In a teaching described as The Last Days of the Buddha, the Buddha summarized his teachings. Here he refers to the Seven Factors of Enlightenment which we have been encountering in the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness. If you remember, the first three foundations were Mindfulness of Body, Mindfulness of Feelings (tone), Mindfulness of Mind, and now here, Mindfulness of Dharmas or the way things are. These Four Foundations of Mindfulness, one of the Buddha’s most important teachings, cover every aspect of our experience. Hence its importance. We are encouraged to be mindful of everything in our experience. Everything. Nothing left out.
This fourth foundation, as I have said before, contains a cluster of teachings about the way things are: the five hindrances to meditation encountered by every meditator, the seven factors of enlightenment as the way leading onward, how to work with the temptations presented by the six sense doors, the five aggregates of clinging, and the four Noble Truths which culminates in the Noble Eight Fold Path. Note: The Buddha used lists as a memory device for his followers since nothing was written down until many many years after his death.
Here is the excerpt on the seven factors of enlightenment. These seven are considered factors of enlightenment because they lead onward from one to another toward final realization. And yet these factors arise in our meditations often if we can pay attention and recognize them for what they are.
9. "Seven further conditions leading to welfare I shall set forth, bhikkhus [Ed.: monks]. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."
"So be it, Lord."
"The growth of the bhikkhus is to be expected, not their decline, bhikkhus, so long as they cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment, that is: mindfulness, investigation into phenomena, energy, bliss, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity. So long, bhikkhus, as these seven conditions leading to welfare endure among the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.
Mindfulness is the first factor. We are familiar with this quality in our lives and in our meditations. So we begin with mindfulness. We can simply allow mindfulness to note when the other six factors arise. Awareness of these factors can strengthen their presence and their arising in our lives.
But the six factors - investigation into phenomena, energy, bliss, tranquility, concentration and equanimity - can be divided into energizing factors and calming factors and we can apply these factors skillfully to balance our meditation energy. If we are feeling a little dull or sleepy, we can start with mindfulness and then apply investigation. Investigation then arouses energy and leads to bliss or joy. If we are excitable or agitated, we can apply the calming factors of tranquillity, concentration and equanimity.
These days you might note that there is extra energy in the form of agitation or anxiety in our lives - perhaps listening to the news for any amount of time triggers these reactions. Perhaps the approach of Thanksgiving which may include positive anticipation, or the agitation of desire, or perhaps the anxiety of knowing that the family in all its beautiful and difficult forms may be coming together, or not coming together.
If we can keep arousing mindfulness by asking ourselves, ‘what is happening right now?’, we will arouse curiosity and investigation. Bliss or joy might arise because we know we are mindful. Pay attention closely. Bliss can be subtle but becomes more noticeable when we pay attention.
If mindfulness allows us to see that agitation or anxiety is present, we can support tranquillity by letting go of our striving for a certain result, by asking if we can be content with what is. We can apply concentration either through mindfulness of breathing or the practice of loving kindness or compassion. We can foster equanimity by letting go of striving for a reality that is different from what is here. We can bring acceptance of the way things are to the fore.
These seven factors of enlightenment can be a wonderful addition to our conscious practice. Discovering that they are present - in ones, twos or threes - can be invigorating. Learning to see them as tools that can be applied to help us center and keep moving forward, that our “growth” is to be expected with their presence, is also a wonderful benefit. And finally, learning to use them as balancing factors - bringing in the calming factors when we are agitated or over excited, bringing in the energizing factors when our minds are dull and sluggish - can be very helpful to our practice of the art of meditation.
In closing, I want to offer the poem I mentioned at the end of our last session. It’s by Mary Oliver (who is sometimes referred to as the patron saint or poet laureate of mindfulness practice) and is called “The Buddha’s Last Instruction”.
“Make of yourself a light,” said the Buddha, before he died.
I think of this every morning
as the east begins
to tear off its many clouds
of darkness, to send up the first
signal — a white fan
streaked with pink and violet,
even green.
An old man, he lay down
between two sala trees,
and he might have said anything,
knowing it was his final hour.
The light burns upward,
it thickens and settles over the fields.
Around him, the villagers gathered
and stretched forward to listen.
Even before the sun itself
hangs, disattached, in the blue air,
I am touched everywhere
by its ocean of yellow waves.
No doubt he thought of everything
that had happened in his difficult life.
And then I feel the sun itself
as it blazes over the hills,
like a million flowers on fire —
clearly I’m not needed,
yet I feel myself turning
into something of inexplicable value.
Slowly, beneath the branches,
he raised his head.
He looked into the faces of that frightened crowd.
~~From House of Light by Mary Oliver
Copyright 1990 by Mary Oliver.
Used by permission of The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency Inc. Courtesy of Beacon Press, Boston