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Mindfulness
Note: I was going to post this as a part of a "meditation diary" thread but opted not to. Does newbuddhist think that this is a good or bad idea? Please let me know. . . . .
10/26
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Does mindfulness mean that our thoughts do not wander? That they are fixed firmly, but loosely, on the task at hand? so that we are ever aware of what we are doing at all times? After sitting, these thoughts ran through my mind. I believe I understand the concept of mindfulness but is it even possible to always be present in the moment? I only find that this can happen in moments of utter bliss, or times of absolute shame or grief. It is strange how such opposite poles of emotion can cause me to be mindful. Is it that portion in between, where I am neither blissful nor remorseful, that I must strive for mindfulness? The only thing I can think to do is sit and meditate and see for myself. But how long will it take till I have the answer? Will I ever have an answer? I don't know.
10/26
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Does mindfulness mean that our thoughts do not wander? That they are fixed firmly, but loosely, on the task at hand? so that we are ever aware of what we are doing at all times? After sitting, these thoughts ran through my mind. I believe I understand the concept of mindfulness but is it even possible to always be present in the moment? I only find that this can happen in moments of utter bliss, or times of absolute shame or grief. It is strange how such opposite poles of emotion can cause me to be mindful. Is it that portion in between, where I am neither blissful nor remorseful, that I must strive for mindfulness? The only thing I can think to do is sit and meditate and see for myself. But how long will it take till I have the answer? Will I ever have an answer? I don't know.
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Comments
My understanding is that the practice of mindfulness involves returning to the object of mindfulness whenever you notice that you are thinking. It is expected that you will unintentionally think. The result is to gradually go off track less however the actual practice is the returning not eliminating thoughts. The object I have the most experience with is the out breath. This is from the description of Pema Chodron in "When things fall apart". In this book she describes the instruction which her teacher Chogyam Trungpa developed over time when teaching westerners. The instruction, to paraphrase is, when we find ourselves thinking to label the thoughts 'thinking' in a very gentle friendly mannner and return to the out breath. It is also important to have a light and gentle attention on the out breath. This is easier said thant done and I myself I am still more likely think "damit! I'm thinking again!
ALso keep in mind that Metta bhavanna/Loving kindness practice is considered to be the companion practice to mindfulness and sometimes when i am being too hard on myself for mindfulness I find it better to focus on Metta instead.
Anyway good luck and best wishes for your practice. I am working away at it too.:)
I, too, am not sure that I understand this properly; but anyway here's my views:
"Right Concentration" requires the development of one-pointedness of mind, where the mind is fixed on a single object until it enters a deep stillness. Jhana practice, for example, requires strong one-pointedness of mind.
"Right mindfulness" on the other hand does not require us to fix our mind on a single object to the exclusion of other sensations and thoughts. Here, we are always mindful of all sensations and thoughts that come to us, we acknowledge them for what they are, but we do not engage in them if they take us away from the present moment - rather we just [let] them go calmly and without judgement.
Then again, we often hear about "mindfulness of breathing" meditation, where we focus on the breath as our primary object. Others have suggested that it should be called "mindfulness with breathing" meditation. I'll leave all this to someone who knows more to explain...
No. Mindfulness is not singleness of mind.
They wander, u just understand that they are wandering..
much more important, if u understand "there is some thoughts wandering", u see thoughts as thoughts. When u see thoughts as thoughts, u dont come to the conclusion: "im wandering".
When u dont come to that conclusion,
there is no craving about that.
As far as whether your mind "should" or does wander during meditation... I haven't met anyone yet to claims not to have a monkey mind at some point. I know mine's very much alive and well.
Thoughts still come to mind. It is what the mind does. 17,000 thoughts per day is what I heard.
But to be mindful we do not become lost in thought or emotions. We simply pay attention to what is happening right now and what thoughts arise with patient, open, non-judging awareness.
We learn to see our habitual reaction which is judging whether we like, dislike, or can ignore. A running commentary that removes us from the reality of what is.
Mindfulness has 4 components -
Recognition, acceptance, investigation, and non-identification.
What you are saying is close to the Satipatthana Sutta: Frames of Reference. Here mindfulness is focussed on the (1) body, (2) feelings, (3) mind, and (4) mental qualities.