2021-02-19 Mindfulness of Breathing (36) Embodiment Leading to Joy
IInsight Meditation CenterFeb 19, 2021 at 5:29 pm9min
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00:02Gil Fronsdal
Many of you have heard me, and other Buddhist teachers, teach the value of being embodied. Sometimes I imagine that it would have been nice if we translated 'sati' not as mindfulness, but as 'bodyfulness.' It's such an important part of this practice.
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00:32Gil Fronsdal
The two classic teachings by the Buddha on mindfulness practice – the "Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness" and the "Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing" – begin with an emphasis on mindfulness of the body. One of the reasons for this is that the more present we are for our body, the more there is awareness that's alive and available through the body, the more the body becomes an instrument for the growth of meditation practice. It becomes the vehicle and space for some of the deeper feelings and qualities of meditation that begin to arise. As the body receives some of the benefits of meditation, those benefits grow and fill out – and we get the most out of them.
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01:47Gil Fronsdal
As the body becomes more alive and sensitive – and more of an instrument of sensations, experiences and feelings – it's not just feeling the body itself. The body becomes the sense door for feeling some of the goodness that comes from meditation. I use the word 'goodness' in an abstract, vague way, as a word to describe some of the positive feelings that can come with meditation. Classically, it's joy and happiness. It could also be contentment. I like the word ease quite a bit. There can be gladness. Deep feelings of equanimity or confidence can arise. Even feelings of inner cleanliness and purity, as embodied feelings, can course through us.
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02:50Gil Fronsdal
All these qualities are felt more fully when they're felt throughout the whole body – felt with the body. If the body is not available, then it becomes a mental thing. Sometimes that's quite wonderful and profound in its own way. But especially in the beginning stages of meditation, it's really a way of being quite limited in the experience. It gives us a different impression of what meditation is about.
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03:20Gil Fronsdal
An orientation, which is too much towards the mind, doesn't really help us develop the wholeness and the unification of all of ourselves, which is ideally what we're looking for in Buddhist meditation. One meaning of 'samādhi' is unification: bringing it all together here – present.
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03:47Gil Fronsdal
The body is not just a bunch of physical stuff that we carry around with us. The body is a significant repository of nerve endings. It's a significant location for the emotions, the feelings, and the goodness of meditation to course through us, or fill us and be here. To begin tuning in – relaxing the body, sitting in with the body, feeling the body – is one way in which we begin to open up to this repository of goodness.
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