Right Mindfulness

Questioner: The wisdom which sees realities as they are can only develop when there is mindfulness. Is there anything we can do in order to have mindfulness of nāma and rūpa, so that later on paññā which knows them as they are will arise?

Nina: If one wants to do something in particular in order to have mindfulness, one is led by clinging and then paññā cannot develop. Some people think that right mindfulness of the eightfold Path is something other than attending to the characteristic of nāma or rūpa which appears now, in daily life. That is the wrong understanding of mindfulness. At this moment you are sitting. Is there hardness? Can you experience it?

Question: Yes, I can experience it.

Nina: Hardness is only a kind of rūpa which appears through the bodysense. We usually think of a thing or the body which is hard and we are forgetful of the characteristic of hardness which appears. When there is mindfulness of the characteristic of hardness which appears we do not think of a thing or of the body which is hard and at that moment paññā can investigate the reality which is hardness. In that way hardness can be known as only a kind of rūpa which appears through the bodysense, no “self”. Hardness is an ultimate reality with its own unchangeable characteristic which can be directly experienced without the need to think about it or to name it “hardness” or “rūpa”. Ultimate realities are different from concepts which are not real in the ultimate sense. When we think of a thing which is hard or the body which is hard, the object of thinking is a concept. The thinking itself, however, is an ultimate reality, a type of nāma. Anything which is real, nāma and rūpa, are the objects of right mindfulness and right understanding of the eightfold Path. The right understanding of ultimate realities can eventually lead to detachment from the wrong view of self. When a reality such as hardness appears, there is also a reality which experiences hardness. It is not self who experiences hardness, but a kind of nāma, different from the rūpa which is hardness. The experience of hardness is an ultimate reality with its own characteristic which can be object of mindfulness when it presents itself, and then paññā can investigate it in order to know it as it is. Thus, sati is not forgetful, but mindful of the characteristics of nāma and rūpa as they appear one at a time through the six doors. At the moment of mindfulness of a reality paññā can investigate it and in this way it will eventually be known as it is.

We may be inclined to think that we have to do something special in order to have mindfulness and that we then can “experience” nāma and rūpa as they are, but this is not so. Right understanding of what sati is and what the object of sati is, namely an ultimate reality, can condition the arising of sati and then paññā can gradually develop. In order to know what sati is and what the object of sati we have to listen to the good friend in Dhamma who can explain the development of right understanding, we have to study the Dhamma and to consider it carefully.

Sammā-sati, right mindfulness, is one of the factors of the eightfold Path and it arises together with sammā-diṭṭhi, right understanding. Sammā-sati is mindful of a characteristic of nāma or rūpa and sammā-diṭṭhi realizes it as it is.

Question: But mindfulness has to be cultivated. Do we not have to do certain things and abstain from other things we are used to doing in daily life, in order to have more mindfulness?

Nina: Studying the teachings, pondering over them, learning about the right way of practice, knowing the benefit of right understanding, these are conditions for the arising of mindfulness. When we have understood that mindfulness arises because of conditions, that it is anattā, non-self, and when we have found out for ourselves that we cannot induce mindfulness, we will refrain from doing special things in order to have more mindfulness.

Question: I know what you mean. When I sit still at home and I try to be mindful, I cannot be mindful.

Nina: When there is right understanding, we realize that the aim of vipassanā is knowing ourselves, our daily life. Therefore, we do not act in a way which is unnatural to ourselves in order to have more sati. We do not force ourselves to sit still for a long time and wait for sati to arise. Is sitting still and doing nothing the natural thing for you to do?

Question: No, I usually read or write, or I stand up and walk around and do many different things.

Nina: So, if you want to know your daily life, should you force yourself to do something which is not natural to you?

Question: No, I see that I will know myself better if I do the things I have accumulations for and which I am used to doing. However, I wonder how we can know realities as they are since a moment of sati is extremely short.

Nina: A moment of sati is extremely short; it arises and falls away with the citta. Sati is impermanent and non-self. Sati arises and falls away, but it can arise again when there are conditions. Thus characteristics of nāma and rūpa can gradually be known. If people do not realize that sati arises because there are the right conditions for its arising and if they try to induce it, they will not know what sati is. In that case paññā cannot be developed.

Question: I notice that when I do good deeds mindfulness of nāma and rūpa arises more often. Are good deeds a condition for mindfulness of nāma and rūpa?

