Feelings of a Sensible Body 

The second area concerns the vedanā sensible through body. Body does not just exist materially; it is sensate, it feels. In life, feelings of pleasure and pain, comfort and discomfort cannot be escaped. While negative vedanā irritate us, positive vedanā satisfy us.

Such contentment or satisfaction has two levels that are mentioned in connection with mindfulness with breathing.

The first, known as rapture (pīti), is more intense; these can be strong and disturbing. Once that level of pleasure or satisfaction calms down, happiness or joy (sukha) remains.

After calming body in the first section, these two kinds of vedanā become available for further study and training. One is busier, more energetic and tumultuous. The other is subtler, calmer, and cooler. Both rapture and joy are pleasurable but in different ways. It is important to mindfully taste the flavor of each until we are thoroughly familiar with them, because they lead to difficulties in life.

As we’ve already explored, vedanā leads to craving, clinging, egoism, and suffering. If we are unable to regulate feelings of pleasure and pain, we will not be able to regulate the flow of dependent co-arising. In other words, we will not be able to regulate suffering. That we must regulate pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness to be free of dukkha may seem strange to you. So it is important to explore this matter carefully. We will investigate and study vedanā until seeing clearly — and this is important — that the feelings of body and its senses concoct the inner experiences we call mind. The ability to regulate the sensible feelings makes it possible to regulate the power they have over the experiences of mind. We call this understanding “knowing that vedanā are fabricators of mind,” and we are able to regulate that power so it does not lead to craving, clinging, and suffering. Being able to regulate the vedanā is the path to regulating mind. Thus, we first get to know feelings, then we train in mastering their power to concoct mind. That is the core lesson of the second area of practice.