Tokyo
1 March
1971 Dear Mr. G.,
"What is sati-sampajañña, clear comprehension? I am puzzled by this
term." This was a question you asked me.
There are many degrees of comprehension. What would "clear
comprehension" mean, theoretical knowledge or the knowledge through
one's own experience? Which would be clearer? Does the sotåpanna have
clear comprehension of nåmas and rúpas, of the world in the ariyan
sense? Is the degree of clear comprehension of the arahat still
higher? What is the way to develop clear comprehension, is it through
thinking about realities or through awareness of them when they
present themselves? Would awareness of realities not be the way that
comprehension becomes clearer in different stages?
The term sati-sampajañña is composed of the word sati, mindfulness or
awareness, and the word sampajañña which means discrimination or
comprehension. The commentary to the Dialogues of the Buddha (Dígha
Nikåya), the Sumaògalavilåsiní, explains that there is a fourfold
sampajañña. These aspects make it clear that there are different
levels of sati-sampajañña. They are the following kinds of
sati-sampajañña:
1. såtthaka-sampajañña ¤ comprehension with
regard to the purpose
2. sappåya-sampajañña ¤ comprehension of what is
suitable, fitting
3. gocara-sampajañña ¤ comprehension of the
object
4. asammoha-sampajañña ¤ comprehension of non-
delusion
Såtthaka-sampajañña, comprehension with regard to the purpose,
pertains to our bodily health as well as to the growth of kusala and
understanding. The Buddha was considerate of the monk's bodily and
mental welfare. The monk was taught to have comprehension of the
purpose with regard to the taking of almsfood and the use of the other
requisites. There are rules for the monks with regard to the use of
them. He should not use them with attachment. We read in the
Visuddhimagga (I, 85) about the way he should use almsfood:
`Reflecting wisely, he uses almsfood neither for amusement nor for
intoxication nor for smartening nor for embellishment, but only for
the endurance and continuance of this body, for the ending of
discomfort, and for assisting the life of purity: "Thus I shall put a
stop to old feelings and shall not arouse new feelings, and I shall be
healthy and blameless and live in comfort." '
The monk will use almsfood just as a sick man uses medicine. He will
put a stop to the feeling of hunger and he will not indulge in
immoderate eating.
The Buddha, on the day of his enlightenment, stopped fasting and he
took the rice-gruel which was offered to him by Sujåtå. He had
understood that the undertaking of severe ascetical practices was not
the Middle Way.
Also laypeople can apply to a certain extent, in their own situation,
some of the rules of training for the monks. When there is
sati-sampajañña while we are eating, it knows the right purpose of the
taking of food. We do not have to think all the time what the purpose
is of what we are doing. When sati-sampajañña arises it knows the
right purpose. When there is clear comprehension with regard to the
purpose of the taking of food, there are conditions not to indulge in
food, but to take it as a medicine for the body. One can find out what
is right for one's health. One should not torture oneself by staying
too long in one position of the body. Some people have desire for
tranquillity and they are hoping to be able to develop it to a high
degree by sitting for a long time. When there is clear comprehension
with regard to the purpose one will not torture oneself, one will
stretch at the right time or change one's posture.
Sati-sampajañña with regard to the purpose is necessary for the
development of kusala and right understanding. When we visit the good
friend in Dhamma who explains the Dhamma in the right way, or when we
visit the holy places in India it can be done with sati-sampajañña
with regard to the purpose, namely the development of right
understanding.
We read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the Tens, Chapter XVIII, § 4)
about aim and not-aim. The Buddha said to the monks:
`And what, monks, is not aim?
Taking life, taking what is not given, wrong conduct in sexual
desires, falsehood, slander, bitter speech, idle babble, coveting,
harmfulness and wrong view. This, monks, is called not-aim.'
We then read that the abstaining from akusala kamma is aim.
