The Benefits of Mindfulness Practice
Introduction
There is a renewed interest in the thousands of years old Buddhist meditation technique called Vipassana Meditation. Vipassana translates loosely to Mindfulness. The renewed interest comes from the Stress of modern life exacerbated by the interconnectedness offered by the convenience and the prevalence of social networks enabled by modern technology - smart phones. Mindfulness practice offers a solution to the rapid breakdown and burnout caused by modern city lifestyle. Practitioners are like an oasis, within oneself, in the madness of the city life.
History
To begin with, let us establish where it came from. It came from the Buddha, a self awakened, fully enlightened being. The Buddha was Royalty who was inquisitive and left his royal household to find answers everyone else was looking for - the meaning of life and beyond. He had 2 notable teachers. One taught him the 4 mundane levels of meditation practice and the other taught him the 4 supramundane levels of meditation practice. The Buddha went further, beyond those and attained Nibbana - Enlightenment.
With His enlightenment, he taught the methods leading to the cessation of suffering. The complete teachings are refereed to as the Dhamma, making up of Suttas which are individual discourses. There is nothing mysterious or secretive about them and they are published in websites like - www.accesstoinsight.org
Dangers of meditation
There are more than 1 method taught by the Buddha. Vipassana is merely 1 of them. There are a few more notable ones like Anapanasati, Samatha, Metta and so on. Meditation, often refereed to as Concentration in the Buddhist doctrine is just 1 of the 8 fold path.
The practice of Vipassana, or specifically the Satipatthana Vipassana, is based on the Satipatthana Sutta. The method I practice is refereed to as the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition. Mahasi Sayadaw was a highly respected monk in Myanmar. It was passed down from him to the monks in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I learnt it. Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka are the countries where Therevada Buddhism (southern tradition) are commonly practiced. This tradition is strict and adheres to the original doctrines as carefully and correctly as humanely possible.
For more information = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/mahasi/wheel370.html
The technique is based on the actual Satipathana Sutta = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.than.html
Satipathana is Frames of Reference and of which there are 4. To concentrate on just 1 of the 4 Frames of Reference will lead to imbalance and problems. Imbalance which may lead one to commit suicide. That had happened many times before and instances of such cases can be found on the internet.
There are many new age “gurus” anxious to “share” what they had learnt at the basic level or even merely heard about. Some are self styled and without the necessary qualifications. When problems arise, such “teachers” are NOT able to handle it. It is necessary to learn from a properly qualified teacher who is usually a monk who had practiced well and went through a proper meditation teacher’s course.
For example, before a meditator is having difficulty in handling too many negative emotions arising during practice, Metta meditation may be prescribed by the experienced teacher. Or when bodily discomfort becomes too much to bear due to the lack of exercise and being over weight for some, yoga may be prescribed. For others, working with the pain during sitting meditation is a good way to practice patience.
Requirements
Mindfulness practice is very simple. The irony of that is that the simpler the technique, the more difficult it is to achieve. The requirements are also very simple - just the 8 precepts. Again, simple things are difficult to do.
8 precepts = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/atthasila.html
There is no need for excuses or explanations for not being able to follow the precepts or method. The stricter you are with yourself, the greater the benefits you will experience. Effort is necessary, lots of it. To be relaxed yet strict. To rein the mind in, step by step, increasingly. Patience is your friend.
With Morality (observing the 8 precepts), Concentration will arise.
With Concentration, Wisdom will arise.
No morality = No Wisdom
It is just that simple. No need for excuses or explain to anyone at all. When in doubt, ask the meditation teacher. With utter and brutal honesty towards yourself and others, the right questions will be asked and the right answers will be given to address any doubts.
It will lead you to verify the Dependent Co-arising (Paticca-samuppada = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.002.than.html) yourself. Faith arises when the Suttas are verified by yourself. Like food or medicine, no one can eat it for you. You have to do it yourself. There is no other way.
From verifying the Dependent Co-arising, the 4 Noble Truths should be next and whatever happens next is for you to find out.
