse of the four foundations of mindfulness, the
  Mahasatipatthana sutta.
  Without awareness of daily activities you can't concentrate your mind very
  well or deeply. When concentration's not deep enough there won't arise any
  insight knowledge or experiencing knowledge which penetrates into the
  intrinsic nature of mental and physical phenomena. That's why we should try to
  be aware of more daily activities in more detail day by day.
  So when you are successful in noting all these activities of the day in more
  and more detail, the mindfulness becomes constant and powerful, and
  concentration becomes deeper and deeper. Then pannya or wisdom or right
  understanding or insight knowledge becomes penetrating and realises body-mind
  processes and two levels of understanding. Here those meditators who have
  obtained deep concentration realise the bodily processes of nama and rupa,
  mentality and mind, and two levels of understanding.
  The first one is understanding of the specific or individual characteristics
  of mental and physical phenomena. The second one is understanding of general
  or common characteristics of mental and physical phenomena.
  When you have understood the specific characteristics of mental and physical
  phenomena then you can exterminate the false idea of a person, a being, an I
  or a you, a self or a soul, which is the seat of all mental defilements and
  hindrances. Then what are the specific characteristics of mental and physical
  phenomena; what are the individual characteristics of mental and physical
  phenomena? As to mental phenomena, when you note rising, falling of the
  abdomen; or lifting, pushing, dropping of the foot; or bending of the arms,
  stretching of the arms, then there's a mental process that knows the object,
  rising, falling movement, lifting, pushing, dropping movement, bending,
  stretching movement of the arm.
  The phenomenon which knows the object is called chitta. Chitta is sometimes
  translated into consciousness but in other times into mind. Whether it's
  translated into consciousness or mind its characteristic is cognising the
  characteristic instead of cognising the object or perceiving the object. So,
  cognising or perceiving of the object is the individual characteristic of
  citta or consciousness or mind. When you note rising, falling, rising,
  falling; or sitting, touching, sitting, touching; when your mindfulness
  becomes sharp and concentration becomes deep, then you come to distinguish
  between the object and the subject. The object is the rising and falling
  movement; the subject is the mind that notes it or cognises it or knows it or
  perceives it. You can differentiate between the object physical process and
  the subject mental process that knows it.
  When concentration becomes deeper what you are realising is this dual process
  of mental and physical phenomena. Then you come to rightly understand that the
  rising movement is one process, the mind that knows it is the other process.
  There are two processes which are arising at the same moment. The falling
  movement is one process; the mind that cognises it is the other process. Then
  again you come to realise the rising movement hasn't any power to know any
  object. The same with the falling movement. Falling movement hasn't any
  ability to know or to perceive any object. But the mind that knows it has the
  ability of perceiving the object, of cognising the object. In this way you
  come to differentiate between nama and rupa, mental phenomena and physical
  phenomena.
  Then here you come to know that so-called opposing is composed of physical
  processes and mental processes. So-called opposing is nothing but natural
  processes of mental and physical phenomena. When you have rightly understood
  in this way you don't have in your mind the false idea of opposing being, an I
  or a you, a self or a soul, because what you are realising is the dual process
  of mental and physical phenomena.
  There, when you come to realise the noting mind is able to perceive the object
  or cognise the object, rising movement or falling; or lifting movement,
  pushing movement and dropping movement. But physical process hasn't any
  ability to perceive or to cognise anything. This understanding is that of
  specific or individual characteristics of the mind or the consciousness by
  rightly understanding the mind and its characteristics and also the physical
  process and its characteristics. Then you have destroyed the idea of a person,
  a being, an I or a you. That means when distinguishing physical processes from
  that of mind or mentality you don't identify mental processes, that's noting
  mind with yourself or your person. Then you have no idea of a person, a being,
  a self or a soul.
  In the same way you do not identify physical processes, that's a rising and
  falling movement of the abdomen, with yourself or your person. You know
  separately mental process is one thing, physical process that the mind notes
  is the other. Neither mental process is a person or being. A physical process
  is also not a being, a person, a self or a soul. In this way you come to
  destroy the false idea of a person, a being, a self or a soul. It's called
  sakkaya-ditthi, atta-ditthi.
  Sakkaya-ditthi, atta-ditthi, the false idea of a self, a soul, a person or
  being is the seat of all mental defilements such as desire, grieving, greed,
  lust, hatred, anger, ill-will, ignorance, conceit, jealousy, and so on. All
  these mental defilements arise dependent on the idea of a person, a being, a
  self or a soul. This false idea of a person, a being, a self or a soul,
  sakkaya- ditthi, atta-ditthi, is the seat of all mental defilements which are
  the causes of suffering, dukkha.
  When you consider these mental and physical processes theoretically, you can
  have some knowledge of mental and physical processes which are neither a
  person nor a being, neither a self nor a soul. So when you are able to watch
  the rising and falling movement or lifting movement, pushing and dropping
  movement of the foot, or bending of the arm or stretching of the arm, you are
  able to know clearly or perceive there's a rising movement of the abdomen and
  there's a falling movement of the abdomen.
  So the mind that knows these objects, when you can differentiate between the
  rising and falling movement and the mind that knows it you can answer if
  someone asks you whether the mind that knows is a person or the process of a
  rising and falling movement, a person or being. That question can be very
  easily answered by you when you differentiate between the rising and falling
  movement of the abdomen and the mind that notes it.
  Shall I put a question to you about this aspect of Dhamma? Which is a person
  or a being, a self, the rising or falling movement or the mind that notes it?
  The rising movement is not a person. Then is the falling movement a person or
  a self? No. Then is the mind that notes it a person or a self or a soul. No.
  Then what are they? They are natural processes. The rising movement is a
  natural process of material phenomena. The falling movement is also a natural
  process of physical phenomena. The mind that notes, knows it, is a natural
  process of mental phenomena. All these three are natural processes. No part of
  them is a person, a being or a self.
  Then during your contemplation of the rising and falling movement of the
  abdomen do you find any person or being, self or soul? No. Then, what's the
  thing you find? A natural process of mentality and physicality. But before we
  are able to realise this dual process of mentality and physicality we take the
  mind for a person, a being, an I or a you. I note, I know. Who knows? Who has
  the ability of perceiving or knowing the object? A person or a self has the
  ability of knowing or perceiving an object. Is it right? No. Then what has
  that ability? The mind has the ability of knowing, cognising the object.
