Refuge In Mindfulness

Live Recording. This track explores taking refuge in something as simple as observation. What we practice together is known as the Satipatthana Sutta. The term means the establishment of mindfulness. Training the mind to maintain awareness. The term “sati” in Satipatthana literally means to remember, to keep something in mind.

Remembering and forgetting is a really big part of the human operating system. The whole path of practice is remembering and forgetting and remembering again.

Transcript

So it's really wonderful for me to practice with all of you.

I really,

I really am enjoying these reflections that Lily brought to us on Tuesday and earlier this month.

So many jewels in Tuesday's teaching.

I love the idea that we can rest or take refuge in something as simple as observation.

What we're practicing together is known as the Satipatthana Sutta.

The term means the establishment of mindfulness,

Training the mind to maintain awareness.

And the term Sati in the Satipatthana literally means to remember,

To keep something in mind.

When we come together this way,

We are intuitively coming together to remember our own wisdom.

These teachings don't live outside of us,

They actually live inside of us.

We just forget.

Remembering and forgetting is a really big part of the human operating system.

The whole path of practice is remembering and forgetting and remembering again.

So it's a given that we're going to go on autopilot and forget our intentions,

Forget the five remembrances,

Forget even this,

This meeting.

And it's really helpful to get familiar with how we go into autopilot when we go into autopilot in our life.

Our phones,

Our devices are a form of autopilot.

Whenever we are bored and we don't want to experience boredom,

We can just pick up a device.

And then there's speed.

The speed of our lives.

For many of us,

Speediness is kind of a setup for not feeling our heart.

It's a setup for being disconnected from ourselves and from others.

We go around with this idea that there's just not enough time.

So we get speedy.

We speed up.

So these are some of the ways we go into autopilot and getting to know how you go into autopilot.

The recognition that autopilot is happening is kind of what we're practicing.

We're establishing mindfulness.

And as you know,

From showing up,

You know,

These mornings,

The establishment of mindfulness is a practice.

It's not an easy skill to learn.

Simple,

But not easy,

Right?

So the Satipatthana is the establishment of mindfulness.

And we are establishing these skills,

Cultivating the skill of observation.

And it's not like we're going to arrive somewhere.

Like we are now the master of mindfulness,

And we just move through the world mindful all the time.

It's an establishment.

We're establishing it.

It's a process of creating the conditions over and over again,

For paying attention continuously.

It's ongoing.

So you can just let go of that idea that you're going to become a master mindfulness practitioner.

It'll really free you up.

But establishing mindfulness and continuity of mindfulness is powerful.

You know,

I loved hearing that story from Lily about her experience on retreat,

Where she established some continuity of mindfulness.

And in her telling,

There was so much curiosity and interest.

You know,

I could hear it in her telling.

The freedom that takes root by just,

You know,

Awareness itself.

Mindfulness practice,

The whole Buddhist path really,

Is a practice of liberation.

I think we forget that sometimes.

Freedom.

You know,

Not the freedom to let the mind wander and compulsively speak or do whatever it wants.

The mind is like a dictator at times.

You know,

Do this,

Do that,

Get married,

Get divorced,

Travel,

Don't travel.

It bosses us around.

The freedom in this path is freedom from,

Freedom from,

From compulsion,

Freedom from confusion,

Freedom from reactivity,

Freedom from distraction,

Freedom from.

We're not acquiring anything here.

You know,

I think there's a strong compulsion for human beings to acquire something.

We're actually putting things down that don't bring happiness.

We're putting down the causes of our suffering.

And establishing mindfulness helps us to be free in the midst of whatever is happening.

To kind of stand in the middle of this complicated life and be able to just take it in and recognize what's happening.

And maybe with some patience and practice,

We're not swayed by it.

We don't react to it.

Life is just happening.

And we're grounded by gravity.

And we're feeling the flow of the breath.

And there's ease.

Mindfulness,

In my experience,

Is kind of like a power.

Not like in the traditional sense of power,

How we see power in society.

Because power is a pretty loaded word these days.

But for me,

It's actually,

Mindfulness feels like a deep composure,

Really authentic,

You know,

Where I'm at home in myself.

Even if the outside circumstances,

There seems to be a lot of moving and movement and feel like a full busy life.

That composure,

That at home in myself,

It's always there.

It's always there.

And this is Vipassana practice,

You know,

Insight practice.

And there is nothing that nothing,

Nothing outside of the practice.

Everything is included and allowed.

And like lately,

Given what's happening in the world,

Many of us are moving through life with resistance to what's happening.

