Live Session Summary, Sunday, May 22, 2022: The theme of today’s Live session was ‘Two Kinds of Thought.’ I spoke about how certain kinds of thinking—such as complaining, blaming, judging, clinging, worrying, etc.—lead to suffering, while thoughts of compassion, gratitude, generosity, loving-kindness, joy, and peace lead to happiness and greater freedom.
Each kind of thinking becomes a habit of mind, but the first kind keep us locked in an illusion of a separate self and in suffering, while the second kind becomes a wholesome and beneficial way of living. As the Buddha said, ‘What a person thinks about and frequently ponders on, that becomes their inclination of mind.’ It serves us, then, to abandon or let go of the unwholesome thoughts and cultivate beneficial ones.
I quoted from a discourse of the Buddha called ‘Two Kinds of Thought’, which highlighted how the Buddha, before his enlightenment, divided his thoughts into these two classes or categories. As he meditated and reflected on thoughts of craving, aversion, and cruelty, he saw the affliction they caused to himself and others and abandoned them. With thoughts of letting go, kindness, and non-harming, he saw they didn’t lead to harm, but rather led to happiness and freedom. These latter thoughts should be cultivated.
His practice of abandoning the unskillful thoughts and cultivating the wholesome ones created the conditions for his awakening. Abandoning longstanding habits of mind is not easy, so we need a clear intention, wise effort, attention, and kindness to see certain thoughts and the harm they cause—and let them go.
I discussed how we can bring greater awareness to the kinds of thinking that keep our mind entangled or hooked—and working with them in meditation and daily life, we can choose not to fuel this kind of thought and, when they arise, to let them go. And we can choose to develop and nurture thoughts and intentions of kindness, gratitude, compassion, joy, etc., that enhance our well-being and help us abandon the unskillful thoughts. For example, consciously cultivating gratitude can shift the mind away from thoughts of self-judgment, anger, craving, etc., allowing us to appreciate what we have rather than being fixated on what is ‘wrong’ or what we lack.
Poems I shared today included ‘There was a time I would reject those…’ by Muhyiddin Ibn al-‘Arabi (this is included in ‘Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems’, edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R. Wilson); and Mary Oliver’s ‘I Worried’.
Have a safe and joyful week—and see you next Sunday, May 29, at 9am eastern. I’ll be teaching a workshop at Kripalu in Massachusetts and the session will be a little shorter this week. Warmly, Hugh 🙏🏼 🌻
