Great Good of Mindfulness Directed to the Body

Monks, those who do not take part in mindfulness directed to the body do not take part in the deathless (Enlightenment). Those who take part in mindfulness directed to the body take part in the deathless (Enlightenment).

Monks, those who are unattentive about mindfulness directed to the body are unattentive about the deathless (Enlightenment). Those who are attentive about mindfulness directed to the body are attentive about the deathless (Enlightenment).

(Reference: AN 1.616)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the importance of mindfulness of bodily sensations, or “mindfulness directed to the body”, in training the mind towards the attainment of Enlightenment.

“The Deathless” is another way of referring to Enlightenment. One who has attained Enlightenment has escaped The Cycle of Rebirth and will no longer experience the constant rounds of birth, sickness, aging, and death. Therefore, The Buddha is referring to one who has attained Enlightenment as “The Deathless”.

Having attained Enlightenment in this life, a being is so peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy that the mind never experiences any discontent feelings. The mind has eliminated 100% of all fears, including the fear of death. For the rest of one’s life, they will never again experience any discontent feelings. So, at the time of their last death, there is no death. The physical body dies and the mind separates from the physical body, referred to as “Final Enlightenment”.

Therefore, because there is “no you”, (i.e. an Enlightened being has realized The Universal Truth of Non-self), then “you” have not died but instead, the body and mind have just separated. This is referred to as “the breaking-up of the body after death”. It is the physical body that dies and the mind that separates from the physical body at death. But, for one who has attained Enlightenment, there is no longer any rebirth through The Cycle of Rebirth, therefore, an Enlightened being is considered to be “The Deathless”.

If one is “unattentive about mindfulness directed to the body”, then they are “unattentive about the deathless (Enlightenment)”. In other words, one who does not develop mindfulness of bodily sensations is complacent towards the attainment of Enlightenment.

If one is “attentive about mindfulness directed to the body”, then they are “attentive about the deathless (Enlightenment)”. In other words, one who does develop mindfulness of bodily sensations is diligent towards the attainment of Enlightenment.

The Buddha left The Teachings of what happens when one attains Enlightenment and dies as an “undeclared” Teaching. He did not share what does or does not happen once Enlightenment is attained and there is death.

I suspect The Buddha did this for one of these reasons:

1.) The Buddha only ever taught what he had direct knowledge of and had experienced for himself. Because he had never attained Enlightenment and died, he may not have known what was next, if anything, so therefore he left what happens after the death of an Enlightened being as “undeclared”.

2.) If The Buddha was aware that there is something next after a being has attained Enlightenment and dies, it must be as good or better than Enlightenment itself. If there is something that does happen after death of an Enlightened being, The Buddha could have wisely left this as an “undeclared” Teaching so that the unEnlightened mind does not develop a craving/desire/attachment (i.e. mental longing with a strong eagerness) for what may come after death.

An unEnlightened Practitioner has so many cravings/desires/attachments to eliminate from the mind, a wise Teacher who knows of something beneficial that comes after the death of an Enlightened being would not provide Teachings on what that is as a way of ensuring their Students do not develop a craving/desire/attachment for any potential afterlife. Gotama Buddha, if he did know of something that does come next, wisely left this as an undeclared Teaching ensuring his Students did not develop a craving/desire/attachment for any potential afterlife hindering Enlightenment. The goal of a Teacher who is sharing Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment, and definitely the goal of a Buddha, is to guide Students to Enlightenment. Through leaving any potential discussion of an afterlife as undeclared, this would be a compassionate way to ensure one’s Teachings are not creating hindrances towards the attainment of Enlightenment but instead, eliminates any and all hindrances through sharing The Teachings that do lead to Enlightenment.

3.) The Buddha only ever shared Teachings that lead to Enlightenment. While all the wisdom a Buddha acquires as part of their independent journey to Enlightenment is represented by all the leaves in all the trees of the forest, what is needed to attain Enlightenment is represented only by the few leaves collected in one’s hands.

If there is something that happens for an Enlightened being after death, knowing that is not required for the attainment of Enlightenment. Only those Teachings that are needed for the attainment of Enlightenment need to be shared with Students so they can focus the mind on learning, reflecting, and practicing those Teachings. Anything beyond that, would just be distracting and potentially take away from the core and central Path to Enlightenment.

An Enlightened being’s mind is so peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy residing only in the present moment, an Enlightened being is not going to care or be concerned with what is next after death. They have overcome the most significant challenge ever, which is to eliminate 100% of all discontentedness in the mind. Having attained that goal through determination, dedication, and diligence to one’s practice and having overcome the fear of death, an Enlightened being is not going to care what is next, if anything at all.

At death, an Enlightened being will not be reborn in The Cycle of Rebirth. There is no reason to ever share what may or may not happen to an Enlightened being after death.