The Art of Living by William Hart as taught by S.N. Goenka
We digest a book by reading all the words in it; we experience the body by feeling sensations.
The Art of Living by SN Goenka is about Vipassanā, a meditation which requires observing the reality within oneself by consciously experiencing every sensation. Sensation is the meeting point of mind and body and we mostly gloss over the ones that don’t glare out at us. Just as removing weeds requires awareness of their hidden roots, we must be aware of often hidden sensations. In meditation, we observe ordinary physical sensations as they naturally occur, without seeking anything extraordinary or trying to find their causes. Awareness moves methodically through the body, addressing each part without skipping unclear sensations or lingering over prominent ones. Concentration is maintained, recognizing that difficulties indicate the surfacing of deeply buried conditioning. This process leads to wisdom, and when applied to our daily life, creates a clarity of mind that allows us to tackle reality / truth as it comes, not as we perceive it to be.
The more I read, the more I see the overlaps between key texts I’ve read (Nonviolent Communication by Michael Rosenberg, Thinking In Systems by Donella Meadows, and The Choice by Eliyahu Goldratt). One day I’ll be able to publish a proper life philosophy, citing the key findings from all of them in a universal context.
The higher the leverage point, the more the system will resist changing it — that’s why societies have to rub out truly enlightened beings.
Magical leverage points are not easily accessible, even if we know where they are and which direction to push on them. There are no cheap tickets to mastery. You have to work hard at it, whether that means rigorously analyzing a system or rigorously casting off your own paradigms and throwing yourself into the humility of Not Knowing. In the end, it seems that mastery has less to do with pushing leverage points than it does with strategically, profoundly, madly letting go.
- Donella Meadows in Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System
I constructed my outline in a way that is readable while maintaining most metaphors. It’s 21 pages and took over 7 hours, re-reading through the book and trying to come to terms with the concepts. I truly did feel it was a great use of my time in between the morning and evening Muay Thai sessions.
I’m practicing meditation briefly everyday by myself, but I’ll properly continue my journey to build awareness, concentration, and wisdom on July 16 in Jinan County, South Korea. 10 day deep dive into meditation, coming soon.
Outline:
Chapter 1: The Search
Vipassanā means “insight.” It is a technique for observing reality from every angle.
We see the image that we wish to see, not the reality.
With meditation, the mind becomes as calm as a mountain lake at dawn, perfectly mirroring its surroundings and at the same time revealing its depths to those who look more closely
Buddha called his teaching Dhamma, that is, “law”, the law of nature
He did not teach dogma or philosophy He claimed no monopoly on the truth. Nor did he assert any special authority for his teaching
The highest authority is one’s own experience of truth
Synonyms for truth: nibbāna (nirvana), heaven, etc.
On the “teacher”
The personality of the one who teaches, he maintained, is of minor importance compared to the teaching
All respect is due to whoever teaches the truth, but the best way to show that respect is by working to realize the truth oneself.
Why do we meditate / investigate the truth about ourselves?
Not out of idle intellectual curiosity but rather with a definite purpose. By observing ourselves we become aware for the first time of the conditioned reactions, the prejudices that cloud our mental vision, that hide reality from us and produce suffering. We recognize the accumulated inner tensions that keep us agitated, miserable, and we realize they can be removed. Gradually we learn how to allow them to dissolve, and our minds become pure
Sudden breakthroughs may come, but they are the result of sustained efforts. It is necessary to work step by step; with every step, however, the benefits are immediate
Assumption: the basic nature of a pure mind is positivity
Thus, meditation is a process of deconditioning
Being reclusive from the world for a period of time is a means to an end, not the end itself
How can you be peaceful and happy when confronting the suffering of others?
Being sensitive to the suffering of others does not mean that you must become sad yourself. Instead you should remain calm and balanced, so that you can act to alleviate their suffering. If you also become sad, you increase the unhappiness around you; you do not help others, you do not help yourself.
Chapter 2: The Starting Point
Note from me: Some of what is presented as ‘fact’ here registers to me as somewhat pseudo-science. That does not mean it is wrong, just that my understanding of this and actual science is limited.
