One True Sin

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I believe there is one sin in the world, and it's one that most of us succumb to almost constantly. So it's obviously not killing or stealing or evil speech, acts listed in the Ten Commandments and the Five Precepts that are deemed wrong or unhealthy. See, these acts are bad, but none of them would be committed if it were not for the one sin about which I'm speaking: a lack of mindfulness.

To be present in the here-and-now, to be aware with penetrating insight into that which is occurring now inside you, this is mindfulness. The past is over, and the future is yet to come, so what use is there to dwell on them? Realize that I am not knocking reflection on the past and planning for the future. Mindfulness is when you decide it's time to plan, you plan; when it is time to reflect on past actions, you reflect on past actions; when it is time to reminisce, you reminisce. When you do not wish to engage in those activities, then you do not.

I made the claim that none of those heinous acts (murder, stealing, etc.) would be committed when one is mindful. But can't one mindfully steal something? Actually, aren't the best thieves mindful because they're so aware of what's going on around them, and thus avoid getting caught? No, and here's why. True mindfulness does not refer to being mindful of the external environment (like the thief), although this, too, is present when mindfulness is present. Rather, mindfulness is being fully aware of that which is going on within you. See, when one is mindful, one will not engage in murder because the emotions that fuel murder (anger, jealousy, et al) will be noticed by mindfulness and thus will be analyzed and defused. Same with our master thief—if he were mindful, he would notice that greed is fueling his thievery and would not engage in such activity. Gossip? Rooted in attachment to our ego in most cases, or anger/vindictiveness in others. Hence mindfulness would prevent us from gossiping.

The best teaching on mindfulness that I have seen is Sayadaw U Pandita's book, The State of Mind Called Beautiful. He also has an online teaching entitled In This Very Life. Mindfulness meditation instructions are listed in the first chapter of In This Very Life. They reflect, in lesser detail, what he teaches in the book. There is also a section under Chapter 4 of In This Very Life entitled "Mindfulness" that is a good read.

Technorati Tags: Sayadaw U Pandita, mindfulness, Buddhism, anger, greed, concentration

Five Facts to Contemplate Frequently

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In the Upajjhatthana Sutra, the Buddha taught there there are five facts that one should reflect on frequently:

1. I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.
2. I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.
   
3. I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death.
   
4. I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.
   
5. I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.

Even just spending 2 or 3 minutes a day to contemplate these 5 factors will be immensely beneficial.

I am subject to aging and I am subject to illness; while I should strive to remain healthy, I will eventually get old and sick. There is no escaping these two facts, and contemplating them teaches me that I am changing, it is pointless to grasp for the past or for health because I have changed, and will continue to change. This illness I have now is impermanent and will end, just as the health that follows is impermanent and will end.

I am subject to death; this teaches me that I don't have forever. What is important to me? I better do that now because, who knows, I could die one minute from now!

I will grow different; just as I change, and will grow differently from others, others change and will grow differently from me. It's unavoidable. That also, of course, means that I can grow closer to others, as well as apart from them.

I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions; everything I think, everything I do, everything I say, will have an effect. Every effect that is a product of my thoughts, speech, and actions, will become a cause for future thoughts, speech, and actions, which will produce another effect, and so on.

1-Minute Contemplation: Contemplate these 5 factors for just 1 minute. That's 12 seconds each.

Homework: Next time you're standing in line, just waiting patiently, contemplate 1 or more of these factors, as many as you have time for. Even 1 second of focused contemplation will benefit your mind.

Technorati Tags: Buddhism, five facts, contemplation, concentration, sutra, Buddha

Seeing True Nature

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From The State of Mind Called Beautiful (Sayadaw Pandita, 2006):

Only when one notes and observes the presently arising object will one see its true nature. There is no axiom more basic. Wisdom means clear-cut, distinct, discerning, direct knowledge. Dharma, the true nature of reality, can only be seen at this very moment—in the moment of actually seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, or thinking. When the abdomen is rising and falling due to the breathing process...when eating, when opening the eyes, this is when the true nature of the object can be captured by the attentive awareness.

In life, we are all too often caught up in thinking and worrying and planning and reminiscing. Why? How does that serve us? "I have to plan, so that I know how to best utilize my time, or know how to properly do something," you might answer. This is true. But are you planning when you choose to plan, or does your mind go on planning and testing and thinking when that is not your intention? There is a time for planning for the future and reminiscing about the past, but we often find our minds doing these things when that was not our intention, or doing them to excess. The antidote to this waste of mental cycles is mindfulness: noting and observing the most obvious presently arising object, be that your breath, a thought, an emotion, a sensation (painful/pleasant/neutral), etc. When you see it occur, name it with a simple name. (For the abdomen in breathing, "Rising...Falling," for a movie that starts to play in your head, "Seeing...Seeing")

1-Minute Practice: Watch and name the rising and falling of your abdomen as you breathe. If a thought intrudes, label it "Thinking." Don't follow the train of thought, just note it. If it dissipates, return to "Rising, Falling." If another thought arises, "Thinking."

Technorati Tags: Buddhism, vipassana, mindfulness, concentration, mind

Seeing the Truth

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The mind is like the ocean, a vast pool that reflects its surroundings. Just as wind blowing across the surface of the water obscures its reflections, our mind, when tainted by delusion, does not see clearly the True Nature of the formations it reflects. Rather, it perceives a version of those formations, unable to see their True Suchness. We can extend the analogy further in that the ripples and waves cause the surface to continuously reflect different objects, mirroring how our monkey mind leaps from idea to idea to idea, out of control.¹ But if we learn to control the wind, we can still the ripples, and attend to a single object. The more we practice, the more still the surface becomes, and the longer we can be mindful of our chosen object.

What happens when we learn to still the wind entirely? We become capable of deep examination of the object of our mindfulness, uninterrupted, without taint. Suddenly, we are no longer seeing the object filtered through our relative biases, but unblemished, in its True Suchness.

This is how we see Truth.

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¹Analogy derived from Joseph Campbell's lecture entitled "Mysteries of India."

Technorati Tags: Suchness, Buddhism, Joseph Campbell, Eastern Way, concentration, meditation