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Sensations
- The Root Of Misery And Sorrow And The Key To Insight And Freedom
DHAMMA: Vedana
In Satipatthana The
four-fold Satipatthana, (the establishing of awareness,) was
highly praised by the Buddha in the suttas. Mentioning its importance
in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, the Buddha called it ekayano
maggo - the only way for the purification of beings, for overcoming
sorrow, for the extinguishing of suffering, for obtaining the path
of truth and experiencing Nibbana (liberation). (1) Vedanasamosarana
sabbe Dhamma. (3) Everything that arises in the mind flows along with sensations. Therefore,
observation of sensation offers a means-indeed the only means-to examine
the totality of our being, physical as well as mental. (mind-matter).
The 4 avenues for the establishing of awareness (Satipatthana)
mentioned above are not 4 different compartments but in fact are one
- and constitute 'Total', 'complete', 'holistic' observation. Satipatthana
is 'total' meditation. All these 4 avenues go hand in hand, body can
only be felt and observed experientially because of the sensations
in/on the body, mind is known by the content of the mind and ''everything
that arises in the mind flows along with sensations on the body''.
Again it is the mind that feels and observes the body. Hence mind
and matter are deeply co-related and interdependent. Rather it should
be said it is mind-matter and not mind and matter. This observation
is of the truth as it manifests from moment to moment in mind-matter-the
truth, the reality 'as it is' - it is staying with the truth of the
moment ('what is' or yathabhuta), effortlessly-choicelessly.
When the awareness is completely established in mind-matter choicelessly-the
observer is observed, there is no one to experience or know-there
is no craving or clinging to anything in this world and that is freedom. Broadly
speaking, the Buddha refers to five types of vedana: A)
Sukha vedana - pleasant body sensation In
all references to vedana in the Satipatthana Sutta the
Buddha speaks of sukha vedana, dukkha vedana, i.e., the body
sensations; or adukkhamasukha vedana, which in this context
also clearly denotes neutral body sensations. Kayikam
sukham kayikassa sukhassa, kayikassa duk- Pleasant
body sensation is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant
sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition (nibbana)
by strong dependence condition. Unpleasant
body sensation is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant
sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong dependence
condition. The
season (or surrounding environment) is related to pleasant sensation
of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition
by strong dependence condition. Food
is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation
of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong dependence condition. Lying
down and sitting (i.e., the mattress and cushions, or the position
of lying, sitting, etc.) is related to pleasant sensation of the body,
unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong
dependence condition. From
the above statement it is clear how important vedana, sensation,
is on the path of liberation. The pleasant and unpleasant body sensations,
the surrounding environment (utu), the food we eat (bhojanam),
and the sleeping and sitting position, the mattress or cushions used,
etc.(senasanam)-are all responsible for ongoing body sensations of
one type or another.When the sensations are experienced properly,
as the Buddha explained in Satipatthana Sutta, these become
the nearest dependent condition for our liberation. There
are four dimensions to our nature: the body and its sensations, and
the mind and its contents. These provide four avenues for the establishing
of awareness in satipatthana.. In order that the observation be complete,
we must experience every facet, which we can only do by means of vedana.
This exploration of truth will remove the delusions we have about
ourselves. The
traditional spiritual teachers of India, before the Buddha, in his
day and afterwards, expressed the view that craving causes suffering
and that to remove suffering one must abstain from the objects of
craving. This belief led to various practices of penance and extreme
abstinence from external stimuli. In order to develop detachment,
the Buddha took a different approach. Having learned to examine the
depths of his own mind, he realized that between the external object
and the mental reflex of craving is a missing link: vedana. Whenever
we encounter an object through the five physical senses or the mind,
a sensation arises; and based on the sensation, tanha (craving)
arises. If the sensation is pleasant we crave to prolong it, if it
is unpleasant we crave to be rid of it. It is in the chain of Dependent
Origination (paticcasamuppada) that the Buddha expressed his
profound discovery : Salayatana-paccaya
phassa Dependent
on the six sense-spheres, contact arises. The
immediate cause for the arising of craving and, consequently, of suffering
is not something outside of us but rather the sensations that occur
within us. Therefore,
just as the understanding of vedana is absolutely essential to understand
the interaction between mind-matter within ourselves, the same understanding
of vedana is essential to understand the interaction of the outside
world with the individual. Ya vedeti ti vedana, sa vedayati lakkhana, anubhavanarasa....(6) That
which feels the object is vedana; its characteristic is to
feel, it is the essential taste of experience... However, merely to feel the sensations within is not enough to remove our delusions. Instead, it is essential to understand the tilakkhana (three characteristics) of all phenomena. We must directly experience anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), and anatta (selflessness) within ourselves. Of these three the Buddha always stressed the importance of anicca because the realization of the other two will easily follow when we experience deeply the characteristic of impermanence. In the Meghiyasutta of the Udana he said: Aniccasannino
hi, Meghiya, anattasanna santhati, In him, Meghiya, who is conscious of impermanence, the perception of selflessness is established. He who perceives what is selfless wins the uprooting of the pride of egotism in this very life, and thus he realizes Nibbana. This
experience of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha)
and egolessness (anatta) is experiential and not intellectual.
