On Feelings (With an Open Mind)

On Feelings (T 6, Burma)

We must use meditation objects that are suitable to our individual characters.

For example, a greedy character should contemplate feeling (vedanā). Feeling often manifests clearly in the body, but one should contemplate whatever feeling is arising and is most evident at the moment, as this depends on circumstances.

People with anger or discernment-based characters should contemplate Dhamma (dhammānupassanā), that is, whatever arises at the six sense doors, discerning its impermanent nature (anicca).

A deluded character (moha) should contemplate the body (kāya). For instance, some people is used to nodding off while sitting. (I once met a Western monk who was used to nodding off often while sitting; before ordination he had been addicted to drugs.) Such practitioners may not yet be able to contemplate impermanence directly; they can only note phenomena.

To contemplate anicca means to note and incline the mind toward the object and to see that it does not truly exist—that it has already passed away. Paying close attention to the object through noting is, in itself, contemplation of impermanence.

Even Buddhas and arahants do not “know” phenomena automatically; they know through by paying attention. New yogis often only note and do not yet observe deeply. Experienced yogis, however, both note and observe.

Each yogi encounters painful feeling differently. Some experience it early in practice, others later. One should not become discouraged. When the spirit is low, samādhi weakens. For example, pain may arise in the morning but not in the evening, or disappear as time passes. Yogis may miss noting when pleasant feeling arises, yet become disheartened when pain appears.

Do not miss any arising phenomenon. All phenomena—pleasant or unpleasant—are momentary, unstable, and constantly changing. One should not contemplate pain with the desire to overcome it if the mind is dominated by lobha (craving). Another wrong approach is to fight or battle pain forcefully, which is rooted in anger.

Both of these approaches must be abandoned.

How to Contemplate Feeling

How should feeling be contemplated? One must contemplate in order to know its nature. This is the nature of feeling: it is not a person, not a being.

A yogi once asked me about a statement found in a Dhamma book:

“If one contemplates pain merely as ‘painful, painful’ (by noting), and dies with that perception of mind may fall into painful states of existence (apāya-bhūmi).”

So how, then, should feeling be contemplated?

If there is no listening to Dhamma talks and no understanding of Dhamma, a person who is near death—oppressed by disease—may cling to the concept “my body is painful.” This becomes improper attention, rooted in wrong view (diṭṭhi) and craving (taṇhā). At that time, the person experiences bodily and mental pain and, if dying in such a state, may fall into the lower realms (apāya).

In correct contemplation, one does not attend to the body or body parts, but attends only to feeling as a dhamma. Noting pain as pain is mindfulness (sati); knowing its nature is wisdom (paññā). Therefore, with noting, sati, and paññā, even if death occurs, one will not fall into the apāyas.

If a dying person can separate the mind from the body, they can endure pain and die peacefully. (See Sayadaw U Candimā’s Bhavaṅga Meditation.) According to Mogok Sayadaw, if a yogi discerns impermanence (anicca), painful feeling is no longer experienced as pain.

Some people criticise blindly without practising themselves. Mahāsi Sayadaw explained this matter clearly in many ways in his books. In the early stage of practice, when samādhi is weak, pain appears together with the body, and with better samādhi, the location of pain is not distinct. As samādhi improves, the painful nature and the knowing nature become distinct to the yogi.

At that stage, concepts and bodily form dissolve at the level of feeling, and the mind rests on the nature of feeling itself. When this happens, wrong view (diṭṭhi) falls away.

There are three ways of contemplating feeling (such as pain):

Note: The above three ways of contemplation are taught by Mahāsi meditation teachers.

Contemplating Pain: Endurance, Strategy, and Skill

[Certain Burmese monks practise direct, face-to-face contemplation of pain until it is overcome—for example, Soon Loon Sayadaw, Thae-inn Gu Sayadaw, and Sayadaw U Candimā who taught Diamond Meditation and Bhavaṅga Meditation.]

At times, the situation can become unbearable. In such moments, one should contemplate with patience and endurance, reflecting on the great sufferings and pains of hell realms. Some yogis, when oppressed by painful feeling, shift their attention and think of pleasant experiences they had in the past. When this happens, craving (taṇhā) enters the mind.

If insight knowledge develops, the oppressive, unstable, and uncontrollable nature of the aggregates (khandha) becomes clear. Even though pain is present, it can be borne. The mind becomes happy through tasting the Dhamma, and suffering is no longer dominant. If one changes posture merely because the pain is unbearable, one should not give up the practice entirely.

