Equanimity and the sense doors

MN 137 Salayatanavibhanga Sutta - The Exposition of the Sixfold Base

4. “Herein, what are the six kinds of equanimity based on the household life? On seeing a form with the eye, equanimity arises in a foolish infatuated ordinary person, in an untaught ordinary person who has not conquered his limitations or conquered the results [of action] and who is blind to danger. Such equanimity as this does not transcend the form; that is why it is called equanimity based on the household life.
“On hearing a sound with the ear…On smelling an odor with the nose…On tasting a flavor with the tongue…On touching a tangible with the body…On cognizing a mind-object with the mind, equanimity arises in a foolish infatuated ordinary person, in an untaught ordinary person who has not conquered his limitations or conquered the results [of action] and who is blind to danger. Such equanimity as this does not transcend the mind-object; that is why it is called equanimity based on the household life. These are the six kinds of equanimity based on the household life.
15. “Herein, what are the six kinds of equanimity based on renunciation? When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of forms, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that forms both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, equanimity arises. Such equanimity as this transcends the form; that is why it is called equanimity based on renunciation.
“When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of sounds…of odors…of flavors…of tangibles…of mind-objects, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that mind-objects both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, equanimity arises. Such equanimity as this transcends the mind-object; that is why it is called equanimity based on renunciation. These are the six kinds of equanimity based on renunciation.

More on equanimity at equanimity--now.com.

Meditation on eating

The practice of mindfulness should not just be for special postures but should generalize throughout our days.  One of the examples that is often given is meditation on eating.  This is a great example, but usually the emphasis is on the sensual treat of really paying attention to what you are eating.  The standard exercise is eating a single raisin and doing so very slowly, noticing all its sensual qualities, its texture and taste, and noticing each stage from chewing to digestion.  When this exercise is done in a workshop, for instance, those new to the exercise marvel at how much they enjoyed it and what a treat it is to pay attention to that single raison rather than to gobble it down with a whole bunch of other raisins.

Although it is great that we see the difference that attention can make to an experience, the true value of mindfully eating is deeper.  When we eat, all the sense bases are involved–seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and knowing.   We see the food, we smell it, we touch it, we hear it, we taste it, and we are conscious of these activities.  Throughout the process, intentions arise as preludes to our overt actions. We have pleasant and unpleasant feelings, and, if we are not mindful as we eat, from our liking and disliking. attachment and aversion arise as well.  To be mindful while eating, we should be aware of all phases of the eating process, from the sensations of hunger that motivate us to eat, to seeing the food, to bringing the food to the mouth, to chewing, to swallowing, to the awareness that our desire for food has been satisfied.  Throughout we note what is happening at each moment.

Reflections on a retreat

I recently returned from a retreat at the Pannarama Meditation Center in Laval, Quebec.  The center where I go keeps to a schedule starting at 4:30 in the morning and ending at 10:00 at night.  There are two meals, one in the morning and one at about 11:30 AM.  There is a talk by the monk leading the retreat (Ven. Khippapanno) at about 7:30 PM, but since it is in Vietnamese, I don't attend it.  The rest of the time there are alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation and a chance to go for an interview with one of the monks every other day.

Even monks get sleepy during talks

I have always found that the first two or three days when I am on these retreats, I am extremely sleepy.  I am constantly falling asleep while I am doing sitting meditation, and I often cannot sustain walking meditation for more than about 20 minutes without wanting to sit down again and rest.  There is a period between 12:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon for a rest, so it is possible to fit in a substantial nap.  However, despite all these opportunities for sleep and rest, I am very sleepy.  However, about the third day I suddenly wake up.  I no longer fall asleep while meditating, and I don't feel the need to take such a long nap.  From that point onward I am energized.  When I leave the retreat I face a five to six hour drive to get home.  But I am totally energetic and find it hard to go to sleep until 1:00 in the morning when I return.

What is going on?  This phenomenon is not unique to me.  I have discussed it with others who have much the same experience.  I used to think it was because I was super stressed before the retreat and did not get enough rest, and I needed the extra sleep and rest to recuperate.  However, I was not super stressed this time. I had stayed with my daughter near Ottawa so I only had to drive about two hours to get there.  And I wasn't stressed in general since I am now semi-retired.