It is experiential understanding at the level of sensations and experiential
understanding is only possible at the level of sensations. This experience
of anicca is called anitya bodha in hindi or sanskrit which
means experiential understanding of anicca (impermanence).
This experience of impermanence, suffering and egolessness strikes
at the roots of craving - clinging -'I' or that is to say strikes
at the very roots of misery and sorrow and one who understands this
totally-is free from all bondages-all misery and sorrow. Therefore, in the practice of satipatthana, the experience of anicca, arising and passing away, plays a crucial role. This experience of anicca as it manifests in the mind-body is also called Vipassana. The practice of Vipassana is the same as the practice of satipatthana. In
the process of self observation everyone passes through the same way
to the final goal and this is no 'beaten track', this is the experiential
understanding of 'what is'-which is not static but is everchanging. These
are described in important sentences repeated not only at the end
of each section of kayanupassana but also at the end of Vedananupassana,
cittanupassana and each section of Dhammanupassana. They
are : A)
Samudaya-Dhammanupassi va viharati. A)
One dwells observing the phenomenon of arising. These
sentences reveal the essence of the practice of satipatthana. Unless
these three levels of anicca are experienced, we will not develop
panna (wisdom) - the equanimity based on the experience of impermanence
- which leads to detachment, to liberation. Therefore to establish
awareness and for our observation to be total and holistic we have
to develop (effortlessly-choicelessly) the constant thorough understanding
of impermanence which in pali is known as sampajanna (Sampragyan
in sanskrit or hindi) Sampajanna
has been often misunderstood. In the colloquial language of the day
it also had the meaning of "knowingly." For example, the
Buddha has spoken of sampajanamusa bhasita, (9) and sampajana
musavada (10) which means "consciously, or knowingly, to
speak falsely." This superficial meaning of the term is sufficient
in an ordinary context. But whenever the Buddha speaks of Vipassana
leading to purification, to nibbana, as here in the Mahasatipatthana
Sutta, the sampajanna has a specific, technical significance. To
remain sampajano (the adjective form of sampajanna)
, one must meditate on the arising and passing away of phenomena (anicca-bodha),
objectively observing mind-matter without reaction. The realization
of samudaya-vaya-Dhamma (impermanence) cannot be by contemplation,
which is merely a process of thinking, or by imagination or even by
believing; it must be performed with paccanubhoti. (11) (direct
experience), which is yathabhuta-nana-dassana (experiential
knowledge of the reality as it is) (12). Here the observation of vedana
plays its vital role, because with vedana a meditator very clearly
and tangibly realizes samudaya-vaya (arising and passing away).
Sampajanna, in fact, is directly perceiving the arising and
passing away of vedana, wherein all four facets of our being
are included. It is for this reason that the three essential qualities - to remain atapi (ardent), sampajano, and satima (aware) - are invariably repeated for each of the four satipatthanas. And as the Buddha explained, sampajanna is observing the arising and passing away of vedana. (13) Hence the part played by vedana in the practice of satipatthana should not be ignored or this practice of satipatthana will not be complete. In
the words of the Buddha: Tisso
ima, bhikkhave, vedana. Katama tisso? Sukha Meditators,
there are three types of body sensations. What are the three? Pleasant
sensations, unpleasant sensations and neutral sensations. Practise,
meditators, the four-fold satipatthana for the complete understanding
of these three sensations. References 1.
Digha-nikaya II: VRI 373, PTS 290. |
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