To be grounded in this seat.
Okay,
So the second part of the Satipatthana Sutta is regarding feeling tones of Vedana.
And the Buddha taught that Vedana comprises both bodily and mental feelings.
And as the discussions say,
The Vedana or feeling tones do not include emotions.
And these bodily and mental feelings can be pleasant,
They can be painful or unpleasant,
Or simply neutral.
So as we do in the beginning of any meditation,
We'll take a few minutes of settling in with a short scan of the body before we get into the actual practice of this second foundation of mindfulness.
So try to find a comfortable sitting posture on your cushion or chair,
Keeping your back straight and get not rigid or stiff.
And if it's comfortable for you,
Gently close your eyes and let your head,
Face,
Jaw and neck relax.
And as always,
Be aware of your breath.
So we allow our shoulders to relax.
We feel the tension release in our arms and hands.
We let the stress and tension in our torso just kind of melt away.
Let that go away,
Also in our hips and thighs,
Lower legs,
The ankles and feet.
And as we exhale,
We let all this tension and stress just leave.
Through this present time awareness,
We pay attention to our breath.
We take gentle breaths,
Just allow it to be natural,
Not forced.
We feel the rise and fall of your abdomen.
You can feel the fullness and emptiness of your lungs as this breath occurs.
Just be aware of the breath.
And as the Buddha's instructions tell us,
We are ever mindful as we breathe in,
Ever mindful as we breathe out.
Breathing in and out a deep breath,
We know and breathing in and out a deep breath.
As we breathe in and out a short breath,
We know and breathing in and out a short breath.
Exhaling the whole breath and body,
I shall breathe in and I shall breathe out.
Calming the activity of the breath and body,
I shall breathe in and I shall breathe out.
As we sit here in this peaceful place,
In this sitting posture,
Resting on the cushion,
We understand this is the hub of our practice,
This whole body awareness.
We are simply knowing there is a body.
And by practicing this,
We can maintain this awareness through the four Satipatthanas and take it out into the world with us through our mindfulness,
Keeping the mindfulness of the body ever present or when we lose it,
Coming back to it when we notice.
One lives contemplating feelings of feelings internally,
Externally and internally and externally.
We live unattached and cling to nothing in the world.
Thus we live contemplating feelings of feelings.
Having overcome desire and grief,
We are eager,
Understanding and mindful.
We start the practice of the second foundation of mindfulness by looking out for bodily feelings.
We scan the body one more time,
This time feeling the body,
Being aware of the feeling part of the mind that connects with the body,
Aware of the tone of that feeling,
Neutral,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
The head,
The neck,
The shoulders of this body,
The upper arms,
Forearms,
Hand,
Torso and so on.
As you continue scanning the body,
Be aware of the feeling tones you notice.
Based on the feeling tones of our body,
We are aware and we note pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
As we keep practicing in this way,
Our awareness of these feelings become clearer.
We become aware of subtler feelings we did not notice earlier.
One of these is a very subtle pain that makes us want to move around,
To fidget,
To scratch an itch.
But we can just watch this subtle feeling and not react.
But this takes time.
Sooner or later,
We are forced to change,
To move,
To relax.
To scratch.
This body is painful.
Its nature is to create pain.
And our mind is always trying to relieve this pain.
Too hot.
Too cold.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Pressure.
Itchy.
Settle pain in this body.
Stated earlier or another.
Mental feelings.
The mind also has subtle mental feelings.
Pleasurable.
The very subtle pleasure of being in the moment.
The more we notice it,
The more we recognize it,
The more we enjoy it.
Yet we must guard against grasping for it.
We can name it as pleasant and enjoy it while it is present.
But let it float on like a balloon when it changes.
And these feelings do change,
Constantly.
Changing from one to the other.
All feelings are impermanent.
Every feeling is a messenger of impermanence.
Like wind,
Always changing direction.
Without losing our whole body awareness,
We pay attention to these feelings and we watch.
We are aware.
Now it is like this.
And when we wander,
We return to the breath.
Our anchor.
Our home base.
Now we explore these feeling tones.
Everything in our experience can be pleasant,
Neutral or unpleasant.
Both internal and external.
What is our feeling of sitting here right now at this very moment?
Is it pleasant?
Is it painful or unpleasant?
Or is it simply neutral?
How was sleep last night?
Was the bed comfortable and pleasant?
Or uncomfortable and unpleasant?
What about the drive to this place?
Did you experience traffic?
Bumpy roads?
Or a beautiful,
Peaceful trip?
Pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral?
Explore the feeling tones you experience when looking through your life.
The bed you sleep on.
The place you live.
The shoes you wear.
The air you breathe.
The food you eat.
The job you do.
Spend some time exploring your own points.
Be aware to what thoughts arise and if what arises is pleasant,
Unpleasant or simply neutral.
And remember when you wander from the path,
Once you realize,
Gently return to the breath and back to the practice.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral?
We will now sit or walk in silence and contemplate the experience and awareness of the second foundation of mindfulness.
