The simplicity of this teaching is profound and direct . Thanks for the reminder about how to relate with thoughts during meditation. I've been meditating in zen tradition for over 40 years. I never tire of being reminded like this of the utter simplicity of our practice and , by implication, how we are often making practice AND life much more complicated than it is or needs to be.
Sometimes you are thinking, then you become aware that you are in the midst of doing zazen, and go back to doing that (zazen) and the thought just dissolves. So just because you return to the current activity and let go of a thought doesn't mean you are cutting that thought off or pushing it away.
Thank you, good point. but why even try to "come back", why even try to come back from thinking to "no thinking". isn't it thinking itself that tries that? I very agree with the first part but I found the second part of the talk contraticting itself. why not just sitting, and when thinking rises, just think it, when feeling rises, just feel it. I found that in this way of practice, that for just being simpliy aware, all of this activitis sinks down by themselves without "our" effort to put it down. Maybe different practice is relevent for different time and expirences of the practiciner. Blessings!
"Come back" is just a teaching tool for beginners. It means just perceive this moment. It is like how sometimes we say the Buddha got enlightenment. He didn't get enlightenment, he realized it.
As an adhd person my brain comes up with a thousand divergent but related ideas to my original idea. I've realized that just letting it happen is the best I can do... and then there are those rare mornings when I don't have tons to think about. Then I get worried what's wrong with my brain. Lol!
Hey Kaaren, how are you doing? I've got adhd, too. Meditation certainly has helped a lot. The thoughts that often are like an avalanche hitting me are becoming more and more like clouds. I can engage with them, or not. But they don't knock me off balance as they used to. My best wishes to you!
“Trying” to stop thinking is like trying to calm a body of water by swatting it with your hands. You can’t stop thinking! Begin to understand your thinking as thought “process”, not your thoughts as nouns or things. The flapping roof that is your brain is innocent - it’s supposed to think - it’s a beautiful thing to think. The movie in your mind can only disturb you if you give it the permission to do so. Tell yourself, “I love that my mind wants to think, my thinking is beautiful, my thinking can be dark, it can be pretty, it can also be horrible, I love that about my mind.” Your mind is the most beautifully sophisticated tool on the face of the earth, so stop declaring war on it by trying to “stop” it.
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You've made me realise that I had been pushing away my thoughts when practicing precisely as you described. Thankyou, from Australia.
+Heath2171 You are welcome!!
The simplicity of this teaching is profound and direct . Thanks for the reminder about how to relate with thoughts during meditation. I've been meditating in zen tradition for over 40 years. I never tire of being reminded like this of the utter simplicity of our practice and , by implication, how we are often making practice AND life much more complicated than it is or needs to be.
+Daniel Kaplan You are welcome. Glad this was helpful.
Sometimes you are thinking, then you become aware that you are in the midst of doing zazen, and go back to doing that (zazen) and the thought just dissolves. So just because you return to the current activity and let go of a thought doesn't mean you are cutting that thought off or pushing it away.
Thank you, good point. but why even try to "come back", why even try to come back from thinking to "no thinking". isn't it thinking itself that tries that? I very agree with the first part but I found the second part of the talk contraticting itself. why not just sitting, and when thinking rises, just think it, when feeling rises, just feel it. I found that in this way of practice, that for just being simpliy aware, all of this activitis sinks down by themselves without "our" effort to put it down.
Maybe different practice is relevent for different time and expirences of the practiciner. Blessings!
"Come back" is just a teaching tool for beginners. It means just perceive this moment. It is like how sometimes we say the Buddha got enlightenment. He didn't get enlightenment, he realized it.
Thank you /I\
You are welcome!!
As an adhd person my brain comes up with a thousand divergent but related ideas to my original idea. I've realized that just letting it happen is the best I can do... and then there are those rare mornings when I don't have tons to think about. Then I get worried what's wrong with my brain. Lol!
Hang in there!
Hey Kaaren, how are you doing? I've got adhd, too. Meditation certainly has helped a lot. The thoughts that often are like an avalanche hitting me are becoming more and more like clouds. I can engage with them, or not. But they don't knock me off balance as they used to. My best wishes to you!
“Trying” to stop thinking is like trying to calm a body of water by swatting it with your hands. You can’t stop thinking! Begin to understand your thinking as thought “process”, not your thoughts as nouns or things. The flapping roof that is your brain is innocent - it’s supposed to think - it’s a beautiful thing to think. The movie in your mind can only disturb you if you give it the permission to do so. Tell yourself, “I love that my mind wants to think, my thinking is beautiful, my thinking can be dark, it can be pretty, it can also be horrible, I love that about my mind.” Your mind is the most beautifully sophisticated tool on the face of the earth, so stop declaring war on it by trying to “stop” it.