A First Look at Abhidhamma (9):
Mindfulness I: The Brain Way



To be mindful, is to be aware of one’s thoughts and actions at the moment.  Due to the separation of the mind into the brain and the citta components, there are actually two ways of achieving mindfulness.  This chapter talks about the first way, which is using the brain to achieve mindfulness.


The Importance of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is very important in Buddhism.  It is so important that it earns a place in the Noble Eight-Fold Path as Right Mindfulness.  The fifth of the Five Precepts, which is to abstain from alcoholic drinks, is partly meant to help us maintain mindfulness.  Why is mindfulness so important?  Mindfulness is important because it is necessary to achieve two purposes: (1) gaining control of our thoughts and actions, and thus our lives; (2) gaining wisdom.

Buddhism guides us towards ending suffering, and we achieve this by first gaining control of our lives.  To gain control of our lives, we must first gain control of our thoughts and actions.  Mindfulness is a necessary ingredient in achieving this.  It is not the only ingredient, nor the sufficient ingredient, however it is a necessary one.  Through mindful awareness, we know what we are thinking and while thinking it.  When we are daydreaming, we know we are daydreaming; when we are plotting a plan, we know we are plotting a plan; when we are remembering the past, we know we are remembering the past.  In this way, we are not confused.  If we should not be daydreaming at the moment, then we stop our daydreaming immediately.  This could avert work accidents that may injure others or us.  If what we are plotting is unwholesome, then we could stop our plotting immediately.  This could prevent carelessly harming others and us.  If remember the specific past is not useful to us, but increases our ego or makes us dwell over unhappy moments instead, then we could stop our remembering the past immediately.  This frees up our energies to do something more positive and productive for ourselves and others. 

Furthermore, when we are angry, we know we are angry; when we are sad, we know we are sad; when we are happy, we know we are happy.  By knowing the emotions that we have right now, we may avoid impulsive actions that we would regret later.  Sometimes our emotions are so strong that they would bias our judgement.  When this happens, we better defer our judgement or try to think more objectively by taking into account for our possible emotional error.

Finally, when we are doing unwholesome actions, we know we are doing unwholesome actions; when we are doing wholesome actions, we know we are doing wholesome actions.  By knowing the actions we are doing right now, we can stop unwholesome actions and enhance our wholesome actions.  The more frequent we perform certain actions, the less mindful we tend to become when we perform them.  This is very unfortunate because sometimes we no longer realize that what we are doing is unwholesome.  Soon the action becomes a habit that is difficult to drop.  The physical habit soon infects our mind and the unwholesome karma becomes sealed.  Similarly sometimes we no longer realize that what we are doing is wholesome and very meaningful to others.  Then great opportunities of cultivating good karma are wasted.

Mindfulness also leads us to wisdom.  (Here I shall only mention the brain’s way of attaining wisdom.)  Mindfulness is to be aware of things happening around us as well.  People usually notice extraordinary things and miss out mundane things.  However the truth of the universe lies in all phenomena, even in mundane ones!

There are times in our lives when we are struck by the ‘aha’ sensation.  It could occur after we saw a falling leaf, or a beautiful flower, or an amazing and grand landscape, or a vast ocean, or a starry and clear night sky, or simply a smiling face.  It could also occur after we heard a phrase said by someone, or we read a phrase from some words of wisdom or the sutra. For example the starry sky could inspire us into realizing that each of us is so tiny and there is indeed a vast world out there.  This diminishes our ego.  During these ‘aha’ sensations, we experience much calmness and feel a sense of wisdom.  We could believe that we would never look at the starry sky in the same mundane way again.  Such little moments of ‘enlightenment’ could only come about if we are mindful of the things happening around us.

Mindfulness brings wisdom because our daily lives teach us time and again, impermanence, suffering and non-self.  They teach us about the law of cause and effect, as well as dependent origin.  They show us that all phenomena are empty in nature.  They illustrate the Four Noble Truths, and verify that the Noble Eight-Fold Path leads to the end of suffering.  Our daily lives are great Dharma teachers, we need to be mindful to receive their teachings.


Mindfulness: The Brain Way

The brain can help us achieve mindfulness in a thinking way.  This is a very common way practiced among Buddhists.  Essentially this way involves the brain’s constant reflection on “What am I doing now?”

For example in the mindfulness meditation, we can count ‘One’ during our first breath, and ‘Two’ during our second breath, etc.  As we count the one’s and two’s we are reminded that we are breathing.  This is a form of mindfulness for us.  Similarly when we are breathing in, we could silently note ‘In’, and when we are breathing out, we could silently note ‘Out’.  The in’s and out’s also remind us that we are breathing.  When our leg is painful, we mentally note that ‘my leg is painful’.  When we are having a stray thought, we can note that ‘I am having a stray thought’.  When we feel a sense of anger arising, we can note ‘Anger arising’.  Thus during all these actions, we use our brains to make a statement reflecting on the happenings.  In this way, we train our awareness and mindfulness.

When we are standing, we note that ‘I am standing’.  When we are walking, we note that ‘I am walking’.  When we are eating, we note that ‘I am chewing’ and ‘I am swallowing’.  When we are doing work on the computer, we note that ‘I am working on the computer’.  When we are watching a movie, we note that ‘I am watching a movie’.  In this way, we train ourselves into bringing our awareness and mindfulness into our daily lives.

