Saturday, June 11, 2016
how to pull our mind back: the wandering mind, quotes (see link)
http://www.lionsroar.com/the-dharma-of-distraction-may-2014/?utm_source=Lion%27s+Roar+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2b5edc8300-LR_Weekend_Read_June_10_20166_9_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1988ee44b2-2b5edc8300-22284457&goal=0_1988ee44b2-2b5edc8300-22284457&mc_cid=2b5edc8300&mc_eid=83cbb78504
"The approach of learning how to pull our mind back when it wanders is a reactive one: we are learning how to respond to distractions. But as we get a little better at responding to external distractions, we discover an even more gigantic mountain of internal distractedness. We begin to notice how it is not just a matter of reacting to something outside us—we ourselves are continually creating distractions. We find that we need distractions, so we continually cook them up and keep them going. They are our companions, our pets."
....
"That is why the Buddhist teachings talk more in terms of wandering mind than distractions. When we think in terms of distractions, we look outward and blame external conditions for our jumpiness. When we think in terms of wandering mind, we look inward for the source of our problem. We take responsibility."
.....
"It arises when the natural flow of sense perceptions is joined with and tainted by our emotions. In other words, distraction is fueled by the usual suspects: grasping, rejecting, and denial. So distraction is not just some mental tic. It is highly emotional."
.............
"Distraction is fueled by our constant struggle to secure ourselves in relationship to others and to the environment. That project in turn is fueled by our fear of letting go and our lack of trust in ourselves. It is as if we are on guard all the time, afraid to miss an opportunity to strike and continually wary of potential threats or attacks. Based on these emotions, our mind is pulled this way and that. To relate to this level of distractedness, we need not only to pull back the wandering mind but also to lessen its fuel supply: the push and pull of emotions."
.....
"So like the Christian mystics, we too need to abandon our familiar world, leave everything behind, and go to the desert. In this case, the desert is our own mind. This desert mind is what is left when our project of continual distraction has fallen apart."
............
"Like good teachers, distractions humiliate us and shake us up. They abruptly cut through our pretensions. It is shocking to see how out of it we are so much of the time. At any level, distractions can be annoying, frustrating, and arise willy-nilly. But, like good teachers, they also spur us forward. The very moment a distraction arises, there also arises a chance to break through to what lies behind it. And what lies behind these endless distractions is the boundless space of awakened mind."
annotation:
i remember many many moments in my life when i thought of the biblical story of Saulus not listening to the call and being blinded, then after having learned to listen becoming Paulus who could see.
to make it clear, i never thought of this as happening from above in the sky but from inside,
truth calling me.
and i couldn't bear it so often, from childhood on i know i often erred and run away, again and again, i tried to escape suffering following "distraction" walking in the cloud of my ego,
unable to see across my emotions.
and knew i did wrong , tried to run so fast that i could forget what i did, so i was not really present. only slowly i can change...
now the thunderstorms reached my home, i sit here happy to listen, feeling the humidity in the air increase, the rain will come.
"The approach of learning how to pull our mind back when it wanders is a reactive one: we are learning how to respond to distractions. But as we get a little better at responding to external distractions, we discover an even more gigantic mountain of internal distractedness. We begin to notice how it is not just a matter of reacting to something outside us—we ourselves are continually creating distractions. We find that we need distractions, so we continually cook them up and keep them going. They are our companions, our pets."
....
"That is why the Buddhist teachings talk more in terms of wandering mind than distractions. When we think in terms of distractions, we look outward and blame external conditions for our jumpiness. When we think in terms of wandering mind, we look inward for the source of our problem. We take responsibility."
.....
"It arises when the natural flow of sense perceptions is joined with and tainted by our emotions. In other words, distraction is fueled by the usual suspects: grasping, rejecting, and denial. So distraction is not just some mental tic. It is highly emotional."
.............
"Distraction is fueled by our constant struggle to secure ourselves in relationship to others and to the environment. That project in turn is fueled by our fear of letting go and our lack of trust in ourselves. It is as if we are on guard all the time, afraid to miss an opportunity to strike and continually wary of potential threats or attacks. Based on these emotions, our mind is pulled this way and that. To relate to this level of distractedness, we need not only to pull back the wandering mind but also to lessen its fuel supply: the push and pull of emotions."
.....
"So like the Christian mystics, we too need to abandon our familiar world, leave everything behind, and go to the desert. In this case, the desert is our own mind. This desert mind is what is left when our project of continual distraction has fallen apart."
............
"Like good teachers, distractions humiliate us and shake us up. They abruptly cut through our pretensions. It is shocking to see how out of it we are so much of the time. At any level, distractions can be annoying, frustrating, and arise willy-nilly. But, like good teachers, they also spur us forward. The very moment a distraction arises, there also arises a chance to break through to what lies behind it. And what lies behind these endless distractions is the boundless space of awakened mind."
annotation:
i remember many many moments in my life when i thought of the biblical story of Saulus not listening to the call and being blinded, then after having learned to listen becoming Paulus who could see.
to make it clear, i never thought of this as happening from above in the sky but from inside,
truth calling me.
and i couldn't bear it so often, from childhood on i know i often erred and run away, again and again, i tried to escape suffering following "distraction" walking in the cloud of my ego,
unable to see across my emotions.
and knew i did wrong , tried to run so fast that i could forget what i did, so i was not really present. only slowly i can change...
now the thunderstorms reached my home, i sit here happy to listen, feeling the humidity in the air increase, the rain will come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)