This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video above. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers.

Guided Meditation: Noticing Thoughts

Welcome, welcome. A really warm welcome to everybody, wherever you are, whatever time it is, whomever you are. A really warm welcome. So, as you know, we'll start with a guided meditation and just taking this opportunity to maybe fully arrive at this moment.

Bringing a sense of presence, a sense of aliveness to the body. Inhabiting the body in some kind of way.

There might be portions of the body, areas of the body that feel neutral, and there might be some that feel a bit tight or tense, or otherwise calling for attention. And can we, in a warm-hearted way, just bring our attention to those areas where there might be some tightness, some contraction?

This can be commonly in the face, around the eyes and the jaw. Sometimes the shoulders get tight and raised up. Can we allow the shoulder blades to slide down the back?

And feeling grounded, feeling connected to whatever we're sitting on, whatever the feet are touching, and whatever the hands are touching. Maybe they're touching the top of the legs, maybe each other, each hand is touching the other hand.

And then can we rest our attention on the sensations of breathing, noticing this aspect of the body, feeling the expansion and contraction associated with inhales and exhales.

Allowing ourselves to rest in the rhythm of the breath. Can we soften any ideas that things need to be different, and instead just rest here with the sensations of breathing?

When the mind finds itself being busy with thought, just very simply, gently begin again with the sensations of breathing. There might be a lot of momentum to our thinking. Chances are you've been thinking all day. So can you have a warm-hearted attitude towards the mind wanting to continue thinking? We don't have to make thinking a problem, and we just bring it back to the sensations of breathing.

Giving ourselves over to the sensations of breathing. Right now there isn't anything else to do while you're here meditating, and nowhere else to be. We're just here meditating, being aware of the sensations of breathing.

It can be helpful to make a quiet mental note when we find ourselves thinking. There might be a way in which labeling it, making a note, "thinking," indicates a clear transition from thinking back to the sensations of breathing. This is a tool you can use if it's helpful. If it is not helpful, there's no need to do this practice. But it can be a support, just a soft gentle note in the mind: "thinking."

We don't have to make thinking be a problem. We can fold it into our meditation practice, not trying to make thoughts go away. We're just choosing to put our attention on the sensations of breathing.

Sometimes we might have this idea that meditation is about having no thoughts. And having that kind of idea just creates the conditions for frustration and disappointment. There's a lot of thinking that happens in our daily lives that, of course, continues into our meditation. So is there a way that we can work with our thoughts rather than insisting that they go away? Can we fold them into our practice? And maybe even they can be an ally; they can be a support for our practice.

So in this way, our warm-heartedness, our intention to quiet the mind, settle the mind, can be a support not only for us but for those who are in contact with us. So that we are more aware of our thoughts and aren't as pushed around by them. So that we may meet others with openness and ease.

So that our practice is a benefit not only for ourselves but for others. It can spread out from there. May our practice be for the benefit of all beings everywhere.

Thoughts on Thinking

Welcome, welcome, a really warm welcome. So today I'd like to talk a little bit about thinking and meditation.

Within the meditation instructions, or certainly mindfulness instructions, they are just to notice our thoughts. And that's a fantastic practice, and it can be very effective, and it's a great way to go, but it's not the only way to work with thoughts, and maybe sometimes something a little bit different is needed. So can we work with that thinking mind in a way that goes beyond just being mindful of thoughts when the occasion arises, but to use the mind as an ally, and use it as a support for our practice? It is a powerful tool, our mind, of course it is.

And there are some analogies or similes that are used in the suttas[^1] of a cloth being better able to take up dye if it doesn't have stains. Right, so the dye just won't—it'll either not be taken up where that stain is, or maybe it shows up darker or something like this. So when the cloth isn't filled with stains, we might consider that the dye represents some concentration or goodwill, some boundlessness, some openness, something like this. And in the same way, when there's a cloth that isn't filled with stains, it is better able to clean and polish whatever needs to be cleaned and polished, maybe even including itself.

So is there some way in which we might consider that the mind is like a cloth in these similes? But for some of us, this idea of actively using the mind during meditation can be a big shift, can be really different than what we're accustomed to. We may have this habit where we just use the mind in a certain way during meditation. We have this idea that with our meditation practice, it's just about doing more of the same, maybe longer or deeper, whatever we've been doing with the mind. And to actively do something different might feel different, uncomfortable.

For example, we may be attached to these ideas that there should be a sense of "not knowing," like that's the most important thing. And so for us, meditation practice is associated with falling into a soft, cushiony, cottony, maybe foggy, blurry space that initially can have a certain amount of comfort because it's insulated from the outside world perhaps. But then often you can find that the energy drops out of a practice like that, and there can't be any wisdom that arises in this kind of dullness. But there might be this idea that there should be "not knowing," and we try to shut down all of our mental activity and instead fall into what sometimes is called "sinking mind."

Alternatively, we might have an idea that with meditation is finally an opportunity for us to figure things out, figure out ourselves—like why we do what we do, or what's underneath that troubled, niggling mind or thoughts that we might have. And so we're doing some archaeological dig in our thought processes.

