Path of Freedom [Vimuttimagga]

166 Vimuttimaggaof thought suppressed in mindfulness of respiration, and not the other ?A. It 1 is used here in a different sense. Discursiveness is a hindrance tomeditation, jhana. In this sense, it 2 is suppressed.Why is air contact pleasant ? Because it calms the mind. It is comparableto the soothing of a heavenly musician's (gandhabba's) mind with sweetsounds. By this discursive thinking is suppressed. And again, it is like aperson walking along the bank of a river. His mind is collected, is directedtowards one object and does not wander. Therefore in mindfulness ofrespiration, the suppression of discursive thinking is taught. 3Mindfulness of respiration has ended. 4 "MINDFULNESS OF DEATHQ. What is mindfulness of death? What is the practising of it? Whatare its salient characteristic, function and near cause? What are its benefits?What is the procedure?A. The cutting off of the life-faculty — this is called death. The undisturbedmindfulness of this — this is called the practising of it. The cuttingoff of one's life is its salient characteristic. Disagreeableness is its function.Well-being is its near cause.What are its benefits ? He who practises mindfulness of death is possessedof diligence as regards the higher meritorious states, and of dislike as regardsthe demeritorious. He does not hoard clothes and ornaments. He is notstingy. He is able to live long, does not cling to things, is endowed with theperception of impermanence, the perception of subjection to ill and the perceptionof not-self. He fares well and approaches the ambrosial. When hecomes to die, he does not suffer bewilderment.What is the procedure ? The new yogin enters a place of solitude andguards his thoughts. He considers the death of beings with mind undistractedthus: "I shall die; I shall enter the realm of death; I shall not escape death".Thus it is taught in the Nettipada Sutta: 5 "If a man wishes to meditate ondeath, he should contemplate a person who is on the point of being killedand he should know the causes of death".Here there are four kinds in mindfulness of death: (1) Associated withanxiety. (2) Associated with fear. (3) Associated with indifference.(4) Associated with wisdom.The mindfulness associated with the loss of one's own beloved child isassociated with anxiety. The mindfulness connected with the sudden death1. and 2. indicate vitakka.3. (a) Vis. Mag. 291 quotes A. IV, 353: Anapdnasati bhdvetabbd vitakkupaccheddya.(6) A. Ill, 449: Cetaso vikkhepassa pahdndya anapdnasati bhdvetabbd.4. This and the subsequent passages in italics in this section do not occur in the SungDynasty edition mentioned earlier.5. Transliteration, Netri-pada-sutra; probably refers to Netri-pada-sdstra of Upagupta referredto in Abhidharmakosa sdstra.