Mindfulness in Feelings (old)

See: Exercises: Discerning the Mind

Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness

After one has established mindfulness with regard to the activities of the body, one may start focusing on feelings to establish mindfulness with regard to them. One locates a feeling that is uppermost in the mind and then immerses oneself completely in it. One looks at the nature of the feeling whether it is worldly or spiritual, whether it is pleasant, painful or neutral. One closely observes significance mixed with that feeling and acknowledges it non-judgmentally for what it is.

Here are some excerpts from Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness.

“And how, monks, does a monk live contemplating feelings in feelings?
“Herein, monks, a monk when experiencing a pleasant feeling knows, ‘I experience a pleasant feeling’; when experiencing a painful feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a painful feeling’; when experiencing a neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling,’ he knows, ‘I experience a neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling.’ When experiencing a pleasant worldly feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a pleasant worldly feeling’; when experiencing a pleasant spiritual feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a pleasant spiritual feeling’; when experiencing a painful worldly feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a painful worldly feeling’; when experiencing a painful spiritual feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a painful spiritual feeling’; when experiencing a neither-pleasant-nor-painful worldly feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a neither-pleasant-nor-painful worldly feeling’; when experiencing a neither-pleasant-nor-painful spiritual feeling, he knows, ‘I experience a neither-pleasant-nor-painful spiritual feeling.’
“Thus he lives contemplating feelings in feelings internally, or he lives contemplating feelings in feelings externally, or he lives contemplating feelings in feelings internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in feelings, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in feelings, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in feelings. Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, ‘Feeling exists,’ to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating feelings in feelings.”

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EXERCISE

PURPOSE:   To practice mindfulness with regard to feelings and sensations.

  1. At all times be aware of your feelings.

    In the words of Buddha:
    • Know when you experience a pleasant feeling, ‘I experience a pleasant feeling’;
    • Know when you experience a painful feeling, ‘I experience a painful feeling’;
    • Know when you experience a neutral feeling, ‘I experience a neutral feeling’;
    • Know when you experience a pleasant worldly feeling, ‘I experience a pleasant worldly feeling;
    • Know when you experience a pleasant spiritual feeling, ‘I experience a pleasant spiritual feeling;
    • Know when you experience a painful worldly feeling, ‘I experience a painful worldly feeling;
    • Know when you experience a painful spiritual feeling, ‘I experience a painful spiritual feeling;
    • Know when you experience a neutral worldly feeling, ‘I experience a neutral worldly feeling;
    • Know when you experience a neutral spiritual feeling, ‘I experience a neutral spiritual feeling;

  2. Look at the feeling that is uppermost in your mind. Look at what is right there associated with it. Do not go digging for information by trying to remember.

  3. See if that feeling has a location in, or on, some part of the body. The feeling may appear not to have any location, or it may appear to be throughout the body. Sometimes the feeling may appear to have a location in the space around the body. In any case, spot the location if there is one.

  4. If there is some medical condition associated with the feeling, make sure you are following the proper medical procedures.

  5. Become thoroughly immersed in the feeling  at its location and feel it unconditionally. The feeling may seem to move to different locations. Thoroughly feel it at whatever location you find it.

  6. If any thoughts or considerations appear during this process notice them mindfully, and accept them for what they are.

  7. If a picture appears during this process then look at it for what it is. You may make a copy just like it and place it next to it. You may even make more copies until you feel you have enough. Then simply dispose of all these copies in any manner you wish. If some part of a picture is still remaining then repeat this step.

  8. Continue experiencing the feeling without resistance as long as it is there. Be mindful of the thoughts, considerations, pictures, ideas, etc., that flow along with the feeling. The feeling will finally reduce and go away as you practice mindfulness.

  9. Continue with the next feeling that is now uppermost in the mind from step 2 forward. If there is no specific feeling to take up then simply go back to step 1.