Sati-sampajañña with regard to the purpose sees the benefit of kusala
and the disadvantage of akusala. When other people speak in a harsh
way to us we think immediately of ourselves, of our own interest. What
is really useful to ourselves? When sati-sampajañña arises it sees the
benefit of patience and lovingkindness, it sees the benefit of all
kinds of kusala. When other people are unkind they give us an
opportunity to cultivate patience and endurance. We need
sati-sampajañña with regard to the purpose in daily life. If one wants
to develop calm (samatha) one needs sati-sampajañña which knows the
benefit of kusala and which sees the disadvantage of attachment to the
sense objects. When one has desire for tranquillity the citta is
akusala, but one may not notice it. In order to develop calm which is
wholesome there must be sati-sampajañña which realizes the
disadvantage of desire. So long as there is desire one will not reach
the goal.
For the development of the Eightfold Path sati-sampajañña with regard
to the aim is necessary. We read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the
Tens, Chapter XIV, § 4) that the Buddha said to the monks that the
factors of the wrong path are not-aim. As regards aim, we read:
`And what, monks, is aim?
Right view, right thinking, right speech, right action, right effort,
right mindfulness, right concentration, right knowledge and right
release....'
When one follows the wrong path there is no sati-sampajañña. When one
develops the right path there is clear comprehension with regard to
the aim. The goal is the eradication of wrong view and all the other
defilements. If one develops the right path one will eventually reach
the goal.
We believe that right understanding of nåma and rúpa is what we value
most highly in life, but is this true? We should be sincere and get to
know our own accumulations. Don't we find our work and our relaxation
more important than the development of right understanding? If there
is sati-sampajañña which sees the value of awareness of realities
right understanding can develop during the time we are working and
also during the time of relaxation. There are nåma and rúpa all the
time, no-matter where we are. There can be a beginning of the study of
them when they appear. We do not have to go to a quiet place and
change our usual way of life in order to develop understanding. When
there is desire for awareness it will hinder the development of
understanding of our life, of our accumulations. We have accumulated
attachment to pleasant things, we like to go to concerts or watch T.V.
We should learn to see that in such situations there are only dhammas,
realities, which arise because of their own conditions. If we do not
get to know lobha as it is, as only a conditioned reality,
enlightenment cannot be attained and defilements cannot be eradicated.
The second sampajañña, sappåya-sampajañña, is knowing what is
suitable, fitting to oneself. This sampajañña appertains to our bodily
health as well as to the development of kusala. We know that we should
not neglect our bodily health and therefore we should know what is
suitable for us in order to avoid sickness and to live in comfort. We
should find out, for example, what is the right kind of food for us
and what not. What is suitable for one person may not be suitable for
another person. We need sappåya-sampajañña in order to know the right
conditions for our bodily health. We also need sappåya-sampajañña in
order to know the right conditions for the development of kusala.
Those who have accumulations to develop samatha should know the
particular conditions which have to be fulfilled in order to develop
calm. Most important is right understanding which knows precisely when
the citta is kusala and when akusala, otherwise calm cannot be
developed. Sappåya-sampajañña is needed in order to know which of the
meditation subjects is suitable to oneself so that calm can grow. The
meditation on corpses, for example, is not suitable for everybody, for
some people this subject conditions aversion or fear. If one has
accumulations to develop calm to the degree of jhåna one has to live
in a secluded place. One needs sappåya-sampajañña in order to find out
which place is suitable to oneself.
For the development of vipassanå the conditions are different from the
conditions for the development of calm. The conditions for the
development of vipassanå are: association with the right friend who
can explain the Dhamma, listening, considering and testing the meaning
of what one has heard. In this way there can be the correct
understanding of the Eightfold Path. If there is sappåya-sampajañña
which knows what is suitable for the development of right
understanding it will develop.
