..续本文上一页then see that they are equal in nature. Neither is superior to the other. The nature of each is to arise, remain, and then dissolve. Awareness is simply awareness, and sensations are simply sensations. Don”t fasten onto either. Let go of them and be neutral. Be thoroughly mindful and alert with each mental moment. This level of sensation, if you”re adept and knowledgeable, can lead to knowledge of previous lives (pubbenivasanussati-ñana), knowledge of where living beings are reborn after death (cutupapata-ñana), and knowledge that does away with the fermentations of defilement (asavakkhaya-ñana). If you aren”t wise to this level of sensation, though, it can lead to ignorance, craving, and attachment, causing the level of your practice to degenerate.

　　The image or sensation that arises through the power of the mind is sometimes called the rebirth body or the astral body. But even so, you shouldn”t become attached to it. Only then can you be said to be keeping track of the body as a frame of reference on this level.

　　B. Contemplation of feelings as a frame of reference: The mental act of "tasting" or "savoring" the objects of the mind — e.g., taking pleasure or displeasure in them — is termed vedana, or feeling. If we class feelings according to flavor, there are three —

　　1. Sukha-vedana: pleasure and ease for body and mind.

　　2. Dukkha-vedana: stress and pain for body and mind.

　　3. Upekkha-vedana: neutral feelings, neither pleasure nor pain.

　　If we class them according to range or source, there are four:

　　1. Outer feelings: feelings that arise by way of the senses — as when the eye meets with a visual object, the ear with a sound, the nose with a smell, the tongue with a taste, the body with a tactile sensation — and a feeling arises in one”s awareness: contented (somanassa-vedana), discontented (domanassa-vedana), or neutral (upekkha-vedana).

　　2. Inner feelings: feelings that arise within the body, as when any of the four properties — earth, water, fire, or wind — change either through our present intentions or through the results of past actions, giving rise to pleasure, pain, or neutral feelings.

　　3. Feelings in and of themselves: feelings regarded simply as part of the stream of feelings. For example, pleasure, pain, and neutral feelings occur in different mental moments; they don”t all arise in the same moment. When one of them arises, such as pain, focus right on what is present. If pleasure arises, keep the mind focused in the pleasure. Don”t let it stray to other objects that may be better or worse. Stay with the feeling until you know its truth: in other words, until you know whether it”s physical pleasure or mental pleasure, whether it results from past actions or from what you are doing in the present. Only when your mindfulness is focused in this way can you be said to be viewing feelings in and of themselves.

　　4. Feelings in the mind: moods that arise in the mind, independent of any object. Simply by thinking we can give rise to pleasure or pain, good or bad, accomplished entirely through the heart.

　　Each of these four kinds of feelings can serve as an object for tranquillity and insight meditation. Each can serve as a basis for knowledge.

　　C. Contemplation of the mind as a frame of reference: taking as our preoccupation states that arise in the mind. The term "mind" (citta) refers to two conditions — awareness and thinking. Awareness of thinking can cause the mind to take on different states, good or bad. If we classify these states by their characteristics, there are three: good, bad, and neutral.

　　1. Good mental states (kusala-citta) are of three sorts —

　　a. Vitaraga-citta: the mind when it disentangles itself from its desire or fascination with objects it likes or finds pleasing.

　　b. Vitados…

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