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Five Secrets of Success

Everyone wants to be successful in life, but not many are aware of what success really is. Success is an attitude, not just a phenomenon. Tough situations arise in every business, every organization, and you need skills to handle them. These skills come from our inner space, which I call the Spiritual Space. There are five ingredients for success: 1. Establishing a congenial atmosphere: Peace and prosperity are interlinked. Prosperity cannot flourish in a disturbed atmosphere. While working with others, you need to function as a team. Have a sense of respect for your team members, and do not indulge in blame games. As a team leader, you need to create an atmosphere of trust, cooperation, a sense of belonging, and celebration. Nothing can last if the focus is only on productivity and net result. 2. Skill in action: The whole essence of the Bhagavad Gita is to act without being attached to the fruit of the action. If you can manage your mind in a war-like scenario, then you can manage any situation. This skill in action is called yoga. It is this wisdom of yoga that transforms one's attitude from arrogance to self-confidence; from meekness to humility; from the burden of dependence to the realization of interdependence; from a limited ownership to oneness with the whole. When performing action, if the attention is only on the end result, then you can't perform. Just give yourself fully to the task with 100 percent sincerity and commitment. 3. Being courageous like a lion: There is a saying in Sanskrit that says, "Great wealth comes to one who has the courage of a lion and who puts in all his efforts." Passion and dispassion are complementary like the in-breath and out-breath. You breathe in but you cannot hold the breath too long; you have to breathe out. Similarly, you need to have passion to make things work but also the dispassion to let go. When you don't crave for abundance, it comes to you. 4. An atom of luck: If all that is needed for prosperity is one's own effort, then why are so many people who put effort not prosperous? This unknown factor or luck is enhanced by spirituality. The whole material world is run by a world of vibrations which is subtler than all that we see. Spirituality enhances intelligence and intuition. Intuition comes to you when you balance your passion with dispassion; profit with service; aggressiveness to get things with compassion to give back to the society. Intuition is the right thought at the right time, and is an important component for success in business. 5. Meditation: The greater responsibilities and ambitions you have, greater is the need for you to meditate. In ancient times, meditation was used as a way to find the Self, for enlightenment and to overcome misery and problems. Meditation is all the more essential in today's hectic lifestyle full of stress and tension. Stress is too much to do, too little time, and no energy. It can be difficult to reduce your workload, or increase the time that you have, but you can increase your energy level. Meditation not only relieves you of stress and strain, it also enhances your abilities, strengthens your nervous system and mind and releases toxins from the body. We are made up of both matter and spirit. The body has some material needs and our spirit is nourished by spirituality. Meditation also helps us get in touch with our inner space - the source of joy, peace, and love. The sign of success is overwhelming joy, confidence, compassion, generosity, and a smile that none can snatch away. Whatever happens in life, if you can keep these, then you have really found success.

Mind and Meditation


Have you observed what is happening in your mind every moment? It vacillates between the past and the future. It is either in the past occupied with what has happened or in the future thinking about what you have to do. Knowledge is being aware of this phenomenon of the mind -- of what is happening right now in your mind as you are reading this article. Information can be acquired by reading books or browsing the Internet. You can open a book on any subject such as how to lose weight, how to prepare for an interview, success 101 and so on. There are innumerable volumes available on a countless number of topics, but the awareness of your own mind cannot be learnt from a book. There is another tendency of the mind -- it clings onto the negative. If 10 positive events are followed by one negative event, the mind will cling to the negative. It will simply forget the 10 positive events. With meditation, however, you can become aware of these two tendencies of the mind and bring it to the present. Happiness, joy, enthusiasm, efficiency and effectiveness are all in the present. The human mind is very complex. It has its delicate and tough aspects. If you have had a misunderstanding with a friend or colleague at work, you can become stiff inside and this can distort your emotions leading to negativity -- and you carry this negativity wherever you go. However, when you culture your mind with meditation, its tendency of holding on to negative emotions simply disappears. You gain the ability to start living in the present moment and are able to let go of the past. Balancing the States of Mind In your day-to-day life, you come across all kinds of situations that can be challenging and demanding a degree of alertness to be able to make good choices. These situations give rise to different states of mind and neither life nor the states of mind occur with our permission. In fact, they often occur in direct defiance to our wishes. Meditation can bring about a balance between the different states of the mind. You can learn to switch from the tough aspect to the delicate aspect within you. You can stand up when needed and let go when needed. This ability is present within everyone, and meditation enables you to switch

between these states effortlessly. The whole exercise is to develop an ability -- to switch back and forth between the tough and delicate aspects of the mind. One of the biggest deterrents for people not being able to meditate is that they don't have enough time. Yet when they start to meditate, they find they have more time, because they are able to focus and get more done. Not only that, the regular practice of meditation also leads to greater intuitiveness. It sharpens the mind through focus and expands it through relaxation. With the integration of meditation into one's daily life, a fifth state of consciousness, called cosmic consciousness, dawns. Cosmic consciousness means perceiving the whole cosmos as part of oneself. When we perceive the world as a part of us, love flows strongly between the world and us. This love empowers us to bear the opposing forces and the disturbances in our lives. Anger and disappointments become fleeting emotions that occur momentarily and then vanish. Rest and activity are opposite values, but they complement each other. The deeper you are able to rest, the more dynamic you will be in activity. Planning can hold you back from diving deep into yourself. Meditation is accepting this moment and living every moment totally with depth. Restlessness, agitation, desire and ambition stir up the mind and keep it engaged planning for the future or being regretful about the past. Real freedom is freedom from the past and future. The confluence of knowledge, understanding and practice make life complete. When you grow into higher states of consciousness, you find that you are no longer thrown off balance by different situations and disturbances. A regular practice can transform the quality of your life by culturing the nervous system to maintain peace, energy and expanded awareness throughout the day. You become beautiful yet strong, capable of accommodating different challenges in life without any conditions.

1. Beginning Meditation

People practice meditation for many reasons. It can be practiced as a stress reducer, a healer, a transformative tool, a scientific experiment, an art, a skill, a life style, a path to enlightenment, and many other purposes. In its deeper aspects meditation leads the mind internally into dimensions that can change your life and open up many new possibilities never before imagined. It is these deeper aspects of meditation - toward enlightenment - that is discussed here. If you are practicing meditation for other reasons, for example; relaxation, a sharper, more creative mind, health reasons, etc., then there are infinite websites to visit which have good instructions on mindfulness meditation. For our purposes here, however, the principal focus of these instructions will be discussing the primary reason to meditate from a Theravada Buddhist point of view (and in agreement with what the Buddha taught), which is enlightenment. The Buddhas primary teachings are The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path describes the training of the mind in order to achieve enlightenment. According to Buddhism, enlightenment is not possible without following this Eightfold Path. The eighth step of the Eightfold Path Right Concentration refers to meditation. The Buddha said,

"And what, monks, is right concentration? (i) There is the case where a monk quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. (ii) With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation internal assurance. (iii) With the fading of rapture, he remains

equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' (iv) With the abandoning of pleasure & pain as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This, monks, is called right concentration."
Since enlightenment is not possible without following the Eightfold Path, enlightenment clearly requires the experience of jhana. We must necessarily begin, however, with a combination of concentration meditation and mindfulness, both of which are active practices where we kind of 'fake it till we make it.' in time, these turn into authentic samadhi and wisdom. While concentration and mindfullness involve the effort of practice, samadhi and wisdom reflect the effortless results of that practice. All four go hand in hand until one is fully enlightened, at which time concentration and mindfullness fall away to be replaced permanently by samadhi and wisdom. Concentration practice means concentrating the mind in formal sitting meditation. You have to be still. Mindfullness practice means taking the results of that concentration and staying in one mind. That means only one thought. If you are doing something, just do that. Only think about that. Don't go on automatic pilot with your activity while thinking of a million other things. Don't multi-task the mind. If you are walking , just walk. Be mindful of the walking, the muscles moving. Don't be thinking about you bank account. However, when it is time to think about your bank account, just concentrate on that, see all the different possibilities, this is time to think out of the box. But not when you are simply walking. Life does not have to be filled with endless "figuring things out." because you never do. There is a time and a place for figuring things out, and if we have figured things out to the best of our abilities with access to good information, then there is no reason to worry over things that are then out of our control. Mindfullness practice also means taking the results of that concentration, which is an increased capacity to see our lives and the things and people in our lives at more refined levels of insight, into our daily activities. We practice not only one mind, but also practice seeing things and people in light of the three characteristics of material existence, which are: impermanence, intractable discontent, and the illusion of an ego. Concentration practice depends upon a calm, contented mind. So a preliminary to meditation would be to develop an uncomplicated lifestyle with honesty, simplicity and kindness as key features. As the mind becomes peaceful from the affects of an honest and kind life, meditation is much easier to navigate. There will be fewer of those impulsive, demanding thoughts that pull you

out of meditation. Your progress in meditation is very dependent upon your view of the material world and your connection to it. As the mind calms down in meditation, it moves from coarse levels to very refined levels; from the material to the spiritual, as it travels beyond what you can observe. The observer disappears. That means that the ego (I am) disappears as well. Although nothing seems to happen in these unobservable moments, deep within the mind, and actually beyond the mind at the level of pure awareness, inexplicable changes take place that are then gradually integrated into daily life. In other words; you change and these changes are for the better with less troublesome karma being made. Your window to the world and beyond opens wider. Meditation is not so much about how we begin or finish or about setting or attaining goals, but more of a steady process, a consistent effort every day, day in and day out, moment to moment where unexpected insights - some seemingly insignificant, some obviously powerful compound each other and combine to shift consciousness in surprising and meaningful ways. So the effort has to be sustained and focused, neither too determined nor too lax, and perhaps more importantly, the mind has to be gentle, kind, easy, and compassionate. The Five Precepts should be adhered to seriously, with all hatred and aggression calmed down. If serious meditation is performed incorrectly with a striving, aggressive mind, illness can result. On the other hand, deep stages of meditation practiced correctly from a kind heart will both prevent and heal illness. Once that deep stage of concentration is touched, called samadhi or second jhana, the mind has a footing. It has touched nibbana and now has a comparison to the material world. The mind cannot directly cognize this experience or event, but deep inside it changes one dramatically. This is the key to enlightenment.

