Only With Sense Control That One Can Fulfill The Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Monks, save one (and not) give up six things, he cannot become one who resides in reflecting on the body as body.

What six?

(1) Excitement in activity,

(2) (Excitement in) gossip,

(3) (Excitement in) sleep,

(4) (Excitement in) company,

(5) Being without a guard on the sense-doors, and

(6) Immoderate in eating.

Surely, Monks, save one (and not) give up these six, he cannot become one who resides in reflecting on the body as body. But one surely can if one gives up these six.

(Reference: AN 6.117)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares six things that need to be eliminated from one’s life practice to be able to develop The Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

(1) Excitement in activity: If there is craving/desire/attachment for certain activities, the mind will experience the arising of pleasant feelings such as excitement. This is due to lack of sense control through The Six Sense Bases. Through training the mind to have restraint, a Practitioner can then participate in activities and enjoy activities but is able to do so without craving/desire/attachment.

(2) (Excitement in) gossip: If there is craving/desire/attachment to gossip, the mind will experience the arising of pleasant feelings such as excitement. This is due to lack of sense control through The Six Sense Bases. Through training the mind to have restraint, a Practitioner can eliminate the craving/desire/attachment to gossiping.

(3) (Excitement in) sleep: If there is craving/desire/attachment to sleep, the mind will experience the arising of pleasant feelings such as excitement. This is due to lack of sense control through The Six Sense Bases. Through training the mind to have restraint, a Practitioner can eliminate the craving/desire/attachment to sleep while still being able to relax and rest as needed to eliminate tiredness.

(4) (Excitement in) company: If there is craving/desire/attachment for friends or family to visit you, the mind will experience the arising of pleasant feelings such as excitement. This is due to lack of sense control through The Six Sense Bases. Through training the mind to have restraint, a Practitioner can then enjoy visits by friends and family but is able to do so without craving/desire/attachment.

(5) Being without a guard on the sense-doors: A Practitioner will need to develop the ability to guard the doorways to discontentedness through restraint of the mind through The Six Sense Bases. Mindfulness or awareness of mind is what guards the mind. A Practitioner will need to be watchful of the mind during all waking hours.

(6) Immoderate in eating: A Practitioner will need to develop the ability to eat in moderation rather than eat based on emotions. The Buddha guided Students to eat enough to eliminate hunger pain but not to indulge in overeating. Overeating is based in craving/desire/attachment with a lack of control of The Six Sense Bases. Through training the mind to eat in moderation, a Practitioner can gain control of The Six Sense Bases resulting in improved mental discipline.

A Practitioner will need to eliminate the cravings/desires/attachments to excitement in activities, gossip, sleep, company, and guard the sense-doors while training the mind to eat in moderation. Through accomplishing this goal, a being can develop and cultivate The Four Foundations of Mindfulness leading to Enlightenment.

Detailed explanation of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness is available in this same book series found in Chapter 5 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).