Breath Mindfulness 3

Third Tetrad

9. Breathing in and out, they train in fully experiencing the heart-mind.

10. Breathing in and out, they train in making the heart-mind joyful.

11. Breathing in and out, they train by unifying the heart-mind.

12. Breathing in and out, they train in freeing the heart-mind.

What is citta?

The Dhammapada says:

Just as a fletcher straightens an arrow shaft, even so the discerning man straightens his citta — so fickle and unsteady, so difficult to guard. As a fish when pulled out of water and cast on land throbs and quivers, even so is this citta agitated. Hence should one abandon the realm of Mara.

Wonderful, indeed, it is to subdue the citta, so difficult to subdue, ever swift, and seizing whatever it desires. A tamed citta brings happiness. Let the discerning man guard the citta, so difficult to detect and extremely subtle, seizing whatever it desires. A guarded citta brings happiness.

The third tetrad of anapanasati broadens the meditation from just mental processes related to vedana, to the entire field of the ‘heart-mind’ (citta). This includes various functions of activities of the mind such as feeling tones (vedana), perceptions (sañña), intentions (sankharas, cetana), intellect (mano), attention (manasikara) and consciousness or discrimination (viññana). While the last tetrad saw the training and calming of both body and mind, this one seems to assume that the body has calmed down enough to move towards the more refined job of calming the citta and any unskillful elements present therein.

Since this tetrad deals with the citta, it is important to understand what this term means for the early Buddhists and how it works. While the following discussion will get technical and complex, I believe it is important to have a strong theoretical grounding in the early Buddhist understanding of how mental processes operate. With this background, satipatthana meditation can make a much more powerful effect on our wisdom faculty.

Just like previous terms we have dealt with, citta has various meanings. The Pali Text Society Dictionary definition is: the heart (psychologically), i.e. the centre & focus of man’s emotional nature as well as that intellectual element which inheres in & accompanies its manifestations; i.e. thought

Citta is derived from the Indic root cit which according to Monier Williams Sanskrit Dictionary means: perceiving, seeing, noticing, observing, knowing, understanding, remembering, thinking. The Sanskrit word seems to have a very broad semantic field which according to Apte’s Sanskrit Dictionary also includes “spirit”, “soul”, “heart” and so on.

This broad meaning seems to indicate citta is simply the whole field of thought, our “mindset”, all of subjective experience and all thought and emotional processes. It is thus our inner world or personality, the psychological self. So in a general sense, citta can mean that which thinks, what motivates, what wills, what perceives and is aware. Citta can also refer to just “a thought” or “thoughts” (see: SN 56.8).

In this way one can translate it as the “heart-mind” as it does not have the purely intellectual connotations that the word “mind” has in English but also includes emotive elements associated with the way we speak of the “heart”. Therefore, the way citta is used is similar to the Chinese xin (心) which also includes both the emotive and cognitive elements of the individual.

As noted in the PTS Dictionary, the activities of citta as described in the early suttas are many. Citta can be self-controlled, calmed, receptive, mastered, unified in samadhi (SPS, APSS), loving, caring and purified. But citta can also be impure, lustful, greedy, fettered and defiled by craving. Emotions like envy, malevolence and conceit can arise in a citta (see MN 7).

Citta can become invaded by negative qualities (see MN 50). It is therefore important to purify it: for a long time this citta has been defiled by attachment, hatred and delusion. By defilement of citta, beings are defiled; by purity of citta, beings are purified (MN 128). The citta can also “fly off to wherever it desires” (Dhp 36) or “wanders as it wishes”, leading one to wander in samsara and even to hell (Theragatha 1130, 1112, 1126) and so there is a need to “guard it” (Dhp 36).

Citta then seems to be the field of mental activity, the main arena of personality, agency, subjectivity, thought and emotionality. Like any actual “field” though, it is constantly changing, containing different plants, animals and so on. It is thus a shifting vortex of subjectivity, the dynamic stream of personality. This whole process is conditioned by various other things (see below).

The nature of citta is thus “fickle and flickering, it is difficult to control” (Dhp 33). One could say that there are actually many cittas or fluctuating mental streams, doing different things at different times.

MN 78 says: And where do these unskillful behaviors stem from? Where they stem from has been stated. You should say that they stem from citta. What citta? The citta takes many and diverse forms. But unskillful behaviors stem from a citta that has greed, hate, and delusion.

Likewise Buddhaghosa sees citta as being ‘variegated according to circumstances’ (Atthasalini 63).

The citta can easily go astray when it contacts the senses unmindfully:

When you see a sight, mindfulness is lost as attention latches on a pleasant feature. Experiencing it with a mind full of desire, you keep clinging to it. Many feelings grow arising from sights. The mind is damaged by covetousness and cruelty. Heaping up suffering like this, you’re said to be far from nirvana. SN 35.95

Depending on the person, there will be certain recurring character traits, and thus citta can also be said to have certain consistency (one’s “personality”). However, the various cittas or mind states are still subject to different forms of change (one can “lose one’s mind” or become “a new person”).

A practitioner should thus master his citta and its qualities, not be mastered by it, this is like a ruler who owns a large wardrobe and puts on whatever clothes he wants (MN 32). It is only by mastering the skill of samadhi that one is able to master the citta and make it do whatever one wants (AN 7.4).

The most important feature of citta, is the fact that it can be trained and cultivated through spiritual practice. This is because citta is a process that is inconstant (anicca) and always changing. For this reason, the Buddha often described it with water or plant metaphors.

Due to its process character, citta can be transformed and new qualities can be “brought into being” or “developed” in the citta (citta bhavana) through certain means (MN 127). The citta can be improved and “cleansed” (DN 2) by removing that which corrupts it (such as the three poisons of greed, hatred and delusion in MN 78). An untrained and unguarded citta means that one’s bodily, speech and mental actions will also be unguarded, like a house without a roof (AN 3.109).

Therefore, citta must be “made straight” like a bow (Dhp 33), and be made luminous or radiant (pabhassaram). AN 47-50 says:

Just as, mendicants, the papra is said to be the best kind of tree in terms of its pliability and workability, so too, I do not see a single thing that’s as pliable and workable as the mind, when it is developed and cultivated. A mind that is developed and cultivated is pliable and workable.

Mendicants, I do not see a single thing that’s as quick to change as the mind. So much so that it’s not easy to give a simile for how quickly the mind changes.

This mind, mendicants, is radiant. But it’s corrupted by passing corruptions. This mind, mendicants, is radiant. And it is freed from passing corruptions.

In MN 140 and its parallel at MA 162, citta is compared to gold ore that must be refined and purified by a blacksmith and when all the dross has been removed, it is radiant. However, a citta that gets corrupted by the five obstacles or hindrances “is neither malleable nor wieldy nor radiant (pabhassaram) but brittle and not rightly concentrated” (SN 46.33 & AN 5.23). Likewise, MN 128 (and the parallel MA 72) says that a corrupted mind loses any inner light or luminesence, but a mind with samadhi experiences limitless luminosity. Therefore, it is clear that citta must be purified and developed in samadhi to attain these qualities of pliancy, workability and radiance.

When the Buddha speaks about the brightness citta, what he seems to be referring to is the level of clarity of awareness, the strength of mind’s ability to reflect and present the world. Returning to the metaphor of water, the Buddha explains that the mind is like a pool of water, if it is clear then it has the ability to reflect things and one can see through it. But if the pool is filled with dirt or any other kind of substance then you will not be able to see clearly to the bottom of the pool (as in AN 1.45-46). This helps us make sense of some of the terms the Buddha uses for unwholesome mental qualities, such as “asava” (literally “that which flows” into and out of the mind to poison it) and “kilesa” (a stain, an impurity of the mind).