Stages of Concentration/Tranquility Meditation (Based on the meditation instructions of Ajahn Brahm) Stages of meditation: With beginning stages of meditation, it is very important as one meditates that one does not purposely go from one stage to the next, or go onto the next stage. One must simply remain in the middle of the present stage with a deepening awareness. Only from this point of not doing and simply observing can the mind successfully move from stage to stage, and will do so all by itself without your interference. The mind itself will, without the help or meddling of the doer, intuitively and systematically move from stage to stage when the time is right. Use your will and effort only to remain gently

in the present stage. Do not consciously think that you have mastered one stage and now it is time to move to the next. The Doer must be restricted into doing only what is necessary to remain completely and fully aware of the present stage being in the moment of it. 1. We begin by sitting still in a quiet environment and closing our eyes - stilling the body, stilling the 5 senses.

There is the case where a monk having gone to the wilderness to the shade of a tree or to or an empty building sits down folding his legs crosswise holding his body erect and *setting mindfulness to the fore (*Meaning either making mindfulness a priority, or setting mindfulness (focus) in the mouth/nostril area). - Buddha
Get into the best posture that you can handle, one that you will be able to maintain for the entire length of your meditation period without moving. The best position for concentration is the full lotus posture where you place your right foot on top of your left thigh, and your left foot on top of your right thigh (typical yoga posture). However, this is only for very flexible people! Keep in mind that all meditation positions have to be worked at for some time to become comfortable, and in the meantime there will be some pain. Another good position is the half lotus, where the right foot is placed on the left thigh. Most statues and pictures of the Buddha depict this position. Burmese style is also very good where the feet are not placed on top of the thighs but laid out in front of them. There are pictures of these sitting positions under the Fundamentals of Buddhism tab on our website. Sitting on a chair or meditation bench is good as well, just sit with your back straight but relaxed, and dont lean back. Remain upright and alert. The important thing with all of these postures is to be able to completely forget about the body and apply the mental factors of convergence and breath awareness. This means being able to sit comfortably, upright and stable for long periods of time where you are involved only in your concentration and breathing. At all times it is important to sit utterly still for as long as you can. This may be for only five or ten minutes initially, but the deeper the mind converges in concentration and tranquility the less the body will fidget until you will be able to sit for very long periods two or three hours - with no pain or discomfort whatsoever. 2. First, we let go of both past thoughts and future thoughts and just sit in this present moment. Just sit quietly and watch your thoughts. Dont try to think, and dont try not to think, just observe the normal activities of the mind. (Observe thoughts dont get caught up in them!)

We constantly have all kinds of thoughts - thoughts about what we did yesterday, what we will do tomorrow or next year, how much longer the meditation session will last, what we will do after meditation, should I scratch that itch, why am I swallowing so much! All these thoughts can make meditation a real chore. When thoughts steal your attention where you become involved in them rather than watching them come and go; you lose your awareness. When this happens, be kind to the thought that stole your attention and be aware of whether the thought involves something that will happen in the future or something that has happened on the past. Then ask yourself where the conflict is - what are you worrying about, or planning, or trying to solve.Or ask where the pleasure is are you simply entertaining yourself with an internal movie. Then let the thought be. Let it alone, don't feed it and it will go away. Let go, let go, let go! Thought is a either a conflict solver or a pleasure seeker, so whenever you are thinking, you are either in conflict or day dreaming. Thinking how to balance your checkbook, what you have to do tomorrow or even thinking about how you can get people to like or respect you - this is all conflict. Fear of running out of money, becoming unpopular or disrespected, trying to get something you crave but can't have, or putting up with something you dislike and can't get rid of - these are objects of thought where thinking tries to resolve the situation by figuring out every little detail. Thinking about that vacation or your boyfriend, that is pleasurable day dreaming! While we are practicing meditation, however, we no longer participate any further in a thought once we realize that we are thinking. We stop trying to figure things out or indulging in the content of our thoughts regardless of how important they seem or how strong the feeling is that you must solve whatever conflict the thought is trying to resolve or what plans thought is trying to complete. When you continue to think - after you are mindful that you should be meditating - that is not good meditation. On the other hand, noticing thoughts, gently letting them be and returning to your mindfulness of thought awareness - this is good meditation, even if you have to do it a million times! You are learning about the mind. Insight into how the mind works is not a result of the brain trying to figure anything out. Insight comes as a flash after which increased understanding prevails. No need to keep reading more books or practicing anything other than keeping your mindfulness and awareness as an anchor, watching thoughts come and go. You are now an observer, not a doer. Eventually, if one wants to go deep into jhana and vipassana practice, the controller, the doer, must go. 3. As you practice, thoughts settle down and become less frequent. When they do, you will notice gaps between your thoughts. As these gaps form between the thoughts, mind will dwell in those silent gaps. This is present moment awareness.

These are brief moments where there is an anticipation of what comes next but with nothing really happening as if the mind suddenly has become empty of thoughts and you find yourself very still and ready to ambush the next thought that comes your way. You know that you are neither in the past nor in the future because of an exclusion of those things. Then, when something does come up, you remember to let it be, to let it go. So meditation is a process here of continual letting go. What we are doing is giving the mind a vacation from the constant barrage of thinking. Just as a vacation for the body rests and rejuvenates it so that it can again work hard, a vacation from the constant fog of thinking by the mind enables it to see clearly with increased insight and creativity. All the wisdom of the universes and beyond is inside the mind. All you have to do is calm the mind and then direct it toward avenues other than those which you have been traveling all your life (karmic ruts) until that innate wisdom has a chance to surface. 4. As the mind dwells longer and longer in these gaps, silent awareness of the present moment increases. The internal dialogue stops, which means that you are no longer giving yourself an internal commentary about whats happening. Now you are continually and involuntarily letting go of whatever comes up. At this point, if refined, you can go very deeply into meditation. if you can simply observe mind (actually mind observing mind) as it goes from one thing to another, one image to another and neither holding onto the images nor actively pushing them away, just "being," watching mind go from thing to thing with no activity on your part, mind will see itself as impermanent, in that it cannot remain still. It will see itself as not possessing a "doer" or self or a little man or woman behind the mind. And it will see itself as a source of discontent because it can never settle. This is seeing reality. Then, as the mind settles and settles, and as you let go of everything and anything that comes up, neither wanting it to stay nor wanting it to go, mind will calm eventually into samadhi or deep meditation.

5. In the silence of present moment awareness and with the senses shut down, mind will notice the only thing going on that the body is breathing. Now close your eyes and count three breaths in breath, out breath;(1), in breath, out breath;(2), in breath, out breath (3). Do it now with your eyes closed.

Where did you notice yourself breathing? Chances are you felt the actual feeling of the breath touching the body either inside your nostrils or around the mouth. Or, perhaps you just had a general knowledge of your breathing with no particular point of reference. This is how the mind watches the breath naturally, without following it in and out but just noticing the in breaths and the out breaths either at a point of reference or just generally. You dont fight the breathing, it is natural and you become a friend to the breathing. Always allow the "mind" to lead, not the doer. (NOTE: IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE EITHER FINDING THE BREATH OR REMAINING FOCUSED ON IT, SEE ** FINDING THE BREATH. WHICH APPEARS LATER IN THIS ARTICLE.)

Breathing in long, he understands I breathe in long, or breathing out long, he understands I breathe out long Breathing in short, he understands I breathe in short, or breathing out short, he understands I breathe out short
6. With practice the mind will become familiar with aspects of each in breath and out breath as you are breathing - whether it is long or short, shallow or deep, fast or slow, or calm or stressful. You can become aware of the length of the breath by how long it takes to inhale and exhale. One way is to see if the inhales and exhales are equal at your point of reference, or whether one is longer than the other. Another way is to see how calm and relaxed the breath can become. If you notice your breathing is tight and constricted, try to loosen or relax it. As the mind observes the breath, it will discover many subtleties.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in experiencing the whole (breath) body, : I shall breathe out experiencing the whole (breath) body.
The mind will then begin to notice the beginning, middle and end of each in breath, and the beginning, middle and end of each out breath as it moves past your reference point. Dont follow the breath in and out but rather remain on the point of reference where you either feel the body breathing or just "know" that the body is breathing, and whether the breath is an in breath or an out breath. As mind focuses on the breathing, it will naturally become fully aware of each part of each in breath and out breath. Note: *Don't 'try' to do this - it has to happen naturally.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in tranquilizing the bodily formation(breath), I shall breathe out tranquilizing the bodily formation (breath).

