12 Dec¶
- reflecting on 2024 great year
- level 2 is done!
- starting level 3
- starting a new clean branch for notes
choose samsara or the path?¶
six dusts¶
In Buddhism, guarding the six sense doors is a practice of mindfulness and restraint to prevent unwholesome mental states from arising. This is called sense restraint (indriya-saṃvara in Pali). The "guards" for the six sense doors are mindfulness, wisdom, and discernment, which help one maintain control over the sensory experiences. Here’s how this works for each sense base:
1. Mindfulness (Sati)¶
- Purpose: To be fully aware of sensory experiences as they arise.
- How: Mindfulness helps you notice the moment a sense object (e.g., a sight, sound, or thought) arises and prevents automatic, unwholesome reactions like craving or aversion.
2. Wisdom (Paññā)¶
- Purpose: To discern the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self nature of sensory experiences.
- How: Wisdom provides insight into the true nature of phenomena, helping to reduce attachment or aversion to them.
3. Guarding the Eye (Cakkhu)¶
- Being mindful of what is seen, avoiding unwholesome sights or reactions (e.g., lust, envy).
4. Guarding the Ear (Sota)¶
- Being mindful of what is heard, avoiding unwholesome sounds or reactions (e.g., gossip, anger).
5. Guarding the Nose (Ghana)¶
- Being mindful of smells, avoiding clinging to pleasant scents or aversion to unpleasant ones.
6. Guarding the Tongue (Jivha)¶
- Being mindful of tastes, avoiding overindulgence or aversion.
7. Guarding the Body (Kaya)¶
- Being mindful of physical sensations, recognizing the arising of pleasure, pain, or neutrality without clinging or aversion.
8. Guarding the Mind (Mano)¶
- Being vigilant about thoughts, avoiding unwholesome mental proliferations (e.g., greed, hatred, delusion).
By practicing sense restraint, one prevents the mind from becoming overwhelmed by desires, aversions, or distractions, which is essential for cultivating inner peace and progressing on the path to enlightenment.