Mindfulness meditation is discussed, including its benefits beyond just stress reduction. 37 factors of enlightenment are outlined that involve mindfulness. Key aspects of mindfulness meditation are defined, such as bare attention and seeing the impermanence of all phenomena. The three fundamental activities of mindfulness are described as reminding one of their task, seeing things as they are without distortion, and realizing the true nature of all things. Various meditation practices involving mindfulness of the body, feelings, mind, and mind objects are explained.

1. MINDFULNES
S
MEDITATION
VEN. DE HONG
JULY 5, 2023

2. OUTLINE
• 37 FACTORS OF ENLIGHTENMENT (BODHIPAKKHIYA-
DHAMMA) 「三十七助道品」
https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/the-37-factors-of-enlightenment-bodhipakkhiya-dhamma/7393
• MINDFULNESS
• MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

3. 37 FACTORS OF ENLIGHTENMENT
「三十七助道品」
• Those teachings that have, with deep knowledge, been taught by me, after
grasping them well, you should practice, develop, and make a lot of them, so that
the spiritual life may last long, and may endure for a long time, and that will be
for the benefit of many people, for the happiness of many people, out of
compassion for the world, for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of divinities
and men. Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN-16)

4. • 4 Foundations of Mindfulness 四念住
o Mindfulness of Body; Mindfulness of Feeling; Mindfulness of Mind; Mindfulness of Mind Objects.
• 4 Right Efforts 四正勤
o Prevent unwholesome thoughts from arising; Abandon unwholesome thoughts; Cultivate wholesome
thoughts; Maintain wholesome thoughts. (This requires mindfulness.)
• 4 Bases of Mental Power 四神足
o Desire; Persistence; Intention; Investigation. (This requires mindfulness.)
• 5 Faculties 五根
o Faith; Energy; Mindfulness; Concentration; Wisdom.
• 5 Powers 五力
o Faith; Energy; Mindfulness; Concentration; Wisdom.
• 7 Factors of Enlightenment 七覺支
o Mindfulness; Investigation of Phenomena; Energy; Rapture; Tranquility; Concentration; Equanimity.
• 8-Fold Path 八正道
o Right View; Right Intention; Right Livelihood; Right Action; Right Speech; Right Effort; Right
Mindfulness; Right Concentration.

5. Mindfulness (sati) is mentioned 8 times.

6. Sambodhi Sutta of The Anguttara Nikaya
9 qualities as pre-requisites
1.Having admirable friends, companions and comrades
2.Virtuous behavior with restraint observing the training rules
3.Hearing of talk that is sobering and conducive to understanding. This would include talk
on modesty, contentment, value of seclusion and quiet, non-entanglement, effort,
morality, concentration, wisdom and knowledge of true vision and release from craving
4.Effort in abandoning unskillful mental qualities and developing skillful mental qualities
5.Has developed the wisdom of arising and passing away
6.Contemplation of the unattractive to abandon lust
7.Develop good will to abandon ill-will
8.Practice mindfulness of in and out breathing to remove distractive thinking
9.Develop the perception of impermanence to uproot the conceit “I am”

7. MY VIEW ON MINDFULNESS
• Mindfulness from the Buddhist perspective is not just reducing stress as it has
been taught and practiced (MBSR).
• It can improve all aspects of your life and the quality of your relationships.
• When learning/practicing with other topics, as taught by the Buddha, it can lead
to awakening or enlightenment.

9. • Chapter 1-9: What meditation is and how to meditate properly
• Chapter 10-12: How to deal with problems and distractions
• Chapter 13-14: Mindfulness and Concentration
• Chapter 15-16: How to bring mindfulness into your daily life
• After word: the Power of Loving Friendliness (Loving-Kindness or good will or
metta)

10. CHAPTER 13
• Mindfulness is nonjudgmental observation-the ability of the mind to observe
without criticism.
• Accept it as it is; nothing is suppressed or repressed.
• Observing an object, a meditator notices impermanence, un-satisfactoriness, and
selflessness.
• Impartial watchfulness; nonconceptual awareness or bare attention;
• Present-moment awareness: observance of what is happening right now.

11. Difference a thought and thinking a thought.
• When you meditate, grounding your awareness in the breath, you notice a
thought arising, there’s a sense of [mental] distance from it, the thought passes.
• When you remember a best friend, that’s memory.
• When you become aware that you are remembering your best friend, that’s
mindfulness.
• If you conceptualize the process and say to yourself, “Oh I am remembering.”
That’s thinking.

