Only 32 Parts

Head hairs.  They cling to my head.  I am very attached to them.  They are like ten thousand bones flung from me.  They are not much attached to me.  They must be maintained.  They are solid, with an illusion of lightness, aliveness.

Sayadaw moves lightning fast through a lot of material  I could spend a year on hairs.  Most people would not pick up a book about meditation upon  hairs.

On Page Sixty-Nine Sayadaw suggests discerning the other being in front of you and then expanding a 'fourth jhana' concentration outward to include many other animals and beings, and then seeing them as only 32 parts, attain wisdom.

Head Hairs

And then, on page Sixty-Eight, Sayadaw suggests to discern the parts in the given order, one at a time.  "Try to see each part as distinctly as you would see your face in a clean mirror."  At age 53, I like my mirror a bit foggy. 

He goes on to suggest arousing jhana before using the bright light of concentration on each part.  Then, after each part, discern another being and each of the same parts on that being.

I'll try head hairs.  Here I go.

Ew!

On Page Sixty-Seven, Sayadaw begins the section How You Develop Absorption on Other Subjects, pointing out ways to further develop samatha concentration, including the thirty-two parts of the body, which are:

25 earth elements:

• Head hair, Body hair, Nails, Teeth, Skin
  (Kesa, Loma, Nakkha, Danta, Taco)
• Flesh, Sinews, Bones, Bone Marrow, Kidneys
  (Masam, Naharu, Atthi, Atthiminjam, Vakkam)
• Heart, Liver, Diaphragm, Spleen, Lungs
  (Hadayam, Yakanam, Kilomakam, Pihakam, Papphasam)
• Large Intestine, Small Intestine, Stomach, Feces, Brain
  (Antam, Antagunam, Udariam, Kerisam, Mattagunam)

12 water elements:

• Bile, Phlegm, Pus, Blood, Sweat, Fat
  (Pittam, Semhan, Pubbo, Lohitam, Sedo, Medo)
• Tears, Grease, Saliva, Mucus, Oil of the Joints, Urine
  (Assu, Vasa, Kelo, Singhanika, Lasika, Muttam)

Ick!

Totally Blank

Page Sixty-Six

Pretty Much Blank

Page Sixty-Five is

Sold Out

On Page Sixty-Four, Sayadaw notes the Five Hindrances (desire, ill-will, sloth, restlessness and doubt).  He points out that these are opposite to jhana concentration.  In my experience, concentration is so helpful because the five hindrances cannot exist there.

Satnam Futna

On page Sixty-Three, a list of the seven stages of purification and the sixteen insight-knowledges.

They are:

1. Morality, mind, view, overcoming doubt, what is and is not the path, vision of the way, and knowledge and vision. 
2. Materiality-mentality, discernment of cause and condition, comprehension, arising and passing away, dissolution, terror, danger, disenchantment, desire for deliverance, reflection, equanimity, conformity, change of lineage (?), the path, fruition, and reviewing. 

Excellent.  Some of them seem very much to be further acceptance and awareness of what the mind is and what the mind does.  Sayadaw and others, including Vivekanada, believe that these knowledges occur in a sequence to the yogi who is ardently practicing vipassana. Here's all Vivekananda's stuff at Dharmaseed, I have listened to a few of them, and if you can take his 'satnam futna' Tourettes, its great, really great.