We now explore the second Foundation of Mindfulness- Mindfulness of Feelings (Vedana in pali).
Some introduction to terminology is in order:
“Worldly” experiences refers to those sense experiences that relate directly to the senses (hearing, sight, taste, smell, touch and thoughts) and the corresponding thoughts that arise from them.
“Unworldly” (or spiritual) refers to experiences that are a result of renunciation. Renunciation has a somewhat different meaning in our culture (think giving up things). In Pali language it has a meaning of- not holding on and not grasping- so that feelings that arise from kindness, compassion, or generosity, for example, would be unworldly (or spiritually) pleasant.
SUTTA:
And how, does one abide contemplating feelings as feelings? Here, when feeling a pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel a pleasant feeling;” when feeling a painful feeling one understands: “I feel a painful feeling”; when feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.”
When feeling a worldly pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel a worldly pleasant feeling”; when feeling an unworldly pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel an unworldly (spiritually) pleasant feeling”; when feeling a worldly painful feeling, one understands: “I feel a worldly painful feeling”; when feeling an unworldly (spiritually) painful feeling, one understands: “I feel an unworldly(spiritually) painful feeling”; when feeling a worldly neither-painful-no-pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel a worldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling”; when feeling an unworldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel an unworldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.”
In this way one abides contemplating feelings as feelings internally, or one abides contemplating feelings as feelings externally, or one abides contemplating feelings as feelings both internally and externally. Or else one abides contemplating in feelings their arising factors, or one abides contemplating in feelings their vanishing factors, or one abides contemplating in feelings both their arising and vanishing factors. Or else mindfulness that “there is feeling” is simply established in him to the extent necessary for bare knowledge and mindfulness. And one abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating feelings as feelings.
Please deeply study all the above explanations regarding feelings until you truly grasp the important place that feelings hold in the Buddha’s teaching.
Please remember to maintain your daily sitting practice.
Commentary
“…abide contemplating…”
This refers to paying bare attention to the feelings that are arising to consciousness – we are to observe them without judgment, decision, or commentary. We are not contemplating in the cognitive sense. We want to directly realize the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and selfless nature of the feelings that are arising.
“…feelings as feelings…”
In the context of this practice, feelings are not emotions, which is the way in which we traditionally use the word feelings. (We will work with emotions in the Third Foundation of Mindfulness.) Feelings reflect the quality of sense experiences as being pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
When we investigate feelings we are not interested in how the body is affected by feelings, or what our thoughts are concerning the feelings that are arising. We want to merely investigate the feelings (the physical sensation) without any other aspect of our experience modifying, influencing, or distorting what is occurring.
In the Buddha’s own words:
“…if one is ardent and does not neglect
to practice mindfulness and clear comprehension,
the nature of all feelings will be understood,
and having penetrated them, one will be * taint-free in this very life.”
* (The taints are those mental factors that obstruct our progress towards enlightenment, clarity and peace. They include sense desire, the desire for eternal existence, and ignorance or not seeing things as they really are
“ when feeling a pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel a pleasant feeling;” when feeling a unpleasant feeling ,one understands: “I feel a unpleasant feeling”; when feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, one understands: “I feel a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling…”
With mindfulness of feelings, we leave the investigation of the body and begin our observation of the mind.
In each moment we are having sense experiences that arise based upon one of the six sense organs coming into contact with a corresponding sense object. ( eyes with forms, ears with sounds, etc.) In Buddhist psychology the mind is considered the sixth sense organ and its objects are cognitive processes.
Sometimes these sense experiences are pleasant (such as when we hear music that we enjoy, when someone gently rubs our back, when we think about an upcoming vacation or taste delicious food, etc.). When greed (lack of mindfulness) is present it conditions us to grasp at pleasant sense experiences.
Sometimes the feelings are unpleasant (such as when we hear a loud irritating noise, when we stub our toe, when we think about an argument we had, etc.), When aversion (lack of mindfulness ) is present it conditions us to resist, resent, or reject unpleasant sense experiences.
Sometimes the feelings are neutral or neither-painful-nor-pleasant (such as when we hear a weather report for a place we do not plan on visiting, when we look at the same billboard every day on the way to work, etc.). When delusion (lack of mindfulness) is present it conditions us to ignore neutral sense experiences.
Neutral feelings are hard to recognize due to their dispassionate or bland nature. The Buddha gives an analogy to illustrate this point. Imagine a field covered with snow. In the middle of the field is a boulder which has no snow upon it. A deer comes along and makes tracks in the snow leading to the boulder, then climbs over the boulder leaving no tracks, and then leaves tracks in the snow leading away from the boulder. Similarly, one can easily see the tracks left by pleasant and unpleasant feelings. However, it is very difficult to see the impressions left by the neutral feelings because it creates little impression on the mind. Sometimes it is easier to recognize the presence of neutral feelings by the absence of either the pleasant or unpleasant ones.
IMPORTANT! We aren’t being encouraged to give up pleasant experiences. They are part of our sentient nature. We are merely being encouraged not to mistake the pleasantness of a sense experience with true happiness.
In the Buddha’s own words regarding feelings:
“In the sky, various kinds of winds are blowing: winds from the east, west, north and south, winds carrying dust and winds without dust, winds hot and cold, gentle and fierce. Similarly, there arise in this body various kinds of feelings” pleasant feelings arise, painful feelings arise and neutral feelings arise.”