  Then is the mind a person, a being? No. But before we are able to
  differentiate between these two processes of mentality and physicality we take
  the mind to be a person, a being because we take, I know or you know. It
  applies to a person, but actually there is no person, no being, no self who
  knows the object. Only the mind has the ability of knowing or cognising the
  object.
  When we clearly see the two processes of mental and physical phenomena in our
  practise of insight meditation we don't take mental processes to be a person.
  We don't take physical processes to be a person because we know that the
  physical is just the natural process of materiality. Mental process is just
  the natural process of mentality. Neither of them are a person, a being, an I
  or a you.
  To rightly understand this dual process as just the natural processes of
  mentality and physicality what we need is deep concentration. Unless your mind
  is well concentrated on any mental or physical object which is observed, you
  are unable to realise in this way. So deep concentration of mind is required
  to rightly understand this dual process of mental and physical phenomena and
  their true nature. Then after entering into deep concentration what should we
  do? And what do we need? To obtain deep concentration of the mind what do we
  need? Mindfulness. Sparse mindfulness. Continuous mindfulness. Continuous
  constant uninterrupted mindfulness is the most important factor to obtain deep
  concentration and right understanding of phenomena.
  If we need continuous and constant mindfulness what should we do? Should we
  speak to each other or should we lie down and sleep? What should we do? Yes.
  Note all activities in sitting, in walking, and doing daily activities. These
  are three aspects of this practise. When you lay stress on only sitting and
  walking does your mindfulness become continuous or constant? No. Then what
  should we do to have continuous and constant mindfulness? clearly. Be aware of
  all actions and movements for the whole day.
  That's why the Lord Buddha teaches us in a separate chapter on awareness of
  all daily activities in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta. It's called
  sampajanna-papa. Sampajanna means clear comprehension or full awareness. Papa
  here means the chapter. There the Buddha said, 'When you go forward you must
  be mindful of it, as it is. When you go backward you must be mindful of it as
  it is.'
  Sometimes when you come to the interview room you mindfully come there, you
  walk left, right or lifting, pushing, dropping. But when you have interview
  you get up and walk out unmindfully. Is it in conformity to the Buddha's
  teaching? When you go forward you should be mindful of it. When you go
  backward you should be mindful of it.
  'When you look straight you should be mindful of it. When you look aside you
  should be mindful of it.' And did you watch when you looked at something? No.
  That's what Buddha said. When you look at something you note looking, looking,
  then seeing, seeing. After looking you must note seeing. Why? When you look at
  something don't you see it? Maybe you're blind. A blind man cannot see even
  though he looks at something. You see the Buddha said, 'When you walk to
  certain distance you must be as if you are blind. You must be as if you are
  deaf.' That means a blind man cannot see anything when he walks to a
  destination. If he cannot see anything, in that case does he have any
  defilement in his mind as to the visible thing? No, because he doesn't see it.

  The Buddha said, 'When you walk to a destination you must be like a blind
  man.' How? When you look at something you note looking, looking, looking,
  seeing, seeing, seeing, seeing. If you are noting of seeing and looking it is
  constant and powerful. You can't differentiate the visible thing, whether it's
  good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. You don't have any idea of the visible
  thing which is looked at by you and seen by you. Why? Because of mindfulness.
  Seeing, seeing, seeing, looking, looking, looking, looking.
  The same with hearing. When you hear some sound constantly and persistently
  note hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing. When that noting
  becomes powerful then you do not know what you are hearing. Or you do not
  differentiate between pleasantness and unpleasantness of the things which
  hurt, because of mindfulness. Then you don't have any defilement in your mind.
  You are like a deaf person or a blind person.
  So when you want to be like a blind or deaf person what should you do? Note.
  Be mindful of what you are hearing and of what you are looking and seeing.
  Make a mental note as looking, looking, seeing, seeing, hearing, hearing, and
  so on.
  That means at that moment it seems that there are two processes of mentality.
  One process is the process of seeing. The other process is the process for
  noting it. And the two processes are arising in the same way, you think.
  Actually the two minds don't arise at the same moment, but arising and passing
  away of mentality is so swift and so instant that you cannot differentiate the
  previous mind and the following mind. They become continuous. So you think at
  the same moment you have the process of looking and the process of noting it.
  When the process of looking and seeing becomes powerful the process of noting
  becomes weak. Then you can see the visible object, that's something, very
  clearly, and you get the idea of good or bad about this object.
  When you take the object to be good then you feel pleasant about it. When you
  take the object to be bad you feel unpleasant about it. When you feel pleasant
  about this object then there arises a desire to have it. Desire, then
  attachment, then craving arises because you take it to be pleasant. And when
  you take that object to be unpleasant then you get aversion, dosa. Aversion is
  also defilement. Attachment, desire is also defilement, impurities of mind.
  Then which is better? Is aversion better or is desire better? Neither is
  better. Then either of these may be good. Yes, neither is it good. Why are
  these aversions and desires bad? Because they are dukkha. When you have
  aversion it is dukkha. When you have desire it is dukkha. When you have
  attachment it is dukkha. So these defilements are bad, disadvantages.
  So if you want to feel sukkha, if you want to live in sukkha or happiness and
  peace, what you should do is overcome or remove these mental defilements which
  are dukkha and the causes of dukkha, suffering. That's why the Buddha teaches
  that when you look at something note looking, looking, seeing, seeing, so that
  your consciousness of seeing doesn't have time enough to analyse that object.
  If the consciousness of seeing has time enough to analyse the object then that
  consciousness will know pleasantness or unpleasantness of the object.
  So as not to have enough time to analyse this object, what you should do?
  Note. Note seeing, seeing, or looking, looking. When a person is walking on
  the road very steadily then he can reach the destination in a short time. But
  if someone goes to him and knocks his leg with a stick what would happen to
  him? He couldn't walk properly and steadily. Sometimes he may fall. Then again
  he gets up again and walks. Could he reach his destination in a short time?
  No. In the same way is consciousness here. Looking is like a person who walks
  to a destination. The noting mind is like a person who knocks or who hits it
  with a stick. You follow this simile? That's the way.
  So when you look at something note looking, looking, looking. When you see it
  note seeing, seeing, seeing, seeing, seeing constantly and persistently and
  energetically. When your noting is not energetic then consciousness of seeing
  becomes powerful and overwhelms this noting. Then that consciousness will
  think about or analyse that object which is seen and it will come to feel
  pleasant or unpleasant about the object. When the noting mind notes seeing,
  seeing, seeing, seeing, looking, looking, looking, the consciousness of seeing
  doesn't have enough time to think about the object or analyse it because it's
  weak. Why is it weak? Because of knocking or striking by the noting mind.