12. • Non-egoistic alertness: no reference to self.
• “I have a pain” vs “pain”
• No adding or subtracting to perception
• Observe exactly what is there-without distortion
• Awareness of change: passing flow of experience. Watching things as they are
changing (time as one factor).
• Seeing birth, growth, and maturity of all phenomena—decay and die
• Seeing how things make us feel and how we react to it; how it affects others.
• In mindfulness, one is an unbiased observer: keep track of the constantly passing
show of the universe within (thoughts, feelings, experiences, perceptions, etc.).

13. • Participation observation: participant and observer at the same time; objective;
wakeful experience of life, an alert participant in the ongoing process of living.

14. THREE FUNDAMENTAL ACTIVITIES
OF MINDFULNESS
1. Mindfulness reminds you of what you are supposed to be doing
2. Mindfulness sees things as they really are
3. Mindfulness sees the true nature of all phenomena

15. • Mind as a garden—Planting Seeds of Mindfulness, Concentration
M
C
Mental qualities
Wholesome Mind States
Unwholesome Mind States

16. 1. Reminds you of what you are supposed to be doing
• During meditation, when your mind wanders, mindfulness reminds you what you
are supposed to be doing and brings the mind back to focus (the breath).
• Thinking
• Reacting
• Judging
• Chattering
• Questioning
During meditation: you cultivate mindfulness
Off the cushion: you are applying mindfulness into your activities

17. 2. Sees things as they are
• Whatever that comes up, mindfulness adds nothing and subtracts nothing to it
• Without distortion

18. 3. Sees the true nature of all phenomena
• Power of mindfulness enables you to see
a) All conditioned things are inherently transitory;
b) Every worldly thing is, in the end, unsatisfying; and
c) There are no entities that are unchanging or permanent, only process.
• Mindfulness is a process, but it does not take place in steps. It is a holistic
process that occurs as a unit: you notice your own lack of mindfulness; and that
noticing itself is a result of mindfulness; and mindfulness is bare attention; and
bare attention is noticing things exactly as they are without distortion:
impermanence, selflessness, and un-satisfactoriness.

19. INSIGHT (VIPASSANA) MEDITATION
• A practice
• Formal training cultivating mindfulness
• Mind in state of calmness and alertness
• Enables meditators to have insights to see things clearly

20. MEDITATION PRACTICES
•Mindfulness of the body
• Mindfulness of feeling
• Mindfulness of the mind
• Mindfulness of mind objects

21. Time 0

22. Mindfulness of the Body
the Breath as an Object
• Proper posture (sitting)
• Bring your attention to the breath—your breath serves as the anchor
• Be aware of the in-breath and out-breath
• When you notice your mind wandering away, patiently bring it back to the breath
• When you realize that your mind is lost in a thought, bring it back to the breath
• You may have to bring your mind back to the breath a thousand times, just do it
• Do not judge or criticize yourself
• The nature of the mind is wandering, without training
• You are cultivating mindfulness

23. Other objects as your focus
1. Counting your breaths: for each in and out breath, count 1, 2 to 5, then reverse
count, 5 to 1. This is one way to ground the mind in the breath.
2. You can recite a mantra or prayer and ground your attention in the breath
3. You can use a mala/bead: breathe in as you hold one bead; breathe out, go to
the next one. Feel the sensation with your fingers and the bead.
4. If your hands are held together, you can feel the sensation in your hands, and
stay with it
5. You can place your hand on your tummy, feel the movements (rising and
falling) in your tummy due to the in-breath and out-breath.
6. If your bare feet are on the ground, feel the contact (cooling effect, cold, or
stability) between your feet and the ground, and stay with it.

24. • The longer you are (your mind is) able to stay with the breath, the strong is your
concentration.
• You still are aware of thoughts, noise in your surrounding, but you are not
reacting to any of them, you are cultivating mindfulness. your mindfulness is
deeper.
…
When should you meditate?
At the beginning, when you feel awake and rested, sit for a few minutes.
You can increase the time as you continue.
Try to be mindful in each activity, that’s mindfulness.
…
How long?
Start with a few minutes.

25. METAPHOR
MEDITATION AS WATCHING TRAFFIC

26. • Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
https://plumvillage.org/live-events/walking-meditation
• Standing meditation
• Lying down meditation

27. SOURCES
• Gunaratana Henepola. 2011. Mindfulness in Plain English 20th anniversary ed. Boston mass:
Wisdom Publications.

28. TRANSFER OF
MERITS
MAY THE MERITS OF THIS
CLASS AND EVERYONE’S
PRACTICE BENEFIT ALL
SENTIENT BEINGS
EVERYWHERE