Every being is a composite of 5 processes, 4 mental and 1 physical
Matter (physical)
Subatomic particles have no real solidity; the existence span of one of them is much less than a trillionth of a second. Particles continuously arise and vanish, passing into and out of existence, like a flow of vibrations
Kalāpas: “indivisible units” of waves or particles which create basic qualities of matter – mass, cohesion, temperature, and movement
Mind (mental)
Consciousness (viññāṇa), perception (saññā), sensation (vedanā), and reaction (saṅkhāra)
Consciousness
It notes the raw data of experience without assigning labels or making value judgments
Perception
The act of recognition
It distinguishes, labels, and categorizes the incoming raw data and makes evaluations, positive or negative
Sensation
A signal that something is happening
Reaction
The mind reacts with liking or disliking
The job of the first three is to digest incoming information. The purpose of meditation is to change your passive “reaction” into active “action” so that you don’t create a fresh chain of suffering events
The four mental processes occur with lightning-like rapidity and repeat themselves with each subsequent moment of contact. So rapidly does this occur, however, that one is unaware of what is happening. It is only when a particular reaction has been repeated over a longer period of time and has taken a pronounced, intensified form that awareness of it develops at the conscious level.
The Buddha challenged this instinctive assertion of identity: “I was, I am, I shall be.” His findings:
Each human being is in fact a series of separate but related events
Each event is the result of the preceding one and follows it without any interval (‘apparent reality’)
At a particular point in the process one cannot say that what occurs now is the same as what preceded it, nor can one say that it is not the same. Nevertheless, the process occurs.
A person is not a finished, unchanging entity but a process flowing from moment to moment. There is no real being, merely an ongoing flow, a continuous process of becoming [from moment to moment]
The mind is not just the brain. The whole body contains the mind
In my own words: This is a critical reason why meditation focuses on feeling sensation within the entire body, not just the head
For conventional purposes, we cannot run away from the “I” or “Mine”, but do not cling to them, or take them as real in an ultimate sense
The Buddha and the Scientist
Like the Buddha, one should also be a scientist of the world within, in order to experience truth directly
Chapter 3: The Immediate Cause
Does suffering have a cause? If so, is it possible to remove that cause, so that suffering may be removed?
Suffering is not merely a product of chance – there are causes, and they are not beyond our control
The law of cause and effect—kamma (karma)—is universal and fundamental to existence
Kamma is popularly understood as meaning “fate”, however, literally it means “action”
Fate is outside our control (outcomes). Actions are within our control
“All beings own their deeds, inherit their deeds, originate from their deeds, are tied to their deeds; their deeds are their refuge. As their deeds are base or noble, so will be their lives.”
We can become a master of our fate by becoming master of our actions. Each of us is responsible for the actions that give rise to our suffering
As it is, each of us is like a blindfolded man who has never learned to drive, sitting behind the wheel of a speeding car on a busy highway. He is not likely to reach his destination without mishap. He may think that he is driving the car, but actually the car is driving him. If he wants to avoid an accident, let alone arrive at his goal, he should remove the blindfold, learn how to operate the vehicle, and steer it out of danger as quickly as possible. Similarly, we must become aware of what we do and then learn to perform actions that will lead us where we really wish to go.
3 types of actions
Mental action is most important
If with a pure mind / you speak or act / then happiness follows you / as a shadow that never departs
The cause of suffering: reactions
Whatever suffering arises / has a reaction as its cause. / If all reactions cease to be / then there is no more suffering
Taṇhā, literally “thirst”
The mental habit of insatiable longing for what is not, which implies an equal and irremediable dissatisfaction with what is
Some reactions, the Buddha said, are like lines drawn on the surface of a pool of water: as soon as they are drawn they are erased. Others are like lines traced on a sandy beach: if drawn in the morning they are gone by night, wiped away by the tide or the wind. Others are like lines cut deeply into rock with chisel and hammer. They too will be obliterated as the rock erodes, but it will take ages for them to disappear
Isn’t suffering a natural part of life? Why escape from it?
We have become so involved in suffering that to be free from it seems unnatural
Assumption: the true ‘natural’ state of mind is mental purity, in which you are happy.
In my own words: Hardship is natural, but suffering from hardships is not.
Just as the strength you gain by physical exercise helps you in daily life, so this mental exercise will also strengthen you.
Proper training enables you to observe yourself in daily life whenever you need to do so, and eventually, to perpetually uphold that awareness.
This is not predetermination
Our past actions influence the flow of our lives, directing them towards pleasant or unpleasant experiences. But present actions are equally important. Nature has given us the ability to become masters of our present actions. With that mastery we can change our future.
You cannot control the actions, the kamma of others, but you can become master of yourself in order to have a positive influence on those around you
Instead of reacting, learn to act with a balanced mind, which means you will act positively. Thus you will remain detached, full of love, compassion, goodwill, joy, equanimity
Seed and fruit
As the seed is, so the fruit will be. As the action is, so the result will be.
