That was almost all he ever said. It was amazing how easy it was to forget that simple instruction, and equally amazing how extremely useful it was when I remembered to follow it. He didn't seem to care about anything other than that I get to know my reality as it was with great precision and consistency. I knew very little theory then, but during those two weeks I practiced noting quickly all day long and made the fastest progress I have ever made in my life, getting all the way to the very brink of first awakening in a mere 14-day retreat. Since that time, I have been a big fan of this particularly direct and down-to-earth method.
There are many techniques for waking up to the truth of our
experience, of which noting is just one. I have found it to be extremely powerful and fast, but each person must find what works for them. The trick is to get to know one's reality as it is, and what techniques one uses to do this do not matter much so long as they work and bring results.
What is meant by “results” will be clearly spelled out in The Progress of Insight in Part III.
INVESTIGATION OF THE TRUTH
Once we start to know what our objects are, what our actual reality is, then we can get down to the good stuff: knowing the truth of these things, called appropriately investi gatio n of the truth
, also called
investigation of the dharma. Dharma just means truth. So, once mindfulness has made things a bit clearer we can know that things come 40
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment
and go, don't satisfy and ain't us. Hey, the Three Characteristics again!
They are the truth, the sooner we understand this the better, and nothing helps us understand them like seeing them again and again.
Forgive this brief digression, but I am no fan of the popular term
“mindfulness meditation,” as mindfulness is essential for both concentration practices (which lead to temporary bliss states) and insight practices (which lead to fundamental freedom). The crucial difference between these meditation practices is that insight practices also stress investigation of the Three Characteristics, whereas concentration practices emphasize stabilizing in the illusion of solidity and continuity while ignoring the fact that the sensations that make up this are all impermanent, etc. Thus, I hope that one day the modern meditation world drops this confusing term in favor of more precise language.
In addition to the categories of sensations mentioned above in Mindfulness, one could also consider consistent investigation of all sensations that seem to have to do with the direction and movement of attention, as well as investigating all sensations that have to do with questioning, wanting, the application of energy and even the individual sensations that make up the process of investigation itself. These are very interesting objects, as are “the hindrances.”