Therefore, the mind’s radiance can be enhanced and improved by practicing meditation and getting rid of the corruptions. As this happens the mind’s potential for radiance reveals itself as it’s ability to reflect phenomena increases, just like in a clear and stainless pool of water. But again, this quality can get corrupted and even disappear (as above in SN 46.33 etc.), like waste dumped into a lake can ruin the lake’s purity.

A trained and freed citta is not overcome, troubled or affected by sense impressions (AN 6.55). If a citta has been purified and developed wisdom, is can even be “brought towards the deathless element” i.e. nirvana (AN 9.36).

Citta then, is a term which is used when referring to inner training, it is what we focus on when cultivating ourselves spiritually. Bad qualities must be removed from citta and good qualities developed or grown. This cultivation is also done through repetitively using one’s attention in certain ways. As the Buddha says in MN 19: whatever a contemplative frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become the inclination of their citta. In this sense, citta refers to what is happening in our inner world which must be observed and developed through spiritual practice.

Processes related to citta

There are various terms used throughout the early suttas which are closely related to citta. It is important to understand them so as to get a basic overview of how the Buddha explained the mental world. These terms may be a part or a form of citta and even overlap semantically with citta in various places. These are: vedana, viññana, sañña, sankhara, mano, cetana and nama.

The first four of these are part of the “five heaps” schema, the five elements or aggregates that make up a person (the fifth is rupa, “form” or "physical images”). Citta then, can be said to include any and all subjective experience that is not the “form” aspect of reality. It is thus sometimes synonymous with nama (name or naming), which part of the widely used compound nama-rupa (“name and form” or “the mental and physical”).

Citta is said to be conditioned by the arising of nama-rupa, when nama-rupa ceases, the citta also ends (SN 47.42). Another sutta says the same of viññana (SN 22.56). SN 12.2 defines nama-rupa thus:

And what are name and form? Vedana, sañña, intention (cetana), contact (phassa), and attention (manasikara). This is called name. The four primary elements, and form derived from the four primary elements. This is called form.

“Name” therefore, is a broad term for mental activity associated with the physical senses and that which senses mental objects (mano), and so, it is “sentiency”. Buddhaghosa defines it as ‘it is “nama” because of bending (namanato) towards objects’ (Vism 558).

We have already looked at vedana in the previous essay, but it is important to note that vedana is seen as an activity of citta alongside cognition or perception (sañña): Sañña and vedana are mental. They’re tied up with citta, that’s why they are citta-processes (MN 44).

We have also looked at sankhara in the previous section and seen that it refers to activities that “construct”, “produce”, or “prepare” (-kr) various elements together (-sam). In this sense it can also be seen as a synthesizing, coordinating and organizing function. Sankhara thus has an intentional quality, and it is closely related to will or intention (cetana), almost to the point of being synonymous with it.

Sankhara is the volitional force or motivation for our actions, as shown by AN 3.15, which says that ‘abhisankhara’ is like the momentum that keeps a single rolling chariot wheel turning for a while after one has pushed it. As SN 22.56 shows, there are six types of sankhara, each related to the six sense fields. Alternatively, one can divide them into sankharas of body, speech and mind (SN 12.2). An example of bodily shankara is breathing, forms of thinking are verbal and vedana and sañña are forms of mental sankharas.

Cetana (intention) is related etymologically with citta, but cetana refers particularly to our faculty of willing. The volitional or intentional aspect of citta is that which “sets up” or “produces” other thoughts, ideas and concepts. SN 22.100 uses the simile of a painting and says that just like a painter paints a picture, citta “produces and reproduces” the five aggregates/heaps. Likewise, SN 22.79 says that sankharas construct the five aggregates. The Pali commentary compares this to the process of cooking, the bringing together of different phenomena or ingredients.

The intentional or willing faculty is closely tied with karma, in some cases the Buddha seems to say it is equivalent to karma: “I say cetana is karma; having willed, one performs an karma by body, speech or mind” (AN 6.63). In SN 12.51, the Buddha states that there are three types of sankharas as they relate to the merit they produce: good, bad and imperturbable. If one produces good sankharas, one’s consciousness enters a good realm, and so on. Furthermore, AN 3.34 states that our actions (karma) are like seeds which can ripen in this life or in following lives. This shows that sankharas have the power to transform our conscious experience now and in future births.

Now, regarding “sañña”, this is the mental faculty of perception or perhaps even ‘cognition’. Like vedana, it arises due to sense contact. In SN 22.79 it is defined as that which apprehends various colors. Therefore, it is also a function of the mind that is able to recognize, categorize, and label sense objects while perceiving them.

This labeling and classifying nature of sañña can be seen in AN 6.63: And what is the result of saññas? Communication is the result of sañña, I say. You communicate something in whatever manner you perceive it, saying ‘That’s what I perceived.’

Buddhaghosa in the Atthasalini (110) adds the following similes which show the recognizing aspect of sañña: We may see this procedure when a carpenter again recognizes a piece of wood by the special mark that he has (previously) made on it; when we recognize a man by the sectarian mark on the forehead, which we have noted and say ‘be is so and so’; or when a king’s treasurer, in charge of the royal wardrobe, having had a label bound on each garment and, being asked to bring a certain one. . . reads the label and brings the garment.

So sañña groups things together into basic categories so that they can be easily and quickly recognized by the mind (“this is red”). The Sanskrit equivalent: samjña is made up of “sam” (together) and jña (to know), so it is “knowing together.” This indicates that it is a constructive quality that “puts together” basic sense experience.

There are six types of sañña, each one is differentiated according to their corresponding sense objects such as sights, sounds, thoughts, etc (SN 22.56). Sañña can also go astray and misperceive things, leading to “identification” (maññati) based on the wrong view of “I am”, as in MN 1, and SN 35.248.

Turning to “viññana” (consciousness, discernment), this term refers to that which performs the function of ‘vijanati‘ i.e. ‘discerns’, ‘discriminates’, ‘ascertains’ or ‘distinguishes’ phenomena such as different kinds of tastes (SN 22.79) and the three types of feeling tones (MN 43). It can thus be more than just a “bare awareness” of things since it is able to tell the difference between different kinds of phenomena, though it can include a more basic level of intentional consciousness of sense data.

As MN 43 states, viññana is also associated with the faculty of wisdom or understanding (pañña), because:

what one understands (pajanati), that one cognizes (vijanati), and what one cognizes, that one understands. Therefore these states are associated, not dissociated, and it is impossible to separate these states in order to describe their difference. What is the difference, between pañña and viññana? The difference is this: pañña is to be cultivated (bhavetabbam), viññana is to be fully understood (pariññeyyam).

In comparison to sañña then, viññana can include a more complex, deeper and finer kind of mental function. This is supported by the Visuddhimagga, which has a simile about a child, an adult villager and an expert money-changer seeing a bunch of coins. The child’s experience is like sañña, the villager’s experience to viññana, and the money-changer’s experience to wisdom (pañña).

The early texts often give six groups or modes of viññana (viññanakaya), depending on the type of sense base it depends on (i.e. the five senses and the mind basis or mano, see MN 18, MN 38 etc.). In this way, when a sense base (such as the eye) and a visual form are present, the corresponding viññana may arise dependent on them (i..e visual awareness). When the three are joined, there is contact (phassa). However, when such conditions are not present (which also includes an act of attention), the corresponding type of viññana does not arise (MN 28). Therefore, as with vedana and sañña, viññana is supported by contact and thus it is always directed at some phenomenon. In modern philosophical language, it always has intentionality (i.e. it is always consciousness of something).

Viññana also depends on the body. As DN 2 says, viññana is “bound up” and supported by the body. Just like a necklace is made up of gems and strings, so is the individual made up of viññanas and physical processes (DN 2).