There are lots of different ideas that we might have about the role of thinking in the mind during meditation. And there's a number of ways in which we might use the mind, but that requires that we put down any notions about what should be happening with the mind, with thinking during meditation. This includes putting aside the idea that there shouldn't be any thinking whatsoever, but instead to start wherever you are, and we use the mind in particular ways to be a support.

So the practice doesn't require that our minds not be engaged in order to move towards greater and greater freedom. Instead, the practice is to find freedom while the mind is engaged.

One way is, I've been using just this word "thoughts" kind of in a generic way, just lumping them all together, but in fact, there's lots of different types of thoughts. And certainly it changes during the course of meditation. It might be with a longer meditation period, at the beginning as we sit down, this thinking mind is definitely present, and there's a strong momentum. There's maybe a compulsive feeling to thinking, that it can't be stopped, and there's one train of thought after another after another. Maybe the thoughts seem loud or solid or authoritative, and happening in a rapid succession. So maybe when we first sit down, that's what we discover.

But as the mind starts to settle, as the body starts to settle, as the meditation period progresses, then thinking becomes a little bit softer, a little bit less compelling, and maybe without a sense of rapidity like there was before. And with greater meditative clarity, with greater stillness, the thinking can then be a little bit more light or thin or still, definitely less authoritative, less solid. There may be a way in which the thoughts float into the mind, and the meditator doesn't really have that much interest in getting tangled up with them, isn't so identified with them. They're not seen as a problem necessarily, and there might even be some gaps of silence in between the thoughts.

And then, as the meditation period progresses—this might only be experienced on retreat or with longer meditation sessions, or maybe after some time of practice; beginners often don't have this experience—but the thoughts seem to arise, and they're seen just as phenomena. "Oh, there's just one more thought," without any inclination to associate with them or to add any particular importance to them. There might even be a feeling of the creation of a thought, and then the thought arises, and then it passes away, like all things do.

So I'm using this word "thought," but we can see that as the meditation period progresses, or meditation experience progresses—whether that's in one sit, one retreat, maybe years of meditation practice—we can see this progression. We can see that this one word "thought" actually refers to a whole range of things and has different qualities. It can be helpful to notice the quality, maybe how authoritative it seems or how solid it seems. Another way to characterize thoughts sometimes that I find useful is to think of them as long novels, getting lost in thoughts, getting lost in this papañca[^2], a proliferation of thoughts. And then maybe as the mind settles, maybe instead of a whole novel, maybe it's just a chapter, and maybe just a paragraph, and then we can get down to a sentence, and then a word. So it can be helpful to notice that there are these different qualities, and it can be a way in which we interact with the thoughts. To notice the different qualities of them is one way to be a little bit removed from them and not to be completely lost in them.

And in the suttas we know that the Buddha-to-be—that is, before he was awakened—worked with thoughts in this way too, to categorize them. Here's a quote from one of the suttas:

"Before my awakening, when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening, I thought, 'Why don't I meditate by continually dividing my thoughts into two classes?' So I assigned thoughts of sensual desire, thoughts of ill will, and thoughts of harming to one class, and I assigned thoughts of renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness to the second class. Then, as I meditated, diligent, keen, and resolute, when a sensual thought arose, I understood: 'This sensual thought has arisen in me. It leads to affliction for myself, it leads to affliction for others, it leads to affliction for both myself and others. It destroys wisdom, it brings irritation, and does not lead to Nibbāna[^3].' When I reflected in this way, the thought went away. So I gave up, got rid of, and eliminated sensual thoughts that arose."

Then this continues with thoughts of ill will and thoughts of harming. So the Buddha, he categorized his thoughts on whether they are wholesome, are they helpful, or are they unwholesome and unhelpful, and even causing affliction and harm. Do they lead to awakening, or do they lead to harm? So this can be a way in which we can interact with our thoughts also, like a third way in which we might categorize them, to sense into: is this the way that's leading to greater and greater freedom?

And one thing that I appreciate in this quote is that first the Buddha noticed that he was having thoughts; he wasn't lost in them. That's the first step. The second step is that he did a little bit of noting practice: "Oh, this is a thought on sensual desire, ill will, harming." And then these thoughts subsided when he contemplated: "This actually isn't helpful. It doesn't lead to awakening and causes harm to myself or others, or both." So he's actively using his mind here to help him with his thoughts.

But sometimes that doesn't work, right? Often once we hear what the Buddha does, it sounds so easy and so straightforward, and it's true that often there are these idealized scenarios that are portrayed in the suttas. But there are some more ideas about how to work with thoughts in the suttas, and these are some instructions that the Buddha gives. Here's a quote; he says:

"When harmful and unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, aversion, and delusion arise due to paying attention to a particular object of awareness, then shift one's attention from that object of awareness to another object of awareness that is connected with something wholesome."

