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By Jayaram V
Mindfulness is complete awareness of all the
movements that happen
in the present moment in ones body, mind or
consciousness and also the environment with which these constituents of
the personality interact. And what is right mindfulness? According to
Buddhist scriptures, it is remain focused on these things continuously.
We come across the following definition in the Digha Nikaya(22)
"There is the case where a monk remains focused on
the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting
aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains
focused on feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of
itself... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert,
& mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to
the world. This is called right mindfulness..."
Complete mindfulness comes
with practice, with the development of certain states of mind, where by
an individual becomes detached from the material things he would ordinarily
seek, gains control over his or her thoughts, desires and impulses and achieves
a complete and continuous awareness of what is happening both in the
internal world and the external world.
The benefits of right mindedness are many. With
right mindedness comes the mindfulness, the complete and continuous
awareness of who you are and what you are, your reactions, thoughts and
feelings and your relationship with the nature of the things of the
world with whom you interact. You
become conscious and watchful of every moment and every movement within
as well as without. This awareness and state of mind help you to develop
the discretionary power to avoid
the wrong movements of the body and mind or lapsing into lethargic
inertia. With mindfulness you develop insight into the nature of
things and learn to deal with your suffering and feelings more
peacefully. You
become aware of things that bind you or disturb you and through this
awareness you will develop wisdom, detachment and inner stability.
"This is the direct path for the purification of
beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the
disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right
method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the
four frames of reference." Digha Nikaya 22
With the right mindfulness comes the ability to abandon the wrong
view and develop the right view, abandon the wrong resolve and stay with
the right resolve, abandon the wrong speech and practice right speech,
abandon the wrong action and follow the right action and abandon the
wrong livelihood and pursue the right livelihood. (Majjhima Nikaya 117)
This state of right mindedness does not come to us
so easily. It has to be practiced with great concentration, sincerity
and discipline. The Buddha gave
a detailed account of how to develop right mindedness to his son Rahula,
when they were staying together at Savatthi at the
monastery of Anathapindaka, in the grove of Jeta.
The main aspects of this discourse are:
Right mindfulness can be cultivated by
concentrating on the things of the world, with the awareness that
"this is not mine, this is not I and this is not my soul.'
"All material forms, past, present, or future, within or without,
gross or subtle, base or fine, far or near, all should be viewed with
full understanding-with the thought 'This is not mine, this is not I,
this is not my soul," declared the Buddha.
This should be practiced in connection with not
only material forms, but also sensation, perception, the psychic
constructions, and consciousness. The Buddha further explained on what
types of objects one should develop this kind of concentration order to
develop right mindedness. They are
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Earth: as hair, nail, teeth, skin flesh, and similar things.
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Water: as bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat and similar things.
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Fire: as the digestive elements that help in the digestive process.
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Air: as the upward or the downward movement of breath; and
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Space: as the orifices of ears and nose, the door
of the mouth, and the channels through which the food and water move in
and out of the body.
These five personal elements, together with the
five external elements, make up the total of the five universal
elements. They should all be regarded objectively, with right
understanding, thinking 'This is not mine, this is not me, this is not
my soul.' With this understanding attitude a man develops detachment
from the five elements and his mind takes no delight in them.
Contemplation of these five elements will lead to
detachment and equanimity. For example, people throw all types of clean
and unclean things on the earth, into the water, into the fire, into the
air and into the space. But these actions do not disturb the elements,
nor do they feel repelled or disgusted by the things that touch them.
They remain the same all the time, irrespective of what is happening all
around them. When one starts observing these things with concentration,
one develops similar state of mind.
The Buddha also declared that right mindedness
required a certain all round development of personality which was
characterized by the development of the following exceptional qualities.
- The state of friendliness, where by ill-will would grow less,
- The state of compassion which would reduce vexation,
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the state of joy with which aversion would grow less,
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The state of equanimity which would reduce repugnance to things.
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The state of consciousness of the corruption of the body,
by which passions would grow less;
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The state of the consciousness of the fleeting
nature of all things, with which pride of selfhood would grow
less.
- The state of mind of ordering the breath. This
state is achieved by conscious breathing, continuously observing and
controlling ones breathing movements and with complete control on ones
thoughts. As the monk exhales and inhales consciously, he should train
himself to be conscious of the whole of his body, the components of his
mind, realize the impermanence of all things, or to dwell on
passionlessness and renunciation. The state of controlled breathing when
developed and increased, is very productive and helpful. And when the
mind is thus developed a man breathes his last breath in full
consciousness, and not unconsciously.
Conclusion
With right mindfulness comes the awareness of ones
true nature and the ability to deal with the feelings and movements of
the mind peacefully with detachment and right understanding. One realizes the fleeting nature of
the sensory world and of things in general and there by learns to accept things with
equanimity. Right mindedness is the
key to follow the eightfold path diligently.
For Additional Information: Practical
Buddhism
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