Practical Vipassana Meditation Exercises (Part two)
An article by Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw Agga Maha Pandita Sobhana
When you are seated, note the movements involved in arranging your legs and arms. When there are no such movements, but just a stillness (static rest) of body, note the rising and falling of the abdomen. While noting thus and if stiffness of your limbs and sensation of heat in any part of your body arise, go on to note them. Then back to “rising, falling”. While noting thus and if a desire to lie down arises, note it and the movement of your legs and arms as you lie down. The raising of the arm, the moving of it, the resting of the elbow on the floor, the swaying of the body, the stretching of legs, the listing of the body as one slowly prepares to lie down, all these movements should be noted.
To note as you lie down thus is important. In the course of this movement (that is, lying down), you can gain a distinctive knowledge (that is, magga-nana and phala-nana = the knowledge of the path and its fruition). When samadhi (concentration) and nana (insight) are strong, the distinctive knowledge can come at any moment. It can come in a single “bend” of the arm or in a single “stretch” of the arm. Thus it was that the Ven. Ananda became an Arahat.
The Ven. Ananda was trying strenuously to attain Arahatship overnight on the eve of the first Buddhist Council. He was practicing the whole night the form of vipassana meditation known as kayagatasati, noting his steps, right and left, raising, pushing forward and dropping of the feet; noting, happening by happening, the mental desire to walk and the physical movement involved in walking. Although this went on till it was nearly dawn, he had not yet succeeded in attaining Arahatship. Realizing that he had practiced the walking meditation to excess and that, in order to balance samadhi (concentration) and viriya (effort), he should practice meditation in the lying posture for a while, he entered his chamber. He sat on the couch and then lay himself down. While doing so and noting “lying, lying”, he attained Arahatship in an instant.
The Ven. Ananda was only a Sotapanna (that is, a stream-winner or one who has attained the first stage on the path to Nibbana) before he thus lay himself down. From Sotapannahood, he continued to meditate and reached Sakadagamihood (that is, the condition of the once-returner or one who has attained the second stage on the path), Anagamihood (that is, the state of the non-returner or one who has attained the third stage on the path) and Arahatship (that is, the condition of the noble one who has attained the last stage on the path). Reaching these three successive stages of the higher path took only a little while. Just think of this example of the Ven. Ananda’s attainment of Arahatship. Such attainment can come at any moment and need not take long.
That is why the yogi should note with diligence all the time. He should not relax in his noting, thinking “this little lapse should not matter much”. All movements involved in lying down and arranging the arms and legs should be carefully and unremittingly noted. If there is no movement, but only stillness (of the body), go back to noting the rising and falling of the abdomen. Even when it is getting late and time for sleep, the yogi should not go to sleep yet, dropping his noting. A really serious and energetic yogi should practice mindfulness as if he were forgoing his sleep altogether. He should go on meditating till he falls asleep. If the meditation is good and has the upper hand, he will not fall asleep. If, on the other hand, drowsiness has the upper hand, he will fall asleep. When he feels sleepy, he should note as “sleepy, sleepy”, if his eyelids droop, “drooping”, if they become heavy or leaden, “heavy” if the eye become smarting, “smarting”. Noting thus, the drowsiness may pass and the eyes become “clear” again.
The yogi should then note as “clear, clear” and go on to note the rising and falling of the abdomen. However perseveringly the yogi may go on meditating, if real drowsiness intervenes, he does fall asleep. It is not difficult to fall asleep, in fact, it is easy. If you meditate in the lying posture, you gradually become drowsy and eventually fall asleep. That is why the beginner in meditation should not meditate too much in the lying posture. He should meditate much more in the sitting and walking postures of the body. But as it grows late and it’s time for sleep, he should meditate in the lying position, noting the rising and falling movements of the abdomen. He will then naturally (automatically) fall asleep.
The time he is asleep is the resting time for the yogi. But for the really serious yogi, he should limit his sleeping time to about four hours. This is the “midnight time” permitted by the Buddha. Four hours of sleep is quite enough. If the beginner in meditation thinks that four hours of sleep is not enough for health, he may extend it to five or six hours. Six hours of sleep is clearly enough for health.
When the yogi awakens, he should at once resume noting. The yogi, who is really bent on attaining magga and phala nana, should rest from meditational effort only when he is asleep. At other times, in his walking moments, he should be noting continually and without rest. That is why, as soon as he awakens, he should note the awakening state of his mind as “awakening, awakening”. If he cannot yet make himself aware of this, he should begin noting the rising and falling of the abdomen.
If he intends to get up from bed, he should note as “intending to get up, intending to get up”. He should then go on to note the changing movements he makes as he arranges his arms and legs. When he raises his head and rises, note as “rising, rising”. When he is seated, note as “sitting, sitting”. If he makes any changing movements as he arranges his arms and legs, all of these movements should also be noted. If there are no such changes, but only a sitting quietly, he should revert to noting the rising and falling movements of the abdomen.
One should also note when one washes one’s face and when one takes a bath. As the movements involved in these acts are rather quick, as many of them should be noted as possible. There are then acts of dressing, of tidying the bed, of opening and closing the door, all these should also be noted as closely as possible.
When the yogi has his meal and looks at meal table, he should note as “looking, seeing, looking, seeing”. When he extends his arm towards the food, touches it, collects and arranges it, handles it and brings it to the mouth, bends his head and puts the morsel of food into his mouth, drops his arm and raises his head again, all these movements should be duly noted.
