..續本文上一頁ainly doesn”t die; in fact, it becomes more pronounced. The more fully we investigate the four elements, breaking them down into their original properties, the more distinctly pronounced the citta appears. So where is death to be found

　　 And what is it that dies

　　 The four elements—earth, water, wind and fire—they don”t die. As for the citta, how can it die

　　 It becomes more conspicuous, more aware and more insightful. This essential knowing nature never dies, so why is it so afraid of death

　　 Because it deceives itself. For eons and eons it has fooled itself into believing in death when actually nothing ever dies.

　　 So when pain arises in the body we must realize that it is merely feeling, and nothing else. Don”t define it in personal terms and assume that it is something happening to you. Pains have afflicted your body since the day you were born. The pain that you experienced at the moment you emerged from your mother”s womb was excruciating. Only by surviving such torment are human beings born. Pain has been there from the very beginning and it”s not about to reverse course or alter its character. Bodily pain always exhibits the same basic characteristics: having arisen, it remains briefly and then ceases. Arising, remaining briefly, ceasing—that”s all there is to it.

　　 Investigate painful feelings arising in the body so as to see them clearly for what they are. The body itself is merely a physical form, the physical reality you have known since birth. But when you believe that you are your body, and your body hurts, then you are in pain. Being equated, body, pain and the awareness that perceives them then converge into one: your painful body. Physical pain arises due to some bodily malfunction. It arises dependent on some aspect of the body, but it is not itself a physical phenomenon. Awareness of both body and feelings is dependent on the citta—the one who knows them. But when the one who”s aware of them knows them falsely, then concern about the physical cause of the pain and its apparent intensity cause emotional pain to arise. Pain not only hurts but it indicates that there is something wrong with you—your body. Unless you can separate out these three distinct realities, physical pain will always cause emotional distress.

　　 The body is merely a physical phenomenon. We can believe whatever we like about it, but that will not alter fundamental principles of truth. Physical existence is one such fundamental truth. Four elemental properties—earth, water, wind and fire—gather together in a certain configuration to form what is called a “person”. This physical presence may be identified as a man or a woman and be given a specific name and social status, but essentially it is just the rupa khandha—a physical heap. Lumped together, all the constituent parts form a human body, a distinct physical reality. And each separate part is an integral part of that one fundamental reality. The four elements join together in many different ways. In the human body we speak of the skin, the flesh, the tendons, the bones, and so forth. But don”t be fooled into thinking of them as separate realities simply because they have different names. See them all as one essential reality—the physical heap.

　　 As for the heap of feelings, they exist in their own sphere. They are not part of the physical body. The body isn”t feeling either. It has no direct part in physical pain. These two khandhas—body and feeling—are more prominent than the khandhas of memory, thought and consciousness, which, because they vanish as soon as they arise, are far more difficult to see. Feelings, on the other hand, remain briefly before they vanish. This causes them to standout, making them easier to isolate during meditation.

　　 Focus directly on painful feel…

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