The seed of the sugar cane has the quality of sweetness; therefore the plant will have nothing but sweetness. The seed of the neem tree has the quality of bitterness; the plant will have nothing but bitterness. As the seed is, so the fruit will be. We keep planting seeds of neem, but when the time comes for fruit we are suddenly alert, we want sweet mangoes. And we keep crying and praying and hoping for mangoes. This doesn’t work.
Chapter 4: The Root of The Problem
People cling strongly to their identity—their mental and physical being—when actually there are only evolving processes
Attachments to:
(1) The habit of seeking sensual gratification
Craving becomes a habit we cannot break, an addiction.
So long as we crave, we can never be happy
(2) the I, the ego, the image we have of ourselves
We all instinctively try to arrange the world according to our liking, seeking to attract the pleasant and to repel the unpleasant
The pattern each seeks to create is disturbed by the magnetic fields of others, and we ourselves become subject to attraction or repulsion. The result can only be unhappiness, suffering.
(3) “mine”, creating to attachment to whatever [we feel] belongs to us
When there is a separation, the greater the clinging to “mine,” the greater the suffering will be
(4) Our views and our beliefs
No matter what their actual content may be, no matter whether they are right or wrong, if we are attached to them they will certainly make us unhappy
More beneficial would be to set aside any preconceived notions and to try to see reality. But our attachment to views prevents us from doing so, keeping us unhappy.
(5) To religious forms and ceremonies
We tend to emphasize the external expressions of religion more than their underlying meaning and to feel that anyone who does not perform such ceremonies cannot be a truly religious person
We miss the essence of religion and therefore remain miserable.
The chain of suffering
What causes attachment? How does it arise?
It develops because of the momentary mental reactions of liking and disliking. These are unconscious reactions which are repeated and intensified; over time, they grow into powerful attractions and repulsions
Attachment is merely the developed form of the fleeting reaction
What causes reactions of liking and disliking?
Sensation: pleasant (--> like); unpleasant (dislike)
Now why these sensations? What causes them?
Contact: Whenever an object or phenomenon contacts any of the six bases of experience (5 physical senses + the mind), a sensation is produced, pleasant or unpleasant
Why does contact occur?
So long as our receivers are functioning, contact is inevitable.
Why do the six sensory bases exist?
Because they are essential aspects of the flow of mind and matter
And why this flow of mind and matter? What causes it to occur?
Consciousness: the act of cognition which separates the world
→ into I and the other; subject and object; the knower and the known
From this separation results identity, “birth.”
Every single moment consciousness arises and assumes a specific mental and physical form. In the next moment, again, consciousness takes a slightly different form…
Thus it can be described as a flow
What causes this flow of consciousness?
Every reaction gives impetus to the flow of consciousness so that it continues to the next moment
The stronger a reaction, the greater the impetus that it gives. The slight reaction of one moment sustains the flow of consciousness only for a moment
And what causes these reactions?
Reaction occurs because of ignorance: we are unaware of the fact that we react, and unaware of the real nature of what we react to
My own research: Of the 108 Upanishads from Hinduism, the Mandukyopanishada describes it like this:
Siddartha took strong influence from these teachings, but refuted the idea that the vedas were infallible
Buddhism generally refutes the idea of a being that can create itself, and generally stops at the idea that matter / energy / consciousness cannot be created not destroyed, they merely change states.
Ignorance, craving, and aversion are the three roots from which grow all our sufferings in life
Saṃsāra:
Saṃsāra is not the popular idea of the transmigration of a soul or self that maintains a fixed identity through repeated incarnations. This, the Buddha said, is precisely what does not happen
The buddha held no fixed ego-principle of reincarnation in successive lives
Q&A
Can there be wholesome cravings and aversions?
No. If you act with craving or aversion in the mind, you may have a worthwhile goal, but you use an unhealthy means to reach it
What is wrong with wanting material things to make life more comfortable?
Whatever necessities you require, work to get them. But obsessions harm you.
If you fail to get something, then smile and try again in a different way. If you succeed, then enjoy what you get, but without attachment.
How do you know if you’re attached to something?
If your plan does not succeed and you start crying, then you know that you were attached to it. But if you are unsuccessful and can still smile, thinking, Well, I did my best. So what if I failed? I'll try again!—then you are working in a detached way, and you remain happy
My own words: Attachment here seems to refer to ‘obsession’
Indifference vs “Holy indifference.” Which is ‘detachment’
Detachment is correctly called holy indifference.
