..續本文上一頁, the discernment that comes with meditation. When you meditate, you have to think. If you don”t think, you can”t meditate, because thinking forms a necessary part of meditation. Take jhana, for instance. Use your powers of directed thought to bring the mind to the object, and your powers of evaluation to be discriminating in your choice of an object. Examine the object of your meditation until you see that it”s just right for you. You can choose slow breathing, fast breathing, short breathing, long breathing, narrow breathing, broad breathing, hot, cool or warm breathing; a breath that goes only as far as the nose, a breath that goes only as far as the base of the throat, a breath that goes all the way down to the heart. When you”ve found an object that suits your taste, catch hold of it and make the mind one, focused on a single object. Once you”ve done this, evaluate your object. Direct your thoughts to making it stand out. Don”t let the mind leave the object. Don”t let the object leave the mind. Tell yourself that it”s like eating: Put the food in line with your mouth, put your mouth in line with the food. Don”t miss. If you miss, and go sticking the food in your ear, under your chin, in your eye, or on your forehead, you”ll never get anywhere in your eating.

　　So it is with your meditation. Sometimes the `one” object of your mind takes a sudden sharp turn into the past, back hundreds of years. Sometimes it takes off into the future, and comes back with all sorts of things to clutter your mind. This is like taking your food, sticking it up over your head, and letting it fall down behind you -- the dogs are sure to get it; or like bringing the food to your mouth and then tossing it out in front of you. When you find this happening, it”s a sign that your mind hasn”t been made snug with its object. Your powers of directed thought aren”t firm enough. You have to bring the mind to the object and then keep after it to make sure it stays put. Like eating: Make sure the food is in line with the mouth and stick it right in. This is directed thought: The food is in line with the mouth, the mouth is in line with the food. You”re sure it”s food, and you know what kind it is -- main course or dessert, coarse or refined.

　　Once you know what”s what, and it”s in your mouth, chew it right up. This is evaluation: examining, reviewing your meditation. Sometimes this comes under threshold concentration: examining a coarse object to make it more and more refined. If you find that the breath is long, examine long breathing. If it”s short, examine short breathing. If it”s slow, examine slow breathing -- to see if the mind will stay with that kind of breathing, to see if that kind of breathing will stay with the mind, to see whether or not the breath is smooth and unhindered. This is evaluation.

　　When the mind gives rise to directed thought and evaluation, you have both concentration and discernment. Directed thought and singleness of preoccupation (ekaggatarammana) fall under the heading of concentration; evaluation, under the heading of discernment. When you have both concentration and discernment, the mind is still and knowledge can arise. If there”s too much evaluation, though, it can destroy your stillness of mind. If there”s too much stillness, it can snuff out thought. You have to watch over the stillness of your mind to make sure you have things in the right proportions. If you don”t have a sense of `just right,” you”re in for trouble. If the mind is too still, your progress will be slow. If you think too much, it”ll run away with your concentration.

　　So observe things carefully. Again, it”s like eating. If you go shoveling food into your mouth, you might end up choking to death. You have to ask yourself: Is it good for me

　　 Can I handle it…

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