  10. Continue contemplating feelings internally and/or as observed externally.

  11. Be mindful of the origination factors in feelings, and/or the dissolution factors in feelings.

  12. Be mindful that feelings exist to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness.

  13. Live detached, and cling to nothing in the world.

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Further references: KHTK Mindfulness

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July 29, 2012 – 4:47 PM Categories: Self-Improvement | Comments (3)

The Self and the Soul

In physics, the center of mass  is the weighted average location of all the mass in a body or group of bodies. Various important calculations in mechanics become simplified when quantities are referenced to the center of mass, or when the entire mass of a body is treated as if it is concentrated at the center of mass.

We may regard the Self and the Soul in a similar manner.

A SELF is a weighted average location of all physical and mental energies and forces related to a person, much like the “center of mass.” 

So, underlying this concept of self there is an actual structure of energies and forces. This may be what Buddha was describing as summarized in The Structure of “I”.

If we look at a soul as something left after the body dies then we may describe it in a similar manner as follows:

A SOUL is a weighted average location of the mental energies and forces, remaining after the death of the physical body,  much like the “center of mass.”

By definition, spirit is the essence of something. It also refers to the mental energies and forces remaining after death. Therefore these mental energies and forces remaining after death constitute the spirit of a person. Spirit is not different from the mind.

As it is obvious from the above interpretation, a soul is what remains of the self after the removal of physical energies and forces. The soul does not have the same characteristics as the self. Soul does not behave the same way as the self did.

A soul is pretty much frozen until it creates a new self by becoming part of a new born baby. The last thought of the old self is the first thought of the new self. There are no “in-between life” after death and before birth. Ideas about “in-between lives” seems to be the projections of live self.

The new self of the baby has only certain elements of the old self. This  may explain the inexplicable talents and memories from some other life. But there is no “self” that continues from one body to the next.

We are not talking about reincarnation here. There seem to be no heaven or hell where souls may be stored indefinitely after death. There is recycling in nature.

Here we are looking beyond hopes and expectations. We are looking at physics on the plane of metaphysics.

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July 29, 2012 – 8:39 AM Categories: KHTK | Comments (46)

Granting of Beingness & Space

In my opinion, Granting of Beingness would be letting something (or somebody) be what it is, and making no efforts to alter it by adding or subtracting to it.

You are not giving it life. It is what it is.

You are not creating energy. What is there is already there.

You are simply becoming aware of it.

By granting beingness you are not changing anything out there. You are simply becoming less judgmental.

Self is merely a label for a combination of locations, movements, particles and considerations. Such label may be applied to other combinations of locations, movements, particles and considerations.

Looking at something as ‘self’ is one step away from seeing what is really there. It is being judgmental to some degree.

There is simply this process of looking and becoming aware of what is there. ‘Who is looking’ is an idea and ‘what is being looked at’ is also an idea. One may use the label ‘orientation point’ for who is looking. and ‘symbol’ for what is being looked at. These things may be considered points or locations in the “space” of awareness. As far as locations go, they are all relative to one another.

Just like there are locations in space, ‘Orientation point’ and ‘symbol’ are points within awareness. There is no absolute point outside of awareness. Locations, or points, orient themselves to one another in a mutual fashion and become aware of each other.

And therefore,

  1. Space is simply there. It is also awareness. So awareness is simply there.

  2. Awareness may focus, or concentrate, itself at any point within itself, and call that an ‘orientation point’.

  3. Awareness may also focus, or concentrate, itself on another point within itself, and call that a ‘symbol’.

  4. Awareness may then differentiate between these two points, and call that a measure or ‘dimension’.

  5. Awareness, or space, shall then consist of points (locations) and measurable properties (dimensions). This may be represented mathematically by scales.

  6. But the awareness, or space, is already there. It is not created. It simply focuses and concentrates upon itself in various ways.

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July 28, 2012 – 7:28 AM Categories: KHTK | Comments (112)

IITK Campus 1964

At the top is the freshly completed dormitory where we were housed when we first arrived on the IITK campus in the fall of 1963. IITK stands for the ‘Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur’.

At the bottom is my then newly made friend Virendra Tarneja. We had common interest in art. Virendra organized exhibitions of his paintings on the campus, while I just dabbled along.

I shall love to have my IITK friends talk about their experiences here. But non-IITians are welcome to join in to talk about their college experiences.

