Body Contemplation.
#WednesdayWisdom
One of the main meditation themes in the Thai Forest Tradition is the body, not just the outside but really investigating and ‘seeing the body within the body’ ie. looking at everything which is inside the body. This is called body contemplation, the most extreme practice of which is asubha — a focus on the extreme loathsomeness of the body in order to overcome sensual desire, greed and aversion — and which is not recommended for beginner practitioners. There are 32 parts of the body which are contemplated but we can start by contemplating these five:
- hair of the head
- hair of the body
- skin
- teeth
- nails
with the objective being to see them as they really are ie. not stable, permanent or indeed clean. This helps in our work to see that the body is not a self, is not under our control and is constantly changing moment to moment.
- Consider how these five parts of the body were when you were born, through childhood, into adulthood and now at whatever stage the body has reached. Is any of it the same? The skin has changed, the hair, the teeth. Nails grow daily and hair becomes grey, skin becomes thin and saggy, teeth become discoloured, break and even fall out or have to be removed.
It is precisely because we don’t like to consider these implications and our inevitable sickness and death which makes the body such a good focus for meditation and investigation. If we make a point of practicing body contemplation regularly we will begin to loosen the attachment which is a great cause of our suffering arising because we cling to this body, worshipping it even though it always goes its own way, eventually dissolving and returning to the four elements from which it was created.
May this teaching lead you to realisation; may it help you know the truth. May we all be freed from the suffering of birth and death.
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