The Proper Way To Pay Respect
- by S. N. Goenka
(The following is adapted from a public talk given by Goenkaji for bhikkhus and bhikkhunis on 5 August 1998 at Dharma Drum Monastery, Taiwan.)
Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen, venerable bhikkhus and bhikkhunis,
It is a great joy to come once again to meet the great master who is such a saintly person and to meet you all who are interested in meditation. When I see you all sitting cross-legged for meditation, I remember the words of the Buddha, who was once asked, "How should we pay respect to the Enlightened One
" Pointing out to the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis who were sitting and meditating, he said, "This is the way to pay respect to the Buddha."
This is really the proper way to pay respect to the Enlightened One: to follow his teachings. And his teaching is to meditate and to remain aware of the mind-matter phenomenon; to understand at the experiential level how impurities arise, how they get multiplied, how they overpower us; and how to stop this process and change the habit pattern of the mind. This is what he called Vipassana: observation of the reality as it is, in its true nature, within the framework of the body; the interaction of mind and matter from moment to moment.
At the time of Gotama the Buddha, there were many techniques of meditation prevailing in India. There were techniques that could take one to the depth of absorption samādhis, the seventh jhāna and the eighth jhāna, which he learnt from teachers of those days in India. But mere samādhi did not take him to the final goal of full liberation, the final goal of total enlightenment. So, when he sat down under the Bodhi tree, he started observing the truth pertaining to himself and attained the highest stage of full enlightenment.
The first truth that one starts observing is the natural flow of respiration. This is Anapana meditation. Observing the natural flow of respiration on a small area at the entrance of the nostrils, the mind becomes sharper and sharper, subtler and subtler, more and more sensitive. With this sharp and sensitive mind, one starts experiencing different kinds of sensations on this area below the nostrils above the upper lip. Then, from this area, one starts observing the entire physical structure, from the top of the head to the tips of the toes, from the tips of the toes to the top of the head, experiencing various types of sensations on the body. There are different types of sensations: sometimes, very gross, solidified, intensified sensations or very subtle and pleasant sensations or neutral sensations. One keeps on observing these sensations objectively, without reacting to them.
One starts understanding one”s own habit pattern of reacting: reacting to the pleasant sensations with craving and clinging and reacting to the unpleasant sensations with aversion and hatred. One realizes this truth and tries to change this habit pattern, understanding fully well that the characteristic of every sensation - pleasant or unpleasant, gross or subtle - is arising, passing away, arising, passing away. Oh, it is so impermanent! So the first characteristic of impermanence, anicca, pertaining to mind and matter becomes clearer and clearer at the experiential level.
When that becomes clear, the second characteristic also becomes clearer and clearer - the second characteristic of misery, dukkha. One realizes at the experiential level, "Whenever I react with clinging and craving towards the pleasant sensation, I lose the balance of my mind, I lose the peace and harmony of my mind. Similarly, when I react with aversion or hatred towards the unpleasant sensation, again I lose the balance of my mind, I lose the peace and harmony of my mind. Oh, this is misery!"
Then the third characteristic beco…
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