Whenever one thoroughly knows the birth and death of the five sentient processes
one finds joy and happiness. For those who know this, that is deathlessness. (374)
– Dhammapada, verse 374. Translated Christopher J. Ash
The five sentient processes, with which one becomes thoroughly familiar, in Buddhist meditation, are: form, feeling-tones, perceptions (or, recognitions), states of the psyche (or, attitudes), and consciousness (in the sense of basic awareness). Skilfully conducting these time-space-knowledge processes is the heart of the fourth placement of mindfulness, in the Mindfulness Sutta (the Satipaṭṭhānasutta). This is often named ‘mindfulness of mind-objects,’ but I prefer to think of this as mindfulness of the dynamics of phenomena. This is the territory that the Nikāya Buddha and Sakka were talking about, in our previous posts. In the Mindfulness Sutta the Nikāya Buddha points to the importance of comprehending the moment to moment birth and death of these five sentient processes.
They are not things, at all. And with development of subtle discernment, they are not found separately, at all, when freed of conceptualising. The root matter, then – the liberating matter, the redeeming matter – is the pure and total openness of the processes. Joy and happiness arise, and support one to stay appreciatively there in the openness; making it possible to intuit the profound quality of intelligence, which is greater than sentience, and yet not apart from the multiplicity. This is the Nameless, a source of big heart, and the recognition of the perfect harmony of this big life process.
One in whom a desire for the nameless has arisen – who would permeate his mind with the nameless,
whose heart is not bound to sense pleasure – is called: “One going home.
– Dhammapada, verse 218. Translated Christopher J. Ash
The trick, though, is not to make a blankness out of the recognition of the deathlessness quality. It’s an undivided multiplicity. We usually swing back and forth between oneness or the ten thousand things; however, sentience itself is the nameless, and also the nameless is sentience. The many are the one, and the one is many. Hence Suzuki Roshi’s suggestion that we know ‘things as they is.’
“Anyway, it is rather difficult to see “things as it is,” because seeing “things as it is” is not just the activity of our sight or eyes. This is why we put emphasis on practice. To do something without thinking is the most important point in understanding ourselves.” – Suzuki Roshi, talk Friday, September 8, 1967.
So, pure sentience is not the same as the five separated processes. The separation into five is conceptually created. True sentience is not other than unselfconsciously raising a fork to your mouth; or, stepping over your child’s playthings, while making it to the fridge.
One day, the Tang Dynasty Ch’an Buddhist monk Yunyan Tansheng addressed his fellow monk Daowu about this quality of living.
Yunyan: How does the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion use so many eyes and hands?”Daowu: It’s as if someone at night reached behind him, trying to find his pillow.”Yunyan: I understand.Daowu: How do you mean?Yunyan: The body is eyes and hands all over.Daowu: This says a lot, but only 8/10 of what there is to say.Yunyan: What do you say, older brother?Daowu: The whole body is eyes and hands.