which is a little bit like doing one thing at a time. When we do one thing at a time, we bring our body and mind to our present experience. In this way, we and our activity are one. When we do this, our life, or whatever we're doing, belongs to us. Shakyamuni Buddha taught mindfulness practice long before the development of Zen. He taught it specifically in the Satipatthana Sutra, or the Sutra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The word Satipatthana is usually translated as mindfulness,

[01:05]

but its literal meaning is to keep awareness of the present near one's mind or near one's consciousness. Traditionally, Buddhist practice has been categorized into three trainings of practice. The first training is right action, which includes practicing the precepts. The third training is wisdom or insight into how Buddhist teaching is manifested in our lives. The second training is the development of concentration or meditation, and mindfulness must be present for any kind of concentration or meditation to occur. Mindfulness and concentration mutually support each other.

[02:13]

They arise interdependently. Another way of looking at mindfulness practice is described by a Sri Lankan teacher, Gunaratana. He says, when you first become aware of something, there is a fleeting instant of pure awareness. Just before you conceptualize the thing, before you identify it, that is a stage of mindfulness. Ordinarily, this stage is very short. It's that flashing split second just before you focus your eyes on the thing, before you objectify it, before you clamp down on it mentally and segregate it from the rest of existence. It takes place just before you start thinking.

[03:19]

Mindfulness takes place before you start thinking. I would like to emphasize this point. The process of mindfulness does not involve thinking, nor is it separating yourself from your experience in order to observe it or analyze it. In mindfulness practice, we bring our full attention to what we are doing. We bring our whole body and mind to each thing we do. In this way, our body and mind are joined. But at the same time, we are aware of what we are doing. We know our own experience. So, for example, if you are washing dishes, bring the wholehearted activity of your body and mind to just washing dishes,

[04:29]

so that there is no separation between you or your thinking and the activity. Bring your mind into the hot, sudsy water. In this way, you will know the conditions that are present without having to step back from your experience to think about it. You won't have to stop and ask yourself, Are my hands inside the water or out? Is the water hot or just lukewarm? Are there a lot of soaked suds or a few? When you are washing dishes, you know immediately and directly the heat and sudsy quality of the water without having to stop and think about it. The same is true in zazen when we practice awareness of breath.

[05:34]

We know our breath immediately and directly. We know if our breath is smooth or rough, deep or shallow or stuff, without having to stop and think about it. Once we pull ourselves back from our experience to examine it, that experience is over and we've begun something new, which is thinking about the past. For example, if you remember an old friend, while you're remembering, that activity is memory. If you become aware that you're remembering, then that is mindfulness. If you go a step further and conceptualize the experience or put it into words,

[06:36]

Now I am remembering so-and-so, then that is thinking. In mindfulness practice, we bring the same intention and effort to be aware that we have in zazen into our daily activity. And when we have this intention, there's nothing more important for us to be doing than washing dishes or living our lives in awareness. This is an expression of the Bodhisattva vow to wake up in each moment for the benefit of all beings. In zazen, in our meditation, we strengthen our ability to be aware.

[07:37]

And this awareness naturally extends itself into our activity. So wherever we are, whatever we're doing, every experience is an opportunity for mindfulness practice. The Satipatthana Sutra has a passage which describes some of the activities which are suitable for mindfulness. I'd like to read part of it. It says, The practitioner is aware when going out and coming in. The practitioner is aware when drawing in the limbs and stretching them out, when looking towards something or looking away, is aware when putting on one's robes and carrying one's bowl. The practitioner is aware when eating or drinking

[08:41]

or chewing or swallowing, is aware when urinating or defecating, is aware when walking or standing or sitting, when sleeping or waking, when speaking or keeping silent. Mindfulness gives us a way to bring awareness to every aspect of our lives. It's not possible for us to accept something that we're not aware of. And acceptance of our physical and mental, emotional and psychological states is necessary for mindfulness to be present. We can't really experience something fully

[09:45]

if we're suppressing it or rejecting it or denying it. Whatever we may experience, mindfulness just accepts it as another thing to be aware of. Shantideva, who is an 8th century Indian teacher, who is well known in Tibetan Buddhism, practiced mindfulness with a question. His question was, how can the practice of mindfulness be performed under these very circumstances? If you choose to practice with this question, the act of remembering to ask the question is mindfulness.

