Ten Perceptions for Curing of an Affliction

If, Ānanda, you visit the Monk Girimānanda and speak to him about ten perceptions, it is possible that on hearing about them his sickness will immediately subside.

What are the ten?

(1) The perception of impermanence,

(2) the perception of non-self,

(3) the perception of unattractiveness of the body,

(4) the perception of danger,

(5) the perception of abandoning,

(6) the perception of freedom from strong feelings,

(7) the perception of elimination,

(8) the perception of non-delight in the entire world,

(9) the perception of impermanence in all conditioned mental objects, and

(10) Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation).

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(1) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of impermanence?

Here, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, a Monk reflects thus: form is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, perception is impermanent, volitional formations (choices/decisions) are impermanent, consciousness is impermanent. Thus he resides reflecting on impermanence in these five aggregates subject to clinging.

This is called the perception of impermanence.

(2) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of non-self?

Here, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, a Monk reflects thus: The eye is non-self, forms are non-self; the ear is non-self, sounds are non-self; the nose is non-self, odors are non-self; the tongue is non-self, flavors are non-self; the body is non-self, physical objects are non self; the mind is non-self, mental objects are non-self. Thus he resides reflecting on non-self in these six internal and external sense bases.

This is called the perception of non-self.

(3) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of unattractiveness of the body?

Here, a Monk reviews this very body upward from the soles of the feet and downward from the tips of the hairs, enclosed in skin, as full of many kinds of impurities: There are in this body hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones. bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, stomach, excrement, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, mucus, fluid of the joints, urine. Thus he resides reflecting on unattractiveness in this body.

This is called the perception of unattractiveness of the body.

(4) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of danger?

Here, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, a Monk reflects thus: This body is the source of much pain and danger; for all sorts of afflictions arise in this body, that is, eye-disease, disease of the inner ear, nose-disease, tongue-disease, body-disease, head-disease, disease of the external ear, mouth-disease, tooth-disease, cough, asthma, catarrh, pyrexia, fever, stomach ache, fainting, dysentery, gripes, cholera, leprosy boils, eczema, tuberculosis, epilepsy, ringworm, itch, scab, chickenpox, scabies, hemorrhage, diabetes, hemorrhoids, cancer, fistula, illnesses originating from bile, phlegm, wind, or their combination: illnesses produced by change of climate; illnesses produced by careless behavior; illnesses produced by assault; or illnesses produced as the result of (unwholesome) Kamma; and cold, heat, hunger, thirst, defecation, and urination. Thus he resides reflecting on danger in this body.

This is called the perception of danger.

(5) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of abandoning?

Here, a Monk does not tolerate an arisen sensual thought; he abandons it, dispels it, terminates it, and obliterates it. He does not tolerate an arisen thought of ill will... an arisen thought of harming ... evil unwholesome states whenever they arise; he abandons them, dispels them, terminates them, and obliterates them.

This is called the perception of abandoning.

(6) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of freedom from strong feelings?

Here, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, a Monk reflects thus: This is peaceful, this is superb, that is, the stilling of mind activities, the letting go of all greed, the destruction of craving, freedom from strong feelings, Nibbāna (Enlightenment).

This is called the perception of freedom from strong feelings.

(7) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of elimination?

Here, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, a Monk reflects thus: This is peaceful, this is superb, that is, the stilling of mind activities, the letting go of all greed, the destruction of craving, elimination, Nibbāna (Enlightenment).

This is called the perception of elimination.

(8) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of non-excitement in the entire world?

Here, a Monk refrains from any engagement and clinging, mental standpoints, adherences, and underlying tendencies in regard to the world, abandoning them without clinging to them.

This is called the perception of non-excitement in the entire world.

(9) And what, Ānanda, is the perception of impermanence in all conditioned mental objects?

Here, a Monk is repelled, unenthusiastic, and disinterested by all conditioned mental objects.

This is called the perception of impermanence in all conditioned mental objects.

(10) And what Ānanda, is Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation)?

Here, a Monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down. Having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and established mindfulness in front of him, just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.

Breathing in long, he knows: I breathe in long; or breathing out long,

he knows: I breathe out long.

Breathing in short, he knows: I breathe in short; or breathing out short,

he knows: I breathe out short.

