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Introduction to Insight Meditation, Session 2: Mindfulness, Concentration vs. Insight and Mindfulness of Body Sensations
by Philip L. Jones
I. Beginning
Meditation - Mindfulness of Breathing (10-15 min)
A.Review
the instructions (see handout)
II. Discussion
(5-10 minutes)
A.Questions
from previous session and from week's practice
III. Concentration
Meditation and Insight Meditation
A.All
forms of meditation require a certain amount of concentration.
1.Concentration
is basically the ability to keep awareness focused on one object.
a.It
is sometimes spoken of in terms of One-Pointedness of Mind.
2.Without
concentration, the mind would never settle down enough for us to begin
to feel some peacefulness and to begin to see what is actually happening
in our experience.
B.So
we've been using awareness or mindfulness of the sensations of breathing
as the tool for developing a foundation of concentration.
1.We
bring our attention to rest at one location, such as the tip of the nostrils
and we notice the physical sensations associated with the breath
2.We
hold our attention there, whether the sensations of breathing are so subtle that
we are unable to notice them or not.
3.If
our attention wanders away from that location, when we become aware of
it, we bring it back to that location.
a.In
this way we are slowly strengthening the power of concentration.
C.Although
concentration is the foundation of most approaches to meditation, some
approaches rely almost totally on concentration while others simply use
it as a tool for developing awareness.
1.Concentration
meditation focuses on
a.The
development of concentration
b.Altered
states of consciousness
c.Meditation
that focuses only on relaxation is primarily concentration
2.In
insight meditation concentration is only a tool for the development
of awareness.
D.The
distinction is important because
1.It
contributes to differing ways of relating to our experience
a.Concentration
focuses on stillness and shutting out sounds, thoughts, etc.
(i) Example
from sounds during the previous sitting
(ii) This
can actually contribute to judging and impatience with ourselves.
b.Insight
focuses on awareness of the ever-changing experience of being human, the
sensations and our reactions to them.
(i) In
the end nothing is a distraction, it is all something to be aware of, something
that will bring us into the present moment.
(ii) Use
same example but from mindfulness perspective
2.With
concentration practices we can achieve wonderful states while meditating,
but it doesn't teach us how to carry those experiences into our everyday
life when things are a struggle.
a.Insightor
mindfulness meditation does.
IV. Mindfulness
A.Thich
Nhat Hanh said
1."We
need only to find ways to bring our body and mind back to the present moment
so we can touch what is refreshing, healing, and wondrous." Touching Peace, Parallax Press, 1992,p.
2.
B.Concentration
is what allows us to hold our attention in the present moment.
C.Mindfulness,
though, is what allows us to experience the present moment.
D.We've
been practicing something called "Mindfulness of Breathing"
E.What
exactly is mindfulness
1.It
is a mental factor or quality that we can cultivate
2.It
normally occurs at that moment when the mind first has contact with an
object, such as a sound, just before our concepts kick in, such as "bell"
3.It
has three basic qualities
a.It
is bare of judgment
b.It
is bare of decision-making
c.It
is bare of commentary
F.Mindfulness
is like holding something with an open palm as opposed to a clinched fist.
1.It
is like viewing clouds from the perspective of the sky, simply noticing
them arising and passing through without any sense of them being good or
bad clouds, they are just clouds.
G.Mindfulness
creates a space in which we can see things as they are, separate from our
reactions to them
1.Example:
It gives us the ability to recognize that a repetitive sound is just sound
and that our irritation with it is a reaction, a judgment about how things
should be.
H.By
creating this space and allowing us to see the truth of our lives in each
moment, vs. the stories we tell ourselves that come out of our conditioning,
we develop clear seeing and wise understanding of how to respond.
I.Pain
is an example
1.Society
is very aversive to pain, we are trained to avoid it as soon as we can
2.A
consequence is that there is a great fear of pain. We are afraid of it
because we have never looked deeply at it to see what it is.
3.Meditation
and Pain
a.If
one meditates for any length of time, as many of you have already discovered,
we begin to be aware of the pain that is a frequent part of our lives.
(i) We
spend a lot of energy every day trying to not experience these pains.
b.If
we settle down the mind and bring mindfulness to these sensations, we can
see that pain is actually made up of a variety of ever-changing sensations
that are experienced as unpleasant
c.Wecan
also see that when we fear and resist these sensations, they actually become
more intense.
d.So
insight meditation provides us with a different way of relating to our
experiences, a way that involves a lot less struggle.
e.But
we do have to practice to learn to relate in this way, because we have
years and years of conditioning that is pushing us to react instead.
V. Questions
re the talk?
VI. Sitting
Period (15-20 min) Awareness of Physical Sensations via Body Scan
VII. Discussion
(5-10 min)
A.What
was your experience of this meditation?
B.Any
questions?
VIII. Sitting
Period (15-20 min) Awareness of Physical Sensations via Mindful Awareness
[basic First Foundation of Mindfulness practice]
A.Importance
of not confusing physical sensation with mental activity.
1.[this
is the first step in grasping the experience of the five aggregates]
2.Physical
sensations can arise without having anything to do with mental activity,
but then the mind can quickly react to those physical
sensation -- can you see the difference?
IX. Discussion
(5-10 min)
A.What
was your experience of this meditation?
B.How
was this meditation for you compared tothe
previous one? [Can serve as a vehicle for discussing more vs. less structured
meditations, guided vs. unguided, development of concentration through
body scan vs. mindful awareness of physical
sensations.]
X. Closing
Quote
"Traditionally
the Eightfold Path is taught with eight steps such as Right Understanding,
Right Speech, Right Concentration, and so forth. But the true Eightfold
Path is within us -- two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a tongue and a body.
These eight doors are our entire Path and the mind is the one that walks
on the Path. Know these doors, examine them, and all the dharmas will be
revealed.
The
heart of the path is so simple. No need for long explanations.Give
up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is
all I do in my own practice.
Do
not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not
be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When
you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.
Of
course, there are dozens ofmeditation techniques to develop Samadhi and
many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this -- just let it all
be. Step over here where it is coo, out ofthe
battle.
Why
not give it a try? Do you dare?"
Ajahn
Chah, A Still Forest Pool,
The Theosophical Publishing House, 1985,
p.5.
XI. Handouts
A.Mindfulness
of Body Sensations
B.Mindfulness