Inner Strength - Access to Insight

40This is called knowing the moments of the mind. To know in this way isliberating insight. It’s awareness. To know past, future, and present is awareness.* * *The noble ones aren’t attached to activities—to acting, speaking, or thinking—in any way. When the processes of action fall silent, their minds are empty andclear like space. But we ordinary people hold on to speaking, standing, walking,sitting, lying down, everything—and how can it help but be heavy? The nobleones let go of it all and so are at ease. If they walk a long time, they don’t getweary. If they sit a long time, they don’t ache. They can do anything withoutbeing weighed down. The people who are weighed down are those who holdon.* * *Stress for ordinary people is pain and suffering. The stress of sages is thewavering of pleasure.* * *The breath of birth or of life is the in-breath. The out-breath, when there’s noin-breath, is the breath of death. Whether a person is to have the potential for ashort or a long life depends on the in-and-out breath. Thus the breath is termedk›ya-saºkh›ra, bodily fabrication. It’s the crucial factor in life. When you can catchhold of the breath, you can keep tabs on your own birth and dying. This is birthand dying on the obscured level. As for birth and dying on the open level, evenfools and children can know it: ‘Birth’ means breathing, sitting, lying down,standing, walking, and so on. ‘Death’ means to stop breathing and to get hauledoff and cremated. But birth and dying on the obscured level can be known onlywithin. And not everyone can know them. Only those who still their minds can.To focus on the breath this way is, at the same time, mindfulness of death,mindfulness of breathing, and mindfulness immersed in the body. Or you cancall it ek›yana-magga—unifying the sense of the body into a single, direct path.Vitakka is to bring the topic of meditation to the mind, to bring the mind to thetopic of meditation. Vic›ra means to spread, adjust, and improve the breathcarefully. The longer you keep at this, the more comfortable your going will be,just as when we work at clearing a road. The sense of the body will benefit inthree ways, feeling light, cool, and comfortable. At this point, our meditationtheme becomes even stronger, and the mind feels even greater ease anddetachment, termed citta-viveka, or mental solitude. The sense of the bodybecomes more quiet and detached, termed k›ya-viveka, or physical solitude.* * *The breath energy in the body falls into two classes. One class is called the‘feminine breath,’ the gentle flow of energy from below the navel up to the headand out the nose. The other class is called the ‘masculine breath,’ the solid flow ofenergy from the ends of the feet up through the spine. Once you can focus onthese breaths, don’t go against their basic nature. Be conscious of them when