  So, when you note seeing, seeing, looking, looking, the consciousness of
  seeing becomes gradually weak because of the noting mind. Then it is not able
  to analyse the object, think about the object. What he is able to do is just
  see it, that's all. Just seeing it, that's all. It see the object then it
  passes away. Then another consciousness arises and sees the object and it
  passes away. Then another consciousness see it and it passes away.
  Then the mind which sees the object does not have any idea of good or bad
  about the object, or pleasant or unpleasant. It has just neutral feeling. This
  neutral feeling is also very weak. If you take the object to be bad or
  unpleasant, the unpleasant feeling will be stronger. Then you'll have aversion
  or hatred towards this object. When that seeing mind takes the object to be
  good or pleasant that pleasant feeling will be stronger. Then you would have
  desire for the object because the pleasant feeling is because of desire or
  attachment.
  You know the law of dependent origination. Attachment or desire arises through
  pleasant feelings, through feeling or sensation. So when the mind takes the
  object to be good or pleasant there will arise a desire or attachment. Then
  when the mind has very weak neutral feeling about the object do you have
  attachment or aversion? You have neither attachment nor aversion because your
  neutral feeling about the object is very weak. Then when you don't have any of
  the mental defilements do you have suffering, dukkha? No. Here suffering
  ceases regarding this physical object because you rightly know it, rightly
  understand it, and realise it. Just the one which is seen that's all.
  In the same way when you know hearing, hearing. When the noting mind becomes
  powerful and constant, hearing becomes weak. Then the consciousness of hearing
  cannot analyse or think about the object. It doesn't take the object to be bad
  or good, pleasant or unpleasant. Then the consciousness of hearing would have
  very weak neutral feeling about the object. There won't arise any attachment,
  desire or aversion, hatred or anger and you won't have any mental defilements.
  Then you are free from suffering, dukkha as to these audible objects.

Vipassana - Practical Exercises, Mental Defilements, Noble Eightfold Path

Computer Studies in Buddhism - Meditation
"Vipassana Meditation Course: Series of Eight Talks", by Ven Sayadaw U Janaka
Buddha Dhamma Meditation Association, Sydney, AUSTRALIA



Talk 4
Practical Exercises, Mental Defilements, Noble Eightfold Path



  Today we continue the discourses on practical exercises of Mindfulness
  meditation. Yesterday I explained systematic walking and also systematic
  sitting.
  Sometimes when you sit for meditation, after you have meditated about fifteen
  or twenty minutes you have a desire to change your position because of the
  severity of the painful sensation or any mental distraction. When you know
  that it's not good to change your position and your sitting then you do not
  change it. But though you do not change your position your hands are moving
  here and there. Sometimes the hand touches the face or the head. Without any
  sensation of itching you may rub the face or the hand. While your hand is
  placed in the lap, when you feel restless or when you feel severe pain, then
  you do not change the position but the hand lifted itself and then touched the
  knee, and so on.
  So what I mean is that in systematic sitting for meditation you mustn't move
  even the hands. You should sit like a statue so that your concentration
  doesn't break but becomes deep and stable. When you move your hand from one
  place to another then the mind goes with the hand and concentration breaks. So
  you mustn't move the hand. So when you sit for meditation please be careful.
  You must remind yourself of this statue. [Say to yourself]: I must sit like a
  statue of the Buddha, here.
  Unconsciously you moved your hand. But even when we say it's an unconscious
  movement, actually your mind goes with the hand. Without intention to move,
  you don't move. Because you have intention to move, you do move. That one
  thing - wishing, intention - is mental process. The concentration of the mind
  is also mental process. And when you move your hand then your mind goes with
  the hand and concentration breaks. So please be careful not to move even your
  hands from one place to another.
  Then in walking meditation the most important thing is not to look round here
  and there. Once you look round, then the mind goes with the eye and
  concentration breaks. You have to control your eyes not to look round. The
  best way to control your eyes is noting the desire to look round. Without
  desire or tendencies you won't look round here and there. Because of the
  desire to look round you do it. So that desire or tendency must be noted until
  it has disappeared. When the desire has disappeared, you won't look round. So
  please be careful to watch the desire to look round. If the desire is watched
  and if the desire's stopped you won't look round and your concentration
  doesn't break.
  In walking meditation yesterday I explained to you how you experienced the
  movement of the foot when your concentration's good enough. But here what I
  want to tell you is there are two levels of understanding, right understanding
  of the physical process and mental process.
  First of all, what you should know is that there are five mental faculties a
  yogi must be possessed of. The first one is saddha. Saddha is Pali; sradha is
  Sanskrit. It means faith or confidence of belief. Here faith is not blind
  faith. It is faith through right understanding of the truth. Because you have
  some knowledge of the truth then you believe in it. That belief is known as
  saddha, faith.
  So faith through right understanding is one of the mental faculties a yogi
  must possess. Without faith or belief in the Dhamma or the truth you do not
  follow it, you do not practise it. Because you have some degree of faith or
  belief in the truth, you follow it, you practise it. So faith or confidence of
  belief in the Dhamma is a very important mental factor to enable a meditator
  to practise systematic meditation strenuously. Without firm or strong faith in
  Dhamma or the truth you won't practise any Dhamma.
  The second one is viriya, in Pali. Viriya is effort or energy. When you
  believe in any Dhamma you make enough effort to practise it or follow it. So
  faith or belief or confidence is the cause, strenuous effort is the effect.
  When you put enough effort into your practise you will be able to be mindful
  of each and every activity of your body and mind for the whole day. When you
  can be mindful of all mental and physical phenomena in nature, then
  mindfulness becomes continuous, constant and powerful. Then here viriya,
  effort or energy, is the cause mindfulness is effect.
  Mindfulness is called sati. Because of strenuous effort mindfulness becomes
  continuous, constant and powerful. When sati, mindfulness, becomes constant
  and powerful then your mind is well concentrated on any mental process or
  physical process which is observed. Unless mindfulness is continuous and
  powerful you won't gain any deep concentration. Only when mindfulness becomes
  continuous and constant and powerful then your concentration becomes better
  and better, deeper and deeper.
