What is mindfulness? Why is it important? How does its practice bring us toward freedom? We look generally at mindfulness and then at how we practice mindfulness of 1. the body 2. feeling tone 3. thoughts and emotions (citta) and 4. larger patterns of experience (dhammas).
Any time we practice mindfulness and wise attention, we are weakening the impact of the hindrances, and strengthening what are known as the five jhanic factors: meditative qualities that support the continuity and deepening of our meditation. Each of the jhanic factors actually balances and acts as an antidote to one of the hindrances. This talk looks at how to strengthen the jhanic factors, and use them skillfully as antidotes to the hindrances.
