Vipassana Meditation : Lectures On Insight Meditation by Venerable

it is concentrated on it for a moment but when the concentration becomescontinuous and constant/ stronger and deeper, that concentration is 'RightConcentration' (Samma-samadhi). It is natural for the mind to wander in thebeginning of the practice. However much effort a meditator makes, the minddoes not stay with the movement of the foot at first. Then, one of the mentalstates which arises together with the mindfulness of the movement of the footleads the mind to the object of meditation, i.e. the movement of the foot. Thatmental state which leads the mind to the object of meditation is 'RightThought' (Samma-sankappa). The characteristic of 'Right Thought' is thedirecting of the mind to the object of meditation. In this way, the mindbecomes well concentrated on the object of meditation, the movement of thefoot. Then, it penetrates into the true nature of the physical process of themovement - knowing it as a natural process. That knowing or thatunderstanding of it as a natural process is 'Right Understanding' (Sammaditthi).Thus, we have developed five mental factors of the Noble EightfoldPath when we are mindful of the movement of the foot. These are:-1. Samma-vayama (Right Effort)2. Samma-sati (Right Mindfulness)3. Samma-samadhi (Right Concentration)4. Samma-sankappa (Right Thought)5. Samma-ditthi (Right Understanding)These five mental factors are included in mindfulness of the mind-bodyprocesses as they are. While engaged in mindfulness meditation, we abstainfrom wrong speech, wrong action and wrong livelihood. Abstention fromwrong speech means 'Right Speech' (Samma-vacca); abstention from wrongaction means 'Right Action' (Samma-kammanta); abstention from wronglivelihood means 'Right Livelihood' (Samma-ajiva). So we have altogether theeight mental factors of the Noble Eightfold Path while we are being mindful ofany mental or physical process. As we develop the Noble Eightfold Path, wecan remove false view (sakkaya-ditthi or atta-ditthi) by the power of RightUnderstanding (Samma-ditthi), one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path.So when a meditator enters into the first path, Sotapatti-magga, he hascompletely developed the Noble Eightfold Path - Magga-sacca, the way leadingto the cessation of the suffering. This is how he has the Four Noble Truths bymeans of cultivating mindfulness of mental and physical processes in their truenature.End of Chapter One10