  Then concentration is called samadhi in Pali. The Lord Buddha said, `Oh
  bikkhus, cultivate concentration of the mind. The mind which is concentrated
  gives rise to realisation of phenomena.` Another word: cultivate the
  concentration of the mind. One who is well concentrated realises the
  phenomenon as it really is. That's what the Buddha said. Here the
  concentration is the cause and realisation or right understanding is effect.
  Without deep concentration you are not able to realise any phenomena and their
  true nature as they really are.
  So samadhi, concentration, is the cause, realisation or right understanding,
  pannya, is effect. Pannya is Pali. Here pannya means right understanding of
  mental and physical phenomena. Pannya is translated into wisdom, insight,
  enlightenment. So here what we need in this context, pannya means penetrating
  knowledge, right understanding of body-mind processes. Without deep
  concentration you are not able to rightly understand any mental or physical
  phenomena and their true nature. Only if your mind is concentrated to a larger
  extent, then you are able to rightly understand body-mind processes and their
  true nature. Here samadhi, concentration, is the cause, pannya, right
  understanding or penetrating insight, is effect.
  When bodily and mental processes are fully realised then you don't have any
  mental defilements such as greed, desire, craving, attachment, hatred,
  ill-will, anger, ignorance, jealousy, false view, and so on. These are called
  mental defilements because when the mind is full of these undesirable mental
  or emotional states the mind gets defiled. They are called kilesas in Pali, in
  Sanskrit kelayasas and are translated as mental defilements or mental
  impurities. So long as you have any of these mental defilements in your mind
  you are sure to suffer.
  Suppose you are angry with someone or with something. That anger is mental
  defilement. When you get angry your mind gets defiled, and you suffer because
  of that anger. When you have anger you get suffering. Do you agree with me on
  this point? Then should you have or should you abandon it? Should you have the
  anger or should you welcome the anger?
  Pali for anger is dosa. But dosa has two aspects, the dosa which is increasing
  and the dosa which is decreasing. So when you are angry with someone or
  something your dosa is progressive dosa. And again when you are unhappy or
  when you are dejected or depressed that state of mind is also called dosa.
  This dosa is depressive dosa. What I mean is whether you have anger or
  depression or unhappiness your mind is full of dosa, defilement. Then you are
  unhappy. You get a great deal of suffering. That's why we called dosa a mental
  defilement, or mental impurity.
  So then we take another mental state, lobha. Lobha is Pali. It has very wide
  meaning. It means desire, greed, acquiring, lust, attachment. All the senses
  of these words are covered by that of lobha. So when we want to say lobha we
  use the word attachment as the equivalent to lobha, because attachment is an
  English word which covers all the senses of desire, craving, lust, greed, and
  so on.
  When you have lobha you are sure to suffer. Say when you are greedy to be
  wealthy then you have to do many works to earn a great deal of money and you
  get a great deal of dukkha suffering. That lobha, greed, is the cause of
  suffering. If you are attached to your wealth you would have a great deal of
  suffering. Because when you are attached to your wealth you try to maintain
  it, or you try to make it double. Then that attachment to your wealth is
  because of suffering, dukkha. If you are attached to your wealth you'll
  protect yourself from thieves, or robbery, undesirable relatives, especially
  sons and daughters. Then you have dukkha, suffering. The cause of suffering or
  dukkha is attachment. Lobha. Even if you are attached to your good experiences
  and meditation it's dukkha.
  Meditation is the thing which you should experience, not the thing which you
  are attached to. If you are attached to your good experiences you had
  yesterday, today if your concentration is poor you get restless because you
  want to re-experience those good things you had yesterday. The more effort you
  put in and your noting, then the more distractions you have, and the more
  restless you become. Then the more suffering, the more dukkha you have. That
  is not because of meditational experience but because of attachment to it.
  That's why the Buddha said attachment is samodhyasacca. Samodhya is the cause
  or the origin, sacca is the truth. Samodhyasacca means the truth of the cause
  of suffering. So attachment is the cause of suffering.
  This lobha, attachment, is also one of the mental defilements which is because
  of suffering, dukkha. Then should you be attached to anyone or anything? If
  you are attached to anyone or anything, what would happen to you? Yes, you
  would be surrounded by a great deal of suffering. When you are attached to
  your beloved friend, then when he gets into any trouble you feel sorry and
  unhappy. That sorrow and unhappiness, is it desirable or undesirable. Then
  it's dukkha, yes. Where does the dukkha comes from? It comes from attachment
  to your friend.
  Then if you are attached to your son or daughter or parent then you have more
  dukkha. The result of the attachment is dukkha. So whatever you are attached
  to or whoever you are attached to, it's sure you suffer, you have dukkha. Then
  should you have the attachment or shouldn't you have attachment? No. Yes, why?
  Because you are afraid of dukkha. Everyone, including me, is afraid of dukkha.

  Then if we are afraid of dukkha what should we do? We should destroy the cause
  of dukkha, the attachment. If we are able to destroy attachment, the cause of
  dukkha, suffering, then there won't arise any dukkha at all. Then we are free
  from dukkha. The attachment is a mental defilement which must be destroyed by
  one who wants to get free from all kinds of dukkha. When the attachment has
  been completely destroyed you won't have any dukkha at all.
  Say all of you are working at home or at the office or at the company or any
  place. Though you come here to meditate sometimes your mind goes back to work.
  Why? Because you are attached to it. When you have less attachment to the work
  you have less dukkha. When you have a great attachment to your work you have a
  great deal of dukkha even though you are meditating. So attachment is the
  cause of suffering. The Buddha said it is the second truth, the truth of the
  cause of suffering, dukkha.
  You know there are the Four Noble Truths. The first truth is the Noble Truth
  of Suffering, dukkha. The second is the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering,
  dukkha, attachment. The third is the Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha,
  suffering.
  Do you want to destroy dukkha or not? When you have dukkha you're suffering.
  You are afraid of suffering so you want to destroy dukkha. If you want to
  exterminate this dukkha what should you do? You have to eradicate the
  attachment. You have to uproot attachment, the cause of dukkha. When
  attachment has been destroyed then your dukkha, suffering ceases to exist.
  Then you have attained the state of the cessation of suffering. This State of
  Cessation of Suffering is called Nibbana. This is the Third Truth, the Truth
  of the Cessation of Suffering.
  Then the fourth one is the Truth of the Way leading to the Cessation of
  Suffering. That means if you follow this Way then you'll be able to destroy
  all kinds of mental defilement and there won't arise any dukkha at all. The
  Truth of the Way leading to the Cessation of Suffering is called Magga-sacca,
  in Pali. The third one is called Nirodha-sacca, the truth of the cessation of
  suffering.
