Dharma Lessons

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

First Foundation: Mindfulness of Body

We begin with the mindfulness of body. There are two ways of viewing the practice of

mindfulness of body. The first is the general Buddhist approach, which is the most

fundamental way of looking at this mindfulness. The second approach reflects the more

specific Mahayana point of view. To begin with the most basic and general approach, the

mindfulness of body or form relates to our fundamental sense of existence, which

normally is not stable, not grounded, due to our samsaric pattern of tendencies. Our

existence is very wild. It's very crazy, like the mad elephant that we talked about earlier.

For that reason, we work with our form, the existence of form, at the first stage of

mindfulness practice. In particular, we work with three different levels of form.

These are the outer form of our physical existence, the inner form of our perceptions, and the

innermost form, which is related to the Mahayana understanding of the selflessness of

body.  

The Second Foundation: Mindfulness of Feeling

General Buddhist Approach: Fear and the Three Objects 

The second stage of mindfulness is the mindfulness of feeling, which is simply relating

to or working with our basic existence in the world as samsaric beings. In the general

Buddhist approach, "feeling" refers to the feeling of working with our basic fear. That

feeling is the fear of suffering, or the fear of fear. Actually, fear itself is not fear, but the

fear of fear becomes the most troubling presence in the realm of our feeling. Therefore,

the mindfulness of feeling relates with the three objects of our existence in the samsaric

world, that is the pleasant object, the unpleasant object, and the neutral object. In

relation to these three objects, we experience three different states or aspects of fear.

Towards the pleasant object, we have a fear of attachment. We have a fear of desire.

Towards the unpleasant object, we have a fear of hatred. We have a fear of aggression.

We have a fear of anger. And towards the neutral object, we have a fear of neutral

feeling.  We have a fear of becoming numb, of getting into a state of numbness, a state of stupidity, so to speak.

We regularly experience these three aspects of feeling in just

surviving our daily existence in the samsaric world.

In relation to these three feelings, Buddha taught that we have to relate to the three

objects properly, by understanding them and working with their nature. He said that

when we examine the nature of these three feelings and their three objects, we discover

that their fundamental nature is suffering.  The pleasant object, the unpleasant object,

and the neutral object all exist in the same nature of suffering, regardless of whether

we're relating to attachment, aggression or a neutral state of mind, such as ignorance.

Consequently, practicing mindfulness of suffering is the mindfulness of feeling. And

relating with the three objects is the means of relating with the three levels of suffering

that are so frequently talked about

The Third Foundation: Mindfulness Of Mind

General Buddhist Approach

We have discussed the first two aspects of mindfulness briefly: the mindfulness of body

and the mindfulness of feeling. Now we will look at the third mindfulness which is

known as the mindfulness of mind. At this point, the third stage of mindfulness is

working directly with our basic state of mind, our consciousness or awareness.  

"The mind" here in Buddhism refers to a detailed classification of mind. We're not

speaking simply of  one giant nature of mind. There's no such thing as one giant allpervasive mind, so to speak. Our practice of mindfulness of mind here is working with

every single, individual experience of our consciousness, which is divided into six

different categories known as the six consciousnesses, in the general Buddhist approach.

At the Mahayana level, it is divided into eight categories called the eight

consciousnesses. And if you want to go into more detail (laughs), then the mind is

further explained in the Abhidharma literature as having the basic mind and fifty one

mental factors. So we have a very detailed explanation of mind, generally speaking, in

this path of spirituality. But what we are fundamentally dealing with, here, is developing

the mindfulness of simply experiencing every individual movement of our mind, every

individual fragment of our mind, and every individual living state of our consciousness.

Accordingly, at this stage, we have the method of mindfulness of mind to help us relate

to and simply be present with the momentary movement of mind, the momentary

experience of every living, individual incident of our thoughts or perceptions or

memories, which we call mind. 

The Fourth Foundation:  Mindfulness Of Phenomena

General Buddhist Approach: Interdependence

The fourth mindfulness is called the mindfulness of phenomena or mindfulness of

dharmas. After working with the development of the mindfulness of mind,  this

mindfulness brings us to the next stage, which is the experience of panoramic awareness

of the phenomenal world. The phenomenal world is not only within our thoughts, within

our mind. The phenomenal world is also the object of our mind, the world that is

experienced around us with body, speech, and mind. Having a sense of relating with

these surrounding phenomena in a mindful way is what we call the mindfulness of

phenomena. That mindfulness is basically  the recognition of the interdependent

relationship of our mind and the phenomenal world. It is working with the relationship

of each individual phenomenon existing around us as the object of our experience. In

order to understand that particular phenomenon and relate with it properly, we must

develop the mindfulness of phenomena. And that, in some sense, is not really separated

from awareness. 

This mindfulness is very much related to the notion of awareness, of having a three

hundred sixty degree  awareness of the phenomenal world existing around us. When we

can relate that kind of panoramic awareness with the simple, present nature of

phenomena, that is what we call the mindfulness of phenomena. It is simply having the

prajna to relate with the phenomenal world outside more directly, more precisely,

without any fear, and without any conceptions. Without any philosophical conceptions,

we simply relate to the most fundamental state of phenomena.