A Strong Post or Pillar Is A Designation for Mindfulness

And how, Monks, is there restraint?

Here, having seen a form with the eye, having heard a sound with the ear, having smelt an odor with the nose, having tasted a flavor with the tongue, having touched a physical object with the body, having recognized a mental object with the mind, a Monk is not intent upon a pleasing form and not repelled by a displeasing form. He resides having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind, and he understands as it really is that liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states are eliminated without remainder. It is in such a way that there is restraint.

Suppose, Monks, a man would catch six animals - with different domains and different feeding grounds - and tie them by a strong rope. He would catch a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal, and monkey, and tie each by a strong rope. Having done so, he would bind them to a strong post or pillar. Then those six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds would each pull in the direction of its own feeding ground and domain. The snake would pull one way, thinking, ‘Let me enter an anthill.’ The crocodile would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter the water.’ The bird would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me fly up into the sky.’ The dog would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a village.’ The jackal would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a charnel ground.” The monkey would pull another way, thinking, ‘Let me enter a forest.’

Now when these six animals become worn out and fatigued, they would stand close to that post or pillar, they would sit down there, they would lie down there.

So too, Monks, when a Monk has developed and cultivated mindfulness directed to the body, the eye does not pull in the direction of agreeable forms nor are disagreeable forms repulsive; the ear does not pull in the direction of agreeable sounds nor are disagreeable sounds repulsive; the nose does not pull in the direction of agreeable odors nor are disagreeable odors repulsive; the tongue does not pull in the direction of agreeable flavors nor are disagreeable flavors repulsive; the body does not pull in the direction of agreeable physical objects nor are disagreeable physical objects repulsive;

the mind does not pull in the direction of agreeable mental objects nor are disagreeable mental objects repulsive.

It is in such a way that there is restraint.

A strong post or pillar: this, Monks, is a designation for mindfulness directed to the body. Therefore, Monks, you should train yourselves thus: We will develop and cultivate mindfulness directed to the body, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it.

Thus should you train yourselves.

(Reference: SN 35.247)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how Breathing Mindfulness Meditation (i.e. “cultivate mindfulness directed to the body”) is used as a strong “post or pillar” to restrain The Six Sense Bases of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

He uses the six animals pulling in different directions to represent the six internal sense bases of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind pulling towards the six external sense bases of forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical objects, and mental objects. If the mind is unrestrained allowing the mind to pull towards the objects of its affection, the mind will continue to experience discontentedness.

Through training the mind to be restrained by focusing on the arising bodily sensations as the “post or pillar” then as discontentedness arises, the Practitioner can observe those bodily sensations and cut off and let go of the discontentedness, thus, working to eliminate the cravings/desires/attachments that caused the discontentedness. By no longer allowing the mind to pull towards the objects of its affection, it is restrained and the mind will eliminate discontentedness.

A Practitioner who trains the mind in Breathing Mindfulness Meditation will be able to train the mind to cut off thoughts and let them go gaining more and more mental discipline of the mind being aware of the bodily sensations that precede the arising of discontentedness. In this way, one gains the ability to cut off and let go of cravings/ desires/attachments of the mind that are pulling towards forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical objects, and mental objects to eliminate discontentedness.

It is the mind’s mental longing with a strong eagerness towards the six external sense bases through the six internal sense bases that is the cause of the discontent mind. The mind craves pleasant feelings and when it gets the object of its affection, it experiences happiness, excitement, and elation but the mind is discontent. If the mind does not acquire the objects of its affection, it experiences sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, etc. - painful feelings. Or, the mind might experience feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant such as boredom, loneliness, shyness, displeased, uncomfortable, unsatisfied. All of these feelings and others are indications of a discontent mind.

It is only when one deeply learns, reflects, and practices these Teachings while training the mind using techniques such as Breathing Mindfulness Meditation that the mind will be liberated through wisdom from the discontent feelings experienced in the unEnlightened mind. Then in the moment as the mind experiences the arising of bodily sensations indicating arising discontentedness, cut that off and let it go.

As the mind is being trained in meditation to cut off thoughts and let them go, the mind develops the ability to become deeply aware of unwholesome thoughts, feelings, ideas, perceptions, etc., arising and to then cut them off or let them go. This trains the mind over repeated meditation training sessions to “let go”. Every time the mind wants to pull in any direction towards the past, the future, thoughts, feelings, ideas, perceptions, etc., a Practitioner should not judge the thoughts, label them, or even attempt to figure out where they are coming from. You can just cut them off and let them go bringing the mind back to the breath. The breath is the present moment and is the strong “post or pillar”.

This training will develop into the mind having deep awareness (Right Mindfulness) and the ability to cut off and let go of thoughts, feelings, ideas, perceptions, etc. (Right Effort)

Then, with this consistent and ongoing training during daily meditation sessions of 2-3 times per day for 30-minutes or more per session, in daily life as unwholesome thoughts, feelings, ideas, perceptions, etc., arise or the mind goes to the past or future, cut it off and let it go.

Over time, this trains the mind to be well disciplined with Breathing Mindfulness Meditation being the strong “post or pillar”. Just as Gotama Buddha shares that “when these six animals become worn out and fatigued, they would stand close to that post or pillar, they would sit down there, they would lie down there” the mind will eventually get tired of pulling in the direction of the six external sense bases through the six internal sense bases and it will just “sit down there” and “lie down there” being perfectly tuned to “the middle way”.

The mind can then apply this in daily life, that as the mind is pulling in the direction of the objects of its affection due to craving/desire/attachment, the Practitioner can cut that off and let it go. This trains the mind to reside in the middle no longer pulling towards the objects of its affection due to craving/desire/attachment. Craving/desire/attachment can be gradually eliminated from the mind, thus, all discontentedness of mind is gradually eliminated. The mind becomes Enlightened because the unwholesome root of craving/ desire/attachment has been extinguished from the mind and no longer causes arising discontentedness.

The mind will be more and more trained to perform optimally with deep concentration (Right Concentration) as the fetters/taints/pollution of the mind are no longer causing muddle mindedness. The mind will become more and more clear as it fully realizes the benefits and results of consistent and ongoing training on The Path to Enlightenment.

Detailed explanation of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is available in this same book series found in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).