  Have you heard of the way leading to the cessation of suffering? The Noble
  Eight-fold Path. You may not have some knowledge of this Noble Eight-fold Path
  theoretically, but practically you have it. This noting of your bodily-mental
  process comprises the Noble Eight-fold Path. When you know rising, falling,
  rising, falling. When you watch, pain, pain. When you are aware of the
  movement of the foot, lifting, pushing, dropping, touching, and so on. When
  you are aware of a bending movement, stretching of the arms, sitting down and
  rising from the seat. All this awareness or mindfulness or noting consists of
  the Noble Eight- fold Path.
  So this is the way you are following which leads you to the cessation of
  suffering. This is the fourth truth. And when you note the lifting movement,
  pushing movement, dropping movement, touching sensation of the foot, then you
  have to make a mental effort to be aware of the movement. That mental effort
  or energy is one of the eight mental factors of the noble path. It's called
  Right Effort, or Right Energy. Samma-vayama.
  Because of that right effort you are aware of the lifting movement, pushing
  movement, dropping movement of the foot. That awareness is sammasati. Right
  Mindfulness. When you are aware of the movement of the foot precisely and
  attentively your mind is concentrated on the movement momentarily. That
  concentration is known as samma samadhi, Right Concentration. Why is it right?
  Because it causes the right insight, penetrating insight, to arise. Or because
  it's the cause of realisation of the mental and physical phenomena and their
  true nature, and eradication of all mental defilements. So that samadhi, is
  samma-samadhi, right concentration.
  Though you put enough effort in the practise, in the noting, or in awareness,
  the mind doesn't stay with the object always. Sometimes the mind goes out,
  wanders. Then one of the mental factors which arises together with mindfulness
  directs the mind to the object of meditation, to the movement of the foot.
  That mental factor is called Right Thought, samma-sankhappa.
  In this way, whenever you observe the movement of the foot these four mental
  factors are working on the movement and gradually right concentration becomes
  deeper and deeper. Then you come to realise the movement of the foot without
  conscious awareness of your bodily form or yourself. When you are realising
  these movements very clearly you are not aware of yourself, your body. What
  you are realising at that moment is just movement. Then with the deeper
  concentration you come to the higher state of insight which penetrates into
  the movement and realises its rising and passing away.
  When you note the lifting movement then you know you come to realise a series
  of many broken movements one after another, arising and passing away. Before
  you come to realise this state you think the movement is only one and the
  same. Before that you think, my foot, I lifted, I am pushing it forward, I
  dropped it down. There you have I or me. You think, who does lifting, pushing,
  dropping, and so on. But when you are able to realise a series of broken
  movements rising and passing away one after another, then you don't have that
  idea of I or you, myself or a person, a being.
  What you are understanding is a series of broken movements which are arising
  and passing away in an ever-changing process. Then that realisation or that
  right understanding destroys the false idea of an I or a you, a person, a
  being, which is the seat of all kinds of mental defilement. When you have done
  with this false idea of a person there won't arise any defilement because
  mental defilements arise depending on this false idea of a person, a being, a
  self or a soul. When that idea has been exterminated you won't have any mental
  defilement, because its seat has been destroyed. Then when you do not have
  mental defilements there won't arise any suffering at all.
  So you have attained the cessation of suffering by way of cultivating the
  Noble Eight-fold Path by being aware of the movement of your foot. If you are
  able to realise, `this is not me, this is not my foot, this is just a natural
  process of movement which is rising and passing away,` that understanding is
  Right Understanding, samma-ditthi, one of the eight mental factors of the
  Noble Path.
  Then here you have developed the five mental factors. The first one is mental
  effort, Right Effort, samma-vayama. The second is awareness or mindfulness,
  Right Mindfulness, samma-sati, The third is samadhi, Right Concentration. The
  fourth is samma- sankhappa, Right Thought. The fifth is Right Understanding,
  samma- ditthi. Here samma ditthi, Right Understanding is the most important
  factor because it penetrates into the true nature of body-mind processes and
  their true nature, as they really are.
  So you have cultivated five mental factors of the Noble Path. The Noble Path
  consists of eight factors. The other three are samma- vaca, Right Speech,
  samma-kammanta, Right Deed, and samma ajiva, Right Livelihood. Right Speech
  here means abstention from unwholesome or immoral speech. That's samma-vaca.
  Samma-Kammanta means abstention from unwholesome or immoral deeds or actions.
  Samma-ajiva means abstention from unwholesome livelihoods.
  When you are meditating and concentrating your mind very well on the object of
  meditation, the movement of the foot, do you abstain from bad speech or right
  speech? You are abstaining from immoral speech. Then you have samma vaca,
  Right Speech. And also abstaining from immoral deeds or actions. Then you have
  samma kammanda, Right Deed. Then when you are meditating having this Right
  Understanding do you take what's not given by the owner? Then are you killing
  some living being? No. And you are not smuggling goods? So abstention from bad
  livelihood.
  These three - samma-vaca, samma-kammanta, samma-ajiva - Right Speech, Right
  Deed, Right Livelihood - are connected with moral conduct, precepts. When you
  fully observe the precepts you have these three. So when you note or are
  mindful of the movement of the foot how many mental factors you have? Eight.
  This eight is the Noble Eight-fold Path. When you have fully developed this
  Noble Eight-fold Path you are sure to destroy those mental defilements which
  are the causes of suffering beginning with attachment. Then you are free from
  all kinds of suffering.
  First of all I would like to explain how you can make powerful and strong the
  five mental faculties. The first is saddha, faith. The second is viriya,
  effort or energy. The third is mindfulness. The fourth is concentration. The
  fifth is right understanding, pannya. Because I wanted to explain to you how
  you can develop right understanding my talk went astray.
  Please remember these five mental factors are very important for the yogi
  because he must be endowed with all of them. The first, saddha, faith; the
  second, viriya, effort or energy; the third, sati, mindfulness; the fourth,
  samadhi, concentration; the fifth, pannya, right understanding. You have all
  of these five but sometimes it's weak. Sometimes it's strong. So you have to
  make it strong all the time. May all of you have these five mental factors
  stronger and stronger and achieve your goal.

