차명상을 통한 여실지견의 현대적 활용－초기불교의 육내외입처 수행을 중심으로

Abstract

The core of Buddhist practice, whose aim is the cessation of suffering, is ‘to see things as they are.’ Suffering experienced in modern daily life arises from the inability to see things as they are. This paper intends to explore how the art of seeing things as they are may be developed by using tea, the process of drinking tea as an object of meditation, and how tea can be applied to modern meditation. For this purpose, I examine the practice of the six sense organs and their objects, explained by the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 22). Tea meditation is not a simple physical act; it requires mindfulness of the objects one is engaged with. It begins with the moment-to-moment attention to the objects of the six sense organs. The mind dwells on these objects, perceives their characteristics in clarity, and sees them as they are. One begins with the practice of one’s visual perception by seeing the color and form of the tea leaves or brewed tea. By seeing them with clarity in concentration, meditators can block their minds from other distractions such as desires, anger, negative memories of the past, or insecurities about the future. Further, based on the harmonization of one’s vision, of the perceived object, and visual consciousness, the practice does not end at only seeing the object but is accompanied by the awareness of seeing the object. In other words, metacognition arises. When an object arises in the mind, an awareness of the object also arises, and a mind aware of this awareness accompanies it. In the practice of the six sense organs and their objects, when practitioners recognize phenomena entering their minds through the six sense gates, they also notice greed, anger and ignorance arising and disappearing within their mind. When they are aware of these three unwholesome roots, they can put a stop to them. Ven. Sayadaw Shwe Oo Min explains that when eating, all of the six sense organs are activated, and thus the mindfulness component of the meditation mechanism can be strongly stimulated. In other words, one can easily meditate under a tree or in a hut in a quiet forest, but the genuine practice of mindfulness should also possible in ordinary life settings where the six sense organs are easily stimulated. However, mindfulness of eating poses some obstacles in terms of limited eating time, the quantity one can consume, and the considerable time required for preparation. An object of meditation can best serve as the means of practice when it is easily available and not hard on the body. In this respect, tea is able to provide one of the best tools for mindfulness practice based on the six sense organs. As tea can be drunk anytime and anywhere, tea meditation can be easily practiced. In addition, as tea meditation can enhance relaxation and mindfulness, it can serve as a more appropriate object of meditation in daily life. Therefore, tea meditation is more suitable for the practice of mindfulness on the six sense organs and their objects, as explained in the section on mindfulness of mental phenomena (dhammā) in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta.