Intention, Motivation, Acceptance, Reinforcement
Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book… © Mahabodhi Burton 6 minute read This excerpt is from the chapter ‘The Undiscovered Foundations’ and it explores further ways in which the Four Foundations of Mindfulness condition each other: such as through the processes of intention, motivation, acceptance and reinforcement. It also explores how the Foundations combine: for instance as sources of tension, relaxation, and so on. This excerpt follows on directly from Mindfulness and Conditionality: views. ix Secondary conditional relations These twelve ‘processes’ illustrate the primary processes in play between the four foundations. For completion, it is important also to extend the Conditionality model to include all the ‘secondary’ processes that exist between the foundations and the primary processes associated with them. Here are some examples; INTENTION Intention is the process by which emotion is conditioned by the presence of views. Views—–Intention—–>Emotion Our emotion—in the sense of our wanting—can be quite vague; we vaguely want to amass pleasurable experiences and to avoid painful ones. The clearer our view is about what will bring us happiness, the more we can form an intention. For instance, we might be clear that it will be beneficial to us to meditate at 7am every morning and might set an intention to do just that. This intention will condition our emotion to do so. However, although on the surface we might think we have set a clear intention, other views lurk beneath the surface, such as the unarticulated view that ‘comfort is the way forward.’ This view sets up a countervailing intention that leads us to want to stay in bed. If that intention is the stronger, then we stay in bed. Intention that leads to happiness An Enlightened person who holds Right View[1] possesses Skilful Intention because their views always lead to emotions which bring about happiness, for instance loving kindness. However, short of Enlightenment a person will exhibit unskilful emotions, which is evidence that they do not possess Right View and that their intentions consequently are not always skilful. Such people need to make a conscious effort to make skilful intentions and stick to them, if the world is to be as happy a place as it might be, and they do so by examining their views, conscious and unconscious. Intention that leads to suffering Obviously, an intention that leads to suffering is one that arises from a wrong view about what pursuits will lead to happiness. Although we might make an intention to do something skilful, like quit smoking or meditate regularly, we often fail, due to our subconscious intentions to do something...
Mindfulness and Conditionality: views
Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book… © Mahabodhi Burton 6 minute read This excerpt is from the chapter ‘The Undiscovered Foundations’ and it explores the way in which views condition the other Foundations of Mindfulness. This excerpt follows on directly from Mindfulness and Conditionality: mind. viii Mindfulness of views conditioning happiness / Awakening Views When we are trying to transform our views to be sources of happiness, we need to bear in mind that when the condition of views is in place—as it always is, it affects body, feeling and mental states, contributing towards Awakening or suffering in the future, through the processes of perspective, mood and thought. The Satipatthana Sutta teaches the monk to develop mindfulness of his views with regard to: The five hindrances By becoming clear about which mental states lead directly to suffering, or hinder it being overcome, and are therefore unconducive to Awakening, he is motivated to root them out. The fluid nature of his person By becoming clear that his personality is fluid, being made up of five impermanent qualities, called heaps (skandhas)—namely form, feeling, apperception, volition and consciousness, he is motivated to let go of all notions of an unchanging self. Fetters that arise to spiritual development in relation to sense experience By becoming clear that the source of happiness for himself and others does not lie in sense experience (including mental imaginings) but rather in cultivating skilful mental states in meditation, leading to pleasant spiritual feeling. The seven factors of Awakening By becoming clear about the spiritual qualities that do lead to Awakening–namely mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, ethical robustness, joy, tranquility, meditative concentration and equanimity. The four Noble Truths By becoming clear (developing insight into) how suffering is overcome, he realizes the four Noble Truths. In practising mindfulness of views, the monk ensures that the views he holds about everything pertinent are in line with reality and conducive to wisdom, to Awakening, to Nirvana. The above categories form a kind of ‘inverse hierarchy’ in terms of views. Before he can do anything, the monk needs to be clear he is in a mental state which is going to hinder his progress before he even starts. Secondly, he needs to understand that he can change. Thirdly, he needs to know to look for that change not in the ’outer world’ of the senses but in the ‘inner world’ of skilful mental states. Fourth, he needs to clarify which positive qualities he needs to develop if he is to attain Awakening. And finally, he needs to underpin his practice with wisdom, by understanding the nature of reality (in...
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