In the previous post, the final question was, before the conclusion:-
What
are those thinking? How can one deal with them?
In
contemplative mediation of the 'Thinking', we may be able to find the
reasons for such thinking and with that understating, the intensity
of those 'thinking' will get reduced as well as the incidence of them
as well. Even if they are to come occasionally after understanding
them, they can be easily dispelled, by just turning one's attention
to the 'Attention on the Breathing', after acknowledging such
thoughts, once one detects them.
How
does one acknowledge a 'thought'?
Before
answering the above question, let us examine the earlier question, of
'thinkings' which would arise, even if one understands them well, by
contemplative meditation'.
When
one detects 'thinking', and postpones the practice of Bhavana, i.e.
the 'Attention on Breathing', for a few minutes, in order to
Contemplate on such 'thinking' detected, to meditate on such
'thinking', he would find there are 'thinking' based on Anger,
Desire, Lust, Ego and Ignorance (= Ideas and opinions). For instance,
one may think about someone because he has hatred towards him. By
contemplation, by meditation, he has to first recognize the Anger as
a 'emotions and a feeling' caused by the angry thinking. When he
acknowledges this 'Emotions and feelings', by paying attention to
them, instead of paying attention to breathing, he would find out
that these 'emotions and feelings' are causing, heart beat to
increase and the breathing to be uneven, thus causing one to be
unhappy and un-joyful, which is suffering. When he understand this,
he would drop the 'emotions and feelings', making himself calm, thus
avoiding harm to one's body as well as one's health of the mind. But
the total absence of the 'thinking' in hate and anger would not
happen, until one finds the reasons for such thinking, by
contemplation. Here one may find it is 'justifiable', to 'think in
anger', towards to a prticualr person, as he had done harm to
himself. It may be true, but one should contemplate, though it is
justifiable, the 'Angry thinking' and thus creating 'emotions and
feelings' of anger, only harms oneself, and therefore one should
abandon, the activity of thinking in anger. The next reason, he
should, understand by meditation, is that the damage done, cannot be
rectified by attacking that parson physically, and but not certainly
by 'thinking in anger', which only harms oneself.
Thus,
after understanding a 'particular anger' towards a 'particular
person', there would be a much relief brought about that, reducing
the sufferings, as well as, one being more able to focus on the
'Attention of Breathing'.
But
still this Anger which is well understood, and though the effects
were reduced, would come up in much reduced way, while one practices
Bhavana, paying 'attention on breathing', thus taking away the
'attention' from it. Then, what one has to do?
Once,
one have fully understood, a particular distraction to Bhavana, one
should give it a label to it. In this instance, he can give a label
such as "Anger to Mr.A". Then, whenever he detects the same
anger, as a 'thinking' he must Acknowledge it, as an anger
already recognized, and already one has decided to put away, and then
to label it as 'Anger to Mr.A', and revert back to the practice of
Bhavana, that is paying 'Attention to the Breathing'.
Earlier
there was a Question as to, "How does one acknowledge a
'thought'?”, and here one can acknowledge, 'thoughts about
Mr.A'. Or he can even use the label of "Anger to Mr.A", as
an acknowledgement of the 'thinking'.
Why
anger comes again again even after fully understanding them? When one
becomes angry, each time the body formations changes. With the
changed body formations, the formations itself would be a trigger,
causing thoughts of Anger, emotions and feelings. Thus it would,
further increase such formations.
One
may have noticed, such body formations, specially due to Anger, in
people, such as rashes in the skin, ulcers in the face and the body,
and having faces, which depicts angry dispositions, even though the
person seems not to be angry, but actually be happy over something
and laughing.
Therefore,
to get rid of the Anger in oneself, one has to restrain himself,
without giving into anger not only in Bhavana, not only in
'Thinking', but even in speech and deeds, without. This self restrain
is known as Abstinence or Sila in Buddhist practice of Bhavana, which
is put forward as prior requisite of the practice. Even if one does
not recognize the Abstinence or Sila as a prior requisite to the
practice of Bhavana, he will have to recognize the same while in the
practice, at least, when he wants to do away with such defilements
from the body and from the mind altogether. Otherwise, he would
practice only for a 'concentrated' mind, which would not achieve
Jhanic Samadi devoid of defilements, having happiness and Joy,
without sufferings, and the understanding the reasons for the
sufferings, but only a mere concentration, which may only help to do
worldly activities with more accuracy. But in Jhanic Samadi, one
would have the concentration plus understanding, and it is a skill,
where one would be able to have a control over his mind, rather than
mind and thinking controlling oneself.
If
one have body formations either due to Anger or any other
defilements, such as Desire, Ego, etc., one has to wait for some
duration, for the formations to be cured, by the Abstinence (Sila),
without, and also by not giving into such thinking, emotions,
feelings, while in the practice of Bhavana.
Hence,
by contemplation, by meditation, on distractions, one would be able
to easily acknowledge any distractions of thinking, once one has
recognized such situations, as a result of contemplation on them
beforehand, and would be able to 'Label' them, and then to come back
to the Practice of Bhavana.
The
same method of contemplation, the same method of meditation, is
applied when there are thoughts of Desire, Lust, Ego and Ignorance,
to understand them fully, first, and the to 'Label' them after
acknowledging them, whenever they arise, while practicing, and also
to abstain (Sila) from them, without, as to cure the body formations
which were formed by them, and also to stop new formations in the
body.
In
the contemplation, in the meditation, on the recurring thinking, and
understanding them and labelling them, one reduces the effect of such
thinking in generating emotionless and feelings of Anger, Desire,
lust, Ego and ignorance. And this labelling would make a distance of
such thinking from oneself, where one would not feel that “I am
thinking” or as 'My Thoughts', though in actuality that they are as
such. This distancing would help to do away with the 'thinking',
easily.
Finally
one would be able to drop many of the Labels, that he has developed
to identify 'thinking' and to reduce such labels only to major categories of thinking, such as Anger, Desire, Lust, Ego, ideas and
opinions. So this main categories of Labels, once one has developed,
and when he using them, labels the thinking, the amount of work get
reduced plus the understanding and distancing of the thinking would
increase, making the getting rid of thinking much easier, meaningful
and quicker.
Next,
let us deal with the Abstinence (Sila), in the next post.
Welcome !
ReplyDelete