He trains thus: Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Calming the bodily activity, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Calming the bodily activity, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing joy, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing joy, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing peacefulness, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing peacefulness, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing the mental activity, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing the mental activity, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Calming the mental activity, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Calming the mental activity, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Experiencing the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Experiencing the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Gladdening the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Gladdening the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Concentrating the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Concentrating the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Liberating the mind, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Liberating the mind, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on impermanence, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on impermanence, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on fading away, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on fading away, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on elimination, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on elimination, I will breathe out.

He trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe out.

This is called Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation).

If, Ānanda, you visit the Monk Girimānanda and speak to him about these ten perceptions, it is possible that on hearing about them he will immediately recover from his sickness.

Then, when the Venerable Ānanda had learned these ten perceptions from The Perfectly Enlightened One, he went to the Venerable Girimānanda and spoke to him about them. When the Venerable Girimānanda heard about these ten perceptions, his sickness immediately subsided. The Venerable Girimānanda recovered from that sickness, and that is how he was cured of his sickness.

(Reference: AN 10.60)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares ten perceptions to develop and cultivate as part of one’s life practice.

(1) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of The Universal Truth of Impermanence of The Five Aggregates of form, feelings, perceptions, volitional formations (choices/decisions), and consciousness.

The Buddha’s Teachings on The Four Noble Truths shares that discontentedness is clinging to The Five Aggregates. It is training the mind to “let go” of these Five Aggregates that the mind can eliminate all discontentedness.

Developing the perception of impermanence of The Five Aggregates can train the mind to “let go” of The Five Aggregates because if the mind is attempting to hold on to them, realizing that it is not possible to do so can train the mind to “let them go”.

Detailed explanation of The Universal Truth of Impermanence is available in this same book series found in Chapter 4 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(2) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of The Universal Truth of Non-self helping the mind to understand that The Six Sense Bases are “not the self”.

Detailed explanation of The Universal Truth of Non-self is available in this same book series found in Chapter 4 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(3) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of unattractiveness of the body as described in a previous Chapter. The Buddha also taught the Thirty-Two (32) Body Part Meditation to help a Practitioner develop the perception of unattractiveness of the body. This mediation could potentially be utilized to develop unattractiveness of the body helping to eliminate the fetters of “personal existence view” and “sensual desire”. This meditation can also help to reduce or eliminate the craving for sexual contact.

(4) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of danger related to bodily illness helping the mind “let go” of the fetter of “personal existence view” and “desire for form”.

As long as one craves existence, the being will continue to wander and roam throughout The Cycle of Rebirth experiencing continuous rebirth and discontentedness.

(5) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of abandoning or “relinquishment”.

As part of Right Intention in The Teaching of The Eight Fold Path, The Buddha explains that a Practitioner needs to practice the intention of relinquishment, non-ill-will, and harmlessness. In this Teaching, he explains that as these unwholesome mental states arise that one will need to “cut them off and let them go” or in other words, “abandons it, dispels it, terminates it, and obliterates it”.

Through staying watchful over the mind using Right Mindfulness, a Practitioner can then apply Right Effort to skillfully eliminate any arising unwholesome mental qualities and arise wholesome mental qualities.

(6) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of freedom from strong feelings.

The Buddha describes that as one develops their meditation practice and prepares for meditation, they should reflect how “this is peaceful, this is superb, that is, the stilling of mind activities, the letting go of all greed, the destruction of craving, freedom from strong feelings, Nibbāna (Enlightenment)”.

This will help to still the mind and quiet excessive thoughts prior to meditation as one works towards the elimination of all discontentedness or “strong feelings”.

(7) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of elimination.

The Buddha describes that as one develops their meditation practice and prepares for meditation, they should reflect how “this is peaceful, this is superb, that is, the stilling of mind activities, the letting go of all greed, the destruction of craving, elimination, Nibbāna (Enlightenment)”.

This will help to still the mind and quiet excessive thoughts prior to meditation as one works towards the elimination of all discontentedness.

(8) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of non-excitement in the entire world.

Detailed explanation of “non-excitement in the entire world” is available in this same book series found in Chapter 35 of the book “Walking The Path with The Buddha” (Volume 2).

(9) A Practitioner will need to develop the perception of impermanence in all conditioned mental objects.

A conditioned mental object is a mental state arising in the mind based on an impermanent condition. The mental object will arise, change, and then cease to exist - it is impermanent.

The Buddha explains that a Practitioner will need to develop an understanding of impermanence of all conditioned mental objects and be disinterested in them.

(10) A Practitioner will need to develop a practice of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation as described throughout this book and Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).