1)Beginning
Meditation (5-8 minutes): Guided, bringing minds into the present, settling
into our bodies, finding the breath and following it.
2)Introductions
3)Group
Operations and Structure
a)Session
Structure
i)~
1-1/2 hour
ii)Will
normally begin with a 10-15 minute guided meditation period, reviewing
the previous week’s instructions.(This allows people to get a refresher
on the instructions and for people to catch up if they missed the previous
week's class.)
iii)Then
will take time for questions/discussion about previous week’s practice
iv)Main
talk
v)Questions
from talk or practice
vi)One
or more periods of meditation practice
vii)Questions/discussion
viii)Notebook
- Satipatthana Sutra and Notes
ix)Book:
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness by U Silananda (Wisdom Publications)
(1)Sign-up
Sheet to Order
b)Practice
at Home
i)Importance
of Daily Practice, a skill just like playing the piano
ii)Amount
of practice: 10-45 minutes/ day iii)Play
with this! Be curious! iv)Be
kind to yourselves! c)Cost:
Dana i)I
am committed to making these teachings available regardless of a person’s
ability to pay, so it is offered on a donation basis. ii)No
expected amount, can be $0 or whatever you feel this course is worth to
you. iii)When
the Buddha came to a new town where he was not yet accepted as the teacher
of those present, he would first talk to them about generosity as the first
step along the path to freedom.So I want to offer the same to you - without
any expectation, but with gratitude for whatever you feel is appropriate
for you. d)Any
questions about any of this? 4)The
Satipatthana Sutra a)Background
and Setting i)Where
does it fit in the teachings (Four Noble Truths)? (Elephant's footprint
analogy) (1)Concentration
Section (Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration) of the Noble
Eightfold Path, which is the Fourth Noble Truth. (2)Also,
Wisdom Section (Right View and Right Intention) (3)The
Virtue Section (Right Action, Right Speech and Right Livelihood) had already
been well established by his audience. ii)Summary
of the Sutra (1)It
proceeds from the gross to the subtle. (2)Assurance
of Attainment - 7 years; 7 months; 7 days - "in such a way" - can expect
full realization, or if a trace of clinging remains, the stage of Non-Returner. b)Introduction i)The
meaning: (1)Compoud
word: Satipatthana = Sati (mindfulness) Upatthana (Setting up or Establishment) (2)Or
Sati (Mindfulness) Patthana (Foundations or Basis) ii)Where
it appears: MajjhimaNikaya 10 and DighaNikaya 22 (difference=detailed exposition
on 4NT) iii)"Thus
I have heard"- Ananda had
audiographic memory (read his 8 conditions to serve) iv)"Bhikkus"-
anyone who accepts and follows the Buddha's teachings v)Setting:
Kurus - people with virtuous meditation practice vi)"This
is the only way" ("direct
path" MN10; "this one way" DN22) (1)The
only way to look deeply within oneself. (2)The
way goes in one direction only: clarity of mind. (3)The
way must be walked by each person alone. (4)It
was traveled by the Noble one, the way of the Buddha. vii)"Purification
of beings"-
for the cleansing of the mind soiled by the stains of greed, hatred and
delusion. viii)"Overcoming
of sorrow and lamentation" (1)sorrow
= sadness (2)lamentation
= crying when sadness becomes to great to bear. ix)"For
the disappearance of pain and grief"
- physical and mental suffering, respectively. x)"For
reaching the Noble Path"-
4 levels of enlightenment: Stream Winner, Once Returner, Non-Returner,
Aranhant xi)"For
the realization of Nibbana"-
complete release from suffering and its causes. xii)What
four? body, feelings, consciousness and dhammas (mind objects) (1)"Body
in the body"-
cut away with the scalpel of mindfulness everything other than the object
of attention: "the body".It's not "my body", but merely "the
body" (2)"Ardently" (a)inceptive
energy - starting again, and again, and again -- whenever the mind wanders;
it's cultivated by practice (weightlifting analogy). (b)sustained
energy - keeping it on the object of awareness (with momentary concentration). (c)courageous