7. As the mind focuses on the breath, the breath will become more and more refined. As you experience this, occasionally think Easy, calm, relaxed, and your breath will calm by itself.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in experiencing joy, I shall breathe out experiencing joy (a result of the hindrances(sense desire, anger, dullness, restlessness and doubt) being temporarily absent).
As the breath becomes more subtle, the mind will then develop an intense delight in the breath. Its this delight that will lead to other steps.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in experiencing happiness, I shall breathe out experiencing happiness.
Here the initial joy that you feel as a result of the five hindrances being temporarily abated will be experienced as happiness as well, happiness being a subtle companion to joy. Joy is a thirsty man finding water and drinking. Happiness is after the man has satisfied his thirst.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in experiencing the mental formations, I shall breathe out experiencing the mental formations (thoughts and emotions).
If the meditation is done properly with the correct emphasis on relaxed,' and with consistent effort to let go of the will and the "doer," the mind will increasingly calm down until the sensation of breathing becomes very refined and thoughts and emotions appear as intruders to the minds peace.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in tranquilizing the mental formations, I shall breathe out tranquilizing the mental formations (thoughts and emotions).
As the mind observes these thoughts and emotions, they become less and less relevant as they calm down.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in experiencing mind, I shall breathe out experiencing mind.
Here the breath becomes very delightful, subtle, and almost unnoticeable. All that the mind will feel is an awareness of being totally aware, very happy, and still. Many things might happen in meditation, many times seemingly nothing happens. Whatever happens or not, just be the observer and let things be. Visions, colored lights, words of authority, etc. come and go. Just let them be, not becoming infatuated with them nor pushing them away and remain with your meditation object. At any time after the breath becomes very delightful and appealing, the colors may begin to turn to white, maybe first a dirty white. This means you go back to being aware of your breath while meditating and work on your morality and virtue when out in the world.

Then, as your concentration deepens, the color may become a cleaner white until it becomes a very clear, white light, or simply just an incredible general brightness thatremains for many minutes. This is called the nimitta.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in gladdening mind, I shall breathe out gladdening mind.
As the mind continues to work with this nimitta, it becomes brighter and sets itself right before your closed eyes, and the mind will be immensely attracted to it. This is the minds representation of the delight of concentrating on the breath. If the nimitta is stable and reoccurs regularly and is near your closed eyes, a few inches away, not far, the mind will use this as its focal point of convergence but still will go back and forth between the nimitta and the breath.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in stilling mind, I shall breathe out stilling mind.
Now the mind will slowly let go of the breath, but not completely, and embrace the nimitta as its object focusing intently on it until the mind is very still. 8. Then at some point when this delight becomes strong, the body will seemingly stop breathing. It really doesnt stop breathing but it seems that way because the mind is engrossed in the mental delight of the nimitta now rather than the physical movements of the breath. The mind has released the breath and embraced the nimitta as its object as pointed out below.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in liberating mind, I shall breathe out liberating mind.
Now the mind will slowly let go of the breath completely and embrace the nimitta as its object focusing intently on it until the mind is very still. Dont try to do anything with the nimitta; the mind will take care of things. Let it be and stop being the doer. Just be an observer at this point and the mind will know what to do, which eventually leads to the jhanas, which are a liberation of the mind. There is nothing you can do to directly initiate the jhanas. As a matter of fact, trying to bring them on will ruin them because they are very subtle states and any doing by the meditator will evaporate them. The mind alone decides when it is ready for them. All you can do is the above practices wholeheartedly and see what happens, not expecting or anticipating anything. Then, when the mind begins to drop into jhanas, let it drive the car. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery. The mind itself will find its way through all of the jhanas if you can learn to let it lead without your "self" doing anything. Just be aware and take no action whatsoever while in jhana. When the mind is ready to go into these deeper states, it will do so by itself after coming out of jhana and doing a review. But you must let go of all control within the jhana. Dont do anything except be mindful and aware. Allow the mind its space to follow its instincts. Trying to do

anything except be aware at this level will stop all progress. The thinking, intellectual mind is much too gross to live in the same world as jhanas. The first indications that the mind is going into beginning jhanic stages are the appearance of the nimitta followed at some point by intense physical feelings of rapture. Initial feelings of rapture are usually physical, and can include, but not limited to, goose bumps, hair standing on end, extraordinary feelings of freedom or emotional release, and many more. In the beginning, the problem is that when one is not accustomed to this rapture, there is a tendency to think, Wow! What was that?" Then of course, that grossness of mind will immediately take the mind out of jhana and you will spend the next three months (or years) thinking about the rapture and trying to duplicate the experience instead of letting go and doing the indirect practice that originally brought it on. So it takes some experience before you can relax into the joy that rapture provides. Once you can relax into that joy, still always keeping the focal point at the bright light (nimitta) in front of the eyes, mind will want to go into deeper stages than merely rapture which it begins to see as too coarse, in review, for the sensitive states that will follow. This is the point where the mind will decide to go into second jhana, then third, etc. The mind has to make this determination when its ready to move on, not "you." Your only job is to completely "be with" any experience that arises and neither hold onto it, think about it, nor push it away. Just be. 9. So, to recap, mind at some point will then substitute that feeling of delight with a light or lights appearing, sometimes colored but usually a white light. This is the nimitta, which many times forms about four inches in front of your closed eyes. It can range from a muddy white to a brilliant white like a diamond or the sun. The purity and brilliance of the nimitta can be increased by refining your efforts in following the eightfold path. You will know that it is a real nimitta rather than just normal visions if it is preceded first by an enormous pleasure and delight in watching the breath followed by a disappearance of the breath with only the delight remaining, and it will last a long time, maybe 20 minutes to an hour or longer. . 10. Then, as the mind goes into this nimitta, the jhanas will almost certainly develop.
For detailed instructions on jhanas, please click HERE.

**FINDING THE BREATH. SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU CAN SUCCESSFULLY WORK TO STEP 5 ABOVE "(IN THE SILENCE OF PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS AND WITH THE SENSES SHUT DOWN, MIND WILL NOTICE

THE ONLY THING GOING ON THAT THE BODY IS BREATHING)." If you skip this section, go to"3. MINDFULLNESS" below. The main problem in beginning meditation, however, can be the endless stream of thoughts that seem impossible to calm down. Trying to meditate in this state of mind is like trying to tame a wild horse. Without tying it down in some fashion, training the horse would not be possible. So to start with, if in step 2 above we just cannot simply watch our thoughts without getting completely involved with them, we might have to tie the mind down. We do this by substituting our normal, numerous thoughts with one stronger thought. There are four strategies to do this. The first is the use of Mala Beads; a simple, circular string of 108 beads. These are available on the internet for a few dollars. You can easily make your own as well. In tangent with the Mala beads, we will use a second technique counting. Because Western minds are very hyperactive, we will also use a mantra. This is the basis of TM meditation - a word or phrase that is repeated silently in the mind. Buddhists may want to use the mantra Bu-dho, but any word or phrase will work. Peace - Letting go is also a good mantra (Peace, and Letting go of our negative mind states and worries). And finally, to make sure that we have the mind tied down tight, we will incorporate a fourth strategy, which is mindfulness of breathing. We will be doing all four at once. 1. We have to take one step at a time, however, so we will begin with a simple exercise with the Mala Beads. Sit in a comfortable position. If you can sit in a meditation posture, this is best, but a chair is okay too. Hold the mala beads in your right hand. Hang the mala on the middle finger, using the thumb to rotate the beads. The index finger never touches the mala. Begin your meditation at a small bead next to the large one. This large bead is never passed over, so if you wish to do more than one round, turn the mala over and begin again moving in the opposite direction. Now simply move each bead as you count each 108 beads, from 1 to 108. Go at a pace of about one second per count. Repeat this until you are confident that you can count all the beads every time without losing track of the count. You should end up with a count of 108. 2. Now repeat step 1, but count in a more complicated sequence as follows:

1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-101-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-1-2-3-4-5-1

-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-7. You should end up on the number 7. Repeat this until you can consistently count all the beads every time without losing track of the count (ending up on "7.") 3. Now we will incorporate our mantra. As you move from bead to bead, silently repeat on your mind; "peace, letting go." So it's: "Peace, letting go," (move to next bead). Then "Peace, letting go," and move to the next bead. Do this until you can navigate the entire string of beads without once forgetting the mantra, "Peace, letting go" every time you move a bead. 4. Now we will incorporate mindfulness of breathing into the other three steps. Now close your eyes and count three breaths in breath, out breath;(1), in breath, out breath;(2), in breath, out breath (3). Do it now with your eyes closed. Where did you notice yourself breathing? Chances are you felt the actual feeling of the breath touching the body either inside you nostrils or around the mouth. Or, perhaps you just had a general knowledge of your breathing with no particular point of reference. This is how the mind watches the breath naturally, without following it in and out but just noticing the in breaths and the out breaths either at a point of reference or just generally. You dont fight the breathing, it is natural and you become a friend to the breathing. Always allow the "mind" to lead, not the doer. Now we will incorporate our breathing with our other steps. First, take a few deep breaths to establish your breathing - breathe in, and when you breathe out, let your body relax. Now let the body breathe naturally, and after each out breath, move one bead. Work on this until you can mindfully move 108 beads consistently without missing one in breath or one out breath. The next step is to incorporate our mantra with breathing and counting. To incorporate counting, silently repeat to yourself, Peeeeeeeeeece as the body breathes in naturally. Hold the syllable for the entire in Breath. Then, as the body breathes out naturally, repeat Letting gooooooooo and hold the syllable for the entire out breath. Then, at the very end of the out breath, count one. So it would be: In breath; Peeeeeeece, out breath; Letting goooooooo ONE. In breath; Peeeeeeeece, out breath; Letting goooooooooo TWO, and so on. Hold your attention on the breath and make sure that you are aware of each part of the breath (in breath and out breath). Repeat this for 108 breaths with the string of mala beads - first with simple counting 1 to 108. After you mastered this, then work with your mantra and the more complicated counting: 1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-101-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-1-2-3-4-5-1 -2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-7. You should end up on the number 7.

