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The Benefit of Practicing the Three Dharma Doors of Liberation

Thich Nhat Hanh · April 17, 2013 · Thailand
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The sixteen exercises of mindful breathing are divided into four sets, designed to care for the body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind. The first four exercises are to be aware of the in-breath and out-breath, to follow the breath all the way through, to become aware of the body, and to calm the body. The second set addresses feelings: generating a feeling of joy, generating the energy of happiness, being aware of painful feelings, and calming the feeling of pain. The third set deals with the mind:

  1. Aware of mental formations: Recognizing any of the 51 mental formations, such as anger or mindfulness, observing them like a river.
  2. Gladdening the mind: Practicing selective watering to invite good seeds from store consciousness to manifest in mind consciousness.
  3. Concentrating the mind: Cultivating samadhi to make a breakthrough.
  4. Liberating the mind: Utilizing the Three Doors of Liberation.

The final four exercises focus on the objects of mind. The thirteenth is contemplating impermanence, moving beyond the mere notion to a deep insight that prevents suffering in relationships. The fourteenth is contemplating non-craving, recognizing the dangers hidden in objects of desire like fame or sensual pleasure. The fifteenth is contemplating Nirvana, the extinction of the fires of affliction and the reality of no birth and no death. This relies on Right View, which transcends the notions of being and non-being; just as a cloud transforms into rain but never passes into non-being, reality is a transformation without annihilation. The sixteenth exercise is letting go of notions. The insight of interbeing helps remove these notions, revealing that a flower is made entirely of non-flower elements and a son inter-is with his father, dissolving the discrimination between self and other.

The Three Doors of Liberation are considered the cream of the teaching. Emptiness (sunyata) signifies the absence of a separate self, allowing true communication between the one bowing and the Buddha. Signlessness (animitta) removes grief and fear by recognizing that nothing dies or disappears, but only changes form. Aimlessness allows for happiness in the present moment without the need to run after anything or become someone else. This practice of no birth and no death is illustrated by the story of the dying layperson Anathapindika. Guided by Sariputta and Ananda, he practices the recollection of the Three Jewels to generate joy, and then meditates on the nature of reality—seeing he is not his body, feelings, or eyes—allowing him to pass away peacefully and freely.

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