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Dharma Talk – Prajñā, The Fourfold Sangha (13)
There are four domains for the practitioner to contemplate:
- Body
- Feelings
- Mind
- Objects of Mind (Dhammas)
In the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness and the Anapanasati Sutta, only these four domains are mentioned, not the five aggregates as is commonly seen.
There are 16 exercises of mindful breathing, divided into four groups according to the above domains:
- Recognizing the in-breath and out-breath
- Following the in-breath and out-breath closely
- Awareness of the whole body and feelings
- Releasing tension in the whole body (relaxing each part, lying-down meditation)
- Generating joy
- Generating happiness
- Recognizing emotions and feelings
- Calming emotions and feelings
- Awareness of the mind (recognizing mental formations as they arise)
- Gladdening the mind (making the mind happy, nourishing with the joy of meditation)
- Concentrating the mind (focusing attention on one object, citta ekaggatā)
- Liberating the mind (untying the knots of the mind, clarifying – liberating the mind)
- Contemplating impermanence (maintaining the insight of impermanence every second, every minute)
- Contemplating letting go of craving (recognizing the danger in desire so that desire dissolves)
- Contemplating cessation – nirvana (transcending all notions of birth and death, being and non-being)
- Contemplating letting go (releasing, letting go of notions of suffering)
The practitioner practices mindfulness to give rise to joy, concentration to give rise to happiness, and insight to liberate right in the present moment.
Dharma Talk – Prajñā, The Fourfold Sangha (12)