Not
knowing that the mind is a mechanical thing
that follows the law of Cause-and-Effect—each
thought arising from the previous one in chain-like
succession, coming and going like the bubbles
in a glass of Coke—many meditators struggle
with their thoughts and become exhausted therefrom,
thinking that a mind free of thought is the
object of meditation.
Though
the mind might become still and free of thought,
it is not within our capacity to make it so,
because we are the thinker. If we were to sit
down and say to ourselves: "Now I’m
going to stop thinking", that would be
just another thought, would it not? By no act
of will can we stop our thoughts coming and
going. We shouldn’t be upset by this,
however, shouldn’t despair, as it is natural,
and this is what we can learn from it, so that
the conflict with our thoughts may cease. Thought,
like everything else, is Impermanent. |
