What is mindfulness?

Listen deeply to the following Dharma talk by Thay Phap Dang.
http://deerpark.libsyn.com/2017-02-12-thay-phap-dang?tdest_id=113448
The followings are my memos. I totally agree.

1. What is mindfulness?
mindfulness = heartfulness ≠ head (brain, thinking)
mindfulness = clear mind = pure mind = clear all ideas = Buddha mind = clear consciousness = clear awareness
(cf. Demon mind = anger, hatred ...etc.)

2. How to take care of the suffering
The way out is in. ⇒ take care of one's suffering
1) Recognize the suffering (Hello, my anger!)
2) Accept it (I will take care of you, my anger.)
3) Look deeply into it
4) Understand the root cause
5) Transform it by the energy of compassion

3. What to do
1) Keep the precepts (no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, ... etc. = Buddha mind. = compassion)
2) Control the senses (non-attachment, non-craving)
3) Moderating in eating (eat less)
4) Strong determination to overcome the habit energy
5) Uproot your internal knot (seeds of afflictions)
6) Love yourself and others by understanding

(Cf.) https://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/goodbye-to-brain

My question to Thich Nhat Hanh

Please refer to my following post to Thay's Facebook page. 
https://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh/posts/10154349910279635?comment_id=10154350854029635&notif_t=like&notif_id=1480597439075147
Recently I feel that there is a contradiction in Thay's teaching. My question is "How can those who have fear and anxiety return to true self?" I want to ask this question because my understanding of Thay's teaching is based on the following flow (1) and my experience is based on the following flow (2).

(1) mindfulness = stop thinking ⇒ concentration = deep looking ⇒ insight = understanding the root cause ⇒ generate love and compassion ⇒ transformation

(2) understanding the root cause = insight ⇒ unconditional self-acceptance = unconditional self-love ⇒ no fear and insecurity ⇒ non-thinking ⇒ mindfulness 

To summarize the above two flows,
(1) Mindfulness (to stop thinking) is essential to understand the root cause of our suffering.
(2) Understanding the root cause is essential to stop thinking (mindfulness).

The following is my post.
Quote:
How can those who have fear and anxiety return to true self? They can't stop thinking even though they try conscious breathing or walking unless they understand the root cause of their fear and anxiety. To recognize suffering, embrace it, relieve it and look deeply into it, we need to stop thinking first.

Who observes the thoughts (brain)? I understand that's awareness (awakened consciousness). Only if we can stop thinking (stop using our brain), awareness revives. Awareness has just been covered up by ego (separate self). This is my experience. So, I am convinced that brain (maybe left cerebral hemisphere) can stop thinking. In other words, human beings can just bloom like a flower without thinking. Without thinking, awareness always attains insight. 

My answer to my above question is as follows: We need to be fed up with our suffering and strongly want to change ourselves. Then we will have more chance to attain insight of the root cause of suffering. Once we attain the insight, we can accept ourselves unconditionally and stop thinking because we have no fear and insecurity anymore. So, conscious breathing or walking doesn't work for those who have fear and insecurity to stop thinking and to be mindful.

Unconditional self-acceptance is the key. For that, we need to understand the root cause of our suffering through insight. And for the insight, we need to be mindful and concentrated. However, those who have fear and insecurity can't stop thinking through conscious breathing and walking to be mindful. And the truth is that most people think, which is a proof of having fear and insecurity. In this sense, it can be said that mindfulness can't be attained through conscious breathing and walking only. 

I hope that Thay will answer to my important question. This is not for myself because I understood the root cause of my suffering through insight before starting to learn and practice Thay's teaching. Thay's answer will benefit a lot of Thay's followers and practitioners.

We, as humans on this planet, can exist without thought if we revive awareness (non-separate self, true self). I (awareness) am experiencing it 24 hours a day. In other words, I am stopping and meditating 24 hours a day. I am sure that fully enlightened people like Thay must be also experiencing the same thing. And you may not believe it but you revive awareness during your deep sleep state because you can't think. Furthermore, all animals, plants and minerals are always awareness because they don't think.

