Sometimes, when sitting in my room meditating, my mind gets restless. Anxiety leads to emotions and feelings appearing to get the better of reason. It's as though I have two minds.
When of two minds, it's as though the heart battles with reason.
Once I've calmed down, I let the heart-mind exercise compassion.
How do I calm down? I start by concentrating on my breathing. Within a minute, my heart slows down. At this point in my meditation, I let my thoughts come and go without following any of them. Since the object of the meditation is to collect my thoughts, I find that letting go of them leads to a calm mind.
When one lets go of thought, thoughts are free to dissipate.
Through single-minded concentration it is possible to rein in the heart through the use of reason. This requires no effort on my part, except to breathe and to observe my mind carefully.
If anxiety starts to rise, then I return to my breathing by "thinking breathing."
After a short while the mind is calm, all anxiety forgotten. As a result, I feel positive and self-assured. When the mind is calm, and the rational mind is once again in control, the heart-mind is free to exercise compassion.
At this point in my meditation, I start to generate good thoughts to ensure the positive frame of mind in which there is no room for negativity.
Then the meditation is over and I'm ready to handle the day.
Showing posts with label good thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good thoughts. Show all posts
20130131
Good Thoughts Destroy Evil Karma
Hui Neng said:
Think not of the past but of the future. Constantly maintain the future thoughts to be good. This is what we call the Sambhogakāya.
Just one single evil thought could destroy the good karma that has continued for one thousand years; and just one single good thought in turn could destroy the evil karma that has lived for one thousand years.
If the future thoughts are always good, you may call this the Sambhogakāya. The discriminative thinking arising from the Dharmakāya (法身↔fashen "Truth body") is called the Nirmanakāya (化身↔huashen "transformation body"). The successive thoughts that forever involve good are thus the Sambhogakāya.
Commentary:
Consider the Samboghakaya as the state of mind in which you continually and naturally produces good thoughts.
It may be thought of as the pure mind of future good, that thinks good of both self and others without discrimination.
One does not get such a mind by merely reading but also by practice of meditation.
As well, one does not stop with just meditation but also practices Buddha Remembrance, as all the Zen Patriarchs have.
For me, by practicing Buddha Remembrance & meditation in my spiritual practice for the benefit of all sentient beings, my intent is produce good thoughts to destroy evil karma.
By mindfully practicing in this manner with the benefit of all sentient beings, I believe that the good thoughts which arise will destroy not only my evil karma, but also a portion of all sentient beings' evil karma.
By doing so, I try to treat friends, loved ones and strangers, with the utmost respect.
However, I am not perfect and sometimes fail to practice for a few days. Then I return to my spiritual practice, both Buddha Remembrance and meditation focused on good thoughts.
Think not of the past but of the future. Constantly maintain the future thoughts to be good. This is what we call the Sambhogakāya.
Just one single evil thought could destroy the good karma that has continued for one thousand years; and just one single good thought in turn could destroy the evil karma that has lived for one thousand years.
If the future thoughts are always good, you may call this the Sambhogakāya. The discriminative thinking arising from the Dharmakāya (法身↔fashen "Truth body") is called the Nirmanakāya (化身↔huashen "transformation body"). The successive thoughts that forever involve good are thus the Sambhogakāya.
Commentary:
Consider the Samboghakaya as the state of mind in which you continually and naturally produces good thoughts.
It may be thought of as the pure mind of future good, that thinks good of both self and others without discrimination.
One does not get such a mind by merely reading but also by practice of meditation.
As well, one does not stop with just meditation but also practices Buddha Remembrance, as all the Zen Patriarchs have.
For me, by practicing Buddha Remembrance & meditation in my spiritual practice for the benefit of all sentient beings, my intent is produce good thoughts to destroy evil karma.
By mindfully practicing in this manner with the benefit of all sentient beings, I believe that the good thoughts which arise will destroy not only my evil karma, but also a portion of all sentient beings' evil karma.
By doing so, I try to treat friends, loved ones and strangers, with the utmost respect.
However, I am not perfect and sometimes fail to practice for a few days. Then I return to my spiritual practice, both Buddha Remembrance and meditation focused on good thoughts.
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