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Excerpt from Manual of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw, edited by Steve Armstrong and the Vipassana Metta Foundation.
Preparations for Practice
If a meditator aspires to attain path knowledge and fruition knowledge and nibbāna in this very life, he or she should cut any impediments during the time of meditation practice through the following preparations.
Purify moral conduct as explained in chapter 1, and cultivate the wish: “May my moral conduct be supportive of path knowledge.” If you suspect that you may have ever committed some offense toward an enlightened person, you should apologize for the mistake. If you cannot go to see that person to apologize, you should offer the apology in front of a teacher.
Entrust yourself to the Buddha’s wisdom, in order to be free from fear in the event that frightening objects appear during intensive practice. Also you should entrust yourself to a teacher’s care, so that the teacher may guide you without any hesitation. This may not be necessary if you are already following a teacher’s instructions respectfully.
Reflect on the merits of: nibbāna, which is completely free from any mental or physical suffering; path knowledge, which eradicates defilements and leads directly to nibbāna; and insight practice, which will surely lead to the attainment of path knowledge and nibbāna. You should find inspiration by remembering that the path of insight you are practicing is the same path that the Buddha, arahants, and all of the noble ones have followed.
You should then bow to the Buddha, reflecting on as many of his attributes as you know. After this, it is recommended that one cultivate loving-kindness toward all living beings, beginning with the devas that guard the monastery. If possible, you should then contemplate death and the impurity of your own body.
Finally, you should sit with legs crossed, or in any other sitting posture that is comfortable, and observe as explained below.
The Basic Practice
The primary object
A meditator should focus his or her mind on the abdomen. You will feel it rising and falling. If you don’t feel this clearly, place a hand on the abdomen and its rise and fall will become obvious after a while. When breathing in, you will experience the rising movement of the abdomen. Note this as “rising.” When breathing out, you will experience the falling movement. Note this as “falling.”
While doing this you may reflect that observing the form or concept of the abdomen is not what you ought to be doing. This is not a cause for worry. Initially, of course, it is almost impossible to avoid a conceptual sense of solid form. So in the beginning, you must observe objects on a conceptual level. That is the only way that your concentration, awareness, and insight knowledge will mature. In due time, however, insight knowledge will break through to the absolute reality beyond concepts.
Mahasi Sayadaw (center) at the Insight Meditation Society in 1979. Image courtesy of the Insight Meditation Society.
True insight practice is an awareness of all of the mental and physical phenomena that constantly arise at the six sense doors. However, because concentration and awareness are not strong enough in the beginning, it will be difficult to observe all of the phenomena that constantly arise. You will not be skillful enough to follow all of the objects, or may get caught up in searching for an object to note. For these reasons you should initially focus just on the rise and fall of the abdomen that occurs all the time and is noticeable enough to observe without much difficulty. Later, when your practice matures, you will be able to note objects as they arise.
So you should concurrently and continuously note the movements of the abdomen as “rising” and “falling” from moment to moment. A meditator should do this mentally, not audibly. Do not make the breath more vigorous than usual so as to make the rise and fall more distinct; neither slow down nor speed up the breath. If a meditator changes his or her natural pattern of breathing, he or she may get tired quickly and not be able to note properly. Just breathe in and out normally and regularly, and observe concurrently.
A textual note
The rise and fall of the abdomen is a manifestation of the air element, one of the types of tactile, physical phenomena. When observing the rise and fall, you will experience pressure and movement—characteristics of the air element—in accord with the following Pāḷi passages:
Bhikkhus, attend carefully to form. Recognize the impermanence of form as it really is.
Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu sees as impermanent form which is actually impermanent: that is his right view.
This is stated in discourses contained in Khandhasaṃyutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. And it is also in accordance with the contemplation of mind-objects (the five aggregates) in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta.
Bhikkhus, attend carefully to tactile objects. Recognize the impermanence of tactile objects as it really is.
Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu sees as impermanent tactile objects which are actually impermanent: that is his right view.
. . . by directly knowing and fully understanding the eye . . . the mind, by developing dispassion towards it and abandoning it, one is capable of destroying suffering.
When one knows and sees [tactile objects] as impermanent, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises.
This is stated in discourses contained in Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. It is also in accordance with the contemplation of mind-objects (the six bases) in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta.
Now both the internal air element and the external air element are simply air element. And that should be seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: “This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.”
This is as stated in the discourses dealing with the elements. It is also in accordance with the contemplation of the body (elements) in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta.
Moreover the air element is part of the materiality aggregate subject to clinging (rūpa upādānakkhandha) and is therefore included in the truth of suffering. It should be seen as it really is, in accord with the Buddha’s teaching:
This noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood.