That "if" is a big IF because it means self-transformation from separate self to non-separate self. The extinction of all notions is essential for the full enlightenment. For that, we need to understand that all notions (thoughts) are wrong through the ultimate truth of emptiness (interbeing, non-separation, non-discrimination, non-duality, wholeness). 

Simply speaking, you may think too much. Who thinks? It is not true self. It is ego (fake self) who was made up by your wounded inner child (true self in babyhood) for self protection from your parents. So, you need to find out what happened in your babyhood. That is the root cause of your fear and insecurity. Through insight, I saw everything in a flash and understood the root cause. "No wonder!" was my first impression.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
My answer to my above question is as follows:
① Intention: being fed up with our suffering and strongly want to change ourselves
② Determination: self-transformation
③ Insight: understanding the root cause of our suffering
④ Unconditional self-acceptance = Unconditional self-love
⑤ No afflictions: no fear and insecurity
⑥ Non-thinking: stopping thinking
⑦ Mindfulness, Concentration, Insight

Unconditional self-acceptance is the foundation for mindfulness. Without unconditional self-acceptance, mindfulness is not possible because we can't stop thinking. No unconditional self-acceptance, no mindfulness. For unconditional self-acceptance, we need to understand the root cause of our suffering through insight. Once we attain insight of the root cause of our suffering, we can stop thinking because we have no fear and insecurity anymore. So, the fruit of understanding the root cause of our suffering is mindfulness. Mindfulness can't be attained through conscious breathing or walking only. For understanding the root cause of our suffering, we need to be fed up with our suffering and strongly want to change ourselves.

(Cf.) http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/3-versions-of-oneself

How to correct and repair the past

Listen deeply to the following Thay's Dharma talk through Podcast from 55:50 to 1:03:37.
http://tnhaudio.org/2010/04/20/your-heart-is-like-a-flower/
The followings are excerpts.

Quote:
And we can assure a better and more beautiful continuation. It is now at our hands. With the practice of mindfulness, we can begin to purify our action to assure a better future. 

(sound of the bell)

But what if yesterday I already produced a thought of hate and discrimination? I don't want to continue with that. What if yesterday I have said something very mean to my father or to my friend? I regret but I already have said that. I have already done that. 

Can we do something in order to repair the wrong thinking, the wrong speaking that have been created by us in the past? And the answer is yes, we can do something. Yesterday you may have said something not kind to her. Today you recognize that is not right speech and you want to repair and ground it in the present moment. You want to practice right speech. 

You breathe in, you breathe out. And you pick up your phone or turn on your computer and write and mail a letter to tell her that you are sorry, that you really want her to be happy, that you regret to have said such a thing. And in the present moment you can do it. Because as soon as you produced the thought of reconciliation, the thought of lovingkindness, that thought begins to heal you and to heal the other person. 

And what you have done yesterday, what you have said yesterday, your karma will be transformed by the action of today. The action of today, the thought of today will catch up with action and thinking of yesterday, embrace it and transform it. The Buddha said, "Everything comes from the mind." If the mind changes, everything will change. 

Suppose while your grandmother was alive, you said something that was not nice to her. Now you want to say, "Sorry" to her. But she is no longer there for you to say, "I'm sorry, Grandma. I have said something mean to you. I was stupid. I was not mindful. I didn't mean to say something like that." But she is no longer alive for you to send a letter and to call. 

The practice of mindfulness is wonderful because you can even correct the past, repair the past. You sit down and look deeply, you breathe mindfully. With that, you get insight that your grandma is still alive in every cell of your body. Your grandma is still there. And you are part of karma of your grandma. (lol) You are the continuation of your grandma. It's very clear that you are somehow the continuation of your grandma. 

So, you can practice like this.

Breathing in, I see you, grandma, in every cell of my body.
Breathing out, I smile to you, grandma.