I have long realized the difference between being on a retreat and being "in the world."  When on retreat, there is not a lot of external stimulation.  We are supposed to observe "noble silence," but people do talk, although much less so than they would in ordinary life.  The meals are all prepared for us (and they are very good, by the way).  You have to do a few chores, but nothing very onerous.  You are not supposed to read or write.  Although no one enforces that rule, I don't feel the need to read or write and I recognize how it can interfere with meditation.  There is no internet to surf or email to follow, which is a big shift for me.  You can use the phone only in emergencies.  I generally stay at the center, although I occasionally take a walk in the neighborhood around the center.  But I don't buy anything in the stores in the area or interact with the people I encounter.

When on retreat, the big change is from an external focus to an internal one.  I think the explanation for the exhaustion of those first few days is simple.  Keeping up the external focus required for being in the world is exhausting.  When the need to keep it up is gone, we have to recuperate before we can tune into what is going on internally.  Once we rest and recuperate, we have the ability to focus inwardly and to meditate.  And having that ability to concentrate and focus comes with a burst of energy that carries over into the days following the retreat, provided you are not overwhelmed by the stress of a return to "real life."

Guarding the sense doors (part 3)

The simile of the ant hill (as quoted by Ven.  Samahita):

One should dwell like the snake, which sees the mouse hide in ant-hill with six openings! By lying rolled up on the anthill - constantly watching - the snake remains on the thought: Out of which hole may this mouse appear ?! Even so one thinks: Through which sense door may the next contact appear ?!

Guarding the sense doors (part 2)

The tool that we use to guard the sense doors is noting.

Consciousness arises when there is contact between a sense object and a sense organ.  Blue's seeing, for instance, arises because a sense object (what we conventionally call the propane delivery truck) is in contact with his sense organs, his eyes, under suitable conditions such as the right amount of light.  His barking is an indication that seeing has taken place.  But for him to bark something more has taken place, and that has to do with his interpretation, for instance, that the object he is seeing may be a possible threat and, with this interpretation, all sorts of instincts and habits kick in leading to barking.  If Blue had truly been mindful he would have simply (and silently) noted "seeing, seeing."  He would have been a truly mindful dog but not much use as a watch dog.    

Guarding the sense doors (part 1)

When we are mindful we use restraint and guard the six sense doors--hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and cognizing (e.g.,thinking, knowing).  What this means is that we are watchful for what is arising at the doors, we note it, and we don't admit it in the sense that we don't get caught up with it and all our associations to it.  One can think of a guard who protects a household against intruders.  When an intruder shows up, the guard alerts the household to the presence of the would-be intruder, thereby ensuring that the intruder does not get past the door.

The other day I was observing my dog Blue.  He is an old dog and has lost his hearing. Our house is in the country and quite a ways from the road in front.  Blue used to start barking whenever a car or truck came down our driveway long before he could see it.  Now he spends much of his day sitting on the front deck staring at the point at which a vehicle would first be visible when it came down the driveway.  This day I heard a truck coming long before he did.  However, once it was visible, he started barking.  It was a propane delivery truck.  Although he puts on a good show of fierceness, he is actually a very sweet dog.  His basic friendliness is betrayed by his tail wagging.  I guess that the propane delivery man knew Blue because he went about his job without any evidence of fear even though Blue continued to make perfunctory barks for a while before he resumed his post on the deck.

If I had not already heard the truck, I would have first known it was there by Blue's barking.  He was doing his job, although somewhat belatedly.  He was alerting me to the presence of the truck by barking as if to say, "Look, something has arrived!"  In his way, he was practicing a bit of mindfulness for me.

Standing meditation

Standing meditation involves standing with your hands grasped behind your back or in front of your abdomen.  You should close your eyes.  Try to feel your body in space, from head to toe, and note, "standing, standing."  You can focus on the abdomen rising and falling as you do in the sitting meditation.  At some point you may find that heaviness moves up your legs or you feel them becoming warmer.  Note these sensations until you no longer wish to stand.  When you are finished, you can move into another posture, such as walking or sitting, and alternate with these postures being careful to maintain the continuity of mindfulness that you have developed.