{"id":2008,"date":"2013-01-31T21:19:30","date_gmt":"2013-01-31T21:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=2008"},"modified":"2013-01-31T21:24:28","modified_gmt":"2013-01-31T21:24:28","slug":"mindfulness-of-body-holds-it-all-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/01\/mindfulness-of-body-holds-it-all-together.html","title":{"rendered":"Mindfulness of Body holds it all together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n

\"Yangon<\/a>It\u2019s not that often that I post about practice these days.<\/strong> But last night, unable to sleep for a variety of reasons (green tea, cola, and a very dramatic film included), I spent some time browsing Access to Insight<\/a> (because that\u2019s what people do when they have free time, right?).<\/p>\n

So I checked the simile section<\/a>, which is fantastic \u2013 you all should go there now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first simile (in alphabetical order) is acrobats. Not too interesting. Then the \u201cancient city.\u201d Been there. Done that.<\/p>\n

The third one is:\u00a0Animals bound together by a rope:{lack of mindfulness}\u00a0SN 35.206<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

That sounds interesting.<\/p>\n

While my sleep-deprived mind was looking for ideas in Buddhist<\/a> Ethics, I was also looking for helpful, short suttas for teaching meditation. That is because today I went to Cheltenham to lead a short meditation for students studying religion at the University of Gloucestershire<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So this third simile, that of the animals bound together, caught my attention.<\/p>\n

The key part of the text reads as:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cJust as if a person, catching six animals of different ranges, of different habitats, were to bind them with a strong rope. Catching a snake, he would bind it with a strong rope. Catching a crocodile\u2026 a bird\u2026 a dog\u2026 a hyena\u2026 a monkey, he would bind it with a strong rope. Binding them all with a strong rope, and tying a knot in the middle, he would set chase to them.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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\n

\u201cThen those six animals, of different ranges, of different habitats, would each pull toward its own range & habitat. The snake would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the anthill.\u2019 The crocodile would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the water.\u2019 The bird would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll fly up into the air.\u2019 The dog would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the village.\u2019 The hyena would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the charnel ground.\u2019 The monkey would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the forest.\u2019 And when these six animals became internally exhausted, they would submit, they would surrender, they would come under the sway of whichever among them was the strongest. In the same way, when a monk whose mindfulness immersed in the body is undeveloped & unpursued, the eye pulls toward pleasing forms, while unpleasing forms are repellent. The ear pulls toward pleasing sounds\u2026 The nose pulls toward pleasing aromas\u2026 The tongue pulls toward pleasing flavors\u2026 The body pulls toward pleasing tactile sensations\u2026 The intellect pulls toward pleasing ideas, while unpleasing ideas are repellent. This, monks, is lack of restraint.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what is restraint? There is the case where a monk, seeing a form with the eye, is not obsessed with pleasing forms, is not repelled by unpleasing forms, and remains with body-mindfulness established, with immeasurable awareness. He discerns, as it actually is present, the awareness-release, the discernment-release where all evil, unskillful mental qualities that have arisen utterly cease without remainder.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing a sound with the ear\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cSmelling an aroma with the nose\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cTasting a flavor with the tongue\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cTouching a tactile sensation with the body\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cCognizing an idea with the intellect, he is not obsessed with pleasing ideas, is not repelled by unpleasing ideas, and remains with body-mindfulness established, with immeasurable awareness. He discerns, as it actually is present, the awareness-release, the discernment-release where all evil, unskillful mental qualities that have arisen utterly cease without remainder.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as if a person, catching six animals of different ranges, of different habitats, were to bind them with a strong rope. Catching a snake, he would bind it with a strong rope. Catching a crocodile\u2026 a bird\u2026 a dog\u2026 a hyena\u2026 a monkey, he would bind it with a strong rope. Binding them all with a strong rope, he would tether them to a strong post or stake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen those six animals, of different ranges, of different habitats, would each pull toward its own range & habitat. The snake would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the anthill.\u2019 The crocodile would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the water.\u2019 The bird would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll fly up into the air.\u2019 The dog would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the village.\u2019 The hyena would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the charnel ground.\u2019 The monkey would pull, thinking, \u2018I\u2019ll go into the forest.\u2019 And when these six animals became internally exhausted, they would stand, sit, or lie down right there next to the post or stake. In the same way, when a monk whose mindfulness immersed in the body is developed & pursued, the eye does not pull toward pleasing forms, and unpleasing forms are not repellent. The ear does not pull toward pleasing sounds\u2026 The nose does not pull toward pleasing aromas\u2026 The tongue does not pull toward pleasing flavors\u2026 The body does not pull toward pleasing tactile sensations\u2026 The intellect does not pull toward pleasing ideas, and unpleasing ideas are not repellent. This, monks, is restraint.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus you should train yourselves: \u2018We will develop mindfulness immersed in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a basis, give it a grounding. We will steady it, consolidate it, and set about it properly.\u2019 That\u2019s how you should train yourselves.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I had been practicing some metta and mindfulness as ways to develop calm and get to sleep, but at the time I thought the best use of my unwelcome energy was to focus it (let the monkey-mind take over the others), and I\u2019m glad I did.<\/p>\n

The result was that while I didn\u2019t necessarily get enough sleep, I did learn more about the power and importance of focusing on the body as a foundation for developing calm and insight.<\/p>\n

So, as I stood and then sat in front of the 15 or so students, I remembered to focus on the body. I told them to take some breaths and settle into their bodies. A little breathing. A little noting of sensations.<\/p>\n

And it worked. Many thanks to Bodhipaksa<\/a> and other teachers over the years.<\/strong> With a bit of mindfulness of body and focus on posture, I (we) went through the cultivation of loving-kindness meditation without a hitch.<\/p>\n

The students seemed happy \u2013 if not somewhat dazed and glassy-eyed. I was happy. Feedback was good. And on we went.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not that often that I post about practice these days. But last night, unable to sleep for a variety of reasons (green tea, cola, and a very dramatic film included), I spent some time browsing Access to Insight (because that\u2019s what people do when they have free time, right?). So I checked the simile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academia","category-buddhism","category-meditation"],"yoast_head":"\nMindfulness of Body holds it all together<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's not that often that I post about practice these days. 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