Meditation ~ Kriyas ~ Psychology ~ Philosphy ~ Religion ~ Mythology The Heart Base
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The Heart Base

The Heart Base

 

Since years ago, I have been acutely aware of tensions at the heart region.  I used to suffer from extreme mold allergies and required the use of inhalers for asthma attacks.  I could never seem to relax the tension which was rooted in the heart/lung region.  Thankfully those symptoms resolved on their own. I never had an asthma attack after doing an 8 day Buddhist meditation retreat back in 2010.  I cannot say definitively if the long hours of mindful breathing at the navel region was the cure but I suspect it facilitated good health.  It was only years after when I took up Buddhist practist seriously, that I considered it may have been the cure.

Over the years there’s been a few times in meditation where I’ve been meditating with a focus in the head space and all of a sudden the focus instantly drops to the heart location, as a pebble sinks to the bottom of a shallow pond. There was one time in which I was acutely aware of suffering deep in the heart.  The heart region has interested me enough over the years that I asked my Buddhist preceptor about it when I was on retreat last year. He addressed the question to a group audience while talking about Abhidhamma.  His comments on the heart base (hadaya vatthu)  went something like this:

The heart base is located in the blood in the physical heart muscle.  It is in the blood, not in the heart muscle itself.  It is in this heart muscle blood from which mental factors arise. He listed off the 5 senses and the mind.  The eyes, nose, ears, tongue and outer skin give rise to seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feeling at the outer skin. Contact at these physical bases gives rise to feelings which are classified simply as pleasant, unpleasant and neutral.  All the other consciousnesses that arise in the mind are arising from the heart base.  This includes the whole range of emotions, attitudes, anxieties, excitement, longing, sadness, happiness, anticipation, regret, apathy, and on and on and on.  In Abhidhamma terminology these are called mental factors. These arise whenever there is contact at the physical sense bases. He concluded by saying that the heart base in VERY IMPORTANT but he did not elaborate.

Since then I have payed close attention to the consciousnesses which arise from the heart base.  Usually it draws my attention by a physical feeling of tightness, constriction. When I look at that closely, I see that it appears or arises in conjunction with thinking. I then identify whatever mental factor has arisen.  It can be a general identification, such as fear, desire, anger, etc. It can also be a thought pattern which causes objectification as in thinking about my personal story or stories related to others. When I cut off the thinking pattern, either completely or to a degree, there is a proportionate relaxation at the heart base. 

Now when I feel tense or constricted in the heart/lung region I do not address this by trying to physically relax, but rather I RELAX THE MIND.  It is a wonderful thing to sort it out. The permanent fixes come from STUDYING AND ADJUSTING THE MIND. I began this effort in clarity and in earnest when on the same retreat last summer.  In about the 3rd week, I began confronting subtle anxieties which were vaguely yet strongly constricting the heart/ chest region.  At the time, I was thinking of it in yoga terms, as I sustained my atItention right at the heart, with a steady resolve to un-knot it.  I think in yoga terms those knots are termed granthis. It is a practice which relies on feeling and awareness. When I do it well enough, that is when thinking stops.

I think this type of work is really important because such blockages bar one from disengaging from the psychic adjuncts.  It may be that inSelf yogis are tackling all of this with breath infusion, but I am sharing here because I have had considerable luck by zeroing in on it in meditation.

Recently, I had an experience which highlighted the separation of the so-called CORE from everything else. 

I awoke ahead of my alarm.  I tended to basic duties and drank a glass of water.  Then I sat on my bed to meditate (a place where I never meditate). My nose was blocked. Breathing was shallow.  The meditation posture on the soft mattress was awkward.  None of this mattered. The shallow breathing was just that.  It occurred all by itself.  Material nature was the Doer. There was awareness  WITHOUT  INVOLVEMENT.  It was spontaneous;  it appears to have had a momentum from before I awoke.   Action was on autopilot. No one was deciding anything. Actions were un-deliberated.

Awareness looked at the heart base to investigate there.  It was sublimely motionless. There was contentment—no excitement, no bliss, no movement.   I was not ONE with anything.  I was not my body, my feelings, my perceptions, my thinking or my consciousness although I was aware of this physical form.

This state persisted about 30 minutes at which point activity began in the household I reside.  I could have continued the meditation in that state but “I” chose to come out of it.  There were several times during the meditation when thinking tried to assert itself, but it could not penetrate. It would attempt to rise up and then fall way.

Where is the Core Self in this type of experience? It really seems to be  an invisible non-actor.  Is it a wimp? I would hardly say so.  It is more like the sublime contentment I described; that type of no-self. No-self does not seem to lack substance but what substance it does have is not at all like a conventional self.

I will continue my investigations.  For any who have taken the time to read this to the end, I wish you well.  May you be successful in your spiritual practice and reach your goal.

