..续本文上一页can disentangle them from your grasp. You can let go. This is where it gets good. How so

　　 You don”t have to wear yourself out, lugging sankharas around.

　　To be attached means to carry a load, and there are five heaps (khandhas) we carry: attachment to physical phenomena, to feelings, to concepts and labels, to mental fabrications, and to sensory consciousness. We grab hold and hang onto these things, thinking that they”re the self. Go ahead: Carry them around. Hang one load from your left leg and one from your right. Put one on your left shoulder and one on your right. Put the last load on your head. And now: Carry them wherever you go -- clumsy, encumbered, and comical.

　　bhara have pañcakkhandha

　　Go ahead and carry them.

　　The five khandhas are a heavy load,

　　bharaharo ca puggalo

　　and as inpiduals we burden ourselves with them.

　　bharadanam dukkham loke

　　Carry them everywhere you go, and you waste your time

　　suffering in the world.

　　The Buddha taught that whoever lacks discernment, whoever is unskilled, whoever doesn”t practice concentration leading to liberating insight, will have to be burdened with stress, will always be loaded down. It”s a pity. It”s a shame. They”ll never get away. Their legs are burdened, their shoulders burdened -- and where are they going

　　 Three steps forward and two steps back. Soon they”ll get discouraged and then, after a while, they”ll pick themselves up and get going again.

　　Now, when we see inconstancy -- that all fabrications, whether within us or without, are undependable; when we see that they”re stressful; when we see that they”re not our self, that they simply whirl around in and of themselves: When we gain these insights, we can put down our burdens, i.e., let go of our attachments. We can put down the past -- i.e., stop dwelling in it. We can let go of the future -- i.e., stop yearning for it. We can let go of the present -- i.e., stop claiming it as the self. Once these three big baskets have fallen from our shoulders, we can walk with a light step. We can even dance. We”re beautiful. Wherever we go, people will be glad to know us. Why

　　 Because we”re not encumbered. Whatever we do, we can do with ease. We can walk, run, dance, and sing -- all with a light heart. We”re Buddhism”s beauty, a sight for sore eyes, graceful wherever we go. No longer burdened, no longer encumbered, we can be at our ease. This is vipassana-ñana.

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　　Appendix

　　The earliest editions of Keeping the Breath in Mind contain a version of Step 3 in Method 2 that Ajaan Lee later shortened and revised to its present form. Some people, though, find the original version helpful, so here it is:

　　3. Observe the breath as it goes in and out, noticing whether it”s comfortable or uncomfortable, broad or constricted, obstructed or free-flowing, fast or slow, short or long, warm or cool. If the breath doesn”t feel comfortable, adjust it until it does. For instance, if breathing in long and out long is uncomfortable, try breathing in short and out short. As soon as you find that your breath feels comfortable, let this comfortable breath sensation spread to the different parts of your body. For example, each time you breathe in and out once, think of an important part of the body, as follows:

　　As you let the breath pass into the bronchial tubes, think of it as going all the way down the right side of your abdomen to the bladder.

　　As you take another in-and-out breath, think of the breath as going from the main arteries to the liver and heart on down through your left side to the stomach and intestines.

　　As you take another in-and-out breath, think of the breath as going from the base of the throat all the way down the internal …

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