And your grandma is available in the here and the now. Thinking that your grandma is no longer there, is wrong thinking. It's wrong thinking. Thinking that your grandma belongs to the past, is wrong thinking. Your grandma is always there in you and around you. And you can talk to her at any time, "Grandma, I'm sorry. I promise you that I will never say something like that anymore in the future." And you can see your grandma smiling in you. And you are healed. This is something wonderful about the practice. With the present moment, you can heal the past, you can create the future. 

So, actions taken in the here and the now can modify, correct, transform the past and transform the present and the future. So, it is possible in the teaching of the Buddha, to assure the better future and beautiful future, just by thinking, just by speaking just by acting, and you have the sovereignty to do that. Your free will is possible. And it will be easier with a good environment, with a sangha. 

(My commentary)
Above Thay's Dharma talk is to correct and repair the past within ourselves. It has nothing to do with repairing the problem with our counterpart. Our own problem can be solved through the practice of mindfulness. So, we will be liberated from stress. This is a merit. However, if our counterpart does not practice the same thing, his or her problem can not be solved. Then the problem between the two will remain. Only if both sides correct and repair the past, the relation between the two can be restored.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Emptiness and the Heart Sutra (2)

Please refer to my following blog on Oct. 9.
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/10/emptiness-and-heart-sutra.html
I mentioned as follows:
Quote:
In the Heart Sutra, the following 4 lines are very famous.  

Form is no other than emptiness.

Emptiness is no other than form.

Form is namely emptiness.

Emptiness is namely form.

But I feel that the following 4 lines are missing before the above 4 lines. 

This is because that is.

Form is because space is.

Space is because form is.

Therefore,

So, it's better to replace emptiness with space as below to make it easier to understand.

Form is no other than space.

Space is no other than form.

Form is namely space.

Space is namely form.

:Unquote

The above is the ultimate truth in the phenomenal world, or the historical dimension. It has nothing to do with the noumenal world, or the ultimate dimension. Now I feel that the famous 4 lines in the Heart Sutra also explain the relation between the phenomenal world and the noumenal world as follows.

The phenomenal world is because the noumenal world is.

The noumenal world is because the phenomenal world is.

That's because the noumenal world unfolds into the phenomenal world (The phenomenal world is made of the noumenal world),

and the phenomenal world enfolds into the noumenal world (The noumenal world is made of the phenomenal world).

So, it's possible to replace form with the phenomenal world and to replace emptiness with the noumenal world in order to express the relation between the phenomenal world and the noumenal world as below.

The phenomenal world is no other than the noumenal world.

The noumenal world is no other than the phenomenal world.

The phenomenal world is namely the noumenal world.

The noumenal world is namely the phenomenal world.

The phenomenal world means this world, and the noumenal world means nirvana. So, finally the famous 4 lines in the Heart Sutra can be read as follows:

This world is no other than nirvana.
Nirvana is no other than this world.
This world is namely nirvana.
Nirvana is namely this world.

But there is "a big if" to be able to read the famous 4 lines in the Heart Sutra as above. Only if we revive awareness, or true self (non-separate self), we can really understand the true meaning of the famous 4 lines in the Heart Sutra. That's because only awareness can dwell in this world (the phenomenal world) and nirvana (the noumenal world) at the same time by transcending space and time. Those who are ego, or separate self can never understand the true meaning because they live only in the phenomenal world. Furthermore, the famous 4 lines in the Heart Sutra could be translated as follows:

Body is no other than alaya.
Alaya is no other than body.
Body is namely alaya.
Alaya is namely body.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WBTLNEU

The Buddha

Materialistic science & Spiritual science

Watch deeply the following videos of William A. Tiller, a professor emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

William A. Tiller is a professor emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He has been avocationally pursuing serious experimental and theoretical study of the field of psychoenergetics for over 30 years. He is also the author of Science and Human Transformation. 
(Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Tiller
(HP) http://www.tillerinstitute.com/

(My commentary)
It's very interesting that William A. Tiller is trying to measure invisible spiritual energy. If he succeeds in proving spiritual energy scientifically, his study may become an integral part of "tomorrow’s" physics.