(This way of noting is in accordance with the Burmese way of taking a meal. Those who use fork and spoon or chopsticks should note the movements in an appropriate manner).
When he chews the food, he should note as “chewing, chewing”. When he comes to know the taste of the food, he should note as “knowing, knowing”. As he relished the food and swallows it, as the food goes down his throat, he should note all these happenings. This is how the yogi should note as he takes one morsel after another of his food. As he takes his soup, all the movements involved such as extending of the arm, handling of spoon and scooping with it and so on, all these should be noted. To note thus at mealtime is rather difficult as there are so many things to observe and note. The beginner yogi is likely to miss several things, which he should note, but he should resolve to note all. He cannot of course help it if he overlooks and misses some, but as his samadhi (concentration) becomes strong, he will be able to note closely all these happenings.
Well, I have mentioned so many things for the yogi to note. But to summaries, there are only few things to note. When walking fast, note as “right step, left step”, and “rising, dropping” when walking slowly. When sitting quietly, just note the rising and falling of the abdomen. Note the same when you are lying, if there is nothing particular to note. While noting thus and if the mind wanders, note the acts of consciousness that arise. Then back to the rising and falling of the abdomen.
Note also the sensations of stiffness, pain and ache, and itchiness as they arise. Then back to the rising and falling of the abdomen. Note also, as they arise, the bending and stretching and moving of the limbs, bending and rising of the head, swaying and straightening of the body. Then back to the rising and falling of the abdomen.
As the yogi goes on noting thus, he will be able to note more and more of these happenings in the beginning, as his mind wanders here and there, the yogi may miss noting many things. But he should not be disheartened. Every beginner in meditation encounters the same difficulty, but as he becomes more practiced, he becomes aware of every act of mind wandering till eventually the mind does not wander any more. The mind is then reverted on the object of its attention, the act of mindfulness becoming almost simultaneous with the object of its attention such as the rising and falling of the abdomen. In other words the rising of the abdomen becomes concurrent with the act of noting it, and similarly with the falling of the abdomen.
The physical object of attention and the mental act of noting are occurring as a pair. There is in this occurrence no person or individual involved, only this physical object of attention and the mental act of noting occurring as a pair. The yogi will in time actually and personally experience these occurrences. While noting the rising and falling of the abdomen he will come to distinguish the rising of the abdomen as physical phenomenon and the mental act of noting of it as psychical phenomenon; similarly with the falling of the abdomen. Thus the yogi will distinctly come to realize the simultaneous occurrence in pair of these psychophysical phenomena.
Thus, with every act of noting, the yogi will come to know for himself clearly that there are only this material quality, which is the object of awareness or attention, and the mental quality that makes a note of it. This discriminating knowledge is called nama-rupa pariccheda nana, the beginning of the vipassana nana. It is important to gain this knowledge correctly. This will be succeeded, as the yogi goes on, by the knowledge that distinguishes between the cause and its effect, which knowledge is called paccaya-pariggaha nana.
As the yogi goes on noting, he will see for himself that what passes away after a short while. Ordinary people assume that both the material and mental phenomena go on lasting throughout life, that is, from youth to adulthood. In fact, that is not so. There is no phenomenon that lasts forever.
Phenomena arise and pass away so rapidly that they do not last even for the twinkling of an eye. The yogi will come to know this for himself as he goes on noting. He will then become convinced of the impermanence of all such phenomena. Such conviction is called aniccanupassana nana.
This knowledge will be succeeded by dukkhanupassana nana, which realizes that all this impermanence is suffering. The yogi is also likely to encounter all kinds of hardship in his body, which is just an aggregate of sufferings. This is also dukkhanupassana nana. Next, the yogi will become convinced that all these psycho-physical phenomena are occurring of their own accord, following nobody’s will and subject to nobody’s control. They constitute no individual or ego entity. This realization is anattanupssana nana.
When, as he goes on meditating, the yogi comes to realize firmly that all these phenomena are anicca, dukkha and anatta, he will attain Nibbana. All the former Buddhas, Arahats and Aryas realized Nibbana following this very path. All meditating yogis should recognize that they themselves are now on this satipatthana path, in fulfillment of their wish for attainment of magga nana (knowledge of the path), phala nana (knowledge of the fruition of the path) and Nibbana-dhamma and following the ripening of their parami (perfection of virtue). They should feel glad at this and at the prospect of experiencing the noble kind of samadhi (tranquility of mind brought about by concentration) and nana (supeamundane knowledge or wisdom) experienced by the Buddhas, Arahats and Aryas and which they themselves have never experienced before.
It will not be long before they will experience for themselves the magga nana, phala nana and Nibbana-dhamma experienced by the Buddhas, Arahats and Aryas. As a matter of fact, these may be experienced in the space of a month or of twenty or fifteen days of meditation practice. Those whose parami is exceptional may experience these dhammas even within seven days.
The yogi should therefore rest content in the faith that he will attain these dhammas in the time specified above, that he will be freed of sakkaya-ditthi (ego-belief) and vicikiccha (doubt or uncertainty) and saved from the danger of rebirth in the nether worlds. He should go on with his meditation practice in this faith.
May you all be able to practice meditation well and quickly attain that Nibbana which the Buddhas, Arahats and Aryas have experienced!
Sadhu (well done)! Sadhu! Sadhu!
