For the decomposition contemplations, you can first visualize the body aging in ten-year stages, then dying, getting bloated, and drying out until it’s just dust. Then you can reverse the contemplation, bringing the body back to its present state to emphasize the fact that the potential for all those stages is right here, right now. This contemplation helps to remind you that no matter how wisely you care for the body or how artfully you improve its appearance, it will someday reach the point where you wouldn’t want to be near it at all. If you don’t learn how to let go of it now, you’ll have a hard time letting go when death forces the issue.

For these perceptions to be healthy, you have to learn how to apply them equally to everyone. In fact, that’s what these perceptions are meant to be: equalizers. You’re looking at the truths of all bodies, equally, all over the world. Most meditators are encouraged to apply these perceptions to their own bodies before applying them to others—on the grounds that our attraction to others often starts with our attraction to ourselves—but if you suffer from an unhealthy negative body image, start by applying them to a body you envy. Imagine, for instance, that supermodels were required to wear their skin inside out, and that all athletes and entertainers flaunting their abs were required to display everything else their abdomens contain. Only when your sense of humor can shake off your envy should you apply the perceptions of unattractiveness to yourself.

Regardless of what kind of unhealthy body image you start with, this contemplation is sure to get under your skin not only in a literal sense but also in an idiomatic one. It has to, because a part of the mind, well-entrenched for lifetimes, is sure to resist. If you obey the inner voices that put up resistance, you’ll never be able to dig up the unhealthy attitudes hiding behind them. Only when you challenge that resistance will you clearly see the underlying unskillful agendas behind your attachment to bodily beauty. And only when you see them clearly can you work your way free from them.

After all, the ultimate purpose of this contemplation is to see that the problem doesn’t lie with the body; it lies with your choice of perceptions. And it sensitizes you to how those choices are made: When you’ve been developing the perception that the body is unattractive, why does the mind suddenly switch back to the perception that it’s attractive? What are the steps in that shift? When you try to answer these questions through observing the mind in action, you learn a lot about how the mind can fool itself—and how willing it is to be fooled.

Above all, try to bring an attitude of humor to this contemplation, so that you can laugh good-naturedly at your foolishness in looking for beauty in the body. If, at any time, these exercises lead to feelings of disgust or depression, drop them and return your attention to the breath until you’ve induced a sense of inner ease and refreshment. Resume the perceptions of unattractiveness only when you’re in a more balanced state of mind. As one famous Thai meditation teacher said, you’re not aiming at revulsion; you’re simply trying to sober up.

If you’re in a relationship, don’t worry that you’ll ruin it with this meditation. Only after a great deal of time and dedication can these perceptions—and the understanding you gain from them—eradicate sexual desire entirely. In the meantime, you can actually use these perceptions to strengthen your relationship as you apply them to anyone outside the relationship who might tempt you to be unfaithful to your partner. They also help you to focus more attention on the aspects of the relationship that will give it a more substantial basis to last over time.

And don’t be afraid that this meditation will leave you listless and morose. The more you can free yourself from your internalization of the gaze of others, the more liberated you feel. As you bring more humor to issues of the body’s appearance, the more you will unleash the healthy energies of the mind.

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Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an American Theravada Buddhist monk trained in the Thai Forest Tradition. He currently serves as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County, California and is a frequent contributor to Tricycle. His latest book is Good Heart, Good Mind: The Practice of the Ten Perfections. Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s talks, writings, and translations are all freely available at his website :
www.dhammatalks.org

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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

Colour illustrations - The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived - The Supreme Buddha
By Venerable Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero

The rich and fertile history of mankind has yielded several human treasures that are for all time, and for all places. These universal beings have etched themselves in the collective memory of humanity by their victories, triumphs and conquests of peace, love and affection They stand out vividly, leagues above those so-called conquerors who waded through oceans of tears to reach thrones of blood for one passing moment in history's eternity.

The great men of mankind, who epitomize the positive and wholesome urges of life, are venerated as leaders of religious systems, saints, sages, seers, philosophers, men of letters, artists and scientists, who have illuminated the path of mankind's progress out of the morass of ignorance, into enlightened thinking in variegated fields. Of all those human beings who assisted the world of men and women to win the upper reaches of spiritual experience, discarding the gross and the grotesque, only a handful stand out as the greatest in terms of their service to man.