Breathing normally, this exercise should take nine or ten minutes. Repeat this again and again until you are confident that you can count all the beads every time without losing track of either the count, the mantra, or the in and out breaths. Take your time to get this right. Dont hurry. Go slowly and practice each step carefully. Then, after a week, a month, a year, or whenever you feel confident, you can go back to Stages of Concentration/Tranquility Meditation above. Now, on to mindfulness! Keep in mind that the level of concentration developed above directly influences the level of mindfulness that will be developed below. They both go hand in hand. (End of FINDING THE BREATH section)

3. Mindfulness
He trains thus: I shall breathe in contemplating impermanence, I shall breathe out contemplating impermanence.
Once the mind is trained in the above concentration meditation to the point where the mind can remain fairly stable and focused, mindfulness meditation should be practiced as often as possible. The Buddha said if one could remain completely mindful for seven days continuously, one would become enlightened. To begin practicing mindfulness, we take the calm and concentration that we have developed during sitting meditation and apply it to our daily activities. This means focusing on one thing at a time, whether it is cutting up carrots or answering emails. We remain focused on that one activity without allowing the mind to stray into other thoughts and imaginings. This is similar to keeping the mind focused on our breathing during sitting meditation. We, in a way, remain in meditation but shift the object of our meditation depending upon the circumstances. For example if we are driving, we remain completely focused on all the aspects of driving rather than daydreaming and losing track of where we are or where we have been. This is complete attention. If we attempt to talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time the mind will shift its attention quickly back and forth between the cell phone and the road since mind can only do one thing at a time, but do it very fast. If mind gets too involved with the cell phone, however, for example an emergency of some kind, it will completely lose track of the road. Once we are able to keep the mind focused on one thing at a time, there will be times that there is nothing really to focus on. There will be gaps in the activities. When this occurs, we then direct our focused attention to whatever comes into our field of awareness and apply impermanence to it. We contemplate the nature of all material existence to be born, mature and decay.

He trains thus: breathing in, I shall breathe in contemplating fading away, I shall breathe out contemplating fading away.
Then we will contemplate the fading away of the body and mind (the five khandas). The practice consists in part of visualizin g the bodys organs, or visualizing the body in a state of decay after death. The practice also consists of seeing the various functions of mind that are always arising and passing: the origination and destruction of thoughts, emotions, perceptions and consciousness. Then we apply the three characteristics (Anicca impermanence, anatta no self, Dukkha discontent) to these five khandas.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in contemplating cessation, I shall breathe out contemplating cessation.
Here we contemplate the ending of our attachment to the body and mind by seeing them in light of the three characteristics above.

He trains thus: I shall breathe in contemplating relinquishment, I shall breathe out contemplating relinquishment.
And finally we contemplate totally throwing out the idea of me and mine, the I thought that always permeates the five khandas. Mindfulness is a practice where you direct the mind to the present happenings rather than allowing the mind to drift in thought. But mindfulness (sati) according to the Buddha, must be accompanied by (sampajhana), which is an intuitive understanding that whatever comes into your mindfulness or attention is not permanent, not stable, and always arises and passes. The Buddha always used these terms together; sati and sampajhana.

Sati is directing your attention, and sampajhana is understanding the observation in light of its impermanence, no self, and discontent. Sampajhana occurs when the mind is not only mindful of each moment, but aware that it is mindful of each moment- aware of awareness itself. True sampajhana is not 'remembering' to see the impermanence per se, that would be sati, or directing the mind toward somet hing which in this case is impermanence. True sampajhana is understanding at an intuitive level beyond intellectualism or merely thinking that this too belongs to existence which all arises and passes. With sampajhana, you actually feel it. So what does "completely" mindful mean? Basically it means keeping one's mind in constant meditation without thought. This means operating at a strictly insightful level of "just seeing" rather than an intellectual level of "figuring things out." This requires practice and is best accomplished in a setting where life is very simple, such as a quiet, natural setting. Once the mind catches on how to remain in the present moment in a quiet setting, it can slowly introduce itself to a busier setting and retain that same momentary awareness without the endless procession of redundant, unnecessary thoughts that lead to stress. An example would be driving a car. You are focused completely on the activity of driving. You are aware of the road behind, the road ahead, the sides of the road, your speed, your gauges, other drivers, your mirrors. There is no thinking about whether the road is good or bad, or if other drivers are rude or courteous - what is, is. You are not thinking about yesterday, or work, family, plans or past experiences. You are right there, totally completely driving. Sampajhana would be being aware of that subtle awareness that you are being mindful of driving. Your previous practice with concentration/tramquility meditation is what enables the mind to remain concentrated completely in the present without the tendency to drift into the past or future or into judgments or fabrications. The insight of the moment replaces the fog of intellectual thought and imaginings. Sampajhana comes in when intuitively you understand, by pure awareness, that all you observe everything - is merely temporary phenomena and therefore not real in the sense of permanence. It will all change. Likewise, when walking in the forest you are choicelessly aware of all your surroundings - aware of the trees, the rocks, the animals. You do not direct your attention to any particular thing, or think that "This tree is nice or that this one is bad - or that this rock is unusual and I would like to keep it or wonder where it came from or how old it is. You try not to allow your present moment awareness to be high-jacked by thinking. We have relied on thought for perhaps our entire lifetime to get us by, and it will naturally take some time and practice to begin trusting in our insight instead. Sati (mindfulness) would be the thought that, "I should be choicelessly aware and then remember to direct the mind toward that goal. Sampajhana is when you intuitively understand, discern, without thinking about it. Seeing in an intuitive flash that the green leaf in the branches of a tree soon will become the brown leaf you see on the ground, which in turn will soon become dust that that the rains will melt into the earth. And you are aware at even a deeper level that you are understanding these things. And sampajhana will understand that there is no you to understand, only the understanding itself which will in turn will arise and pass away. Begin by keeping your mind inside the body. You become aware of the different feelings and emotions that occur inside. Directing the mind toward these things inside the body and mind would be sati. After observing them from a strictly non-judgmental point, the intuitive understanding that they all arise and pass away would be sampajhana, and at an even deeper level, you would be aware that all knowledge is dead. If, for example, your attention goes toward a tree, you do not think about the tree but rather look inside yourself and observe what you are feeling - uplifted, neutral, curious, puzzled? - Whatever you are feeling. Then, you do not investigate that feeling or think about it, you just become aware of it until it passes. You understand that all feelings arise and pass. Keep watching your emotions and states of mind arise and pass rather than thinking about or analyzing all the different inside and outside objects that come into your sense fields. Do not allow the mind to daydream and imagine - stay with what is happening at each exact moment - arising and passing. Be aware that you are being aware. Excessive thinking, analyzing, planning and general worrying is the cause of stress. We have to learn to use thought in the proper way, and not be used by thought. The proper way would be to use thought to solve an immediate problem but not allow thought to project future problems or past problems. When we solve a problem, we stay entirely focused on the problem itself, like driving a car, and not worry necessarily about the results. Why worry about whether or not you will get to your destination safely if that worry itself takes your attention off the road for a moment just as deer jumps out and causes you to swerve? Where is the real work being done? It can only be done in this very moment, never in a projection. Worry only takes attention and energy away from the present, where the work has to be done and where it will be done most creatively and effectively without the intervention of analytical thought. Einstein once said that the Theory of Relativity came to him in an insightful flash and had nothing to do with figuring it out. In Buddhism, thought and the inclinations toward action (sankhara) is believed to be the basis of our stress, along with our endless wants and the subsequent projections and goals to satisfy these wants (kilesa), especially trying to secure ourselves way out into the future. This causes undue worry because even the best laid plans have a way of exploding in our faces even after many years of intense effort to get what we want. There is, however, the reality of making a living and providing for ourselves. This is the reality of material existence. But to dedicate every waking moment to this material security not only for today but for tomorrow, and next month, and next decade usually indicates a mind that is not satisfied with a simple life and desires much more pleasure.

