Mindfulness is the quality and power of mind that is deeply aware of what’s happening — without commentary and without interference. It is like a mirror that simply reflects whatever comes before it.
It serves us in the humblest ways, keeping us connected to brushing our teeth or having a cup of tea.
Joseph Goldstein, Here, Now, Aware: The Power of Mindfulness
In our practice we develop that quality of mind which knows – the ‘knowing’ mind. Not ‘reacting’ mind, but ‘knowing ‘ mind. It’s very different. Within the quality of knowing you can see everything. You can see the reactions. You can see the pain. You can see the joy. You can see the peace. You witness everything.
Ajahn Sundara
Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone
Alan Watts
Most practice gets caught in the area of fiddling with our environments or our minds. ” My mind should be quiet”. Our mind doesn’t matter; what matters is non-attachment to the activities of the mind. And our emotions are harmless unless they dominate us – that is, if we are attached to them – then they create dis-harmony for everyone. The first problem in practice is to see that we are attached. As we do consistent, patient practice we begin to know that we are nothing but attachments; they rule our lives. But we never lose an attachment by saying it has to go. Only as we gain true awareness of its true nature does it quietly and imperceptibly wither away; like a sandcastle with waves rolling over, it just smooths out and finally Where is it? What was it? …
Charlotte Joko Beck
photo curt smith
Ajahn Chah would explain that the mind’s nature is still, yet it’s flowing. It’s flowing, yet it is still. He would use the word “citta” for the knowing mind, the mind of awareness. The citta itself is totally still. It has no movement; it is not related to all that arises and ceases. It is silent and spacious. Mind objects — sights, sounds, smell, taste, touch, thoughts, and emotions — flow through it. Problems arise because the clarity of the mind gets entangled with sense impressions. By contemplating our own experience, we can make a clear distinction between the mind that knows (citta) and the sense impressions that flow through it. By refusing to get entangled with any sense impressions, we find refuge in that quality of stillness, silence, and spaciousness, which is the mind’s own nature. This policy of non-interference allows everything and is disturbed by nothing.
Ajahn Amaro, Small Boat
The present moment is filled with joy and happiness.
If you are attentive, you will see it.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step
