The Object and the Idea

Unknowing and Knowing

Ignorance and Understanding
The Five Powers in use
Exploring the Human Condition
To its fullest

My approach to the Dharma is sensory related. I do believe in the Supremacy of the Buddha,
so I am open to the mysterious side of the teaching. The end of the path is still much of a
mystery to me and I try not to impose any preconceptions of what or might not be further down
the path. Any studying I do, I do with an open mind, but my approach is more about the laws of
nature and valid proof, and I interpret the teaching accordingly.

The five powers are faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. The meaning of
the word “power” is itself an important concept. Each of the five powers are a power unto
themselves. What does that mean? Power and ability seem to go hand in hand. Something
becomes a power to me when I can use it as an ability to act with purpose in a particular way so
the results of acting that way is of a benefit to my life. Each of the five powers brings their own
benefit of cause and effect and when combined and acted upon together, they have the
potential to achieve the goals of the teaching.

Faith might be the hardest and might be the most important of the powers. As a human, if I
have no belief that doing something or acting in a particular way will be of benefit, then I will not
even bother trying. Dharma is taught in so many ways it might seem to be a waste of effort to
try. Any effort I make now will only be realized in the future and there is no way now to prove
that the future will take shape accordingly.

There are several reasons that I chose to focus on the senses as a fundamental approach to
my studies. One is that there are many places in the teaching that the Buddha states the sense
organs and sensory information is central to his teaching. Another is that it's an easy idea to
have faith in. I know I have senses, I know I can remember so I understand the concept of
storing sensory information. I can remember the sunset but the sun is not inside me. I will be
receiving information in the future so making an effort in the current moment to affect what
happens with that sensory information later has some logical cause and effect, especially when
associated with actions related to the sense objects and the ideas of those objects I am forming
in the current moments of consciousness. I am born with awareness but not with the
understanding of what that makes that awareness possible so insight into senses has potential
for growth. Faith keeps me on track so the rest of my actions are taken with energy.

The power of energy is referred to in different ways. I like persistent, heroic effort. This
Dharma is deep, subtle and difficult to see. After the Buddha attained his enlightenment he
went looking to teach several specific people because they had little dust in their eyes. They
had all passed away. Some people have the natural talents that are a reflection of
understanding of the teaching but most of us will have some dust in our eyes and it will take
some effort, and just as importantly, some time to remove it. Today, tomorrow and the next day
and the day after that. How long will depend upon the individual and their circumstances. The
current way the Dharma is taught is beautiful. I have nothing but respect, admiration and
appreciation for the Sangha and the millennia of devotion, hard work and sacrifice of everyone
involved. They have kept the teaching alive despite all the challenges but we don’t see many
Buddha’s after three thousand years of effort. Either our faith is wrong or our approach is. I
think it's our approach.

Mindfulness as a power. Power is acting, to do something to have influence. How is

mindfulness a way of acting that has influence? This is a dilemma for us and why faith and
persistence is needed. Mindfulness is needed in order to learn why mindfulness is needed to
begin with. The establishment of mindfulness implies that it has not been established to begin
with. Thus the need for the teaching, but what is the cause and effect of mindfulness? Why is it
a power? What good does it do me? If we jump ahead a bit to the other powers we find
concentration and wisdom we can see what mindfulness leads to but why.

As humans we have the capacity to be paying attention to something. Attention is a part of

our mental and physical life which is greatly defined by our senses . Thinking about this thing or
that thing but usually not both. What I am thinking about is determined by what I am paying
attention to. Mindfulness of breathing leads to the contemplation of the four establishments for
just such a reason. This is because the mind's potential to orient itself has been directed to the
object of mindfulness and the natural function of my mind in its cognitive role follows. What I
am paying attention to, my mind's capacity to form related ideas as to that which I am paying
attention to over time, what role those ideas have in directling, controlling and developing my life
in the future, is what I think mindfulness is about. By paying attention to the moment by moment
nature of my life experience which is made up of the four establishments, I am taking my life’s
capacity, directing it toward it in order to find concentration and understanding. Some of the
challenge lies in understanding why ideas and concepts formed by mindfulness of the object
have the potential to lead to improvement in the future and that is why my faith is in what
happens with my future senses and actions.

