In the Satipatthana Sutta (alternate translation with commentary), the terms “internally” and “externally” appear about two dozen times each. A typical use of these terms is as follows:
In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or externally on the body in & of itself, or both internally & externally on the body in & of itself.
So what does that mean?
Some research (I so love the web) shows that various translations of the Satipatthana differ on the specificity of this idea. You can do your own Googling so I won’t bore you with the details, but the general consensus is that the commentarial tradition (the time-tested and generally accepted interpretation of suttas by the Theravada tradition) articulates that “internally” means the one who is practicing (“me”) and “externally” means some other person or persons.
This may be old news, but it was a revelation for me. I had always assumed “externally” meant outside my body, like an externally imposed physical sensation as in my skin burning, while “internally” was the internal experience grounded in craving and doubt.
The idea that I could practice mindfulness based on the feelings, body, etc. of other people blew my mind a little bit. And then it made perfect sense.
Two fundamentals of Buddhism are 1) compassion and 2) not self. Both of these seek to help us disassociate with an individual concept of self and instead associate with a “bigger” concept of all beings. Enlightenment itself is described as the realization that we are not separate, and there is a state beyond birth and death within that knowing.
From a practice perspective, this is also eye opening. There are times when looking within is just too difficult. Using the “external” option, I can focus on the body, feelings, observations and communication of another being and attempt to recognize in them the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering and not self. And even when it’s not helpful for that reason, it can be helpful because we’re often too close to ourselves to see the truth. But looking at others provides enough perspective that we can see and understand suffering in others, and then apply that learning internally.