Benefits for the lay person
If you have stayed with me till now, this is the interesting part which everyone CRAVES for.
With mindfulness, one is AWARE of the inputs of the 6 senses. The eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body AND the sixth is the MIND at ALL times during wakefulness.
When eating, one can appreciate the finer tastes, texture and aromas of food. Sometimes to the extent of being able to reverse engineer and cook something similar just after tasting it once. One may also be aware of the effect each type of food have on the body.
When going to the toilet, one can see the “output” and be aware of the needs of the body. More cooling foods perhaps? And less coffee maybe? More salt to make up for the loss during exercise? All these will be apparent to those who observe their “outputs” regularly, keeping one’s body at the optimum level of health.
When driving, one is aware of your minute movements to maneuver the car and the car’s response to your various inputs. Knowing includes the tactile feeling you get from the seat and spatial awareness. Knowing the road surfaces, conditions, weather, etc and tailoring your responses accordingly. Given any car, you will master it well within minutes and be highly competent with it. Should there be any problem with the car, you will know it through the feedback you get from your senses.
With human relationships or business relationships, one is aware of one’s emotions and the reciprocal response of others towards you. Being able to manage that well will enable one to be highly sought after, to say the least, IF that is what you want. With love interest, one should be able to prevent big fallouts because of your heightened awareness of the emotional states of yourself and the other party at all times.
When exercising and/or practising martial arts, one can excel without difficulty. Knowing where your limbs are disposed, your physical state, your psychological state, your emotion state and the opponent’s various states as well.
When walking, dancing or moving, your movements will be graceful. Knowing how one’s limbs are disposed and how energy can be conserved, the way of the samurai’s conservation of energy is realized without ever practising or studying bushido.
When working, thinking, writing, studying or communicating. Heightened states of awareness due to mindfulness makes life a breeze, so much so that memorizing and planning is sometimes NOT needed at all. Throw whatever at you and you will be able to take advantage of each and every situation and make the best of it. Impossible? There is NO such thing as impossible.
Heightened states of awareness resulting from the correct practice of mindfulness will enable one to master anything and everything at astonishing speeds.
Incredible? Nope. There are more, much much more to it. This is only 1 of the Noble 8 fold path. To avoid the imbalance and conceit resulting from being able to trounce everyone else at will and without even trying, the remaining 7 of the Noble 8 fold path will have to be practised. Otherwise, the whole world will turn against you just for the fun of it and for calling their bluff every single time.
Ha~! I kill me~!
That was what Alf said in the TV sitcom of the 80s. Nothing that you wouldn’t be able to handle though....
And that is just the beginning....
There is a renewed interest in the thousands of years old Buddhist meditation technique called Vipassana Meditation. Vipassana translates loosely to Mindfulness. The renewed interest comes from the Stress of modern life exacerbated by the interconnectedness offered by the convenience and the prevalence of social networks enabled by modern technology - smart phones. Mindfulness practice offers a solution to the rapid breakdown and burnout caused by modern city lifestyle. Practitioners are like an oasis, within oneself, in the madness of the city life.
History
To begin with, let us establish where it came from. It came from the Buddha, a self awakened, fully enlightened being. The Buddha was Royalty who was inquisitive and left his royal household to find answers everyone else was looking for - the meaning of life and beyond. He had 2 notable teachers. One taught him the 4 mundane levels of meditation practice and the other taught him the 4 supramundane levels of meditation practice. The Buddha went further, beyond those and attained Nibbana - Enlightenment.
With His enlightenment, he taught the methods leading to the cessation of suffering. The complete teachings are refereed to as the Dhamma, making up of Suttas which are individual discourses. There is nothing mysterious or secretive about them and they are published in websites like - www.accesstoinsight.org
Dangers of meditation
There are more than 1 method taught by the Buddha. Vipassana is merely 1 of them. There are a few more notable ones like Anapanasati, Samatha, Metta and so on. Meditation, often refereed to as Concentration in the Buddhist doctrine is just 1 of the 8 fold path.
