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Dharma Talk – Prajñā, The Fourfold Sangha (8)
Yesterday we learned about mindfulness of the precepts; today we continue with mindfulness of the body, that is, taking the physical form (the body) as the object of contemplation. Within us, there are five kinds of bodies:
- The physical body: the material form
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The Buddha body, Dharma body, Sangha body, and Precepts body
But the Buddha body and Dharma body only manifest when our practice is solid; the Sangha body needs to be built; the Precepts body must be kept whole—five, ten, or fourteen precepts—so that it is not damaged. We should regularly go to the temple to repent so that the Precepts body can become whole again.
Regarding the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), there are four basic domains of mindfulness practice:
- Mindfulness of the body: contemplating and recognizing our own form
- Mindfulness of feelings: contemplating pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, and collective feelings
- Mindfulness of the mind: contemplating the 51 mental formations, recognizing them when they arise
- Mindfulness of objects of mind: contemplating the objects of perception, letting go of wrong perceptions
The Anapanasati Sutra teaches sixteen breathing exercises, of which four are fundamental for mindfulness of the body:
- Breathing in, I know I am breathing in; breathing out, I know I am breathing out (simple recognition)
- Following the breath from beginning to end (following the breath)
- Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body (the entire body)
- Breathing in, I calm my whole body (releasing tension and pain)
Practicing mindful breathing—the breath bringing body and mind back together as one—helps us to live deeply in the present moment, here and now, bringing peace, healing, and developing mindfulness so that “Buddha is on, Mara is off.”
Dharma Talk – Prajñā, The Fourfold Sangha (7)