Another part
When I have recommended body contemplation to
others, some answered: “That is only one valid way
of practice, but other ways are equally good. To say
that only one way will lead to path attainment is
narrow-minded. Luang por Chah taught to practice
more openly and broadly than that, using reflections
such as ‘Don’t attach’ or ‘It’s not sure.’” How would
you answer this, Ajahn?
If I did not feel the people were open and receptive to being
taught, I would not say much at all. It is easier to remove a
mountain than to change people’s attachment to their views. In
twenty or thirty years you can gradually blow up a huge mountain,
but people’s views can remain steadfastly fixed for a lifetime,
many lifetimes. Those who say body contemplation is a narrow
path, are themselves trapped in narrow thinking. In truth, body
contemplation is very broad and leads to great freedom due to
true insight.
From my experience and from seeing the results of others
in their practice, to realize Dhamma, to attain at least
sotāpanna,
is impossible without thoroughly and deeply uprooting the
identification with the body. Even the likes of Luang Pu Tate and
Luang Ta Mahā Boowa, monks with enormous
pāramī
and refined
awareness throughout the day, had to go back and contemplate
the body before they realized the Dhamma. It is not enough
to do it just a few times either. The great Forest teachers had
to contemplate over and over. They would then get results in
accordance with their
pāramī
and effort. It is not enough simply
to be aware of postures of the body. You must train yourself to
be an expert at seeing the body as
asubha
(not beautiful). When
one who has mastered this sees other people, especially someone
of the opposite sex, the
asubha
perception is immediately
brought up to counter any
kilesas
that appear. The body must be repeatedly broken up into parts or deeply seen as impermanent
for real insight to arise. It is possible to realize the first stage of
the path through contemplating the death of one’s own body.
When mastered, body contemplation is amazing and wonderful
in all sorts of ways – not narrow at all. Wherever Luang Pu Mun
went, he would rely on body contemplation to keep his heart light
and at ease
There are many monks with a lot of
pāramī
who claim that
their mind is continually light and bright, that
kilesas
do not
arise at all or only in subtle ways and that Dhamma is clear to
them. They claim that they see everything arising and passing
away and that they do not attach to any of it – so they do not see
any need to investigate the body. However, this is just
samādhi,
being stuck in
samādhi
, being attached to a self-image of being
enlightened, of being someone who understands Dhamma. But
they are still stuck in
saṁsāra
without anything preventing
them from falling into lower realms in the future.
Kilesas
are
very tricky, very clever. If you look at the practice of truly
enlightened people, you will see that they all followed the path of
body contemplation.
Luang Por Chah himself practiced this way. He taught
asubha
practice – especially investigation of hair, body hair, nails, teeth
and skin or seeing the body as a rotten corpse – but he would teach
this more in private to specific individuals. Publicly he tended not
to emphasize it as much as some of the other Forest teachers. I
think this was because he saw that the majority of people were not
ready for it. They still needed to work with general mindfulness
as a base for developing
samādhi
, so he taught general ‘letting go’.
It is not correct to say that Luang Por Chah did not teach body
contemplation.
If the mind is not concentrated, body contemplation will only
be superficial. However, it is still necessary to become acquainted
with it from the beginning. Then gradually
nimittas
(images and perceptions of the
asubha, anicca, dukkha, anattā
nature of the body)
will arise.