Concentration as a power. The four jhanas are oftentimes referred to as the four absorptions.
The obtaining of each jhana is a reflection of one's concentration skill. Oftentimes the jhana is
referred to as having some factors present while others have been eliminated. Eliminating
distractions such as discursive thoughts, negative emotions, while cultivating that which
maintains the attention such as joy, energy, serenity helps with concentration as reflected in the
order of the seven factors of awakening. The mind's potential to function is now directed toward
the object of attention and no other. Any thoughts ideas that form should be about the object as
other distractions of attention are not being brought to the minds attention. The consciousness
is now all about the object which accumulates in wisdom.

Wisdom and a single moment of time. Why approach wisdom that way? A human is born
with the potential to grow, learn to walk, speak, write , do math, ride a bike, any number of skills,
but as humans we are defined by the nature of our universe. Time is a universal condition and
life happens in the moment. The Sun will stay the Sun, the Moon will stay the Moon and I will
still be me, but then how do we grow and learn? How can faith, energy, mindfulness and
concentration lead to a better single moment of time? The sense base information, the mind's
function and resulting actions developed over time by an accumulation of consciousness I
believe is the answer. Wisdom is found in the moment, but the next moment is needed as well
as that is when the actions will arise. Most people do this intuitively and do quite well for
themselves. What we think now, and what we do later. Tend to that relationship very well and
you're basically on the path, but sometimes intuition is not enough. People can get lost about
the cause and effect evolving around their life. They try to stop eating, stop smoking, and be
better in certain areas of their life to no avail. We are born with a few resources at our disposal
and the most important one is our ability to act, but action without wisdom can lead to just more
suffering, thus the need for the cultivation of wisdom within ourselves. I believe it is because
there is a relationship between the sensbase information, the function of the mind and our
actions including acts of thinking, that it becomes possible to develop our minds function in
relationship to the sensory information and thus the resultant states of action. Getting to the
point where this is done with skill that makes a difference to the life experience takes the
continuous practice of The Buddha’s path which the five powers are a part of.

When we are born as humans our thoughts are not developed. An object can exist but the
idea of that object within the mind can be completely undeveloped. How do the five powers
allow that not knowing of the idea to become a full expression of the object, especially when the
object is the human condition aka the aggregates aka the four establishments? First of all, why
even bother trying? One would need some idea that the future potential of such a thing exists
and of its potential benefits. This can be found within the given life experience meaning at some
point it was done successfully and how it was done was understood and practiced. Another
way is to be given some guidance that it is possible to develop a deep understanding of the
nature of the object and instructions on how to do so. Either source would require some faith
that actions could produce the desired result so the right energy is applied.

With the commitment to sustained effort we pay attention to the object, the human condition.
As we pay attention our ideas are formed about the attended object, the function of the mind
shapes the thoughts in a deeper and deeper expression as we move forward thru time and
continue to receive relevant information about the subject. With the goal of deeper wisdom for
better action and results, such as liberation and freedom from the rounds, we eliminate
distracting ideas and emotions and cultivate the factors that lead to single pointed attention and
thus development of insight of the object, the person.

As I practice Dharma, what I think about thought itself has changed. When my thoughts arise
I know to examine and recollect the moment by moment nature of my life experience. What
happened in the past that might be affecting my thoughts? I often examine my thoughts and
ask myself had I not had the past experience, had I not thought that way or acted that way
would I be thinking this way now would I be acting this way now? How is that past experience
influencing the moment by moment nature of my life in the now from a sensory stand point?
How can I use that insight to affect a better future? These answers take continuous practice of
the path, the powers, introspection and much recollection.

With Metta
Jeff Shelley