--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we mindfully watch our bodily…" description: "\"“When we mindfully watch our bodily sensations, we should not confuse them with mental formations, for bodily sensations can arise completely independe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/henepola-gunaratana-10550_focus_when-we-mindfully-watch-our-bodily-sensa_2458947.png" --- # When we mindfully watch our bodily sensations, we should… ![“When we mindfully watch our bodily sensations, we should not confuse them with mental formations, for bodily sensations can arise completely independent of the mind. For instance, we sit comfortably. After a while, there can arise some uncomfortable feeling in our back or our legs. Our mind…” quote by Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/henepola-gunaratana-10550_focus_when-we-mindfully-watch-our-bodily-sensa_2458947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/henepola-gunaratana-10550_focus_when-we-mindfully-watch-our-bodily-sensa_2458947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/henepola-gunaratana-10550_focus_when-we-mindfully-watch-our-bodily-sensa_2458947.png) > ““When we mindfully watch our bodily sensations, we should not confuse them with mental formations, for bodily sensations can arise completely independent of the mind. For instance, we sit comfortably. After a while, there can arise some uncomfortable feeling in our back or our legs. Our mind immediately experiences that discomfort and forms numerous thoughts around the feeling. At that point, without confusing the feeling with the mental formations, we should isolate the feeling as feeling and watch it mindfully. Feeling is one of the seven universal mental factors. The other six are contact, perception, attention, concentration, life force, and volition. Other”” [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mindful observation separates raw bodily sensations from the mental narratives that arise, allowing clear awareness of feeling itself. **In simple terms:** Watch sensations without adding thoughts. Key Takeaway Observe feeling, not story. Themes mindfulness awareness psychology Mood calm focused reflective Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - Meditation sessions - pain management - stress reduction - therapy - daily body scan Key Concepts Buddhist practice mental factors sensory perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice separating sensation from thought? - What benefits arise from observing feeling alone? A Different Perspective May be difficult to maintain non-judgmental stance when discomfort is intense. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bodily Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodily-sensations-493686/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Isolate Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolate-feeling-633318/) [Mindfully Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfully-feeling-633317/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sensations Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations-arise-633319/) [Sensations Confuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations-confuse-633320/) ## Related quotes > [“Everything we experience in life, including our relationships, opportunities, challenges, and successes, reflects our bodily sensations and the emotions they generate. The quality, intensity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emad-aldajani/everything-we-experience-in-life-including-our-relationships/) [Emad Aldajani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emad-aldajani/) > [“An emotion is your brain’s creation of what your bodily sensations mean, in relation to what is going on around you in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-feldman-barrett/an-emotion-is-your-brain-s-creation-of-what-your-bodily-sensations/) [Lisa Feldman Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-feldman-barrett/) > [“The disease of the hypochondriac consists in this: that certain bodily sensations do not so much indicate a really existing disease in the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-disease-of-the-hypochondriac-consists-in-this-that-certain-bodily/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“My body felt like tangled rubber bands and dried-out pens and sticky paper clips, like the contents of a drawer where you put the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/my-body-felt-like-tangled-rubber-bands-and-dried-out-pens-and-sticky/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“It’s as though our bodily sensations have voices if we tune in to what they have to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-owen/it-s-as-though-our-bodily-sensations-have-voices-if-we-tune-in-to/) [Sam Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-owen/) > [“When you find Inner Peace, neither the presence nor the absence of any person, place or thing, condition, circumstance, or situation can be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-find-inner-peace-neither-the-presence-nor-the-absence-of-any/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. 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That sets the worry response in motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/we-try-mentally-to-grab-onto-it-or-push-it-away-that-sets-the-worry/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [You can learn not to want what you want, to recognize desires but not be controlled by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/you-can-learn-not-to-want-what-you-want-to-recognize-desires-but-not/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [The Buddha's message was simple but profound. Neither a life of self-indulgence nor one of self-mortification can bring happiness. 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It has always been this way, and you just never noticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/no-problem-you-are-not-crazier-than-you-were-yesterday-it-has-always/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“We spend all of our energies trying to make ourselves feel better, trying to bury our fears, endlessly seeking security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/we-spend-all-of-our-energies-trying-to-make-ourselves-feel-better/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Peace is not a thought, not a concept; it is a nonverbal experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/peace-is-not-a-thought-not-a-concept-it-is-a-nonverbal-experience/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [You can't ever get everything you want. It is impossible. Luckily, there is another option: You can learn to control your mind, to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/you-can-t-ever-get-everything-you-want-it-is-impossible-luckily-there/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Whatever attitudes we habitually use toward ourselves, we will use on others, and whatever attitudes we habitually use toward others, we will use on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/whatever-attitudes-we-habitually-use-toward-ourselves-we-will-use-on/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [When you have learned compassion for yourself, compassion for others is automatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/when-you-have-learned-compassion-for-yourself-compassion-for-others/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“There is no clinging to the pleasant, no fleeing from the unpleasant. Mindfulness treats all experiences equally, all thoughts equally, all feelings equally. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/there-is-no-clinging-to-the-pleasant-no-fleeing-from-the-unpleasant/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“Place no head above your own.” By this he meant, don’t just accept somebody else’s word. See for yourself. We want you to apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/place-no-head-above-your-own-by-this-he-meant-don-t-just-accept/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) [Explore all 65 Henepola Gunaratana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) ## More Focus quotes > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/) [Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Too many times we flitter our energy into too many goals and in the process don't achieve much. Focus is very important in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishali-kasture/too-many-times-we-flitter-our-energy-into-too-many-goals-and-in-the/) [Vaishali Kasture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishali-kasture/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. 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