..續本文上一頁ould investigate, that”s the level where we”ll gain firm confirmation in the mind. We”ll gain knowledge and all kinds of insights from our own investigation. This is where the fun lies — sifting, choosing with our discernment what is right and what is wrong. We”ll go back, exploring through the Dhamma we have already studied and compare it with the causes and results in our practice until they agree, and then we can set the matter to rest. Even though we may have already understood clearly, we still have to gain confirmation to give it further support, for the sake of full conviction and certainty.

　　This is what”s meant by discernment. It”s not the case that if we have no doubts then there”s no reason to make comparisons. The Dhamma of the doctrine is one thing, the Dhamma of the practice is another. We take the Buddha”s wealth and compare it with our own wealth, gained from our practice. If they match, we can accept the matter and put it aside, with no more concern.

　　In particular, when we practice in line with the four Noble Truths or the four foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana), these are things that the Buddha described as being interconnected. If we practice them one by one, in line with the texts — investigating the body, and then feeling, and then the mind, and then mental events — we”ll be wrong the livelong day, because these things by their nature are interconnected at all times. We can investigate whichever aspect we want. Whichever aspect feels most natural to us, we should start with that one first.

　　By and large, we start out by investigating the body. But when a pain appears, we have to let go of the body and focus on the pain. We then consider the pain in relation to the body, distinguishing between the two so that we understand them clearly. Then we distinguish between the pain in the body and the pain in the mind, comparing them and distinguishing between them again. Body, feeling, mind, and mental events lie together in the same moment. So we separate out the body — in other words, investigate it — and then separate out the feeling so as to know whether or not the body and feeling are one and the same. Then we separate the mind from the mental events within the mind, so as to see that each of these events is not the same thing as the mind. To say just this much covers all four of the foundations of mindfulness.

　　We can”t pide these things and deal with them one at a time, one after another, the way we take one step after another while walking. To do so is wrong. This is the way it is with the practice: When we investigate one aspect or another of the four foundations of mindfulness or the four Noble Truths, they all become involved of their own accord — because they are interconnected phenomena. The Buddha says, for example,

　　kaye kayanupassa viharati:

　　”Investigate the body within the body.”

　　Now, the phrase, ”the body within the body” means to start out with any one of the many parts of the body. Once we have contemplated that part until we gain an understanding, our investigation then permeates further of its own accord, making us curious about this part and that. This keeps spreading and spreading until it reaches everything in the body. In other words, it covers everything and understands everything.

　　”The body within the body” — for example, kesa, hair of the head: Even though we may contemplate only one hair on the head, it has an impact on our understanding of how may hairs on the head

　　 And then connects up with how many parts of the body

　　 It affects everything. It permeates everything, because everything is interrelated. No matter what we investigate, this is the way it goes, in line with the principles of investigation in the area of the practice that the Noble Ones have followed.

　　”Feeling”: I…

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