The Supreme Companions

Supreme companions are mindfulness and alertness. Oh, that's nice. So from the time of the Buddha, in all schools of Buddhism, there have been these two qualities, which in Tibetan are called trenpa and jhejin, and they are often abbreviated as drenje. And trenpa, Smriti Sati, is translated most universally now as mindfulness. And the other aspect, which is, I never can remember in Sanskrit, samphaji nyana or something like that, in Tibetan tresin, has no universal translation, which is why every time you read it you have to know that's what they're talking about.

Originally it was often translated as clear comprehension, then alertness, introspection, vigilance. Recently I asked a very good translator, he said knowing. It's one of those words, nobody has agreed what it means. I know what it means, but there's no exact word in English. But what is the indication?

Mindfulness here, mindfulness has very wide application, but here it just means the ability to be present and know what is happening at the time. The word actually, Smriti in Sanskrit, Sati in Pali, and Trenpa in Tibetan, all have the same meaning of to remember. And so it means to remember what is happening at the time when it's happening, to recollect. In Kathalisa they talk about recollection. And it doesn't mean remembering something in the past, it means being present in what is happening.

You are recollected, meaning you are present. Not thinking about it, but knowing it as it happens. So this quality of mindfulness can be applied to many things the Buddha suggested starting with the postures, like standing, sitting, walking, lying down, just to know when he is walking, he knows he is walking, when he is sitting, he knows he is sitting. Very simple. And then of course the mindfulness of the breath, the in breath and the out breath, because as I said before, we are always breathing, but we cannot breathe in the past or the future, we only breathe now.

So if we are breathing and knowing we are breathing without commenting on it, just knowing it, at that moment the mind is in the present. And the important quality of that, the ego cannot live in the present. So while our mind is genuinely focused on the present occurrence of the breath going in, breath going out, that moment, it is echoless. As soon as we start commenting on it and thinking, oh now I am so mindful of my breathing going in and out, we are back to ego. But when there is just the naked knowing without clothing it in opinions and thoughts and commentary, then we are present.

So mindfulness of the breath, the mindfulness of the mind, again just knowing the mind, not judging it, not commenting, just knowing. In the goenka vipashana, mindfulness of sensations in the body from the top to the bottom, any of this, it is just this quality of being present with what is happening without commentary. Now comes this other alertness, vigilance, introspection, clique comprehension fellow, which here, when it is connected with mindfulness, is the ability of the mind to check up. Somebody said it is like it spies on the mind. It kind of picks up and looks.

Is the mind focused? Is the mind distracted? Is the mind sinking? What is the mind doing in this moment? Then whatever it finds, if it finds that we are distracted or we are sinking, we are getting sleepy, very blissful, then wake up.

If we are distracted, get centered. Whatever is happening, this aspect of the mind looks overseas. If everything is okay, we are not sinking, we are not distracted, we are focused, we are relaxed, then it just goes back. So this quality of the mind, even throughout the day, checks up, just checks up what in this moment is the mind doing. If everything is okay, then it just needs to go back.

It doesn't stay the whole time. The mindfulness should stay. But this other aspect is just a checking up operation to see. This is why someone called it clear. Nyanaponica calls it clear comprehension.

Because we comprehend clearly what is happening. So vigilance, right? We are watching, alertness, we are seeing. All these words, introspection, we know what is going on inside. None of these words exactly cover the function.

But the idea is just that it comes up, pops up, looks around, sees how everything is going. If things are out of balance, it balances it again, then goes back. If things are going smoothly, then it just leaves. So the two go together. And they are the best companions we could have on the path.

If they can accompany us throughout our day, and eventually throughout the night, likewise, then those are the best friends we can have. Because they are the ones which really will heal our mind, balance our mind, bring insight, and act as a bridge to lead us back into the ultimate dhammakaya nature of the mind. So they are absolutely 100% the best people we could hang out with.