Nina: Good deeds are beneficial and they are a condition to have less akusala cittas, but we should not assume that there is necessarily more mindfulness of nāma and rūpa while we perform them. The arising of sati depends on conditions, and there is no self who can regulate its arising. We should not mistakenly believe that there cannot be awareness also of akusala cittas; after akusala citta has fallen away citta with sati may arise and then also the reality which is akusala can be object of mindfulness. The Buddha said that all kinds of realities can be known as they are. Mindfulness should not be limited to certain times, places or occasions.

Question: But is it not important for those who begin to develop mindfulness to be in a special place?

Nina: It is right understanding which is important. In vipassanā we come to know six worlds the world appearing:

• through the eyes,

• through the ears,

• through the nose,

• through the tongue,

• through the bodysense,

• through the mind-door.

We should learn to distinguish between these six worlds in order to know the truth. Only one “world” at a time is object of mindfulness. When we think of a person, an animal or a tree, there is a concept of a “whole” and we do not distinguish between these six worlds. When there is mindfulness of a reality such as visible object, which is the “world appearing through the eyes”, or hardness, which is the “world appearing through the bodysense”, we learn to understand the difference between thinking of concepts and mindfulness of ultimate realities as they appear one at a time. In order to develop right understanding of realities we have to know the difference. The “six worlds” are everywhere, no matter where we are; there should be mindfulness of nāma and rūpa which are those six worlds, in order to know the truth.

Question: In the beginning, when there is very little awareness, we are likely to become impatient. We think that there never will be any result. Would it not be helpful to be in a quiet place, such as a meditation centre?

Nina: When we begin to develop vipassanā we are anxious to have immediate results. We want to experience nāma and rūpa as they are and to eradicate defilements without delay. People may become tense in their effort to control awareness and thus they deviate from the right path. If they are on the wrong path they do not have right awareness and can therefore not develop right understanding.

In vipassanā one develops right understanding of one’s daily life. I heard someone say that in vipassanā he is tearing himself away from normal life. He calls his life without awareness his normal life and his life with awareness his “meditation life”. If we separate mindfulness from our daily life and consider it as something apart from it we are not on the eightfold Path.

For many of us it is difficult to see that the eightfold Path is the development of understanding of our daily life. The eightfold Path is the “middle way”. When our understanding is more developed we will realize what the middle way is. Walking the middle way means not forcing ourselves to things for which we have no accumulations. If we have no accumulations for a secluded life it is clear that such a life is not our real life, and thus we should not force ourselves to it on the assumption that paññā will develop more quickly. There is no self who could hasten the development of paññā .

Question: I still think that there are certain conditions which are not favourable to the development of mindfulness and which should be avoided. For example, reading books such as novels. If we read books which are not about Dhamma and which do not contribute to the improvement of society, the reading is not helpful for the arising of kusala cittas. Should we not stop reading books like that if we want to have more awareness?

Nina: When we read books which are not helpful for kusala it shows that we have accumulations for reading them. It would be wrong to assume that in order to be mindful we should stop reading them; this would not help us to know ourselves and it would make us believe that we have no more akusala cittas. Not our desire to control sati but right understanding of what the object of sati is can condition its arising. Whatever reality appears, no matter whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, kusala or akusala, can be the object of sati. When there is awareness of the nāma and rūpa which appear while we are reading we are on the middle way; we are on the way to know ourselves better. There can be awareness of seeing as a type of nāma; of knowing the meaning of what we read as another type of nāma. We may be absorbed in what we read and like or dislike may arise; these are different types of nāma again. Many types of nāma and rūpa may appear while we are reading. If there is mindfulness of what appears at the present moment, also while we are reading, there will be less attachment to the concept of self.

If we have accumulations for music or for painting we should not suppress them in order to have more mindfulness. While we play music or while we paint, nāma and rūpa appear through the six doors. Why can there not be mindfulness of them? In this way we will understand that our life consists of nāma and rūpa. We do not have to go to a secluded place in order to look for nāma and rūpa; they appear already.

Question: But if we read unwholesome literature or take alcoholic drinks will it not hinder awareness? I doubt whether it is the middle way to give in to these things. It seems that there are then more akusala cittas instead of less.

Nina: Akusala cittas are bound to arise but sati can be mindful of the akusala citta. At the moment of mindfulness there is kusala citta instead of akusala citta. It is sati which can prevent us from unwholesome courses of action (akusala kamma patha) through body, speech and mind. We can learn that even a moment of mindfulness, be it only a short moment, is very valuable, that it bears great fruit, because during that moment right understanding is being developed. We will have less ignorance of our defilements; we will learn that they are types of nāma which arise because of conditions.