There are other ways to train mindfulness (of the brain way) too.  One very effective way is through the use of gathas (or mindfulness verses).  Gathas are short poems both to alert us to what we are doing, and to set a good attitude in doing it.  The Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh has many wonderful gathas that one can adopt in one’s daily life.  Below are some of his gathas.

In fact, you could make your own gathas too.  For example here is one I make myself.

Another effective way of training mindfulness is to observe precepts.  Lay Buddhists are highly recommended to observe the five precepts (rules to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual mis-conduct, telling lies, and consuming alcoholic drinks).  As we observe such precepts seriously, we would be reflecting constantly whether we are breaking the precepts.  For example, I would be more mindful and conscious about whether the drink I am taking contains alcohol.  I would also be more mindful and conscious about whether I am telling a lie.  When I take something, I would reflect on whether this action constitutes stealing.  Hence the five precepts train the mindfulness of the practitioner.  Monks and nuns have many more precepts to follow.  Those many precepts instill a very mindful lifestyle. 


How Mindfulness Helps

After we are well trained enough to reflect upon our thoughts and actions constantly, it will gradually become automatic.  It becomes like a regular self-check timer.  Depending on one’s firmness in mindfulness, this self-check timer can over-write some weak chains of citta, though not the strong ones.

For example when we are angry, a chain of angry cittas sprouts in us.  If this chain of angry cittas is intense and strong, our regular self-check timer would not be able to interrupt it.  Hence we will continue our anger unmindfully.  If this chain of angry cittas is mild and weak, our regular self-check timer will be able to interrupt it.  Our brain thought will send a brain mental object containing “What am I doing now?” into the mind world.  Seventeen cittas work on this brain mental object.  The brain then realizes that the person is angry now.  Hence the brain answers by sending another brain mental object containing “I am angry now” into the mind world.  Another seventeen cittas work on this brain mental object.  After this the person becomes aware that he or she is angry, and could take necessary steps to deal with it.

More importantly, the mindfulness itself already interrupts the chain of angry cittas.  Depending on the person’s cultivation towards weakening his or her anger, this mindfulness interruption may already be sufficient to stop the chain of angry cittas.  For example some people’s anger dissolves the moment the person realizes that he or she is angry.  If not, the person can continue to self-check himself or herself like “Am I still angry?” for a few more moments, and the chain of anger cittas would end.  If the anger still does not end, then the person could use techniques that deal with anger.

The same goes for mindfulness interrupting craving, sadness, depression, ego and ignorance. 

“Mindfulness is our little manufactured frictions against unwholesome thoughts and actions.”

Similarly mindfulness should interrupt our happiness and calmness too, so that we can reflect on whether our happiness and calmness are due to wrong view and ignorance.  If they are not, then we can more heartily share our happiness and calmness with others.

“Mindfulness is our little manufactured fuels for more wholesome thoughts and actions.”


Conclusion

Mindfulness implemented by the brain is a very powerful means of gaining control of one’s life, and achieving wisdom.  It is not easy because our brain thoughts tend to be over-powering, and their mental objects occupy our cittas most of the time.  It is very difficult to ‘slot in’ a self-check brain thought now and then.  However through constant practice, either by mindfulness meditation, by chanting gathas, or by observing precepts, one can implement mindfulness brain thoughts into one’s daily life and benefit from them.

I would like to re-emphasize again that this first way of mindfulness that is implemented by the brain, could already sufficiently bring life-changing improvements to one.  One’s ability to cope with suffering would improve tremendously.  Through this mindfulness, one can achieve many meaningful and wonderful goals, as well as drop many bad habits.  However there is a second way of mindfulness that, in many perspectives, is of higher level than this first way.  This second way of mindfulness will be detailed in a later chapter.


Mindfulness Meditation

One popular method of training the mindfulness meditation is to count the breaths, as mentioned above.  We count from one to ten, and we repeat from one again.  The counting, which is done by the brain, serves as a self-check timer that we are not straying from the meditation.  The repetition from one again, prevents our counting from becoming ‘automatic’.  If we reach the count of eleven or higher, we know our mindfulness has gone astray.  Some people may find that even repeating from one again could become ‘automatic’.  For these people, they can try counting backwards from ten to one, instead of forward from one to ten.

When stray thoughts arise, they could go like this:

Then the meditator proceeds on with the counting, letting go of the stray thoughts.

We should let go of the stray thoughts without regret, frustration and clinging.  If we do not, another chain of stray thoughts may go like this:

Thus the previous chain of stray thoughts managed to generate another chain of stray thoughts, which is unproductive for the meditation.

When one is more trained in the mindfulness meditation, the counting may become slightly too ‘noisy’ for the meditator. The meditator can then switch to noting the in breath and the out breath.  During the in breath, the meditator notes “in”.  During the out breath, the meditator notes “out”.  Beyond this level of subtlety, the meditator will enter into the second way of mindfulness that will be mentioned in a later chapter.


--By Lee Hon Sing.  Last modified: February 5, 2004.  All ignorance is mine. 


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