We read in the Kindred Sayings (IV, Kindred Sayings on Sense,
Saîåyatana-vagga, Third Fifty, Chapter V, § 146, Helpful) about the
"sappåya" which leads to that which should be valued most highly: the
eradication of defilements. This "sappåya", this helpful condition, is
the perception of impermanence. We read that the Buddha said to the
monks:
`I will teach you, monks, a way that is helpful for Nibbåna.
Do you listen to it. And what, monks, is that way?
Herein, monks, a monk regards the eye as impermanent. He regards
visible object, eye-consciousness, eye-contact, as impermanent. That
pleasant or unpleasant or indifferent feeling which arises by
eye-contact-that also he regards as impermanent.
He regards the ear¤the nose¤the tongue, savours, tongue-consciousness,
tongue-contact as impermanent. That pleasant or unpleasant or
indifferent feeling, which arises by tongue-contact-that also he
regards as impermanent.
He regards the body...he regards the mind, mind-states,
mind-consciousness, mind-contact as impermanent. The pleasant or
unpleasant or indifferent feeling¤arising therefrom-he regards that
also as impermanent.
This, monks, is the way that is helpful for Nibbåna.'
The impermanence of the realities which appear through the six doors
cannot be realized immediately. First the rúpa which appears has to be
realized as rúpa and the nåma which appears has to be realized as
nåma. Their arising and falling away cannot be realized if one cannot
clearly discern their different characteristics. This sutta reminds us
to at least begin with awareness of realities such as visible object,
seeing, feeling or attachment, of the realities which appear now. That
is the condition which is helpful to gain more understanding.
The third sampajañña is gocara-sampajañña. Gocara literally means
place or domain. In this case it is not the place where one should
stay but "where citta goes", the object, årammaùa, of the citta. When
gocara-sampajañña arises there is comprehension of the object of
mindfulness. All realities which appear now through the six doors are
the gocara or "domain" of sati of the Eightfold Path. All of the nåmas
and the rúpas are included in the four "satipaììhånas", the
applications of mindfulness. They are: mindfulness of the body, of
feeling, of citta and of dhammas. The object of sati is a paramattha
dhamma which appears now, it is not a concept such as a body, a hand
or a chair. Some people think that the postures of the body can be
object of mindfulness. They think for example that the "sitting rúpa"
should be object of mindfulness. Among the twenty-eight kinds of rúpa
which are taught in the Abhidhamma there is no sitting rúpa. The body
is composed of the four Great Elements and other rúpas which each have
their own specific characteristic. The characteristic of hardness or
heat may appear, no matter whether one is sitting, standing, walking
or laying down. Sitting has no characteristic, it is a concept one has
of the whole body which sits. In order to eradicate the idea of self
who is sitting there should be awareness of one reality at a time, one
nåma or rúpa. We have conditions to think of sitting and we do not
have to avoid that, but we should know the difference between the
moments we think of concepts such as the whole body and the moments
there is awareness of a paramattha dhamma (absolute reality).
Is there any object of awareness we do not like and of which we think
that it ought not to be object of awareness? Do we "push it aside" and
wait until there is another object? For instance, most of us do not
like it to be in a hurry. Would we rather not be aware of nåma and
rúpa at such moments? Or do we think that we can't? Is there not a
secret tendency not to know objects we dislike? In that way right
understanding of realities cannot develop. When we are feeling tired,
or angry, or when we are discouraged about the development of
satipaììhåna, can there be awareness even of such moments? They are
only realities arising because of conditions, not self. We understand
in theory that everything can be object of awareness, but do we apply
this understanding? Wrong practice (sílabbata-paråmåså, translated as
clinging to rules and ritual) is a kind of wrong view (diììhi). So
long as we are not sotåpanna wrong view has not been eradicated and
thus wrong practice can arise. We may think that when we are in the
company of many people it is impossible to be aware. Do we try to
ignore particular realities we do not think fit to be objects of
awareness? We can find out that although we have intellectual
understanding about wrong practice such tendencies can still arise. It
is essential to be aware also of these moments. If they are not known
wrong view cannot be eradicated.