However, he said that he wants to ask a question to Buddhist master whether consciousness will continue after physical death. This indicates that he does not understand the no birth and no death nature of body and mind. And he also said that consciousness is a by-product of Spirit entering denser matter. This indicates he does not understand the true relation between body and consciousness. I hope he will understand the ultimate truth and continue his further study.

We are our actions.

Read deeply the following Thay's words on actions (karma).
https://www.facebook.com/mindfulnessbell/posts/1075397465885157

"Every thought we produce, every word we produce, every physical act we do never dies. Nothing dies. Those actions continue always. That is your continuation. You think you’re just this physical body—that is not Right View. You are much more than this body. You are your actions. What I think, what I say, what I do, those are my continuation, and they will bring consequences. And whether those consequences are beautiful or not depends entirely on the quality of the actions." 
– Thich Nhat Hanh, "Interbeing, the Four Noble Truths, and Right View"

(My commentary)
We sow or plant the seeds of mental formations in our store consciousness (alaya) through our physical, verbal and mental actions (karma). And when those seeds are watered or touched, they will manifest in our mind consciousness as mental formations. That's why our actions (karma) never die and continue always. So, all actions (karma) are our continuation. This may be called as the true reincarnation. What we should do is the selective watering to the wholesome seeds through mindfulness, and the transformation of the unwholesome seeds to the wholesome seeds by embracing our mental formations and understanding the root cause through deep looking.

Read deeply the following Thay's Dharma talk summary on Interbeing, the Four Noble Truths, and Right View.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_vcianSBGpHOVV0eXU3b1VNWnM/view
The followings are excerpts.

"Dear friends, in classical science represented by Newton, things are separate. The seed is outside the plant; the plant is outside the seed. But in quantum physics, we begin to see things differently. Things are no longer outside of each other but are actually in each other."

(My commentary)
I understand that the seed is liken to awareness and the plant is liken to body. David Bohm said, "The implicate, or the enfolded order unfolds into the explicate order, or everything separate." 
(The explicate, or the unfolded order enfolds into the implicate order.) And I understand that the implicate order means awareness in the noumenal world (ultimate dimension) and the explicate order means body in the phenomenal world (historical dimension). In other words, David Bohm said, "Everything is internally related to everything. Everything contains everything." David Bohm also said, "Now, the implicate order would help us to see that, to see everything enfolds, everybody, not merely depends on everybody, but actually everybody is everybody in a deeper sense. See, we are the earth because all our substance comes from the earth and goes back."

(Cf.) http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/implicate-order-explicate-order

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Body and Mind

The followings are my understanding on the relation between Body and Mind. http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/implicate-order-explicate-order

Body = matter
Mind = thinking or insight

<Thinking>                     <Insight>
Ego thinks                       Awareness attains insight
forgetfulness. dispersion mindfulness, concentration
no calm mind                   calm mind
(wavy water)                   (still water = mirror)
can not reflect reality       can reflect reality as it is
(thinking by brain)           (looking deeply without thinking)
(stand outside of object)  (become one with object)
(subject≠object: duality)  (subject = object: non-duality)
see illusion, delusion        touch realities as they are
(projection of mind)          (no projection of mind)
(misunderstanding)          (understanding = insight)
(wasting energy = tired)   (no waste of energy = not tired)
afflictions, sufferings        love, compassion, peace, joy, happiness

<Phenomenal world>        <Noumenal world>
(space and time)                (no space and no time)
Body                                  ×(no body)
Mind (ego or awareness)   Mind (awareness)

<Implicate order>
Body (matter) enfolds into Awareness (mind).

<Explicate order>
Awareness (mind) unfolds into Body (matter).