The suttas thus seem to indicate that there are different levels of of viññana including the more basic viññana which is aware of the five senses and manoviññana which is aware of thoughts. This can be seen in MN 22, which lists the objects of viññana as: whatever is seen, heard, sensed, discerned, reached, searched for, pondered over by conception. This view is also supported by the later Abhidharma literature.

Mano is one of the sense bases (ayatana), analogous to the eye or the ear base. It can know thoughts just like the eye sees sights. However, it is unique among the sense bases, in that while all the other sense bases cannot “partake” of the “range” or “scope” of the others, mano is able to partake of them (MN 43). Hence, mano is able to conceive and think about all the impressions of the other sense bases. Mano is thus the coordinating center for all the sense bases or organs, the synthesizing mental process.

Mano also seems to be what produces attention or at least it is related to the faculty of attention. This can be seen a commonly used phrase: “listen, lend closely your mano, and I will speak” (as in SN 12.19 etc). Mano can also produce good or bad actions, as part of the “body, speech and mind” trio (DN 27). Thus, the Dhammapada starts out with saying that “mano is supreme, it precedes all things (dharmas), they are made by mano.” The verse goes on to say that sufferings follows from a corrupted mind, while a purified mind leads to happiness. This indicates how central the sense base of mano is to the subsequent process of cognition and intentional action.

So it makes sense to say that the concept of viññana in the EBTs is also quite broad and includes various layers of awareness. The different kinds or forms of viññana could be analyzed as follows:

• An “existential” or basal viññana that undergoes rebirth and enlivens the body of the fetus (DN 15).

• The sensory viññanas which are directly aware of one of the five sense fields, arising from contact.

• The discriminative and discerning aspect of viññana, which is a higher cognitive process and can be aware of the differences between phenomena (such as different tastes).

• Mano-viññana, which is aware of thoughts, including thoughts about the five senses taking place in the faculty of conception (mano).

Of course, these different elements are all bound up together in complex processes and cannot be easily separated. This is like how a body water might have different currents, such as undercurrents and surface currents.

Like citta, the Buddha often places viññana at the center of personality. SN 35.245 contains a very illuminating simile: there is a citadel (the body) with six gates (six internal sense bases), a gatekeeper (mindfulness) who skillfully keeps out enemies and lets in friends, swift pairs of messengers (calm and insight) come from the four directions and deliver a message (of nirvana) to the “lord of the city”, which is viññana.

In this sutta, the entire personality then can be divided into viññana and the body (in other suttas, the phrase “this body endowed with consciousness” – saviññanakaya is sometimes used). Moreover, viññana seems to have oversight of the entire body and be “centrally” located. Like any king or ruler however, viññana is dependent on followers (such as contact, the body, and the sense bases) and his chief minister (mano), to be aware of anything.

Even more interesting though is the fact that the “body” (kaya) here also includes the six sense bases, which includes mano, the intellect or mentality, that which sees mental objects. That the term “body” (kaya) as understood in early Buddhism, includes a form of mentation, is supported by DN 23, which says that this body “knows thoughts”. This is why then, it is said that someone can “see Dharma with his body” (Dhp.259). In the EBTs then, the most important way of dividing up a person is not mental and physical, but viññana and “body” (which includes physical and mental “bodies” or “groupings”), with viññana as the “lord” at the center.

These processes though are intermixed and inseparable:

Feeling tone (vedana), perception (sañña) and consciousness (viññana)—these things are mixed, not separate. And you can never completely dissect them so as to describe the difference between them. For you perceive what you feel, and you are conscious of what you perceive. That’s why these things are mixed not separate. – MN 43

Indeed, the Milinda Panha (64) says that one cannot ‘place a diversity’ between contact, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, since “their nature is to arise together.” They are said to be like the various types of subtle flavors of a soup, it is hard to distinguish between them. The Buddha however is able to do this.

Furthermore, viññana is also seen as that which inhabits and makes a home out of the other aggregates/heaps: the form element is a shelter for viññana. One whose viññana is shackled to greed for the form element is called a migrant going from shelter to shelter…[and so on for vedana, sañña, and sankhara] (SN 22.3).

Likewise, DN 33 says that the other four aggregates are “stations” or “maintenances” for viññana, they “support”, and “ground” viññana. This process of making the other elements of personality into a “home” seems to be associated with appropriating them as a self (atta), as in SN 22.90. Since the Buddha does not appropriate these elements as a self, he termed the one who “abandons the home.” Viññana is also said to be that which feels greed for the aggregates (SN 22.3), that which grasps (MN 106) and that which is prone to being grasped (SN 22.48).

As SN 12.61 states, citta and viññana are inconstant and constantly changing phenomena: But that which is called ‘citta’ or ‘mano’ or ‘viññana’ arises as one thing and ceases as another all day and all night. It’s like a monkey moving through the forest. It grabs hold of one branch, lets it go, and grabs another; then it lets that go and grabs yet another. In the same way, that which is called ‘citta’ or ‘mano’ or ‘viññana’ arises as one thing and ceases as another all day and all night.

Likewise, SN 25.3 says all six groups of viññana are impermanent, changing and perishing. In this sense, viññana, like citta, is best thought of as a process, not a fixed thing. Hence, venerable Sariputta refers to a “stream of consciousness” (viññana-sota) in DN 28. Because of its nature to constantly be in flux, SN 12.61 says that it would be better for someone to take the body as being the self rather than the mind. This seems to mean that someone who would take the mind to be a self would be extremely ignorant of the mind’s inconstant nature.

This point is particularly important because it differentiates the Buddhist understanding from Hinduism and other spiritual philosophies who hold that there is an unchanging or constant form of consciousness.

In MN 38, the Buddha strongly condemns the misunderstanding of a monk called Sati, who held that “it is this very same consciousness that roams and transmigrates, not another.” The Buddha says that this is false because “consciousness is dependently originated, since consciousness does not arise without a cause.” These conditions include the six sense bases and the Buddha compares consciousness to a fire that burns dependent on different forms of fuel. Furthermore, the Buddha states that when the conditions cease, consciousness also ceases.

Since viññana is transient, it is also suffering and when desire is ended, viññana also ceases. SN 22.53 says that if desire for the five aggregates is cut off, the support for viññana is cut off. Without this foundation, viññana does not “become established nor grow, with no power to regenerate” and thus it is “freed.” The cessation of viññana is connected to liberation: “Those ascetics and brahmins who have directly known viññana in this way—and its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation; its gratification, drawback, and escape—and due to disillusionment, dispassion, and cessation regarding viññana, are freed by not grasping: they are well freed” (SN 22.57). In SN 22.57 and MN 9, the way to the cessation of viññana is said to be the noble eightfold path: “viññana originates from sankharas. Viññana ceases when sankharas cease. The practice that leads to the cessation of viññana is simply this noble eightfold path” (MN 9).

The cessation of viññana is also described in DN 11, where it is asked where physical properties “find no footing” and where name and form cease. The answer is: “Viññana that’s invisible, infinite, totally given up [alternative manuscript reading: radiant all around]. Here’s where water and earth, fire and air find no footing; here’s where long and short, fine and coarse, beautiful and ugly; here’s where name and form cease with nothing left over—with the cessation (nirodha) of viññana, that’s where this ceases.”

If liberation and nirvana are associated with the cessation of consciousness does this mean some kind of annihilation or nothingness? No, it only means that liberation cannot be explained or fathomed from the perspective of any of the five aggregates, including consciousness. Nirvana transcends all of these experiences and categories and is “deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of reason, subtle,” (MN 72). The Buddha clearly said in the famed Kaccanagotta Sutta that he teaches via the middle way, which does not explain reality in terms of existence and non-existence (SN 12.15).

