So,
Over the past month,
We have been exploring mindfulness of the mind,
Learning to meet the mind,
Not as who we are,
But as a sense door through which we experience,
A sense door through which experiences appear.
And we began our practice with mindfulness of mind and the arising of judgment,
Something this is familiar and it's often very,
It's a kind of a pervasive mental state.
You know,
The mind that evaluates,
The mind that compares and decides how things should be,
Bringing some attention to that happening.
And then last week,
I invited you to bring some attention and practice with contentment.
Mindfulness of mind with the arising of contentment and ease.
So contentment is a quieter state of mind and we often overlook it.
And this is really the state of mind where the mind isn't arguing with the moment.
You know,
So that was the offering last week.
And at first glance,
You know,
These two mind states,
Judgment and contentment,
They might seem like opposites.
But this fourth foundation of mindfulness,
Mindfulness of what is called the dhammas or mind objects,
It invites us to see something deeper.
And that is that both of these mind objects,
Judgment and contentment,
They both arise and they both pass and both can be known.
And that knowing is the practice.
So when judgment arises,
The mind is doing something very specific.
You know,
It's measuring,
It's fixing,
It's correcting.
Sometimes it carries kind of a feeling that this shouldn't be happening.
And the moment that judgment is known as a mental event,
Its authority weakens.
It becomes something that is arising at the mind door,
The sense door of the mind,
Rather than a command that we must follow.
So this is the fourth foundation of mindfulness at work,
The mind knowing the mind.
Now,
Contentment,
On the other hand,
Is often so subtle that we miss it entirely.
So in those moments where nothing needs to change,
There's no leaning forward,
There's no pulling away,
No improvement project underway,
You know,
Contentment is what the mind feels like when judgment isn't being fed.
So both of these objects of mind,
Judgment and contentment,
Show us something really important.
And that is that the mind is constantly producing experience.
And sometimes it's suffering and sometimes it's ease.
But freedom doesn't come from controlling what appears.
Freedom comes from knowing,
From knowing what appears,
From knowing what's appearing in the moment.
When judgment is known,
It loosens.
When contentment is known,
It deepens trust.
So as we learn to recognize the mind's production,
We slowly stop taking it all so personally.
The mind becomes a place of observation rather than struggle.
And gradually,
There's a kind of a quiet confidence that develops,
Like,
Sort of like,
Oh,
This too,
This too can be known.
Or even that simple phrase,
This too will pass,
This too shall pass,
Right?
So we can practice this on the cushion in our meditation practice,
Using our open awareness practice.
What is most obvious right now?
You know,
Dropping in that question that is posed in the teachings of Sayadaw Utesha Niya.
What is most obvious right now?
This is a great question to drop into practice.
Is the mind judging right now?
Is the mind confused right now?
Is the mind content right now?
So that's the practice on the cushion.
And then we can practice this in our daily life.
You know,
The same question,
Asking what is most obvious?
When we're standing in line,
Waiting for the checkout,
When we're sitting in traffic,
When we're on our way somewhere,
What is the mind producing in this moment?
And there's no fixing that's required,
No improvement that is necessary,
Just knowing.
Just getting to know the mind objects as they appear.
And in this knowing,
This is how mindfulness becomes wisdom.
So I'd like to stop here and hear how this practice that we've been cultivating this month has been working for you.
So thank you for your attention,
For experimenting with this.
