The Four Foundations of Mindfulness by Ajahn David Dale Holmes

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
 by Ajahn David Dale Holmes

A good way of cultivating morality (sila ) is by directing the light of  concentration upon the (i) body, (ii) feeling, (iii) mind and (iv) phenomena in order  to eliminate disturbing elements which cause imbalance and suffering in our lives. 

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness might be figuratively described as the establishming, upon four pilings, of a strongly-supported foundation, firmly in balance, as a base for grappling with and finally eradicating impurities arising within seas of potentially harmful phenomena.  

Another way to explain is to say that if we want to overcome and be free of the prevalence of mental impurities causing suffering, we must develop the skill needed to liberate ourselves from three  unskillfil actions which are: – (akusalakamma) —the three basic roots of evil—which may be translated as “lust, (lobha) hatred, (dosa) and delusion, (moha).” 

Wresting ourselves free of attachment to unskillful actions, depends upon our gradually developing mental culture (bhavana). The cultivation of virtuous conduct helps us relinquish lust. The calm of right concentration and mental culture (bhavana) helps us to relinquish hatred. Insight through right understanding meditation evolves into wisdom which helps us to see through and dispel ignorance.

The opening passage of the Mahasatipanna Sutta is as follows: 

“This is the only way monks for the purification of beings, for   the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for reaching the Noble Path, for the realization of Nibbana, namely the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

“Herein Monks (in the teaching), a monk dwells in contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, overcoming covetousness and grief in the world; he dwells contemplating the feeling in the feelings, ardent clearly comprehending and mindful, overcoming covetousness and grief in this world; he dwells contemplating the consciousness in the consciousness, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, overcoming covetousness and grief in this world; he dwells contemplating phenomena, (the dhamma in the dhammas) ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, overcoming covetousness and grief in this world.” 

We should note that, in the above quotation, the Buddha is implying that there is only one way for the purification of beings—which is The Four Foundations of Mindfulness—which means not only is there no way other than by penetrating directly through the contemplation of body, feeling, consciousness and the dhammas, but also that there is only one person who can penetrate through your wrong view  and that person is you. 

There is only one way to purification and freedom from pain and grief and that is through the one mind that can see what is going on within, as long as you continue to pursue peace of mind through observing, contemplating  and comprehending sensation and feeling. The only one person who can complete the cleaning up of the impurities within your mind is you. 

This means the mind is capable of becoming strong enough, through comprehension and mindfulness, so that emotions such  as attachment, hatred, depression and sorrow will slowly but surely be efinally disappear. 

Sati means cultivating objective penetration by focussing with clear awareness. Sati means penetrating to the root-core of an emotion and realizing that there is actually nothing there which could cause covetousness and grief.  

The seventh factor of the Noble Path is called the controlling factor. Venerable Nyanasatta Thera, (in Wheel Series 19) citing the Satipatthana Sutta, says “Right Mindfulness (samma sati) has to be present in every skillful or karmically wholesome thought moment (kusala acitta). 

“It is the basis of all earnest endeavour (appamada) for liberation and maintains in us the ardent energy to strive for Enlightenment or Nibbana.”

In his highly-respected and helpful book, The Path to Deliverance, the Venerable Nayanatiloka Maha Thera, has translated in slightly different wording, cites the Buddha from the classical texts (MN. 77) as follows:

“And further … I have shown to my disciples the way to develop the four applications of mindfulness (satipatthana):

“Here the monk dwells in contemplation of the body … feeling … mind… mind-objects, ardent, clearly conscious and mindful, after putting away worldly greed and grief. 

“And, further, I have shown them the way to develop the four right efforts (sammappadhana): Here the monk incites his will, strives, puts forth his energy, strains his mind, in order to avoid the arising of evil, unwholesome states ... To overcome them … to arouse wholesome states … to bring them to growth and full development. 

“And further I have shown them the way to develop the four paths of power (iddhipada): Here the monk develops the road to power accompanied by concentration of will … energy … mind … reflection.

