From Chogyam Trungpa
In the absence of thoughts and emotions, the Lords (the forces of materialism) bring up a still more powerful weapon, concepts. Labeling phenomena creates a feeling of a solid, definite world of "things." Such a solid world reassures us that we are a solid, continuous thing as well.
The world exists, therefore I, the perceiver of the world, exist. Meditation involves seeing the transparency of concepts, so that labeling no longer serves as a way of solidifying our world and our image of self. Labeling becomes simply the act of discrimination.
2 comments:
D-man
I really like this quote (I had to read it like 12 times to *get* it). It seems he's speaking to labeling on two different levels, labeling with attachment, i.e., identification, and labeling as a form of observing the mind. I jumped into it at the end "labeling becomes simple the act of discrimination," and that's where I was thinking...maybe this goes to some of our other trains of dialogue, but in labeling aren't we discerning between two thing. Thought and Other. Good and Bad. Think and Non-think. By labeling things, even thoughts when we sit, aren't we solidifying the weapon of concepts; ushering it into existence through discrimination. Doesn't discrimination itself create separate concepts...?
Okay so maybe I don't like this quote as much.
Or I'm just nit-picky.
Some kick @ss observations. My thoughts on it (some labeled, some just 'free-floating').
"Meditation involves seeing the transparency of concepts, so that labeling no longer serves as a way of solidifying our world and our image of self".
Shamatha practice uses the word/label "thinking" not as further solidification of concept but as a two-part trigger. It triggers attention to the fact we're involved in thought/ thinking.
There's no further id'ing process which goes on after we note "thinking", the second part of the trigger turns attention from thinking to the breath as the focus.
"Labeling becomes simply the act of discrimination".
Discrimination in the sense of "The ability or power to see or make fine distinctions".
Simply the ability to discern when we're lost in thought.
Its interesting, 'cuz there's always this question of choice and volition present. I mean, once we note "thinking" its entirely up to us to return to the breath. This has to be a conscious decision.
Also, just so we're on the same page--the end game here isn't to rid ourselves of thoughts. Mind, in conjunction with data from the other senses creates thoughts--that's what it does.
The 'practice' as it were, is to discover/discern that we are in fact, not our thoughts. THey're just cloud formations, giving a momentary sense of identification.
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