Vipassana Meditation

Lectures on Insight Meditation

by Chanmyay Sayadaw | 22,042 words

Vipassana Meditation: English lectures on Insight Meditation By venerable Chanmyay Sayadaw U Janakabhivamsa....

Part 3 - Mindfulness Of Consciousness

The third Foundation of Mindfulness is Cittanupassana Satipatthana which means mindfulness of consciousness and the states (cetasika) that arises with consciousness.

According to the Abhidhamma, every mind, so to say, is composed of consciousness and its concomitants. Concomitants here means its associates. Consciousness never arises independently. It arises together with its associates. In short, whatever consciousness or whatever mind or mental state arises, must be mindfully noted or observed as it really occurs. This is Cittanupassana Satipatthana. The mental states may be good, the emotional states may be better. Whatever it may be, it must be noted as it really occurs. Therefore, when you have consciousness with lust or attachment, you must be mindful of it as it really is. If you have consciousness with anger, you must note it as consciousness with anger.

Consciousness with anger can be noted as angry or anger in accordance with the Maha Satipatthana Sutta. When mindfulness is powerful, the anger will disappear. The meditator will then realise that anger is not everlasting - it arises and passes away. By observing anger, a meditator has two kinds of benefit:

  1. The overcoming of anger.
  2. Realisation of the true nature of anger (the arising and passing away of anger or the anicca nature of anger).

Anger is one of the mental states that can lead the meditator to the cessation of suffering if he notes it with mindfulness.

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