If one knows that whatever reality appears now can be object of
awareness right understanding can develop. Should we not know seeing,
hearing or thinking which appear now? When there are conditions
awareness can arise in any situation, also when we are laughing or
talking. We read for example in the "Khemaka Sutta" Kindred Sayings
(III, Khandhå-vagga, Middle Fifty, Chapter IV, § 89) that the monk
Khemaka attained arahatship while he explained Dhamma to others, and
that sixty monks who listened attained arahatship as well. We read in
the "Satipaììhåna Sutta" Middle Length Sayings (I, no.10) that the
Buddha, while he was staying among the Kuru people in Kammåssadhamma,
spoke to the monks about the "Four Applications of Mindfulness". We
read in the section on Mindfulness of the Body, on the Four Kinds of
Clear Comprehension, that the Buddha said:
`...And again, monks, a monk, when he is setting out or returning is
one acting in a clearly conscious way; when he is looking in front or
looking around...when he has bent in or stretched out (his arm)...when
he is carrying his outer cloak, bowl and robe...when he is eating,
drinking, chewing, tasting...when he is obeying the calls of
nature...when he is walking, standing, sitting, asleep, awake,
talking, silent, he is acting in a clearly conscious way...'
A clearly conscious way is the translation of sati-sampajañña. Is
there clear comprehension with regard to the object of right
understanding while we are looking in front or looking around? Is
there clear comprehension while we are bending or stretching, eating,
drinking, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, while we are talking
or keeping silent? We may have read this text many times, but do we
really apply what the Buddha taught? We need to consider this text
often, even if we think that we have understood it already. We can
find out that considering the teachings is suitable, helpful, that it
is a "sappåya" for the development of understanding. This sutta can
remind us that there is no limitation to the "field of awareness".
When we are, for example, looking for something in our handbag, or
when the shoelace breaks while tying it up, there are only nåma and
rúpa, but we are likely to be forgetful. Usually dosa (aversion)
arises at such moments. However, sometimes there can be awareness and
then different characteristics of realities can be known. Dosa has a
characteristic which is different from hardness or motion which
appears through touch. Even if there is only a short moment of
awareness of a reality it is helpful because it is a condition that
awareness can be accumulated. In that way the tendency to take
realities for self will become less.
If gocara-sampajañña is well established, there can be the fourth
sampajañña, asammoha-sampajañña. Asammoha means "non-delusion". When
there is asammoha-sampajañña there is non-delusion about the object of
awareness. One no longer doubts whether there can be awareness while
one is busy or while one is in trying circumstances. When there is no
delusion the realities appearing through the six doors can be known as
they are, as not self. When there is awareness of visible object there
is no delusion about visible object, it is realized as just a reality,
not a person or a thing.
It is useful to know the different aspects of clear comprehension,
sati-sampajañña: clear comprehension with regard to the purpose, with
regard to what is suitable, with regard to the object of sati and
clear comprehension of non-delusion. However, while right
understanding is being developed we do not have to try to pinpoint
which kind of sampajañña arises. It is sati-sampajañña, not self,
which knows the purpose of the development of the Eightfold Path, the
eradication of defilements. It is sati-sampajañña which knows the
right conditions which are suitable for the development of right
understanding. In the beginning one still doubts whether there can be
awareness in any situation, one limits the field of sati, and thus
there cannot yet be non-delusion about the object of awareness.
You think that there are particular factors which can hinder
awareness, such as our working situation or the company of other
people. The place where we are, the people we meet, noise, travelling,
sickness, all these factors are not impediments for satipaììhåna.
Wrong understanding of the path is a hindrance.
In the Visuddhimagga (III, 29) we read about the ten impediments.
