Buddhist Hour
Script No. 430
Broadcast live on 3MDR 97.1 FM
11.00 pm to 12 midnight.
On Friday 2 June 2006 CE 2550 Buddhist Era

This script is entitled:
Applying the Buddha's Teachings to Everyday Life
Part 8 - Right Mindfulness

Tonight we will talk about Right Mindfulness the seventh factor of the Noble Eight Fold path taught by the Buddha.

This is the eighth class in our series "Applying the Buddha's Teachings to Everyday Life". Tonight’s talk was first presented on the 10 of January 2006 at the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre in Upwey.

If this is the first time you have tuned into the Buddhist Hour and would like to read papers from previous classes please take a visit to our website at www.bdcublessings.net.au.

In tonight’s paper we shall also talk about the Perfection of Renunciation (sila-nekkhama) which is the third of the Ten Perfections.

So we begin with Right Mindfulness and the words of the Buddha.

"Mindfulness, O monks, I declare, is essential in all things everywhere" (Piyadassi 1991)

The thing about mindfulness that makes it a wonderful and rewarding practice is you can do it anywhere, any time, no matter what you are doing.

It is practiced alongside and hand in hand with every other Buddhist practice.

You practice generosity and kindness with mindfulness.

You practice making merit with mindfulness.

You restrain the mind with mindfulness.

It is the practice that you can develop to become like a constant companion at your side protecting you, looking after you and helping you create benefits for self and others through awareness of what's really happening in your life instant by instant.

Mindfulness is like the brightness of a lamp or torch - the stronger the mindfulness the more you are able to see. It is a foundation of all the other practices for without mindfulness you have a dull mind, a mind weak in mindfulness, one that can't comprehend what's happening clearly unable to generate enough focus and mental composure to apply the Buddhist Teachings.

So for this weeks teachings we can put the Buddha’s instructions on mindfulness into practice immediately, right now as you listen to this broadcast. Practice being in the present moment right now.

As Buddhist Teacher John D. Hughes was often heard to say: "Prick up your ears like rabbits." Be awake, alert with that sort of mindfulness.

John D Hughes, Founder of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd and the Buddhist Hour programs' first Executive Producer gave many Dhamma talks every month and he taught his students to listen differently to a normal conversation or discussion.

It was called active listening.

You sit as if in meditation with awareness of your body, with your mind contained in the volume of your body. On your breath would be OK. You keep bright attention of the present moment, alert, mindful. Then you listen only, just hear with alert interest to what is being said. You don't even need to comment about the content - what is important is to hear what is being said with little or no ‘noise’ or interruption from your side, what you might call internal chatter.

Keep an open channel so as to clearly comprehend what is being said without moving ahead of the speaker or falling behind. Keep up with the flow, hear the teaching as it arises on your mind or at the location of your ear or hearing.

As you sit listening to this program put your attention or mindfulness on your body's posture. Note the feeling of your body touching the seat you sit in, your feet touching the floor, your breathing and the position of your arms. You put your attention inside your body. As it turns out, even though your attention is not focused outside your body any more, you'll find you can still hear everything. You will hear much more of what's being said when your mind is kept inside your body. This is because your mind gets brighter, quieter and can focus on the information.

This practice will develop your mindfulness making it stronger and brighter.

You can do this many times a day - as you do it your mental energy stays inside your body. Try it when you are driving your car, or travelling on a train, when you are watching TV, cooking, mowing the lawn, sweeping the floor and so on. Washing the dishes is an excellent time to practice mindfulness because your body is active in a small area and generally there are not many other distractions. Try washing the dishes meditation at home. Move consciously, in a relaxed manner. Using care and alertness wash each dish as if it were fine china and when clean attentively placing each piece down to dry. At your work look for opportunities to develop awareness of your body both when sitting and when walking or whatever you may be doing.

Through active examples like these you come see how the calmness and brightness we develop in our meditation can be extended into our normal lives. Applying the same effort of mindfulness we develop in our meditation, we can extend this effort to become skillful at keeping our mind bright and clean all the time as if our normal mind is a continuation of our meditation.

