Anapanasati 8: Impermanence In The Practice Of Anapanasati

What we've done in the last few weeks is we have gone through contemplations of the body,

Feelings and mind.

And we're in the second contemplation of the mind.

What we haven't really talked about very much as we've gone through the 16 steps of the Anapanasati Sutra is this idea of impermanence,

Which is obviously a key and important idea in Buddhism.

And we haven't really talked about how impermanence relates to Anapanasati practice,

To the full awareness of breathing.

And impermanence as an idea,

You know,

Most of you I'm sure are familiar with it,

It's simple enough.

The idea simply stated that nothing lasts forever.

But stated a little more keenly and in ways that are related more to Buddhist thought,

Impermanence is the idea that nothing is fixed.

That there's nothing that's not subject to change.

Now those of us who are growing older,

You know,

We've only got to look in the mirror to see that this is true,

But we can all see it through the window.

You know,

As the summer turns to fall and we can see it on the dinner table,

If the phone rings and our food that was hot suddenly becomes cold or,

You know,

When we're caught in a storm of anger,

Which then resolves itself with time.

Impermanence shows itself in the very root of Anapanasati practice,

In the very nature of our breath,

Which changes from moment to moment,

You know,

As we move,

As we're still,

As we become excited.

Really even just as we go back and forth between the inhalations and the exhalations,

The breath itself changes without cease.

Now in the scheme of the 16 steps of the Anapanasati practice,

A realization of impermanence is important at several different stages.

During the contemplation of the body,

As we come to realize a sense of contentment in the moment,

That contentment can change into joy,

Which in itself then relaxes into a more general sense of happiness.

And knowing that all things exist in a continuum of change,

We allow that to happen,

This sort of ebb and flow of feeling.

As we observe feelings in the second set of contemplations,

Rooted in that contentment and happiness,

We observe the rising of sensations,

Which we perceive as pleasant,

Unpleasant or neutral.

And observing them as such,

Not involving ourselves in their details or content,

We see them for what they are,

We let them go.

Feelings rise,

Feelings pass.

Impermanence,

Nothing is fixed,

Everything flows and changes.

And we perceive the transient nature of our feelings and they naturally begin to calm themselves.

So as we begin the third set of contemplations,

Those of the mind,

Impermanence again plays a really important part.

In the first instruction of this third group of contemplations,

The ninth step in the overall scheme of 16,

We begin to experience our mind in and of itself.

Having calmed the rising and falling of perceptions and feelings,

Our minds can appear to us now clearly and unobstructed and we're able to observe thoughts as they arise.

Emotions based in what the Buddha called the three poisons of greed,

Hatred and delusion,

We talked about that last week.

We see the presence of the five hindrances,

How ill will,

Doubt,

Worry,

How these spark emotions that tear at us and that keep us in spirals of our own self-created suffering.

So in this contemplation of the mind,

We're encouraged again to step back,

To avoid being enmeshed in the content of these thoughts.

We see them clearly for what they are,

We see their roots,

Anger,

Fear,

Desire,

Aversion,

The elusive powers of addiction.

And as we see them,

We also know instinctively that these things don't last.

We know intuitively that such thoughts are,

As a sutra says,

Unwholesome and they result in suffering.

And we know that with practice,

Learning to recognize but not indulge in greed,

Hatred,

Delusion,

Our cravings pass,

Our anger cools.

These things don't last.

These things are subject to change.

They are impermanent.

So that brings us to the second step in the contemplation of the mind,

Which is gladdening of the mind or allowing our minds to be happy.

So just as in the contemplation of the body,

When we experience pleasure of the breath and mindfulness of the moment and we discover that sense of contentment or even joy and happiness,

Really so can our minds become glad when we see that the roots of our thoughts and our emotions and we recognize them without,

As I say,

Without getting ensnared in their content,

And we know that they simply do not last,

That they will pass.

All that's really required is to be with our thoughts with the same basic quality of knowing that we bring to our breath in the first set of contemplations.

This sati,

Bare awareness.

And when we're in this contemplation of the mind and we bring an idea of impermanence to it,

For me it's such a relief to know that we're not bound by what our minds concoct.

That with time and practice,

The suffering we experience and the poisons of greed and hatred and delusion,

They'll pass as long as we don't hold on to them.

And that,

Just right there,

Is enough for me to make the mind feel glad.

So imagine what can happen when our dedicated practice of meditation brings us to a place where we're able to make that release available,

Consistent and real.

So what I want to do is go ahead and do a guided meditation,

And then we'll do about five minutes of walking meditation,

And 20 minutes or so of quiet meditation.

So go ahead and find your meditation posture,

Whether you're seated or lying down.

Think about the tensions in your body for a moment.

I know a lot of people are carrying a lot of tensions lately.

Let your shoulders be relaxed,

Slightly rounded.

Think about the muscles in your face,

Your jaw,

The root of your tongue.

Go ahead and take another deep breath.

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when he was staying in savati.

The senior practitioners in the community were instructing those who were new to the practice,

Some instructing 10,

Some 20,

Some 30,

And in this way,

Those new to the practice gradually made great progress.

That night,

The moon was full,

The Buddha,

The awakened one,

Was sitting in the open air and his disciples were gathered around him.

