Watching Thoughts Like Clouds: Mindfulness Of Mind

So today I want to explain a different meditation practice,

One that we probably,

I don't think we've done before.

And in Pali,

So I apologize for my Pali accent here,

But it's something like a Sita Nampasana,

Yeah,

Sita Nampasana,

Which is like,

Sita is like mind,

And Nampasana is about observation.

So basically it's observation of the mind.

So it's the third part of the four foundations of mindfulness.

So the first foundation of mindfulness is about the contemplation on the body.

And the second one is the contemplation on your feelings or sensations.

So those first two are what you do in Vipassana,

What you do when you go to the Goenka Center.

You do the first two of the foundations of mindfulness.

This is the third one,

The observation of the mind.

So when we're looking at the body,

We're scanning the body,

But here what we're doing is we're moving our observation to observe the quality and the condition of your mind.

So it's a good thing to do body scans and look at sensations,

But it's also important for us to understand our mind,

So we can know exactly what's going on in our mind.

So we're not just watching the content of our thoughts,

Because the content of our thoughts is just a story.

So what we're doing is we're actually looking at the context of our mind,

So the mood of our mind,

The general state of our mind.

So we're bringing awareness to what mood or what state our mind is in.

So in the four foundations of mindfulness,

Buddha talked about different states of mind that we should be looking at.

So of course there are hundreds of states of mind,

But the ones that Buddha talked about was,

And we do them in pairs.

So we're looking for a greedy mind or a non-greedy mind.

So it's a mind that is in a state of craving or wanting or grasping,

Or it's in a state of mind free from those cravings.

So we also spoke about the hating mind or the non-hating mind.

So this is the mind that has aversion or anger,

Irritation,

Even boredom or ill will towards somebody,

A bad feeling towards somebody,

Or it's a mind that is kind and accepting.

He spoke about a deluded mind and a non-deluded mind.

So a mind that is confused,

Scattered and sleepy or dull.

So a lot of the time our mind is confused,

Or it could be a mind that is caught up in the wrong view of things,

Or a mind that is clear and focused.

He spoke about a contracted mind or a distracted mind.

So a mind that is maybe depressed or anxious,

A mind that feels sluggish,

A mind that is really shut down,

A restless mind,

Or a mind that is running around getting excited.

So that's the distracted part of the mind.

Another one he spoke about was a developed mind or an undeveloped mind.

So a mind that is the developed mind is a mind that is a mind of wisdom,

A mind that is calm,

A mind that is patient,

Or the undeveloped mind,

And that's the mind that is caught up in the worldly concerns.

So a mundane mind that is just worrying about fame and praise and blame and all those worldly things.

He spoke about,

There are three more,

Don't worry,

He spoke about a surpassed mind or an unsurpassed mind.

So this is where there's a sense of comparison.

So we compare ourselves to other things,

I want this because they've got it,

Or they look like this,

I want to look like that.

Or it's a mind that's in a state that is free and a mind that is just happy,

Contented with itself.

There's a concentrated mind or an unconcentrated mind.

So a mind that is steady and unified and at peace.

So it's a concentrated mind,

It's a focused mind.

Or there's a mind that is jumping around like the monkey,

The monkey mind.

And the final one is a liberated mind or an unliberated mind.

So a mind that is caught up in those defilements or a mind that is free from defilements.

So defilements are like your mental states,

Anger,

Jealousy,

Pride,

Hatred,

Or a mind that is free from that.

So this is what,

In this meditation,

We're looking at the quality of that mind.

We're not judging it,

We're just trying to become aware,

What is my state of mind?

So the practice is split into three parts.

So the first part is that,

It's just the noticing.

So just sitting quietly,

Recognizing your mind,

Just noticing,

Ah,

My mind is irritated,

Or my mind is calm,

My mind is grasping mine,

It's an angry mind.

So you don't get caught up,

We don't judge,

You're just noticing the state of mind.

So you don't ask why your mind is irritated,

Or why it's,

You know,

Has desire or whatever,

Or even why your mind is at peace.