(Cf.) 
Private Lessons for "One More Buddha" (Free Trial) http://goo.gl/Mtj0nm
“How to Awaken Yourself” Now Available at Amazon! http://goo.gl/CFgnpC

Self-Inquiry

The following is Thay's Self-Inquiry method.

(Contemplation on interdependence)

Find a photo of yourself as a child. Sit in the full or half lotus. Begin to follow your breath. After 20 breaths, begin to focus your attention on the photo in front of you. Recreate and live again the five aggregates of which you were made up at the time the photo was taken: the physical characteristics of your body, your feelings, perceptions, mind functionings, and consciousness at that age. Continue to follow your breath. Do not let your memories lure you away or overcome you. Maintain this meditation for 15 minutes. Maintain the half smile. Turn your mindfulness to your present self. Be conscious of your body, feelings, perceptions, mind functionings, and consciousness in the present moment. See the five aggregates which make up yourself. Ask the question, "Who am I?" The question should be deeply rooted in you, like a new seed nestled deep in the soft earth and damp with water. The question "Who am I?" should not be an abstract question to consider with your discursive intellect. The question "Who am I?" will not be confined to your intellect, but to the care of the whole of the five aggregates. Don't try to seek an intellectual answer. Contemplate for 10 minutes, maintaining light but deep breath to prevent being pulled away by philosophical reflection.

(Yourself)

Sit in a dark room by yourself, or alone by a river at night, or anywhere else where there is solitude. Begin to take hold of your breath. Give rise to the thought, "I will use my finger to point at myself," and then instead of pointing at your body, point away in the opposite direction. Contemplate seeing yourself outside of your bodily form. Contemplate seeing your bodily form present before you-in the trees, the grass and leaves, the river. Be mindful that you are in the universe and the universe is in you: if the universe is, you are; if you are, the universe is. There is no birth. There is no death. There is no coming. There is no going. Maintain the half smile. Take hold of your breath. Contemplate for 10 to 20 minutes.

(Your skeleton)

Lie on a bed, or on a mat or on the grass in a position in which you are comfortable. Don't use a pillow. Begin to take hold of your breath. Imagine all that is left of your body is a white skeleton lying on the face of the earth. Maintain the half smile and continue to follow your breath. Imagine that all your flesh has decomposed and is gone, that your skeleton is now lying in the earth 80 years after burial. See clearly the bones of your head, back, your ribs, your hip bones, leg and arm bones, finger bones. Maintain the half smile, breathe very lightly, your heart and mind serene. See that your skeleton is not you. Your bodily form is not you. Be at one with life. Live eternally in the trees and grass, in other people, in the birds and other beasts, in the sky, in the ocean waves. Your skeleton is only one part of you. You are present everywhere and in every moment. You are not only a bodily form, or even feelings, thoughts, actions, and knowledge. Continue for 20 to 30 minutes.
 (Excerpted from Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Miracle of Mindfulness”)

(My commentary)
The following material is the summary of my Self-Inquiry. 
http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/3-versions-of-oneself
There are three kinds of state in humans, only ego, ego and temporary awareness (true self), ego and full-time awareness. Ego thinks that body is me. Awareness understands that the five aggregates (body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, consciousness) are me. When awareness is there, mindfulness is there. So, the non-duality is there. But when temporary awareness disappears and only ego is there, forgetfulness is there. And the duality is there.

(Cf.) http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/human-mystery

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Seeds of Consciousness

Thay mentioned the followings regarding the seeds of mental formations.

"According to the Buddha, the birth of a human being is not a beginning but a continuation, and when we’re born, all the different kinds of seeds—seeds of goodness, of cruelty, of awakening—are already inside us. Whether the goodness or cruelty in us is revealed depends on what seeds we cultivate, our actions, and our way of life." (Excerpted from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Introduction to “Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships”)
(Cf.) http://www.lionsroar.com/growing-together/

"His anger will be stored in the depth of his consciousness as what we call an "internal knot". This knot is what becomes a grudge or feeling of resentment. It's like having a cold. When we become sick, if we do not take the right medicine or let someone give us a massage, our cold may go deeply into our body and becomes much more difficult to cure. When our anger goes deeply into our consciousness, it creates an internal knot that might cause us to have agressive gestures or unpleasant behaviour without our knowing it." (Excerpted from Thich Nhat Hanh’s 'Joyfully Together')

(My Question)
Why and how does this happen? Have Thay explained it before?