The practice of Vipassana, or specifically the Satipatthana Vipassana, is based on the Satipatthana Sutta. The method I practice is refereed to as the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition. Mahasi Sayadaw was a highly respected monk in Myanmar. It was passed down from him to the monks in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I learnt it. Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka are the countries where Therevada Buddhism (southern tradition) are commonly practiced. This tradition is strict and adheres to the original doctrines as carefully and correctly as humanely possible.
For more information = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/mahasi/wheel370.html
The technique is based on the actual Satipathana Sutta = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.than.html
Satipathana is Frames of Reference and of which there are 4. To concentrate on just 1 of the 4 Frames of Reference will lead to imbalance and problems. Imbalance which may lead one to commit suicide. That had happened many times before and instances of such cases can be found on the internet.
There are many new age “gurus” anxious to “share” what they had learnt at the basic level or even merely heard about. Some are self styled and without the necessary qualifications. When problems arise, such “teachers” are NOT able to handle it. It is necessary to learn from a properly qualified teacher who is usually a monk who had practiced well and went through a proper meditation teacher’s course.
For example, before a meditator is having difficulty in handling too many negative emotions arising during practice, Metta meditation may be prescribed by the experienced teacher. Or when bodily discomfort becomes too much to bear due to the lack of exercise and being over weight for some, yoga may be prescribed. For others, working with the pain during sitting meditation is a good way to practice patience.
Requirements
Mindfulness practice is very simple. The irony of that is that the simpler the technique, the more difficult it is to achieve. The requirements are also very simple - just the 8 precepts. Again, simple things are difficult to do.
8 precepts = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/atthasila.html
There is no need for excuses or explanations for not being able to follow the precepts or method. The stricter you are with yourself, the greater the benefits you will experience. Effort is necessary, lots of it. To be relaxed yet strict. To rein the mind in, step by step, increasingly. Patience is your friend.
With Morality (observing the 8 precepts), Concentration will arise.
With Concentration, Wisdom will arise.
No morality = No Wisdom
It is just that simple. No need for excuses or explain to anyone at all. When in doubt, ask the meditation teacher. With utter and brutal honesty towards yourself and others, the right questions will be asked and the right answers will be given to address any doubts.
It will lead you to verify the Dependent Co-arising (Paticca-samuppada = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.002.than.html) yourself. Faith arises when the Suttas are verified by yourself. Like food or medicine, no one can eat it for you. You have to do it yourself. There is no other way.
From verifying the Dependent Co-arising, the 4 Noble Truths should be next and whatever happens next is for you to find out.
Benefits for the lay person
If you have stayed with me till now, this is the interesting part which everyone CRAVES for.
With mindfulness, one is AWARE of the inputs of the 6 senses. The eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body AND the sixth is the MIND at ALL times during wakefulness.
When eating, one can appreciate the finer tastes, texture and aromas of food. Sometimes to the extent of being able to reverse engineer and cook something similar just after tasting it once. One may also be aware of the effect each type of food have on the body.
When going to the toilet, one can see the “output” and be aware of the needs of the body. More cooling foods perhaps? And less coffee maybe? More salt to make up for the loss during exercise? All these will be apparent to those who observe their “outputs” regularly, keeping one’s body at the optimum level of health.
When driving, one is aware of your minute movements to maneuver the car and the car’s response to your various inputs. Knowing includes the tactile feeling you get from the seat and spatial awareness. Knowing the road surfaces, conditions, weather, etc and tailoring your responses accordingly. Given any car, you will master it well within minutes and be highly competent with it. Should there be any problem with the car, you will know it through the feedback you get from your senses.
With human relationships or business relationships, one is aware of one’s emotions and the reciprocal response of others towards you. Being able to manage that well will enable one to be highly sought after, to say the least, IF that is what you want. With love interest, one should be able to prevent big fallouts because of your heightened awareness of the emotional states of yourself and the other party at all times.