You don't ask the question why,

You just simply note the fact,

Ah,

My mind is irritated.

So that's the first part of the meditation,

Just sitting quietly and noticing the mind.

So you do your Anapanasati,

You do the breathing awareness,

Calm yourself down,

Bring yourself into a relaxed state,

And then you look at the mind and just notice,

What is the state of my mind at the moment?

So that's the first part.

Then you sit with that,

So maybe you do like two minutes of just sitting and just watching the mind.

So the next part is,

Then you notice the change.

So you watch that,

Say your mind is like irritated or something,

So you watch that irritation,

And you see that,

Does that irritation stay for the whole of that two-minute practice?

And of course,

No,

It doesn't.

After a few moments,

That irritation will fade away and it will be replaced by something else.

So in here,

You just notice the change.

So first of all,

We notice what state of mind we're in and sit with that for a while,

And then we notice,

Does this stay?

So this state of mind that I'm in at the moment,

Is it staying?

And you just notice it changing from one state of mind to another,

To another.

Again,

Don't think about,

You know,

The changing,

Just allow it to change and just notice,

Just become aware,

Oh,

My irritation has now gone to a memory,

Or it's gone to planning,

Or whatever it is.

You just keep on noticing that change.

So again,

You do that for two minutes,

Just sitting back,

Relaxing,

Just watching your mind changing.

And then the third part is that we notice the absence.

So there will be,

And this is the hardest part of the most challenging part of the meditation,

We notice the gap.

So between each state of mind,

Between each thought,

There will be a slight gap,

There will be an absence of nothing.

So for that moment,

In that gap,

There is nothing,

There is just clarity,

There's no irritation,

There's no sleepiness,

There's just clarity between this state of mind and this state of mind.

So you know that your mind is free at that point,

Free from any irritation,

Or any sleepiness,

Or anything else.

There is just pure clarity.

This is the main part of the meditation.

So you try to watch the absence.

So you can't force this.

So it's not like you try to force the gap between each state of mind,

Though it naturally is a gap.

It's only a small gap,

But the more that you relax into the meditation,

The more that you actually watch,

Just watch those thoughts.

So you know,

I've said this before,

About just trying to see your mind as vast and open,

Like a sky.

And those states of mind,

Those irritations,

Or jealousy,

Whatever is coming through,

Are just clouds passing through.

And in between this cloud,

There will be a gap before the other cloud.

So try to just relax into it.

You can't spot,

You know,

At first by doing this meditation,

You can't spot a gap between,

Don't worry.

When you start to really get into the meditation and relax in the meditation,

You'll find that gap.

In that gap is just clarity.

That's what we're looking for.

A mind free of all these delusions,

Of all this irritation,

Of all this overthinking.

That is what we're looking for.

So that's what this observation of the mind is about.

So first of all,

We look,

What state of mind am I in?

Then we look that,

Oh,

This is not a permanent thing.

This state of mind is changing all the time.

When I'm watching it,

These states of mind are changing.

And once you've seen that change,

Once you know that,

Actually,

Whatever I'm going through is not going to last.

So then you sit back and you just try to see the absence of anything in the mind,

That slight gap between each of those states of mind.

So as I say,

Don't force that.

Just relax into it.

So before we do the meditation practice,

Why?

What are we going to gain from it?

So we start to recognize the unconscious in our mind.

So of course,

We are fully aware of the conscious.

We've spoken about this before.

We're fully aware of the conscious mind.

But we're never,

Or it's difficult for us to be aware of what is our conscious mind.

So most of the time,

We're just so lost in those states of mind that we become them.

So instead of there being anger,

We become angry.

I am angry.

Or instead of that state of mind just being of irritation,

We say that I am irritated.

So it helps us when we do this practice to just observe the state of mind.

And we help to then create a little space between that awareness and that state of mind.

So it stops us saying,

Us being angry,

To having anger,

Or being irritated,

To having irritation.

