Talk Four: Sati on Seeing and Hearing, with Eating (Step by Step)
According to the exhortation (ovāda) of Sayadawgyi, the beginning of vipassanā starts from ānāpāna. At the beginning of sitting meditation, one practises ānāpāna for fifteen or twenty minutes. When the hindrances are absent, the mind becomes purified. Otherwise, the mind is overwhelmed by lobha, dosa, and moha, and it is not easy to practise insight for a long time. If the mind becomes clear, calm, and happy, one can practise for longer. Do not tense the mind or practise with excessive force; practise with confidence.
Contemplating the rising and falling of the abdomen (the Mahāsi system) does not mean “seeing” the abdomen. It means knowing the pressure and movement of the air. In the same way, ānāpāna is not about seeing the air coming in and out, but about knowing the touching and the knowing at the entrance of the nostrils. If one contemplates at the top of the head, one knows movements, sensations, warmth, and coolness. Wherever one contemplates, the main point is training the mind to have stable sati.
With experience, one comes to know the desire-to-breathe mind. This moment is very brief and, at the beginning, is not easy to contemplate. Therefore, one should collect the mind at the entrance of the nostrils, where the touching is clearer and lasts longer.
When sati becomes strong, one can begin to contemplate satipaṭṭhāna, that is, phenomena arising from the six sense doors. There are three levels: satipaṭṭhāna, satipaṭṭhāna-bhāvanā, and the completion of satipaṭṭhāna-bhāvanā.
Now I will speak about the contemplation of seeing consciousness. If one does not contemplate seeing, then from seeing arise affection, clinging, and action—this is the linking of the Dependent Arising (paṭicca-samuppāda) process.
To deal with seeing, it is necessary to know the arising of seeing consciousness. If one does not know its arising, one cannot know its cessation. Therefore, contemplate seeing at the eye. If one does not understand why seeing arises, wrong view and doubt will arise.
Visible form, the eye (a blind or closed eye cannot see), light, and attention (manasikāra)—these are the four conditions for seeing to arise. Seeing does not exist beforehand; it does not arise by itself, nor is it created by a permanent God. It arises now due to conditions. When one discerns these causes, contemplation becomes knowledge of conditions relating to mind and matter. If one does not repeatedly reflect in this way during contemplation, doubt will arise again and again. This is why Mogok Sayadawgyi taught yogis to clear away wrong view and doubt before developing insight.
Taking seeing as “seeing someone” becomes an external identity view; taking it as “I am seeing” becomes an internal identity view. Instead, take seeing with right attention, simply as seeing consciousness. If one interprets seeing in many ways—as man, woman, or object—greed, anger, and delusion arise, and lust may follow. Even people of very different ages can become couples over many lives because of this process.
If one cannot stop at seeing, then return to the in-breath and out-breath; in this way, thoughts cannot arise. This makes it easier to contemplate vanishing phenomena, as defilements do not enter. Most thoughts are related to defilements, and only a few are wholesome.
The seeing mind, the in-breathing and out-breathing minds, the hearing mind, and other such states are all objects of satipaṭṭhāna. Practise with these objects until one becomes skilled. If one does not know what to contemplate, delusion enters and defilements arise. Therefore, do not search for special objects of contemplation; simply contemplate whatever phenomenon arises.
Greed and anger are easy to recognize, but the arising of delusion is difficult to know. Even when a yogi does not hear a sound, expecting it to arise is already delusion. In such cases, one should return to contemplating the in-breath and out-breath, which always exist.
Whatever happens, contemplate whatever arises, but no contemplation is affecting the practice—for example, releasing air out from the bottom.
Whoever is able to contemplate whatever arises in the body—wherever they live or stay—will find that contemplation is not difficult, even in a big city. There is no need to run away or search for special places. Objects of contemplation are always present.
(For these reasons, the Mahāsi system is especially suitable for everyday life practice, as it closely follows the detailed structure of the Mahā-Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Mogok Sayadaw also mentioned this important point in some of his talks.)
The main obstacle in practice is delusion or ignorance. Because of delusion, craving (taṇhā) arises, leading to greed (lobha) and aversion (dosa). Therefore, do not take pleasure in samādhi based only on the in-breath and out-breath.
There have been many people who suffered because they were unable to contemplate their seeing and hearing.
(We can read many such stories in the suttas and Jātaka tales, and we can also observe this in our surroundings and daily lives.)
Do not let sati fall away. This is the main point in practice. Without mindfulness, one cannot discern the arising of phenomena, nor their vanishing.
If samādhi becomes excessive, sudden loud sounds may lead to fright. Therefore, samādhi and viriya must be kept in balance. (Sounds can become a hindrance to the development of samādhi.)
Now, regarding the consuming of food, I will explain how to reflect for people who have strong craving for food.
[This teaching refers to the story of parents and their baby boy in the desert, found in the Āhāra Sutta of the Nidāna Saṁyutta, Sutta No. 63(3), commonly known as the “Son’s Flesh” Sutta.) This is an important sutta that every person should know.
This sutta explains the four kinds of nutriment necessary for the maintenance of beings: edible food, contact (phassa), mental volition (cetanā), and consciousness.]
The sight of food—its colour, shape, and appearance—can give rise to greed and anger.
[In the Vessantara Jātaka (No. 547), Devadatta, in a past life as a brahmin, overeaten food he could not digest and died on the spot. (This illustrates the danger of craving and lack of mindful reflection.)
Some years ago in May-myo City, Upper Burma, a village man killed his wife on the spot at the dining table by striking her head with firewood. This happened because he did not see the chilies dish on the table. Therefore, yogis must contemplate the seeing of food. If attention is given to steaks, chicken meat, and similar objects, wrong view can arise. Making sounds while eating can also give rise to anger—for example, the sounds of spoons, forks, knives, chewing, and so on. Therefore, one must also contemplate sounds when eating with others.]
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