Understanding how the mind works can strengthen focused attention, clear away distractions, organize priorities, and reduce the destructive forces of craving, aversion, and delusion. “These time-tested methods for overcoming distractions are needed more than ever,” writes Catherine.Buddhist teaching can aid us in finding calm in all aspects of life. In the classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Suzuki Roshi explained that real calmness should be found in activity itself. "It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness."

Calmness in Activity

According to Catherine, Buddhist teachings advise,The training begins by recognizing that a thought is just that — a thought, a creation of our own minds. From this recognition, we distinguish what is skillful and unskillful, and then progress through a traditional training sequence in which we learn (1) to replace unwanted thoughts, (2) to examine the risks of fueling habitual patterns, (3) to withdraw attention from toxic conditions, (4) to investigate causes, and (5) to exert dedicated resolve.

Buddhist Teaching

Whether you are experienced meditator or a beginner, you probably know the pain of wrestling with an unruly, distracted mind. Before you can experience the extraordinary joy of a settled and concentrated mind, you must learn how to dispel distractions…Distraction is universal, even the Buddha tells us that before enlightenment, he sometimes found his mind preoccupied with thoughts connected with sensual desire, ill will, and harm. However, distracting thoughts did not daunt him. He figured out how to deal with thoughts skillfully and developed a step-by-step approach to calm the restless mind.

Distraction is Universal

Buddhist teachings encourage people to actively cultivate the more trustworthy happiness that comes with spiritual development. Happiness associated with virtue, meditation, and wisdom is prizedAlthough thinking is useful, an untrained mind tends to repeat distressing patterns. In Beyond Distraction, Catherine writes how many people suffer from chronic comparing, endless worrying, seductive fantasizing, or relentless planning. One can even develop anxiety through countless hours of obsessing about the past or imaginative rehearsals of how to respond to future events.

Spiritual Development

In Beyond Distraction, Catherine writes,“Liberation requires letting go of the illusion that we exist as a permanent self, an observer, a witness, or the controller of activities. Self-grasping is not abandoned through effort, but by understanding that the illusion of self is constructed through layers of mental habits, misperceptions, and attachments.”The point of the teaching goes far beyond self-improvement projects. Catherine suggests, “Powerful, liberating understandings occur by directly experiencing the “nots” — not-clinging, not-self, not-mine, not-fabricated, not-identifying.”

Liberating Understandings

Letting go of habits and unbinding the mind from the forces of delusion are the route to freedom. Liberation comes not from becoming, but from letting go.----------Welcome | The PATH The PATH is a gathering of short reflections: every Monday, we send three timeless insights designed to help you live your highest good. We also produce the podcasts In Search of Wisdom and Perennial Meditations, and write short articles on wisdom for everyday life. “Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot. Seek the path that will demand your whole being.” — Rumihttps://www.perennialleader.com/path

The Path

An untrained mind ultimately leads to suffering. "One wields mastery over the mind," stressed the Buddha, "one does not let the mind wield mastery over him." Many kinds of disruptive thoughts can obstruct our concentration in meditation. In daily life, these same distractions cause similar disruptions (anxiety, procrastination, worry, depression, etc.) while negatively impacting relationships, productivity, and ease of mind.As the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh put it, "The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace."

Thousand Directions

How does the mind actually work? Many wisdom traditions stress the importance of training and observing the mind. However, except for Buddhist teachings, most provide very few instructions on how to do so. The Buddha taught, “Whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become the inclination of the mind.”In the excellent new book Beyond Distraction, author and longtime meditation teacher Shaila Catherine explains:

