The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutra) is a fundamental text in both the Theravadan and Zen Traditions. The second Foundation of Mindfulness is being able to stay present in feelings. Here feelings don’t refer to emotions. It would be better to call them feeling tones. Ken explains this in session 35 of the Then and Now class.
Feeling Tones (Tan 35) (from TAN35 00.08.58.8 - 00.11.42.5) (download into iTunes)
So, in the Theravadan tradition, for instance, the whole Buddhist path comes down to being able to detect that pleasant, unpleasant, neutral in every moment of experience and not react to it. Now, not reacting doesn’t mean suppressing, it means training sufficient level of attention that you simply don’t react. A pleasant sensation doesn’t elicit attraction, an unpleasant sensation doesn’t elicit aversion and a neutral sensation doesn’t elicit indifference. And if one can do that then one is largely freed from reacting to experience, which is the end of suffering."
Feeling Tones (Tan 35) (from TAN35 00.08.58.8 - 00.11.42.5) (download into iTunes)"Then the second Foundation of Mindfulness is being able to stay present in feelings. Now, here feelings don’t refer to emotions. It would be better to call these feeling tones. Accompanying every sensory experience, there are five, any of five feeling tones. Pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, physical and mental. And you get one of the first group, and one of the first three, pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, and one of the second two, the last two and physical or mental. And these are very rapid things. They occur virtually simultaneously, with a sensory perception. And it’s the quality of experience which engages the emotional reactive process. So if it’s pleasant we’re attracted to it, if it's unpleasant we’re averse to it, and if it’s neutral we’re indifferent to it.
So, in the Theravadan tradition, for instance, the whole Buddhist path comes down to being able to detect that pleasant, unpleasant, neutral in every moment of experience and not react to it. Now, not reacting doesn’t mean suppressing, it means training sufficient level of attention that you simply don’t react. A pleasant sensation doesn’t elicit attraction, an unpleasant sensation doesn’t elicit aversion and a neutral sensation doesn’t elicit indifference. And if one can do that then one is largely freed from reacting to experience, which is the end of suffering."