Chogyam Trungpa observed in his book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism;

"If you pour a cup of tea, you are aware of extending your arm and touching your hand to the teapot, lifting it and pouring the water. Finally the water touches your teacup and fills it, and you stop pouring it and put the teapot down precisely, as in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. You become aware that each precise movement has dignity. We have long forgotten that activities can be simple and precise. Every act of our lives can contain simplicity and precision and can thus have tremendous beauty and dignity." (Trungpa 1973, p.156)

In the same book he tells of a story concerning the Buddha. It relates to 'how he taught a village woman to develop such mindfulness in the act of drawing water from a well. He taught her to be aware of the precise movement of her hands and arms as she drew up the water. Such practice is the attempt to see the ‘nowness’ quality in action, which is why it is known as shamatha the development of peace. When you see the ‘nowness’ of the very moment, there is no room for anything but openness and peace.' (Trungpa 1973, p.157)

The way mindfulness functions as one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path is described by Venerable Piyadassi Thera, in his book The Spectrum of Buddhism. He writes:

"As the other factors (of the Eightfold Path) are interdependent, Right Mindfulness aids Right Effort. Together they work to check the arising of unwholesome thoughts and not to develop unwholesome thoughts already entertained. The man (or women) vigilant in regard to his (or her) actions, verbal, physical and mental, avoids all that is detrimental to his (or her) spiritual progress."

"Mindfulness, complete awareness, and clear comprehension, these are the ways with which one brings meditation to fulfilment." Piyadassi notes "It is significant that the Buddha emphasises the importance of mindfulness in his final admonition to his disciples: ‘Subject to change are all component things. Strive on with mindfulness’."

"Constant mindfulness and vigilance are necessary to avoid ill and do good. Our thoughts and emotions need constant care and watchfulness to direct them to the path of purification. It is through such persevering watchfulness that mental progress is realised."

"Much learning is of no advantage to its possessor if he lacks mindfulness. Even learned men cannot see a thing in its proper perspective without this all-important quality of mindfulness. Men of good standing, owing to words spoken thoughtlessly and without due consideration of their consequences, are often subject to severe and justifiable criticism. There is a saying: ‘The spoken word, the lost opportunity, and the sped arrow can never be recalled’." (Piyadassi 1991)

In What Buddhist's Believe Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda's states that:

"The practice of mindfulness is important in Buddhism. The Buddha said that mindfulness is the one way to achieve the end of suffering. Mindfulness can be developed by being constantly aware of four particular aspects. These are, the application of mindfulness with regard to the body (body postures, breathing and so forth), feelings (whether pleasant, unpleasant or neutral); mind (whether the mind is greedy or not, angry or not, dispersed or deluded or not); and mind objects (whether there are mental hindrances to mental concentration, the Four Noble Truths, and so on). Mindfulness is essential even in our daily life in which we act in full awareness of our actions, feelings and thoughts as well as that of our environment. The mind should always be clear and attentive rather than distracted and clouded." (Dhammananda 1999)

Now we will talk some about Renunciation.

What is Renunciation in Buddhism?

According to the Macquarie Dictionary (1991) to renounce means ‘to give up or put aside voluntarily’. The Buddhist practice of renunciation can be described as having three levels.

The first level of renunciation we encounter in Buddhism is when we are taught about the practice of Buddhist morality. For laypersons the five precepts define five types of particularly harmful actions that we need to abandon or give up. By renouncing these five negative actions we are limiting the grossest ways that our unwholesome minds impact on our lives and on the world we live in.

There are further precepts a layperson can undertake beyond these first five such as to refrain from slander, to refrain from harsh speech and to refrain from divisive speech. Again each of these precepts is applying a brake or barrier on our actions born of our unwholesome minds.

By contemplating the benefits of acting and speaking in a wholesome way and the repercussions of acting in an unwholesome way we will come to see through experience the wisdom in abandoning the latter, renouncing our previous harmful behaviours. Eventually we will become harmless in the world.

The second level of renunciation is to abandon the unwholesome minds and harmful mental attitudes which cause our unwholesome actions and which are at the root of our suffering. After we have carefully restrained our external behaviour, we then turn our mindfulness inward and with skillful application we abandon ‘the fourteen mental defilement's rooted in greed, hate and ignorance’.

Before we can succeed at abandoning an unwholesome mind we have to decide to give it up. We have to recognise it is like a poison. It can never be transformed into some thing worthwhile. We have to say 'I have had enough of this unwholesome mind'. If we try to remove a defilement without first having this type of renunciation towards it we will find it very difficult to remove.

