Effects of body awareness

​Establishing mindfulness of the body very calmly and fully has wide-ranging, transformative effects on the mind. Below is a set of tables in which these
effects are listed. The state and dynamics of the different aspects of the mind
are described with the body relatively absent (in the normal case of the
untrained mind) opposite the case where the body is fully present in the mind
(when mindfulness of the body is very clearly established).

Each row in the tables is a progression from the previous one representing
mindfulness practise (the domain in the left column) or its fruit (the right
column) going deeper and deeper.

​Body is not present in the mind	Body is present in the mind
Only pleasant and unpleasant feelings are present – The body is only recognised by these feelings and has no presence  of its own	​Neutral feeling is present – the body has ‘presence’
Posture (and movement) are merely automatic/habitual	Posture – aware of (and in control of) how you are sitting standing or lying
In activity the body is projected out into the world, it is  merely a tool	​ In activity a background awareness remains
Aware only of the purpose of movement	​Aware (and in control of) active movement
Aware only of yielding to an outside force of some kind	Aware of (and in control of) movement which is allowed
Not aware of the breath	Aware of the breath
The body is sensed as feelings only	Elements are sensed – the consistency of the body parts,  hard or soft etc.
The outer appearance of the body of is seen as an impression of like or dislike	The outside of the body is seen neutrally as hair of the head, hair of the body, nails teeth and skin
The inside of the body is ignored or referred to only in  relation to some purpose	The inside of the bodies is imagined just as it is, just as being present
Only feelings are sensed within the body	An imagined image of an inner body part is stable
Samādhi is experienced as clear outer awareness or space (upacāra)	We experience an ‘external bodily nimitta’ – a calm,  clear, stable image of the inner reality of the bodies of  others
Samādhi is experienced as clear inner awareness or space (appanā)	​We experience an ‘internal bodily nimitta’ – a calm clear, stable image of the inside of our own body

Absent body as it influences physical feeling	Present body as it influences physical feeling
Pain increases as the mind focuses on feeling	Pain diminishes or stays the same
​Suffering increases as the mind resists the feeling	​Perspective on or relationship to pain changes, causing  less suffering
​Mind sees body and physical feeling as the same	Mind sees body and physical feeing as different
Body is assumed to be real, material	Body image is immaterial
​Bodily inner parts or organs are absent so that physical  feelings are experienced ‘in the dark’	Bodily inner parts or organs are present in awareness so that feelings are seen, in a new light, as separate from that which feels them, also the ultimate impermanence of feeling is seen as it is experienced

​Absent body as it influences mental feeling	​Present body as it influences mental feeling
Suffering increases as the feeling is trapped inside	Perspective on or relationship to pain changes causing less of suffering – feelings arise in an open mind
Bodily organs are absent so that emotional feelings are  experienced ‘in the dark’	​The inside of the body is present. The emotion is experienced in a new light and either sublimated or if the emotion still arises, it appears transformed and  outside, related to the object (real, remembered or imagined) that was or is its source
We are attracted to an object or drawn into an activity and lose the background awareness of the body	Through the lack of desire, dispassion, we experience in the context of seeing the reality of the body, we are not drawn in and we sustain the body in background awareness. We therefore experience the new object of desire in this context
​When we are averse to an object or activity, this throws us back into our feelings	The cool awareness of dispassion is unaffected by an  unpleasant object
​We notice the breath only as air entering and leaving	The breath is sensed throughout the body and calms feeling
Our feelings about our body influence the feelings we  experience inside them – we are not aware that this is the  case	​The emotional feelings we have in the body are seen as the results of an action of body or mind in the same  way as physical feelings
Feelings are trapped in the body	​Feelings are released and experienced in an open field  of awareness that extends beyond the body

​Absent body as it influences the quality of the mind itself	​ Present body  as it influences the quality of the  mind itself
The body is merely a tool of the mind	Mind is composed, control of the body helps to  control the mind
​Feeling and therefore the mind are restricted to, trapped in the body	Mind is centred and movements of the mind out into  the world are clearly seen
Mind moves with feeling, is never at rest, vibrates with  the heat of passion	​Mind becomes still through resting on the body, is cool with dispassion
Mind focuses through grasping feeling	Mind is open, mind sees the mind
The focussed mind is dark and therefore blind	Mind is open, bright and sees
​Mind is bound to the feeling of material elements	Mind is released from the actual material elements
We always have thoughts or feelings about the body  that prevent us from accepting it the way it is	We can accept the body as it is in bare awareness
Mind is in the body	​Body is in the open mind
The body is a source of fear to the mind	​The body is a natural source of wisdom in the mind
The body is a source of desire and craving to the mind	The body is a natural source of compassion in the  mind
We experience the suffering of attachment to the body	​We experience freedom from suffering – the mind  detached from the body – the body remains present
We are in denial of our own mortality	​ We are aware of and accept the mortality of the body – we see death but also see the deathless

​Absent body as it influences thought	Present body as it influences thought
Unless the body is a theme in thought the body is  absent from consideration	The body is taken into account in all consideration
​Only relative impermanence is seen	Absolute impermanence is seen
​Only relative impersonality is seen	Absolute impersonality is seen
Thought is experienced as located in the head in subjective experience, as and when we are understanding it to be so	Thought is freed from being trapped in the head
​Ignorance naturally arises	Wise thought naturally arises
Craving naturally arises	​ Compassionate thought naturally arises

​Absent body as it influences sense of self	Present body as it influences sense of self
​We assume that our automatic pilot knows how to  operate the body	As we take over supervision from the automatic pilot  we realise that we don’t know our own bodies so well – the sense of self in relation to it diminishes
We are not aware of the sense organs themselves as we use them – giving the impression of a subject or self independent of the body	Sense organ is present in awareness so for example we are aware of the eye that sees – there is no sense of self that results
We look for solutions to sickness or ageing – the body  is represented as a problem to get over	​We are clearly aware of the processes of sickness and ageing and our limited ability to change these – we see  these as facts of nature

​I offer this for your reflection

Ajahn Kalyāno
http://www.openthesky.co.uk