[10:47]

When we work with the question, the practice isn't just to find the answer. Remembering to ask the question is just as important. In the Satipatthana Sutra, all of our experience is divided or placed into four areas of practice, which are called the four foundations of mindfulness. The first foundation is the body. It includes all of our physical experience, everything we experience through our sense organs, all sights, sounds, smell, taste and touch. It also includes mindfulness of the four postures,

[11:49]

which are walking, sitting, standing and lying down, and awareness of the transition between these postures. And the realm of the body includes awareness of the breath. We start mindfulness practice with awareness of our physical experience. And I recommend starting by focusing your attention either on one part of your body or on one activity. If you choose a part of your body, you could choose anything. I'll take your feet as an example. Throughout the day, try to notice your feet, what position they're in, if they feel cool or warm,

[12:52]

if they're cramped or comfortable. When you stand up, be aware of how you stand on your feet, how you place them, how you distribute your weight on them. Be aware of how it feels when you walk, which part of your foot touches the floor first. You might notice when you go through a doorway, do you always step through the same foot? Notice how you step up onto a curb or how you walk upstairs. Bring your awareness to anything that your feet can do. Another part of the body that works well is the back. So again, throughout the day, notice your back, what position it's in.

[13:54]

Is your spine lengthened and extended? Or is your back curved and sagging? Are you leaning over to one side? Try to have some awareness of the relationship between the position of your back and your state of mind. I feel like this kind of practice is an area where we can let our creative ability out loose. There's an unlimited amount of experience we have that we take for granted. And you can choose to become more aware of it, more in touch with what your bodies are always doing that we may not know about. If you want to practice with an activity,

[14:59]

choose something that you do at least once a day, like brushing your teeth, bathing, making your bed, washing dishes, opening and shutting doors. And each time you do that activity, try to bring your full presence to it so that you're practicing each day, being aware with your activity. Or that activity may remind you to be aware. Some people let the activity of getting into their car or putting the key in the ignition remind them to drive with awareness. When you try being mindful, if it feels like you have to work at it or if it takes a lot of effort,

[16:01]

try changing your attitude. Instead of trying to concentrate your attention onto your activity, instead try letting go of whatever is leading you away from the present. We carry so much around with us, our memories and ideas, conversations and songs. We can use mindfulness to help us remember to let go of or put down the burden of the distractions and confusion which separates us from our immediate experience. The second foundation of mindfulness is feelings.

[17:03]

In this context, feelings means the immediate response we have to everything we experience. The feelings are either pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. And this basic gut level response isn't limited to human beings. Animals and even plants have this kind of response. The nature of a plant to go towards sunlight and away from shade is an example of this basic response. The feelings, our feelings, can be very subtle and they can operate at unconscious levels. Our feelings are the root of our conditioning.

[18:06]

Because of this, a lot of importance is placed on being aware of feelings, of what pushes us or propels us in one direction and which causes us to look away from something else. The third foundation of mindfulness is mindfulness of our mental and emotional psychological states. The fourth foundation of mindfulness is mindfulness of Dharma's or Buddha's teaching and how it's operating in our world. I think the most accessible Buddha's teaching for me is that everything changes. And if you want to practice with this mindfulness of impermanence, notice change. Changes in the external world,

[19:10]

changes within, changes in your perception. Be aware of how nothing stays the same. Although there are four foundations of mindfulness, we don't practice them in isolation from each other. The sutra gives instruction in mindfulness of our physical experience first because our physical experience is most apparent and least subtle. But while we're being aware of our physical experience, be aware of our body. Our feelings, thoughts and emotions and insights also arise. As mindfulness develops, there are two directions it can go.

[20:12]

One direction is to practice with one object of mindfulness and the other is to practice with overall mindfulness. If you practice with one object, you might choose your posture or your breath or a part of your body. And you can practice with it during focused activity of meditation or throughout your day. And be aware of what you've chosen. And when your thoughts or mind begins to wander and you're aware of it, then simply let go of the distraction and come back to your original object of awareness. If you choose overall mindfulness, this means being generally aware of your experience so that whatever experience,

[21:17]

whatever comes up for you, you're mindful of that. In this way, you never need to put down the practice of mindfulness because it includes everything. Another aspect of mindfulness, maybe a hidden aspect, is that everything is alive, which means the tatami mats are alive. And when we bring our full presence to what we are doing, we can participate in the aliveness of things. When we treat things or interact with them as if they were alive, the things themselves will have a different presence and they will experience you differently.

[22:21]

So instead of treating things outside yourself as if they were objects for you to move around for your use, you can use them with care and enter a relationship with them. As you leave the lecture hall, you can carry your cushion or your chair as if it were alive. You can bring your awareness to your feet and feel the floor or the tatami. Feel each part of your foot, your heel, the ball of your foot, and your toes as you step down and lift up your foot. We can walk on the floor as if it were a dear friend and our feet will feel more alive.

[23:27]

When we walk in this way, our feet have a chance to feel the pleasure of just walking. And the floor will be a different floor because of us. Thank you. May our intention equally benefit all.

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