why do mindfulness meditation?
Feb. 13th, 2019 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cattasallaMy next Dharma talk will be on satipaṭṭhāna, which is generally translated as "the foundation of mindfulness" or "establishment of mindfulness", and I have a pretty good pile of notes to sift through now. So I'll do it on my blog! The next few posts will probably be from the notes. So, if you're from my sangha and reading this, uh, spoilers...
So, to start with, why even practice mindfulness meditation? Well, for all kinds of great reasons!
First and foremost, in a few places (DN 22, MN 10, SN 47.1, etc.), the Buddha describes it as "the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the passing away pain and displeasure, for acquiring the true method, for the realization of nibbāna." That's a really big deal! A direct path to the end of sorrow!
And it continues in this vein: When cultivating, they are "noble and emancipating" (SN 47.17) and lead to the complete destruction of dukkha (47.17, 47.33). A number of metaphors are used for this.
One potent simile implies that cultivating this practice sets up the conditions for reaching nibbāna. "Just as the river Ganges slant, slopes, and inclines towards the east, so too a bhikkhu who develops and cultivates the four satipaṭṭhāna slants, slopes, and inclines towards nibbāna" (47.51-62, repeated). This, I think, is an important thing to underline. Just like with samādhi, you don't make it happen, you set up the conditions that can bring it about. You incline your mind towards it, and hopefully it arises.
Among the Buddha's last instructions were for bhikkhus to dwell with themselves as dīpa (either island or lamp!), and with the Dhamma as lamp/island. And this is done through the practice of satipaṭṭhāna. Through its practice, desire is abandoned. Its practice leads to disenchantment with worldly concerns, the fading away of that which keeps us caught up in them, and eventually liberation.
So, to start with, why even practice mindfulness meditation? Well, for all kinds of great reasons!
First and foremost, in a few places (DN 22, MN 10, SN 47.1, etc.), the Buddha describes it as "the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the passing away pain and displeasure, for acquiring the true method, for the realization of nibbāna." That's a really big deal! A direct path to the end of sorrow!
And it continues in this vein: When cultivating, they are "noble and emancipating" (SN 47.17) and lead to the complete destruction of dukkha (47.17, 47.33). A number of metaphors are used for this.
One potent simile implies that cultivating this practice sets up the conditions for reaching nibbāna. "Just as the river Ganges slant, slopes, and inclines towards the east, so too a bhikkhu who develops and cultivates the four satipaṭṭhāna slants, slopes, and inclines towards nibbāna" (47.51-62, repeated). This, I think, is an important thing to underline. Just like with samādhi, you don't make it happen, you set up the conditions that can bring it about. You incline your mind towards it, and hopefully it arises.
Among the Buddha's last instructions were for bhikkhus to dwell with themselves as dīpa (either island or lamp!), and with the Dhamma as lamp/island. And this is done through the practice of satipaṭṭhāna. Through its practice, desire is abandoned. Its practice leads to disenchantment with worldly concerns, the fading away of that which keeps us caught up in them, and eventually liberation.