..續本文上一頁 "there I am again". Is that me, this body

　　 Sometimes we”re very sophisticated intellectually and we think "of course I”m not my body". On the thought level we might say that, but when we get sick or we”re dying we realise that that”s just superficial wisdom. It hasn”t gone deep enough. We are still attached to our body. We still think it”s ours.

　　The Buddha gave a test to see if you really are attached to these things, whether you think they”re "mine". This is a story of when he was walking with some monks in the Jeta Grove and he pointed out some twigs and leaves on the ground and he said "Monks, what would happen, how would you feel if some people came along and collected all these twigs and leaves and put them into a big heap, and then set fire to them all

　　 And then once the fire had died down, they took all the ashes and threw them to the four winds until they were completely dispersed. What would your reaction be if they did that

　　" And the monks said "Nothing, because these things aren”t ours, they don”t belong to us. They”re just sticks and leaves, that”s all". "Very good", said the Buddha, "Now monks, what would happen if the lay people took all of you and put you in a heap and set you on fire, until you”re just ashes, and then threw those ashes to the four winds, would you be upset

　　 Would you be really worried

　　" And according to the texts, I don”t know if they really meant this but they certainly knew the right answer, the monks replied "No, no, we wouldn”t be at all worried!" And the Buddha asked "Why is that monks

　　" And they said "Because this body isn”t ours, it”s nothing to do with us, it”s not me or mine."

　　Now that”s a test to see if you really see this body as a self, whether you”re willing to let it go or not. That”s why, when we say, look at the body in the four satipatthanas, don”t run over that too quickly, don”t just say "I”ve done that one already, I know this body isn”t me or mine, it”s just bones, it”s just flesh, I”ve seen that in the documentaries, I”ve seen that in the photographs." Be careful, because you”ve been living with this body so closely for so many years, there”s a little sneaky attachment which has gotten in there, and you really think that this is you. And that gets challenged through old-age, sickness and death. And if you tremble at sickness or pain, if you tremble at the thought of old-age or death, you still need to do some more body contemplation.

　　So, when a big jhana happens, and then afterwards, say "what do I take myself to be

　　" Look at this body and see those little attachments, even though they might be stupid, they were something that you could not see because you did not want to see it. And eradicate, completely, the idea that the body is yours or you. It”s just nature, it just belongs to nature, you”ve got nothing much to do with it.

　　The second thing, about vedana, the sensations, don”t take them too lightly. It”s just as obvious that this isn”t me. Every time you have happiness, or pain, do you automatically think "this is my happiness, this is me feeling it"

　　 If you do, again you haven”t seen the truth of anatta. After jhanas, look closely at this whole play of vedana, and you see it”s just like the play of light and shadows, cast by the trees and the leaves. Where there”s light there”s no shadow, where there”s shadow there”s no light. As the leaves move in the wind, as the sun goes over, what was light is now shadow and what is shadow is now light. What is pain is now pleasure. What was beauty is now ugliness, what was ugliness is now beauty. This is the play of vedana, it”s no more than that. Seeing that means, if you see it fully through the power of jhanas, that you”ve done the second satipatthana and you are completely detached. Detached means that there is no-one holdin…

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