 

 

 

 

 

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Replies (10)

    • I would like to add that I recently read this poem which is ascribed to the Buddha (in the Pali Canon).  I had been reflecting on how to remove the arrow from the heart.  Here is the poem:

      THĀNISSARO BHIKKHU

      The Arrows of Thinking: Papañca & the Path to End Conflict

      The Arrows of Thinking: Papañca & the Path to End Conflict

      In a striking piece of poetry ( Sn 4:15), the Buddha once described the sense of saṁvega — terror or dismay — that inspired him to look for an end to suffering.

      I will tell of how I experienced saṁvega.Seeing people floundering like fish in small puddles,competing with one another —as I saw this, fear came into me.

      The world was entirely without substance.All the directions were knocked out of line.Wanting a haven for myself,I saw nothing that wasn’t laid claim to.Seeing nothing in the end but competition,I felt discontent.

      Rather than trying to solve the problem by looking for a larger puddle for himself or his fellow fish, he looked inside to see why people would want to be fish in the first place. What he found was an arrow embedded in his own heart.

      And then I saw an arrow here,so very hard to see,embedded in the heart.Overcome by this arrowyou run in all directions.

      But simply on pulling it outyou don’t run,you don’t sink.

      For any who are interested, the complete article is found here:

      https://buddho.org/the-arrows-of-thinking-papanca-the-path-to-end-conflict/?fbclid=IwAR1Exb9gS1hO5dzg_ShEptuIzqmtc6cduNgVYM48ndcUgCtqv6Pj5fx0Wrs

      • Marcia Beloved 

        The Arrows of Thinking is a fresh perspective and very novel approach for the extraction of self from its confusion about what it is, but with realizing that other selves continue to be bewildered.

        • Marcia Beloved,

          coreSelf?

          An invisible non-actor?

          Sure!

          If not a whimp, then what?

          A helpless power supply?

          Hmmmmm Let me see.

          Yes, perhaps!

          A freed slave is not a slave.

          But just the fact that it achieved freedom is telling. Why did it have to achieve that, anyway?

          And that is where the word whimp had to be invented.

          • But just the fact that it achieved freedom is telling. Why did it have to achieve that, anyway?

             

            The Buddha's teachings are pregnant with the possibility of freedom.  

            The wimp can be cleaned up and become a Refuge.

            When one sees the arrow in the heart, it can be removed by skillful means.

            Those slaves who do not need to achieve freedom may freely continue in slavery. 

            • Marcia Beloved, 

              For clarification of vocabulary uses.

              inSelf Yoga term of psyche is the same as the term being which is used in many Buddhist literature.

              For example at the link above, this sentence is given:

              The second knowledge he gained that night, dealing in terms of beings dying from and being reborn to various worlds throughout the cosmos, was also a form of objectification.

              The avoidance of the word, self should be noted. 

              inSelf Yoga also avoids the word self and uses the word psyche which is a container of natural and supernatural functions, items and energies. But I use coreSelf instead of self, so as to distinguish the general terms for self, from the other sorted items or energies which comprise the being.

              The common meaning for self in English is actually a composite of several functions, items and energies and hence I agree with the Buddhist writers that there is no such thing which is permanent, because the composite will be broken apart. If it stays together for any length of time, it is worthy of a term like being (Buddhist) or psyche (my term).

              Hence in inSelf Yoga, there is a coreSelf in that being or psyche. That core apparently moves in a subtle body, a particular one. It moves like a passenger who sits in a car, where it is conveyed from place to place based on the rotation of the tires.

              Though the being is altered continuously, I declare that in that body there is a coreSelf. Buddhism may deny this, however. In Buddhism the entire being, psyche or subtle body, contents and all may be rated as illusory. In which case, we must agree to disagree.

            • That's a very helpful clarification regarding terminology.  I actually thought that article was too complicated but shared the link to show the source of the poem.  Objectification as described in the article is a very good way too understand the stream of thinking which keeps us in the cyle of rebirth.

              That said, I would like to present the the following in reference to the coreSelf being a power source.  A power source is not exactly a typical self or being. But it surely gives life to the selves which come in varied forms like humans, gods, animals, ghosts, and so on.

              Consider this:  If the coreSelf cuts off the power and disables it from powering the 5 senses and the mind, then there is containment of the so-called power source.  That is when the coreSelf has a chance of experiencing itself.

              What is that like? Can one describe the experience? Without powering up and animating the mind, the sense of identity, the body and psyche, the whole samsaric display of a being/ psyche vanishes.

              Would sparks still fly out of the power source which is fully  "self" contained?

              This is worthy of investigation!

               

               

              • Interesting questions.

                May take lives of meditation to provide answers.

                • Sometimes I connect with posts. I don’t necessarily address the entire thing, it may just be a reaction to some part(s).

                  I am glad that you got a resolution to your asthma. Coincidentally, the day you posted I was driving my son from school, he expressed that having done a couple of months of diaphragmatic breathing he now can run fine and not feel bothered by his asthma.

                  I feel that levels of achievement on inSelf Yoga site are most often the teacher’s position. However, it is a fact that others have to deal with sensual withdrawal and its many pangs, emotions, feelings, other attachments, or a sense of uninvestigated instinctual attachments. 

