Dhamma Letter No. 110
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Dhamma Letter No. 110
Satipatthana 34 : Vedanānupassanā (Observation of feeling) 느낌관찰 1
From Dhamma Letters no. 83 to no. 109, we learned about the observation of the body.
The body is a concept. The meaning of existence is lost only when the body is decomposed into the four major elements. When the meaning of existence is lost, there is a recognizable feeling in its place, and these are the four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Here it develops into vipassana meditation, which is the practice of feeling.
The Buddha instructed us not to observe more than one of the four objects of mindfulness (sati) at the same time , but to observe (sati) only the body when observing the body. When the power of disassembling and observing the body increases, the power of vipassana to observe feelings [受] or mind [心] naturally arises. Feeling the superficial sensations of the body is one of the overall feelings. The sensory sensations of the body represent the state of the mind. Therefore, if you focus on the senses of the body, you can observe the mind naturally and find a point of harmony between the body and the mind.
When we classify and observe our body into the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, we find that there is no person or ego, there are only conditions and only perceptible feelings.
"One may consider the building blocks of mindfulness which can begin with Observation of breathing meditation or Observation of body movements which is the Contemplation of the body (Kayanupassana). This may lead to the next base that is observation and awareness of the most primitive psychological phenomenon, such as feeling: pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and dull feeling or sensation that is neither pleasant nor painful which is the Contemplation of feeling (Vedanaupassana)." - Dhamma letter No. 47
As in the answer to the question about feeling briefly addressed in the previous Dhamma Letter No. 67, the Buddha defined the observation of feeling into three broad categories.
Here in Mahasatipatthana(大念處經, 대념처경), it is presented in 9 subdivisions:
Three feelings - pleasant, painful, and neither pleasant nor painful observed by the body and the mind
Three feelings - pleasant, painful, and neither pleasant nor painful in the mundane: obsessive (i.e. lust for fame, sex, wealth and appetite) to be good success
Three feelings - pleasant, painful, and neither pleasant nor painful in supramundane: no attachment
Body observation and feeling observation cannot be separated while you observe. They are connected.
To be continued...
May you cultivate your Sati continuously (Samma-Viriya)!
May you achieve the Samma-Sati through Satipatthāna (vipassana meditation)!
May all practice well and reach to Magga (道, the path of enlightenment) and Phala(果, the fruit of enlightenment)!
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 .
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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 !