So this idea that if you notice that you're paying attention to something, and there's some sensual desire—maybe there's an individual that you're sexually attracted to, and you're lost in sexual fantasies. Or maybe there's an individual for which you have some ill will, some aversion, and you're lost in those thoughts, whether they're thoughts of harming or thoughts of how you were harmed, kind of repeating things. You know often how these types of thoughts have a real stickiness to them. So the Buddha's suggestion is to replace them, to switch. If you notice that you're thinking about this, think about something else.

And he gives a simile: it's as if there were a peg in some wood, then you want to replace it. You have maybe a coarse peg, and you get one that's just a little bit smaller, a little bit finer, and you take a mallet and pound it out. You just replace the coarse, unwholesome, unhelpful peg with one that's more wholesome and helpful.

Fortunately, he gives a little bit more detail about this, because maybe it's not that easy to just note the thoughts, to reflect on how these aren't helpful, and then to decide, "Okay, I'm going to try to replace them." Maybe we find it's a little bit difficult to replace them. So there might be some ways in which we can replace them with something that's neutral, and often these are the general instructions that are given: pay attention to the body. Often I'm giving instructions to, and I do this myself, bring attention to the sensations in the feet. There's something about the feet that feels really grounded and connected to the earth, to whatever it is, even if we're sitting, chances are our feet are touching something.

So to replace thoughts that are troubling, unwholesome, and unhelpful with the body, it can be helpful to notice what the feet are touching or what the hands are touching. Maybe if we're sitting, to feel the pressure of the chair or cushion against our bodies. Another neutral one often is the breath. Just put a little bit more effort into bringing awareness to the sensations of breathing. For me, sometimes I find it helpful to set the intention to be with the beginning, middle, and end of an in-breath, or the beginning, middle, and end of an out-breath. Setting that intention brings just enough effort to stay with the breath. So that's one way to replace thoughts.

But there are some other ways. One is we can replace thoughts of sensual desire, sexual fantasies, or something like this, by dismantling the attractiveness. And I appreciate the way that Thanissaro Bhikkhu[^4] approaches this, by visualizing what the body of this desirable other would be like if we dissected it into its various parts. Not necessarily dissecting with a scalpel, but broke it up, or considered all the different parts. The purpose of doing this is just to help us if we feel like we're lost in these thoughts of sensual desire. Keep that in mind. Anytime you feel like this practice leads into disgust or something that feels unhelpful, that's not the direction we're going, right? This is just to replace the coarse peg with a finer peg, to replace it with something that has more wholesomeness to it. So if you feel a sense of disgust or depression or something like this, then just drop these practices—I haven't described them yet, but I'm laying the groundwork here—drop them and return your attention to the breath. But maybe it's easier to go to the breath after this little interlude.

So this practice of thinking about body parts instead of the body as a whole as a way to dismantle the attractiveness—in some ways we're kind of dismantling the body, and part of the mind is sure to resist this practice. There's a way in which we feel like we have a sense of vitality, or there's some way in which we are loath to give up what our minds get lost in. But until we work with that resistance, the mind will continually go this way. So dismantling what we find attractive is a way in which we can help take some of the power out of the mind wanting to get lost in lustful thoughts.

One thing that Thanissaro Bhikkhu—Than Geoff—recommends, which I appreciate very much, is to bring an attitude of humor to this contemplation, so that it can shift the obsession that the mind is currently lost in. We don't want to get filled with disgust or depression or anything like this; we're just trying to help ourselves get out of our rut, perhaps, with our thinking. So Than Geoff says to keep it lighthearted, this exploration.

Okay, so how is this done? First of all, we need to use our imagination, of course, there's no other way. Here's a way in which our mind can be our ally: to use our imagination. You can imagine that this person that you're very attracted to has beautiful hair, let's say, luscious hair, and maybe you have these ideas of running your fingers through their hair or something like this. Then imagine that you're going to have a meal with this desirable person and you're going to have some intimate time together, and then you discover that their hair is over everything! It's in your food, it's on the plate, it's on the table. You look around, and the place is covered with their hair. Like that, all of a sudden it kind of shifts your perception or your relationship to their hair.

Or there's something that Than Geoff suggests, this idea of: you can think of maybe another part of their body that is attractive to you, and imagine what you would do if you walked into a room, you opened the door, and there was just that particular body part right there on the floor. That body part completely removed from everything else. Ugh, right? Very different, very different experience.

This brings to mind a friend, a child of a friend. I think they were probably a preteen at the time, and thought it would be really funny—you know during Halloween time you can get these body parts, like arms that look really real. And I'm saying this about walking into a room and seeing just a part on the floor. I had this experience where this preteen put this arm that they had gotten from the Halloween store on the floor, and I remember just yelping! But then we laughed and laughed and laughed, we had such a good laugh about it. [Laughter]

So is there a way in which you can consider there are different body parts of this individual for which you're having a sensual desire? Or if you think about how part of all human bodies is liquids, right? We have the contents of our gut, we have saliva, we have all these types of liquids, contents of the bladder of course. What would you do if you saw a vat of that liquid? Like, wow, right? That's completely different.

So there's a way in which you might use the imagination, a little bit playfully, bringing up things that are a