Talk Six: Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, Bodily Sensation, and the Three Governing Principles (Adhipati) (Step by Step)

(Here I omit the last of the four adhipati and mention only three. This teaching can be found in the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Book of the Threes, Sutta No. 40(10).)

First, develop sati through ānāpāna. After that, contemplate whatever arises—seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching—as I explained yesterday.

Now I will continue talking about body consciousness. In Mogok Sayadaw’s usage, itching, pleasant sensations, and unpleasant sensations are all body consciousness. Whatever arises in the body should be noted simply as body consciousness. It is not limited to the skin only, but also includes all internal organs and other bodily parts.

There are several important points to remember:

1. Do not include the location. For example, when pain or aching arises, note it simply as body consciousness, without including the place (e.g., “chest pain”).
2. Do not contemplate it as a feeling of good or bad. At this stage, this is not contemplation of vedanā; it is contemplation of consciousness only.
3. Do not pay attention to the object of contact. For example, if the contact involves a man or a woman, identity view and lust may arise.
4. Do not think about why it happened. Instead, contemplate that the result arises due to causes—this is right attention.

Body consciousness arises not only from contact with hard or soft objects, but also from heat and cold. If one discerns warmth and coolness in fine detail (with close, continuous observation), mindfulness (sati) becomes powerful.

With careful and continuous knowing, effort is sustained. When the mind does not run away and remains with the object, this is samādhi. Knowing these arising phenomena simply as mental phenomena is right view (sammā-diṭṭhi). When combined, this becomes sati-paññā. Yogis must contemplate whatever arises in order to know it clearly. If nothing is arising, return to contemplation of the in-breath and out-breath.

(Sayadaw spoke about the three governing principles; however, the sutta explanation is clearer.)

Contemplate by stripping away clinging to self—for example, understanding: “This is not my breathing.” Do not take pleasure at the nostrils (that is, do not cling to samādhi). Contemplate in turn whatever arises from the six sense doors. Even though this practice is difficult, it develops knowledge. It is like studying in school: as the levels progress, the material becomes more difficult, but knowledge increases. At this stage, practice is still at the level of satipaṭṭhāna.

Among the six sense doors, contemplation has not yet included the mind door (mano-dvāra).

Now I will speak about contemplation during eating. While eating, one must first strip away wrong view; otherwise, one becomes stuck in concepts and identity view. When consuming food, one should have knowledge of paramattha dhamma. If one relates to food through concepts, identity view arises toward external objects. Clinging to the eating mind as “me” becomes sakkāya-diṭṭhi, turning inward. During contemplation of eating, one must also be aware of the other sense doors (hearing, smelling, etc.). This spreading-out contemplation is the task of satipaṭṭhāna applied to the most distinct objects.

Contemplation of primary objects establishes sati (here, ānāpāna and the eating mind). To discern the vanishing of phenomena is satipaṭṭhāna-bhāvanā. Without knowing the arising of phenomena, one cannot know their vanishing. Therefore, we develop satipaṭṭhāna in order to discern the arising of phenomena.

The contemplation of eating has three main points:

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