#009 MASTER T. Message

Hello students, 

In your single day life you and the body have many things to do with great cooperation. So, it would be best if you can use each activity as a practical tool to help you to develop your mindfulness skills.I hope you enjoy to learn this Life Handbook as follow,

The Life Handbook # 4 “The Body's Activities”

Here's Life Handbook #4, which focuses on "The Body's Activities."

Proper the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (FFM) practice will eliminate suffering to achieve the fruit of the path to enlightenment, your goal. The FFM is the main path to achieving enlightenment to become an enlightened one.

 The Lord Buddha said, 

For all monks, there is another beyond the primary four postures of the body section.
You should know whether you observe the body when it is going forward or backwards.

Have awareness when the body (eyesight) looks forward or turns left or right.
Have awareness when the body (hand) is stretching in or out.
Have awareness when the body is putting on a scarf, alms bowl and robe.
Have awareness when the body is eating, drinking, chewing and tasting something.
Have awareness when the body is walking, standing, sleeping, awake, talking, and still.

Thus, you should observe the body's activities in the body inside,

Observe the body's activities in the body from outside.
Observe the normality in which the body's activity is arising in the body.
Observe the normality in which the body's activity is ceasing in the body.
Observe the normality in which the body's activity is arising and ceasing in the body.

Or be mindful that the body's activity exists and is occurring before you.

But that it is for you to be realized.
But that it is for you to be reminded of it.
But you are not attached to it.

Neither are you attached to anything in your life or the world.

It would be best if you observed the body's activities in the body constantly like this.

End of the section of the body's activities.

The Life Handbook always emphasizes detachment, does not cling to anything from the world or life, and clearly knows the truth about life, body and mind. What you are practising now, including awareness of daily postures besides standing, walking, sitting or lying down as part of mindfulness from waking up in the morning until going to bed at night (sleeping), is altogether called complete awareness. 

You are to be aware of all the body's activities. The Life Handbook brought them in as part of mindfulness practice, so it called you to observe them mindfully to accomplish wisdom. These things happen because of the body, like stepping forward or backwards, seeing left or right, bending or stretching parts of the body, putting on clothes, any small activities like urinating or defecating, talking, and being still. Any small body activities can be incorporated into mindfulness practice. 

Previously, you never observed them as the three characteristics, impermanent, imperfect, and uncontrollable. That was because you let yourself drift along with the body's activities instead of being mindful.

If the mind (you) has no home, you become rootless and attached to the body's activities and on without direction or sound principles for living. But now you can observe the breath of life and the primary four postures and learn to know your home (the body) through the body's activities. You will be free from delusion, ignorance, craving, and imagination and will not slip into attachment or possessiveness; you can see things as something normal, whether arising or ceasing. 

You now see the body's activities as impermanent, imperfect, and uncontrollable. While you are talking, you focus on the talking. If you are mindful, you will see the body's activities in the body inside. A few moments later, you will return home, becoming aware of breathing in and out. You will see a speaker speaking, which you have just left. 

As for observing externally, you will see the speaker's body from outside because you are at the observer base at home and looking out, mindful of observation and understanding, realizing that the speaking body is rising and ceasing. You slip out to be with the speaking body again a moment later. But you are always aware when you have the power of mindfulness to remind it of its condition. 

All are good, and observing with your power of mindfulness is the nature of watching. But the observation will only be complete once you are aware of the body's activities in the body either internally or externally and perceive the three characteristics of impermanent, imperfect, and uncontrollable. 

If you could see this once, it would be worthwhile. Wisdom then occurs. All the daily activities of the body are not yours. They are merely cause and effect. You should see them as something normal. You should not cling to it, or you should not carry the burden. Whatever body activities or primary body postures you involve with, you should observe them clearly at present. What are you involved with now? Then set yourself as the observer. Let yourself look at it closely and be with it. It is called observing internally. Then bring yourself home and watch from the observer base at home. It is called observing externally.

“Be mindful that the body's activity exists and is occurring before you" means you will transform yourself to be a mindful observer and then observe the body's activities.

“To make you aware” means you are in a state of mindfulness.

“To reside merely to be reminded” means to be reminded of what you are doing at present.

“To not be attached” because you see them as the three characteristics.

Here is what the Life Handbook is concerned with. All concepts are based on the supposition of existence, and it is just a phenomenon; it happens and ends. However, the truth is hidden in that phenomenon: you must see the world or life as impermanent, imperfect and uncontrollable, or rising, changing and ceasing finally. 

These truths are in your life. Observe the body's activities you do during this FFM practice at any place. 

For example, while the body is eating, if you are drifting to talking, you are not observing the body eating because you are not learning the present activity. You should pay attention to learning from each body's activity. You should be mindful by observing how the tongue gets the taste, how the teeth chew, and how the food is swallowed. Observe the touching in the activity quietly. Sometimes you drift to the action of eating. But if it gets caught in the superficial part, like the taste, you should bring yourself home to get back to awareness at home, to be aware of the breathing and know that it has slipped or drifted. Here is how mindfulness works when it cautions the mind (you). Then you will realize that the taste (sour, sweet, salty, bitter) is rising and ceasing; it is impermanent. It would be best to recognise when it ends, during the breathing in or breathing out. You should know when the body is hungry or full or whether you feel it is delicious. But if you talk while the body is eating, you are not paying attention to eating. It would help if you practised for yourself. You eat one meal a day or two or three meals for those needing more practice time. It would be best if you took advantage of the opportunity to reach the wisdom of mindfulness practice (insight wisdom) at any time and anywhere. 

So do not waste your time on nonsense things. You will be mindful of your daily activity and achieve the proper awareness if you are anywhere. So remind yourself of your goal, enlightenment, and do away with nonsense. If you can do this as a habit or naturally, you can apply it anywhere in your daily life. You can be a practitioner of the FFM and go as far as achieving the enlightened one, free from the cycle of suffering, an angry mind, a greedy mind, and a delusional mind.

Be mindful at present. Take yourself home; be aware of the body's activities. It means you can always be enlightened in your daily life. Let yourself stay in the present only, seeing the arising and ceasing of everything in everyday life and see it as something normal with the power of mindfulness in you. 

Make sure to practice mindfulness and avoid giving in to ignorance or imagination!

See you again.
Your master,
Master T.