Vipassana - Walking Meditation and the Six Primary Elements

Computer Studies in Buddhism - Meditation
"Vipassana Meditation Course: Series of Eight Talks", by Ven Sayadaw U Janaka
Buddha Dhamma Meditation Association, Sydney, AUSTRALIA



Talk 3
Walking Meditation and the Six Primary Elements



  Today I'll continue my discourse on the practical exercise of mindfulness
  meditation. Yesterday I dealt with how to practice walking meditation
  systematically and methodically. Even though you are treading on the right
  path leading to the cessation of all kinds of suffering, if your practice is
  not systematic and methodical your success will be delayed. So systematic
  practice is vitally needed for a meditator to achieve his goal.
  In the same way sitting also should be systematic and methodical. If you can
  sit systematically then you can concentrate your mind very well in a short
  time. The Buddha prescribed a mode of sitting for meditation: sitting in a
  cross legged position, keeping the body erect, and also the neck and head in
  an upright position. In that way the body is supported. The eyes should be
  closed. The mind should be focussed on the area or the point of the body you
  should be aware of.
  But for Westerners it's difficult to sit cross legged position systematically
  because they are not accustomed to sitting on the floor. They usually sit on
  chairs so they find it difficult to sit in a cross legged position on the
  floor comfortably. That's why they have to use a cushion or something like
  that. So for Westerners the mode of sitting mentioned by the Omniscient Buddha
  in the discourse is not good for their comfortable and diligent mindfulness
  and deep concentration. But if they try to sit in that cross legged position,
  gradually they can become accustomed to it and they can do it very well. Some
  of the meditators sit on their cushion and they bend their legs in a somewhat
  cross legged position. It's good for them to focus their mind on the abdominal
  movement because if they sit on the cushion they can keep their body in an
  upright position. The body rarely bends when they sit say for some ten or
  twenty minutes, because of their cushion.
  But when they get painful sensations then unconsciously or consciously they
  change their position. When they change their position some of them sit with
  their knees upright. It's very awkward for them and also not suitable for
  practice of the Dhamma. They should not sit in a position with their knees
  keeping upright because it doesn't help them to concentrate their mind well on
  the object of meditation. It's not systematic sitting.
  Another aspect of the practice is that when you feel a painful sensation to be
  unbearable you have a tendency to change position. You should be patient with
  the pain and note it as much as possible attentively and methodically, not to
  change instantly but you should proceed with mindfulness of the pain.
  Eventually if the painful sensation becomes unbearable you can change only
  once in a sitting. But for some who can sit an hour without changing position
  it is not good to change the position in a sitting. Such yogis should not
  change their position. If the pain becomes unbearable then you should get up
  and practice walking meditation. That's better because when you have a change
  in the position then your concentration has been broken. Even though you
  continue to sit after changing your position you can't get deep concentration.
  So it's not very beneficial for you to change your position if you can sit an
  hour without changing it.
  And in walking too, you should not walk only at ten minutes or fifteen
  minutes, for a short time. You should walk at least an hour if you can walk
  without any disturbance to your bodily processes. Only after that you should
  sit again for meditation. The most important point in walking is not to look
  round here and there. Naturally you have a tendency or desire to look round
  when you hear the sound of someone's voice, when you feel something is
  happening nearby or someone is coming towards you, and so on. But whenever you
  have a desire or tendency to look round, you should make a mental note of that
  desire or tendency as: desire, desire, desire, tendency, tendency, and so on.
  When that desire has disappeared you won't look round and you can resume your
  walking. Your concentration is still stable to a certain extent. It's not
  broken.
  Yesterday I explained to you how a meditator can observe twelve parts of a
  step, including intention before every action as mentioned in the Commentary
  to the Pali text. But it depends on you how many of the actions you should
  note. You should watch some objects as comfortably as you feel. If you have to
  exert or endeavour your utmost to be aware of any number of objects
  uncomfortably, you should not do that. If you do that you feel tense on your
  neck or your back, and sometimes you feel a headache. Sometimes you feel dizzy
  because you have to strain too much to be aware of each part of the step. So
  it depends on you; you yourself know. Normally for a meditator it should be
  adequate to note four or five objects of a step comfortably without strains
  with your relaxation: intending, lifting, moving, dropping, or touching. If
  you are able to observe these four or five objects precisely and very
  attentively then you can attain a deep concentration on the movement of the
  foot.
  To be aware of these four or five objects very precisely and attentively you
  have to slow down your stepping. Unless your step is slow you cannot catch
  each individual part of the step very well. It's indispensable for you to slow
  down your step so that you can note all these four or five objects very
  precisely and attentively. Now when you are able to note all these four
  objects very well, your concentration gradually becomes better and better. You
  can note intention very concentratedly. Then the lifting movement you can note
  with diligent mindfulness. Then the pushing movement and putting movement and
  touching sensation you can know very well without looking here and there. In
  this way when you practice walking meditation for about three or four days you
  can attain a deep concentration.
  And as to walking meditation the Buddha said there are five benefits of
  walking:
    (1) The first benefit is that you can walk on foot a very long journey,
    because you have practised walking.
    (2) Then the second benefit is you will be perseverant with the strenuous
    effort in your practice. Because you see, it's the nature of a human being
    to stay still and sit idly, enjoying something. He doesn't want to walk or
    stand. He likes sitting better than straining and walking. In other words he
    is naturally lazy to walk so he would like to sit always. So if a person
    trained himself in walking for a very long time then because of his exertion
    he likes to walk. He is not reluctant to walk. That means he has the energy
    or effort to do something actively with alertness. Walking makes him active
    and alert. So whatever he does he puts the utmost effort in the doing of
    that thing. That's why the Buddha said, if you practise walking you become
    industrious, perseverant, with utmost effort.
    (3) You yourself know when you are afraid of cholesterol in your body you do
    jogging every morning or every evening. Jogging is a sort of walking
    practise. When the time comes up you are not lazy to do jogging. That's
    because you have practised that jogging. That's what the Buddha said. One of
    the benefits of walking is the perseverant and diligent effort one can have.

    (4) Then the fourth benefit of walking is healthiness. If a person practises
    walking he is healthier than the person who is lazy. By practising walking
    you can be healthy both mentally and physically. Mental health is much more
    important than physical health. Regarding healthiness, the Buddha said the
    food you have taken is easily digested. Because of the digestion you are
    healthy. That's the benefit of walking. After you have taken a lot of food
    into your stomach, if you lie down or if you sit it's somewhat difficult for
    you to digest it. After you have taken that much food, then if you walk the
    food is easily digested. So healthiness together with digestion is one of
    the benefits of walking.
