Rather than launching a newer student into philosophical considerations or studies of the intricacies of their consciousness prior to beginning, the Buddhist method of meditation instead chooses to present them with direct experiential situations through which they can see themselves just what goes on within their consciousness at any particular moment.

In order to have relevance to their ordinary life, which is of course the area in which all Buddhist principles should be applied, such experiences should encompass and have some bearing upon commonly felt situations.

Such an outlook takes practical form in the practice known as the 'Four Foundations of Mindfulness' (Jap: Shi Nenjo; Skt: Catur Smritidhyana).

These foundations concern the development of mindfulness in relation to the physical body (Jap: Shinenjo), mindfulness of the feeling states (Jap: Junenjo), mindfulness of the internal objects and activities of the consciousness (Jap: Shin nenjo) and mindfulness regarding external objects of consciousness (Jap: Honenjo).

We can see that these concern both subjective and objective themes. They act rather like the legs of a chair in that they represent the fundamental types and areas of experience that we encounter in our lives and together these areas of life act as spring-boards for the basis for most of our other short and long-term mental activities.
When we practice each of the four themes we remind ourselves of their essential characteristic. For the body we recall that it is full of impurities, for the feelings we recall that they are deceptive, for the mind we recall that is is constantly changing and for mental objects we recall that they are essentially empty of any permanent entity.

The four foundations detail the particular types of mental relationships we create in response to our outer and inner worlds and their application can be seen or presented in many different ways.
They can be regarded as four types of mindful attitude in general, as four means of developing meditative insight, as four subjective explorations, as four different types of experiences or as four ways of approaching, interpreting, analysing, presenting or understanding experience itself.

All of these interpretations are correct and none exclusive. The state of mindfulness which is developed in relation to the themes of the Four Foundations is the primary Buddhist attitude encouraged towards all things and situations. In the practice of these Four Foundations, it is the development and strengthening of mindfulness itself which is the object of the meditation and its four themes serve to make this meditation both relevant and approachable to daily life.
Because of this latter feature, the order in which they are learnt or practiced is not really important although it is traditional and much more practical to learn them in the order given in the sutras, for here they occur in the order of their potential complexity.

The four themes are like the walls of the castle of our consciousness and they contain a vast area within them over which we exert no control. We need to invade and conquer this castle in order to be fully in command of what it contains. The walls of this castle are very thick and protective as they represent our habitual ignorance and ineptitudes. Our assault upon the castle is begun by examining each of these walls in turn, in order to discern their strengths and weaknesses.
Then, when these are known, our attack commences and each wall is breached at its weakest point and then demolished. At this point, the castle - which before seemed so strong - simply ceases to exist. Through this victory we recognise that the only reason that the castle could exist and be so powerful was because its walls firmly enclosed its space, and that without these walls the space was not visible.
We also can recognise that the space within this castle was no different from the space without. The castle existed only as long as it could enclose this space.
If one can break down its enclosures one sees the castle in its true condition, both as not part of anything and as part of all things. This is the first attack on the first castle; there are many others.

The four foundations are 'mindfulness' practices, that is they are directed towards the attainment of a state of mind-full-ness. This means knowing the real nature of consciousness in an all-round way. Being mindful does not simply mean being 'aware', for that is but a requisite for mindfulness to arise. It indicates instead a balanced and fuller consciousness.
It means recognising, acknowledging and knowing correctly the basic arising, manifestation and demise of each moment of consciousness.

Mindfulness is the basis of all other meditative attainment. It is the pillar upon which everything is built. Each of the traditional themes are dealt with separately in the practice but they are also linked in the sense that they all have a single nexus, namely consciousness itself. Consciousness in fact is the basic field of all Buddhist spiritual practice, the primary object of all knowledge because it is from here that all our experiences develop.

As we saw above the first object of mindfulness is the body. The second is mindfulness of our 'feeling states'. This does not mean 'feelings' in the emotional sense, for these would be classified as mental activities, but more the three characteristic mental responses we create towards the various situations we experience. These are described as being-

[1] wanting to prolong a situation we favour
[2] wanting to shorten a situation we find uncomfortable
[3] being indifferent or neutral towards a situation.