                  What stands out to me, if I may say so, is that you have attained great levels of introspection and observation. The semantics can get in the way on top of the actual variations in techniques.

                  Regarding the quote here from the initial post:"I think this type of work is really important because such blockages bar one from disengaging from the psychic adjuncts.  It may be that inSelf yogis are tackling all of this with breath infusion, but I am sharing here because I have had considerable luck by zeroing in on it in meditation."

                  I’d say that iSY doesn’t only deal with the removal of blockages during breath infusion. Actually, that really takes place during meditation which also has different components and levels. And as one progresses, the idea of to maintain mindfulness throughout the day, therefore the higher advise of at least 2 full rounds of practice daily. 

                  What I see as crucial and that has been shared as the development of the ability of introspection or mindfulness leading to analysis of all things other than the self, that which is not doing, or whatever it is described to be. 

                  But such a meditative state can also be achieved in iSY. Stillness, steadiness, motionlessness are all fundamental in the process of meditation, it was once desscribed by Michael as quietude. However, in iSY this is more of the object of the naad sound, upon completing infustion of the subtle form, the container of said blockages. 

                  Furthermore, that state can be quickly and easily be attained on a consistent basis by doing kinetic manipulation, yoga with bhastrika first, and then involving meditation/introspection or absorption in naad.

                  That program which includes the breath of fire directly allows access to the blockages since they are stocked in the subtle body and psyche when not generated from the life force. Then meditation is where the work takes place. The very concentration (or attraction to naad) turns the attention towards those other things outside of the self or blockages.

                  Rishi doesn’t linger on certain aspects as what he shares most often is relating to his experience. Otherwise, most definitely, there are lots of preliminary achievements to take place. Therefore when one initially sits down to meditate, although Patanjali for good practice advises against consideration of all peripheral things and insists only on unidirectional attention, the psyche shows one the stuff it’s made of, and I’d also say they need to be addressed, dealt with and cleared through. Fortunately, the eight fold path system allows for flexibility, and being on different steps of the ladder at once, it’s a process. 

                  Regarding this paragraph: “Where is the Core Self in this type of experience? It really seems to be an invisible non-actor.  Is it a wimp? I would hardly say so.  It is more like the sublime contentment I described; that type of no-self. No-self does not seem to lack substance but what substance it does have is not at all like a conventional self.”

                  I find this to be a very poignant question. Based on your type of meditation practice around this realization or acquisition, and that being around the heart base, it is possible to your core self could relocate during such experiences given the sustained and steady focus of the attention and awareness in that region. Now, from there to leap to defining it as sublime contentment or a no-self may as you suggest necessitate more investigation indeed.

                  It has been labeled wimpy due to its incapacity to outdo the adjuncts on a wish. By nature, it is beyond the trials and tribulations the social self journeys through, so it cannot pull the shots. Being of a different nature to anything normally experienced, it may become more evident eventually in time, and that may not necessarily connect it or limit it to a state of pure consciousness. 

                  And, I have a reaction to this segment: 

                  Consider this:  If the coreSelf cuts off the power and disables it from powering the 5 senses and the mind, then there is containment of the so-called power source.  That is when the coreSelf has a chance of experiencing itself.

                  What is that like? Can one describe the experience? Without powering up and animating the mind, the sense of identity, the body and psyche, the whole samsaric display of a being/ psyche vanishes.

                  Would sparks still fly out of the power source which is fully  "self" contained?

                  I’d say that it may be verily difficult to hypothesize on that state. We have never at any point since inception/conception into manifestation experienced such condition of being just pure self. As it stands, core-self is totally removed from what we do and are about. 

                  So once reverted to its state of “pure being” only it would have by dint of process achieved self-containment of its energies hopefully, and not look to branching out again. Achieving that state is what Lord Buddha was able to easily do by determination. It is that total, radical and permanent letting go of all things other.

                  • Thanks Marcia Beloved !

                    This is an extraordinary post of heart base. 

                    It did wonders to me and I experienced several dimensions at the heart base!

                    This is an extraordinary hridaya kriya (heart base technique), it released several emotional burdens from my subtle body, I did see the removed emotional burdens are slowly coming back again but never the less, it is an immediate relief and reduced several emotional entanglements to almost nil or very less compared to before. 

                    Thanks again for sharing, I have been one of your beneficiaries again and again of your notes, please keep sharing more and more!

                    • I had a good chuckle after reading the above comment.  I did a 6 week meditation retreat this spring and since I returned, I pretty much lost interest in posting.  I'll give that a second thought now.  Sometimes when coming off retreat, there is a tendency to self isolate and allow insights gained to become established.

                      Also, I'll just note that I experience a benefit from sharing.  Usually after I make a post, some type of insight follows. It's pretty much an immediate benefit.  On that basis, it makes a lot of sense to keep sharing, even though I feel like my practice follows a different track and goals.

                      Thanks for your feedback!

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