    If you are lazy you can't meditate. If you are lazy you do not come here for
    meditation. Because you are not lazy you come here to meditate. Yesterday
    when I explained how to practise walking meditation systematically, after
    the talk most of the yogis took an interest in walking and they practised
    it. Then at the time of the interview they told me, 'I enjoy it.' Why do you
    enjoy it? Because you like to be industrious and to be perseverant as the
    result of walking meditation.
    (5) The most important benefit of walking, what the Buddha said in
    accordance with this discourse, is concentration. The Buddha said the
    concentration you have attained in walking meditation lasts very long. You
    can easily concentrate your mind on the movement of the foot in a short time
    when you take an interest in walking, and also do it strenuously, because in
    walking the object of meditation is more pronounced than in sitting.
  In sitting the respiration or abdominal movement is not distinct to your mind.
  In the beginning of sitting you may find it and you may be able to note it
  very well: rising, falling, rising, falling. Sometimes it becomes irregular
  because you make too much effort in your noting of the abdominal movement so
  that it can be more distinct. But in walking you didn't have such a problem.
  In walking naturally the lifting movement, pushing movement, dropping movement
  of the foot is very prominent, very distinct to your mind so that you can
  easily note it.
  When the object of meditation is prominent or predominant then you can easily
  note it. You can easily watch it. Because you can easily watch it your mind
  becomes very quickly concentrated on it. Then that concentration becomes also
  deep so it will last very long. One of the benefits of walking is to attain a
  long lasting concentration of the mind. Naturally some of you practise walking
  meditation systematically and diligently so you have had some concentration of
  the mind which is somewhat deep, better than you have had in sitting
  meditation. You know it through your experience.
  That's what the Buddha said, you can attain long lasting concentration by
  means of walking. So when you are aware of each individual movement of the
  foot, and sometimes the intention too, then the mind becomes gradually
  concentrated on the movement of the foot very well. And the more energetically
  you note the movement the more deep is the concentration of the mind. Then
  when concentration becomes deeper and deeper you feel your feet become light
  as they automatically lift, automatically push forward, automatically drop
  down. You come to realise it. Sometimes you get startled at the experience of
  this automatic lifting and pushing and dropping of the foot. and as soon as
  you feel it you say to yourself, 'Hah, what's that? Am I mad or not?' In this
  way you get startled at the unusual experience of the movement of the foot.
  When I conducted a meditation retreat in England at the Manjusri Tibetan
  Monastery, the Manjusri Institute in northern England near the border of
  Scotland, one of the meditators had put much effort into his practise both
  sitting as well as walking, and awareness of the activities too. So after
  about four days' meditation he came to me and asked a question. 'Venerable
  Sir, my meditation is getting worse and worse,' he said. 'Now what happen to
  your meditation?' I asked him. Then he said, 'When I am walking one day,
  Venerable Sir, then gradually I am not aware of myself. The foot itself had
  lifted, and it itself pushed forward, and then dropped down by itself. There's
  no I or no me, no self, no myself. Sometimes though I control my foot, the
  foot doesn't stay with the ground. It lifted by itself. Sometimes it pushed
  forward very long. I couldn't control it. Then sometimes it's getting down by
  itself. So my meditation is getting worse and worse. What should I do?' Then
  eventually he said, 'I think I have gone mad.' Such an experience was very
  amazing.
  This is a benefit of walking meditation. First of all he said, 'I don't know
  myself. I'm not aware of myself. I don't know my body, my leg.' That means the
  realisation of the movement of the foot. The movement of the foot has
  destroyed the idea of an 'I' or a 'you,' a 'self' or a 'soul,' a 'person' or
  'being.' Here what he was realising was the impersonal nature of our bodily
  process called Anatta. No soul, non-ego, non-self nature of our bodily
  phenomena.
  When he said, 'The foot is automatically lifted up by itself. It's
  automatically pushed forward by itself,' that means there's no person or no
  being, no self who lifted the foot, who pushed it forward, who dropped it
  down. It's the realisation of the impermanent nature of physical processes or
  physical phenomena: Anatta. Before he didn't realise the physical process of
  the rising-falling movement and the other parts of the body in sitting, he
  realised the processes of rising, lifting movement, pushing movement, the
  falling movement of the phenomena as it really is. So he has destroyed the
  false idea of an I or a you, a person or a being, a self or a soul. Anatta.
  It was very interesting. Not only this yogi but also many yogis in Burma
  experienced it in this way. And sometimes before you experience this stage of
  insight knowledge you feel you are walking on waves of the sea. Or you are
  standing on a boat which was floating on the waves of the sea. Sometimes you
  may feel you are walking on a heap of cotton. Sometimes you feel you are
  walking in the air. That is also one of the insight knowledge which penetrates
  into the true nature of material process, material phenomena.
  In accordance with the Buddha's philosophy this so-called person is composed
  of six elements: the four material elements and the one mental element. Of the
  four physical, material elements the first one is the element of hardness and
  softness. We call it pathavi-dhatu. The second is the element of fluidity and
  coalition. We call it apo-dhatu in Pali. The third is the element of heat and
  cold, temperature. We call it tejo-dhatu . The fourth is the element of
  motion, movement, vibration, expansion and contraction. This is called
  vayo-dhatu in Pali.
  These four primary material elements constitute the so-called bodily process.
  When you feel your body then you may have a sensation of hardness or softness.
  That is pathavi-dhatu. You may feel heat or cold. That's tejo-dhatu. You feel
  the nature of fluidity or coalition. That's apo-dhatu. You may feel motion,
  movement, vibration, supporting. This is vayo-dhatu, one element.
  These four primary elements together with the other minor elements are
  composed as a material unit called the indestructible unit - Kalapa. These
  eight elements cannot be divided, cannot be destroyed even with the atomic
  bomb. You can divide the atom into say nucleus and proton and neutron and so
  on. But the tiniest detail of the atom consists of these four primary
  elements. So you can't divide it. You can't destroy it so it is called the
  unit of indestructibility - Avinibhoga-rupa in Pali. So when the innumerable
  number of these material units are composed then they become a body: a finger,
  a nail, a hair, and so on.
  So, in between these units there's a space. That space is known as
  akasa-dhatu,. This is one of the six elements which constitutes the so-called
  bodily process.