In this sense then, to ask whether a fully liberated person’s consciousness exists or does not exist is one of the “unanswered” questions (avyakata) that the Buddha said must be set aside (MN 63), since they are connected with craving and grasping. Asking this question is like asking if a fire that has gone out has “gone” to the north, south, east or west. It is a mistaken question (MN 72).

As seen above and in other suttas (SN 12.62), some of these terms are used as synonyms. Because there is some semantic overlap, there has been much debate on what the exact differences between citta and these other terms are.

The way I see it, citta seems to have a broader meaning, encompassing various functions such as feeling tones and emotions, while viññana seems to refer to the the experiencing aspect of citta, that can also discerns and discriminates phenomena. In a strict sense, viññana is generally used within the context of the five heaps and the six sense fields (though it is also used in a more general sense in some suttas, which overlaps with citta), while citta can include the other mental elements of the five aggregates. This ‘stricter’ sense of viññana is how I will be using it in this essay.

Mano meanwhile seems to refers to the intellectual function, to the faculty of thinking, imagining and conceiving – but note that it does not refer to that which is aware of the conceiving faculty (which is manoviññana i.e. the consciousness that discerns conception or thoughts). Like with viññana however, there is also some semantic overlap between mano and citta, but in this essay, I will use the stricter sense as well.

In this sense, the semantic range of these various terms could be understood as follows:

Dependent Arising

Dependent origination (DO) or “conditioned arising” is none other than the ultimate Buddhist description of how suffering originates in the citta (through the interplay of various elements) and having originated, creates and sustains the body in this life and the next.

The basic idea here is that every human experience exists dependent on other phenomena as conditions:

When this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases. – SN 12.61

This analysis is used to refer both to the birth and death of beings across lifetimes and to the birth and death of mental qualities such as craving and suffering in this very life, even in this very moment.

SN 56.42 says that ignorant people “construct” (abhisankharonti) sankharas, which leads them to “fall down the precipice of birth.” Likewise, DN 15 speaks of DO as related to the growth of a fetus. However, other suttas also show that DO can be used to analyze processes in this lifetime and in our daily mental life. This makes sense because the fruitions of karma (i.e. cetana) can also occur in our present existence. DN 28 states one can understand “a person’s stream of consciousness, unbroken on both sides, established in both this world and the next.” DN 15 also says that viññana conditions “growth and maturity” in this life.

So from this one can see that viññana as a condition and a conditioned process refers to events in the present existence and the next. This is important because it seems like the Buddha taught his students to observe the whole of dependent origination in their citta, and in their lived experience here and now (which he explained as being the entire “world” as in SN 12.44 ). Thus as AN 4.45 says: But I also say there’s no making an end of suffering without reaching the end of the world. For it is in this fathom-long carcass with its perception and mind that I describe the world, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation.

This indicates that the analysis of dependent arising applies on multiple levels (“as above so below”), and these levels are mutually interacting in complex ways. There is the large scale level of multiple rebirths and the small scale level of one’s mental world. There is then, DO as it applies to the microcosmic level and DO in the macrocosmic level. This fractal nature of dependent origination is a law like regularity wherever sentient beings and suffering can be found.

There are various versions of how DO works in detail in the suttas, the most widely used listing of conditions or phenomena which is also the most complete, goes as follows:

Ignorance → [conditions] Sankharas → Viññana → Nama-rupa → Six sense fields → Contact → Vedana → Craving → Grasping → Becoming → Birth → Ageing and Death

Sankhara is said act as a support for viññana by giving it a certain direction, intentional push or place to settle: Mendicants, what you intend or plan, and what you have underlying tendencies for become a support for the continuation of viññana. When this support exists, viññana becomes established. When viññana is established, name and form are conceived…[and so on for the rest of dependent origination] (SN 12.39).

A sutta which illustrates this process with a powerful simile is SN 22.54. It speaks of how five different types of plants are able to grow if their seeds are healthy, placed in good soil and are well watered. Then it explains that:

The four grounds of consciousness should be seen as like the earth element. Relishing and greed should be seen as like the water element. Consciousness with its fuel should be seen as like the five kinds of plants propagated from seeds. As long as consciousness remains, it would remain involved with form, supported by form, grounded on form. And with a sprinkle of relishing, it would grow, increase, and mature. Or consciousness would remain involved with feeling … Or consciousness would remain involved with perception … Or as long as consciousness remains, it would remain involved with choices, supported by choices, grounded on choices. And with a sprinkle of relishing, it would grow, increase, and mature.

This passage shows how consciousness is naturally conditioned by the other aggregates, how they act as its ground and support (as sankharas support viññana in SN 12.39). The sutta then goes on to say:

Mendicants, suppose you say: ‘Apart from form, feeling, perception, and choices, I will describe the coming and going of consciousness, its passing away and reappearing, its growth, increase, and maturity.’ That is not possible. If a mendicant has given up greed for the form element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness. If a mendicant has given up greed for the feeling element … perception element … choices element … consciousness element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness. Since that consciousness does not become established and does not grow, with no power to regenerate, it is freed.

Likewise, AN 3.76 compares viññana to a seed which is “watered” by craving and nourished by the “field” of karma. Craving’s relation to consciousness is also mentioned in an interesting simile from AN 6.61:

The sage has known both ends, and is not stuck in the middle.

He is a great man, I declare, he has escaped the seamstress here…

Name, reverends, is one end. Form is the second end. Viññana is the middle. And craving is the seamstress, for craving weaves one to birth in this or that state of existence.

Similarly, SN 12.64 states that viññana is established and grows when there is desire, relishing and craving for four “foods” (ahara): solid food, contact, intention and viññana. Then when viññana becomes established, nama-rupa arises. But if there is no such craving, consciousness does not become established.

Thus, while the standard account usually has viññana being conditioned by sankharas, other suttas state that nama-rupa is also a condition for viññana:

‘Is there a specific condition for name and form?’…‘Consciousness is a condition for name and form.’ … ‘Is there a specific condition for consciousness?’ … ‘Name and form are conditions for consciousness.’ – DN 15

Since a person is basically comprised of viññana and nama-rupa (which includes all the other mental and physical elements), the mutual conditionality and interplay between these is said encompass the cycles of existence (samsara). As DN 15 says, viññana conditions nama-rupa during the gestation process in the womb and nama-rupa conditions viññana because viññana requires nama-rupa to become “established.” From this interplay arises the other links or elements of the dependent arising of suffering:

When consciousness exists there are name and form. Consciousness is a condition for name and form.’… ‘When name and form exist there’s consciousness. Name and form are a condition for consciousness.’ …‘This consciousness turns back from name and form, and doesn’t go beyond that.’ It is to this extent that one may be reborn, grow old, die, pass away, or reappear. That is: Name and form are conditions for consciousness. Consciousness is a condition for name and form. Name and form are conditions for the six sense fields…[and so on for the full sequence] – DN 14

So there seems to be a particularly unique conditional relationship between nama-rupa and viññana, a sort of feedback loop that acts as a gyre for the rest of the DO process. The relationship between viññana and nama-rupa is one of mutual support. Viññana gives vitality, will and discernment to the sentient body or name and form, and in turn, it receives a support or ‘home’ in the sense bases and processes of the sentient body. Both our everyday life and the larger scale arc of our rebirths are fueled by all this.

Of course, nama-rupa here refers to a person’s sentient body or psycho-physical continuum. However, it cannot only refer to this since viññana also sees things external to one’s own body. That nama-rupa can also include “external” appearances seems to be implied by the following passage from SN 12.44:

What, mendicants, is the origin of the world? Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a condition for feeling. Feeling is a condition for craving. Craving is a condition for grasping. Grasping is a condition for continued existence. Continued existence is a condition for rebirth. Rebirth is a condition for old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress to come to be. This is the origin of the world… [this is then repeated for the other five sense-channels which includes mano – intellect].

