Sally Clough Armstrong, who taught for Eugene last night at SF Insight.
"In this fathom long body is everything you need to come to awakening." ~Buddha
Usually at SF Insight, we sit for 45 minutes at the start with minimal guidance for the first five minutes then silence for the rest. Last night, Sally stood in for Eugene (the sangha teacher) and she led us through the start of a mindfulness practice called the "32 parts of the body". The 32 parts were set out by the Buddha and have been divided up into six groups of parts for our practice. A practitioner takes a group, learns the parts and then meditates on the parts. Once this is a sustained practice, the practitioner would add on the next group. Essentially, this practice is one of concentration or dharana, the sixth limb of yoga, the one that precedes meditation.
In this practice we learn to use the body as a 'meditation tool' (sound familiar? ;) ) so that the mind and body can live in peace with minimal projections from one onto the other. We look to reveal and let go of our judgments, attachments, denials, habits of abuse, and the all too common objectification of the body. We look to see it as it is without judgment, and from this practice to find a sense of freedom or liberation from our conditioned suffering.
A great part of this practice that differentiates it from asana is that the parts are 'earthy' to say the least: nails, hair, feces, sweat, urine...not the most pleasant. This allows the practitioner to find a more universal impersonal perspective: it's hard to find the ownership, personalization of one's urine. More the acknowledgement that yes, urine is a part of my person in this moment, just as it's a part of every person.
A favorite part of Sally's talk (in my words): Imagine the body as a bag with openings at both ends, full of grains and beans. The wise man opens and can see all the different kinds of grains and beans with their different colors and shapes and textures. It is with this kind of attitude that we should approach exploring the body.
Ultimately, we look to find what we always look for in meditating:
letting go of an unwise relationship within our being that leads to suffering, and embracing wisdom that leads to equanimity, peace, and lasting happiness.
For more info on this method, Sally recommended Bob Stahl's talks: http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/268/
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