Bodhidharma, First Patriarch of the Zen Buddhist Lineage
The mind paints dragons, makes stories, and we get totally caught up in this world of story making...not being so reactive to everything in our lives can lead to a greater clarity, a greater intrinsic understanding and wisdom.
I love to think. To think of the positive ramifications of thought and discussion, the positive waves that can evolve from brilliant ripples. I also love to not think. To
pause. To observe the mind in its natural state, unblemished by the constant movements and perpetual dialogue. Countless generations and countless minds have have been devoted to nothing but the development of the thoughts of non-thought; from centuries before the birth of the Buddha Shakyamuni, the ancient Hindu texts, the Vedas, had mindfulness and still mind meditation as a central premise to reaching nirvana.
The ability to observe the workings of your own mind, from an "outside" perspective, is a critical perspective to have. As we observe, comment on, and discuss the thoughts, words, and actions of others in our world, so should be observe our own internal dialogue. Seeing things in new ways, whether physically or mentally, traveling on a plane or sitting on a cushion, is vital for the human condition.
"The mind produces thoughts. The thoughts are like boats floating down a long river, boats of all different shapes and sizes, from poor rafts to flashy riverboats to battleships and armadas. It is possible to stay on the riverbank, dry and safe and relaxed and at ease, and simply watch the boats go by. And, its possible to get onto the boats, and get carried along, possibly for a long time. Most people, most of the time, are on their boats. However, there is a whole world to live in besides the boat. Some people identify their thinking mind with who they are...if they don't think, than they don't exist. Its possible to be sitting on the riverbank, resting under the oak tree, without evaluating yourself in comparison to anything or anybody, without telling the story of who you are, to just be there, watching the boats float by, without getting on."
-Zen Master Gil Fronsdale
"Thinking is both an amazing blessing and an amazing curse."
-Fronsdal
"How pathetically scanty my self-knowledge is compared with, say, my knowledge of my room. There is no such thing as observation of the inner world, as there is of the outer world."
-Kafka