When exercising and/or practising martial arts, one can excel without difficulty. Knowing where your limbs are disposed, your physical state, your psychological state, your emotion state and the opponent’s various states as well.
When walking, dancing or moving, your movements will be graceful. Knowing how one’s limbs are disposed and how energy can be conserved, the way of the samurai’s conservation of energy is realized without ever practising or studying bushido.
When working, thinking, writing, studying or communicating. Heightened states of awareness due to mindfulness makes life a breeze, so much so that memorizing and planning is sometimes NOT needed at all. Throw whatever at you and you will be able to take advantage of each and every situation and make the best of it. Impossible? There is NO such thing as impossible.
Heightened states of awareness resulting from the correct practice of mindfulness will enable one to master anything and everything at astonishing speeds.
Incredible? Nope. There are more, much much more to it. This is only 1 of the Noble 8 fold path. To avoid the imbalance and conceit resulting from being able to trounce everyone else at will and without even trying, the remaining 7 of the Noble 8 fold path will have to be practised. Otherwise, the whole world will turn against you just for the fun of it and for calling their bluff every single time.
Ha~! I kill me~!
That was what Alf said in the TV sitcom of the 80s. Nothing that you wouldn’t be able to handle though....
And that is just the beginning....
Resources in Singapore
Here are some resources for those who are interested. I haven’t practiced at any one of them except for Mangala Vihara where I took my basic studies but did Not complete. Mangala Vihara even have meditation courses in Hokkien. Some of them share course information and updates using FaceBook (one of the very few good things of social media)
Do note that there are stricter expectations in the dress code and conduct when visiting Buddhist places of the Therevada Tradition. It may differ between the different places. Do make an effort to find out on their website before visiting.
Central =
Vipassana Meditation Centre (Singapore)
251 Lavender Street, Singapore (338789)
Website = http://vmc128.8m.com/
FaceBook = https://www.facebook.com/vipassanameditationcentre.singapore
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/251+Lavender+St,+Singapore+338789/@1.315283,103.859219,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da19cfad420c55:0xc09ae2a0d6c8a706?hl=en
East =
Pa-Auk Meditation Centre (Singapore)
15 Teo Kim Eng Road Singapore 416385
Website = http://www.pamc.org.sg/
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/15+Teo+Kim+Eng+Rd,+Singapore+416385/@1.3279798,103.9086956,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da17ff2d6989ab:0x9e70aa992b6b4e19?hl=en
North =
Chanmyay Yeiktha Meditation Centre (Singapore)
103 Verde View, Choa Chu Kang Estate, Singapore (688708)
Website = http://www.chanmyaysin.org/
FaceBook = https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chanmyaysin.org%2Fcontact-us.aspx%23.VLMKQIrQrHY.facebook
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/search/103+Verde+View,+Choa+Chu+Kang+Estate/@1.390129,103.7526567,14z/data=!3m1!4b1?hl=en
North East (Mandarin) =
Visuddha Meditation Centre (Singapore)
30 St Annes' Wood S(545242)
Website = http://www.visuddha-m-c.com
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Visuddha+Meditation+Centre+%28Singapore%29/@1.391543,103.904614,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da161aaeb10247:0x5a2d4ef2f0adfdc7?hl=en
Skype is available. Handy for invalid people who wants to practice.
West =
Jayamangala Buddhist Vihara
23A & 25A, Jalan Mas Puteh West Coast Road, (near ESSO) Clementi.
