Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

by Joseph Goldstein

If you want to understand your mind, sit down and observe it.

it gives more emphasis to the process of awareness itself, rather than to the particular objects of our attention.

“What is mindfulness?” is a bit like asking, “What is art?” or “What is love?”

In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the Buddha’s discourse on the four ways of establishing mindfulness, there is a broad range of instructions for understanding the mind-body process and different methodologies for freeing the mind from the causes of suffering.

The Buddha himself gave different instructions, depending on the temperaments and inclinations of his listeners. But once we have a simple baseline of practice that both suits our temperaments and inspires us to continue, we can deepen our understanding by expanding the field of our inquiry.

“This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the true way, for the realization of nibbāna—namely the four foundations of mindfulness.”

When we open any one door of the Dharma, it leads to all the rest.

whenever I come across a lot of repetition, my mind tends to skip over them, thinking, “Yes, I’ve already read or heard that,” and I hurry on to the next sentence or page. Perhaps the repetitions are simply a function of the oral tradition, but there is another possibility. Maybe when the Buddha repeats certain phrases over and over again, he is trying to tell us something: that these are important qualities of mind to cultivate and strengthen in our practice and in our lives.

Ardent implies a balanced and sustained application of effort. But ardent also suggests warmth of feeling, a passionate and strong enthusiasm or devotion

understanding the mind is the same as understanding the Dharma, and that realizing the deepest truths of the mind is the attainment of awakening.

Nothing we have, no one in our lives, no state of mind is exempt from change.

When we don’t deeply understand the truth of impermanence, we devote ourselves, our lives, and even our meditation practice to seeking and wanting other people, possessions, experiences. We get caught up in all the appearances of saṃsāra, the rounds of birth and death, and solidify our sense of self in the process. There is no peace.

As we’re about to act, or when thoughts or emotions are predominant, do we remember to investigate and reflect on our motivation? Do we ask ourselves, “Is this act or mind state skillful or unskillful? Is this something to cultivate or abandon? Where is this motivation leading? Do I want to go there?”

Cultivating clear comprehension, knowing what we’re doing and why, is a profound and transforming practice. It highlights the understanding that mindfulness is more than simply being present. With clear comprehension, we know the purpose and appropriateness of what we’re doing; we understand the motivations behind our actions.

When we act in full awareness, of even small things, it’s possible to notice the motivation and then to consider: is this motivation, this action, skillful or not, useful or not?

Clearly knowing what we’re doing allows us the opportunity to be living lovingkindness, rather than just practicing it on the meditation cushion.

The more we understand our own minds, the more we understand everyone else. We increasingly feel the commonality of our human condition, of what creates suffering and how we can be free.

If we’re more accepting, more peaceful, less judgmental, less selfish, then the whole world is that much more loving and peaceful, that much less judgmental and selfish. Our mind-body is a vibrating, resonating energy system. Of necessity, how we are affects everyone around us.

our minds are open and attentive, not attempting to control what comes next, not reflecting on the notes just past. There is a great power when we learn how to listen; it is this quality of receptivity that allows intuitive wisdom to arise.

Mother Teresa what she says to God when she prays. “I don’t say anything,” she replied. “I just listen.” Then the interviewer asked her what God says to her. “He doesn’t say anything,” said Mother Teresa. “He just listens. And if you don’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.

We understand that the Bodhisattva’s struggle is our own.

When we have too much faith, we can become dogmatic, attached to our own views.

When faith is not balanced with wisdom, we can also become overly enthusiastic about our meditation experiences. There is a state called “pseudo-nirvāna.”

because of our attachment to these very states, they become corruptions

“Did you note it?” Mindfulness was the true measure of our practice, not what particular experience we were having.

Too much effort without enough concentration simply leads to restlessness and agitation, while an excess of concentration without enough energy leads to sloth and torpor.

mindfulness acts as the guardian of the sense doors, because it keeps us aware of what is arising through the senses and helps us to not get lost in the proliferation of desires.

Mindfulness also serves to protect the mind from other unskillful thoughts and emotions. Without mindfulness, we simply act out all the various patterns and habits of our conditioning.

contrary to some popular beliefs, our aim should be not to follow the heart but to train the heart.

help us understand how different Buddhist traditions speak of mindfulness, pointing to further nuances in our own practice. Each tradition uses its own language and similes, but they are all pointing to different aspects of our experience.

One aspect is mindfulness as a cultivated state, where we are making an effort to stay attentive. We need this kind of mindfulness to bring us back to the moment.

cultivate this ethical conduct by training in the basic five precepts: refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and using intoxicants that make the mind heedless.

Actions and their consequences are magnified in the stillness and undistractedness of the retreat, and even ordinary actions can be seen in the context of refining our sīla.

In both cases, can we understand that people have different needs and desires, and let go of the idea that our own preferences should automatically take precedence? With the foundation of sīla and a nonagitated mind, we settle more easily into a happy, relaxed state, which is itself the proximate cause of concentration. And although we often speak of the difficulties we might face in practice, it is essentially a path of increasing happiness.

The first way is cultivating a directed awareness on a single object. We practice keeping the mind steady on the breath, the movements of a step, a sound. The second way develops a more choiceless awareness.

Through the repetition of the refrain, the Buddha reminds us again and again what are the essential aspects of the practice:

helpful to have a sense of humor about one’s own mental foibles.

Buddha suggested that we associate with those who are mindful and concentrated: it’s contagious.

not seeing arising and passing away is ignorance, while seeing all phenomena as impermanent is the doorway to all the stages of insight and awakening.

when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, all lust for existence, it eliminates all ignorance, it uproots the conceit, ‘I am.’”

What does this say about what we value and work for in our lives, and of the liberating effect of seeing directly—in the moment and for ourselves—the truth of change?

Understanding deeply the truth of impermanence—not as a concept, but in direct experience—opens the doorway to ever-deepening insight.

that which is impermanent is inherently unreliable and unsatisfying. And that which is unreliable and unsatisfying cannot truly be considered to be “I” or “mine.”

in English, the words disenchanted, disillusioned, and dispassionate often have negative connotations. But looking more closely at their meaning reveals their connection to freedom. Becoming disenchanted means breaking the spell of enchantment, waking up into a fuller and greater reality. It is the happy ending of so many great myths and fairy tales. Disillusioned is not the same as being discouraged or disappointed. It is a reconnection with what is true, free of illusion. And dispassionate does not mean “indifferent” or “apathetic.” Rather, it is the mind of great openness and equanimity, free of grasping.

A sustained contemplation of impermanence leads to a shift in the way we experience reality. We see through the illusions of stable existence, in both what is perceived and what is perceiving. It radically reshapes our understanding of ourselves and the world. How can we practice this contemplation?

We can be mindful of impermanence on many levels. Wisdom arises when we pay attention to impermanence in ways we may already know but often overlook.

Given all these examples of change that are before us all the time, it is striking that we often still find the changes in our lives surprising. Somehow we count on things staying a certain way, or at least, if they are going to change, they will change to our liking.

When we pay careful attention, we see that everything is disappearing and new things are arising not only each day or hour but in every moment.

The truth of their changing nature is so ordinary that we have mostly stopped noticing it at all.

As mindfulness and concentration get stronger, we more clearly and deeply see impermanence on microscopic levels.