Far too many modern writings on the subject of mindfulness
over-emphasize the importance of staying alert and awake and being fully
present in the now. Of course, those things are not unimportant. Indeed, they
are of great importance. However, there is much, much more to mindfulness than
just those two things.
There is a phrase often used in writings on mindfulness—‘choiceless
awareness’. I often use that phrase but I was not its originator. I think I
first heard the phrase used in the talks of the Indian spiritual teacher J.Krishnamurti [pictured left] but I can’t be even sure that he was the
originator of the phrase. Actually, it doesn’t matter who first used those
words. The important thing is what the words mean.
Choiceless awareness. The word ‘choiceless’ is of paramount importance.
The task before us is to be aware of whatever may form the content of our
awareness. The content—thoughts, feelings, memories, images, bodily sensations
and so forth—is constantly changing. To be choicelessly aware is to be aware of
whatever may be our internal and external experience. We cease to label that
experience, or any part of it, as good or bad or indifferent. It just is. Such is life.
The American Buddhist monk Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu [pictured right], in a short essay titled ‘Mindfulness Defined’, writes:
Equanimity means learning to put aside your
preferences so that you can watch what's actually there. Patience is the
ability not to get worked up over the things you don't like, to stick with
difficult situations even when they don't resolve as quickly as you want them to. But in establishing mindfulness you
stay with unpleasant things not just to accept them but to watch and understand
them. Once you've clearly seen that a particular quality like aversion or lust
is harmful for the mind, you can't stay patient or equanimous about it. You
have to make whatever effort is needed to get rid of it and to nourish skillful
qualities in its place by bringing in other factors of the path: right resolve
and right effort.
Equanimity is
a beautiful word. It even sounds lovely. Equanimity is defined as a state of
psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or
exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose
the balance of their mind. Serenity is another word meaning
more-or-less the same thing. When we are disturbed by someone or something, our
equanimity comes goes out the window. In order to have equanimity we must learn
to simply stay with what is. We must learn to look, observe, and be prepared to
‘watch what’s actually there’. That means we must ‘put aside [our]
preferences’. Ordinarily, we choose to be aware of some things and not others,
and we refuse to watch those things we label as bad or even indifference. True
mindfulness is staying with whatever may be the content of our moment-to-moment
experience, without labelling or judging that content as good, bad or
indifferent.
All
this requires patience, as Ajahn Thanissaro points out. Patience is not something we
develop overnight. I know that. I am 61 years of age and I am still trying to
learn to be more patient. That’s where mindfulness practice can help. As we
practise mindfulness we become more patient over time. I still need a lot more
practice. I hope I live long enough.
Ajahn
Thanissaro provides a helpful working definition of patience—‘the ability not
to get worked up over the things you don’t like’, and ‘to stick with difficult
situations even when they don't resolve as quickly as you want them to’.
We all know that we are upset not so much by what happens but by our reaction
to what happens. It’s our reaction that hurts us, and often our reaction is
automatic and self-defeating. We all need more patience. The next time you find
yourself upset, may I suggest that you do the following. Watch what’s
happening. Stay with it. Follow it through. Self-observation leads to
self-knowledge, and self-knowledge leads to self-cure. If you can stay with and
simply observe the content of your experience, rather than run away from it,
and not label or judge that content, you will gain insight into the workings of
your mind. You will come to understand that you have always been your own worst
enemy, for you, and you alone, are the originator and cause of your
self-defeating behaviour.
Letting go is very important, but so is sticking with difficult
situations that we would rather not face. Life just is.
Ajahn
Thanissaro refers to ‘right resolve’ (also known as ‘right intention’ and
‘right mindedness’) and ‘right effort’ (also known as ‘right diligence’). Those
two things are just two of the eight path factors in the Noble Eightfold Path.
Right resolve leads to right understanding, right effort, and right
attentiveness. It means, among other things, watching our thoughts, for as we
think, so we are. Right resolve also means reflecting upon our thoughts, words
and deeds. Are they true? Are they necessary? Are they kind? (That threefold test of the rightness or wrongness of any proposed words or deed is known as 'The Three Gates'.)
Right
effort is fourfold in nature and involves the effort to prevent unwholesome
qualities from arising, the effort to extinguish unwholesome qualities (for
example, greed, anger and resentment, and lust) that already have arisen, the
effort to cultivate skilful or wholesome, qualities (especially generosity,
loving kindness, and wisdom) that have not yet arisen, and the effort to
strengthen the wholesome qualities that have already arisen. Whether you are a
Buddhist or not, right resolve and right effort are of extreme importance.
True mindfulness is more than just a calm
acceptance of what is. It means being prepared to change what needs to be
changed in one’s life and making the effort to make those changes.