So we need to be skilled at recognising the unwholesome minds that arise, so as to have renunciation toward them, and then to apply the correct antidote in order to remove them. At this stage we would abandon having angry thoughts towards someone at work, and of coveting the possessions of others. Although we may have already abandoned the actions of yelling at people and stealing things etc., the next level is to now abandon even the thoughts that drive those actions.

There are numerous skillful means of changing the way we think and so act. One such system is called lo-jong in Tibetan, which means a practice that purifies the mind to remove selfishness and other afflictions of which we will talk about in the future.

The third level of renunciation is the abandonment of the root ignorance from which all our problems ultimately arise. The root problem is our selfish and self-cherishing fixation, thinking that we are the most important person. It is exclusive self-concern, of putting our own needs and concerns unconditionally as our number one.

Rather than making us happy, which is the goal of the self-cherishing mind, it is the cause of our suffering and unhappiness. The self-cherishing mind does not have the knowledge that the way to happiness is through being kind to others. The self-cherishing mind flies in the face of this truth and does exactly the opposite.

To renounce this self-cherishing we make great efforts to develop a deep love and compassion for all of our fellow beings. The outcome overtime time is that we can begin to act to be a true blessing to the world and in doing so free ourselves from the limitations of an egocentric view. We can take vows to help guide us and help us maintain kindness and love for other sentient beings. We can pledge our life to the welfare of others, that is the exact opposite of the self-cherishing viewpoint.

The Perfection of Renunciation, or sila-nekkhama in Pali is the third of the Ten Perfections as taught by the Buddha.

Renunciation like all the Perfections is a group of various mental attitudes that can be developed through Buddhist practice.

One aspect of the Perfection of Renunciation is the abandonment of craving. The Buddha said that as beings we have craving for three types of things.

The craving for sensual pleasures,

The craving for existence, and

The craving for non-existence.

We will talk now about the first type of craving, the craving for the sensual pleasures of life.

When we develop the Perfection of Renunciation in regards to craving, we understand that samsara, the condition of having to be born over and over again and craving the pleasure contained therein, cannot offer true and lasting happiness. The Perfection of Renunciation is a turning away from indulging in and attaching to the pleasures of worldly existence.

On the practice of Renunciation, T. Price writes in Bodhi Leaves, Newsletter of the Buddhist Publication Society (Sri Lanka) that:

"There is nothing ambiguous about this. The Buddha was well aware that much pleasure and happiness is to be found in the world as it is ordinarily experienced, but he insisted that these pleasures were transient and therefore relative and limited, and that true happiness is only to be found by renouncing what is worldly, transient, relative and limited, and seeking instead what is transcendental, unchanging, absolute and unlimited. This absolute state (if one can describe it so) is what is called Nirvana." (Price 1986)

Our life is comprised of temporary pleasures and joys. They are sometimes called illusory because they promise the happiness we all want in our hearts, but are unable to provide it.

The Buddhist Nun Ayya Khema in an Essay on Renunciation notes that:

"The world glitters and promises so much, but never, never keeps its promises. Everyone has tried a number of its temptations and not one of them has really been fulfilling. The real fulfillment, the completeness of peace, lacking nothing, the totality of being at ease and not wanting anything, cannot be fulfilled in the world. There's nothing that can fill one's wants utterly and completely. Money, material possessions, another person, some of these can do so. And yet there's that niggling doubt: ‘Maybe I'll find something else, more comfortable, easier, not so demanding and above all something new’. Always that which is new promises fulfillment." (Khema 2005)

The Perfection of Renunciation is truly the giving up and letting go of craving and attachment, which is the cause of all suffering. As in the second Noble Truth: ‘The Cause of Suffering is Craving.’ By being free from the constant struggle of wanting some things and not wanting others, we can experience true, lasting peace.

It is important to be familiar with the specific sufferings that we as human beings must undergo. If our understanding of the first Noble Truth ‘that life is suffering’ is only general, we will not be able to develop renunciation. However if we cultivate a deep understanding of the specific sufferings of cyclic life we will be able to develop renunciation for it. Remember that contemplating suffering should not make us depressed or despondent, rather it should ignite a deep thirst in us to free ourselves from such sorrow.

Generally one way to develop renunciation is to practice the 'four contemplations which turn the mind', that is;

1. the difficulty of finding the freedoms and advantages,
2. the impermanence of life,
3. the defects of samsara, and
4. the certainty that actions always produce results, kamma.

