Mind and Monkey Mind
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Mind and Monkey Mind
A Zen practitioner wrote me the following in an email a while ago. When I read it today, Ilaughed out loud, because it's such a perfect description of the mind's activity during zazen:
I'm trying to be more mindful and more careful about my practice - meaning that while I'msitting, I'm trying to notice when my mind starts to wander and say to myself 'thinking' and returnto the breath. It's just amazing to me how many layers upon layers upon layers of thinking thereare. A transcript from the inside of my head while meditating:
Monkey Mind: Those barettes I had in the third grade were so cool, I wonder what happened to
them.
Mind: Thinking. Return to the breath.
Monkey Mind: Here I am returning to the breath. That's cool that I remembered to return to thebreath. I notice I breathe more slowly when I'm sitting. I wonder why that is.
Mind: Thinking. Return to the breath.
Monkey Mind: Yeah! Thinking! Go back to the breath. Jeez. You're hopeless. Back to the breath.Wonder if I'll eat anything with ketchup today. Ketchup is so good. I've heard that lycopene in
ketchup is really good for you and really good for men's prostate glands.
Mind: Thinking. Return to the breath.
Monkey Mind: It always cracks me up when people confuse prostate and prostrate. That's really funny. I'm following the breath. This is pretty cool. I'm not thinking all that much right now. I wonder if this is what meditation is supposed to be like, wait a second, I am thinking!
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Mind: Thinking. Return to the breath.
Posted by Dogo Barry Graham at 5:41 PM Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google BuzzLabels: practice , zazen , zen
2 comments:
KaliDurga said...That's fantastic. Those monkeys sure can be funny. What would we do for entertainment without'em?
Saturday, August 28, 2010 5:47:00 PM MST
dax said...
The best thing about this is that it shows that monkey mind is universal. I've met so many whothought it was just them!
Saturday, August 28, 2010 7:59:00 PM MST
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Dogo Barry GrahamAuthor, journalist and Zen teacher. Native of Glasgow, Scotland, now based in Phoenix, Arizona.Abbot of The Sitting Frog Zen Center .
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