From among this limited and restricted coterie of such great personalities, who adorned the annals of man so far, who is the greatest man who ever lived? To anyone whose vision is not clouded by prejudices, and whose capacity for objective thinking is not impaired even slightly, there just cannot be any ambiguity about responding to this question. The greatest man who ever lived in this world of ours, dominating the whole of human history by his boundless compassion and unrestricted loving-kindness, is no other than the Supreme Buddha.

No other being in the whole of mankind has ever made such sacrifices as He has done in order to achieve liberation for Himself and for all men and women. The luxury He discarded in His unswerving quest for Truth, in His search for the ending of human suffering, is rarely paralleled, to say the least. Giving up even a trivial possession may prove an intensely troubling ordeal for ordinary men and women. But, what Prince Siddhartha turned his back on, was a golden cocoon of luxury that had been carefully choreographed by a fond royal father who would have gone to any extent to prevent the intrusion of life's sordid realities on his privileged son's pristine mind.

He renounced all that, and accepted an austere, ascetic way of life by choice. He tortured His body in a totally committed episode of intense self-mortification that lasted six gruelling years. His mission of forty-five years was an era of unprecedented challenge in the whole of man's spiritual progress.

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Dhammapada Verses 188 to 192
Aggidattabrahmana Vatthu

Bahum ve saranam yanti
pabbatani vanani ca
aramarukkhacetyani
manussa bhayatajjita.

Netam kho saranam khemam
netam saranamuttamam
netam saranamagamma
sabbadukkha pamuccati.

Yo ca buddhanca dhammanca
samghanca saranam gato
cattari ariyasaccani
sammappannaya passati.

Dukkham dukkhasamuppadam
dukkhassa ca atikkamam
ariyam catthangikam maggam
dukkhupasamagaminam.

Etam kho saranam khemam
etam saranamuttamam
etam saranamagamma
sabbadukkha pamuccati.

Verse 188: When threatened with danger, men go to many a refuge, - to mountains and forests, to parks and gardens, and to sacred trees.

Verse 189: But such a refuge is not a safe refuge, not the best refuge. One is not liberated from all evil consequences of existence (dukkha) for having come to such a refuge.

Verses 190 & 191: One, who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Samgha, sees with Magga Insight the Four Noble Truths, viz., Dukkha, the Cause of Dukkha, the Cessation of Dukkha, and the Noble Path of Eight Constituents which leads to the Cessation of Dukkha.

Verse 192: This, indeed, is the safe refuge; this is the best refuge. Having come to this refuge, one is liberated from all dukkha.

The Story of Aggidatta

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (188) to (192) of this book, with reference to Aggidatta, a brahmin.

Aggidatta was the head priest during the time of King Mahakosala, father of King Pasenadi. After the death of King Mahakosala, Aggidatta gave away his property in charity, and after that he left his home and became a non-Buddhist ascetic. He lived with his ten thousand followers in a place near the border of the three kingdoms of Anga, Magadha and Kuru, not far from a mound of sand where a powerful naga was staying. To his followers and the people of these three kingdoms, Aggidatta used to exhort: "Pay homage to forests, mountains, parks and gardens, and trees; by doing so, you will be liberated from all ills of life."

One day, the Buddha saw Aggidatta and his followers in his vision and realized that the time was ripe for them to attain arahatship. So the Buddha sent Thera Maha Moggalana to Aggidatta and his followers and told him that he himself would follow afterwards. Thera Maha Moggalana went to the place of Aggidatta and his followers and asked them to give him shelter for one night. They first turned down his request, but finally they agreed to let him stop at the mound of sand, the home of the naga. The naga was very antagonistic to Thera Maha Moggalana, and there followed a duel between the naga and the thera; on both sides, there was a display of power by emitting smoke and flames. However, in the end, the naga was subdued. He coiled himself round the mound of sand, and raised his head spreading it out like an umbrella over Thera Maha Moggalana, thus showing respect for him. Early in the morning, Aggidatta and the other ascetics came to the mound of sand to find out whether Thera Maha Moggalana was still alive; they had expected to see him dead. When they found the naga tamed, and meekly holding his head like an umbrella over Thera Maha Moggalana, they were very much astounded.