Someone who has developed paññā to the degree that it can realize nāma and rūpa as they really are could become a sotāpanna (streamwinner) even shortly after akusala citta appeared. When insight has been highly developed it can know any reality which appears as it is, even if it is akusala. Paññā can understand whatever reality appears as impermanent, dukkha and anattā. But only one of these three characteristics can be known at a time. Wisdom is developed in daily life and enlightenment can occur in daily life.

When we have learned from our own experience that the middle way which the Buddha taught is the only way leading to the end of defilements, our confidence in his teachings will increase all the time. We should not be afraid to be mindful of realities in daily life. Then we will know ourselves more and more until finally there will be no doubt that what we used to take for self are only nāma and rūpa.

Question: Sati has to be developed in daily life. But when I think of the day which has passed and I realize how little mindfulness there has been, I cannot help regretting the time I wasted. I know regret is unwholesome, but what can I do about it?

Nina: People would like to have a great deal of sati but they do not realize for what purpose they want it. Our aim should not be just awareness, without developing understanding, but it should be: to see realities as they are. At the very moment of awareness of the reality which appears paññā can investigate its characteristic so that eventually nāma and rūpa can be known as impermanent and non-self.

If the reality of the present moment is regret there can be awareness of that characteristic and it can be understood as it is: only a type of nāma which is conditioned. You will realize that all phenomena which arise, sati included, arise because of conditions and that it is of no use to regret the lack of sati. Then there will be less regret.

Question: Must sati always experience an object? I have heard people say that when sati is more developed it does not experience an object; that there is just stillness and peace.

Nina: Sati must experience an object. Sati is a sobhana cetasika (beautiful mental factor) arising with a sobhana citta. Each citta must experience an object and the cetasikas arising with the citta experience that object as well. Sati in samatha experiences an object; it experiences the same object as the citta it accompanies, that is: a meditation subject which can condition calm. Sati in vipassanā experiences an object; it experiences the same object as the citta it accompanies, that is, a nāma or a rūpa appearing at the present moment.

Most people like to have tranquillity and peace of mind. For what purpose do they want it? Deep in their hearts they do not want to know themselves, they just want tranquillity; they cling to a concept of tranquillity. What is peace of mind or tranquillity? There should be a precise understanding of its characteristic. There is peace or calm with every kusala citta. When one is generous or one abstains from unwholesome deeds or speech there is calm. In samatha one can develop a higher degree of calm, but through samatha defilements are not eradicated. There is calm also with the kusala citta which develops vipassanā. But the aim of vipassanā is not the calm which is temporary freedom from defilements; the aim is the development of right understanding of realities. Through right understanding the wrong view of self and eventually all defilements can be eradicated. We should know the difference between the way of development and aim of samatha and of vipassanā. Vipassanā is a kind of wisdom, it is the wisdom which knows things as they are.

Question: The Buddha said that mindfulness should be cultivated at any time, even just before we fall asleep. We read in the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta (Middle Length Sayings I, no. 10(49) ) that the Buddha said to the monks:

And further, monks, a monk, in going forward and back, applies clear comprehension; in looking straight on and looking away, he applies clear comprehension; in bending and in stretching, he applies clear comprehension; in wearing robes and carrying the bowl, he applies clear comprehension; in eating, drinking, chewing and savouring, he applies clear comprehension; in attending to the calls of nature, he applies clear comprehension; in walking, in standing, in sitting, in falling asleep, in waking, in speaking and in keeping silence, he applies clear comprehension. Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body...

Can there be mindfulness while we are falling asleep? When we are in deep sleep and not dreaming there are bhavanga-cittas (life-continuum), cittas which do not experience an object impinging on one of the six doors(50). When we are dreaming there can be kusala cittas, but mostly there are akusala cittas.

Nina: If mindfulness has been developed there can be mindfulness just before we fall asleep. If there is no sati, there may be attachment, we are pleased to be comfortably lying down. Or perhaps we are worrying about many things which have happened during the day and thus aversion, dosa, arises. If there is mindfulness of the realities which appear just before we fall asleep, there are conditions for mindfulness as soon as we wake up. When we fall asleep we do not know whether we will wake up again. Death can come at any time. If we develop right understanding of realities in daily life, no matter what we are doing, there are conditions for mindfulness shortly before death. The cittas arising shortly before death condition the rebirth-consciousness of the next life. The sutta can remind us to development mindfulness of nāma and rūpa at any moment, even just before we fall asleep.