  Then the sixth one is the mental element. That is, mind, consciousness, mental
  processes, emotional processes. All these are called vinyana-dhatu, the mental
  element or mind element.
  Normally we are not able to penetrate into these elements and realise them in
  their true nature. That's why we take these compounded elements for a personal
  being, an I or a you, because we can't divide. Our intellectual knowledge is
  not enough to penetrate into these elements, and realise them in their true
  nature. So we think this is a body, this is a mind, this a man, this is a
  woman, this is a leg, this is a nose, this a hair. If we have penetrating
  insight knowledge through our vipassana meditation, insight meditation, then
  we can penetrate into these primary elements and know them and their nature
  and also their appearance and disappearance, and the nature of transitoriness
  of these elements.
  So here when you practise walking meditation you feel that you are walking on
  a boat which is floating on the waves of the sea, or as though you were
  walking on the air, or as though you are walking on a heap of cotton. You are
  realising the specific nature or specific characteristic of the wind element
  vayo-dhatu. Vayo-dhatu, the wind element has movement, motion, supporting,
  vibrating as its specific characteristics, or individual characteristics.
  Normally we do not realise it. But when we watch the movement of the foot
  while we are walking very closely, attentively and precisely, then our
  concentration becomes deeper and deeper. Then, because of deep concentration
  the insight knowledge or experiential knowing becomes penetrating and sharp.
  So that penetrating insight realises the process of movement and its specific
  characteristics of movement, motion, vibrating and supporting. So we feel we
  are walking on the air, or we are standing on the boat, or on the waves of the
  sea. Because the waves of the sea are always moving.
  Then, gradually our concentration becomes deeper. You will feel the specific
  characteristics of the wind element in that way. At that time you very often
  feel you are not yourself. Here 'you are not yourself' means you are not mad.
  You are not aware of your body. You are not aware of yourself. What you are
  here realising is just movement. A great deal of movement which is going on of
  its own accord. So in this way you have destroyed the idea of a personal
  being, a self or a soul by means of the walking meditation.
  But here you should be careful not to expect any unusual experiences when you
  are walking. When you expect anything, the expectation disturbs your
  concentration. Then the concentration becomes weak. Then you can't experience
  anything new. So you mustn't expect anything. But what I have explained to you
  is that your noting of the movement of the foot has such and such a benefit
  you can experience.
  So what you should do is just be mindful of what is happening to your body and
  mind, that's all. Except for mindfulness you mustn't do anything else. You
  mustn't expect anything, you mustn't be curious or inquisitive about anything.
  But what you should do is be mindful of what's happening. If you have
  expectation, that expectation must be aware of expecting. If you have
  curiosity, curiosity must be aware of curiosity, and so on until it has
  disappeared. You mustn't allow them to disturb your concentration and
  mindfulness. So what you should do is just be mindful while you are walking,
  while you are sitting, while you are lined up, while you are eating, while you
  are dressing, while you are showering, whatever you are doing. What you should
  do is just be mindful of it as it is, that's all.
  In the time of the Buddha tbere was a bikkhuni named Patajara. Bikkhuni is a
  woman monk . This Patajara was the daughter of a wealthy person. Say a
  billionaire, not a millionaire. But when she was grown up she married a
  servant, so she had to go to the other village and stay there because she was
  afraid of their parents. Then she had a great deal of trouble because she was
  a human being. Human beings are surrounded by many sufferings, dukkha. Her
  husband died. Her two sons and her parents also died. Her half brothers died.
  The house of Patajara collapsed in a storm due to the heavy rain. So she was
  mad because of her anxiety, sorrow, worry, lamentation, and despair and she
  roamed in the city.
  But one day the Buddha summoned her to the audience in the monastery of
  Jetavana who listened to the Buddha's sermon. The Omniscient Buddha knew that
  she was Patajara and also that her mental faculties were ripe for the
  attainment of enlightenment. So the Buddha said to her, 'Oh beloved sister,
  please be careful, please come round.' When she heard what the Buddha said she
  came round. Her mind became normal. Then the Omniscient Buddha told her to sit
  and listen to the sermon.
  While she was listening to Dhamma the Buddha explained to the audience the
  Four Noble Truths. The first is the truth of suffering, Dukkha. The second is
  the Truth of the Cause of Suffering, Samudaya . The third is the truth of the
  Cessation of Suffering, Nirodha. Then the fourth is the Truth of the Way
  Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. That is Mindfulness and Meditation.
  When the Buddha explained the truth of the way leading to the cessation of
  suffering, and how to practise mindfulness and meditation -- when anyone wants
  to get rid of all kinds of suffering -- then Patajara with a great deal of
  suffering wanted to get rid of it.
  So while listening to Dhamma she tried to be mindful of what is happening to
  her body and mind, and also consciousness, the hearing. In this way she
  gradually concentrated her mind very well. And when she had attained a deep
  concentration her insight knowledge became penetrating and realised all mental
  and physical phenomena in their true nature. And eventually she attained the
  four stages of enlightenment which completely uprooted all mental defilements
  together with their potentialities. Then she lived happily and peacefully
  without any suffering, stress or worries, sorrows and lamentation. She became
  free from all kinds of mental and physical suffering.
  But what I should tell you is this woman attained the first stage of
  enlightenment while she was listening to Dhamma and after that she asked the
  Buddha for ordination as a Bikkhuni. So the Buddha told the other Bikkhunis to
  ordain her. After he ordained her as a Bikkhuni she proceeded with her
  practise of mindfulness and meditation.
  And one day at night she practised walking meditation the whole night. Then
  because of her walking meditation her concentration became deeper and deeper
  and also stable and firm. When she had realised the viability of her
  concentration she went to her room and sat for meditation. When she approached
  her bed she noted all activities: her standing, standing, and bending bending
  , then turning, turning, when you sit down on the bed, sitting down, sitting
  down. Then after she had settled herself on the seat she took a small stick
  and stretching her arm, reached her arm to the lamp which was flaming. Then
  with that stick she noticed stretching, stretching. She then pressed the flame
  with the stick, pressing, pressing, pressing. Then the flame submerged into
  the oil and it was extinguished. As soon as the flame had submerged into the
  oil she attained three other higher stages of enlightenment, and all
  defilement was destroyed by this enlightenment. She became Arahant and lived
  in peace and happiness. Here, because of deep concentration she attained from
  walking meditation, she could be aware of all daily activities, and that
  awareness made her attain to the other higher stages of enlightenment which
  totally destroy all defilements.