So we are the sky,

We are not those clouds.

So when we get caught up in the I am angry,

So then we're identifying with the cloud,

But we're not that cloud.

So first of all,

Doing this meditation helps us just recognize that unconscious mind.

It also helps us to see impermanence because by watching those states of mind,

We just realize they're not solid.

So they come and they go.

That anger is not permanent.

I am not angry.

So it's a weakness when we start to identify with these states of mind.

So by doing this practice all the time,

It's helping us to see that this is not me.

So maybe you're caught up in,

You know,

Jealousy or pride or something,

But you can step back and see that that's not permanent.

That's just the state of mind at this moment.

It's impermanent.

It's going to change.

So it would also help us to understand the continuity.

So we begin to see that these mind states arise because of triggers.

They don't just suddenly appear out of nothing.

So maybe a sound,

Maybe a thought,

Maybe an experience is what triggers that.

So when we have that wisdom,

We can learn not to blindly react to these triggers because we can just see,

Oh,

This was triggered.

This is just a state of mind that I'm in at the moment.

So it's a condition.

It's not something that magically popped up.

It's something that came because of something else.

So it's a conditioned state.

And the final thing that it helps us do is to cultivate a balance.

So the ultimate goal is to see both that greedy mind and the free mind with the same feeling,

With the same equanimity,

With the same awareness.

So maybe your mind is calm and peaceful.

Fantastic.

But we just watch that as well.

We watch the calm mind the same as we watch the un-calm mind.

So there's that equanimity.

Sometimes our mind goes from being calm to becoming irritated and then from irritation back to being peaceful.

So we watch the balance of that mind.

We don't get caught up with that,

You know,

The greedy and desire and irritation side of the mind.

Or we don't get caught up and attached to that peaceful and calm mind.

We just watch both minds with equanimity,

Which means we don't cling to these good states of mind and we don't push away the bad states of mind.

We see that the good and the bad,

What we label as good and bad,

Are just the same natural phenomena.

It's just a state of mind that we're going through.

So in this meditation,

Observing the mind,

It's a practice of observing those changing moods and looking at the quality of our consciousness without getting involved in the story.

So a lot of the time the stories that we tell ourselves is because a state of mind comes,

We hold on to that state of mind and we build a story around.

That's where we're going to have lots of suffering.

So by doing this meditation,

We are just observing those changing states of mind and we're not getting involved.

We're not building a story around them.

And so it helps us to realize that you're not those thoughts.

You're not your thoughts.

You're not your emotions.

You're not those states of mind.

You're the one that are just seeing them.

So you are not them.

So as I say,

You are the vast open mind,

The sky,

And all these things are these states of mind are just floating through.

And if you can observe and watch that it floats through and then there's a slight gap and then another state of mind comes.

There's a slight gap and another state of mind comes.

This is the one meditation practice that you really need to keep doing over and over again.

Because the more that you do it,

The more that you understand your state of mind.

And then it becomes natural.

It becomes a habit to you to actually just allow those states of mind to come and to go.

So on a practical level,

You can stop.

And when you have,

Say like,

I don't know,

You become really angry.

So you can stop a moment and just think,

Okay,

Just watch that anger and watch it go.

So it's not like just a practice you can do now when you're doing meditation.

You can do it when you can catch those states of mind and just allow them,

Just watch them go and just understand that they're just here for a moment.

So this isn't just,

You know,

An exercise where we just meditate.

This is one that we can take off the meditation cushion and just catch those states of mind and understand that forever changing.

They are not who I am.

They're impermanent.

They will pass if we allow them to pass.

They will stay if you don't catch them and you start building that story.

And of course,

Then we get trapped in this whole story that we've built ourselves.

If we just allow them to come and float across our awareness and float away,

Then we have a slight gap and then another thing will come along.

So first of all,

We observe what state of mind we're in.

Then we observe the changing state of mind that we have.

And then we try to observe the gap between that pause,

That slight break,

That slight absence of any state of mind between those two states of mind.