Suppose you tend to a sick person, and despite your care, he does not recover. You don't start crying; that would be useless
This is holy indifference: neither inaction nor reaction, but real, positive action with a balanced mind
My own words: the use of the word ‘holy’ here makes it unnecessarily religious. Maybe use the word Equanimous or Mindful instead
The Pebble and the Ghee
Young man, you know so much about the law of nature, but you have not understood this natural law: if all his life your father performed deeds that were heavy like pebbles, he is bound to go down; who can bring him up? And if all his actions were light like this butter, he is bound to go up; who can pull him down?
Chapter 5: The Training of Moral Conduct
Any action that harms others, that disturbs their peace and harmony, is a sinful action, an unwholesome action. Any action that helps others, that contributes to their peace and harmony, is a pious action, a wholesome action
The Eightfold Path has 3 stages of training:
(1) Sīla is moral practice, abstention from all unwholesome actions of body and speech
(2) Samādhi is the practice of concentration, developing the ability to consciously direct and control one's own mental processes
(3) Paññā is wisdom, the development of purifying insight into one's own nature
Why moral practice?
It is impossible to see into the depths of a pool of water when it is turbulent. Introspection requires a calm mind, free from agitation. Whenever one commits unwholesome action, the mind is inundated with agitation
3 parts of moral practice: right speech, right action, and right livelihood
Right speech
What constitutes impure speech?
Telling lies, that is, speaking either more or less than the truth; carrying tales that set friends at odds; backbiting and slander; speaking harsh words that disturb others and have no beneficial effect; and idle gossip, meaningless chatter that wastes one's own time and the time of others
Right action
What constitutes impure action?
Killing a living creature; stealing; sexual misconduct, for example, rape or adultery; and intoxication, losing one's senses so that one does not know what one says or does
At times during life, however, the opportunity may come to lay aside worldly affairs temporarily—perhaps for a few days, perhaps just for one day—in order to purify the mind, to work toward liberation. Such a period is a time for serious practice of Dhamma, and therefore one's conduct must be more careful than in ordinary life
The Five Precepts: not empty formulas, but practical steps to implement training
(1) to abstain from killing any living creature
(2) to abstain from stealing
(3) to abstain from sexual misconduct
(4) to abstain from false speech
(5) to abstain from intoxicants.
Right livelihood
Don’t break the 5 precepts or which encourages people to break the precepts
Intention matters
The doctor who hopes for an epidemic and the trader who hopes for a famine are not practicing right livelihood
Every human is a member of society and meets these obligations via the work we do. In return, we receive livelihood
Even a monk, a recluse, has his proper work by which he earns the alms he receives: the work of purifying his mind for his good and the benefit of all
In return for performing the work of introspection, meditators in Vipassana receive food and shelter, the cost of which has been donated
My own words: the right action is the effort you make with full, unwavering intention. If the result you had intended via your actions doesn’t appear, it does not mean your action wasn’t right. But it is up to the individual to see the truth of the situation and update their way of doing the actions/job next time.
Q&A
Are consensual hookups OK?
You must be either committed to one person or living in celibacy
Why not use psychedelics to help experience other types of consciousness?
The use of drugs causes many people to lose their mental balance and to harm themselves, while the experience of truth by the practice of Dhamma causes meditators to become more balanced, without harming themselves or anyone else
If you really wish to develop in Dhamma, you must stay free from all intoxicants
Why does serious meditation require reclusiveness?
At times during life, however, the opportunity may come to lay aside worldly affairs temporarily—perhaps for a few days, perhaps just for one day—in order to purify the mind, to work toward liberation. Such a period is a time for serious practice of Dhamma, and therefore one's conduct must be more careful than in ordinary life
During this period, one must follow 3 additional precepts: celibacy, eating after noon, and luxurious beds
“If it feels good it must be right”, right?
When you perform an action out of craving, it seems pleasant at the surface level of the mind, but there is an agitation at a deeper level. You feel good only out of ignorance. When you realize how you harm yourself by such actions, naturally you stop committing them.
My company produces an instrument that, among other things, is used to gather data on atomic explosions. They asked me to work on this product, and somehow it did not seem right to me.
If it can be used for positive as well as negative purposes, you are not responsible for the use others make of it. You do your work with the intention that others should use this for a good purpose. There is nothing wrong with that.
Thoughts on pacifism?
If by pacifism you mean inaction in the face of aggression, certainly that is wrong. Dhamma teaches you to act in a positive way, to be practical.
Thoughts on passive resistance?
If an aggressor can understand no other language except force, one must use physical strength, always maintaining equanimity. Otherwise one should use passive resistance, not out of fear but as an act of moral bravery
The Doctor’s Prescription
Having faith in the doctor is useful if it encourages the patient to follow his advice. Understanding how the medicine works is beneficial if it encourages one to take the medicine. But without actually taking the medicine, one cannot be cured of the disease. You have to take the medicine yourself.
