Mind associated with Ideas
October 14, 2011 Leave a comment
“The mind which differentiates man and woman, associates itself with thoughts or ideas. In other words, manayatana associates itself with dhammayatana. People often say, “I am paying attention to somebody,” “I am thinking of someone,” “I have dreamt of someone,” etc.
In face, nobody meets anybody else. Such thoughts do occur incessantly during all waking hours. They run in series. Unwholesome thoughts, too, occur often. Everytime a thought occurs, the mind associates itself with it, and many people revel in such thoughts, and would not like the suggestion that they go in for meditational practice.
There are some preachers who instruct their audience to keep their minds free and relaxed instead of concentrating on meditational points because concentration, they say, restricts the mind. This is in contravention of the Buddha’s instructions although it assumes an appearance of the Buddha’s teachings. If, according to these preachers, the mind is set free, it will surely indulge in fond thoughts and revel in sensual pleasures. It would be like the idle thoughts of an opium smoker. Indulgence in such idle thoughts is the same as indulgence in sensual pleasures. In Hemavata Sutta, the statement that the mind works conjointly with sense-objects or ideas is appropriate. In order to separate the mind from the ideas, one must go in for meditational practice to gain concentration. If the concentration power is weak, the mind will go astray associating itself with the sense-objects outside the point of meditation, as the yogis must have found for themselves.
Some pretentious preachers blame meditational practice as causing bodily discomfort. This is really discrediting the Buddha’s word.Those who follow their advice would be losing their chance of gaining true insight and would be unwittingly committing a great sin against Ariya and other noble persons.”