This is how kamma is made. How our minds become insecure and stressful. We don't have the insight to see clearly regarding what needs to be done - no more, no less, - and instead strive to accumulate as much as possible, trying to fill an empty insecure hole inside that can never be filled by material possessions, worldly status or power. This hole can only be filled by the confidence that results from the power of insight and moment to moment awareness and mindfulness. It is sampajhana, that finally relieves our stress when we intuitively understand that everything arises and passes regardless of how we try to hold on or how we try to control things. Then we can do our best, each moment to moment, and not worry about the results. Now, a few words about the difference between mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness is something you do. It is done by a self, an ego. There has to be both a subject (the one being mindful) and an object (that which you are mindful of). Mindfulness stands between subject and object. Pure awareness, on the other hand, has no subject or object. Nobody is there to see anything; there is just the seeing itself. While mindfulness requires action, awareness is non-action. So in life we go from being unconscious of what we are doing (subject and objects all mixed up and confused), to being mindful of what we are doing. As mindfulness comes between subject and object, we become conscious. Then, this activity called mindfulness leads to non-activity, which is pure awareness where the doer, or the one who acts, disappears. Mindfulness is the segway between conscious action and pure awareness. Although pure awareness operates beyond the confines of the physical, the physical mind can be conscious of it even though awareness transcends mind. Between this pure awareness and the world lies consciousness, that which restricts mind to the world. So the mind can be conscious, but mind cannot be purely aware unless it is unfettered. Pure awareness lies beyond a fettered. mind. When mind becomes involved, consciousness arises and always stands between subject and object, which means that mind is therefore always dualistic by nature. When we are conscious, there is the thought of I am. So, first we use consciousness to become aware of our actions or to become conscious of our actions. Then, as a result of that consciousness, we subsequently become mindful. So we are in essence trying to become more conscious of our actions. This is the practice, whereby the result is mindfulness, and the more you practice, the more mindful you become. Then, this resulting mindfulness leads to pure awareness, which is the end of spiritual achieving, the end of practice, nothingness. Here, the act of trying, trying to be mindful or trying to be conscious all ends. The doer disappears and consciousness becomes unstr uctured, a choiceless awareness. And, since awareness does not rely on consciousness, awareness is there both in life and in death. It is consciousness on top of this awareness that introduces ego and catapults us into eons of future births. Awareness is not a separate phenomenon from existence however, as the Buddha said, awareness is subject to birth and death as well and falls under the realm of samasara, that which is impermanence. Only Nibbana transcends this. So while awareness moves from lifetime to lifetime, it is the final snuffing out of awareness, and everything else subject to existence, that leads to Nibbana, the complete freedom of experience. Once the mind is trained in the above concentration meditation to the point where the mind can remain fairly stable and focused, mindfulness meditation should be practiced as often as possible. The Buddha said if one could remain completely mindful for seven days continuously, one would become enlightened! To begin practicing mindfulness, we start by directing our focused attention inside of our mind and body, specifically the impermanence of this body and mind. We contemplate the nature of all material existence to be born, mature and decay. He trains thus: breathing in, I shall breathe in contemplating fading away, I shall breathe out contemplating fading away. Then we will contemplate the fading away of the body and mind (the five khandas). The practice consists in part of visualizin g the bodys organs, or visualizing the body in a state of decay after death. The practice also consists of seeing the various functions of mind that are always arising and passing: the origination and destruction of thoughts, emotions, perceptions and consciousness. Then we apply the three characteristics (Anicca impermanence, anatta no self, Dukkha discontent) to these five khandas. He trains thus: I shall breathe in contemplating cessation, I shall breathe out contemplating cessation. Here we contemplate the ending of our attachment to the body and mind by seeing them in light of the three characteristics above. He trains thus: I shall breathe in contemplating relinquishment, I shall breathe out contemplating relinquishment. And finally we contemplate totally throwing out the idea of me and mine, the I thought that always permeates the five khand as. Mindfulness is a practice where you direct the mind to the present happenings rather than allowing the mind to drift in thought. But mindfulness (sati) according to the Buddha, must be accompanied by (sampajhana), which is an intuitive understanding that whatever comes into your mindfulness or attention is not permanent, not stable, and always arises and passes. The Buddha always used these terms together; sati and sampajhana. Sati is directing your attention, and sampajhana is understanding the observation in light of its impermanence, no self, and discontent. Sampajhana occurs when the mind is not only mindful of each moment, but aware that it is mindful of each moment- aware of awareness itself.

True sampajhana is not 'remembering' to see the impermanence per se, that would be sati, or directing the mind toward something which in this case is impermanence. True sampajhana is understanding at an intuitive level beyond intellectualism or merely thinking that this too belongs to existence which all arises and passes. With sampajhana, you actually feel it. So what does "completely" mindful mean? Basically it means keeping one's mind in constant meditation without thought. This means operating at a strictly insightful level of "just seeing" rather than an intellectual level of "figuring things out." This requires practice and is best accomplished in a setting where life is very simple, such as a quiet, natural setting. Once the mind catches on how to remain in the present moment in a quiet setting, it can slowly introduce itself to a busier setting and retain that same momentary awareness without the endless procession of redundant, unnecessary thoughts that lead to stress. An example would be driving a car. You are focused completely on the activity of driving. You are aware of the road behind, the road ahead, the sides of the road, your speed, your gauges, other drivers, your mirrors. There is no thinking about whether the road is good or bad, or if other drivers are rude or courteous - what is, is. You are not thinking about yesterday, or work, family, plans or past experiences. You are right there, totally completely driving. Sampajhana would be being aware of that subtle awareness that you are being mindful of driving. Your previous practice with concentration/tramquility meditation is what enables the mind to remain concentrated completely in the present without the tendency to drift into the past or future or into judgments or fabrications. The insight of the moment replaces the fog of intellectual thought and imaginings. Sampajhana comes in when intuitively you understand, by pure awareness, that all you observe everything - is merely temporary phenomena and therefore not real in the sense of permanence. It will all change. Likewise, when walking in the forest you are choicelessly aware of all your surroundings - aware of the trees, the rocks, the animals. You do not direct your attention to any particular thing, or think that "This tree is nice or that this one is bad - or that this rock is unusual and I would like to keep it or wonder where it came from or how old it is. You try not to allow your present moment awareness to be high-jacked by thinking. We have relied on thought for perhaps our entire lifetime to get us by, and it will naturally take some time and practice to begin trusting in our insight instead. Sati (mindfulness) would be the thought that, "I should be choicelessly aware and then remember to direct the mind toward that goal. Sampajhana is when you intuitively understand, discern, without thinking about it. Seeing in an intuitive flash that the green leaf in the branches of a tree soon will become the brown leaf you see on the ground, which in turn will soon become dust that that the rains will melt into the earth. And you are aware at even a deeper level that you are understanding these things. And sampajhana will understand that there is no you to understand, only the understanding itself which will in turn will arise and pass away. Begin by keeping your mind inside the body. You become aware of the different feelings and emotions that occur inside. Directing the mind toward these things inside the body and mind would be sati. After observing them from a strictly non-judgmental point, the intuitive understanding that they all arise and pass away would be sampajhana, and at an even deeper level, you would be aware that all knowledge is dead. If, for example, your attention goes toward a tree, you do not think about the tree but rather look inside yourself and observe what you are feeling - uplifted, neutral, curious, puzzled? - Whatever you are feeling. Then, you do not investigate that feeling or think about it, you just become aware of it until it passes. You understand that all feelings arise and pass. Keep watching your emotions and states of mind arise and pass rather than thinking about or analyzing all the different inside and outside objects that come into your sense fields. Do not allow the mind to daydream and imagine - stay with what is happening at each exact moment - arising and passing. Be aware that you are being aware. Excessive thinking, analyzing, planning and general worrying is the cause of stress. We have to learn to use thought in the proper way, and not be used by thought. The proper way would be to use thought to solve an immediate problem but not allow thought to project future problems or past problems. When we solve a problem, we stay entirely focused on the problem itself, like driving a car, and not worry necessarily about the results. Why worry about whether or not you will get to your destination safely if that worry itself takes your attention off the road for a moment just as deer jumps out and causes you to swerve? Where is the real work being done? It can only be done in this very moment, never in a projection. Worry only takes attention and energy away from the present, where the work has to be done and where it will be done most creatively and effectively without the intervention of analytical thought. Einstein once said that the Theory of Relativity came to him in an insightful flash and had nothing to do with figuring it out. In Buddhism, thought and the inclinations toward action (sankhara) is believed to be the basis of our stress, along with our endless wants and the subsequent projections and goals to satisfy these wants (kilesa), especially trying to secure ourselves way out into the future. This causes undue worry because even the best laid plans have a way of exploding in our faces even after many years of intense effort to get what we want. There is, however, the reality of making a living and providing for ourselves. This is the reality of material existence. But to dedicate every waking moment to this material security not only for today but for tomorrow, and next month, and next decade usually indicates a mind that is not satisfied with a simple life and desires much more pleasure. This is how kamma is made. How our minds become insecure and stressful. We don't have the insight to see clearly regarding what needs to be done - no more, no less, - and instead strive to accumulate as much as possible, trying to fill an empty insecure hole inside that can never be filled by material possessions, worldly status or power. This hole can only be filled by the confidence that results from the power of

