Re: update

Dear Jim,

I'm not sure what the issue is with the three-part step; as long as one
is noting a movement of the body (yathā yathā vā panassa kāyo paṇihito
hoti tathā tathā naṃ pajānāti) then it seems to be proper according to
the iriyāpathapabba. The broken walking step is also generally
considered to be acknowledgement of the dhatus as per the Visuddhimagga:

     suddhavipassanāyāniko pana ayameva vā samathayāniko
     catudhātuvavatthāne vuttānaṃ tesaṃ tesaṃ dhātupariggahamukhānaṃ
     aññataramukhavasena saṅkhepato vā vitthārato vā catasso dhātuyo
     pariggaṇhāti.

     -- Vism 18.1


The source for the three-step walking is actually an adaptation of the
six-step walking as enjoined by the Vism and commentary to the
Satipatthana Sutta (Sampajannapabba). The three-step is used for
beginner yogis; when concentration is advanced, the meditator may be
given four, five, or even six parts to the step.

Here are the sources:

     710. evaṃ āropetvā puna tasmiṃyeva rūpe
     abhikkamapaṭikkamāalokanavilokanasamiñjanapasāraṇavasena —
     “abhikkame pavattarūpaṃ paṭikkamaṃ appatvā tattheva nirujjhati.
     paṭikkame pavattarūpaṃ ālokanaṃ. ālokane pavattarūpaṃ vilokanaṃ.
     vilokane pavattarūpaṃ samiñjanaṃ. samiñjane pavattarūpaṃ pasāraṇaṃ
     appatvā tattheva nirujjhati. tasmā aniccaṃ dukkhamanattā”ti
     tilakkhaṇaṃ āropeti.

     tato ekapadavāraṃ uddharaṇa
     atiharaṇavītiharaṇavossajjanasannikkhepanasannirumbhanavasena cha
     koṭṭhāse karoti.

     tattha uddharaṇaṃ nāma pādassa bhūmito ukkhipanaṃ. atiharaṇaṃ nāma
     purato haraṇaṃ. vītiharaṇaṃ nāma khāṇukaṇṭakadīghajātiādīsu
     kiñcideva disvā ito cito ca pādasañcāraṇaṃ. vossajjanaṃ nāma pādassa
     heṭṭhā oropanaṃ. sannikkhepanaṃ nāma pathavītale ṭhapanaṃ.
     sannirumbhanaṃ nāma puna pāduddharaṇakāle pādassa pathaviyā saddhiṃ
     abhinippīḷanaṃ. tattha uddharaṇe pathavīdhātu āpodhātūti dve dhātuyo
     omattā honti mandā, itarā dve adhimattā honti balavatiyo. tathā
     atiharaṇavītiharaṇesu. vossajjane tejodhātu vāyodhātūti dve dhātuyo
     omattā honti mandā, itarā dve adhimattā honti balavatiyo. tathā
     sannikkhepanasannirumbhanesu. evaṃ cha koṭṭhāse katvā tesaṃ vasena
     tasmiṃ vayovuḍḍhatthaṅgamarūpe tilakkhaṇaṃ āropeti.

     kathaṃ? so iti paṭisañcikkhati — “yā uddharaṇe pavattā dhātuyo, yāni
     ca tadupādāyarūpāni, sabbe te dhammā atiharaṇaṃ appatvā ettheva
     nirujjhanti, tasmā aniccā dukkhā anattā. tathā atiharaṇe pavattā
     vītiharaṇaṃ. vītiharaṇe pavattā vossajjanaṃ. vossajjane pavattā
     sannikkhepanaṃ. sannikkhepane pavattā sannirumbhanaṃ appatvā ettheva
     nirujjhanti. iti tattha tattha uppannā itaraṃ itaraṃ koṭṭhāsaṃ
     appatvā tattha tattheva pabbaṃ pabbaṃ sandhi sandhi odhi odhi hutvā
     tattakapāle pakkhittatilā viya taṭataṭāyantā saṅkhārā bhijjanti.
     tasmā aniccā dukkhā anattā”ti. tassevaṃ pabbapabbagate saṅkhāre
     vipassato rūpasammasanaṃ sukhumaṃ hoti.