Chapter 6: The Training of Concentration
When one learns to cease committing unwholesome mental actions, it becomes easy to refrain from unwholesome words and deeds
Bhāvanā—literally, “mental development,” aka meditation includes 2 trainings
(1) Concentration; the development of tranquility
(2) Wisdom; the development of insight
3 parts of Samadhi / Concentration: right effort, right awareness, and right concentration
Right effort
A doctor, wishing to diagnose the disease of a patient, will take a blood sample and place it under a microscope. Before examining the sample, the doctor must first focus the microscope properly, and fix it in focus. Only then is it possible to inspect the sample, discover the cause of the disease and determine the proper treatment to cure the disease. Similarly, we must learn to focus the mind, to fix and maintain it on a single object of attention. In this way we make it an instrument for examining the subtlest reality of ourselves.
Technique 1: awareness of respiration (ānāpāna-sati)
Fix the attention on the breath. When we notice that it has wandered away, patiently and calmly we bring it back again. We fail and try again, and again.
Develop the ability of the mind to remain focused on a single object and to resist distractions—two essential qualities of concentration
Smilingly, without tension, without discouragement, we keep repeating the exercise. After all, the habit of a lifetime is not changed in a few minutes.
4 types of right effort:
To prevent evil, unwholesome states from arising
to abandon them if they should arise
to generate wholesome states not yet existing
to maintain them without lapse, causing them to develop and to reach full growth and perfection
A virtuous feedback loop
Right awareness
The mind spends most of the time lost in fantasies and illusions, reliving pleasant or unpleasant experiences and anticipating the future with eagerness or fear. While lost in such cravings or aversions we are unaware of what is happening now, what we are doing now
If we can develop the ability to be aware of the present moment, we can use the past as a guide for ordering our actions in the future, so that we may attain our goal
Easier to say, harder to do…
Right concentration
Maintaining this awareness from moment to moment, for as long as possible, is right concentration
Remember, fixing the attention on respiration develops awareness of the present moment
As meditators, don’t become depressed or discouraged when faced with these difficulties. It takes time to change the ingrained mental habits of years. It can be done only by working repeatedly, continuously, patiently, and persistently.
Gradually, the periods of forgetfulness become shorter and the periods of sustained awareness—samādhi—become longer
Little by little the breath changes, becoming soft, regular, light, shallow. At times it may seem that respiration has stopped altogether. Actually, as the mind becomes tranquil, the body also becomes calm and the metabolism slows down, so that less oxygen is required
Extrasensory experiences are simply milestones
States of absorption (trance) function only as stepping-stones to the development of insight
Why focus on breathing?
The breath functions both consciously and unconsciously, thus it is the bridge between the two
By maintaining awareness of natural breath we have started observing the autonomic functioning of the body, an activity which is usually unconscious. From observing the gross reality of intentional breathing, we have progressed to observing the subtler reality of natural breathing
Our respiration alerts us to our mental state and enables us to start to deal with it
We must be careful that every step we take toward that goal is pure and wholesome
It is divorced from illusion or delusion, from craving or aversion. Therefore it is an appropriate object of attention
Critique of other techniques
One may be taught to concentrate on a word by repeating it, or on a visual image, or even to perform over and over again a certain physical action. In doing so one becomes absorbed in the object of attention, and attains a blissful state of trance
These techniques work by developing a layer of peace and joy at the surface of the mind, but in the depths the conditioning remains untouched
Thus, there should be no continuous verbalization
Q&A
Why is concentration not enough for liberation?
As if someone cleans a tank of muddy water by adding a precipitating agent, for example, alum. The alum causes the mud particles suspended in the water to fall to the bottom of the tank, leaving the water crystal-clear. Similarly samādhi makes the upper levels of the mind crystal-clear, but a deposit of impurities remains in the unconscious. These latent impurities must be removed in order to reach liberation
How to deal with a craving or wandering?
Why get agitated because of the craving? Just accept the fact: Look, there is craving—that's all
When you find that the mind has wandered you accept: Look, the mind has wandered, and automatically it will return to respiration.
Don't create tensions because there is craving or because the mind has wandered; if you do that, you generate fresh aversion
Best way to stop judging?
If the ego is strong, one will try to belittle others, to lower their importance and increase one's own. But meditation naturally dissolves the ego. When it dissolves, you can no longer do anything to hurt another
What is real love?
Even your love for others is in fact self-love. You will understand, Whom do I love? I love someone because I expect something from that person. I expect him to behave in a way that I like. The moment he starts to behave in a different way, all my love is gone. Then do I really love this person or myself?
