 |
|||||||||
Practices
(Patipatti) The Practice |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| The practice is to be mindful in all positions: sitting, standing, lying down and walking. If you are in a sitting position, the "three nama" - atapi, sati and sampajanna - are aware of the sitting position, and know that it is sitting rupa. | |||||||||
| The three nama (and not ourselves) observe sitting rupa like watching an actor on the stage. An actor is watched while on stage, but there is no attempt to control his behavior or actions. Seeing a play is like the present moment, there is no interest in the past or future. So, the yogi should practice as though watching a play. Then, as he observes sitting rupa, pain will occur and he will know sitting rupa suffers. This is dukkha vedana. But don't observe dukkha vedana. This practice is in kaya by observing sitting rupa suffer over and over in the present moment, until the position must be changed. Then the yogi will see the truth of suffering in sitting rupa. This is because dukkha vedana arises from rupa and nama --- rupa are dukkha sacca. | |||||||||
| The same way (of practice) applies to lying rupa, walking rupa and standing rupa. The yogi should observe these positions as something he has no control over. While rupa is the object, Vipassana is the responsibility of the mind (nama). So the mind has to be in the present moment to see wisdom. Therefore, the mind must observe the truth (nama hearing, for example) as it arises, rather than try to create the truth. We should simply observe what happens. Any attempt to control the mind means we want to see sabhava; this is kilesa and takes us out of the middle way and it takes us out of the present moment. | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Atapi, sati, sampajanna work together observing nama and rupa. If there is too much sati it will weaken sampajanna. The yogi must notice this; this noticing is called sikkhati. When sikkhati observes this imbalance, the yogi must try to make atapi, sati and sampajanna equal. This is done by having more awareness. When suffering is felt, sitting rupa changes position, because it is forced to move by pain. (The same natural way we would move, if we were sitting around in some social situation.) | |||||||||
| It is with "yoniso" that we notice the pain is forcing sitting rupa to change to another posture. When the position is changed, the pain is followed into the new position, and "yoniso" notices that the new practitioners don't like the old position and think the new position will make them happy. | |||||||||
| Thus, we will not feel aversion to the old position, and we will not get attached to the new position, because "yoniso" knows that the change is due to rupa having to cure suffering from the previous position. "Yoniso" is emphasized a great deal in this practice, because proper "yoniso" leads to realizing dukkha (dukkha vedana and sankhara dukkha). (see 1.4.4.1, Types of Dukkha.) | |||||||||
| If it is difficult to stay in the present moment, it can be helpful to ask the question: | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| When you ask, "What is sitting?" etc., sati and sampajanna (awareness) arise and cause you to answer: "Sitting rupa." Atapi (earnestness), sati (mindfulness), and sampajanna (clear comprehension) can be summed up as rusuthua (Thai - awareness). They have the same object (nama or rupa) and so they work together. Sati knows the posture, the way you sit, and sampajanna knows that it is sitting (standing, etc.) rupa. But it is not correct practice to apply sati first and then develop sampajanna at a later stage. | |||||||||
| Sati and sampajanna work at the same time. | |||||||||
| The correct practice is, "Now we are sitting." Take "we" out. "Now it is sitting rupa." The point here is that the process of knowing the position is the same as in daily life, except the wrong view of "we" sitting is removed. | |||||||||
| Often to describe rusuthua, we hear the words "feel," "know," "see," (mentally), "observe," and "be aware of" sitting rupa, etc. All of these words can be correct. Actually, the yogi often identifies 'awareness' with his observing the position as "we/I sit," but the "I or We" should be substituted for "sitting rupa." Awareness developed in this way is the key to practice practicing the right way. | |||||||||
| Feeling refers to feeling the way you sit and feeling it is sitting rupa, and that it is sampajanna. But a word of caution about feeling: If one gets into physical feeling too strongly, it can make the mind tired and push one out of the present moment. This is practicing with desire, and if done too long can bring on physical problems, such as chest pains, choking feeling, etc. The point here is don't try to "make" sitting rupa, just know it. Sitting rupa is already there, you just aren't aware of it. When you are at home you feel you sit, but this is kilesa. So in practice just change this to sitting rupa with wisdom (panna). | |||||||||
| The word "thinking", however, is generally avoided to describe rusuthua - because thinking is often associated with mere verbalizing. The difference between feeling rupa and merely thinking rupa can be seen by using cold water as an example: we can think of (imagine) cold water, but to touch or taste cold water is entirely different. Cold water is a verbal concept, but knowing it by feeling is to really know cold water. | |||||||||
| Also, remember to be aware of the entire rupa from head to toe - and that rupa does not know anything (without awareness). Only nama knows. | |||||||||
| Try to notice when you observe sitting rupa if desire to see sabhava is there or not. If you notice this desire, stop practice for a while until the desire goes away. If this desire is there, you won't be able to see the truth of sabhava. The Lord Buddha said you cannot see the truth when craving (tanha) is there, because craving hides the truth. | |||||||||
| Since Vipassana is concerned with eliminating kilesa where it arises, the practitioner should learn whether a particular object is to be seen as nama or rupa. To determine this, reference should be made to Figure 2-1, "Summary of Sense Spheres", at the end of the Practice section. | |||||||||
|
|||||||||