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The application or direction of thought in the system of Buddhist
meditation is aimed at bringing about the purification of those
conditions which produce suffering. Vipassana meditation is initially
cultivated by means of awareness and investigation, which observes
the comings and goings of the mind and body during the processes
of sense perception, thought formation, and the subsequent outward
actions by the body.
All of this is observed without getting personally involved, attached
or identified-which is possible. One views the whole show or processes
in the various manifestations as being just an impermanent, fleeting
consecutive series of conditioned phenomena that are not being controlled
by anybody.
By detaching the mind from all of the sensory impingements and undermining
by insight-wisdom, the notion/feeling of a separate "I"
who is experiencing, the mind gradually quits reacting to sense
stimuli; the separate "I" feeling fades away and a state
of undifferentiating, all-embracing, self-less awareness is experienced.
This direct, intimate experience of the mind's uninfluenced nature
is intuitive proof that what we think is an individual Self that
experiences the world, is merely an illusive reflexive-like notion.
There are only conditioned mental and physical activity arising
and passing away according to the law of cause and effect, without
a substantial soul or governing entity. They are the source from
which arises this whole complex, mysterious thing called life with
all of its entailing trials and tribulations.
Now one might ask, "What good is there by arriving at this
view?" The answer is that this will be the impetus for actually
starting the disentanglement process from this whole affair and
the elimination of many of one's worries, anxieties, fears, self-wrought
pain, and discomfort which one experiences. The meditator will stop
doing all the unnecessary things in life which only add to the involvement
and bondage to his body and mind.
This is because he will understand how it is all kept going by
the unwholesome actions he is presently doing. These present actions
are based on the previously done actions and the future actions
will be conditioned by the habits one is now practising. So, by
eliminating the unwholesome, selfish, greedy, and unnecessary actions
in one's life one will be paving the way for a calmer, smoother
flowing life in the future. This is accomplished by practising the
Noble Eightfold Path laid out by the Awakened One for this purpose.
This task has to be taken up by everyone personally. No one else
can do the purifying of another's mind. This is stated in another
verse from the Dhammapada: It's by oneself that evil deeds are done;
one makes oneself corrupt. By oneself is evil left undone. It's
by oneself that one is purified. Purity and impurity on oneself
depend. No one can another purify.
It is up to each person to start the process of disentangling and
freeing their mind from the bondage of their past actions. This
can only be started and successfully completed when one has the
proper detached attitude towards the body and mind and the objective
world.
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