insight and moment to moment awareness and mindfulness. It is sampajhana, that finally relieves our stress when we intuitively understand that everything arises and passes regardless of how we try to hold on or how we try to control things. Then we can do our best, each moment to moment, and not worry about the results. Now, a few words about the difference between mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness is something you do. It is done by a self, an ego. There has to be both a subject (the one being mindful) and an object (that which you are mindful of). Mindfulness stands between subject and object. Pure awareness, on the other hand, has no subject or object. Nobody is there to see anything; there is just the seeing itself. While mindfulness requires action, awareness is non-action. So in life we go from being unconscious of what we are doing (subject and objects all mixed up and confused), to being mindful of what we are doing. As mindfulness comes between subject and object, we become conscious. Then, this activity called mindfulness leads to non-activity, which is pure awareness where the doer, or the one who acts, disappears. Mindfulness is the segway between conscious action and pure awareness. Although pure awareness operates beyond the confines of the physical, the physical mind can be conscious of it even though awareness transcends mind. Between this pure awareness and the world lies consciousness, that which restricts mind to the world. So the mind can be conscious, but mind cannot be purely aware unless it is unfettered. Pure awareness lies beyond a fettered. mind. When mind becomes involved, consciousness arises and always stands between subject and object, which means that mind is therefore always dualistic by nature. When we are conscious, there is the thought of I am. So, first we use consciousness to become aware of our actions or to become conscious of our actions. Then, as a result of that consciousness, we subsequently become mindful. So we are in essence trying to become more conscious of our actions. This is the practice, whereby the result is mindfulness, and the more you practice, the more mindful you become. Then, this resulting mindfulness leads to pure awareness, which is the end of spiritual achieving, the end of practice, nothingness. Here, the act of trying, trying to be mindful or trying to be conscious all ends. The doer disappears and consciousness becomes unstr uctured, a choiceless awareness. And, since awareness does not rely on consciousness, awareness is there both in life and in death. It is consciousness on top of this awareness that introduces ego and catapults us into eons of future births. Awareness is not a separate phenomenon from existence however, as the Buddha said, awareness is subject to birth and death as well and falls under the realm of samasara, that which is impermanence. Only Nibbana transcends this. So while awareness moves from lifetime to lifetime, it is the final snuffing out of awareness, and everything else subject to existence, that leads to Nibbana, the complete freedom of experience.

4. Wisdom
This exercise will utilize all that you have practiced above to help instill the deeper aspects of meditation, which are: Mindfulness, consciousness, and pure awareness 1. Direct your attention to a candle flame mindfulness remembers to direct your attention to the flame, and consciousness captures the flame. 2. Now mindfully remember to direct your attention not only to the flame, but both to the space between you and the flame and to yourself, becoming conscious of all three. So we have the object (the flame), the subject (you), and the barrier between you and the flame, which is space. Two separate dualisms with space between. Be very conscious of all three. 3. Now close your eyes. With the flame gone and no object to become conscious of, mindfully direct your consciousness to just the awareness that is present - without a subject, object, or space between. This awareness will feel like an expansive, empty, bright, pregnant nothingness a non-dualism. 4. Now remain in this pure awareness as long as you can without directing the awareness toward anything. Rather than you be ing conscious of the awareness - you, consciousness, and space all dissolve into just this pure awareness, and you disappear. Mindfulness directs your consciousness to this awareness, but pure awareness is not mindfulness. Consciousness holds the mind on this pure awareness, but pure awareness is not consciousness. Mindfulness involves a doer, and consciousness involves a physical sense organ and an object. Pure awareness, in contrast has the capacity to operate without consciousness or a doer. Pure awareness is just being with no action. Within pure awareness there is nothing, just being. However, as soon as consciousness seeps into awareness, for example the thought that 'I am being aware of awareness,' awareness stops momentarily and thought takes over. Consciousness is the bridge between pure

awareness and existence. Consciousness is what brings existence into being, and existence is what brings consciousness into being. They are self-reinforcing. Pure awareness can operate without life as we know it, i.e.OBEs. Pure awareness is the force that travels between lifetimes transporting the kamma from entity to entity. This awareness is what the physical mind can tap into during meditation, and with practice the mind can remain completely aware of the pure awareness with no intervening thoughts or physical senses intervening. However, mind cannot explain or describe the experiences or outcomes of this meditation because the transformation of being, which results from mind dwelling in pure awareness, occurs at unconscious levels. This is now your practice is to be done 24/7. Sit in meditation with this practice as often and as long as you can, pure awareness, and when not sitting, try to keep this awareness as pure as you can. Spend as much time as possible in quiet natural surroundings. This will help. As the Buddha said, if you can do this for seven days, uninterrupted, you will become enlightened. This exercise will utilize all that you have practiced above to help instill the deeper aspects of meditation, which are: Mindfulness, consciousness, and pure awareness 1. Direct your attention to a candle flame mindfulness remembers to direct your attention to the flame, and consciousness captures the flame. 2. Now mindfully remember to direct your attention not only to the flame, but both to the space between you and the flame and to yourself, becoming conscious of all three. So we have the object (the flame), the subject (you), and the barrier between you and the flame, which is space. Two separate dualisms with space between. Be very conscious of all three. 3. Now close your eyes. With the flame gone and no object to become conscious of, mindfully direct your consciousness to just the awareness that is present - without a subject, object, or space between. This awareness will feel like an expansive, empty, bright, pregnant nothingness a non-dualism. 4. Now remain in this pure awareness as long as you can without directing the awareness toward anything. Rather than you being conscious of the awareness - you, consciousness, and space all dissolve into just this pure awareness, and you disappear. Mindfulness directs your consciousness to this awareness, but pure awareness is not mindfulness. Consciousness holds the mind on this pure awareness, but pure awareness is not consciousness. Mindfulness involves a doer, and consciousness involves a physical sense organ and an object. Pure awareness, in contrast has the capacity to operate without consciousness or a doer. Pure awareness is just being with no action. Within pure awareness there is nothing, just being. However, as soon as consciousness seeps into awareness, for example the thought that 'I am being aware of awareness,' awareness stops momentarily and thought takes over. Consciousness is the bridge between pure awareness and existence. Consciousness is what brings existence into being, and existence is what brings consciousness into being. They are self-reinforcing. Pure awareness can operate without life as we know it, i.e.OBEs. Pure awareness is the force that travels between lifetimes transporting the kamma from entity to entity. This awareness is what the physical mind can tap into during meditation, and with practice the mind can remain completely aware of the pure awareness with no intervening thoughts or physical senses intervening. However, mind cannot explain or describe the experiences or outcomes of this meditation because the transformation of being, which results from mind dwelling in pure awareness, occurs at unconscious levels. This is now your practice is to be done 24/7. Sit in meditation with this practice as often and as long as you can, pure awareness, and when not sitting, try to keep this awareness as pure as you can. Spend as much time as possible in quiet natural surroundings. This will help. As the Buddha said, if you can do this for seven days, uninterrupted, you will become enlightened.

Advanced Information on Wisdom


Insight wisdom occurs when the concentrated/tranquillized mind impassively observes matter or mind at the present moment. Once the observance is made, mindfulness will remember that experience. If this attention is without restraint, then it will be firm and the insight will reveal that the mind or matter is impermanent, subject to suffering, and not self. Mind will therefore become detached from the object and view it dispassionately with emptiness. Mindfulness on matter Mindfulness of matter will be firm (able to fully and easily comprehend the Three Characteristics of the matter) only when it is one pointed as a result of jhana. If consciousness is not concentrated and flows with the matter or gazes and clings to it, it will not be able to discern the three characteristics. Not only must one refrain from gazing but one must also refrain from applying thoughts to matter and avoid the cognition process. For example; one need not think that this walking matter is matter and not a self, that this matter when sitting or lying is impure and loathsome or that sooner or later this matter will die, etc. because then we are into the thought process and thought conceals realities.