These are: dwelling, family, gain, class (students), building, travel,
relatives, affliction (sickness), books and super-normal powers. As
regards dwelling, for those who cultivate samatha the dwelling is only
an impediment if it distracts one or if one has many belongings stored
there. As regards family, this refers to relatives or a family of
supporters who present food or other requisites to the monk. They can
be distracting from the development of calm. As regards gain, this
means here the four requisites of the monk. If he receives requisites
from people all the time, he has to give them blessings and teach them
Dhamma. In this way he will be engaged continuously. Class means
students of suttas or students of Abhidhamma. If the monk has to teach
students he has no opportunity for the development of samatha.
Building means the construction of a building. This is always an
impediment for samatha since one is engaged in seeing to the work.
Travel is an impediment for samatha since one's thoughts are occupied
with the journey. With the impediment of relatives is also meant the
monk's teacher or pupil or others he is dwelling together with. If
they are sick they are an impediment for samatha since they preoccupy
him. Affliction is any kind of illness. It is an impediment when it
causes suffering. As regards books, this is responsibility for the
scriptures, or recitation of the scriptures. When he is engaged with
these matters it will distract him from the development of samatha. It
is said that nine of the ten impediments are hindrances only for
samatha. They distract one from its cultivation. As regards the tenth
impediment, which are the supernatural powers of the non-ariyan, this
is not a hindrance for samatha. We read in the Visuddhimagga (III, 56)
about the super-normal powers:
`They are hard to maintain, like a prone infant or like a baby hare,
and the slightest thing breaks them. But they are an impediment for
insight, not for concentration, since they are obtainable through
concentration. So the supernormal powers are an impediment that should
be severed by one who seeks insight; the others are impediments to be
severed by one who seeks concentration.'
By these examples one sees that the method and aim of samatha is
different from the method and aim of vipassanå. If one has
accumulations to develop calm to a high degree one has to live a
secluded life and the factors which are impediments to calm have to be
severed. As regards insight, this has to be developed in one's daily
life, one has to develop understanding of all realities which appear,
one's defilements included. As we have seen, only super-normal powers
are an impediment for insight since one cannot lead one's daily life
if one wants to develop them. One has to live in seclusion and one has
to develop calm to the degree of jhåna in order to be able to acquire
the supernormal powers. The other factors which are impediments for
samatha are not impediments for vipassanå. "Dwelling" is not a
hindrance for the development of insight. We still have attachment to
our house, we want to embellish it. So long as one is not an anågåmí
(non-returner), attachment to sensuous objects has not been eradicated
yet. Attachment to the place where we live and any other kind of
attachment can be object of awareness when it appears and then it is
not an impediment. If there is no right understanding of the object of
satipaììhåna, everything hinders: the place where one lives,
relatives, travelling or sickness. There always seems to be an excuse
for not being aware right at this moment. First this work has to be
finished, that letter has to be written, relatives need help and take
up our time so that we believe that there is no opportunity for
awareness. What is hindering us now? Are there not nåma and rúpa,
right at this moment? There is impingement of hardness or softness on
the bodysense, wherever we are. Hardness is a paramattha dhamma, an
absolute reality, but when there is no awareness we do not know it as
a reality. We may be thinking of hardness but that is not awareness.
When sati-sampajañña arises the characteristic of hardness can be
studied without there being the need to think about it. It can be
known as a reality which is conditioned. It does not belong to anyone;
we cannot change it, we cannot do anything about it.
One may think that awareness is too difficult, one may believe that
one should first go to a quiet place. Why is that? Because one expects
many moments of awareness and immediate clear comprehension. We should
let go of expectations. If we have listened to the Dhamma and if we
have understood the way to develop right understanding of nåma and
rúpa, there are conditions for the arising of awareness. After a
moment of awareness there are bound to be countless moments of
unawareness since we accumulated ignorance for aeons. How could we get
rid of it within a short time? If we think that awareness in daily
life is too difficult we create a hindrance for the development of
right understanding. If there is a beginning of the development of
understanding now it can be accumulated. If that would be impossible
there would be no ariyans who have realized the truth. They have
proved that there are no impediments to the development of right
understanding in daily life.
