Continuing the study and notes from Joseph Goldstein’s book,
“Mindfulness”, chapter 8 the second half.
Mindfulness of
postures can support the understanding of the three characteristics.
·
Impermanence, anicca
·
Dukkha, suffering
·
Selflessness, anatta
Under selflessness
Who
is walking? Who is lying down?
We
can begin to explore the impersonal nature of existence
An important stage of insight
called Purification of View:
The deep realization of the
selfless nature of all phenomena
This is called namarupa
Mind
and matter or mentality and materiality.
At this stage of meditation, we
see that whatever is happening is simply the process of knowing and its object
The sensations of the body sitting
and the knowing of them
The sensations of the body
standing and the knowing of them
Etc.
We see that there’s no one behind
this process to whom it is all happening
Only the pairwise progression of
knowing and object rolling along.
We see that the mind and body
condition each other. Sometimes
the body moves because of an intention in the mind, sometimes a bodily
experience conditions a mind state of enjoyment or aversion. This is the body conditioning the mind.
Continuity of mindfulness of changing postures ensures the
continuity of our awareness of impermanence, which in turns helps free us from
identifying with the body as being a permanent self.
Buddha taught Rahula:
This not mine, this is
not I, this is not myself”
Even though we often privilege the sitting posture in our
meditation, the path of awakening is clearly not limited to any one posture.
For
example, Ananda, Buddha’s cousin and attendant
Got
full enlightenment as he went from walking to lying down.
Mindfulness of postures is one way to bring the intensive
practice of retreats into our daily life.
And then comes the refrain:
·
Contemplate the postures internally, externally,
and both
·
Contemplate the arising and passing away
·
Contemplate the posture’s impermanence
·
Stay mindful of the postures to the extent
necessary for bare knowing and continuous mindfulness
·
Abide independently, not clinging to anything in
the world.
Labels: body postures in Buddhism, Joseph Goldstein"s Mindfulness, mindfulness of the body, Satipatthana Sutra