1.5. Sense of Taste

Meditation on the sense of taste

Obviously, tastes are not available all the time. So this meditation is best done while eating and drinking.

Transcript

Let's spend a little time with the fourth sense, the sense of taste. Bring your attention to the gustatory field, the world of flavours, all the information coming from the tongue. ^^^ Straight away, notice how different the sense of taste is from the sense of smell. Tasting is a totally different type of experience to smelling. The time to do this is while eating, or drinking, or when there is something in your mouth. The rest of the time, all you can really taste is the inside of your mouth and saliva, which you probably have become so accustomed to you may think there is no taste. It doesn't matter so much what you're tasting, sweet, sour, salty or bitter, the important thing is to know that, right now, the experience is of 'tasting', this is the tongue channel. --- With taste, it's very important to differentiate the experience that is coming from taste and the experience that is coming from smell. These two are distinct. If needs be, stop breathing for a moment, or pinch your nose closed to remove the sense of smell and focus exclusively on taste. Explore this world of taste, sense information coming from the tongue. --- Focus on the act of tasting, the fact of tasting, the field of flavours, this is the tongue channel. --- Right now, tasting is happening. This is a tongue experience. Give your full attention to the sense of taste. --- If you are easily distracted, just mentally note to yourself, "tasting", "this is flavour", "tongue channel", or whatever language is useful to you to maintain awareness of taste. --- When your mind wanders off into thought, come back to this very simple, quite mundane, sense of taste, knowing that right now you are tasting. --- The sense of taste is not often available to experience, only at the time of eating and drinking. So especially at those times, give your full attention to the tongue. --- Notice the initial flavour of a mouthful, how the taste changes over time, how quickly the flavour disappears, how, after a short time, even the most tasty food becomes utterly flavourless. --- Notice your response to tastes, things that you like the flavour of, things that you don't like, things that you're indifferent to. There's often not such a big difference in taste, but an enormous difference in perception and response to taste. --- Throughout the day, anytime anything goes into your mouth, focus on the flavour. This is the sense of taste. --- Keep coming back to this sense of taste. Give it your full attention.

Please continue studying the sense of taste until you are familiar with its basic details, then move on to the sense of touch.

Q&A

Q: I can't tell the difference between tastes and smells. They both seem to happen at the same time, in the same place.

A: No problem. Keep paying 100% attention while eating or drinking and the difference will become clearer with continued practice. Carefully smell the food before it enters your mouth, and notice the new type of experience which occurs when the food touches your tongue. With repeated attention, it will be become clear that sweetness, saltiness, bitterness or sourness are one thing, and the smell is another thing entirely.

Q: Do you have any questions or doubts at this point?

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