Saturday, February 20, 2016

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 Buddha①~⑯: Full-time Buddha

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

Thích Nhất Hạnh