energy - the courage to stay present with whatever arises; to see it's
true nature. (3)"Clearly
comprehending"-
3 characteristics are seen directly (a)Impermanence
- constant change (b)Unsatisfactoriness (i)Not
getting what you want; (ii)Striving
to achieve what you want; (iii)Afraid
of losing what you've striven for; (iv)Suffering
from the inevitable loss - everything is impermanent. (c)Selflessness (i)Lack
of solidity - everything is in a constant state of becoming something other
than it was a moment ago. (ii)Lack
of substantiality - everything we can describe is a concept; every object
is made up of non-object components and has come about due to causes and
conditions -- without any of the supporting causes and conditions, that
object would not be there. (4)"Mindful"-
a certain quality of attention that is bare of judgment, decision or commentary. (5)"Removing
covetousness and grief in the world" (a)Covetousness
= greed or craving. (b)Grief
= aversion or displeasure. (6)The
combination of ardency, clear comprehension and mindfulness leads to concentration. a)Mindfulness
of the Body i)"And
how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu dwell contemplating the body in the body?
Here, bhikkhus,abhikkhu having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree,
or to a secluded place, sits down cross-legged, keeps his upper body erect
. . ." (1)Place
- quiet, secluded (2)Posture (a)Sitting:
cross-legged, straddled, or on a bench or chair (b)Spine
erect and balanced (3)Attitude (a)Sense
of Joy (b)Letting
go of thoughts of the past or future, or even concepts of the present moment. (c)No
expectations - just be present to observe what happens. ii)He
"directs
mindfulness towards the object of meditation" . . . "Ever mindful" 5)Focus
on the in-breath and on the out-breath 6)A
the tip of the nostril 7)Don't
follow it into the body 8)Like
a gatekeeper 9)See
the in-breath and the out-breath at two separate things: the out-breath
doesn't exist during the in-breath, and vice versa i)Breathing
in a long breath, he knows, "I breathe in long"; breathing out a long breath,
he knows, "I breathe out long."Breathing in a short breath, he knows, "I
breathe in short"; breathing out a short breath, he knows, "I breathe out
short." (1)Notice
the length of the breath - long, short or erratic. (2)If
you are breathing long/short, KNOW you are breathing long/short. (3)"Know"
here means to know thoroughly, not superficially; to experience the breath,
not to think about it. (4)Don't
manipulate the breath.Let the breath breathe itself. ii)"Making
clear the entire in-breath body, I shall breathe in," thus he makes effort
[literally, he trains himself]; "making clear the entire out-breath body,
I shall breath out," thus he makes effort. (1)"Making
clear" here means making
the breaths known, making them plain, trying to see them vividly. (2)"Entire"
here means the beginning, the middle and the end of each in-breath and
each out-breath. Keep the focus solely on the breath. (a)Observe
the impermanent nature of each in-breath and each out-breath: 10)The
in-breath arises at the end of the last out-breath 11)It
has a beginning, a middle and an end 12)Then
it passes away and is replaced by beginning of the out-breath (a)We
begin to notice the three general characteristics of all phenomena - impermanency,
unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness - as we observe each breath. (b)As
our mind strays from its object, we observe - with "bare attention" - the
arising and passing away of the thought that has arisen. We notice that
our attention has been diverted from our breath - that noticing is itself
a moment of mindfulness. Then we gently bring our awareness back to the
breath - over and over again. 13)Questions 14)Practice 15)Questions 16)Homework a)Breath
meditation - daily (afterwards, note your experiences in your journal) b)Read
the Sutra (through Mindfulness with Clear Comprehension) a)Beginning
Meditation Practice: Guidelines b)Mindfulness
of Breathing Instructions c)Postures 18)Closing
Meditation