With mettå,
Nina van Gorkom
Tokyo
April 10
1971 Dear Mr. G.,
You asked me about the way to know the difference between nåma and
rúpa. You find it difficult to realize their different
characteristics. I will first summarize the points that you have
doubts about:
When feeling hot, there are both nåma and rúpa. What is the
characteristic of body-consciousness (kaya-viññåùa)? What is the
characteristic of bodily feeling which accompanies body-consciousness?
What are the characteristics of other feelings besides bodily feeling
which arise at other moments? What is the characteristic of the rúpa
which is heat?
These are questions which are bound to arise when we learn about
different nåmas and rúpas and we begin to be aware of them. There are
different levels of understanding of realities. First there should be
theoretical understanding about nåma and rúpa, and then one can begin
to be aware of their characteristics when they appear. Through
awareness direct understanding of realities can be developed.
Body-consciousness is the citta which experiences rúpas which impinge
on the body-sense. These rúpas can be the following:
the "Element of Earth" or solidity, to be experienced as hardness or
softness;
the "Element of Fire", to be experienced as heat or cold;
the "Element of Wind", to be experienced as motion or pressure.
These rúpas impinge on the bodysense all the time. The body-sense
through which these rúpas can be experienced is also rúpa. The
bodysense does not know anything, but it is a condition for the nåma
which experiences tangible object. The bodysense is to be found all
over the body, except in those parts which are insensitive, such as
hair or nails. The bodysense is not only on the outside of the body,
but also inside the body. The Visuddhimagga (XIV, 52) states that it
is to be found everywhere, like a liquid that soaks a layer of cotton.
Also in those parts of the body we call "kidney" or "liver" there is
bodysense; pain can be felt in these parts. When we notice any bodily
sensation, be it ever so slight, it shows that there is impact on the
bodysense. When we remember this it can be a condition for awareness
of different kinds of realities, also when the impact on the bodysense
is very slight, or inside the body.
All day long rúpas impinge on the bodysense but we do not realize that
they are only rúpas. We always think of a being, the body or a thing
which is touched, but these do not impinge on the bodysense. The
experience of tangible object through the body-sense is one moment,
and the thinking of stories about that object is another moment. There
are different realities appearing at different moments through
different doorways. This is the truth and it can be proven by our own
experience.
Body-consciousness which experiences tangible object impinging on the
bodysense is vipåka-citta, a citta which is the result of kamma. When
it experiences a pleasant tangible object it is the result of kusala
kamma and when it experiences an unpleasant object it is the result of
akusala kamma. When the object which impinges on the bodysense is
pleasant the body-consciousness is accompanied by pleasant (bodily)
feeling, and when the object is unpleasant the body-consciousness is
accompanied by painful (bodily) feeling. There cannot be indifferent
bodily feeling. The object is unpleasant when the temperature which
impinges on the bodysense is too cold or too hot, and it is pleasant
when the temperature is just right.
The pleasant feeling or painful feeling which accompanies
body-consciousness is nåma, it experiences something. It is different
from rúpa which does not experience anything. Since body-consciousness
is vipåka, the accompanying feeling is also vipåka.
Body-consciousness which experiences tangible object arises in a
process of cittas which experience that object. Each citta in a
process performs it own function while it experiences the object which
is impinging. The body-consciousness which is vipåka-citta falls away
immediately and it is succeeded by other cittas. There are cittas
arising within the process which can be kusala citta or akusala citta
and they experience the same object as the body-consciousness. When
they are kusala cittas they can be accompanied by happy (mental)
feeling or by indifferent feeling, and when they are akusala cittas,
they can be accompanied by happy (mental) feeling, by indifferent
feeling or by unhappy (mental) feeling. These feelings can be called
"mental feeling" in order to differentiate them from the bodily
feeling which accompanies body-consciousness. As we have seen, bodily
feeling is not rúpa, it is nåma. It can be called bodily feeling since
it accompanies body-consciousness.