“…worldly or unworldly (spiritual) feelings…”
The Buddha further divides feelings into two categories: worldly and unworldly (i.e., spiritual). This is an essential distinction which has profound implications. We will begin our discussion and practices with worldly feelings and investigate spiritual feelings at a later point in our meditations.
Although feelings automatically arise whenever there is sense contact, the type of feeling that we experience can be influenced by our perception of the sense object being experienced. For example, hearing someone sing while we are listening to a CD may result in a pleasant feeling, but hearing someone sing when we are trying to meditate may result in an unpleasant feeling. It is the same sound but different contexts may determine its pleasantness
If we are not aware of the feelings as they arise from moment to moment we may either react to the feelings we experience or to the objects upon which the feelings are based. The tendency is to grasp at pleasant feelings or objects, to resist unpleasant feelings or objects, and to become bored with or indifferent towards feelings and objects that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant (i.e., neutral). This reactivity is part of a conditioned chain of events that occurs without the necessity of a separate self driving the process. It just happens when we’re not mindful!
KEY: The sense of a self manifests as the belief that we can create a life that only has pleasant feelings. In fact, most people spend their entire lives working towards that end. The issue isn’t the desire to experience pleasant feelings. It is believing that we have a choice as to what kind of feelings we will experience. When we do experience pleasant feelings we say to ourselves, “Ah, my strategy is working.” That tends to reinforce the illusion of a self that is in control.
At the root of our desire to experience pleasant feelings is a deep universal drive to achieve contentment and a sense of complete fulfillment in our lives. This is possible. The difficulty is that we mistake happiness, which is based upon experiencing pleasant worldy feelings, for contentment or equanimity which is always independent of our circumstances or the feelings that we are experiencing.
“… Or else one abides contemplating in feelings their arising factors, or one abides contemplating in feelings their vanishing factors…”
In the Buddha’s own words:
“Just as from the coming together and rubbing of two sticks of wood heat results and fire is produced, and by the separation and disconnection of the sticks, the heat produced by them ceases and disappears, so it is also with these three feelings (pleasant ,unpleasant, or neutral) which are born of sense impression, rooted in sense-impression, dependent on sense impression: dependent on a sense-impression of a certain kind there arises a corresponding feeling; by the cessation of that sense-impression the corresponding feeling ceases.”
Importance of Feeling Meditations
Meditation on feelings holds a very important position is the realization of freedom. Dependent Origination is a cycle of mental events that perpetuates the view of having an independent self that is in control. Unfortunately this cycle takes us “round and round” since what we seek (happiness) isn’t found in chasing sense experiences and so we try another round hoping the results will be different.
KEY: It means just recognizing feelings (as well as thoughts, emotions, sensations, etc.) as they arise and pass away. And they do arise and pass away! When there is the misperception that “I” feel, there is a subject object duality created. This duality is typically followed by a conflict – “Should I be feeling this, should I not be feeling this, why do I feel this, what should I do about these feelings, etc.”
If, however, we recognize that the observer and the observed are one, that there is no thinker other than the thought, that there is no subject other than the object, the feeling (thought, emotion, sensation, etc.) arises and disappears without a trace. There is only feeling (hearing, thinking etc.) without the positing of a self within the process. This way of experiencing whatever arises directly eradicates ignorance or the underlying delusion that perpetuates the dependent origination cycle.
With an untrained (unmindful) mind, when a pleasant feeling arises, craving and other passions will follow. It can be craving to perpetuate the pleasant feeling or the object that is responsible for the arising of that pleasant feeling, or it can be craving to end the unpleasant feeling or the object that is responsible for the arising of that unpleasant feeling.
Craving becomes intensified and we begin to cling to the experience that is occurring. This can lead to an exaggerated view of a situation and an extreme overreaction to it. Has this ever happened to you?
By not recognizing feelings, we do not question the values that we attach to persons and things, and it is difficult to admit that other evaluations of the same sense object are possible.
While this is all happening, there is an underlying and subtle perception of a self that is experiencing the present feeling, a self that craves to perpetuate or end that feeling, and a self that is in control of the consequences of that craving. In other words, feelings are quite “self-centered.”
KEY: By placing a “wedge of mindful awareness” between the feeling and craving, we are able to recognize the impermanent and selfless nature of that feeling. This interrupts the Dependent Origination cycle that reifies and reinforces a sense of self.
The two goals for these initial contemplationsare:
- To recognize that every sense experience we encounter has a feeling associated with it,
- To recognize the difference between pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings.
Please spend several days on the following contemplation. You may want to place notes around to remind you to keep working with the instructions.
As you move throughout the day, please keep noticing:
1) Every time you experience eye contact (i.e., the eye coming into contact with visual forms), ear contact, olfactory contact, tongue contact, body contact, and mind contact (i.e., the mind coming into contact with thoughts, emotions, etc.), a feeling arises.
2) Notice whether that feeling is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
Questions:
As a result of these meditations, have you realized:
- That feelings are arising during each moment of experience?
- That you have no choice as to what type of feeling will arise?
Please don’t make this too complicated. We don’t want to be a robot doing a continual self analysis. We simply want to work to recognize the truth of this experience. Feelings arise as a result of contact. Can we just leave it as simple as that?