But given that there's nothing outside of practice,

There is also nothing wrong with the experience of resistance.

So getting to know that experience in the body.

Resistance is just a no.

It's a no.

Like life is going on and resistance says no.

And the opposite of resistance is acceptance or allowing.

And this can be really confusing for people,

Especially in this current political climate,

You know,

Resistance feels important because we value our right to free speech.

And allowing for tyranny seems like a really bad idea,

Right?

But what we're allowing for in establishing mindfulness are the experiences of the first two foundations of mindfulness.

Mindfulness of the body and mindfulness of feelings.

So when resistance arises in the body,

We can feel the no.

And it's residing somewhere.

Where is it?

Where is that feeling?

What's it like?

And then mindfulness of the mind,

That's the third foundation of mindfulness,

Is also establishing.

Oh,

We have a view,

We have an opinion,

We have a story.

So here is the experience,

The feeling tone of resistance.

And then we can see that there is aversion,

Or maybe there's greed,

Or maybe there's confusion happening in the mind.

And knowing that,

Observing that.

And the last foundation area of mindfulness,

The fourth foundation of mindfulness,

Is really how we filter experience.

It's called mindfulness of the dhammas.

And you might be like,

What is that,

Right?

And this is where a lot of our conditioning lives.

The understanding,

It involves observing the content of the mind.

So understanding the conditionings that lead to the views,

That lead to the actions.

And when there is some establishment in this fourth foundation of mindfulness,

We can also see the nature of reality,

Which is that everything is always,

Always arising and passing,

Arising and passing,

Arising and passing.

There were some questions about investigation on Tuesday that I would like to speak to.

We were looking at the practice tool of RAIN.

RAIN is an acronym for Recognize,

Allow,

Investigate,

And Non-identification.

And the I in RAIN is for investigation,

And it's often an area where people get tripped up and confused.

So just to say,

Like,

What are we investigating?

And there are many,

Many practices out there for investigation,

And teachers work with different therapeutic models of investigation.

I suggested at the end of practice,

The model of the diamond approach.

That's a popular approach for many vipassana teachers to offer.

But with investigation,

It's really helpful if we have some understanding of the fourth foundation of mindfulness.

When we are attending to the entire scope of our experience,

We have some understanding of the operating system that was installed,

Some knowing of the way we were conditioned,

So that the practice of investigation isn't coming from a reactive historical pattern that isn't onward leading.

So what that means is that if we,

Onward leading,

You know,

Actually go somewhere,

We're not using the same mind that creates the problem to solve the problem.

You know,

If you're investigating from a habit pattern,

Then it's possible that you'll keep going in circles with your investigation,

And that is not onward leading,

Right?

So an example that I used yesterday,

And I'll use again today,

Is that if you have a strong leaning towards intellectual inquiry,

You want to know,

And you research,

And this is your mind,

Right?

You might gradually,

You might naturally gravitate towards a cognitive investigation.

But the emphasis,

The investigation that is being emphasized in the Satipatthana Sutta,

The establishment of mindfulness,

Is not cognitive investigation,

At least not at first.

First,

We have to feel.

The second establishment of mindfulness,

Mindfulness of feelings.

And some people hear this,

And it's like,

That's the bad news.

You know,

You've figured out ways and strategies to not feel.

And there is,

You know,

It's a common thing not to like to be able to position ourselves and to figure out ways to not be impacted by feeling.

So there's a lot of fear that's out there when it comes to feeling.

The shift happens when we begin to get interested in what is arising,

You know?

If it's anger,

What does that feel like?

And can you allow it to move,

Just move through?

And it will.

Remember,

The nature of everything,

The fourth foundation of mindfulness,

Is that everything is moving,

Arising and passing,

Arising and passing.

So interest becomes the practice in a way.

We are establishing sati,

Remembering,

And as we practice,

You know,

Sometimes,

Sometimes it's like a fish moving upstream,

You know,

Sometimes the path is smooth and the water isn't beating up against us.

And sometimes we have to jump over rocks and there's rapids and it's difficult.

And the practice of establishment of mindfulness is to,

To meet these foundations pieces of our humanity with some ease,

Without getting stuck.

To meet difficulty,

To meet challenge with ease and to recognize and allow for all of it.

Everything that you experience as a human being,

It's allowed.

So to move through it with ease and awareness and flow over and over and over again.

This is how I understand the refuge of mindfulness.

And I really thank you for your attention.

Reviews

Thanks Lisa!