I shall keep this section aside for discussing any experiences, which took place during the school and college years. Maybe we can go earlier as far back as Kindergarten.

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July 24, 2012 – 5:17 PM Categories: Pictures | Comments (1)

Tagged |

True Religious Freedom

Reference: Religion

True religious freedom is to have the God of your own choice, and be able to change God, or even create One, as necessary.

The beauty of being a Hindu lies in your freedom to be who you want to be. Nobody can tell you what to do, or what not to do. There is no central authority, no single leader of the faith. No one can pass an order to excommunicate you, or like in some countries, pass a decree that orders your death by stoning for walking with a strange man.

We don’t appreciate our freedom because we can’t feel the plight of others who aren’t free. Many religions have a central authority with awesome power over the individual. They have a clear chain of command, from the lowliest local priest to the highest central leader. Hinduism somehow escaped from such central authority, and the Hindu has miraculously managed to hold on to his freedom through the ages. How did this happen?

Vedanta is the answer. When the writers of Vedanta emerged, around 1500 BC, they faced an organised religion of orthodox Hinduism. This was the post Vedic age, where ritualism was practiced, and the masses had no choice but to follow. It was a coercive atmosphere.

The writers of Vedanta rebelled against this authority and moved away from society into forests. This was how the ‘Aranyakas’ were written, literally meaning ‘writings from the forest’. These later paved the way for the Upanishads, and Vedanta eventually caught the imagination of the masses. It emerged triumphant, bearing with it the clear voice of personal freedom.

This democracy of religious thought, so intrinsic to Vedantic intelligence, sank into the mindset of every Indian. Most couldn’t fathom the deep wisdom it contained, but this much was very clear. They understood that faith was an expression of personal freedom, and one could believe at will. That’s why Hinduism saw an explosion of Gods. There was a God for every need and every creed. If you wanted to build your muscles, you worshiped a God with fabulous muscles. If you wanted to pursue education, there was a Goddess of Learning. If it was wealth you were looking for, then you looked up to the Goddess of wealth — with gold coins coming out of her hands. If you wanted to live happily as a family, you worshiped Gods who specially blessed families. When you grew old and faced oncoming death, you spent time in contemplating a God whose business it was to dissolve everything — from an individual to the entire Universe.

Everywhere, divinity appeared in the manner and form you wanted it to appear, and when its use was over, you quietly discarded that form of divinity and looked at new forms of the divine that was currently of use to you. ‘Yad Bhavam, tad Bhavati’… what you choose to believe becomes your personal truth, and freedom to believe is always more important than belief itself.

Behind all this — was the silent Vedantic wisdom that Gods are but figments of human imagination. As the Kena Upanishads says, “Brahma ha devebhyo vijigye…” — All Gods are mere subjects of the Self. It implies that it is far better that God serves Man than Men serve God. Because Men never really serve God — they only obey the dictates of a religious head who speaks for that God, who can turn them into slaves in God’s name.

Hindus have therefore never tried to convert anyone. Never waged war in the name of religion. The average Hindu happily makes Gods serve him as per his needs. He discards Gods when he has no use for them. And new Gods emerge all the time — in response to market needs. In this tumult, no central authority could survive. No single prophet could emerge and hold sway, no chain of command could be established.

Vedanta had injected an organised chaos into Hinduism, and that’s the way it has been from the last thirty five centuries. Vedanta is also responsible, by default, for sustaining democracy. When the British left India, it was assumed that the nation would soon break up. Nothing of that kind has happened. The pundits of doom forgot that the Indian had been used to religious freedom from thousands of years. When he got political freedom, he grabbed it naturally. After all, when you can discard Gods why can’t you discard leaders? Leaders like Gods are completely expendable to the Indian mindset. They are tolerated as long as they serve the people, and are replaced when needs change. It’s the triumph of people over their leaders, and in this tumult, no dictator can ever take over and rule us. Strange how the thoughts of a few men living in forests, thirty five centuries ago, can echo inside the heart of every Indian. That’s a tribute to the resurgent power of India, and the fearlessness of its free thinking people.

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July 24, 2012 – 5:31 AM Categories: Religion | Comments (2)