Undermining the Attachment to ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

All the various challenges that occur during meditation (and, indeed, life itself) involve us attaching to physical and mental phenomena as ‘me’ and ‘mine’. Thus any effective method applied to deal with those challenges must be aimed at undermining this attachment. One powerful method that the Buddha taught us is to look at phenomena in terms of four elements. These are listed in the texts as ‘earth, water, fire and air’, but we may refer to them in more modern terms as ‘mass, fluidity (or cohesiveness), temperature and motion’. Mass, for example, may be observed in the heaviness in the shoulders when sad. A constriction in the throat or chest may be seen as weak fluidity. Temperature may be seen in the shivering of fear and the heat of anger. Restlessness and a racing heart beat may be observed as motion. We can use these four concepts of mass, fluidity, temperature and motion to deconstruct experiences. By doing so the identification with them and the false sense of ownership can dissolve. And when that dissolves, so does the suffering.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.