This is yet another alternative formulation of the DO schema that begins with the six sense fields or bases. However, it can also be seen as another description of how nama-rupa conditions viññana. This is because the six sense bases are said to be part of the kaya (body), as in the simile of the citadel. Also, in some suttas, such as DN 15, name and form is said to directly condition contact.

Therefore, it seems that the six sense bases either overlap with nama-rupa or can be subsumed into it. So according to this account, consciousness is conditioned by the sense bases which are part of their psycho physical continuum as well as by the sense impressions that they receive from the sense bases. Some of these are internal, and others are external to the body. As SN 12.19 implies ‘external’ nama-rupa is also conditioned by viññana: Mendicants, for a fool hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, this body has been produced. So there is the duality of this body and external name and form. Contact depends on this duality.

As we will see, both types of impressions, inner and outer, must be contemplated in cittanupassana meditation (observation of the citta).

Regarding how viññana turns back and conditions nama-rupa, this happens through its making “contact” with the sense bases and sense impressions or objects. Vedana, sañña and sankharas (all elements of nama) are said to rely on and be conditioned by contact (see SN 22.56). This can also be seen in SN 35.93 which says: when contacted, one feels, intends, and perceives. As DN 15 says, there are two types of contact, impact contact which depends on the body (rupa) and linguistic contact, which depends on name (nama). Viññana then, is what allows both ‘external’ sense impressions (that which is named) and the internal naming or designation of them.

So in this way, the main elements of name or naming (in nama-rupa) depend on contact and contact is the union of viññana, sense base and sense object. Of course, the sense bases are part of nama-rupa so contact is also dependent on nama-rupa as well, including the mental element of attention which picks out objects for viññana to contact and discern. This leads to further nama elements as well as the enlivening of rupa (the body) in a continous cycle.

SN 12.67 gives a simile for the interdependent nature of consciousness and the sentient body. After clearly stating that viññana and nama-rupa do not arise independently, the Buddha states: It is as if two sheaves of reeds were to stand leaning against one another. In the same way, from name-form as a requisite condition comes viññana, from viññana as a requisite condition comes name-form…If you pull one away, the other one would fall…if name and form ends, viññana ends and if viññana ends, name and form ends…

We have seen that viññana, the central field or lord of the sentient body, is clearly conditioned by sankharas (constructing activities) and nama-rupa (which includes the sense bases and physical processes).

Another element in this complex conditioning process is manasikara (attention) which is an activity of nama (particularly, a function of mano or the sense base of mind): All things are rooted in desire. Attention produces them. Contact is their origin. Feeling is their meeting place. Immersion is their chief. Mindfulness is their ruler. Wisdom is their overseer. Freedom is their core (AN 8.83). For contact or sense stimulation to arise, there must be the appropriate mental act of attention. As MN 28 says: Reverends, though the eye is intact internally, so long as exterior sights don’t come into range and there’s no corresponding engagement, there’s no manifestation of the corresponding type of consciousness. While this passage uses the term “engagement” (samannahara), the pali commentary explains this is a synonym of manasikara (attention).

Experiencing citta

We have seen that citta is a complex activity or more accurately, a grouping of constantly changing activities, and thus it can be seen from different perspectives. The third satipatthana practice of cittanupassana (observing the heart-mind) offers us a specific way of looking at our heart-mind.

So in this part of anapanasati, we turn our attention to the citta, which means all of our thoughts, intentions, volitions, emotions, perceptions; to everything going on in the field of the mind.

At first leave the mental space alone and watch everything come and go like fish passing by in a clear river. Notice how they arise, remain for a while in a process of flux, and pass away. How is the citta changing, what is arising in the citta, what are the qualities and features of the citta? Try to notice the arising, middle and end of thoughts, feelings and emotions. At this initial stage, there is no need to bring in any concepts or Buddhist theory, just simply watch whatever is happening in the mind.

Be like a naturalist at a watering hole attentively waiting for animals to come. Study them and see what they are like, and how they interact. After some time doing this practice, one may see them as shifting patterns, bubbles and vibrations. Their sense of solidity and compactness will begin to break down.

One way you can practice a simple form of mindfulness of the citta is taught in Udana 1.10:

In what is seen there must be only what is seen, in what is heard there must be only what is heard, in what is sensed there must be only what is sensed, in what is cognized there must be only what is cognized.

This seems to be teaching a minimalistic form of mindfulness of the mind where one is just aware of whatever arises in the citta without any intervention or interpretation. One just observes phenomena coming and going without adding anything. This is sometimes called “bare awareness,” since it does not attempt to use concepts or thinking during the meditative process to analyze things. It is also similar to some forms of Zen meditation. Of course, for most folks, this awareness is never really “bare” since it includes the corruptions and thoughts that naturally arise. However, during this practice, these are just to be observed with the same calm and receptive attitude.

After some time just watching the mind, we may want to expand our mindfulness to cover all the major activities and functions described by the Buddha. It may be difficult to keep in mind all of the different activities and faculties of citta as described above, so I have come up with a simple way to remember the basic four elements of citta (the four mentality aggregates) plus mano, the acronym C.I.T.T.A:

• C: Observe the cognitive process of sañña, that which initially re-cognizes perceptions and labels them accordingly.

• I: Notice the intentions (cetana, sankharas) in the mind and how they push us to act, as well as how they construct and produce our experiences.

• T: Tune in to the feeling tone (vedana), which is either pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

• T: Observe the thinking faculty and the thoughts it generates (mano).

• A: Observe the quality and activity of discriminating awareness (viññana). It is intentional consciousness of the six sense bases and as well as the aspect of consciousness which is able to tell phenomena apart from each other in a detailed manner.

Memorize this acronym and bring it into your meditation. Sit calmly and still and practice some breath meditation. Then you can turn your attention to the mind and notice what is happening there. See if you can notice each different aspect of the mind described by the acronym CITTA. Spend some time observing how each aspect of citta works and then try to see how each one interacts with the others.

Here’s an example of how this can be put into practice. Imagine you are sitting and watching your breath and you begin to sense pain in your legs. Just tune in to that feeling tone (T) and observe it. After spending some time with it, expand your mind to the cognition (C) that knows “this is pain” and then to the awareness of the feeling (A) as well as how that awareness experiences the pain (is it sharp, dull, mild or strong?). Then turn your mind to the intentions (I) associated with the pain, such as the intention to move from your position. Then you can turn your awareness to the thoughts that have arisen regarding the pain (the second T).

One can also focus on one particular element of citta such as viññana for an extended period of time. To observe viññana, one can begin by focusing on any phenomenal object (the breath, a thought, a sound etc) and then turning around your attention to try to see ‘that which is aware’ or ‘that which knows’. This involves trying to see what is illuminating or revealing the phenomena. Try to pay attention to the subtle process of consciousness, what is it like? How does it function? Observe the six types of consciousness (corresponding to the six sense bases). See if you can notice how each one has it’s own quality. Notice how they change.

You can also try to observe two aspects of the citta simultaneously (such as viññana and vedana for example) and notice how they interact and condition each other. If you find this difficult, try switching back and forth between them.

Qualities of citta

The practice of cittanupassana is outlined in more detail in the SPS, which gives numerous qualities of the citta to be observed:

• With greed/lust and without greed/lust.

• With aversion and without aversion.

• With confusion and without confusion.

• Restricted/constricted or scattered/distracted.

• Expansive and not expansive.

• Vast or not vast.

• Inferior or supreme.

• In samadhi, without samadhi.

