Page 110 - Dhamma Practice

104
Dissatisfaction is patigha (Translator’s note: Broad feelings of dissatisfaction, agitation and unhappiness). What is patigha? It is defilement. Defilement emerges: “I don’t like.”
Therefore, the way to contemplate: “How do I overcome this feeling of dislike?” “How do I relinquish the feeling of dislike?” As mentioned before, we need to have the awareness to contemplate—we do not like, we do not like. Or, we should remove the feeling of “us”. We should create emptiness. Place the phenomena of sourness, blandness into an empty space, and try. This morning a practitioner tried placing a feeling of emptiness in the area from the mouth down to the neck. See when we swallow our saliva—where does the saliva go? It goes into an empty space. Similarly, when we chew food, we chew in an empty space and let the food move into an empty space. See how it feels.
Try it—tomorrow. We cannot do today. It is past the time. But, there are still pana drinks (Translator’s note: Drinks that could be consumed by monks after midday) and water. When we swallow, take the unburdened mind and place it at the mouth and the neck. See whether the liquid flow into an empty space. Once it flows down, how does it cease? Slowly fade away or slowly disappear in the empty space? When we contemplate this way, observe how the feelings of gladness and satisfaction are in this phenomenon. Are there any feelings of