In this practice we note if any of these responses arise within us, acknowledge its presence and remind ourselves that such states characterise all life. We then return to the practice without cultivating or becoming involved in any further speculation about it.

The third theme is mindfulness of all the activity and states of one's consciousness - the way the it 'ticks over'. This is often largely composed of the two preceding things.
In this practice we become aware of our inner agitations determine which of the 3 basic 'roots of suffering'(desire, ignorance, hatred) they belong to and then return to the practice.

The fourth mindfulness theme concerns the nature of the objects of consciousness.

With body, feelings and mental activities we are dealing with subjective states of consciousness. At this level we are looking at the external orientations of consciousness.
One does this by observing what the consciousness 'sees' and the various relationships it forms to such externals, along with the patterns which arise from these relationships. A common practice at this level is, for example, the observation of the dropping of ash from an incense stick and reflecting on the ultimate impermanence of all existent things.

Consciousness is therefore being revealed indirectly by means of that which fascinates it. Its objects are themselves reflections of such fascination. It is this interplay between subject and object that prompts us ro staticise its essentially dynamic nature, We tend to then seize such experiences and take them for our own.
Such a 'freezing' of moving forces results in our developing strategies through which we reinforce the idea of our permanency.

The Foundation of Body (Shin Nenjo)

We shall now examine one of these foundations - the first - in more detail. This practice is first mentioned in the Mahajima Nikaya:119, where it is described as covering all aspects of the body. In the later Visuddhi Magga:8;2, it is described as concerning only 32 bodily parts. This foundation is divided into 4 forms concerning the breath, which of the 4 physical positions (i.e. standing, sitting, walking, lying down) one is in, the organs of the body and the four elements (Mahabhuta).
The first acts as a preliminary process in order to stabilise and prepare the mind for practice. The common method is that of breath-counting (Jap: Susokukan) and breath-awareness (Jap: Kokyunen). These provide an ever available means of centralising one's attention on the body. Breath awareness is a progression from breath-counting. It usually occurs quite naturally and does not usually have to be approached as a separate technique.

The next part of the body foundation consists in simply developing awareness that one has a physical body and that this body exists in the form of its arms, legs, head, etc. By confining the mind's attention to the body we are reminded of its role as a creator of physical experiences rather than just an object of consciousness.
In this practice we take note of the physical position we are in at the time and also any physical sensations or states that we become aware of. We acknowledge that these exist. We do not involve ourselves in any further mental processes concerning them beyond this simple recognition.
This process is useful for those who habitually ignore or evade the fact of their own physical being or who pretend to themselves or others that it has no real significance or hold over them and is subordinate to their ideas.

The next stage of the body foundation progresses to mindfulness of the nature and constitution of the 32 traditional parts of the body. In our school this type of body-insight is generally called in Japanese 'Taiken'. 'Ken'(Ch:Kuan) means penetrative insight; 'Tai' (Ch: T'i) is a general term for the basic physical body whereas 'Shin' (Ch: Shen) - which is used in the title of the meditation - refers to the physical body in a more personal and possessive sense.
The Chinese character for this meaning derives from a pictograph of a pregnant women. 'Taiken' then means applying one's attention to understanding the physical constituents of the body.
Traditionally this was done by subjecting one's body to a systematic pattern of analysis, first of all, bringing to mind how the body exists with all its organs etc; that each of the organs exists as a separate unit and function which, when interacting, we regard as forming something extra - namely a unified whole. We also reflect on the fact that 'we' do not own this body nor does it own 'us' for it is merely the vehicle of our experiences.
Then our mindfulness of the physical body and its constituents is applied to the task of analysing it according to the ancient pattern based on the five great physical elements (Skt: Mahabhuta) of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether used in Buddhist cosmology.
That this pattern is so old is no barrier for, as we shall see later, it has authoritative confirmation in the most modern of sciences.

In the practice of the four foundations meditation these elements are used as overall symbols for the many different physical aspects and related qualities of the body. It is these aspects and qualities that we bring to mind when we are contemplating the real nature of our own bodies.
Earth represents the bones and solid parts of the body in general;
Water represents the blood and other bodily fluids;
Fire represents the heat of the body and also its muscles;
Air represents the breath, the lungs and the spaces within the body.
The totality of the physical body elements can be considered as either the fifth element, Ether: all that which is not directly seen; or that which is everywhere.
In Buddhist medicine this Ether is also used as a symbol of the life force (Skt: Jiva) in the body.