• Freed or not freed.

This exercise seems to indicate a process in which the meditator begins to shift their meditation towards observing various key mental qualities in the citta.

This practice can be simplified by just asking the question “what’s happening in the mind?”, “is it wholesome or not?” The focus is on understanding various mental qualities, some of which are wholesome or skillful and some of which are not.

Unwholesome qualities

The first three of the qualities we need to be mindful are especially important. They are called the unwholesome “roots” because all other harmful mental states arise from them. Whenever there is a distraction in the mind, it is often either due to some craving, some form of aversion or delusion/confusion. The more we observe these states, the better we will understand how they arise and cease. Over time we will learn how to deal with the unwholesome qualities and how to develop the wholesome ones.

The arising of mental states is conditioned by several factors, a key one is covered in the preceding satipatthana, vedanas. Seeing how the mind is conditioned and becomes involved in vedana is a key element of the practice. Much of our thinking and thus our suffering comes from rumination and planning on how to get pleasant sensations (i.e. greed/lust) and avoid painful ones (aversion). As the Honey Cake Sutta explains, vedanas and the subsequent cognitions and thoughts that follow them cause a snowball effect of complications in the citta:

Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. Their coming together is contact. Contact is a condition for sensation. Sensation is perceived, and what you perceive you think about. Thinking leads to a multiplication of ideas. This multiplication of perceptions and ideas gives rise to the notions of identity which make people suffer. This arises with things seen in the past, present and future. This same process happens with the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind consciousnesses. – MN 18

This ‘conceptual proliferation’ or ‘multiplication of ideas’ (papañca), arises from vedanas and saññas, and from craving or aversion to them. This process can lead directly to unwholesome views (ditthis) about the self, which lead to further suffering. Most of them fall into one of the two extremes: annihilationism and eternalism. In a broad sense, annihilationism refers to the idea that this reality is all there is and that after death everything about oneself is totally destroyed. Eternalism postulates some eternal substance, essence or soul that survives death. According to the Buddha both of these views are confused and are based on not understanding the true nature of things.

To stop this tangled mess, this ‘jungle of views’, we have to observe the arising of this process closely through satipatthana meditation. In DN 29.40 the Buddha states that he taught satipatthana “for the abandoning and surmounting of these dependencies on views connected with former times and dependencies on views connected with times to come.” So in this practice, we don’t just observe the desires and aversions, but the ideas and worldviews we have created or adopted in our minds, especially views related to the idea of a self. These views may not be obvious during sitting meditation, but attachments to subtle forms of wrong view can still be observed through careful mindful monitoring of our thoughts. When we do notice them, we should reflect on how they are unwholesome.

During the initial practice of being aware of mental states one does not necessarily attempt to actively eliminate unwholesome states of mind. Rather, one just observes things with a sense of interest and curiosity. By maintaining a receptive attitude at this stage, the meditator is able to see through their mental defense mechanisms and self-deceptive tendencies. As you observe these states, ask yourself “how do they arise?”, “which conditions preceded this unwholesome state?”

A technique that can be helpful when actually implementing these forms of mindfulness is the use of mentally noting or labeling these phenomena. The sutta instructions in the SPS includes the particle iti, which in Pali means that the previous sentence is a quotation. This seems to indicate that use of language or concepts can be included within the practice of mindfulness, and that Buddhist meditation is not about totally eliminating all concepts from the start.

To do this, whenever we experience one of the mental states listed in the SPS, we can lightly note it in the mind. There is no need to excessively note every instant and moment of each mental quality however. Instead, just check in from time to time and note what is happening with a simple label such as “anger” or “distraction” etc. Analayo states that this is like checking a compass once in a while when we are out on a hike, just to make sure we are headed in the right way. As in the simile, there is no need to keep noting every second, its just enough to look at the mind and note what is happening once in awhile.

The SPS and other suttas like MN 5 state that the three “unwholesome roots” must be observed as well as their absence in the citta. Thus one could note when one is experiencing anger and when there is the absence of anger (which could include its opposite like loving kindness) or the absence of lust (or equanimity).

When experiencing the absence of unwholesome states, one should rejoice in this. The Buddha gives this simile in MN 15:

Suppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments, and they check their own reflection in a clean bright mirror or a clear bowl of water. If they see any dirt or blemish there, they’d try to remove it. But if they don’t see any dirt or blemish there, they’re happy, thinking: ‘How fortunate that I’m clean!’

In the same way, suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant sees that they haven’t given up all these bad, unskillful qualities. Then they should make an effort to give them all up. But suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant sees that they have given up all these bad, unskillful qualities. Then they should meditate with rapture and joy, training day and night in skillful qualities.”

Become familiar with how the mind feels when there are to obvious unwholesome qualities and compare this with the times you have experienced negative mind states. This will help us gain a deeper understanding of how the citta without these states is clearly superior. This can also lead to a sense joy, which is an important part of the path and of meditation practice. This joy and the subsequent happiness that follows will not only encourage us to keep practicing but can also lead to further weakening of the unwholesome states.

MN 5 lists four kinds of persons and their relationship to mental stains or impurities:

1. A person with a stain in their citta who doesn’t know they have a stain.

2. A person without a stain who doesn’t know they are free from this stain.

3. A person with a stain who knows they have it.

4. A person without a stain who knows their citta is stainless.

The sutta goes on to say that person 1 is clearly worse than person 3, since they don’t even know they have a stained citta, they won’t even think that they need to make an effort to remove it. While a person who does know this might make such an effort. This is compared to a bronze dish which is dirty and left in the corner uncleaned. Likewise, person 2 is compared to a clean bronze dish that is stashed away and never cleaned. Even though it is clean now, it will collect dirt and dust over time.

Person 4 then is the ideal to shoot for. Their citta is like a clean dish that one constantly uses and cleans and so it stays clean. This sutta also shows that meditation is not just about watching the mental corruptions, but also making an effort to clear them from the mind.

Therefore, a further step one can take once we have closely observed negative qualities is to actively attempt to dispel them. This can usually be done through cultivating certain qualities of mind which are their opposites.

Emotions such as fear, anger, annoyance, contempt, dread, hatred are related to aversion and the desire to be away from something or push it away. Emotions such as grief, depression, lust, envy, sadness, worry, loneliness, boredom, disappointment are related to craving and not getting what one wants – namely sense pleasure (which includes mental and intellectual pleasures).

When these states arise, one can cultivate mind states which oppose them such as compassion, friendliness, joy, satisfaction/contentment, curiosity, and gratitude.

Confusion can manifest as apathy, angst, worry, sadness, and is best overcome by feeling confidence and trust in knowing the proper actions on the path and also by cultivating a sense of trust in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

Also, one can actively cultivate a certain cognition or perception (sañña) which counters the unwholesome state. Some suttas state that you have to use skillful perceptions to cleanse unskillful perceptions from the mind. The Vimuttimagga gives a very useful list of cognitions (many of them similes) from the suttas to be used against sense desire. Here is a list of some of these:

• Sense-desires are likened to a bone because of scanty yield of pleasure.

• Sense-desires are likened to a piece of flesh because they are chased by many [who will hurt you to get it and thus cause you suffering].

• Sense-desires are likened to a (flaming) torch carried against the wind because they burn.

• Sense-desires are likened to a dream because they vanish quickly.

• Sense-desires are likened to borrowed goods because they cannot be enjoyed long.

• Sense-desires are likened to a mirage because they bewilder the fool.

• Sense-desires are likened (to thieves) because they rob the value of merit.

