There are over ten verses in the Citta Vagga of Dhammapada on the theme of mind.
One example is how the wise man should straighten his mind as a fletcher straightens an arrow. The mind quivers and throbs like a fish out of water. A tamed mind brings happiness. The mind wanders afar, is solitary, formless and rests in the cave of the heart. Those who subdue it are free from the bonds of Mara (death). Neither mother nor father nor any other relative can do a greater good than a well directed controlled mind. An ill-directed mind is one's greatest enemy.
Mindfulness is an alert state of mind that has to be cultivated constantly as the foundation for understanding and insight. It is not an inert state of mind. Insight is discriminative knowledge or intuitive appreciation, translated as wisdom in Buddhism. Mindfulness is mainly analytical in contemplating the diverse factors in the body, the sensations, the thought-process, and phenomena, but goes further in a higher synthesis of consciousness in the deep trance (Samadhi). In Buddhist terminology, this deep state of trance is called one-pointedness concentration or composure of the mind and is the outcome of the meditative focus on a single wholesome object.
Hindrances
In the discourse with Ganaka Moggallana the Buddha describes the way how he used to train the disciples in a stepwise manner. He has mentioned about training in morality, sense-control, moderation in eating, vigilance, mindfulness and clear consciousness, overcoming of the five hindrances (covetousness, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt) and jhanas.
By getting rid of these five defilements or obstructions one reaches the first stage of meditation characterised by mental rapture and joy. Then he reaches a stage of tranquillized fixed mind on one point. This is the second stage. The third state is reached when the mind is in a stage of mindful equanimity.
By getting rid of anguish and going through one's former pleasures and sorrows ones mind becomes completely purified without anguish and joy-equanimity and mindful. This is the fourth stage of mindfulness.
In the Dantabhumi Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya), the Buddha explains to the Venerable Aciravata Thera why Prince Jayasena living in sense pleasures could not be convinced in the Dhamma. The Buddha strikes a simile of taming a wild elephant. The tame comes again in the Cattuka Nipata (Anguttara Nikaya) the Buddha declares the types of thoroughbred steeds among men in the world who require four different types of training for training in mindfulness.
Calm
The Satipattana Sutta implies the setting up of the mind in mindfulness. It describes the fourfold meditation exercises to control of calm the body, feelings, the mind and mental objects. The method of investigation into the observation of the mental processes is essentially induction on cognition of a single moment of consciousness. It is introspective mindfulness or attention (sati).
In ‘The Questions of King Milinda’, King Milinda who was perplexed over the concept of mindfulness poses several questions to Venerable Nagasena Thera. Venerable Nagasena Thera observes that the distinguishing mark of mindfulness is the nature of non-drifting.
When mindfulness arises one does not drift in regard to mental states that are wholesome, unwholesome, blameable, blameless, low, lofty, dark, bright or evenly mixed. There are the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five spiritual faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment and the noble eightfold path which come into focus. When mindfulness is arising one examines the salient qualities of one's mental states. Venerable Nagasena Thera compares the function of the store-keeper of a wheel-turning king (Chakravarti) who continually reminds the king of his glories and wealth.
He also makes another simile of the advisor-treasurer of the king who advises the king of the beneficial and detrimental functions of good governance. The Elder states that there are sixteen ways how mindfulness arises.
Welfare
Personal experience as observed in Venerable Ananda Thera and the female devotee Kjujjuttara, outside influence to remind a forgetful subject, consciousness of woe, consciousness of welfare, a similar appearance (seeing a person resembling one's brother becomes mindful of one's own brother), a dissimilar appearance (symbolic representation of an object by colour, sound, feeling etc), understanding due to speech, identifying a distinguishing mark (a brand mark), urge by others, training, calculation, learning by heart, mental development, reference to a book, association of ideas and previous experience. It has been stated in 'The Question of King Milinda', that the Buddha's analysis of the human mind has been a difficult task than analysing the different types of water in the ocean.
The failure to achieve full knowledge of one's own nature is the worst and greatest loss' declared the Buddha. Lust, hatred, jealousy, pride so forth are unwholesome states of mind. These are called defilements which are based on ignorance and these spoil the smooth working of the mind. These arise because of unmindfulness of the mind. Mindfulness means vigilance.
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