This is in accordance with the discourses dealing with the noble truths. It is also included in the contemplation of mind-objects (the Four Noble Truths) in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta.
Therefore, observing the rise and fall of the abdomen is clearly consistent with the teaching of the Buddha, because one understands the pressure and movement of the air element as it really is. With regard to the observation of the in- and out-breath as explained in chapter 4, it is said:
He understands accordingly however his body is disposed.
Distracting thoughts
As you continually note the rise and fall of the abdomen, various kinds of thoughts will arise. When this happens, you note them using everyday language. For example when you find yourself thinking, note it as “thinking, thinking.” If you daydream, note it as “daydreaming, daydreaming.” If you imagine something, note it as “imagining, imagining.” If you find yourself considering something, note it as “considering, considering.” When the mind wanders off, note it as “wandering, wandering.” If you imagine traveling to some other place, note it as “traveling, traveling.” If you imagine meeting someone, note it as “meeting, meeting.” If you imagine speaking with someone, note it as “speaking, speaking.” Whenever you imagine seeing something or someone, repeatedly note it as “seeing, seeing,” until the mental image disappears. Then immediately return to noting the rise and fall of the abdomen.
Physical discomfort
While noting the rise and fall of the abdomen, you may feel like you want to swallow or spit out the saliva in your mouth. This should be noted as “wanting to swallow,” or “wanting to spit.” If a meditator actually swallows or spits, he or she notes it as “swallowing, swallowing” or “spitting, spitting,” and immediately returns to noting the rise and fall of the abdomen. If you want to lower your head, note it as “wanting to lower.” If you bend the neck to lower the head, note it as “bending, bending,” while continuing to focus on every movement involved. Do this slowly, not quickly. Follow the same procedure when bringing the head back up again. Afterward, go right back to the primary object of the rise and fall of the abdomen.
When an uncomfortable stiffness arises in any part of the body, focus only on the stiffness and continuously note it as “stiffness, stiffness.” Keep your noting concurrent with the actual sensation. The stiffness may slowly fade away, or it may grow even more intense. If it becomes unbearable and you want to shift your posture, note that mental state as “wanting to shift, wanting to shift.” If you actually shift your posture, continue to note each of the physical movements involved in that process. When you want to lift a limb, for example, note it as “wanting to lift.” Then, when you actually lift it, note each movement as “lifting, lifting.” When stretching it, note that as “stretching.” When bending it, note that as “bending.” When lowering it again, note that as “lowering.” Do not make any of these movements quickly, but rather make them slowly and steadily. If you feel something touching any part of the body during the movement, note it as “touching.” When you are done shifting your posture, or if the stiffness fades away without shifting your posture, immediately return to noting the rise and fall of the abdomen.
If you feel heat somewhere in your body, focus the mind on it and concurrently and continuously note it as “heat, heat.” If it fades away, return to noting the rise and fall of the abdomen. If it becomes unbearable and you want to shift your posture, note it as “wanting to shift.” If you actually shift your posture, concurrently and continuously note the entire process of lifting each limb as described above. Afterward, immediately return to noting the rise and fall of the abdomen. A meditator does not leave any gap in the flow of noting.
When a meditator feels a bodily itch, he or she focuses on it and steadily and continuously notes it as “itching, itching.” While noting it in this way, the itch may fade away. If it does, return to noting the rise and fall of the abdomen. If the itch becomes unbearable and you either want it to disappear or want to scratch it, note it as “wanting to disappear,” or “wanting to scratch.” If a meditator wants to raise his or her hand to scratch, he or she notes it as “wanting to raise.” As you actually raise your hand, note it as “raising.” Do this slowly and steadily. When touching the itchy part of your body, note it as “touching.” As you scratch, every time your hand or fingers move back and forth note it as “scratching.” When you feel like you want to stop scratching, note it as “wanting to stop.” When you want to put your hand back down, note it as “wanting to put down.” A meditator then notes “lowering, lowering” as he or she actually lowers the hand. When you feel the touch of your hand coming to rest back in its place, note it as “touching.” Immediately afterward, a meditator returns to noting their primary object, the rise and fall of the abdomen.
When any kind of unpleasant sensation arises and becomes distinct, a meditator focuses his or her mind on it and notes it accurately and steadily using everyday language such as “pain, pain,” “numb, numb,” “ache, ache,” “tired, tired,” or “dizzy, dizzy.” When you note it in this way, it may fade away or increase. If noted with patience and perseverance, it often fades away. If it becomes unbearable, ignore it and take extra care to concurrently and continuously note the rise and fall of the abdomen.