Regarding ill-will and hatred, one can bring to mind the following passages:

“When what is incinerated do you sleep at ease? When what is incinerated is there no sorrow? What’s the one thing, Gotama, whose killing you approve?” “When anger’s incinerated you sleep at ease. When anger’s incinerated there is no sorrow. O deity, anger has a poisoned root and a honey tip. The noble ones praise its killing, for when it’s incinerated there is no sorrow.” – SN 1.71

He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me. Those who think like this will not end their hatred. Hatred never ends through hatred, only through love. This law is eternal. – Dhammapada

When anger arises, whoever keeps firm control as if with a racing chariot: him I call a master charioteer. Anyone else, a rein-holder — that’s all. – Dhammapada

Suppose some bandits catch one of you and sever his body limb from limb with a two-handed saw, and if he should feel angry even at that moment, he is no follower of my teaching. – MN 21

By doing this [getting angry at others] you are like a man who wants to hit another and picks up a burning ember or excrement in his hand and so first burns himself or makes himself stink. – Visuddhimagga IX, 23.

Of course one is not restricted to canonical sources and should experiment with various thoughts or cognitions and see what is helpful at countering greed and aversion. One should always be on the lookout for new ways to combat the corruptions, since they are constantly finding subtle ways of sneaking back in to the mind.

Once one has entered a certain state of samadhi these perceptions are no longer needed since they are too gross and based on thinking, which ceases in the second jhana. Therefore, one should remember that these cognitions are just another skillful means and most be let go of at some point. In this way one continues to refine one’s samadhi by seeing how the solution to the previous disturbance is also a subtler disturbance that must be released.

The following states to be noticed, “contraction” and “distraction” are less obvious. One way to interpret this is that “contraction” refers to a mind that is overly tight and constricted. It seems to refer to a narrow attention that is too forceful. It could also refer to a kind of sluggishness of the mind according to Analayo. This is the interpretation of the Pali commentary, which states that the contracted mind refers to the hindrance of dullness and drowsiness (also known as sloth and torpor). “Distracted” is the other extreme here, a mind that is flighty, anxious and not calm. The goal in meditation is keep the mind balanced, not too tight but not too loose.

AN 6.55 contains a very useful simile for this element of meditation. In this sutta, the Buddha speaks to Sona, who used to be skilled in a stringed instrument called a vina. He reminds him that the strings in such an instrument cannot be too tight or too loose and then says:

In the same way, Sona, when energy is too forceful it leads to restlessness. When energy is too slack it leads to laziness. So, Sona, you should apply yourself to energy and serenity, find a balance of the faculties, and learn the pattern of this situation.

Joy

The following higher states of mind outlined in the SPS are all about being able to monitor one’s meditative development. These are very similar to the next three steps in this anapanasati tetrad: cultivating joy, samadhi and liberating the citta.

When the SPS says to notice if the mind is “Great”, this refers to unworldly or spiritual states of mind (such as spiritual joy and happiness) which are “greater” than worldly or sensual joys. They are also associated with the divine abodes (compassion, empathetic joy, friendliness and equanimity). This element of the meditation then is a way to check in with the mind to see if spiritual states are growing through our practice.

Joy should arise naturally from our practice. Our training of mindfulness of the breath and the increasingly calmness and subtelty of the breath can lead to joy. Likewise, being mindful of the citta, as well as freeing it from unwholesome states leads naturally to a kind of gladness, or joy (pamojja). Joy can also arise due to the experience of piti-sukha as cultivated in the previous tetrad. This joy leads to samadhi which further frees the mind from hindrances. Alternatively, some sutta passages indicate that joy is actually a cause for piti-sukha. DN 1.73 says that when one sees the five hindrances have been abandoned “gladness arises within him; thus gladdened, piti arises in him; and when he has piti his body becomes tranquil.”

One can also just remind oneself that this is the step for feeling joy and open yourself up to it and allow it to come by itself without attempting to generate it. Remember that any amount of forcing or effort is likely to be counterproductive so one’s effort must be almost a non-effort, a doing by not-doing.

It is important to note that joy seems to have an intermediary position between the practice of morality and meditation. This is because various suttas give different conditions for pamojja and many of these are of ethical character:

• AN 10.1-5 and 11.1-5 states that skillful conduct and the clear conscience that arises from this are prerequisites for pamojja.

• SN 35.97 states that guarding the sense fields and the unsoiled mind that arises from this are also prerequisites for pamojja.

• MN 7 has “knowledge of the letter and spirit” of the teaching.

• DN 34 has yoniso manasikara: an attentiveness to the root of things or “wise attention”.

• SN 55.40 has “striving for solitude” and “dwelling vigilantly”.

This is yet another reason why ethical training is a non-negotiable prerequisite to success in Buddhist meditation.

The Pali commentaries also say that joy can arise from both samadhi and also through insight into the nature of things (cf. yoniso manasikara). This makes sense, because as we closely observe the mind, we gain wisdom into its workings and also into how we create suffering. This might thus lead to a sense of joy as we begin to understand how we can undue this process.

There are various suttas which speak about the quality of pamojja and how it arises. One of the ways it arises is through abandoning the five hindrances and other unskillful qualities (DN 18).

Another way to spark joy in the citta is through recollecting the triple gem and cultivating trust or confidence (saddha) in them. Indeed, SN 12.23 states that “trust is a vital condition for pamojja.” MN 7 gives the standard list of qualities of the triple gem that can be contemplated so as to give rise to trust and thus to pamojja:

When one has partially given up, renounced, let go, abandoned and relinquished the corruptions, one thinks: ‘I am endowed with unwavering confidence in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. They reflect like this:

‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’

‘The Dharma is well explained by the Buddha—visible in this very life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.’

‘The Sangha of the Buddha’s disciples is practicing the way that’s good, straightforward, methodical, and proper. It consists of the four pairs, the eight individuals. This is the Sangha of the Buddha’s disciples that is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of greeting with joined palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.’

They find joy in the meaning and the Dharma, and find a joy connected with the Dharma. When they’re joyful, bliss arises. When the citta is blissful, the body is calmed. When the body is calm, they feel happiness. And when they’re happy, the mind becomes immersed in samadhi.

By using these three reflections (anussati) during our meditation or in our daily routine, one can develop a sense of joy in having a safe direction and a refuge from worldly suffering. One can also use this at the beginning of our meditation to prime our mind with a sense of joyful confidence.

SN 47.10 states that when there is “physical tension, or mental sluggishness, or the mind is externally scattered” one should “direct the mind to an inspiring foundation,” so as to give birth to joy. This teaching is echoed by the Sravakabhumi which states that at this step of breath mindfulness, one “takes up whatever cognitive object conducive to purity and inspires the citta.”

Thus, one can take up any theme or reflection which is useful. Besides the triple gem, the Buddha also teaches various other reflections or contemplations (anussatis). One of these is to reflect on one’s own virtuous actions (sila) such as keeping the moral trainings or generosity (dana). One can also think about the goal of nirvana. One can contemplate these for a bit to see if the mind becomes joyful, then return to mindfulness of the breath with a reinvigorated sense of joyful purpose.

Joy can also arise through the practice of the divine dwellings (brahmaviharas): metta (pure love), care (or compassion), gladness, and equanimity. Imagine all of the people and sentient beings dwelling in all directions and radiate these emotions towards all of them, wishing that they may feel joy and happiness.

There is no reason that one cannot combine any of these reflections or practices with anapanasati to give rise to gladness. These can become a short detour from our focus on the breath or the citta. When pamojja has arisen, when can return to watching the whole of the citta, now imbued with pamojja.

Samadhi and liberation

Gladdening the mind naturally leads to increased samadhi. Through this joy, the mind becomes more collected, peaceful and unified. Samadhi also refers to whether one is in meditative absorption or not (jhana). The jhanas are deep, peaceful and joyful states of mental oneness. Though jhana is not specifically mentioned in the the Pali SPS or APSS, it is always in the background of mindfulness practice. The details of jhana and samadhi will be discussed in a later part of this essay. For now, just watch your mind for signs of focused stillness, calm, as well as bliss and happiness. One way to gauge the strength of your samadhi is to note how often you are getting distracted from your meditation theme.