“And further, I have shown them the way to develop the five mental faculties (indiriya): Here the monk develops faith … energy … mindfulness … concentration … wisdom …, leading to peace and enlightenment.

“And further I have shown them the way to develop the five mental powers (bala). Here the monk develops the power of faith … energy … mindfulness …concentration …wisdom, leading to peace and enlightenment.

“And further I have shown them how to develop the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga): Here, the monk  develops the factors of  enlightenment, bent on solitude,  on detachment, on cessation, and ending in deliverance, namely, mindfulness … investigation of phenomena … energy …rapture … tranquillity …concentration … equanimity.

“And further I have shown them the way to develop the Noble Eightfold Path (ariya-atthangika-magga): Here the monk develops right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.”

Now, this may seem a lot to understand on just one reading, but the thing to do is to go back to the beginning of the quotation and think your way through what the Buddha is saying as an  introduction to doing it properly once you become more firm in the foundations of your practice.

The above text might seem intimidating and tend to make us shy off, thinking, “This is too much for me to comprehend! It is too much to accomplish all at once!” But don’t fall into the mental trap of backing off and saying it would be impossible to accomplish.  

Just as a temple is built, stone by stone, with a monk working physically, concentrating with one-pointed mindfulness on the laying of one stone at a time, so the practice is developed and gradually built-up in a series of successive actions, one by one. 

If you know how to read and understand the above quotation. carefully, and there will be no secrets about the path—there are only stages which albeit cannot be explained using conventional language, because experience on higher planes can only be known through direct practice and knowing. 

Moreover, there is, in reality, no temple: – there is only a series of stones, being built up, one by one, coming together, forming into a temporary unity and, then, eventually, with time, starting to break apart and deteriorate, one by one, until everything has turned into particles of dust which again in their turn devolve within a process into base elements arising and ceasing, one by one, dependently arising and ceasing, through a process that knows no beginning and knows no end.  

I reality, there is no monk either. What we call “he” or “him” is also just a process of changing elements – a part of a larger process – that has no beginning and no end. Yet, in common language, as a result of wrong view we continue to speak of temples and monks and bricks as though they were solid, permanently abiding objects.

Someone may ask me if it is a big job to write a big book on the Dhamma, and I would have to answer that this is the wrong way of putting the question. 

Actually, just as a temple is an accumulation of bricks and other materials, so a book is just an accumulation of words, sentences, and punctuation marks, and a writer, like a monk working as a stone mason, puts the bricks or sentences and pieces and bits and dots into sequence and series, one by one, and, if one observes and analyzes the process of writing closely and carefully, the sentences become accumulations of words which are typed with concentration, one by one, and if the writer is even-more concentrated, and happens to be writing by hand, he will even write each curl and loop and line of each letter of each word with the same kind of focussed and one-pointed precision, even with totally focussed concentration, absorbed in a process of mental-physical energy that is arising and ceasing. 

I reality, there is no paper either. What once was a tree and made into pulp and then paper breaks down into particles and vibrations of energy. Just as in the oft-quoted analogy that “There is no flag and there is no wind”—as cited in one of Ajarn Chah’s popular Dhamma talks—similarly there is no writer and there is no book. It is all just a process of elements arising and ceasing, in a process of energy arising and burning up to the point of ceasing. 

How energy should be directed or expended depends on right view and right intention.

In learning about the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, we start by focussing, with skilfulness—in every thought moment—and the most obvious place to begin is with the body and the breath, which is always there in ever-present consciousness, and this is where breathing meditation plays its primary important role in Buddhist meditation. 

The Buddha recommends mindfulness of breathing in these words: 

“This concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and practiced much, is both peaceful and sublime, it is an unadulterated blissful abiding, and it banishes at once and stills evil, unprofitable thoughts, even as they arise. Breathing meditation helps calm agitation from the start and helps establish tranquillity.”

What makes the cultivated breath blissful and ultimately sublime is emptiness.

13 January 2023