"So the life force that keeps us alive and that manifests itself continually in our stream of consciousness itself becomes the practice of meditation." -Chogyam Trungpa "Heart of the Buddha".
'When feeling a painful feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling of the flesh. When feeling a painful feeling not of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling not of the flesh. When feeling a pleasant feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a pleasant feeling of the flesh. When feeling a pleasant feeling not of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a pleasant feeling not of the flesh. When feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling of the flesh. When feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling not of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling not of the flesh.' - Sakyamuni Buddha, the Sattipatana Sutra: -Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
How does this, the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, get skillfully applied to running meditation? One thing the scripture is inviting us to do is begin understanding how our mind, body and awareness work. We find that this awareness flickers in its focus, and that this "pulsing" quality is a basic aspect of our perception. When the Buddha lists the various sensations of pleasure, pain or what is neither, he is pointing to the aspect of mind that experiences these things one at a time, as raw experience, before they become a thinking narrative or emotional response. In running meditation, due to the bevy of sensory input, that "flicker" is particularly vivid, and the tendency to psychologically solidify our various sensations is rich. This makes running meditation excellent training in the Second Foundation.
The Second Foundation, like all four, is a crucial piece to the technique of mindfulness and awareness, as taught by the Buddha. Running "with our life" means simply noticing the fact of our own unfolding experience. This experience is not seamless, it is not constant, and it's fickleness is not a problem. That constant movement from "this" to "this" to "this" is the movement of our minds, and like the reference point of our breathing, it is something we can come back to.
Running itself, its rhythm and flow, is a literal expression of the "living" quality of our experience. The feet touching and releasing the earth, the cycling of the breath, even the unfolding road before our visual sense, are all expressions of the the union of our psychological awareness and body awareness.
Some meditative runners say that the Second Foundation of Mindfulness is relatively easy to work with. The dynamism of running, by nature, constantly refreshes the practitioners field of perception. The relatively static quality of sitting practice, on the other hand, means this truth about our experience is less glaring. Boredom has alot to do with this foundation, because the difference between "hot" and "cool" boredom can be linked to the practitioners tendency (or lack of tendency in the case of "cool" boredom) to solidify her experience. Each moment seems like the next usually because we just are not paying attention fully. This is hot boredom. Cool boredom means relaxing into the unfolding subtleness of our own experience. Runners' boredom is no different, be it hot or cold.
Mindfulness of Life also frees the practitioner from burden of having to hold too tightly to her awareness, because we will always, eventually, come back. This is where the aspect of true gentleness is essential to the practice. The flow of mind has no beginning or end as it relates to our experience, so there is nothing to maintain or "gin up", nothing to fix, no problem. Meditation, be it sitting or running, becomes completely natural and inseparable from the very process of our mind itself. This sense of naturalness and constant renewal allows the practitioner to "ride" her experience as one would ride a horse (Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, "Turning the Mind into an Ally").
Practicing this Foundation can be particularly joyful for the runner, because we are working toward a level of relaxation wherein we can start to truly perceive what is going on, to truly begin to inhabit our awareness with immense gentleness and precision. This is the ancient and powerful path to beginning to glimpse the stunning power and beauty of our own existence.
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