Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [141]
In the original Mindfulness Sutra, the Buddha described what he called the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. These teachings remind us to be aware of our bodies; aware of our feelings and emotions; aware of our thoughts; and aware of events, as they occur, moment by moment. In his essential meditation instructions passed down until today, the Buddha told his disciples how to begin their training in present awareness and mindfulness, saying: “The disciple retires to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to a solitary place, seats himself … and with mindfulness fixed before him, mindfully he breathes in, mindfully he breathes out. When making a long inhalation, he knows: ‘I make a long inhalation’; when making a long exhalation, he knows: ‘I make a long exhalation.’ … thus he trains himself.”
“Is this really meditation?” people often ask. “Is it really that easy?” If these meditation instructions sound almost too simple to believe, there is another oft-told story about the Buddha: Once an elderly grandmother came to him, telling him that she too would like to reach enlightenment; she too would like to learn how to meditate. But, as she explained, she was very old, infirm, illiterate, and busy with family obligations and household chores. She couldn’t renounce her family and enter a monastic order. However, she was already open and conscious enough to perceive the beaming countenances of the enlightened Buddha and many of his followers. It was her heart’s desire to learn to meditate in order to join them in developing spiritually.
The Buddha told her, “Respected grandmother, every time you draw water from the well for you and your family, remain aware of every single act, movement, and motion of your hands. As you are carrying home the water jug atop your head, be aware of every step of your feet; as you do your chores, maintain continuous mindfulness and awareness every single instant, moment after moment, and you too will become a master of meditation.”
These instructions, which reflect the essence of simplicity, are not always so easy to follow. Have you ever had the experience of having to pick up a brimming bowl of hot soup in your hands while you were wearing dress clothes? Do you remember the alertly vigilant state of mind you maintained until you were able to put the bowl down? In mindfulness meditation, we cradle the present moment in the very same way. We do this with the intention of carrying this vigilance with us into every moment of our lives.
In his book, Peace Is Every Step, meditation master Thich Nhat
Hanh wrote, “I must confess it takes me a little longer to do the dishes in mindfulness, but I live fully in every moment, and I am happy. Each second of life is a miracle; the dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles! Every conscious step we make, a flower blooms under our feet. We can do this only if we linger not in the past or future, but know that life can be found only in the present moment.”
In meditation training, we learn to approach everything we do with attention and mindfulness. Mindfulness is also the end product of meditation as in total wakefulness, unified attention, focused awareness, and even enlightenment. After the Buddha realized enlightenment under the bodhi tree, he lived for several decades—teaching and enjoying the enlightened life—but he no longer had to formally sit down to meditate. Since everything was natural, meditationlike wakefulness for him, it was no longer something to be cultivated, developed, and achieved.
Living the mindful life is a sacred way of being in this world, with or without the safe container traditionally provided by more elaborate religious forms. Knowing things as they are, knowing how they function, is enlightened wakefulness. Beyond that,