How Is Being Undistracted Different From Zoning Out?

[With English interpretation] Ven. Pomnyun Sunim's (법륜스님) Answer to “How is being undistracted different from zoning out?”
A question chosen from the weekly Sunday meditation with Ven. Pomnyun Sunim(법륜스님).

Peace of mind is only one step away.

Transcript

I was not distracted today. How is being undistracted different from zoning out? There was a time where my teacher actually came to our place to give a lecture. And at that time, A young boy actually raised his hand and asked a question. He asked, What is the nature of the thoughtless space where you say we should all strive to be? He said, Is that similar to when I'm riding on a bus going a long way and I'm looking outside the window, I kind of fall into the state of thoughtlessness where there's no thought, I'm just like zoning out. Is that similar? And this is how my teacher replied to that question. He said, No, You're being an idiot then. That's it. You're being zoning out. You're not actually, That's the opposite from the state you should be striving for. So the state we're talking about, There has to be clarity of the mindfulness. So the state we're talking about, There has to be clarity of the mindfulness. There has to be a clarity centered about a Zen koan, If you would. So there has to be a clarity of purpose. So a truly thoughtless space without intent, Without clarity, You're truly zoning out. So it's an absence of clarity and there's a sort of a mental numbness that you're feeling. So the state we're actually striving for is a state of intense clarity of mindfulness at the same time with discipline not to follow any straight thoughts that come across your head.