2022-05-02-Satipatthana (67) Abiding in Effortless Awareness

5:41PM May 2, 2022

Speakers:

Gil Fronsdal

Keywords:

awareness

clinging

final

knowledge

possibility

present moment

establishing

river

buddha

days

exist

text

develop

rebirth

practice

suffering

give

undue attention

abiding

aware

So thank you all for the comments I'm seeing. And once they're still coming, I'll read them all, at the end when we stop here, and so I fully appreciate looking at them then. But for now like to say a few words. So we're coming to the end of this many weeks, teachings on satipatthāna, the satipatthāna sukha, which the title of which I like to translate is the ways of establishing before ways of establishing awareness, the establishments for awareness. And the emphasis, what we're trying to do here is not understand so much these areas of our life, that's certainly part of it. But we're also establishing awareness. Where, When, and then we're abiding in that awareness. And now, and that awareness is involves a clarity involves being able to remain in the present moment, that ability to remain centered in the present moment, is often associated with concentration to be concentrated and focused here and now. But often with concentration, there's a for many people, they assume that that concentration is a kind of a laser focus or a tightening of focus onto something. And the way that I understand samādhi here is that it's an undistracted adness in the present moment, where all our, our whole being starts getting gathered together, to be aware here and now, without the distractions. This is to do this well, comes at the end of a long period of doings sati Putana practice. And, and it might, for some people, they might get the hang of it quickly. Some people it might take years and years. You'll see in a moment, it might take them seven years, to develop it to some degree. But one of the nice qualities that can happen is as we get some sense of the naturalness of awareness, or the effortless of awareness or the the way that we can practice letting go of the distractions from awareness, but then abide in awareness, awareness, not something we do. It's something that we allow for something that we stay in. And, and avoid, it's like staying in a current in a river, and you're floating down the river. And, and I said this earlier, but this recording is like live differently from what I said. So floating down the river, and you can stay in the currents, but if it looks like you're going to veer off the current into an eddy or into the side of the river, then you make a small adjustment to come back into and then the river cares you. So the effort at some point becomes not an effort to be aware, but the effort to avoid being distracted and being caught in something and then come back be here Come here. At some point, there starts to be a recognition that in this awareness, this awareness itself in an in and of itself, there is a kind of freedom there is a a absence of attachment of clinging, maybe fear, anger, hostility, even desires are absent in this awareness, even healthy desires, we can still have them, all these things still exist. But we start taking up residency in the awareness. We don't have residency and our anger residency or fear. Those things can still exist to some degree, but we're not prioritizing them or we're not giving them undue attention and importance. They can be there and we can take care of them wisely. But we realize that we're we're not those we're not identified with them. And if we want to identify with anything, we identify with this awareness that we can't do that just as they're the boy and more importantly though, is that we start seeing how this awareness is free of clinging.

And knowing that this exists that this possibility is there is a fantastic knowing Oh It is possible to be free of attachment. Amazing. I get a glimmer of it, I have a hint of it. But wow, it's possible be free of jealousy of judgmental ism, of cynicism, of craving of Irishness of all kinds of things that are absent in that place. And it's possible to live in the world effectively established and abiding in this place. To know that is to know something really important. So now I'd like to read the last part of this text that we've been doing all these weeks. And it's kind of the conclusion to it all. And it says to the Buddha says, practitioners, if anyone should develop these four foundations for awareness in such a way for seven years, one of two fruits, results could be expected of that for that person. Either final knowledge here and now. Or if there's a trace of clinging, left, non return. So if a person does this practice seven years, they can expect one of two results. Final knowledge here and now to in this lifetime here to attain a final awakening, here's called Final knowledge. And, and what it's a knowledge of, it's not knowledge about the cosmos and the inner workings of the mind, or, you know, the details of, you know, physics or something. Final knowledge is a knowledge that the mind is without clinging. Wow, they really know this, while this bind here has no clinging in it. Amazing. And what I was pointing to I tried to point you today is we can get a, a early hints of that possibility. So we know it's possible. Some as we develop awareness, as we find ourselves more and more aware. And, and don't confuse it with having clinging. It's a part of you, that is free of clinging. It's a part of you, that's for your fear. And it's found in the Awareness itself. And then it says either after seven years, you'll have full awakening final knowledge here, no. Or if there's a trace of clinging left non return. Non return means that when you die, you will die in this old idea of rebirth, I mean, common Buddhist idea of rebirth, that you will not return as a human being, but you will do the final work that final liberation finding letting go in this liminal space somewhere beyond your death, and and and in the seven years. So I the usual interpretation of this is that this means seven years that this is the primary occupation of persons involved in doing this practice. So classically, it's someone who could you can do this would be monastics and to really give their life over to it. And that seems pretty phenomenal with the Buddha goes on and says, let alone seven years. If anyone should develop these four foundations for awareness in such a way for six years, they will have one of these two fruits, or for five years or for four years of three years, two years, for one year. One of two fruits should be expected. Either final knowledge here and now. Or if there's a trace of clinging left, non return

let alone one year. If anyone should develop these four foundations for awareness in such a way, for seven months, for six months for five months for four months, for three months for two months for one month, for half a month. One of two fruits could be expected. Either final knowledge here and now or if there's a trace of clinging left, non return let alone In a half a month, if any one should develop these four foundations for awareness in such a way, for seven days, one of two foods can be expected. Either final knowledge here or now, or if there's a trace of clinging left non return. So it seems pretty, you know, phenomenal to do this inner work in seven days. They're probably, you know, in the billions of people that are that exists in the planet, that are people who can probably are prepared and have a certain kind of capacity potential that maybe they can drop into a deep state, and find their way all the way to the end. For most of us, it's, this is not contained final knowledge in that this kind of speed. But it's possible to have knowledge of this, recognize that it becomes part of us. It's not complete, it's not the final. But it's, we're well on the way we've had an experience, we know, this possibility of non clinging, and to have confidence in it, to feel that it's valid. And to know it's valuable, it's one of the most valuable things a human being can can do with his lifetime, is to discover this place within this, this place, or this possibility, or this, I don't know if it's within, he's just, once you're in there in awareness is no inside and outside. Where there's a freedom from suffering, then our compassion for the world knows how it's how fully it's possible, to help support people to become free of suffering, to have compassion for people who suffer and provide them with band aids is great if there's a wound I mean, it's I never want to not offer bad days that are needed. And I celebrate the people who do. And to really know how thoroughly people can be freed of their suffering, is to have this knowledge, in experiential knowledge inside of ourselves of this possibility, then we can be a beacon then we can point people and then we can support people to, to the full potential to become free of suffering, the very goal of compassion. The text goes on little bit more, and then we'll stop for today. So, it was with reference to this, that it was said, this is the direct path. 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 of the, of the way for realization of nibbāna, namely, the four foundations for awareness. This is what the Buddha said. The practitioners were satisfied and delighted in the Buddha's words. So, that's the end of the text and will the rest next four days or the week to kind of also finish up this whole text and SUTA and, and so, thank you for today and during this day of your life, maybe you can try to have a heightened attentiveness to when awareness operates. Without you directing it, you making it happen, the awareness where your ordinary self is not the agent for the awareness you just aware, in a natural way. So thank you, and I'll see you tomorrow.