A theory

Wisdom23

Bare with me and hear me out but.....you know the old expression ' A watched kettle never boils' ? well i propose a watched buddhist never enlightens. If you are constantly monitoring and sifting through our actions speach etc constantly asking ourselves have i been a good buddhisr today? we should to put it metaphorically put our minds back to factory settings assuming that most of us naturally do possess the heart of the buddha we should trust our kind nature and let flow freely as apposed to searching it at the door lol. This is coming from me though who has been described as not having a malicious bone in my body, some may have a few malicious tendons lol but taking all what i have said into account what out your views on my thought.

Cinorjer

It's true, we start out observing ourselves as we practice. "This is me, meditating. This is me, being mindful of washing dishes. This is me, noticing I am angry over nothing and letting go."

I see it as like any other practice to develop a skill. Say you want to learn how to play the piano. You start out haltingly and paying attention to every movement and action with lots of mistakes and having to read each note on the score. But you continue to practice, and what was once a focused effort eventually becomes natural and without deliberate thought. Instead of "This is me, trying to play this song," you just sit down and make music.

RainbowTara

Totally agree, @Cinorjer. It's like trying to convince yourself of something until you feel it... until you become it... until you truly understand it. Somewhere along the line there will be a shift from going through the motions to going with the motions.

Citta

Cinorjer said:

It's true, we start out observing ourselves as we practice. "This is me, meditating. This is me, being mindful of washing dishes. This is me, noticing I am angry over nothing and letting go."

I see it as like any other practice to develop a skill. Say you want to learn how to play the piano. You start out haltingly and paying attention to every movement and action with lots of mistakes and having to read each note on the score. But you continue to practice, and what was once a focused effort eventually becomes natural and without deliberate thought. Instead of "This is me, trying to play this song," you just sit down and make music.

I think there is a lot of truth in that..Thomas Merton said that we humans are the only thing that seems to have to work at being themselves..unlike trees or cats.
Consciouness is both a burden and our ticket out.

how

Why paint enlightenment into a corner?
Thinking of enlightenment as freedom from delusive influences
will better serve your meditation
but not as much as dropping the mental mastication over it.

Jeffrey

The 'watcher' itself is just thoughts which reinforce an idea of 'it being there'.

lobster

have i been a good buddhisr today?

:scratch:
No idea. Personally I believe monastics should be met at the exit to the practice hall, asked if they are enlightened and if not, booted in the ass, back into the practice arena. Not sure if this is good.

Should we be kind to our hell realms? Should we be aware that we are all in different places . . . Being watchful or mindful may be part of a process, not an end in itself . . .

footiam

Wisdom23 said:

Bare with me and hear me out but.....you know the old expression ' A watched kettle never boils' ? well i propose a watched buddhist never enlightens. If you are constantly monitoring and sifting through our actions speach etc constantly asking ourselves have i been a good buddhisr today? we should to put it metaphorically put our minds back to factory settings assuming that most of us naturally do possess the heart of the buddha we should trust our kind nature and let flow freely as apposed to searching it at the door lol. This is coming from me though who has been described as not having a malicious bone in my body, some may have a few malicious tendons lol but taking all what i have said into account what out your views on my thought.

Sometimes when we ask ourselves if we are good buddhist today, it ends up with us being a terrible human. Just live right!