a) Observation:
What you can see. Since kaya refers to the body, we are also referring to what you can actually see in/on the body. The observations collected by every individual will be different. The first data that we collect will always be a bunch of multiple observations. Eg: if you ask 3 different girls to wear a bindi in the center of their forehead, each may have a different spot where they put the bindi. One may wear it between the eyebrows, another just above the midpoint, and the last still above.
So if there are multiple observations, then what can be considered as the truth?
The truth is what you already know and also what you don’t know yet.
As you keep observing you will keep finding new things.
What you can see. Since kaya refers to the body, we are also referring to what you can actually see in/on the body. The observations collected by every individual will be different. The first data that we collect will always be a bunch of multiple observations. Eg: if you ask 3 different girls to wear a bindi in the center of their forehead, each may have a different spot where they put the bindi. One may wear it between the eyebrows, another just above the midpoint, and the last still above.
So if there are multiple observations, then what can be considered as the truth?
The truth is what you already know and also what you don’t know yet.
As you keep observing you will keep finding new things.
Some observations of our bodies:
- The body behaves differently every single day. Eg: one day our legs may hurt, the other day our hands hurt.
- Our bodies have limits. Eg: I can walk 5 km but someone else walks 2kms and gives up. How much do we allow this pain to affect us instead of letting it go?
- Our bodies have needs without it cannot work, needs like food, water, and adequate rest. So our bodies have limits. Our minds are constantly working. Even when we sleep, our bodies shut down, but our minds continue to process information. Our bodies are controlled by our desires and this tends to get in the way most of the time.
Let's understand this with a story.
One day Harry meets God who granted him anything that he wished for. Harry was so thrilled and had only one wish- to own as much land as he could see on his horizon. So God agreed to grant his wish and asked him to walk wherever he pleased for one day and all the land that he stepped on would belong to him. God had only one condition, Harry had to be back by sunset. Harry felt super thrilled and from sunrise the next day, with all his energy he started walking and felt super happy that wherever he went, all the land was his. He walked and walked, very fast, for many km. By the afternoon his energy levels started to decline and he started to feel tired. But he knew that if he stopped walking then he would not be able to take over all the land. So he continued and did not stop for food or water. At around 4 pm, he realized there were two hours left to sunset. He had walked so far away from home, he was exhausted, so he started to drag himself back home. Soon it was sunset time and he was still a long way from home. He kept staggering and eventually died on the road itself. God appeared and told the man that the land he now owned was the one on which his body rested, asleep for good.
Moral: the man’s desire - greed, overcame him and he eventually met his end.
If he had put a full stop to this desire, he would have saved his own life and lived happily for many years.
Exercise:
Take some time alone with yourself, minimum 20 minutes, maximum any. This should be a time in which there are no other distractions, no phones, no pets, no other people, no need to go to the toilet or anything. Sit in silence and observe your own body. Some suggestions to help you start: What is the temperature of your body? Is the temperature the same on all parts of your body or is it different in parts? How does your body feel? What is the speed at which your heartbeats? Are there tingling sensations or stiffness anywhere?…. Feel free to add to this list of questions. Use a journal to write down your observations yourself. Create a “YOU” journal.
I will not elaborate on how you should feel as each person’s experience is different and your experience should not be clouded by mine.
b) Control:
Once we become aware of different sensations in our bodies, how do we exert control over them? Vipassana uses a technique called Anapanasati. Anapana - inhalation and exhalation, sati - awareness/mindfulness. So we can say that it is the awareness of our breath.
In this technique, we choose to focus on our breath, every time the mind wanders, bring it back under our control by concentrating on our breath. Note that we do not try to manipulate our breath or make it flow a certain way either. We just bring our attention to it, as a way to distract our mind from being distracted ( with thoughts).
Thoughts usually are of two types - the past and the future. We want to bring our mind back to the present moment and the most present part of our body is our flow of breath. So we train our minds by just the simple act of bringing the attention back to the breath. Your thoughts do not consume you, they pass you by like the clouds in the sky. And you are entirely focused on your breath.
We have to be able to understand the nature of our bodies in order to connect the body to the mind and eventually hear the voice of our souls.
Kayanupassana is the first and toughest step in Vipassana. That is why it is necessary for us to elaborate so much on it. In order to understand the relationship between your body, mind, and soul, lets us use another example.
A car - your body.The car’s driver - your mind.The passenger in the car - your soul.
The car needs to be maintained and cared for, for it to be able to function properly. The car has limits, depending on the kind of car, it can only travel on certain types of roads, within certain km and in certain conditions. It needs to be routinely checked upon and given fuel and rest.
The driver has the ability to drive. He can go in whichever direction he pleases and is constantly wandering and exploring because he has the ability to do so. If left to his own, he would never stay in one place. It is his responsibility to take care of the car. The car’s maintenance is the only thing that makes the driver slow down, stop and take notice. He does have a habit of really testing the car to it’s limit though and making it undergo all sorts of conditions until the car breaks down.
The owner doesn’t know how to drive but he has a sense of direction and can guide the driver on how to get to a specific location and how to take care of the car as well. He is unable to do the work himself but he the knowledge of how to do it. For this, the driver needs to be able to hear the owner when he speaks. He can only do this when he not so distracted by all the things he sees out the window and desires.
We are easily influenced by our senses. Our eyes, being the closest sensory organ to our brains take in the most information and send the signals fastest to our brains. So what the eye sees, the mind desires. Mind;’s nature is to explore. To control this and bring the emend back, we use our breath. It is constant and with us all the time. Without our breath, we would be alive.