..續本文上一頁 Truths.

　　If we translate it as "mind object" and we take it to mean "mind as object", then some objects are not mind. If we translate it as "mental object", then everything is object of mind. Body is also object of mind. Since we cannot get a satisfactory and adequate translation, it is better to leave it untranslated.

　　I have already told you that you practice these four at random and so when you are really practicing do not try to find out which one you are doing. This is a distraction. As a practitioner of Vipassanā you have to take what is there at the present moment. Do not try to find out whether it is the body, or the feeling, or the consciousness or the dhamma. Whatever there is, your duty is to be mindful of that object so you do not have covetousness and grief regarding that object.

　　In order not to have covetousness and grief you have to be mindful. You have no time to find out whether it is consciousness or dhamma or other things. When you practice Vipassanā meditation you practice all these four foundations of mindfulness as they come along. So long as you are mindful of the object at the present moment you are doing fine, your meditation is good. What is not good is when you are carried away by your thoughts and forget about meditation for some seconds or maybe minutes. That is not good. But so long as you are mindful, you are doing the right thing, your meditation is going well.

　　Sometimes, yogis think that if they do not concentrate on the main object they are not doing meditation. Sometimes they say, "Oh, we have to spend time or waste time noting the mind going here and there and we do not have much time to concentrate on the main object." Whether you are aware of the main object or the secondary object, so long as you are mindful at that moment you are doing fine. You are meditating and practici, ng Vipassanā. What is important in Vipassanā meditation is first to be mindful of the object at the present moment. Sometimes you may miss to be mindful and then that missing also becomes the object of meditation. You have to say to yourself, "missing, missing" or something like that before you go back to the home object.

　　There should be mindfulness always, mindfulness here, mindfulness there; and if you can keep mindfulness intense, then you will make rapid progress and you will begin to see the true nature of things. That is, you will begin to see the objects arising and disappearing. When you see the arising and disappearing you also see that they are impermanent. When you see they are impermanent you also see their suffering nature and also the non-soul nature or that you have no control over these, that they arise and disappear at their own free will. So, when you see them you are said to see the three general characteristics of all conditioned phenomena. Seeing of these three general characteristics of all conditioned phenomena is the essence of Vipassanā. If you practice Vipassanā you must see these three characteristics because the word "Vipassanā" means "seeing in different ways" and seeing in different ways means seeing in the light of impermanence, in the light of suffering and in the light of non-soul. What is important in Vipassana is to see these three characteristics and in order to see these three characteristics we need to observe, we need to watch and pay attention to the objects at that present moment.

　　In order to pay attention to the object at the present moment we need to make effort. Without effort nothing worthwhile can be achieved. This is why Buddha said, "ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful." When we can fulfill these conditions

　　 being ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful

　　 and have concentration we will be able to overcome covetousness and grief regarding the object we observe.

　　This is the summary of the discourse called the Mahā Satipatthāna Sutta, the Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. If you understand the summary this much I think you have a firm understanding of what mindfulness practice is, and so you will understand how to practice mindfulness meditation. There are other detailed instructions for the practice of mindfulness and I hope you are familiar with all these instructions. Following these instructions, making effort, applying mindfulness and seeing things clearly, may all of us be able to overcome covetousness and grief in the world.

《The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: A Summary》全文閱讀結束。