Exercise 17: Observing Internal Formations

He is aware of the eyes [ears, nose, tongue, body, mind] and aware of the form [sound, smell, taste, touch, objects of mind], and he is aware of the internal formations which are produced in dependence on these two things. He is aware of the birth of a new internal formation and is aware of abandoning an already produced internal formation, and he is aware when an already abandoned internal formation will not arise again.

In the section of the sutra that refers to the observation of the six sense organs and the six sense objects, we see the term internal formations. The word in Sanskrit is samyojana, which can also be translated as "knots," "fetters," "agglomeration," or "binding together."

Internal formations can be classified as two kinds, ( 1) the Five Dull Knots: confusion, desire, anger, pride, and doubt, and (2) the Five Sharp Knots: view of the body as self, extreme views, wrong views, perverted views, and superstitious views (or unnecessary ritual prohibitions). The latter are easier to correct. When the eyes see form, the ears hear sound, the nose smells a scent, the tongue tastes something, the body touches something, or the mind cognizes an object, knots may or may not be tied, depending on the way in which our mind receives these impressions. When someone speaks unkindly to us, if we understand the reason and we do not take the words to heart, we will not feel at all irritated, and a knot will not be formed in our mind. If we do not understand the reason and we feel irritated, a knot will form. The substance of this knot will be hatred. When we misunderstand someone's words or behavior, the knot which forms is confusion, which often gives rise to irritation, pride, attachment, and doubt. The knot, confusion, a lack of clear seeing, or ignorance (Sanskrit: auidya), is the basis for every other knot.

The feelings associated with internal formations are usually unpleasant, but sometimes internal formations are associated with pleasant feelings. When we are attached to a form, sound, scent, taste, touch, or mind object, an internal formation of the nature of desire is formed. To begin with, it can be associated with a pleasant feeling. But because we become attached to it, we are bound, and when the demands of the attachment are not met, the feelings become unpleasant. Anything from wine, tobacco, or opium to beautiful forms, good food, music, or words of praise can produce a knot in us, an internal formation that begins as a pleasant feeling. Once we have such a knot, we are tied tightly by it, and we are forced to seek out the sense object again and again in order to repeat the pleasant feeling

Falling in love is also an internal formation, because in it there is the material of blind attachment. The phrase to "fall" in love in itself sounds disastrous. People often refer to love-sickness, as if falling in love were a disease. The French expression coup de foudre (struck by lightning) describes falling in love as a sharp blow. The author Nguyen Binh has said, "Alas, only the gods can save someone who has fallen in love." But being in love can be transformed, so that blind attachment, selfishness, and domination are replaced by the capacity to understand and bring happiness to the person we love, without demanding specific conditions and expecting something in return. To transform being in love in this way is to transform an internal formation.

Feelings of sorrow in us are also internal formations which arise from confusion, desire, hatred, pride, and doubt. If these roots of affliction are not transformed, the feelings of sorrow will remain intact in us. In everyday life, seeds of sorrow can be sown in our consciousness with or without the collaboration of others. Others may say or do things which produce knots in us, but if we give birth to the seeds of understanding, tolerance, love, and compassion, then what they say and do will not produce any internal formations in us. It depends on the way in which we receive what happens to us in our daily lives. If we are stable, relaxed, understanding, loving, compassionate, and not caught in egotism, then the things others do and say will not have the force to produce an internal formation in us.

If we live according to the teachings of the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, we practice mindful obsemation of the arising, duration, and transformation of internal formations. In our daily life, we practice full awareness in order to be able to recognize the internal formation just born and find a way to transform it. If we allow internal formations to grow strong in us, the time will come when they will dominate us, and the work of transforming them will be extremely difficult. An internal formation of hatred, desire, or doubt needs our full attention as soon as it arises so that it may be transformed. When it arises for the first time, the knot is still very "loose" and the work of "untying it" is easy.

When we live with another person, we should help each other transform the internal formations that we have produced in each other. By practicing understanding and loving speech, we can help each other a great deal. Happiness is no longer an individual matter. If the other person is not happy, we will not be happy either. Therefore, to transform the internal formations in the other is to bring about our own happiness as well. A wife can create internal formations in her husband, and a husband can do so in his wife, and if they continue to create knots in each other, one day they will have no happiness left. Therefore, as soon as a knot is created, the wife, for example, should know that a knot has just formed in her. She should not overlook it. She should take the time to observe it and, with her husband's help, transform the internal formations. She might say, "Darling, I have an internal formation. Can you please help me." This is easy when the states of mind of husband and wife are still light and not loaded with many internal formations.

As we have already seen, the material of any internal formation is ignorance or confusion. If we can see the ignorance which is present during the creation of a knot, we can easily untie it. In the twelfth exercise (mindfully observing the source and nature of feelings), the fourteenth exercise (mindfully observing anger), and the fifteenth exercise (observing with compassion), we have seen that if we are aware of interdependence and multiple causation, we can see the roots and the nature of our mind and transform and transcend unpleasant states. Mindful observation is to look and be able to see the nature of dharmas. The transformation of an internal formation is the result of this insight.