Then you learn to develop real love for others, love that is selfless, one-way traffic: giving without expecting anything in return.
Should we give donations to drug addicts?
Take care that any donation you give will be properly used, to help treat their addiction. Otherwise it doesn't help anybody
The Crooked Milk Pudding
TL;DR: A boy is trying to teach a blind friend what the color white is
He cannot understand because he does not have the faculty to experience what white is. In the same way, if you do not have the faculty to experience reality as it is, it will always be crooked for you
My own words: meditation is a tool for the toolbox, to give you the tools to solve problems
Chapter 7: The Training of Wisdom
Diverting the attention, he found, is a way to deal effectively with craving and aversion at the conscious level, but it does not actually eliminate them. Instead it pushes them deep into the unconscious, where they remain as dangerous as ever even though dormant.
My own take: I was recommended to find ways to distract myself with all my excess energy, but perhaps that’s not the perfect take
Buddha saw 2 choices:
(1) the path of self-indulgence, of giving oneself free license to seek the satisfaction of all one's desires
People who follow this path inevitably suffer when they fail to achieve their desires
They suffer equally when they attain their desires: they suffer from the fear that the desired object will vanish, that the moment of gratification will prove transitory, as in fact it must.
My own take: I’ve felt this many many times
(2) the path of self-restraint, of deliberately refraining from satisfying one's desires
The path of self-denial is often taken to the extreme of avoiding all pleasurable experiences and inflicting on oneself unpleasurable ones
Punishing the body does not purify the mind.
If self-restraint is achieved only by self-repression, it will increase the mental tensions to a dangerous degree.
One day the dam is bound to break and release a destructive flood.
Thus, we must develop of insight into one's own nature, insight by means of which one may recognize and eliminate the causes of suffering (vipassanā-bhāvanā)
In themselves, morality and concentration, sīla and samādhi, are valuable, but their real purpose is to lead to wisdom.
It is only in developing wisdom that we find a true middle path between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-repression.
2 parts of training wisdom: (1) right thought and (2) right understanding
Right thought
Right understanding
Thinking about truth is not enough. We must realize truth ourselves, we must see things as they really are, not just as they appear to be
Apparent reality vs ultimate reality
Reality and truth are synonymous here
3 kinds of wisdom: (1) received wisdom, (2) intellectual wisdom, and (3) experiential wisdom
Received wisdom
Learned from others, by reading books or listening to sermons or lectures, for example. This is another person's wisdom which one decides to adopt as one's own. The acceptance may be out of ignorance.
It is borrowed wisdom
My own words: I have spend a lot of timing reading to build a high reservoir of received wisdom… in absence of experience (time on earth pursuing opportunities)
Intellectual understanding
Is it rational, beneficial, and practical? If so, one accepts it as true
Still this is not one's own insight, but only an intellectualization of the wisdom one has heard.
Experiential wisdom
Personal realization of truth. This is the wisdom that one lives, real wisdom that will bring about a change in one's life by changing the very nature of the mind.
May not always be advisable – for ex, it is sufficient to accept that a fire is dangerous by deductive reasoning or received wisdom and so you don’t need to get burned
Passanā means seeing, the ordinary sort of vision that we have with open eyes. Vipassanā means a special kind of vision: observation of the reality within oneself.
become capable of experiencing consciously the reality of every sensation within (our actual experience…)
Sensation is the crossroads where mind and body meet.
Just as to rid a garden of weeds one must be aware of the hidden roots and their vital function, similarly we must be aware of sensations, most of which usually remain hidden to us
The meditator does not search for anything extraordinary but tries merely to observe ordinary physical sensations as they naturally occur. Nor is any effort made to discover the cause of a sensation.
We use this ability to move awareness to every part of the body in an orderly progression, neither jumping past a part where sensation is unclear to another part where it is prominent, nor lingering over some sensations, nor trying to avoid others.
We re-establish concentration, understanding that all these difficulties are actually the results of our initial success. Some deeply buried conditioning has been stirred up and has started to appear at the conscious level.
Impermanence, Egolessness, and Suffering
Impermanence: every moment the subatomic particles of which the body is composed arise and pass away.
Previously, we may have known that this was true; we may have understood it intellectually.
The direct experience of the transitory sensations proves to us our ephemeral nature.
My own words: unsure if this can ever be truly experienced, so it’s a bit of pseudo-science at the moment and pseudo-experiency.
Egolessness: there is no real “I,” no permanent self or ego.