Just then, the Buddha arrived and Thera Maha Moggallana got up from his seat on the mound and paid obeisance to the Buddha. Thera Maha Moggalana then proclaimed to the audience of ascetics, "This is my Teacher, the supreme Buddha, and I am but a humble pupil of this great Teacher!" Hearing him, the ascetics who had been very much impressed even by the power of Thera Maha Moggalana were awed by the greater power of the Buddha. The Buddha then asked Aggidatta what he taught his followers and the residents of the neighbourhood. Aggidatta replied that he had taught them to pay homage to mountains, forests, parks and gardens, and trees, and that by doing so, they would be liberated from all ills of life.

The Buddha's reply to Aggidatta was, "Aggidatta, people go to mountains, forests, gardens and parks, and trees for refuge when they are threatened with danger, but these things cannot offer them any protection. Only those who take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Samgha are liberated from the round of rebirths (samsara)".

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 188: When threatened with danger, men go to many a refuge, - to mountains and forests, to parks and gardens, and to sacred trees.


Verse 189: But such a refuge is not a safe refuge, not the best refuge. One is not liberated from all evil consequences of existence (dukkha) for having come to such a refuge.


Verses 190 & 191: One, who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Samgha, sees with Magga Insight the Four Noble Truths, viz., Dukkha, the Cause of Dukkha, the Cessation of Dukkha, and the Noble Path of Eight Constituents which leads to the Cessation of Dukkha.


Verse 192: This, indeed, is the safe refuge; this is the best refuge. Having come to this refuge, one is liberated from all dukkha.

At the end of the discourse Aggidatta and all his followers attained arahatship. All of them entered the Order of the bhikkhus. On that day, when the disciples of Aggidatta from Anga, Magadha and Kuru came to pay respect to him, they saw their teacher and his followers garbed as bhikkhus and they were puzzled and wondered, "Who is the more powerful? Our teacher or Samana Gotama? Our teacher must be more powerful because Samana Gotama has come to our teacher." The Buddha knew what they were thinking; Aggidatta also felt that he must set their minds at rest. So, he paid obeisance to the Buddha in the presence of his disciples, and said, "Venerable Sir! You are my teacher, I am but a disciple of yours." Thus, the audience came to realize the supremacy of the Buddha.
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Dhammapada Verse 193
Anandattherapanha Vatthu

Dullabho purisajanno1
na so sabbattha jayati
yattha so jayati dhiro
tam kulam sukhamedhati.2

Verse 193: It is hard to find the noblest of men; he is not born everywhere nor in every clan. To whatever clan such a wise man is born, that clan prospers.

1. purisajanno: According to the Commentary, a Buddha is intended.

2. sukhamedhati: lit., attains happiness or thrives in happiness.

The Story of the Question Raised by Thera Ananda

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (193) of this book, with reference to the question raised by Thera Ananda.

One day, Thera Ananda pondered thus: "Our Teacher has told us that thoroughbreds of elephants are born only among Chaddanta and Uposatha breeds, that thoroughbreds of horses are born only among the Sindh breed, that thoroughbreds of cattle are born only among the Usabha breed. Thus, he had talked to us only about the thoroughbreds of elephants, horses, and cattle, but not of the noblest of men (purisajanno)."

After reflecting thus, Thera Ananda went to the Buddha, and put to him the question of the noblest of men. To him the Buddha replied, "Ananda, the noblest of men is not born everywhere, he is born only among Khattiyamahasala and Brahmanamahasala, the wealthy clans of Khattiya and Brahmana."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 193: It is hard to find the noblest of men; he is not born everywhere nor in every clan. To whatever clan such a wise man is born, that clan prospers.
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Pratical Insight Meditation
By Mahasi Sayadaw Gyi

The Venerable Mahasi Sayadawgyi had written his great work of treatise on Vipassana Meditation in two volumes in 1945. The first publication was in 1954 followed by thirteen editions up to now. Volume I of this treatise had been translated into English by U Min Swe and published in December 1980.

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Ofuna Kannon Temple, a Soto school of Zen Buddhism temple, Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan.

Dhammapada Verse 194
Sambahulabhikkhu Vatthu

Sukho buddhanamuppado
sukha saddhammadesana
sukha sanghassa samaggi
samagganam tapo sukho.