The ambush method is used when the enemy (pain) has strength that cannot be faced directly. In this case, one should temporarily stop direct contemplation of pain and instead return to another object—such as touching and knowing (e.g. sitting and knowing the touch points), which is one of the basic objects in the Mahāsi system. Another basic object is the rising and falling of the abdomen.

The yogi should note these objects quickly and with intensity, while still knowing that pain is present, but without directing attention straight at it. This reduces the intensity of pain. When touching and knowing are continuous, the noting mind overwhelms the pain. After that, one can return to pain again for contemplation.

(Here, I refer readers to Sayadaw U Candimā’s instructions on ānāpāna samādhi, which are similar to the method described above. See my translation, A Noble Search.)

One should not speculate about the level of insight one has attained. May be one can conquer pain if it not may still transform into pleasant feeling. (Because every thing of beginning has its ending.)

Pleasant Feeling, Equanimity, and Progress in Insight

If pain changes into pleasant feeling (sukha), the yogi must also note it and should not follow it. Otherwise, the level of insight knowledge will decline.

It is suitable to practice with samādhi strength method—especially for elderly practitioners—the yogi should contemplate the primary objects of sitting practice: touching and knowing, or rising and falling of the abdomen. As samādhi develops, pain decreases. At that point, one should return to noting pain again. With the strength of samādhi, insight knowledge develops more slowly, the realisation of Dhamma takes longer time.

Three Ways of Contemplating Feeling

(From the Sakkapañha Sutta, Dīgha Nikāya, Sutta No. 21)

Yogis should not delight in sensual pleasures, as this wastes precious time and can lead to the lower realms (apāyas). Laypeople, in particular, should reflect deeply on this. However, yogis may experience pleasant, painful, or neutral feelings in relation to practice, and this does not lead to apāyas. By contemplating these vedanās, especially during or near death, one can even realise Dhamma at death or in the next life (see Sotānugata Sutta, sutta no. 191, Book of Fours, Aṅguttara Nikāya, AN 4.191).

Insight Knowledge and Happiness

When a yogi reaches knowledge of rise and fall (udayabbaya-ñāṇa) and equanimity knowledge, the taste of Dhamma arises. This happiness is superior to worldly happiness. If rapture or happiness arises, it must be noted, because these states do not last. Without noting, Dhamma cannot develop.

At the higher stages of insight, one must apply continuous effort to overcome the ten corruptions of insight. These signs indicate that a practitioner may become a noble one (ariya) in this life—at least a stream-enterer.

Do not assume that only happiness indicates progress in Dhamma. The arising of painful feeling does not mean lack of progress. In some cases, pain increases as insight deepens.

(This can be seen clearly in U Sun Lwin’s experience, described in Eighteen Days in Solitude.)

Elevating the Faculties and Contemplating Feeling

At this stage, yogis must strengthen the faculties (indriya)—especially faith, mindfulness, and effort. By doing so, they can attain higher insight knowledge. One should contemplate pleasant feeling (sukha-vedanā) as suffering, and incline the mind toward discerning rise and fall as suffering, knowing it as changing dukkha (vipariṇāma-dukkha).

Neutral feeling is subtle and unclear. If it is not contemplated, delusion (moha) easily arises. Therefore, when the object of contemplation is not clear, the yogi should contemplate the contemplating mind itself—that is, observe the following or proliferating mind.

With respect to the three kinds of feeling, one should contemplate painful feeling (dukkha-vedanā) through noting in order to overcome it; otherwise, displeasure (domanassa) arises.

If one is unable to contemplate pleasant feeling, greed (lobha) arises.

If neutral feeling is not clearly known, it turns into delusion.

When a yogi can discern impermanence (anicca) through contemplation, lobha, dosa, and moha do not arise, and the process of dependent arising (paṭicca-samuppāda) is cut off.

(Understanding dependent arising—both as a process and as a teaching—is therefore extremely important for one’s practice. Hence, one should study and reflect on Mogok Sayadaw’s Dhamma talks.)

Insight Contemplation and Sabhāva-Lakkhaṇa

In insight contemplation, if one contemplates by directly attending to the object, one will discern its sabhāva-lakkhaṇa—its individual or intrinsic characteristic. This knowing occurs in the present moment.

Sabhāva-lakkhaṇa refers to the nature of non-self—not a person, not a being, but an intrinsic phenomenon. For this reason, it is also spoken of as an element (dhātu). This is knowing the paramattha (ultimate) nature.

If one knows the arising of a phenomenon and also knows its vanishing, and contemplates thoroughly, one knows the beginning, the middle, and the end.

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