Suffering: attachment to that which is beyond one’s control or impermanent is suffering
Equanimity
Simply observing without reacting: Instead of trying to keep one experience and to avoid another, to pull this close, to push that away, one simply examines every phenomenon objectively, with equanimity, with a balanced mind.
We find that the pain can no longer overwhelm and control us. Perhaps it goes away quickly, perhaps not, but it does not matter. We do not suffer from the pain any more because we can observe it with detachment.
Saṅkhāra - A blind reaction of the mind, but the result of that action, its fruit, is also known as saṅkhāra
Like seed, like fruit.
learn how not to react, how not to produce a new saṅkhāra.
We create misery for ourselves, suffering now and in the future, because of one moment of blind reaction.
If we are aware at the point where the process of reaction begins—that is, if we are aware of the sensation—we can choose not to allow any reaction to occur or to intensify
Perhaps at first these may be only a few moments in a meditation period, and the rest of the time the mind remains submerged in the old habit of reaction to sensations, the old round of craving, aversion, and misery. But with repeated practice those few brief moments will become seconds, will become minutes, until finally the old habit of reaction is broken, and the mind remains continuously at peace. This is how suffering can be stopped.
Q&A
How do we know we’re not creating new sensations?
If you are doubtful whether the sensations you feel are real, you can give yourself two or three commands, auto-suggestions. If you find that the sensations change according to your commands, then you know that they are not real. In that case you must throw away the entire experience and start again, observing respiration for some time.
Assumption: pain goes away when you have a balanced mind
My own words: read about David Goggins, then you’ll know. Mentality induces a biochemical reaction in the body – it can produce fight-or-flight at your command and release adrenaline
When the mind is unbalanced, any decision you make will be a reaction. You must learn to change the pattern of life from negative reaction to positive action.
Life is for action; you should not become inactive. But the action should be performed with a balanced mind.
Today I was working to feel sensation in a part of the body that was dull, and as the sensation came up my mind gave me a kick; it felt just like hitting a home run. And I heard myself mentally yell “Good!” And then I thought, “Oh no, I don't want to react like that.” But I wonder, back in the world, how can I go to a baseball game or a football game and not react?
You will act! Even in a football game you will act, not react, and you will find that you are really enjoying it. A pleasure accompanied by the tension of reaction is no real pleasure. When the reaction stops, the tension disappears, and you can really start to enjoy life.
So I can jump up and down and yell hooray?
Yes, with equanimity. You jump with equanimity.
The Two Rings
“This will also change.” motto engraved on the silver ring.
Chapter 8: Awareness and Equanimity
The stock of past reactions
Consciousness is basically undifferentiated, non-discriminating. Its purpose is merely to register that contact has occurred in mind or body
Perception, however, is discriminative. It draws on the store of past experiences in order to evaluate and categorize any new phenomenon.
The old reactions of craving and aversion influence our perception of the present.
In accordance with the distorted perception, an essentially neutral sensation immediately becomes pleasant or unpleasant.
Even if from this moment we stop generating new saṅkhāras, still we have to reckon with the accumulated past ones.
The Chain of Conditioned Arising
Every time that we develop craving or aversion, we strengthen the tendency of the mind to continue generating them. Once the mental pattern is established, we are caught in it.
The reaction is not to the man himself, but to a belief about him based on the original blind reaction and therefore biased.
In this way a saṅkhāra can give rise to fresh reaction, both immediately and in the distant future. —
Autocatalytic. Positive feedback loop reaction!
How can one eradicate the old reactions?
When all the stored energy is consumed, at last the body will collapse and die: the physical flow comes to an end.
In the same way the mind requires activity in order to maintain the flow of consciousness. This mental activity is saṅkhāra.
In Vipassana, however, the meditator learns not to react. At a given moment, he creates no saṅkhāra, he gives no fresh stimulation to the mind.
What happens then to the psychic flow?
It does not stop at once. Instead, one or another of the accumulated past reactions will come to the surface of the mind in order to sustain the flow.
Impermanent truly are conditioned things, / having the nature of arising and passing away. / If they arise and are extinguished, / their eradication brings true happiness.
Vipassana meditation therefore is a kind of fasting of the spirit in order to eliminate past conditioning.
Q&A
How to make the mind sharper to sensations?
Work on the awareness of respiration for some time
When the mind becomes sharper, you can deal with more subtle sensations in the body.
Should we try to identify which sensation is associated with which reaction?
That would be a meaningless waste of energy. It would be as if someone washing a dirty cloth stopped to check what caused each stain in the cloth. This would not help him to do his job, which is only to clean the cloth.
Aren't some types of mental conditioning positive? Why try to eradicate those?
