Meditation simplified – lesson 6 – the mind (issue 9) The mind during meditation
Chan meditation is about stilling the thoughts or quieting the mind. There are many methods to tie down the restless and scattered mind. However, it will be covered in separate lessons.
The six sense organs comprising the eye, ear, nose tongue, body and mind should be turned inwards and not go out chasing after the sense objects of form, sounds, smells, taste, touch and thought. That is the eyes don’t go looking out but focus on the tip on your nose or close. Hearing should not follow after external sounds, and knowing should be on the meditation practice and not run to the ten directions and thinking of the past and the future.
When a random thought does arise, we do not follow through it, that is to say we do not build upon the first random thoughts that arise. By ignoring it, the random thought by itself will fizzle away. The reason why this random thought arises is because either we have the habit of using the intellectual mind or because the thought randomly come out of our storehouse consciousness or the eighth consciousness.
The objective is not to purposely suppress this random thoughts but simply do not engage with further thoughts. When we suppress the random thoughts, it is like putting a brick on top of the weeds. The roots of the weeds are still intact. By allowing the random thought to come out and yet not engage in it is liken to allowing the weed to quickly grow and die out.
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