Pleasure leads to preferences or pre-references, which lead to always wanting to be somewhere else, never being fully here now. How does a feelingfull person find a way out of the wheel of repetition?

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The Forum
The Mahasatipatthana Thread

.............The Mahasatipatthana Sutra
...................New Translation and Links
............................. Right Mindfulness
...................................... The Three Depths
...................................... Mindfulness of the Body
...................................... Mindfulness of Feelings and State of Mind


Subject: The Three Depths

Throughout the Satipatthana, there are so many variations and ideas offered that to do them all in one sitting would take over a 1000 hours ...

In my opinion, the importance of this, is that it can fulfill the basic requirements of a creative -(fully sensitive to the flows in your own mind and feeling) - moving mindfulness meditation, ... rather than an attempt at single minded static concentration which improves will-power but I doubt leads anywhere ultimately except to boredom.

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The Three Depths

This Passage on the 3 depths which can be applied to our mindfullness - repeats at the end of every section except the 4 noble truths - So, this text repeats the same wording ca. 20 times.

NynaponikaThera:
"Thus he dwells practising body (element, quality, feeling, etc.,) - contemplation on the body internally, or externally, or both internally and externally. He dwells contemplating origination-factors in the body, or he dwells contemplating dissolution-factors in the body, or he dwells contemplating both origination- and dissolution-factors in the body. Or his mindfulness that "there is a body" is established in him to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. Independant he dwells clinging to nothing in the world."

so the 3 depths are

internally and externally (eg. myself and others)
origination and dissolution
that we recognise it is there.

This third may appear too simple ... however I believe it is a very common sense and useful formular for either beginners or when we are in too much hurry to identify the exact quality of eg. the muscles - the digestive system - the feelings - then, one is simply mindful that "there is a feeling" "there are muscles" ... We simply dont have a 1,000 hours a day to find nirvana in every facet of existence ... Sometimes we must simply be mindful that "there is a ....." and then move on with our mindfulness to other areas.

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I feel sure this is so simple - however traditionally and experts always give another interpretation for this 3rd depth
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Thanissaro Bhikkhu

" 'Or his mindfulness that 'There is a body (feeling, mind, mental quality)' is maintained [simply] to the extent of knowledge & recollection. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world.'
note: This stage corresponds to a mode of perception that the Buddha in MN 121 terms "entry into emptiness":
Thus he regards it [this mode of perception] as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: "there is this." "

U Jotika & U Dhamminda
"To summarize, he is firmly mindful of the fact that only the body exists (not a soul, a self or I). That mindfulness is just for gaining insight (vipassana) and mindfulness progressively."

Nyanaponika Thera - commentary
That is to say; only bodily processes exist, without a soul, self, or abiding substance.

Nyanasatta Thera - commentary
That is, only impersonal bodily processes exist, without a self, soul, spirit or abiding essence or substance.
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I disagree ... The section on the 3 depths repeats ca. 20 times - I cannot believe that Buddha was so boring - I think well possible that he repeated each depth idea a few times - randomly - and what could be more obvious for the ardent listener than to try to organise these ideas by bundling them together - the first two are similar in abstract depth ... In my opinion all the previous interpretations I have seen are attempts to make the 3rd. depth fit with the other two ... and simply, it doesnt, ... this , which is now the third, ... is for beginners ... or when we are in a hurry and wish to move on with our mindfulness to other variations .... and as such it is very useful and I would even say an essential part of a moving living minfulness meditation ...

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The Forum
The Mahasatipatthana Thread

.............The Mahasatipatthana Sutra
...................New Translation and Links
............................. Right Mindfulness
...................................... The Three Depths
...................................... Mindfulness of the Body
...................................... Mindfulness of Feelings and State of Mind