Be aware of the features of samadhi, including stability, tranquility, steadiness, focus, pliancy and readiness. See if you can sharpen and refine the samadhi, like increasing the focus on a camera.

“Surpassable” and “unsurpassable” refers to whether one’s meditation can be improved or taken further. This is closely connected to jhanic absorption and has to do understanding what has been accomplished and what needs to be left behind to reach the next level of jhana. One must also be seeking to improve and take one’s meditation to the next level. To practice this aspect of the satipatthana, we ask ourselves, is it possible to take our meditation further at this point in time? What what be cultivated for this? What must be let go?

In this step then, one is always observing the mind and noticing what you are doing well and what needs work. Step 10 through 12 are different more subtler ways of skillfully training the mind, step 10 is about energizing, step 11 is about stilling and focusing and step 12 has to do with different ways of releasing mental blockages.

Freeing the mind

“Liberating” or “freeing the citta” can refer to two kinds of freedom (vimutti): the temporary freedom from suffering that comes from mental unification and practicing the path, and also the final and full liberation of nirvana. In this sense, we can see the peace and equanimity that comes from practice as a foretaste of nirvana, since nirvana is nothing but the highest form of mental freedom.

This last element of the third tetrad is also associated with having reached jhana, since this frees the mind from obstacles and corruptions. This mundane way of using the term “liberation” (vimutti) can be seen in MN 43 where the fourth jhana is referred to as “neither-painful-nor-pleasant liberation of citta” (adukkhamasukha cetovimutti). This interpretation is also supported by the Visuddhimagga and the Vimuttimagga.

Of course, “freeing the mind” can also refer to complete and full liberation as well (see DN 6 & SN 16.10 where arhatship or the final stage of awakening is called “uncorrupted freedom of citta and freedom by wisdom in this very life”). However, for most practitioners, they will be dealing with the more mundane “liberation” of the citta: temporary freedom from the corruptions.

To practice this, try mentally reviewing the list of negative qualities listed above from the Satipatthana Sutta (for experts, this will be intuitive, automatic and non-verbal) and let go of them. This includes any grasping to positive qualities like piti and sukha and any sense that “I” or “me” has achieved high spiritual qualities. Review the dangers of clinging and of seeing things in terms of the ego. How does it feel to grasp at objects of thought?

You can also do this by imagining that with each out breath, you are letting go of any negative mental state or quality, particularly the five hindrances and self-identification.

As the citta is gradually freed of poisons and obstructions, the meditator becomes aware of this sense of freedom and release, resting his awareness on this sense of mental liberty. What is this freedom like? How does it feel to have a mind that is becoming liberated? Examine the advantages of this mental freedom.

Buddhadasa says one can also alternate between “both sides of the coin” and see what it is like: “Contemplate the suffering of attachment and the value of non-attachment as they continuously alternate in the mind”. With time, the mind will automatically let go and thoughts will become automatically liberated.

It can be useful to memorize the different qualities we need to keep track of when practicing mindfulness of the mind and check the mind against them time after time. This is useful in everyday life as well as in formal sitting meditation.

A simpler version

One may also choose a more simplified form of mindfulness of the qualities of the citta that is explained by the Buddha in MN 19 and its Chinese parallel MA 102. This involves simply looking at the citta and dividing one’s thoughts into two kinds: wholesome and unwholesome. MA 102 states that before his awakening, he did the following:

I divided all my thoughts into two types: thoughts of sensual desire, thoughts of ill will, and thoughts of harming on one side, and thoughts without sensual desire, ill will, or harming on the other.

Practising like this, I went to stay in a remote and secluded place, practicing diligently with a mind free from negligence. When a thought of sensual desire arose or a thought of ill will, or harming, I at once realized that it had arisen. I realized that this thought is harmful to myself, harmful to others, harmful in both respects; this destroys wisdom, causes much trouble, and does not lead to attaining Nirvana. On realizing this…the thought rapidly ceased.

When a thought of sensual desire, ill will or harming arose, I did not accept it, I abandoned it, discarded it, and vomited it out. Why was that? Because I saw that innumerable evil unwholesome states would certainly arise because of these thoughts.

Is is just as in the last month of spring when, because the fields have been sown, the area where cows can graze is limited. A cowherd boy, having set the cows free in uncultivated marshland, will wield a cane to prevent them from straying into others’ fields. Why is that? Because the cowherd boy knows that he would certainly be scolded, beaten, and imprisoned for such trespassing. For this reason, the cowherd boy wields a cane...

The sutta then adds that when one experiences mental states that are freed from sense desire, ill will and harming, one can just observe these thoughts in a calm and relaxed manner, without doing anything. This is like a cowherd when the fields have been harvested. He no longer has to make an effort to stop his cows from wandering into the fields. He can just sit under a tree and watch them from afar.

This simile shows that effort is needed in the early stages of mindfulness of the mind to subdue particularly unwholesome qualities, but when the unwholesome states have subsided, a more laid back approach can be taken.

Bridging the three satipatthanas

If we have been working on developing anapanasati “in order”, the connections and relationships between the first three satipatthanas may have now become more obvious. We may now begin to see more clearly how they are part of one body-mind process (bodily processes > vedanas > citta processes). Mindfulness of the body allows us to see how the body affects the mind and vice versa, we can see the effects of an unwholesome mind state by being mindful of the body. Likewise, mindfulness of vedanas allows us to catch unwholesome thoughts as they are arising due to their response to painful, neutral or pleasant vedanas.

In this sense then, the previous two satipatthanas become foundations for contemplation of the mind and vice versa. Since all three are closely connected and we can see chamges in one leading to changes in the others. In this way, mindfulness lets us better understand the layers of communication between mind and body and how suffering arises in these.

While we initially focus on one field of mindfulness, the flowering of satipatthana practice really begins when we start practicing these three together and see them as integrated processes. Our vista becomes broader and wider as opposed to narrower. While we mostly live life with our attention being focused on particular areas of desire or pain, satipatthana is about making our perspective on reality as vast as the sky, ultimately including every experience.

Analayo uses the useful simile here, he says it is like looking into your rearview mirror when driving. While we keep our eye on the road (our main object of meditation), we can also maintain a peripheral awareness of and also constantly check up on our rear view mirror or side mirrors (the peripheral objects). In this way we gain a better overall perspective on our position on the road (i.e. the field of experience). Sometimes the mind will be the main object, other times the body or vedana. This skill at being able to pay attention to more than one satipatthana is something which will really increase the power of our meditation.

This skill is useful in formal meditation and in everyday life. I can simply take the form of asking ourselves from time to time, “how is the citta doing?” “Is there greed/lust, hatred or delusion?” Is it distracted, mindful or unified? Can we improve it and make it great? When can check in like this once in awhile and yet remain focused on a particular daily task. This will strengthen our daily mindfulness as well as our formal practice.

Bhikkhu Bodhi says that the sixteen anapanasati elements are actually sixteen aspects of a practice and not necessarily a step by step instruction. He compares this view with a multilayered image, each tetrad being a different layer of the same practice. I believe that this is the deeper meaning of anapanasati and satipatthana. One can begin to practice “in order” by going through the list of meditations, but eventually there is a fusion of these practices. Over time, one begins to see that their causal relationship is more complex than the linear list of meditations might lead one to believe. More on this will be said at the final part of this essay.

Remember that the practice is very flexible, you should never feel confined to one specific method or way of doing things. The focus should be on developing spiritual factors.