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Stop and think !

imnothereimnothere
edited April 2010 in Philosophy
Stop.think is a slogan of RoadSafety in Australia. However this topic is not just relate to traffic, this idea relate to everything in our lives: Stop and think, after that we can decide go on or cancel.

For example:

When you intend to drink some wine,
Stop and Think:
Late night, who will drive me back to home? Will I be available to work tomorrow morning ?


Comments

  • imnothereimnothere
    edited February 2010
    When you intend to throw away the leftover food into the waste bin.
    Stop and Think:
    What difficulties that the farmers plant their havest. How many sweat and tear drop in the land to grow the grains.
    How many animasl died to make our food.
    How many people in the world are suffering from starvation ? how many people can not find a piece of roll for their daily food ?
    Stop and Think

    Can you add some more cases that we have to stop and think ?
  • river_cadenceriver_cadence
    edited February 2010
    Before you scream at a child for spilling strawberry Kool-Aid on your new carpet ... ask yourself which will remain the longest: the stain on the carpet or the impression you make upon your child's mind?

    Stop and think. Great thread.

    Rena
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    edited February 2010
    What's your point? ;)

    FWIW I agree, nothing wrong with thinking but only when it doesn't rule you. And how many can see that? _/\_
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited February 2010
    imnothere wrote: »
    Can you add some more cases that we have to stop and think ?
    When we are on a moral crusade and cannot bear to see the imperfections of the world and the human condition - stop and think!

    When the problems of the world create righteous anger, despair & urgency in our minds - stop and think!

    :)
  • upekkaupekka Veteran
    edited February 2010
    stop thinking!

    see with eye/ear/nose/body and tongue what's in front of us !!

    act with skillfull mind !!!
  • BrotherBobBrotherBob
    edited March 2010
    stop and breathe
  • DazzleDazzle
    edited March 2010
    .

    Stop, don't think - relax ! ;)












    .
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Practice, practice, practice :)

    Words of Venerable Luang Por Chah
    I can see that it's very confusing for you, coming from different places and having practiced in different ways with different teachers. Coming to practice here you must be plagued with all kinds of doubts. One teacher says you must practice in one way, another says you should practice another way. You wonder which method to use, unsure of the essence of the practice. The result is confusion. There are so many teachers and so many teachings that nobody knows how to harmonize their practice. As a result there is a lot of doubt and uncertainty.

    So you must try not to think too much. If you do think, then do so with awareness. But so far your thinking has been done with no awareness. First you must make your mind calm. Where there is knowing there is no need to think, awareness will arise in its place, and this will in turn become wisdom. But the ordinary kind of thinking is not wisdom, it is simply the aimless and unaware wandering of the mind, which inevitably results in agitation. This is not wisdom.

    At this stage you don't need to think. You've already done a great deal of thinking at home, haven't you? It just stirs up the heart. You must establish some awareness. Obsessive thinking can even bring you tears, just try it out. Getting lost in some train of thought won't lead you to the truth, it's not wisdom. The Buddha was a very wise person, he'd learnt how to stop thinking. In the same way you are practicing here in order to stop thinking and thereby arrive at peace. If you are already calm it is not necessary to think, wisdom will arise in its place.

    To meditate you do not have to think much more than to resolve that right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. Don't let the mind shoot off to the left or to the right, to the front or behind, above or below. Our only duty right now is to practice mindfulness of the breathing. Fix your attention at the head and move it down through the body to the tips of the feet, and then back up to the crown of the head. Pass your awareness down through the body, observing with wisdom. We do this to gain an initial understanding of the way the body is. Then begin the meditation, noting that at this time your sole duty is to observe the inhalations and exhalations. Don't force the breath to be any longer or shorter than normal, just allow it to continue easily. Don't put any pressure on the breath, rather let it flow evenly, letting go with each in-breath and out-breath.

    You must understand that you are letting go as you do this, but there should still be awareness. You must maintain this awareness, allowing the breath to enter and leave comfortably. There is no need to force the breath, just allow it to flow easily and naturally. Maintain the resolve that at this time you have no other duties or responsibilities. Thoughts about what will happen, what you will know or see during the meditation may arise from time to time, but once they arise just let them cease by themselves, don't be unduly concerned over them.

    Meditation
  • not1not2not1not2 Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Perhaps a better expression would be simply to say slow down and be mindful.
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    edited March 2010
    imnothere wrote: »
    Stop and Think:

    StopThinking is better ( but not for a road sign :p).