Verse 194: Happy is the arising of a Buddha; happy is the exposition of the Ariya Dhamma; happy is the harmony amongst the Samgha; happy is the practice of those in harmony.

The Story of Many Bhikkhus

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (194) of this book, with reference to many bhikkhus.

Once, five hundred bhikkhus were discussing the question "What constitutes happiness?" These bhikkhus realized that happiness meant different things to different people. Thus, they said, "To some people to have the riches and glory like that of a king's is happiness, to some people sensual pleasure is happiness, but to others to have good rice cooked with meat is happiness." While they were talking, the Buddha came in. After learning the subject of their talk, the Buddha said, "Bhikkhus, all the pleasures you have mentioned do not get you out of the round of rebirths. In this world, these constitute happiness: the arising of a Buddha, the opportunity to hear the Teaching of the Sublime Truth, and the harmony amongst the bhikkhus,"

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 194: Happy is the arising of a Buddha; happy is the exposition of the Ariya Dhamma; happy is the harmony amongst the Samgha; happy is the practice of those in harmony.

At the end of the discourse the five hundred bhikkhus attained arahatship.
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The Broken Gong

A Theravada monk on silencing the inner commentary that permeates our lives

By Thanissaro Bhikkhu

If you’ve ever participated in a Zoom meeting, you may have had the experience where someone has two microphones open in the same room. The sound gets echoed again and again and again. It’s called a positive feedback loop—not because it’s a good thing, but because it strengthens itself.

Our minds are like that. You comment on something that’s happening, and it seems to ricochet around in the mind. It’s as if like there are lots of voices inside all agreeing, which makes what they say seem more and more real, more and more worthy of credence. But it drives you crazy—in some cases, literally, crazy. People who go off alone often have nothing but their own echo chamber inside. Something gets amplified, magnified, copied again and again, and becomes an obsession.

Of course, in the time of the Buddha, they didn’t have Zoom meetings, but they did have gongs. The Buddha says, ideally, you want to make your mind like a broken gong. People can hit it, but there’s no reverberation. It’s not a very pretty image, but it makes an important point. What other people say, what you say, hits your ear, and you want to leave it right there. Don’t add any reverb.

This is one of the Buddha’s recommendations for how you deal with unpleasant words. Tell yourself, “An unpleasant sound has made contact at the ear. When the sound ends, when the contact ends, that should be it.” Anything beyond that, any commentary inside, is your own amplification, your own addition to the initial suffering, which may not have been all that much to begin with. Or it may have been pretty strong, but you amplify it even further, making it bigger than it has to be.

The same principle applies to physical pain. Our comments on the pain are often more unbearable than the pain itself. We can get worked up about a physical sensation that we haven’t really examined all that carefully.

The best way to stop this sort of commentary is to look into the actual sensation, to see what’s there in and of itself. We don’t like doing that.

Our comments on the pain are often more unbearable than the pain itself.

It requires sustained focus, which can be tiring. This is why the strategy in meditation is to focus on other parts of the body first, to see if you can make them comfortable with the breath. This is one of the reasons why full-body awareness, full-body breathing, is an important part of the Buddha’s toolbox. If you focus just on the nose, it’s hard to have a very pleasant sensation of breathing just at the nose. But if you focus on how the breathing process feels, say, in your throat, in your chest, in your abdomen, you can derive more pleasure from each in and out breath.

Then you can look at the extent to which you tense up your shoulders or your back when you breathe in: Is it at all necessary? Can you breathe in and out without adding to that tension? Can you think of the breath energy penetrating parts of the body that have been pretty impervious or shut off from the breathing process? See what happens. When you do all this, the breath can become very satisfying, very gratifying, and it gives you a good place to stand.

Then if there’s a pain in the knee, the hips, or the back as you meditate, you can look at it from another part of the body. You’re not totally immersed in the pain itself. You can ask different questions about it. Question your perceptions around the pain.

Your inner commentary involves two levels of fabrication: what the Buddha called verbal fabrication, which is your conversation inside about the pain, and mental fabrication, the perceptions, the images you hold in mind and around the pain. One important perception to question concerns the relationship between your sensation of the body and the sensation of the pain. Are they right in the same spot? Are they the same thing?