Vedanā in the Practice of Satipațthāna.

 Vedanā in the Practice of Satipațthāna.

 

The practice of the four-fold satipatthäna, the establishing of awareness, was highly praised by the Buddha in the suttas (discourses). Mentioning its importance in the Mahäsatipathana-sutta, the Buddha called it ekäyano maggo-"the only way for the purification of beings, for overcoming sorrow, for the extinguishing of suffering, for entering the path of truth and experiencing nibbana (liberation)."

In this sutta, the Buddha presented a practical method for developing self- knowledge by means of käyanupassand (constant observation of the body), vedandnupassand of sensation), cittänupassand  (constant observation observation of the mind), and dhammanupassand (constant observation of the contents of the mind). 

To explore the truth about ourselves, we must examine what we are: body and mind. We must learn to directly observe these within ourselves. 

Accordingly, we must keep three points in mind: 

1) The reality of the body may be imagined by contemplation, but to experience it directly one must work with vedand (bodily sensation) arising within it. 

2) Similarly, the actual experience of the mind is attained by working with the contents of the mind. Therefore, as body and sensation cannot be experienced separately, the mind cannot be observed apart from the contents of the mind. 

3) Mind and matter are so closely interrelated that the contents of the mind always manifest themselves as sensation in the body. 

For this reason the Buddha said: 

Vedanā-samosaraņā sabbe dhammä. Whatever arises in the mind is accompanied by sensation. 

Therefore, obscrvation of sensation offers a means-indeed the only means-to examine the totality of our being, physical as well as mental.

There are four dimensions to our nature:

 The body and its sensations, and the mind and its contents. These provide four avenues for the establishing of awareness in satipatthäna.

In order that the observation be complete, every facet must be experienced, as it can by means of vedand. 

This exploration of truth will remove the delusions we have about ourselves. 

Likewise, to come out of the delusion about the world outside, the truth about the contact of the outside world with our own mind-and- matter phenomenon must be explored. 

The outside world comes in contact with the individual only at the six sense doors: 

The eye,  ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. 

As all these sense doors are contained in the body, every contact of the outside world is at the body level. 

According to the law of nature, with every contact there is bound to be sensation. Every time there is a contact with any of the six sense objects, a sensation will arise on the body. 

Therefore, just as the understanding of vedanā is absolutely essential to understand the interaction between mind and matter within oursclves, the same understanding of vedand is essential to understand the interaction of the outside world with the individual. If this exploration of truth to be attempted by contemplation or intellectualization, we could have easily ignored the importance of vedanā.  

The Buddha's teaching is the necessity of understanding the truth not merely at the intellectual level, but by direct experience. 

For this reason vedand is defined were as follows: 

Ya vedeti ti vedanä, sävedayati lakkhaņā, anubhavanarasă...' 

That which feels the object is vedanā; its characteristic is to experience, its function is to realize the object... However, merely to feel the sensations within is not enough to remove our delusions. Instead, it is essential to understand the ti-lakkhana (three characteristics) of all phenomena. 

We must directly experience anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), (substancelessness) within and anatta ourselves. Of these three the Buddha always gave importance to anicca because the realization of the other two will easily follow when we have experienced deeply the characteristic of impermanence. 

In the Meghiya-sutta of the Udana he said: Aniccasaññino hi, Meghiya, anattasaññā santhāti, anattasaññi asmimānasamugghätam papuņāti dițtheva dhamme nibbānam. 

In him, Meghiya, who is conscious of impermanence the consciousness of what is substanceless is established. He who is conscious of what is substanceless wins the uprooting of the pride of egotism in this very life, namely, he realizes nibbāna. Therefore, in the practice of satipațthaāna, the experience of anicca, arising and passing away, plays a crucial role. 

The Mahasatipatthữna sutta begins with the observation of the body. Here several different starting points are explained: observing respiration, giving attention to bodily movements, ctc. 

It is from these points that we progressively can develop vedanānupassanā, dhammanupassanā. 

However, no matter where the journey starts, there come stations through which everyone must pass on the way to the final goal. These are described in important sentences repeated not only at the end of each section of kayanupassand but also at the end of vedanānupassanā, cittänupassand and each section of dhammānupassand. 

They are: 

1. Samudaya-dhammänupassi vä viharati 

2. Vaya-dhammänupassi vā viharati 

3. Samudaya-vaya-dhammänupassi vä viharati. 

1. One dwells observing the phenomenon of arising. 

2. One dwells observing the phenomenon ofpassing away. 

3. One dwells observing the phenomenon of arising and passing away. 

These sentences reveal the essence of the practice of satipatthäna. Unless these three levels of anicca are practised, we will not have wisdom. Therefore, in order to practise any of the four-fold satipatthäna one has to develop the constant thorough understanding of impermanence known as sampajañña in Pali. 

In other words, one must meditate on the arising and passing away of phenomena (anicca-bodha), objectively observing mind and matter without reaction. The realization of samudaya-vaya-dhamma (impermanence) should not be merely a contemplation, or process of thinking, or imagination or even believing; it should be performed with paccanubhoti (direct experience). 

Here the observation of vedand plays its vital role, because with vedand a meditator very clearly and tangibly realizes samudaya-vaya (arising and passing away)." 

Sampajañña in fact is knowing the arising and passing away of vedanā and thereby all four facets of our being. It is for this reason that in each of the four satipatthāna, being sampajāno, as well as being ātāpī (ardent) and satimā (aware) are essential qualities and the three are invariably repeated for each of the satipatthāna. 

And as the Buddha explained, sampajañña is observing the arising and passing away of vedanā." 

Hence the part played by vedanā in the practice of satipațthāna should not be ignored, or this practice of satiputthāna will not be complete.

In the words of the Buddha: 

Tisso imā, bhikkhave, vedanā. Katamā tisso? Sukhā vedanā, dukkhā vedanā, adukkhamasukhā vedanā-imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso vedanā. Imāsam kho, bhikkhave, tissannam vedanānam pariññāya cattāro satipațthänä bhāvetabbā." 

Meditators, there are three types of bodily sensations. 

What are the three? 

Pleasant sensations, unpleasant sensations and neutral sensations. 

Practise, meditators, the four-fold satiputthana for the complete understanding of these three sensations. 

The practice of satipațthāna is complete only when one directly experiences impermanence. Bodily sensation provides the nexus where the entire mind and body are tangibly revealed as an impermanent phenomenon leading to liberation.

{SD}

Source:

Vipassana Research Institute

2nd November, 2022