Website =
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/search/25A,+Jalan+Mas+Puteh+West+Coast+Road/@1.30871,103.7619552,17z/data=!3m1!4b1?hl=en
Nun teacher (female) =
Cakkavala
Website = http://www.cakkavala.org/
FaceBook =
Google Map =
Buddhist Study and meditation in Hokkien (near Eunos MRT) =
Mangala Vihara
30 Jalan Eunos
Website = http://www.mangalavihara.org.sg/
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/30+Jln+Eunos,+Singapore+419495/@1.3197289,103.9051368,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da1804fa88e725:0x9bf1d52d3e825194?hl=en
There are many more Resources such as =
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/
http://www.burmeseclassic.org/dir.php
To know what you are missing out or tempt yourself with what is possible, there is a link to a chart in this page... = http://www.visuddha-m-c.com/vmc%20sg/meditation.html
But rather than CRAVING for those information, CLINGING on to your current attainments AND destroy your own practice by putting a glass ceiling of Expectations upon yourself, why not just let it all go and see where you end up.
When there is a will, there is a way.
If there is no intention to learn, there is no way and no hope.
Here are some resources for those who are interested. I haven’t practiced at any one of them except for Mangala Vihara where I took my basic studies but did Not complete. Mangala Vihara even have meditation courses in Hokkien. Some of them share course information and updates using FaceBook (one of the very few good things of social media)
Do note that there are stricter expectations in the dress code and conduct when visiting Buddhist places of the Therevada Tradition. It may differ between the different places. Do make an effort to find out on their website before visiting.
Central =
Vipassana Meditation Centre (Singapore)
251 Lavender Street, Singapore (338789)
Website = http://vmc128.8m.com/
FaceBook = https://www.facebook.com/vipassanameditationcentre.singapore
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/251+Lavender+St,+Singapore+338789/@1.315283,103.859219,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da19cfad420c55:0xc09ae2a0d6c8a706?hl=en
East =
Pa-Auk Meditation Centre (Singapore)
15 Teo Kim Eng Road Singapore 416385
Website = http://www.pamc.org.sg/
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/15+Teo+Kim+Eng+Rd,+Singapore+416385/@1.3279798,103.9086956,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da17ff2d6989ab:0x9e70aa992b6b4e19?hl=en
North =
Chanmyay Yeiktha Meditation Centre (Singapore)
103 Verde View, Choa Chu Kang Estate, Singapore (688708)
Website = http://www.chanmyaysin.org/
FaceBook = https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chanmyaysin.org%2Fcontact-us.aspx%23.VLMKQIrQrHY.facebook
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/search/103+Verde+View,+Choa+Chu+Kang+Estate/@1.390129,103.7526567,14z/data=!3m1!4b1?hl=en
North East (Mandarin) =
Visuddha Meditation Centre (Singapore)
30 St Annes' Wood S(545242)
Website = http://www.visuddha-m-c.com
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Visuddha+Meditation+Centre+%28Singapore%29/@1.391543,103.904614,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da161aaeb10247:0x5a2d4ef2f0adfdc7?hl=en
Skype is available. Handy for invalid people who wants to practice.
West =
Jayamangala Buddhist Vihara
23A & 25A, Jalan Mas Puteh West Coast Road, (near ESSO) Clementi.
Website =
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/search/25A,+Jalan+Mas+Puteh+West+Coast+Road/@1.30871,103.7619552,17z/data=!3m1!4b1?hl=en
Nun teacher (female) =
Cakkavala
Website = http://www.cakkavala.org/
FaceBook =
Google Map =
Buddhist Study and meditation in Hokkien (near Eunos MRT) =
Mangala Vihara
30 Jalan Eunos
Website = http://www.mangalavihara.org.sg/
FaceBook =
Google Map = https://www.google.com/maps/place/30+Jln+Eunos,+Singapore+419495/@1.3197289,103.9051368,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x31da1804fa88e725:0x9bf1d52d3e825194?hl=en
There are many more Resources such as =
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/
http://www.burmeseclassic.org/dir.php
To know what you are missing out or tempt yourself with what is possible, there is a link to a chart in this page... = http://www.visuddha-m-c.com/vmc%20sg/meditation.html
But rather than CRAVING for those information, CLINGING on to your current attainments AND destroy your own practice by putting a glass ceiling of Expectations upon yourself, why not just let it all go and see where you end up.
When there is a will, there is a way.
If there is no intention to learn, there is no way and no hope.