Question: The Buddha said that there should be mindfulness when speaking and mindfulness when keeping silence. I find it very difficult to be mindful when talking to other people.

Nina: We may think that we cannot be aware in such situations when we still assume that in order to be aware we have to do something special. When you are walking, are there no realities appearing?

Question: Yes, there is for example the characteristic of hardness which may appear, or the characteristic of motion or pressure.

Nina: When you are talking is there no hardness, no motion?

Question: Yes, there is.

Nina: Can there not be hearing, seeing and thinking too when you are talking? Do you have to stop talking in order to notice that there is sound?

Question: No, it can be noticed while one is talking.

Nina: Can there not, while you are speaking, be awareness of sound, and can it not be known as only sound, a kind of rūpa? While we are speaking there are many different realities appearing at different moments. We do not have to stop speaking in order to be aware. When we are talking in a way which is not wholesome, when we are laughing and enjoying ourselves, we may think that we cannot be aware. But all realities are nāma and rūpa. Why can there not be awareness of them?

When you are in your office, do you often use the telephone? Are you mindful when you pick up the receiver and speak?

Question: When the telephone rings and I lift up the receiver there are so many things happening one after the other. It is difficult to be mindful in the office.

Nina: Are there no realities appearing through the six doors? You cannot be mindful all the time, but if you have right understanding of what sati is and what the object of sati, it may sometimes arise, even when you are in your office. There may be mindfulness when you take up the receiver and start to speak; then you may become absorbed in what you want to say and there is forgetfulness instead of sati. But even if there are only a few moments of sati, they can condition the arising of sati again, later on. Sati can only be gradually accumulated.

Question: Some people think that when mindfulness has not yet been established it is necessary to be alone in order to cultivate it. Is that right?

Nina: When there is mindfulness of a characteristic of nāma or rūpa we are actually alone, because at that moment we are not attached to “someone” or “something”. There are no people, only nāma and rūpa. Being alone in this sense has nothing to do with the place where we are. We do not have to break off our activities in order to be aware, because any reality appearing through one of the six doors can be the object of mindfulness. Even when we are with many people we can be “alone” with nāma and rūpa. When there is mindfulness of nāma and rūpa we will see that what we take for a “person” are only nāma and rūpa. If we were to go to a secluded place in order to be aware we might not be “alone” at all, we might instead be attached.

We read in the Kindred Sayings (IV, Salāyatana-vagga, Kindred Sayings on Sense, Second Fifty, Ch II, par 63, By Migajāla):

At Sāvatthī was the occasion (for this discourse)…

Then the venerable Migajāla came to see the Exalted One…Seated at one side he thus addressed the Exalted One:

“ ’Dwelling alone! Dwelling alone!’ Lord, is the saying. Pray, lord, to what extent is one a dweller alone, and to what extent is one a dweller with a mate?”

“There are, Migajāla, objects cognizable by the eye, objects desirable, pleasant, delightful and dear, passion-fraught, inciting to lust. If a monk be enamoured of them, if he welcome them, if he persist in clinging to them, so enamoured, so persisting in clinging to them, there comes a lure upon him. Where there is a lure there is infatuation. Where there is infatuation there is bondage. Bound in the bondage of the lure, Migajāla, a monk is called ’dweller with a mate’...

A monk so dwelling, Migajāla, though he frequent jungle glades, hermitages and lodgings in the forest, remote from sound, remote from uproar, free from the breath of crowds, where one lodges far from human kind, places suitable for solitude -yet is he called ’dweller with a mate.’

Why so? Craving is the mate he has not left behind. Therefore is he called ’dweller with a mate.’

But, Migajāla, there are objects cognizable by the eye, desirable, pleasant, delightful and dear, passion-fraught, inciting to lust. If a monk be not enamoured of them…the lure fades away. Where there is no lure, there is no infatuation. Where there is no infatuation, there is no bondage. Freed from the bondage of the lure, Migajāla, a monk is called ’dweller alone’…

Thus dwelling, Migajāla, a monk, though he dwell amid a village crowded with monks and nuns, with laymen and women lay-followers, with rājahs and royal ministers, with sectarians and their followers -yet is he called ’dweller alone’. Why so? Craving is the mate he has left behind. Therefore is he called ’dweller alone’.”