Observing Mind

Learn how to overcome distraction in meditation practice and develop clarity in your relationships, work, and activities with this new guide from a beloved meditation teacher. The mind can be a potent tool, used to guide extraordinary achievements, inspire good works, and incline your spiritual path toward peace and awakening. But the mind can also produce thoughts that lead to suffering. For many people, thoughts run rampant and seem to oppress or control their lives. Even the Buddha tells us that before his enlightenment, he sometimes found his mind preoccupied by thoughts connected with sensual desire, ill will, and harm. But he figured out how to respond to thoughts skillfully and developed a step-by-step approach to calm the restless mind. Now, Insight Meditation teacher Shaila Catherine offers an accessible approach to training the mind that is guided by the Buddha’s pragmatic instructions on removing distracting thoughts. Drawing on two scriptures in the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Shaila shows you how to overcome habitual modes of thinking, develop deeper concentration, and discover the insights into emptiness that are vital for a liberating spiritual path. Following the Buddha’s pragmatic approach, Shaila guides you through five steps for overcoming distraction and focusing the mind: 1. Replace unwholesome thoughts with wholesome thoughts. For example, if you find yourself thinking thoughts of ill will toward a person, try thinking instead of their good qualities as an antidote. 2. Examine the dangers of distracting thoughts. Weigh the costs of allowing thoughts of ill will, lust, greed, and so forth to obsess your mind. The costs of dwelling on distracting thoughts nearly always outweigh any supposed benefits. 3. Avoid it, ignore it, forget it. Develop the skill to turn your attention away from habitual distractions. Remove the fuel and let the fires of distraction die out. 4. Investigate the causes of distraction. By understanding the conditions that perpetuate habitual thoughts, you can learn to free yourself from those patterns. 5. Apply determination and resolve. Supported by wisdom, you can make a firm decision to stop dwelling on patterns of thought that are not supporting your deepest values and goals in life. Each chapter includes exercises and reflections to help you cultivate the five steps to deeper concentration. You’ll learn about your mind and develop your ability to direct your attention more skillfully in meditation and daily activities. And ultimately, you’ll discover for yourself how these five steps boil down to one key realization: In the moment you recognize that a thought is just a thought, you will find yourself on the path to a life of remarkable freedom.

books

Books

Learn how to overcome distraction in meditation practice and develop clarity in your relationships, work, and activities with this new guide from a beloved meditation teacher. The mind can be a potent tool, used to guide extraordinary achievements, inspire good works, and incline your spiritual path toward peace and awakening. But the mind can also produce thoughts that lead to suffering. For many people, thoughts run rampant and seem to oppress or control their lives. Even the Buddha tells us that before his enlightenment, he sometimes found his mind preoccupied by thoughts connected with sensual desire, ill will, and harm. But he figured out how to respond to thoughts skillfully and developed a step-by-step approach to calm the restless mind. Now, Insight Meditation teacher Shaila Catherine offers an accessible approach to training the mind that is guided by the Buddha’s pragmatic instructions on removing distracting thoughts. Drawing on two scriptures in the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Shaila shows you how to overcome habitual modes of thinking, develop deeper concentration, and discover the insights into emptiness that are vital for a liberating spiritual path. Following the Buddha’s pragmatic approach, Shaila guides you through five steps for overcoming distraction and focusing the mind: 1. Replace unwholesome thoughts with wholesome thoughts. For example, if you find yourself thinking thoughts of ill will toward a person, try thinking instead of their good qualities as an antidote. 2. Examine the dangers of distracting thoughts. Weigh the costs of allowing thoughts of ill will, lust, greed, and so forth to obsess your mind. The costs of dwelling on distracting thoughts nearly always outweigh any supposed benefits. 3. Avoid it, ignore it, forget it. Develop the skill to turn your attention away from habitual distractions. Remove the fuel and let the fires of distraction die out. 4. Investigate the causes of distraction. By understanding the conditions that perpetuate habitual thoughts, you can learn to free yourself from those patterns. 5. Apply determination and resolve. Supported by wisdom, you can make a firm decision to stop dwelling on patterns of thought that are not supporting your deepest values and goals in life. Each chapter includes exercises and reflections to help you cultivate the five steps to deeper concentration. You’ll learn about your mind and develop your ability to direct your attention more skillfully in meditation and daily activities. And ultimately, you’ll discover for yourself how these five steps boil down to one key realization: In the moment you recognize that a thought is just a thought, you will find yourself on the path to a life of remarkable freedom.