..续本文上一页receptivity, is directed to the rising and vanishing of feelings, the polluting add-ons or defilements are held at bay and inhibited from further elaboration. So gradually the gross feelings weaken and fall away, one loses interest; thus dispassion arises, which is a natural, effortless ”letting go”.

　　A trap to watch out for is not acknowledging pleasant feelings, especially pleasant feelings and sensations that arise from the fluency of the practice and later stages of insight. There is usually no problem in noticing unpleasant feelings, but you should be on your guard with regard to pleasant feelings as they arise, as we are predisposed to get attached to them very easily and thus lose equanimity.

　　Through one”s own direct experience as a Vipassana meditator, it can be confirmed that the ever-revolving round of the wheel of life (samsara) that we tread, can be stopped, with karma producing activities neutralised at the point of feeling, and that there is no inherent necessity that feeling is automatically followed by attachment or aversion. This is done by the practice of being mindful at one of the sense doors and intercepting the bare feeling between the linkage of sense impression and craving.

　　Like all mindfulness exercises, it is essential that the practice of awareness of feelings be applied in everyday life, especially whenever feelings are prone to turn into unwholesome emotions. So by practising awareness of feelings, the benefits will be immediately apparent in one”s relationships and dealings with the external world: for example, an increase in compassion and equanimity, as well as in one”s own clarity and peace of mind.

　　In the teaching of the Five Aggregates of Clinging, the Buddha likened feelings to bubbles. If feelings can be seen in their bubble-like, blowed-up and bursting nature, their linkage to aversion and attachment will be weakened until the chain is finally broken. Through this practice, attachment, which is a kind of stuckness to feelings, will be skillfully eliminated.

　　This does not mean that this practice will make one aloof or emotionally withdrawn. On the contrary, mind and heart will become more open and free from the fever of clinging. Out of this seeing, an inner space will be provided, for the growth of the finer emotions: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and on-looking equanimity.

《The Vipassana Retreat: 10· Working with Feelings and Emotions》全文阅读结束。