Lesson for mindfulness – part 2:

Great discovery of Mindfulness

Battaramulla
Siri Sudassanarama
sadaham senasuna
Ven. Dr. Mirisse Dhammika thero

When the practitioner continues practicing mindfulness daily with effort and determination, eventually it begins to dawn on the practitioner that there is a genuine distinction between being present and not being present.

In his daily life, the practitioner also initiates instants of waking up to the realization that he is not present and of flashing back for a moment to be present – not to the breath, in this situation, but to whatever is occupying the mind.

This is the moment the practitioner finds great discovery of mindfulness that tends not to be some occupied thoughts into the nature of mind/consciousness but the apperception of just how disconnected people normally are from their very experience of life events. The practitioner notices how the most pleasurable and even simplest things pass by without being acknowledged in daily activities; eating, drinking, walking, gardening, chatting, driving, reading, writing, answering the phone, listening, making love, visiting loved ones and friends, watching mother nature, mountains, rain, snow, a waterfall, trees and flowers, this list may go on – all these move rapidly in an obscure volitional sphere as the mind expedites to its next mental occupation.

From the point of view of mindfulness, people should not be enslaved or trapped their whole life in this distracted position. The habits and rooted thought patterns in their perception may disassociate the mind and body in everyday experience. Though constant practice of mindfulness, the practitioner is able to interrupt the flux of wandering thoughts with bare attention as it tends towards mindfulness. Bare attention, is impartial open, non-judgmental, patient and fearless. On the path of mindfulness, beginning practice always involves unwanted, intrusive and disturbing aspects of our being. At this point, the practitioner is required to use the material of ‘wisely seeing’ to get rid of or to cope with mind weeds.

We say, “Pulling out the weeds we give nourishment to the plant.” We pull the weeds and bury them near the plant to give it nourishment. So even though you have some difficulty in your practice, even though you have some waves while you are sitting, those waves themselves will help you. So you should not be bothered by your mind. You should rather be grateful for the weeds, because eventually they will enrich your practice. If you have some experience of how the weeds in your mind change into mental nourishment, your practice will make remarkable progress.

This is the promise of success in mindfulness, which is nurtured by awareness, concentration, openness, and bare attention. When one becomes familiar with this empowerment of mindfulness, he/she strengthens his/her ability to see the distractions in day-to-day interactions and to employ awareness to calm the mind with patience and perseverance, rather than becoming a victim of the restless mind. At this stage, the practitioner gradually becomes skilled at maintaining calmness even in a critical situation.

I have been presenting and developing my program of mindfulness aiming at compassion in the area of cultivation of mind. I will further expand on this with exclusive research on mindfulness though ancient Buddhist texts, which have expounded on profound methods. Visuddhimagga and Vimuttimagga are ancient manuals that explain a variety of methods, some of which I have implemented in my mindfulness program.