Dhamma Letter No. 105

Satipatthana 29: Kayanupassana 18: The Reflection on the Material Elements 2

Oct 25, 2022

The body here refers to the matter (rupakāya). I can summarize two components of the five-aggregates (5 Khandhas, 五蘊: Form, feeling, concept, volition, consciousness: Dhamma Letter no.48): body and mind, or matter and spirit. Man, who is a being of the sensual world, has a material body, so when the mind arises, the mind arises depending on the material foundation.

Already over 2,600 years ago, the Buddha had an insight into the mutual acting relationship between body and mind through a meditative method.

In 「Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life」(DN2),

This body is made of matter, it is composed of the four fundamental substances [the earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the wind element = the four great elements], it is born of parents, and it is it has grown out of food, and it is impermanent, destroyed, crushed, dismantled, and disintegrated. But the consciousness [識, 心] depends on it and is bound here.

This is proven by modern science of atomistic or quantum mechanics.

According to 「Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness」(MN10),

We have an inverted perception that the body is clean, so in order to get rid of that wrong perception, he preached the first establishment of mindfulness (sati) for the body.

To explain a little more, observe the mass of limbs or parts in the body as if observing the parts of a wagon, and observe only the fundamental and derived substances as if separating the stem, leaf, and skin of a plant.

To be continued...

May your practice blossom and fruits!

With Metta,

Ayyā Kosallā
Edited by Euna Bonovich

If you have any questions related to dhamma & meditation, please feel free to ask. You can reach Ayya Kosalla directly at Bhikkhuni.Kosalla@gmail.com.

법에 대한 질문이 있으신 분은 위의 이메일 주소로 질문을 남겨주세요.

위빠사나명상의 마음관찰에 대한 논문을 한글 원본으로 읽고 싶으신 분은 클릭해서 다운로드 받을 수 있습니다. (네이버에 PDF 첨부)

The Korean Dhamma Letter is here 담마레터.

Buddha Sāsanaṁ Ciraṁ Tiṭṭhatu!
May the Buddha’s teachings last a long time!

Bhavatu Sabba Sotiṁ ca Maṅgalaṁ ca!!
May everyone be led on the path of peace and blessing!!

Sādhu Sādhu Sādhu !