When a thought comes to mind, consciousness will escape from mindfulness on matter, which is an ultimate truth, and conceive the thought about matter, which is a conventional truth. Then, consciousness at that moment cannot develop insight at all. One must be mindful of matter that exists at this present moment and must disregard matter in the past resulting from perception, and in the future resulting from mental formation. Mindfulness on matter must unintentionally and automatically arise by reason of having strong perception of the condition of that matter. After becoming aware of any matter, if any joy or aversion arises, consciousness should recollect that feeling because the first matter already disappeared. Joy or aversion then becomes the object of consciousness at the present moment. When the biased feeling vanishes, consciousness may then again pay attention to the matter, or go on to other objects of consciousness. If mindfulness on the biased feeling toward matter does not arise, consciousness will not remain neutral and may absentmindedly think about the matter or other matters, or may ignorantly intervene and adjust the matter or the mind that accompanies the matter, which are contrary to the principles of insight development, which is to recollect mind and matter as they truly are. When consciousness is firm, neutral, and mindfulness on matter that exists at the moment is unintentional, it will instantly see that matter is transient, (moving and changing all the time), is suffering and painful at all times, and is only a composition of elements or part of the world, not an animal, human being or self at all. Mindfulness on mind Mindfulness on mind will be successful in comprehending the Three Characteristics easily and clearly only when mindfulness unintentionally recollects the Mind that disappeared just a moment before. Therefore, do not attempt to keep alert before recollection of mind arises. Additionally, do not attempt to grasp the present object of consciousness because mindfulness of mind is recollection of the preceding object of consciousness. That is to say, an object of consciousness arises first. Then mindfulness recollects the object of consciousness a moment later. As consciousness has a clear perception of the object of consciousness, mindfulness can recollect the object automatically when the object arises. When an object of consciousness arises and mindfulness recollects it, do not plunge into it and gaze at it with a will to comprehend it clearly. Simply recollect it with firm consciousness and neutrality. Recollect it as an outsider who has no gain or loss in it. If consciousness plunges into the object of consciousness, the object of consciousness may escape by moving inwards deeply or might hold still, but not disappear. In that situation, consciousness will not be able to discern that mind has the three Characteristics as well. For example, seeing that consciousness never disappears, it will not comprehend that mind is impermanent. In other cases, consciousness may, on seeing that mind disappears, misunderstand that mind is a self because it can cease mind by gazing at mind. On recollecting any mind, if pleasure of displeasure arises, mindfulness should recollect that feeling because the first mind, which is the first recollected object of consciousness, already disappeared; and pleasure or displeasure, which is new mind, is the object of consciousness at the present moment. If mindfulness fails to recollect pleasure and displeasure, consciousness will not remain neutral, and will ignorantly follow the object of consciousness or may ignorantly interfere with or adjust the mind, which is contrary to the principle of insight development; that consciousness should be mindful on matter and mind as they truly are. When consciousness is neutral, and mindfulness unintentionally recollects an object of consciousness that vanished just a moment before, insight will instantly flash through the mind that Mind rises and falls, changes from moment to moment, and is uncontrollable and not self. When consciousness sees mindfulness reflecting, rather than the object of reflection, that is insight. Mindfulness is thus unstable. Consciousness is thus not self, and subject to the Three Characteristics. Mindfulness of matter refers to firm and neutral consciousness, while mindfulness of mind refers to only neutral consciousness. But there is one kind of Mind (feeling) that requires a higher level of concentration than other kinds of mind, particularly bodily feeling, that is bodily pleasure or pain, because it is rough and fixedly attached to the body. If the mind is not concentrated enough, it might be distracted when the physical feeling is intense. Therefore, contemplation of feeling is also suitable for meditation practitioners, like contemplation of the body. In any event, the term firm consciousness for contemplation of the body and contemplation of feeling does not mean that consciousness must be so steadfast that it gets stiff because stiff consciousness is immoral. It only means that one should be mindful on the existence of consciousness, which is separate from feeling and matter. The I thought is the knower. Concentrating on it freezes it as an object that is known, but the knower slips away and goes deeper. There is no permanent knower, just a series of consciousnesses that arise and pass one after the other rapidly and repeatedly. Practice with the presence of a knower can be achieved up until non-returner status, and at the stage of development of mindfulness and insight on the path of holiness. The knower is still firm and immanent. At this point consciousness will lose interest in all other objects and direct its attention to the knower because it is so pure and tranquil. This happens until mindfulness and clear comprehension are really perfected. At that moment, it will penetrate the Three Characteristics of Existence with a deep mental impression and relinquish attachment to consciousness and the knower. This is the end of study in Buddhism. After that a new consciousness will arise that is referred to as functional consciousness. It is not concentrated and eminent as a knower anymore, but permeates through the whole world. For insight development through mindfulness of mind, particularly consciousness, consciousness need not be firm, only neutral. Consciousness of mind must be concentrated, but only momentarily before it vanishes. It need not be fixed continuously for long periods of time because mental factors such as greed, anger and delusion exist for only a very short period. Therefore one practicing insight development through mindfulness on mind (except feeling), as an object of consciousness can practice mindfulness on mind directly.

If consciousness is mindful on an object of consciousness and has any reaction to that object, mindfulness should be able to recollect the reaction automatically. Then, it will perceive the Three Characteristics of both Mind and all mind objects. Steps of wisdom: Self first separates into matter and mind, and then further separates into feeling, perception, mental formations, and consc iousness.- and eye, ear, etc. and earth elements. Anatta is a primary and preliminary fact in training in wisdom. After matter and mind are dissipated, mindfulness will note that each matter and mind perform their own functions, including rising, falling and changing at all times. For examples, it will notice inhaling and exhaling, sitting and standing, moving, sitting still, etc. Alternatively, mindfulness will comprehend that deluded consciousness arises and vanishes, then there is a little space between them and another consciousness arises to recollect the absence of mind a moment before. All these lead to insight into the rising, falling and changing of matter and mind which is the beginning point of disillusionment of the wrong view of matter and mind as an animal, human being, a self, and liberation from clinging to matter and mind will follow. Realizing the insubstantiality of body and mind might induce dread. These are insight practitioners feelings. One could stal l here for a long time - the truth of unsubstantial nature. Eventually, however, this will pass as the practitioner sees that the dread itself is unsubstantial and passes. One who practices insight up to this level will feel unshaken when touched by worldly troubles. However, neutrality at this point is still uncertain. Some may be able to sustain neutrality and some not. Some may get bogged down and others advance in leaps and bounds. STREAM ENTRY There are four stages of sainthood in Buddhism, or four Paths and Fruitions. Sotapanna A Sotapanna is a seven times returner, and has overcome the following three fetters: Sakka-ya-dit.t.hi: Belief in self: Identity view - The speculative view that a so-called self exists in the five aggregates (physical forms, feelings/sensations, perception, mental formations and consciousness) is eradicated because the Sotapanna gains insight into the selfless nature of the aggregates. Vicikiccha-: Skeptical doubt: Skeptical Doubt - Doubt about the Buddha and his teaching is eradicated because the Sotapanna personally experiences the true nature of reality through insight, and this insight confirms the accuracy of the Buddhas teaching. Si-labbata-para-ma-sa: Attachment to rites and rituals: Clinging to rites and rituals - Clinging to the view that one becomes pure simply through performing ritual or rigid moralism, such as praying to God for deliverance, slaughtering animals for sacrifice, ablutions, etc. is eradicated because the Sotapanna realizes that rites and ritual are nothing more than an obstructive tradition, repetitious rites and dead dogmas; Deliverance can be won only through the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path. Sakadagami A Sakadagami is a once returner, and has conquered the above three fetters, plus has significantly weakened the following two: Ka-ma-ra-ga: Sensuous craving, Bya-pa-da: Ill will Ana-ga-mi An Anagami is a none returner and has completely conquered the above five fetters. But has still to conquer the last five fetters below. Arahant An Arahant has completely conquered the above five fetters, as well as conquering the five fetters below. Ru-pa-ra-ga: Craving for fine-material existence (the first 4 jhanas) Aru-pa-ra-ga: Craving for immaterial existence (the last 4 jhanas) Ma-na: Measuring oneself against others Uddhacca: Restlessness Avijja-: Ignorance The Eye of Truth. is when consciousness is neutral to all conditioned states, and mindfulness and wisdom are culminated. Th e practitioner will progress in leaps and bounds in Dhamma, that is, he or she will attain the eye of truth. Consciousness will automatically attain full concentration and an insight-examination process will take place that takes seven thought moments. Consciousness will admit and realize the truth that by nature, body and mind are impermanent, painful, and not-self. Consciousness, upon finding ultimate truth of nothingness, takes a sincere refuge in Buddha Dhamma and Sangha. This is stream entry. As training in wisdom progresses, consciousness will comprehend the truths in the latter part of the Dependent Origination, and more often in the order of: Dependent on mind and matter arises the sense bases, arises contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, suffering. Craving, and then clinging to a sense object oppresses consciousness into a self. Consciousness free from craving and clinging does not suffer.

There is an insight into the truth that this mind and matter exists momentarily. The presence of matter and mind causes existence of eyes, etc., which are sense organs. If there were only matter or only mind, the sense organs cannot function. Both mind and matter must exist for the sense organs to function. As for consciousness, it is mind that can function even without matter. When the sense organs contact sense objects, pleasure, suffering or indifference arises. Then, sensual craving, craving for existence, and craving for non-existence will arise. When craving arises, consciousness will cling to the sense object and a mental process will take place thereby oppressing consciousness, which is