It is just like using a raft to cross a river. Once the river is crossed, one does not continue on one's journey carrying the raft on one's head. The raft has served its purpose. Now there is no more need for it, and it must be left behind
If equanimity seems weak, start practicing the awareness of respiration. When a big storm comes, you have to put down your anchor and wait until it passes away. The breath is your anchor.
Chapter 9: The Goal
3 stages of progress
(1) Simply learning about the technique, how it is done and why.
Check
(2) Putting it into practice
(3) Penetration, using the technique in order to pierce to the depths of one's reality and thereby to progress toward the final goal.
The Buddha did not deny the existence of the apparent world, he stated merely that this is not the ultimate reality
With ordinary vision, we perceive only the large-scale patterns into which more subtle phenomena organize themselves. Seeing only the patterns and not the underlying components, we are aware primarily of their differences, and therefore we draw distinctions, assign labels, form preferences and prejudices, and commence liking and disliking—the process that develops into craving and aversion.
Assumption?: There is only as a mass of vibrations constantly in flux, arising and passing away, that cannot be differentiated
As matter is nothing but subtle wavelets of subatomic particles, so strong emotion is merely the consolidated form of momentary likings and dislikings, momentary reactions to sensations
Once strong emotion dissolves into its subtler form, it no longer has any power to overwhelm.
As wisdom increases, however, we recognize that the recurrence of gross sensations, even after the experience of dissolution, indicates not regression but rather progress.
My own words: I wouldn’t have thought that. By clarifying that, they definitely impress the idea that the goal is not to experience a sensation but to free the mind of conditioning
Nibbāna is not just a state one goes to after death; it is something to be experienced within oneself here and now
When freed of the habit of blind reaction, the mind for the first time can take positive action which is creative, productive, and beneficial for oneself and for all others.
Along with equanimity will arise the other qualities of a pure mind: good will, love that seeks the benefit of others without expecting anything in return; compassion for others in their failings and sufferings; sympathetic joy in their success and good fortune.
Q&A
Are emotion and sensation the same?
Every emotion, anything that arises in the mind, must arise along with a sensation in the body. This is the law of nature.
What is true compassion?
If you start crying over the suffering of others, you only make yourself unhappy.
If you have true compassion, then with all love you try to help others to the best of your ability. If you fail, you smile and try another way to help.
Filling The Bottle of Oil
Three people spill a bottle of oil from their mother. First has a glass half empty mindset, second is glass half full, and the third recognizes both half empty and half full and then →
Now I shall go to the market, work hard for the whole day, earn five rupees, and get this bottle filled. By evening I will have it filled. This is Vipassana. No pessimism; instead, optimism, realism, and workism!
Chapter 10: The Art of Living
No matter how much we inflate the self, it still remains negligible when measured against the immensity of time and space.
So long as we are preoccupied with our wants and fears, our identities, we are confined within the narrow prison of the self, cut off from the world, from life.
What we call self is in fact ephemeral, a phenomenon in constant change.
The question remains, how is one to observe oneself?
A negative reaction has started in the mind—anger, fear, or hatred. Before one can remember to observe it, one is overwhelmed by it and speaks or acts negatively in turn. Later, after the damage is done, one recognizes the mistake and repents, but the next time repeats the same behavior.
THUS, whenever a reaction arises in the mind, two types of changes occur at the physical level. One of them is readily apparent: the breath becomes slightly rough. The other is more subtle in nature: a biochemical reaction, a sensation, takes place in the body.
Seeing a child sinking in quicksand, a foolish person becomes upset, jumps in after the child, and himself is caught. A wise person, remaining calm and balanced, finds a branch with which he can reach the child and drag him to safety. Jumping after others into the quicksand of craving and aversion will not help anyone.
In truth, the act of equanimity is loud by its very silence
It is your responsibility to cleanse your own mind. Take it as a responsibility, but do it without attachment.
We digest a book by reading all the words in it; we experience the body by feeling sensations.
Between the object and the reaction stands a missing link: vedanā. We react not to the exterior reality but to the sensations within us
When we learn to observe sensation without reacting in craving and aversion, the cause of suffering does not arise, and suffering ceases.
If we do not give attention to what happens in the body, we remain unaware, at the conscious level, of the sensation. In the darkness of ignorance an unconscious reaction begins toward the sensation, a momentary liking or disliking, which develops into craving or aversion. This reaction is repeated and intensified innumerable times before it impinges on the conscious mind. If meditators give importance only to what happens in the conscious mind, they become aware of the process after the reaction has occurred and gathered dangerous strength, sufficient to overwhelm them