After looking over the assembly,

He began to speak.

Friends,

Our community is pure and good.

Such a community is rare,

And any pilgrim who seeks it,

No matter how far she must travel,

Will find it worthy.

Friends,

The full awareness of breathing if developed and practiced continuously will be rewarding and bring great advantage.

And what is the way to develop and practice continuously the method of full awareness of breathing?

It is like this.

The practitioner goes into the forest or to the foot of a tree or to any quiet place,

Sits stably holding his or her body straight and practices like this.

Breathing in,

I know I am breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I am breathing out.

Let your mind rest on your body just as your body rests on the cushion or the floor.

Be aware of sitting upright,

Rooted,

Strong in your posture.

Posture is an expression of commitment to the way.

Think about the space around you,

The room that you're in,

The protection and safety it offers you.

Place to practice this afternoon,

Bring a sense of gratitude,

Feel its seclusion.

And then as for the body,

Establish a seclusion in the mind.

You can rest now from the day-to-day responsibilities and expectations.

Set those aside for now.

And formulate an intention,

An intention to practice here,

Now for your own growth and for how your growth can benefit others.

Take just a moment to consider your physical posture again.

And as you align your body,

Also align your mind,

Your mental posture.

Upright and connected with your intention to practice and hold to that connection lightly,

But in a real and dedicated way.

And as we practice this afternoon and occasionally need to realign our physical posture,

So too the posture of our mind needs to be realigned whenever our attention is lost.

Gently brought back to the breath,

Gently brought back to the practice.

Here in the present moment,

Find a sense of mindfulness and make it predominant.

Bring your mindfulness to the foreground.

Consider how this feels.

Where does mindfulness reside?

For a moment,

Be aware of the feeling of mind and body when mindfulness is present.

Being with sati,

Bear awareness.

Experience your mind and body as one.

Meet yourself where you are.

Allow yourself to be open,

Spacious,

Alert,

And awake.

And with mindfulness in the foreground,

Become aware of your breathing.

Just the breath,

Your inhalations,

Your exhalations.

Your breath doesn't need to be long or short,

It just has to be your own.

Your breath is your closest friend.

Something you can always find,

Something you can always turn to.

But with a sense of inquiry,

As you breathe,

Observe the length of your breath.

Observe its quality.

This is an opportunity to explore with attention.

The practice of observing the breath supports the mind and the practice of mindful observation.

When you feel ready,

With stability in the breath,

Move on with your awareness to mindfulness of the whole body.

Still aware of the breath,

The in-breath,

The out-breath,

But now more in a peripheral awareness.

Bring the force of your mindfulness to your body as a whole,

Not a particular place,

But your whole body at one with the breath.

This awareness of the body,

Our experience now,

Is on the energetic level.

Subtle,

Inclusive,

Awareness pervading the body,

Based still in awareness of the breath.

And in our awareness of the body,

Breathing in and out,

And in our awareness of the body,

Breathing in the present moment,

There naturally comes a calming of the body,

A calming of its activity,

A deep sense of relaxation.

Breath is calm,

Body is calm,

Calming bodily activity,

Breathing in the moment.

An important part of the practice is to see if you can find a sense of contentment in this simplicity,

Breathing in the moment,

Aware of the body,

Contentment.

From this place of contentment,

Become aware of your mental activities,

Remembering there's a difference in Buddhist thought between feelings and emotions.

Feelings are like sensations,

Are perceptions.

Just allow them to rise and fall without attachment.

No need to be involved in their content.

Don't let yourself become enmeshed,

Just see them as pleasant,

Unpleasant,

Neutral.

No need to be bothered by these.

Just see these perceptions for what they are,

Not chasing them,

Not pushing them away,

Just letting them be.

Rising,

Passing,

Not a problem,

Just clouds moving across the light of your awareness.

And as you let your mental activities rise and fall without hope,

And fall without holding them,

You may find they gradually begin to calm,

Becoming quieter,

With practice fewer in number,

Gentle and easy.

From the state of a calmer mind,

We move into contemplations of the mind directly.

The challenge of the ninth contemplation,

Breathing in,

I'm aware of my mind,

Breathing out,

I'm aware of my mind.

There's opportunity here to know the mind in all its ways of being.

Our practice here is to turn toward our suffering with the stability of our breath and of the mental calm we found in contemplation of the feelings,

And to see the states of mind that the three poisons of greed,

Hatred and delusion create.

These thoughts come,

These thoughts trouble us.

Anger,

Fear,

Greed,

Clinging.

Here within the practice of Anapanasati,

Examining the content of our thoughts is not as important as simply seeing them for what they are.

And to know in our minds and our hearts,

These things don't last,

But they do pass.

They don't need to be imprisoned by them.

They can pass and their passing is made all the more easy by our own understanding of impermanence,

And our own practice of open-handed release.

And this practice over time,

This practice over time can bring us to the relief of the next contemplation of the mind.

Breathing in,

I allow my mind to be happy.

Breathing out,

I allow my mind to be happy.

And,

Dad,

Through your own practice,

Your inquiry,

Relief is at hand.

Breathe and know that this moment is your life.

Each moment is your life.

Open,

Free and calm.

Thank you.