Date: 06/28/2025 06/29/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Sitting Meditation
Contemplating Feelings as Suffering: Understanding the Nature of Dukkha
“Contemplating feelings as suffering” is a key part of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. It teaches practitioners to observe bodily sensations, emotional states, and mental feelings as inherently unsatisfactory. This insight loosens clinging and reactivity, allowing deeper freedom of mind.
1. What Are Feelings (Vedanā): Pleasant, Unpleasant, and Neutral
1. Unpleasant feelings
Pain, anxiety, tension, sadness, fatigue.
2. Pleasant feelings
Comfort, joy, relaxation, excitement.
3. Neutral feelings
Subtle sensations without clear pleasant or unpleasant qualities.
2. Why Feelings Are Considered Suffering
1. Unpleasant feelings are painful by nature
They contain suffering directly.
2. Pleasant feelings lead to suffering when they fade
Attachment and craving arise when pleasure disappears.
3. Neutral feelings obscure awareness
They may lead to dullness, boredom, or unmindful drifting.
3. Observing the Truth: All Feelings Are Impermanent
1. Even intense pain changes
Pain rises, peaks, and dissolves.
2. Joy and comfort do not last
Clinging to pleasure creates anxiety and frustration.
3. Feelings cannot be controlled
They arise due to causes and conditions.
4. Practicing in Meditation: Observe, Don’t React, Don’t Resist
1. Recognize the arising of feeling
Whether pleasant or unpleasant, simply acknowledge it.
2. Do not resist unpleasant feelings
Resistance intensifies suffering.
3. Do not chase pleasant feelings
Grasping binds the mind to craving.
5. Benefits of This Practice: Freedom From Reactivity and Clinging
1. Pain no longer overwhelms
It becomes something observed rather than something personal.
2. Pleasant feelings lose their power to intoxicate
Enjoy without attachment.
3. Neutral states become clear and mindful
Awareness prevents drifting into dullness.
6. Understanding the Three Types of Suffering
1. Suffering of suffering
Direct painful experiences.
2. Suffering of change
The disappointment when pleasure ends.
3. All-pervasive suffering
The instability of all conditioned phenomena.
7. Applying This Insight to Daily Life
1. Pause before reacting to emotions
Recognize the feeling instead of acting on impulse.
2. Notice bodily sensations under stress
Tension, tightness, or heat are merely sensations—not identity.
3. Stay mindful during moments of craving
Awareness transforms impulse into wisdom.
Conclusion
Contemplating feelings as suffering is not pessimism—
It is clear seeing.
By seeing all feelings as impermanent and unreliable, we naturally loosen clinging and emotional reactivity.
This insight opens the door to freedom, stability, and profound peace.
