The Anatomy of a Thought-2

The Anatomy of a Thought-2

Allow me to share beautiful verses from the Mahamudra instruction of Tilopa (a Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche translation).
Mists rise from the earth and vanish into space.
They go nowhere, nor do they stay.
Likewise, though thoughts arise,
Whenever you see your mind, the clouds of thinking clear.

Space is beyond color or shape.
It doesn’t take on color, black or white: it doesn’t change.
Likewise, your mind, in essence, is beyond color or shape.
It does not change because you do good or evil.

The darkness of a thousand eons cannot dim
The brilliant radiance that is the essence of the sun.
Likewise, eons of samsara cannot dim
The sheer clarity that is the essence of your mind.

Although you say space is empty,
You can’t say that space is "like this".
Likewise, although mind is said to be sheer clarity,
There is nothing there: you can’t say "it’s like this".

Thus, the nature of mind is inherently like space:
It includes everything you experience.

Stop all physical activity: sit naturally at ease.
Do not talk or speak: let sound be empty, like an echo.
Do not think about anything: look at experience beyond thought.

Your body has no core, hollow like bamboo.
Your mind goes beyond thought, open like space.
Let go of control and rest right there.
Like waves in the ocean disappear in the same sea they had originated from, thoughts emerge from and merge back into the same mind. Some start to surf these waves, but no matter how giant or exhilarating a wave, how beautiful the swell, how tidal the sea, how expert the surfer, the waves will toss him eventually. And this brings me to the moral of the story: there are no calming thoughts really, just like there are no stable waves.

A thought that's appeasing today could well be disturbing tomorrow. For example, you love someone today and their thought brings you joy, tomorrow you may fall out and the same thought will give you grief. A good meditator knows that thoughts, at their best, can only calm the mind temporarily and intermittently. That the real solution lies in going beyond thoughts because like waves are waves and thoughts are thoughts. Some may be less displacing than others but ultimately they are destabilizing.

In the ocean of your mind, when it comes to the waves of thoughts, you have three choices ,

a, surf and accept the highs and lows,

b, watch the waves and put up with the constant sound of the sea,

c, move away from the ocean altogether. No one should tell you what to choose, you choose or alternate between these choices based on your own constitution.

Controlling the mind is not taming but curbing it; it's a futile exercise, a vain path. Instead, an aware mind is the most tamed state any mind can have. A mind free of thoughts is the most calm state of a mind. The third best is an absorbed mind. When you await eagerly with the surfboard of your desires to ride the thought waves, be prepared for anything, for surprises, not all of which may be desirable.

Most beautiful music gushes forth naturally from a silent mind like waterfalls do from the Himalayan mountains. You've to see one to hear one, or, you have to hear one to see the other.

Om Namah Shivay