In the midst of a busy world it helps if we occasionally take the time to simply sit in a nice place and just "do" nothing. If we keep the mind and the body in states of almost manic activity then we should not be at all surprised that when we want the mind to be calm and quiet...i.e our meditation practice, that they won't be at all interested in doing what we want them to. It's like feeding sugar to my one year old son, who is loud and busy in a normal day and then expect him not be hyper for the next hour or so. Stupid when you think about it.
If we keep pumping mental stimulants into our minds in the shape of the media and often substances then we are getting what we deserve. I remember reading Thich Nhat Hanh's book "Peace In Every Step" where he ties media into the 5 Trainings (sorry I can't use the word Precepts any more, sikka meanings training and sila means habits) and it made perfect sense to include violent and extremely sexual media into the intoxicants.
On the other hand if we condition the mind to take delight in stillness, then it will know what to do when we have a list like the one in the cartoon...and we'll be the happier for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment