Just Another Thought

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

The practice of Dhamma can be summed up simply as learning how, grounded in the present moment, to experience:

                    seeing as seeing

                    hearing as hearing

                    smelling as smelling

                    tasting as tasting

                    touching as touching

                    feeling as feeling

                    remembering as remembering

                    perceiving as perceiving

                    thinking as thinking

                    imagining as imagining

Easier said than done, I think we’d all agree. But much insight may be gained by examining just why such an apparently simple task is so very difficult. Look particularly at the running commentary that is usually present in the background: the narratives it creates and sustains, the judgements, the biases, the desires and fears. When you discover how to turn down the volume of the commentator – or perhaps even turn it off altogether – life is transformed. The commentator is, after all, just another thought.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.