(My Commentary)
I remember Thay said that we carry our ancestor's burdens and gifts. I can understand that we are the continuation of our ancestors (not only humans but also animals, plants and minerals), but I want to know why and how this continuation happens. Seeds of consciousness are the key. However, I don't know if Thay has mentioned the mechanism of this continuation. I guess Thay may not have mentioned that mechanism because it has not been proved scientifically. Thay has been very careful to mention about past karma of our previous manifestations because he doesn't want to teach deluded Buddhism. So, when that mechanism (why and how the seeds are sown in store consciousness) and the relation between body and consciousness (every particle enfolds into consciousness, and consciousness unfolds into body) is proved scientifically, Thay may begin to talk about it.

(Cf.) http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/seeds-of-consciousness
http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/seeds-in-subconscious
http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/spiritual-ancestors

Thích Nhất Hạnh

How do I love myself?

Watch the following Thay's video on "How do I love myself?".

Thay answered to this question in accordance with 16 exercises on mindful breathing. And my understanding is as follows:

1. myself = 5 aggregates (skandhas) = 
(1) body
(2) feeling 
(3) perception
(4) mental formation
(5) consciousness

* (2) + (3) + (4) + (5) = mind
* (2) + (3) + (4) = 51 mental formations
* (5) = 5 senses, mind, manas, store = 8 consciousness

2. love myself = take good care of 5 aggregates (body, feeling, 
   perception, mental formation, consciousness)

3. 16 exercises on mindful breathing
(1) first 4 exercises: body (= breath + body)
　　① revive awareness by concentrating on a long breath
　　② revive awareness by concentrating on a short breath
　　③ aware of the pain in the whole body
　　④ release the tension in the whole body

* ①, ②: keep the wholesome body by stopping thinking (mind)
* ③, ④: recognize and calm the unwholesome body
* breathing = awareness = oneself = mindfulness

(2) second 4 exercises: feeling
　　⑤ generate joy by touching the wonders of life
　　⑥ generate happiness by touching the wonders of life
　　⑦ aware of the painful feelings
　　⑧ release the tension in the feelings

* ⑤, ⑥: generate the wholesome feelings through mindfulness
* ⑦. ⑧: recognize and calm the unwholesome feelings

(3) third 4 exercises: mind (= mental formation + consciousness) 
　　⑨ aware of the mental formations in mind consciousness and
         the seeds of mental formations in store consciousness
　　⑩ gladden the mental formations through selective watering
　　⑪ look deeply into the unwholesome mental formations to 
         understand the root cause
　　⑫ transform the unwholesome mental formations by the 
         energy of compassion generated through insights

* ⑨, ⑩: recognize and water the wholesome seeds without 
   watering the unwholesome seeds
* ⑪, ⑫: recognize and transform the unwholesome mental 
   formations through concentration and insight

(4) last 4 exercises: object of mind (perception) 
　　⑬ observe the impermanent nature of all objects of 
         mind (perceptions)
　　⑭ observe the disappearance of all desires (ideas)
　　⑮ observe the no-birth, no-death nature (no self) of all 
         phenomena
　　⑯ throw away all notions and attain full enlightenment 
         (nirvana)

* ⑬, ⑭, ⑮, ⑯: understand the true nature of reality (ultimate 
   truth), be convinced that all notions are wrong and 
   attain full enlightenment through the extinction of all notions
* Thay didn't mention the last 4 exercises in the above video.
* ①～⑫: Part-time Buddha, ①～⑯: Full-time Buddha

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/16-exercises-on-mindful-breathing.html

Thích Nhất Hạnh