Que.-Ans. 1 ) Why move the attention through the body in order, and why in this order? Ans : Any order may be followed, but an order is necessary. Otherwise there is the danger of neglecting some parts of the body, and those parts will remain blind, blank. Sensations exist throughout the body, and in this technique, it is very important to develop the ability to experience them everywhere. For this purpose moving in order is very helpful. If in a part of the body there is no sensation, you may keep your attention there for a minute. In reality there is sensation there, as in every particle of the body, but it is of such a subtle nature that your mind is not aware of it consciously, and therefore this area seems blind. Stay for a minute, observing calmly, quietly and equanimously. Don’t develop craving for a sensation, or aversion towards the blindness. If you do so, you have lost the balance of your mind, and an unbalanced mind is very dull; it certainly cannot experience the more subtle sensations. But if the mind remains balanced, it becomes sharper and more sensitive, capable of detecting subtle sensations. Observe the area equanimously for about a minute, not more. If within a minute no sensation appears, then smilingly move further. Next round, again stay for a minute; sooner or later you will begin to experience sensations there and throughout the body. If you have stayed for a minute and still cannot feel a sensation, then try to feel the touch of your clothing if it is a covered area, or the touch of the atmosphere if it is uncovered. Begin with these superficial sensations, and gradually you will start to feel other ones as well. 2) If the attention is fixed in one part of the body and a sensation starts in another, should one jump back or forward to observe this other sensation? Ans : No; continue moving in order. Don’t try to stop the sensations in other parts of the body—you cannot do so—but don’t give them any importance. Observe each sensation only when you come to it, moving in order. Otherwise you will jump from one place to another, missing many parts of the body, observing only gross sensations. You have to train yourself to observe all the different sensations in every part of the body, gross or subtle, pleasant or unpleasant, distinct or feeble. Therefore never allow the attention to jump from place to place. 3 ) How much time should one take to pass the attention from head to feet? Ans : This will vary according to the situation one faces. The instruction is to fix your attention in a certain area, and as soon as you feel a sensation, to move ahead. If the mind is sharp enough, it will be aware of sensation as soon as it comes to an area, and you can move ahead at once. If this situation occurs throughout the body, it may be possible to move from head to feet in about ten minutes, but it is not advisable to move more quickly at this stage. If the mind is dull, however, there may be many areas in which it is necessary to wait for up to a minute for a sensation to appear. In that case, it may take thirty minutes or an hour to move from head to feet. The time needed to make a round is not important. Just keep working patiently, persistently; you will certainly be successful. 4) How big should the area be in which to fix the attention? Ans : Take a section of the body about two or three inches wide; then move ahead another two or three inches, and so on. If the mind is dull, take larger areas, for example, the entire face, or the entire right upper arm; then gradually try to reduce the area of attention. Eventually you will be able to feel sensations in every particle of the body, but for now, an area of two or three inches is good enough. 5. What is a Sensation.? Anything that one feels at the physical level is a sensation—any natural, normal, ordinary bodily sensation, whether pleasant or unpleasant, whether gross or subtle, whether intense or feeble. Never ignore a sensation on the grounds that it is caused by atmospheric conditions, or by sitting for long hours, or by an old disease. Whatever the reason, the fact is that you feel a sensation. Previously you tried to push out the unpleasant sensations, to pull in the pleasant ones. Now you simply observe objectively, without identifying with the sensations. It is a choiceless observation. Never try to select sensations; instead, accept whatever arises naturally. If you start looking for something in particular, something extraordinary, you will create difficulties for yourself, and will not be able to progress on the path. The technique is not to experience something special, but rather to remain equanimous in the face of any sensation. In the past you had similar sensations in your body, but you were not aware of them consciously, and you reacted to them. Now you are learning to be aware and not to react, to feel whatever is happening at the physical level and to maintain equanimity. If you work in this way, gradually the entire law of nature will become clear to you. This is what Dhamma means: nature, law, truth. To understand truth at the experiential level, one must investigate it within the framework of the body. This is what Siddhattha Gotama did to become a Buddha. (Discourse summaries. )
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 02:44:03 +0000
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