misperceived as a self, resulting in stress and suffering. One who has undergone wisdom training to this stage will begin to realize the truth that if consciousness is unwavering and free from craving and clinging, it will not suffer. On the other hand, if it wavers with craving and clinging, it will suffer. Consequently, consciousness will cease in seeking external objects of consciousness. There is no wavering even internally to seek kamadhamma, (Dhamma of the sensual sphere) or thinking of sensual pleasure. Consciousness will automatically be firm and eminent. It will simply act as a knower or an observer, not a seeker of sensuality. Coarse suffering will permanently vanish. Consciousness will be tranquil and blissful in itself such that some may be content with attainment at this level. They may not want to study matter and mind anymore because training is burdensome, to consciousness as well. After practicing insight development to this stage, consciousness will enjoy a high level of joy within itself and without having to be satisfied by external sensual pleasure. The existence of this joy is beyond imagination for most human beings. The joyful feeling after renunciation of sensual craving is so overwhelming that the joyful consciousness can permeate through the body to every hair end. It is like a shower with refreshingly cold water during hot weather. After development to this stage, consciousness will limit its scope of learning to consciousness, or the knower. It will co mprehend that consciousness, or the knower, is firm and pleasurable, but is not ones self. Nor does it belong to one. Then, consciousness will subsequently gain intuitive insight into the first part of dependent origination, but will clearly comprehend it in reverse order; or dependent Extinction, realizing that with clear comprehension of the Four Noble Truths, striving to form a conditioned state will not arise. As conditioned state does not arise, consciousness will not hold to mind and matter. And as such, mind and matter will not exist or will not be grasped to burden and oppress the mind anymore. Consciousness loses interest in the knower and knowing. Consciousness itself is the knower, and therefore not self, not permanent. Mind and matter are let go of by consciousness. This is to explain that in the past, consciousness felt that the knower was a good and miraculous thing, and took it as a secure refuge. However, when wisdom through insight development is culminated, keen insight into the Four Noble Truths will flash forth. It will realize the five aggregates, including consciousness or the knower, are impermanent, painful, and not-self. (Insight into the Three Characteristics through comprehension of only one of the characteristics can relinquish attachment to consciousness). After realizing the truth, striving to condition any natural phenomena to a state that is against the law of nature, i.e. striving to make the aggregates happy, and the ego will cease. Consciousness will no longer hold to mind and matter, nor pick up them up to burden and oppress consciousness any more. Nor will mind and matter be formed in a new process of becoming. After insight development to the point of enlightenment, with intuition of the four Noble Truths and clear comprehension of suffering, consciousness will abandon the aggregates. It will be detached from the aggregates and liberated from cankers (asava) that confine and conceal consciousness like a chick forcing its way out of the eggshell. When consciousness abandons the aggregates, this is the end of the study of Buddhism. Functional consciousness then takes over. Rebirth and existence have ceased. Fulfilled is the holy life. The remaining lifetime is truly miraculous because the aggregates still perform their functions, but consciousness is independent of the aggregates. There is no more oppression of consciousness. Although it continues to perform its various functions, i.e. perception and mental formation, it feels that nothing is done. Every function is purely an action. Consciousness enjoys immense happiness that is far beyond thought and imagination. It is a kind of happiness that is free, transparent, light, clean, and clear, boundless, more spacious than the sky an air and more blissful than the most blissful. This type of consciousness is what the higher doctrine (Adhidhamma) refers to as functional consciousness. Ajahn Mun called it Thitticitta, meaning abode of consciousness. Luangpu Doon referred to it as One Mind Meaning sole consciousness. Luangpu Tes referred to it as heart. Ajahn Buddhadasa referred to it as Original Consciousnessand Luangpu Buddha referred to it as One consciousness. The reason is that it will be one forever and never two again. That is to say, it will never again be deluded to the perception of pairs e.g. pleasure/pain, good/evil, etc. At the moment that consciousness is liberated from the cankers (sensuality, ignorance, craving for form, craving for none form) which have confined it, and gets free, the One Consciousness will realize Nibbana, which is the One Dhamma.Nibbana is a condition that is pure, clean, flawless, immaculate, void, formless, boundless, sublimely tranquil and immortal. The consciousness that penetrates Nibbana will be overwhelmed with immense happiness. To compare sensual pleasure and tranquility from absorptions (Jhanas) with the happiness from realization of Nibbana, the disguisable characteristics are that the sensual pleasure which human beings are familiar with is a kind that is confined to consciousness at the chest and tranquility from absorption is pleasant sand permeating through every pore, where the tranquility of Nibbana is overwhelming to the sky and air and boundless. No molecule can escape the permeation of that feeling. The happiness from the realization of Nibbana is attained through several approaches. Common to all noble individuals is realization of Nibbana at the moment of realizing the path and fruition, but that happens within a very short period of time. Consciousness belonging to the path at each level exists for only one thought moment and consciousness belonging to fruition lasts only a few thought moments. In addition, consciousness will be able to fully penetrate Nibbana only by consciousness belonging to fruition because there is no further task to be accomplished. Consciousness belonging to fruition is super mundane consciousness. During the moment of insight that consciousness belonging to the path flashes forth, consciousness must perform the function of eradicating the subtle defilements. Thus, the super mundane consciousness still has a task to accomplish. It is not idle to fully permeate and appreciate the tranquility of Nibbana as it does during the moments of consciousness belonging to fruition. There are some other approaches to realization of Nibbana that are general to noble individuals, I.e., attainment of fruition. The attainment of fruition is supermundane, i.e. full concentration applying Nibbana as an object of consciousness and causing consciousness belonging to fruition to recur inumerable times, not only a few at the moments of attainment to fruition at each stage.

Attainment of fruition requires two constants, namely; 1. Consciousness at that moment is fully concentrated, and 2. Nibbana is the object of consciousness. Hence, worldlings cannot attain fruition despite skills in full concentration because they have never realized it before. For the Noble Ones, although they may not have practiced full concentration before, they will somehow be able to attain it because at the moments of attaining the path and the fruition, consciousness is fully concentrated in one of the absorptions automatically. Thus, it will not be too difficult for Noble to attain that absorption again later because consciousness has experienced it before. In any event, this does not mean that all Nobles are equally skillful in the attainment of fruition because to attain fruition the object of consciousness is Nibbana (The disolution of the twelve Nidanas (Dependent Origination). Nobles at lower levels gave realized it for only a few moments, and thus their attainment of fruition is more difficult than that of Nobles of higher levels. Usually, they will have to begin from mindfulness on Matter and Mind until consciousness abandons matter and mind and penetrates Nibbana, whereas the Nobles of higher levels who are more acquainted with Nibbana can attain Nibbana at once by reelecting on it. However, another important point is that Nobles who review Nibbana so often that they are skilled in reviewing Nibbana, will be able to attain it clearly and immediately upon reflection. These Noble persons can attain fruition more proficiently than those who hardly review Nibbana. The process of attainment of fruition for a Noble unskilled in attainment of Nibbana starts from mindfulness on matter and mind, and for the skilled Noble One, from reflection on it. At one point of time, consciousness will be fully concentrated from the first absorption and above. Then, conforming consciousness will arise to end the super mundane consciousness ie. consciousness of matter and mind. Conforming consciousness will recur for three thought moments for a quickly enlightened one, and four thought moments for a slowly enlightened one. After that, consciousness belonging to fruition will recur innumerable times until it time to retreat from the attainment. Then the lifecontinuum consciousness will arise to disrupt the process of attainment of fruition. This is a retreat from attainment of fruition. With regard to Nibbana, after the segregation of the aggregates, it is a matter that is irrelevant to and unimaginable by the wordlings. Anytime that they think about it, they are quite extreme in their conviction of either externalism i.e. the vision that the aggregates are still in existence after attainment of Nibbana, or annihilationism, i.e. vision that after the moment of Nibbana, everything will vanish. For this reason, I will not mention it now to avoid a debate on theoretical philosophy. As a matter of fact, consciousness of human beings and animals sneaks out to cling to an object of consciousness at all times, like timber immersed in water. As a result, consciousness is ignorantly shaken and biased by the object of consciousness. Only through the study of the doctrine of Buddhism, mindfulness on natural conditions is developed, it will feel that an object of consciousness is one thing and consciousness another. It likes seeing that the body , feeling, and perception (mental formations), perform their functions with greed, anger and ignorance, while another kind of nature is present, seeing that changing of those natural phenomena. It will realize that sometimes the knowing nature is separate from the known object, sometimes the knowing nature flows into and blends with the known object. After studying to this level, some may doubt whether they should recollect the object of consciousness that exists in the middle of the chest as a small mass or a big mass, sometimes heavy , sometimes slight, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sometimes good, sometimes evil, or whether they should recollect the nature of awareness that seems to be floating at head level. Concerning this issue, please note that when it is mindful on anything, just observe it. Do not intentionally recollect either of the two because our aim is not to achieve anything at all. With keener insight through steady practice, consciousness will note that it is grasped and oppressed at all times, thereby causing endless suffering. Through further practice to the effect that mindfulness automatically recollects natural phenomena, consciousness will realize that right at the moment of waking up, the first job that it does is grasping the mind for studying and reflecting and that consciousness is oppressed all the times. It will discover that it readily and easily grasps the mind, but it does not know how to put it down. After developing insight to perfection, i.e. intuitive knowledge of the three Characteristics of consciousness, the mind will have clear and thorough comprehension of suffering because consciousness is the last suffering to put down. Then, it will realize that it lays down the mass of suffering in the middle of the chest and simultaneously discards the nature of consciousness that is present above. At this moment, the mind is set free because it does not cling to anything at all. It will penetrate the immense tranquility of Nibbana and complete the study of Buddhism at this point. That is the perfection of insight into the Noble Paths. After finishing the study of Buddhism with the keenest insight of the Noble Paths, the remaining life in this world will resemble that of a lotus untainted by water. The eyes, etc., will function exactly in the same way as those of human beings and animals in bewaring of the sense objects at the six sense organs, but these sense objects will be only something moving in empty space. Nothing will ever contact them, which would otherwise cause mental suffering again, because consciousness that holds on to the suffering has already been abandoned. This is detachment, relinquishment, dispassion. After having completed the Three Studies, consciousness will be liberated from the whole mass of suffering, i.e. from the aggregates, but the aggregates are still impermanent, painful, not-self as always. Thus, bodily pain arises, but mental suffering is gone forever. No matter how joyful consciousness is, the mind will not cling to it. It will live with such joy as a lotus untainted by water, as aforesaid. At this point death is not favorable, but being alive is not pleasurable either. Simply live a life in peace, like a worker who sits leisurely after finishing his work and waits for his wages, namely; the extinction of the aggregates that constitute a whole mass of suffering.

The Second Noble Truth - the cause of suffering - is dependent origination played forward. The third Noble Truth - the ending of suffering (Nibbana) - is dependent Origination played backward.

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