That we classify a thing as, say, earth, does not mean that it is exclusively that. The bones are ruled by earth only because earth predominates in them. Each of the parts and organs of our body that we are familiar with is then brought to mind. With each organ we reflect upon what we know of it, its shape, colour or function etc, and classify each into its elemental ruler.
We then remind ourselves that in each and every part of what we observe, whether it be its outward form or its inner elemental nature, there is no permanent unchanging feature.
This is systematically done until we have exhausted all the organs and parts we know of at that time.

Such analytical meditation can develop into a very intricate mental dialogue, one very much in tune with our present scientific habits, for we can analyse not only the shape and constitution of the actual physical organs but also their processes and interactions with all the other organs etc.
We may perhaps think of such a complex process as a potentially negative hindrance in that those amongst us who are inclined to be over speculative could have a real good time indulging in such an endeavour and effectively waste all of the time devoted to acquiring skill in this method of meditation in such a manner.
To those of us strongly inclined to think too much about particulars it could indeed devour our attention and divert it from the primary object of the meditation, indeed the scriptures are full of tales of people who were prone to this and how they were eventually shown or learnt to overcome such a hinderance.

In some schools of Buddhism such susceptibility was regarded as a great danger and meditation methods which were lent themselves to this were either avoided or presented in such a manner as to bypass such a tendency.
However such is the beauty, depth and universality of the Buddha's meditation teaching that even such a habit eventually can be made to reach a useful and meaningful conclusion.

Let us consider an example concerning the nature of blood. The blood, which in its entirety is ruled by water, rises in the heart - a fire and air organ, travels within the vascular (water) system. It goes through the lungs (air) and around and through each of the muscles (fire) and limbs (earth). It contains various minerals, proteins and enzymes - which are earth, oxygen - which is air, white corpuscles - which are air, lymphatic fluid - which is fire and water, red corpuscles - which are fire and finally plasma - which is water. Here, for most of us we would more or less reach the end of our possibilities for speculation, however such is the power of post Einsteinian physics that it is now possible to introduce many other types of speculative wastefulness, particularly in regard to the atomic structure of matter.
Whilst we cannot directly see with our own eyes the atoms of things, physics tells us that these atoms themselves are built up of various forms and/or patterns of molecular nuclei.
Each of these substances, indeed all of the basic atomic matter of the body, is in turn composed of various combinations of DNA particles. When we look at these DNA particles more closely we find that these in turn are composed of formative nucleotides. Here we reach the end point of modern atomic physics but what then do we find it says about these nucleotides?.
When examined closely it appears that these very 'building blocks' of our physical being are themselves composed of 4 different basic types, each set of which in toto forms the very structure of each and every DNA pattern. At this point the most modern physics and the most ancient Buddhist teachings regarding matter reach complete agreement.

All things in the body, and everything else besides, are in fact combinations of all the four separate elements but usually with one or other predominating.
This predominance describes something extra concerning that part of the body in which it occurs. To describe something as being water is to note that the characteristic of liquidity is its most obvious feature. This is therefore a qualitative and experiential description, rather than a simply physical one.
Each of the elements has a distinctive quality and sometimes it is such qualities alone which reveal its ruling element. Earth is solidarity and heaviness, Water is fluidity, cohesion and malleability, Fire is heat and activity, Air is mobility. One danger inherent in the application of abstract ideas and principles towards living processes is that of developing an alienating awareness, that is a high degree of perceptual ability in regard to what we are considering, but without the balanced, compassionate empathy towards the objects of our attention which all Buddhism requires.
This trait is often highly developed in those who are over intellectual in their approaches to life.

To recognise a difference between physical and experiential phenomena (a theme dealt with later) was an important part of the early Buddhist teachings and arises from recognising the twofold basis of all sensoria. This is described in the Mahajima Nikaya 1:138 and drawn out with in verse 8 of Vasubandhu's 'Vimsatika Karika'. By bringing these two bases into alignment we avoid both the error of materialism - 'all things are only what we sense and nothing more' and the error of alienation - ' things are only ever what we perceive them to be and nothing more'.
This first error is mistaken because it denies the interaction between mental and physical processes, the second because it relegates all physical experiences into purely mental states. This latter tenet was never, as some have believed, expounded by Vasubandhu.

