..续本文上一页be restless and agitated. That” the point – it”s all craving, the whole mass of it.
Well, never mind! Just get on with your own practice. Whenever you experience a mind-object, contemplate it. Throw it into one of the three “pits” of aniccam, dukkham, anatta in your meditation and reflect on it. Generally, when we experience a mind-object it stimulates thinking. The thinking is in reaction to the experience of the mind-object. The nature of ordinary thinking and panna is very different. The nature of ordinary thinking is to carry on without stopping. The mind-objects you experience lead you off in different directions and your thoughts just follow along. The nature of panna is to stop the proliferation, to still the mind, so that it doesn”t go anywhere. You are simply the knower and receiver of things. As you experience different mind-objects, which in turn give rise to different moods, you maintain awareness of the process and ultimately, you can see that all the thinking and proliferating, worrying and judging, is entirely devoid of any real substance or self. It is all aniccam, dukkham and anatta. The way to practice, is to cut off all the proliferation right at its base and see that it all comes under the headings of the three characteristics. As a result it will weaken and lose its power. Next time when you are sitting in meditation and it comes up, or whenever you experience agitation like that you contemplate it, you keep observing and checking the mind.
You can compare it with looking after water buffalo. There is a buffalo, its owner and some rice plants. Now normally, buffaloes like to eat rice plants; rice plants are buffalo food. Your mind is like the buffalo, the mind-objects which you experience are like the rice plants. That part of the mind which is “that which knows” is like the owner of the buffalo. The practice isn”t really any different from this. Consider it. What do you do when you are looking after a water buffalo
You let it wander freely, but try to keep an eye on it the whole time. If it walks too near the rice plants, you shout a warning and when the buffalo hears, it should stop and come back. However, you can”t be careless. If it”s stubborn and doesn”t take heed of your warnings you have to take a stick and give it a good whack, then it won”t dare to go anywhere near the rice plants. But don”t get caught taking a siesta. If you can”t resist taking a nap, the rice plants will be finished for sure.
Practice is similar. When you are watching your mind, it”s that which knows” that actually does the watching. “Those who watch over their minds will free themselves from Mara”s” trap.” But it”s puzzling: the mind is the same mind. It”s knowing of the state of mind; knowing as the mind experiences mind-objects. This aspect of the mind which knows is what the Buddha referred to as “that which knows”. The knowing is the one who watches over the mind. It is from the knowing that panna arises. The mind manifests as thinking and ideas. If it meets a mind-object, it will stop off and spend some time with it. If it meets another object then it will spend some time with that, just like that buffalo stopping off to nibble some rice plants. Wherever it wanders to, you have to keep an eye on it the whole time, ensuring that it won”t slip away from your sight. If it strays near the rice plants and doesn”t take any notice when you shout a warning, you must show it the stick right away, with no messing about. To train it, you have to give it a hard time and make it go against the flow of it”s desires.
Training the mind is the same. Normally, when it contacts a mind-object, the mind will immediately grab hold of it. As it grabs hold of mind-objects, “that which knows” has to teach it. Using wise reflection, you have to t…
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