    P
  • zendozendo
    edited March 2010
    I think those who are saying "stop thinking" may be missing the point of this thread, which is a very good one.

    What imnothere is talking about is cultivating awareness: awareness of the effects your actions have upon the world; awareness of how the things in our environment came to be here; awareness of the interdependence of all people; etc.

    This is the good kind of thinking. This is the kind of thinking we want to do. This is right thinking. If more people "stopped and thought" like this, the world would be in a much better state. :)
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    edited March 2010
    zendo wrote: »
    What imnothere is talking about is cultivating awareness: awareness of the effects your actions have upon the world; awareness of how the things in our environment came to be here; awareness of the interdependence of all people; etc.

    Well that's mindfulness, which may or may not involve thinking ( I think :p).

    P
  • Subjectivity9Subjectivity9
    edited March 2010
    Zendo,

    Saying "stop and think," is the kind of simplistic saying, which passes for some kind of a solution…NOT. : ^ (

    It really doesn’t solve much to just think, because it is all-important what you ACTUALLY think about.

    For instance:

    Many Generals sit down, maybe take out a piece of paper, and meticulously plan for hours about how to wage a war.

    Or:

    A mentally ill fellow, more than likely, thinks and day dreams for some time about his heinous actions, before he goes into a schoolyard and starts shooting up a bunch of kids.

    Maybe porpoise isn’t so far off base in suggesting that Monkey Mind's thinking doesn’t hold all of the answers and may in fact cause many of our ills.

    Respectfully,
    S9
  • zendozendo
    edited March 2010
    Subjectivity9 wrote: »
    Saying "stop and think," is the kind of simplistic saying, which passes for some kind of a solution…NOT. : ^ (

    It really doesn’t solve much to just think, because it is all-important what you ACTUALLY think about.

    For instance:

    Many Generals sit down, maybe take out a piece of paper, and meticulously plan for hours about how to wage a war.

    Or:

    A mentally ill fellow, more than likely, thinks and day dreams for some time about his heinous actions, before he goes into a schoolyard and starts shooting up a bunch of kids.

    Maybe porpoise isn’t so far off base in suggesting that Monkey Mind's thinking doesn’t hold all of the answers and may in fact cause many of our ills.

    Respectfully,
    S9
    S9, did you read what the OP wrote? He's not talking about generals drawing up battle plans, or psychos shooting kids. He's talking about slowing down, taking a moment, and being conscious about how you live your life.

    There's nothing wrong with that at all, but unfortunately some readers appear to have gotten hung up on the word "think," which is regarded as a "bad" word in some Buddhist circles.

    Try to get past the word, and see the meaning.
  • Subjectivity9Subjectivity9
    edited March 2010
    Zendo,

    It was stop and Think, not just stop. So I decided to Think about one half of the message, which just happened to be the idea that thinking was some kind of a cure. Is that a BAD thing to do? No, of course not. Very often it is a very good thing to examine what you are told. Is it not?

    Just dancing along to any old tune that someone decides to play, no matter how random, is not what Buddha advised us to do. We were told to look ever so closely, in order to find the truth for ourselves.

    Respectfully,
    S9
  • upekkaupekka Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Subjectivity9 wrote: »
    Zendo,

    look ever so closely, in order to find the truth for ourselves.

    this is not just thinking but vipassana
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    edited March 2010
    upekka wrote: »
    this is not just thinking but vipassana


    Vipassana - I love it!:crazy:

    P
  • imnothereimnothere
    edited April 2010
    This is my recieved emial from the Global Poverty Ending
    ======

    Before you leave for your last-minute Easter egg shop, stop.

    Consider for a minute – what’s in your egg?

    Hopefully your egg is full of decent working conditions, environmental sustainability, and fair terms of trade.

    Fairtrade is a certification scheme which addresses the injustices of conventional trade. It enables the weakest and poorest producers in developing countries to improve their market position and thus have more control over their lives.

    This Easter, we're asking you to make one simple change to ensure cocoa farmers have funds to develop their communities and invest in basics like education and healthcare for their families.


    This Easter, prove a little indulgence can go a long way
    We hope you have a wonderful Easter!

    (Renee, Rich, Emeli, Hugh, Simon and the Global Poverty Project team)
    ===========

    There're alot of things about actions when you stop and think it clearly !
  • imnothereimnothere
    edited April 2010
    When you think that YOU are different from another one,
    Stop & think:
    Is your tear salty
    and is your blood red ?
    When your tear is salty and your blood is red, we are the same !
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