Viewing all the elements of our being as forming a distinct and unitary whole is the basis for the sense of identity centred on the body. The foundation body meditation hinges on breaking this habit of automatically identifying our 'self' with a body, or the body with a self. It is due to such attachment that we automatically assume that when a sensation arises it does so in 'our' body or that it is 'our' feelings which give rise to the sense of personal identity. When we are ill it is 'our' organs which give us trouble etc.

We can see perhaps that if we practice this meditation regularly we will get into the more realistic habit of regarding ourselves and others as composite rather than unitary beings. This means that when we regard our own or other's bodies, we do so without mentally hiding any of the features which are directly related and relevant to it. In particular we do not allow ourselves to create selective, illusory or deliberately self deceptive views or attitudes concerning our own or others' bodies.
We will recall that even the nicest-looking person we know has a skull beneath their face, the strongest man and the most beautiful woman will eventually be reduced to a rotting stinking mass and all that will remain of them is their bones.
Although we should not take such ideas to extremes, recalling that such concepts apply equally to ourselves often makes even our most deeply cherished concerns seem rather futile and all our hatreds quite pointless.

Because such ideas could prove very difficult for some of us to contemplate and that many would perhaps be inclined to avoid practices which reminded us of them, the older schools of Buddhism emphasised this point by introducing at this stage a series of more stark visual contemplation objects to actively encourage the breaking of attachment to the physical body. One would be taught to contemplate a physical corpse in various stages of decomposition. In modern times eastern ascetic monks still often go to graveyards and watch an actual body go through its process of decay. It is a sobering process, even more so if it is done with a deceased member of one's own family.

In the course of such a meditative practice the whole range of emotional attachments, memories and experiences in relation to that person is undergone, reviewed and reviewed again until eventually seen in a sobering, balanced and universal light.
Such a practice helps us counterbalance any subtle tendency we may have to be over influenced by glamours. Some people find it useful to practice this meditation by utilising the periodic observation of a peice of rotting meat decompose or the body of a newly deceased pet.

The next and last level of body-awareness meditation represents the body and its elements by means of the coloured, geometric shapes of a Sotoba (Skt: Stupa).

Previously when thinking of our bodies we might still find ourselves automatically reverting to our habitually possessive relation to it, it is difficult to pass beyond the range of thoughts between self deprecation and self approbation. To those who find it difficult to break this habit, who may perhaps even now still regard each element or the organ ruled by it as being 'their' own this method introduces the abstract concept of the elemental principle. Here the elements do not arise from any reciprocal sensation or sense of our physical being, instead they are formed only as eidetic geometric shapes.
Shapes are much more difficult to either desire or repulse and harder for us personalise.
The shapes utilised are those of the square, the circle, the triangle, the half circle and a 'jewel' shape.
The triangle and half circle are separately derived from the former two and the jewel shape, derived from the latter two, unifies them into another.
As the Mahabhuta are considered primary forces here only the primary colours of yellow, blue, red and white are utilised in relation to these shapes.
Earth is now represented simply in an abstract form without reference to ones 'self', so that a yellow square is used to represent a principle of earth rather than 'my' bones, and so on for all the others.
The important thing about this method is that it summarises all the elemental qualities in a body-free non-self-centred way. This stage represents an important progression in our experiential development for, by mastering it, we enable ourselves to develop the experience of becoming intellectually and emotionally aware of things but also of being unaffected by them, that is we are learning how to not automatically assert possession over the physical or mental objects and phenomena we experience.
Such awareness is for many a totally new form of experiential endeavour and the first 'taste' of it is often accompanied by a sense of great peace and calm. The Sotoba of five shapes represents such a calm, non-identificatory relationship to body and mind.
Due to this it is often used in mikkyo schools as a metaphysical symbol for the ultimate and perfect body of Mahavairocana (J:Dainichi) Buddha.

When we practice this method we usually begin by visualising the basic geometric shapes clearly and if we are successful in doing this we can then add the colours to each of them. This method is the prelude to another type of meditation which uses principles of a different order altogether to the 4 foundations but which forms an essential part of the mikkyo teachings.