Exercises for Insight Meditation

These are techniques for giving rise to knowledge and insight, via the mind, into the natural workings of physical and mental phenomena, as expressed in terms of the five aggregates, seeing them as naturally occurring conditions — inherently inconstant, stressful, and not-self — these three characteristics being the focal point of insight meditation.

If we've come to the topic of insight, why are we referring again to the five aggregates, inconstancy, stress, not-selfness, etc.? Weren't these already covered under tranquillity meditation?

The answer is that although insight meditation deals with the same raw material as tranquillity meditation — i.e., form and formless objects, or in other words, physical and mental phenomena — it gives rise to a more refined level of knowledge and understanding. The treatment of the five aggregates and the three characteristics on the level of tranquillity meditation is very crude, simply enough to make the mind settle down to the point where it is ready for the practice of insight meditation. Once we reach the level of insight, though, our understanding and perception into the five aggregates and the characteristics of inconstancy, stress, and not-selfness become clearer and more distinct. We can make the following comparison: The understanding gained on the level of tranquillity meditation is like cutting down the trees in a forest but not yet setting them on fire. The understanding gained on the level of insight meditation is like taking the trees and burning them up. The forest in the second case is much more open and clear — even though it's the same forest. This is how the levels of knowledge gained in tranquillity and insight meditation differ.

To develop insight, you first have to distinguish the five aggregates: physical phenomena, feelings, mental labels, mental fashionings, and consciousness. Once you have them distinguished, start out by focusing on and considering all physical phenomena, whether past — those that have occurred beginning with your conception as an embryo in your mother's womb; present; or future — those that will continue to occur until the day you die; internal — the phenomena of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, together with the visions that appear through the power of the mind; or external — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations: All of these are inherently inconstant, stressful and not-self. They arise momentarily and then pass away, never satisfying the desires of those who want them, never offering anything of any substance or worth. This holds true equally for any and all things composed of the physical properties.

This is the exercise dealing with physical phenomena.

As for feelings, start out by distinguishing two sorts: external and internal. External feelings arise when the eye comes into contact with a visible object, the ear comes into contact with a sound, the nose comes into contact with an aroma, the tongue comes into contact with a flavor, or when tactile sensations — heat, cold, etc. — come into contact with the body. All five of these categories are classed as external feelings. If the mind is displeased, a bad mood is experienced; if the mind is neither pleased nor displeased, a mood of indifference is experienced: For the mind to experience any of these moods is classed as internal feeling. Both internal and external feelings — past, present, or future — should be focused on at a single point: the fact that they are all inconstant, stressful, and not-self. By nature they arise only to pass away.

This is the second exercise.

As for mental labels, there are two sorts, external and internal. External labeling refers to the act of identifying visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas when they come into the range of the senses. Internal labeling refers to the act of identifying moods of pleasure, pain, and indifference as they are felt by the heart. Once you can make this distinction, focus on all acts of labeling — past, present, or future, internal or external — at a single point: the fact that they are all inconstant, stressful and not-self. By nature they arise only to pass away.

This is the third exercise.

As for fashionings, these should first be divided into two sorts: upadinnaka-sankhara, those that are dependent on the power of the mind for their sustenance; and anupadinnaka-sankhara, those that are not. Mountains, trees, and other inanimate objects fashioned by nature are examples of the second category; people and common animals are examples of the first.

Fashionings dependent on the power of the mind for their sustenance are two sorts: external and internal. 'External' refers to the compound of the four physical properties fashioned into a body through the power of kamma. 'Internal' refers to the fashioning of thoughts — -either good (puññabhisankhara), bad (apuññabhisankhara), or neither good nor bad (aneñjabhisankhara) — in the mind.

All fashionings — past, present, or future, internal or external — should be focused on and considered at a single point, the fact of their three inherent characteristics, as follows:

anicca vata sankhara uppada-vaya-dhammino uppajjitva nirujjhanti...

'How inconstant (and stressful) are fashioned things. Their nature is to arise and decay. Arising, they disband...' They are all bound to be inconstant, stressful, and not-self.

This is the fourth exercise.

As for consciousness, this should first be divided into two sorts: internal and external. Internal consciousness refers to the act of being clearly aware that, 'This is a feeling of pleasure — this is a feeling of pain — this is a feeling of indifference,' as such feelings are experienced in the heart. External consciousness refers to being clearly aware by means of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body whenever visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations come into range and the mind reacts with notions of liking, disliking, or being indifferent. All acts of consciousness should be focused on and considered in terms of their three inherent characteristics: Whether past (beginning with the 'connecting consciousness (patisandhi viññana)' that gives rise to birth), present, or future, internal or external, all are inconstant, stressful, and not-self. There is nothing permanent or lasting to them at all.

When you consider these themes until you see them clearly in any of these ways, you are developing the insight that forms the way to the paths and fruitions leading to nibbana.

Thus the exercises of tranquillity and insight meditation give rise to different levels of knowledge and understanding, even though they deal with the very same raw material. If you truly desire to gain release from suffering and stress, you should begin studying you own aggregates so as to give rise to tranquillity and insight. You may assume that you already know them, yet if you can't let them go, then you don't really know them at all. What you know, you say you don't know; what you don't know, you say you do. The mind switches back and forth on itself, and so always has itself deceived.

Knowledge on the level of information — labels and concepts — is inconstant. It can always change into something else. Even people outside of the religion can know the aggregates on that level — all they have to do is read a few books and they'll know. So those who really want to know should start right in, probing down into the aggregates until they perceive clearly and truly enough to let go. Only then will they be genuine experts in the religion.