Sometimes we have an idea that painful feeling and aversion which can
arise shortly afterwards can hardly be separated. However, they are
different realities arising because of different conditions. When we
burn ourselves the heat, which is an unpleasant tangible object,
impinges on the bodysense and it is experienced by body-consciousness
which is accompanied by painful bodily feeling. At that moment there
is no dislike, the body-consciousness which is vipåka-citta, the
result of kamma, merely experiences the unpleasant object. The painful
feeling which accompanies the body-consciousness is also vipåka. It
merely feels, it does not dislike the object. The citta with aversion,
the dosa-múla-citta, which is accompanied by mental unpleasant feeling
arises later on. It experiences the object with aversion, it is
akusala citta. When sati arises it can be mindful of one reality at a
time, and thus gradually different characteristics of realities can be
known. If we try to "catch" realities and if we have desire to know
whether the reality which appears is citta, feeling, rúpa or any other
phenomenon, there is thinking with attachment, not mindfulness.
You wrote that you find that attachment, lobha, and aversion, dosa,
can be known more easily than seeing or hearing. Can we say that
anything is easy? We may think that it is easy to know lobha and dosa
but do we realize their characteristics when they appear? Or are we
merely thinking about them? Do we know them as conditioned nåmas, not
self or is there still "my lobha" and "my dosa"? We should realize
lobha and dosa also when they are of a lesser degree. For example,
when there is seeing there is bound to be clinging to what is seen or
clinging to seeing, arising closely after the seeing. When we hear a
sound which is loud there can be a slight aversion but we may not even
notice it. When there is lobha or dosa there are nåma and rúpa, there
are so many realities we are still ignorant of. Lobha and dosa
condition rúpas. Don't we look different when we are angry or when we
are glad? When we are afraid or when we dislike something we may
notice bodily phenomena conditioned by citta. It is not easy to
distinguish between the different characteristics of realities. We
tend to join different realities into a "whole" of "my personality"
and thus we will not know them as they are, only nåma and rúpa, devoid
of self.
In your letter you gave examples of moments of awareness. You write
that when walking you are aware of the feeling of pressing the ground.
Is there not thinking of a concept of "pressing the ground"? Do you
picture yourself as walking? That is a way of thinking. The object one
thinks of at that moment is a concept or idea, not a reality. We may
easily mislead ourselves and take thinking for awareness. When you
touch hardness and you know that it is hard is there clear
understanding of the true nature of the rúpa which is hardness? There
may still be "something" hard there which seems to stay. Does the
ground seem to stay? Even when one does not name it "ground" or "feet"
there can still be wrong understanding of reality. The rúpa which is
hardness can be experienced through the bodysense and it arises and
falls away, it cannot stay. Hardness seems to stay so long as we have
not understood the truth of impermanence. We cling to sati and we want
to hold on to realities in order to know them. We should not expect
there to be full understanding of nåma and rúpa which arise and fall
away, but we can learn to be aware of one characteristic of reality at
a time when it appears. When we remember that realities and also
awareness cannot last we will be less inclined to try to be aware and
to hold on to realities. When it is the right time for sati it arises
and then it can be aware of any reality which appears. We cannot plan
to be aware of such or such reality.
You write that when eating you are aware of flavour. There is not only
flavour, there is also the nåma which experiences flavour, otherwise
flavour could not appear. Do we know already the difference between
nåma and rúpa? There can be mindfulness of only one reality at a time,
but it seems that flavour and the experience of it appear together.
When understanding develops one reality can be known at a time, but
now there is still confusion. You say that you can be aware of the
movement of the jaws when eating. Again, is there not thinking of the
idea of "my jaws" instead of being aware of one nåma or rúpa at a
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