> -----Original Message-----
> From: rett [mailto:rett@...]
> Sent: Thursday, 12 February, 2004 5:28 PM
> To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [Pali] mindfulness as watchman or gatekeeper

Hi Rett and all

Hope you are well and happy.

> >Has anyone else noticed that this kind of practice
> [mindfulness as just
> >seeing things as they arise and pass, guarding the sense
> doors] seems
> >to be what the Buddha identified as the first of the four right
> >efforts?:
>
> My conviction is

:-) well said

> that mindfulness would be more like the faculty that
> organizes and enables our practice of all four of the four right
> efforts.

I would agree as mindfulness i.e. awareness, which I see is broarder
than the mindfulness as I was taught in the Mahaasi Vipassanaa tradition
[and what I know of the Goenka tradition], but as the latter, I see it
fits more with only the first of the four right efforts. :-)

As Dr Rod Bucknell points out at
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~jousmith/buddhism/analysis/lis07_09.html:

"guarding the six sense-doors, consists in preventing the arising of
unskilful mental states in response to stimuli received through the five
bodily senses and the mind (D i 70). Now the sixth Noble Eightfold
path-factor, right effort (samma-vayama) comprises the four exertions
(padhana):

preventing the arising of unskilful mental states,

eliminating already arisen unskilful states,

encouraging the arising of unarisen skilful states, and

preserving and developing already arisen skilful states.

The first of these four, called the exertion of prevention
(samvara-padhana), is identical with guarding the sense-doors (D iii
226-7)."

The way I was taught mindfulness equates to me in practice, to guarding
the sense doors. :-)

I understand your conviction Rett, but how does it relate to your
experience?

----------------------------------------------------
Wishing peace and good health to you and those close to you from
Norman Joseph (Jou) Smith

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