The result of each contemplation is as follows:

If we contemplate that this human life, so full of leisure and opportunity, is capable of yielding enlightenment, we turn away from squandering our time on the fruitless pursuits of sensual indulgence, gambling, and other base activities. Instead we devote our time to cultivating morality, concentration and wisdom. This is the first contemplation.

If we contemplate that this life is necessarily impermanent, that one-day we all must pass on, we will develop a sense of urgency to practice the Dhamma. Moreover because the time of our death is uncertain we will eliminate the laziness of believing we can ‘practice tomorrow’. This is the second contemplation.

If we contemplate that our current lives are filled with a myriad of dissatisfactions and that the cause of this suffering is our craving for this and that, we will turn away from such desire and instead devote our time to cultivating non-attachment and non-craving. This is the third contemplation.

If we contemplate that actions and their results never fail, that the law of cause and effect is really the truth, then we will always abandon actions that are unwholesome and only cultivate actions that are wholesome. This is the fourth contemplation.

By developing renunciation we change our priorities in life.

For example by contemplating that our life is precious and not to be wasted, we might give up an unhealthy habit that causes us ill health, such as overeating or smoking cigarettes. Will shall become more inclined not to put ourselves into situations that might cause us harm even if normally we find them exciting. For example, some people are thrill seekers and seem to happily accept the high risks of sky diving, car racing, or mountain hiking. We would also understand and be thankful for our precious leisure time and would not squander it upon activities, which are of no fruit.

By contemplating that our life is short we would endeavour not to waste precious time on things of little or no benefit, such as watching television for extended periods or oversleeping. Instead we would be diligent and use our time wisely, carefully planning our day to allow a suitable balance of work, rest, and enjoyment, a day that allows us to consistently and mindfully practice the Buddha Dhamma without laxity or strain.

By contemplating that our worldly life is unsatisfactory, we would not spend our time seeking out and indulging in the temporary pleasures of life. We would avoid spending our money heedlessly on over-extravagant possessions, frequenting inflammatory places like nightclubs, and otherwise part ways with high action and excitement activities. Rather we would make efforts and develop joy in our practice of the Dhamma, the practice of developing morality, concentration and wisdom. This type of joy is far deeper and fulfilling than the transitory forms of pleasure we can experience from worldly pastimes.

Finally it is by cultivating a deeper understanding of how actions and their effects never fail, we might give up such practices as telling white lies to our bosses, or taking even small things of little value that were not given to us. We would endeavour to keep the five precepts in everyday life. We would always be mindful of our actions, and try to never generate any action that was of harm to another being.

In these ways we can renounce our old behaviours and truly change our life for the better.

Remember that renunciation means that you change something for the better in your life, the way you act in daily living, the way you spend your time, the way you think about others, and so forth.

May you develop Right Mindfulness.

May you develop the Perfection of Renunciation.

May you be well and happy.

May all beings be well and happy.

This script was written and prepared by Julian Bamford, Frank Carter, Helen Costas and Alec Sloman.

References

1. Carter A, Carter F, Sloman A. Applying the Buddhas Teachings to Everyday Life. Part 8 – Right Mindfulness. Presented at the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre, Upwey Vic 3158. 10 Jan 2006.

2. Venerable Piyadassi Thera. 1991. The Spectrum of Buddhism. Published by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 11th Floor, 55, Hang Chow S. Rd., Sec 1, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

3. Trungpa, Chogyam. 1973. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Clear Light Series. Published by Shambhala Publications, Inc. 1123 Spruce Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302., p.156, 157

4. Dhammananda, K Sri. 1999. What Buddhists Believe. 10th Edition. Publication of the Yayasan Belia Buddhist Malaysia. 129 Jlan Seang Tek, 10400 Pulau Pinang.

5. Price, T. 1986. Renunciation. Bodhi Leaves No. B. 36. Published by the Buddhist Publication Society, P.O. Box 61, 54, Sangharaja Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

6. Ayya Khema. 2005. Essay on Renunciation. Published online at www.vipassana.com/meditation/khema/allofus/renunciation.php.

6. Delbridge, Arthur. (C. Ed.) The Macquarie Dictionary. Published by the Macquarie Library University, NSW 210, Australia.

Word count: 3,371

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