FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS-THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS.

 

Ty Lumino Brahmavamso

About: Venerable Brahmavamso is the spiritual leader of the Buddhist Association of Western Australia, and is the abbot of the monastery Bodhinyana district Serpentine, Western Australia, Australia.

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The Buddhist teacher talked a lot about how the French practice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana), except that this monk. So, in short sermon today, I would like this trend to present a few practical observations on the practice of meditation, which is a method of teaching of the Buddha which probably has many misunderstandings in Buddhist meditators.

Which you have been involved in the Buddhist center, you have probably heard of many teachers claim that the practice of mindfulness is "the only way" to reach Enlightenment. Although this statement seems to be confirmed and attractive, but in fact, it is not the exact word translation of the original texts and also not consistent with the teachings of the Buddha in the other texts. Pali phrase " Ekayana Magga "in the text of 10 (Economic Foundations of Mindfulness) in the Central Business is often translated as" the only way "is also used in the text of 12 (Great Red Lion Sutra) and mean clearly means "a path with a single purpose." There are many different ways but with a common purpose. In fact, "the only way" was the Buddha refers to, not the four foundations of mindfulness, which is the Eight District (the Noble Eightfold Path), as in the Dhammapada:

"In every way, the Right path is the best revenge win (...)
This is the only way, there is no other way, to go to the pure knowledge "(...)
(Dhammapada, 273 - 274, abridged)

Thus, the "only way" to the Enlightenment, as every Buddhist knows, is the Noble Eightfold Path. The four foundations of mindfulness (Satipatthana) is only part of the way there. It is spending the first part of 7 (Right Mindfulness). In addition, the 8th Right Concentration is more, and also have Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Effort, and three more of Right About (Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood). Each element is equally necessary, to achieve enlightenment. If any part that is not necessary, the Buddha must have taught about religion Seven chief, deepen chief, etc. But, in the classics, he always always always mention religion Eight. So, in the study and practice of you, you need to always keep in mind that all of the eight parts of the Noble Eightfold Path needs to be cultivated equally and fully, as "a way only ".

Legal practice the four foundations of mindfulness as the Buddha's teaching is a highly sophisticated level. Advanced that the Buddha taught that if someone can seriously practice the four foundations of mindfulness in such a way that He has made, within seven days, he or she can achieve Enlightenment or attained on again ( Economic Foundations of Mindfulness). Many students participated in the course 7 days, 10 days or more and still have not achieved a result of noble like Buddha promise. Why is this? I think it is because they did not practice strictly in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha.

If you want to practice the four foundations of mindfulness in such a way that the Buddha said results quickly progress to Enlightenment, there are many things that you need to complete before you start meditating. Preparing this work can be summarized as follows: You need to practice the full seven other part of the Noble Eightfold Path. Or to put it another way, as the Buddha preached in Anguttara Ministry ("Nine France - Food mindfulness", No. 63 & 64), you must closely observe five precepts, let go of five hindrances (greed , as follows, sloth, given the exchange, doubt), then the practice of Mindfulness.

The most important prerequisite is actually the Buddha was teaching in two texts on the four foundations of mindfulness (Center and School of Ministry) in the Pali: "Loke Abhijjha-Domanassam". This verse is usually translated as: "after appellate photography preferential life" or something similar to that. Such services are usually not words the students understand and they disregard the teachings of the Buddha, and thus, they did not achieve any results! At the time of the Buddha in the world, the monks, nuns, and lay people must have understood immediately that sentence means "after drop five hindrances"! The official commentary on the two Satipatthana Sutta are explained clearly that phrase Abhijjha-Domanassam is used to refer to the five hindrances. In other texts teaching of Buddha, Abhijjha synonymous with development of the first, Domanassam is synonymous with development of the second, and if used in conjunction with each other - in the Pali language - which is shorthand for the group hindrances. This means that the five hindrances to be let go before the start of the practice of mindfulness. So, in my opinion, because the students try Mindfulness meditation while still obstacles to the development of what they did not achieve the long-term good results.

The function of the lens hit the floor meditation (jhana) - Right Concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path - is to let go of all hindrances to help deploy insight. In the texts of 68 Central (of Nalakapana), the Buddha taught that when the practitioner less reached the jhana meditation floors, five hindrances, along with any communication and treatment will invade the mind and stay there. Only when the practitioner to reach into the story, the years of meditation along with any communication and new incentives do not invade the mind and stay there. Buddha taught so clearly.

Students who have direct experience of this powerful meditation floor, must have learned, through personal experience, the true nature of the mind after the hindrances have to let go. Students who not know the jhānas not understand the subtle form of the hindrances. They thought that the hindrances were let go, but in fact, they were not aware of them, and therefore, did not achieve good results in practice. So that the practice of Tranquillity Meditation (Samatha) to nurture the floor jhana meditation is part of mindfulness, and so if that legal conceptions (Satipatthana) is a "pure Vipassana" (Vipassana ), this is not very accurate. My teacher, Ajahn Chah , has repeatedly said many times that Samatha and Vipassana - Tranquillity and Insight; Only and Quan - must go hand in hand with each other , inseparable, like two sides of the same money.

After diligently to complete the necessary preparation, students can now dwell mindfully on one of four topics: his body, the sensation of pain or joy, the mind, and the object of interest. When the hindrances have been extinguished and students can maintain a strong force to be mindful of this section, then that new students can contemplate the depths of the mind, deeper than the common understanding of the impermanent nature of the so-called Ego that we often cling to it. We often assume that this body is mine is mine, that pleasure or pain sensations associated with the self, that the mind is observing is my soul, that the object of interest as thought and action ("choice") is the Ego, which is mine, is mine. The purpose of the four foundations of mindfulness is to guide students to do after they exit the floor meditation, to discover the illusion was clever disguise of the so-called Ego, and then see what discovered by the Buddha, which is the Truth of Anatta.

This is not easy to do, not anyone can do it in a short time, but it is feasible, can be completed in seven days. But as long as students have to practice fully and strictly follow the Buddha's teachings that do not run in some alley off. END=VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY THICH CHAN TANH.MHDT.WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUNS=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.12/1/2013.NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).