An introduction to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

excerpt of a teaching by Lama Lhundrup in Dhagpo Kundrol Ling, November 2001,
revised with the help of Lama Mingyur and Lama Dorje Drölma

#4

Continuing our practice of mindfulness of feelings in the vajrayana...

In the vajrayana we consciously open up to feelings, we invite them as part of many practices. For example, when we celebrate a feast offering (tsok) together, this gives rise to intense feelings of all kinds and related to all senses. There is an opening up to sense-impressions, an entering into life. Also the practice of setting up a shrine and making it very beautiful is an expression of appreciating feelings, visual forms in that case. Music, incense, singing, playing instruments... – actually, in the tantra we are encouraging feelings to become stronger in order to see better there true nature. We see them as messengers of wisdom.

True mindfulness of feelings is to see their true nature. On the first level of mindfulness of feelings we simply realise the presence of a feeling: Anger is there. Then we see its impermanence: Anger is already gone! Then we see its interdependent origination, the fact that it is not just arising out of the blue, but in chains of cause and effect: Anger arose when clinging to an experience judged as disagreeable etc. And due to seeing the interdependence of feelings we also see that they are illusory, devoid of a lasting essence: if they are gone, they are gone, they don’t leave any traces, they do not occupy any space anymore. Anger is gone and seems like a bad dream which has passed. I cannot even find it any more. And then we understand from within that this can be called emptiness, the emptiness of feelings: In all of this anger there is no self. Looking into it as it arises, there is nothing to see. When looking into it, it is seen no more, as if a bubble was pierced.

On the vajrayana path we see all of these feelings as the experiences of the meditation Buddhaform (yidam) or of the lama. We meditate on these feelings not as being our own feelings, but the feelings of the yidam in the space of primordial awareness. There is no more need to worry: feelings arise as the play of awareness in endless space. We come in touch with the true nature of feelings: constantly changing, just like the wind in constant movement; constant activity without any substance – and, if not clung to, this movement is seen as the expression of joy, of great bliss, the perfection of whatever is appearing. It is the expression of the great compassion of non-clinging enlightened mind without self, without any reference point, which is constantly active for sentient beings. It is the spontaneously creative aspect of mind's nature. When there are no dualistic reactions to these movements, these feelings, they are understood to be perfect by nature. There is nothing to be changed in these feelings, since they are the spontaneous, unceasing creativity of mind itself. This is truly "being alive", fully open, without any clinging.

III. Establishing mindfulness of mind

Again, the instruction of the Buddha for mindfulness of mind is simple: "Look at mind as mind". Not as my mind! The Buddha was very simple in his teaching, very straightforward, but when putting his advice into practice one quickly sees how profound his teaching is. The instructions to this third mindfulness could be condensed into the question: How is the mind right now?

The Buddha asks: Is there desire, is there hatred, is there ignorance? Is this mind of the present moment small (narrow) or wide? Is it concentrated or distracted? Is it a noble or a samsaric mind? Is it surpassable (limited) or unsurpassable? Is it liberated or not liberated? Tensed or relaxed?

The Buddha taught the first level of mindfulness of mind as being a simple, non-judging mindfulness of the present mental state. Look into the mind as if looking into a mirror, and you will see: "Ah, quite tense" or "Oh, quite open" or whatever: desire, hatred and so on – simply note what is present.

Then mindfulness goes a step further to examine the causes for the appearance and dissolution of the various states of mind. To learn in this way about mental states and their conditioned nature will then help to quicken our letting go of a given situation. We will know how we can encourage wholesome states of mind to arise and what will be favourable to the quick disappearance of unwholesome states. Due to this mindfulness of mind we also begin to know the qualities and capacities of mind. Emotional wounds begin to heal and knots in our mind are loosening.

Basically, mindfulness of mind always remains a simple mindful presence without investigation. The investigation we talk of is not a conceptual thinking about mind. It means to be present in such a way that you notice the arising of an emotion, you notice the thoughts just before its arising which trigger the emotional reaction, you notice your body sensations, images etc. before the emotion, during, and afterwards. Because we are aware of the mind we notice how a mental state disappears, what thought precede its disappearance. We see for example for desire that it disappears at the time when we contemplate impermanence or generosity, or that it simply disappeared when we had another thought which was stronger, more interesting. We notice many things about how the mind works, and this is what stimulates wisdom and understanding. There is a trace of understanding which rests after having witnessed the mind's working. We do not search for this understanding, it is enough to be mindful, the rest is automatic.

Mindfulness of mind is already quite subtle, we have to be increasingly relaxed to notice these workings of our mind. This is not a gross level mindfulness anymore. Going from mindfulness of body to feelings and then to mind, we need more experience in not interfering with what we observe. Normal practitioners cannot start with their mindfulness training directly on the level of mind; they have to start on the level of the body and feelings. In the beginning it might already be difficult enough to just watch the breath without manipulating its rhythm and depth.