     -- Vism. 20.4

and:

     tassevaṃ abhikkamato ekekapāduddharaṇe pathavīdhātu āpodhātūti dve
     dhātuyo omattā honti mandā, itarā dve adhimattā honti balavatiyo,
     tathā atiharaṇavītiharaṇesu. vossajjane tejovāyodhātuyo omattā honti
     mandā, itarā dve adhimattā honti balavatiyo. tathā
     sannikkhepanasannirumbhanesu. tattha uddharaṇe pavattā
     rūpārūpadhammā atiharaṇaṃ na pāpuṇanti. tathā atiharaṇe pavattā
     vītiharaṇaṃ, vītiharaṇe pavattā vossajjanaṃ, vossajjane pavattā
     sannikkhepanaṃ, sannikkhepane pavattā sannirumbhanaṃ na pāpuṇanti.
     tattha tattheva pabbaṃ pabbaṃ sandhi sandhi odhi odhi hutvā
     tattakapāle pakkhittatilāni viya paṭapaṭāyantā bhijjanti. tattha ko
     eko abhikkamati? kassa vā ekassa abhikkamanaṃ? paramatthato hi
     dhātūnaṃyeva gamanaṃ, dhātūnaṃ ṭhānaṃ, dhātūnaṃ nisajjanaṃ, dhātūnaṃ
     sayanaṃ, tasmiṃ tasmiñhi koṭṭhāse saddhiṃ rūpena —

     aññaṃ uppajjate cittaṃ, aññaṃ cittaṃ nirujjhati.

     avīcimanusambandho, nadīsotova vattatīti.

     evaṃ abhikkamādīsu asammuyhanaṃ asammohasampajaññaṃ nāmāti.

     niṭṭhito abhikkante paṭikkante sampajānakārī hotīti padassa attho.

     -- MN-a 10.5

Here's Soma Thera's translation of the MN-a above

     In raising up the foot *A* /[paduddharane]/ two processes
     /[dhatuyo]/: extension /[pathavi]/ and cohesion /[apo],/ are low,
     weak /[omatta honti dubbala],/ and the other two processes:
     caloricity /[tejo]/ and oscillation /[vayo]/ are high, powerful
     /[adhimatta honti balavatiyo];/ so, too, in stretching out the foot
     *B* [atiharane] and in shifting away the foot *C* /[vitiharane]./
     But in dropping down the raised foot *D* /[vossajjane],/ and
     likewise in keeping the foot on the ground *E* /[sannikkhepane]/ and
     in pressing the foot against the ground *F* /[sannirumbhane]/ the
     first two processes are high and powerful and the second, low and
     weak. There, the material and mental phenomena in *A* do not occur
     in *B*; those in *B* do not occur in *C*; those in *C* do not occur
     in *D*; those in *D* do not occur in *E*; those in *E* do not occur
     in *F*. These phenomena after coming into existence in the form of
     several sections, links, and parts, break quickly just in those
     places, crackling like sesamum seeds thrown into a heated pan. In
     this matter, who is the one that goes forward, or whose going
     forward is there? In the highest sense /(paramatthato)/ what takes
     place is the going, the standing, the sitting down and the lying
     down of the processes. With material form in the several divisions
     (groups or parts),

     One conscious state arises
     And quite another ceases,
     In sequence, like a river's flow,
     These states (of mind and matter) go.

     -- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html#going


So, it is quite according to the canon and commentaries to teach this
mindfulness of the parts of the walking step, I think (as does the
Mahasi Sayadaw, et al).

Welcome back :)

Best wishes,

Yuttadhammo

On 08/04/2012 09:30 PM, Jim Anderson wrote:
> I should explain how my motivation to study the Iriyāpathapabba with its
> aṭṭhakathā & ṭikā came about. Mid-way during the 9-day retreat with Ven. U
> Thitzana in June, he gave us some instructions on the walking practice
> which
> included mentally labelling the three parts of moving one step at a time
> (i.e. lifting, pushing, dropping). I asked him for a canonical source for
> this practice and he quoted "gacchanto vā gacchāmīti pajānaāti" and also
> mentioned the Mahasi Sayadaw. It has since become an issue for me as I
> tend
> to be wary of so-called Buddhist pracitces that seemingly have no basis or
> support in the canonical or commentarial sources. The commentarial
> teaching
> on the modes of deportment as I see it so far is mostly about knocking out
> the notion of a Self in the varying postures one assumes. I have no
> trouble
> going along with that.



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