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The Joy of Letting Go
Mindfulness begins with recognizing the breath and the whole body: breathing in, I am aware of my body; breathing out, I am aware of my body. From there, we calm the bodily formations, then calm the mental formations, bringing about deep peace and joy. Through the breath, we evoke joyful feeling (a gentle delight) and happy feeling (a deeper happiness), the two states of the first dhyāna. There are at least two methods of meditative nourishment to generate joy and happiness, among which the method of joy born from letting go arises when we release our attachments. The image of nine cows symbolizes our possessions; when we let go of the cows, we have true freedom and authentic joy.
The next contemplation is directed towards feelings, with four main types of feelings:
- painful feeling
- neutral feeling
- pleasant feeling
- mixed feeling
The eighth exercise in the Anapanasati Sutra is to calm the feelings, helping us to face and soothe strong emotions such as despair, anger, or suffering. Practice sitting in the lotus position, focusing attention on the lower abdomen (dantian), simply noticing the rising and falling of the belly with each breath, allowing feelings to come and go. In this way, we see that feelings are just feelings, impermanent, and we nurture insight so that when the storm of emotion arises, the mind remains steady, not swept away.
