..续本文上一页ecomposing, which comes from wounds; lohitam — blood and lymph, which permeate throughout the body; sedo — sweat, which is exuded whenever the body is heated. Scrutinize these things until you see that — with regard to origin, location, color, smell and the above-mentioned aspects — they are enough to make your skin crawl. Focus on them until you”re convinced that that”s how they really are, and the mind should settle down and be still.
If it doesn”t, go on to examine four aspects of the fire property: the heat that keeps the body warm; the heat that inflames the body, making it feverish and restless; the heat that digests food, distilling the nutritive essence so as to send it throughout the body (of the food we eat, one part is burned away by the fires of digestion, one part becomes refuse, one part feeds our parasites, and the remaining part nourishes the body); the heat that ages the body and wastes it away. Consider these four aspects of the fire property until you see their three inherent characteristics, i.e., that they are inconstant (aniccam), stressful (dukkham) and not-self (anatta).
If the mind doesn”t settle down, go on to consider the wind property: the up-going breath sensations, the down-going breath sensations, the breath sensations in the stomach, the breath sensations in the intestines, the breath sensations flowing throughout the entire body, and the in-and-out breath. Examine the wind property from the viewpoint of any one of its three inherent characteristics, as inconstant, stressful, or not-self. If the mind doesn”t develop a sense of dispassion and detachment, gather all four properties together — earth, water, fire and wind — and consider them as a single whole: a physical phenomenon. That”s all they are, just physical phenomena. There”s nothing of any substance or lasting worth to them at all.
If this doesn”t lead to a sense of dispassion and detachment, go on to consider mental phenomena (nama), which are formless: vedana — the experiencing of feelings and moods, likes and dislikes; sañña — labels, names, allusions; sankhara — mental fashionings; and viññana — consciousness.
Once you understand what these terms refer to, focus on the feelings that appear in your own heart and mind. In other words, observe the mental states that experience moods and feelings, to see at which moments there are feelings of pleasure, pain, or indifference. Be aware that, "Right now I”m experiencing pleasure," "Right now I”m experiencing pain," "Right now I”m experiencing a feeling that”s neither pleasure nor pain." Be constantly aware of these three alternatives (the feeling that”s neither pleasure nor pain doesn”t last for very long). If you”re really composed and observant, you”ll come to see that all three of these feelings are, without exception, fleeting, stressful, and not-self; neither long nor lasting, always shifting and changing out of necessity: sometimes pleasure, sometimes pain, never satisfying your wants or desires. Once you see this, let go of them. Don”t fasten onto them. Fix your mind on a single preoccupation.
If your mind still isn”t firm, though, consider mental labels next. What, at the moment, are your thoughts alluding to: things past, present, or future
Good or bad
Keep your awareness right with the body and mind. If you happen to be labeling or alluding to a feeling of pleasure, be aware of the pleasure. If pain, be aware of the pain. Focus on whatever you are labeling in the present, to see which will disappear first: your awareness or the act of labeling. Before long, you”ll see that the act of labeling is fleeting, stressful, and not-self. When you see this, let go of labels and concepts. Don”t latch onto them. Fix your mind on a single preoccupation.
If your …
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