The Heart of Buddhism is One-Pointedness of Mind

Yesterday evening at the reading, Ajahn Munindo recounted a meeting with Lung Por Tate. Luang Por Tate was about ninety-four years old at the time. When asked “What is the essence of Buddhism?” Luang Por Tate very simply answered saying, “The heart of Buddhism is one-pointedness of mind.” That’s a very simple statement but it has many, many implications, particularly from the point of training. There needs to be this focus of one- pointedness to really understand anything and not get swept up or caught by reactions or habits—but rather to see and act clearly. Try to focus and sustain one-pointed attention, bringing attention back to what we’re doing. It’s so easy, especially doing chores or engaging with other people, to get caught up in the wandering mind, in reactions and proliferations, thinking about how it should be, how it could be, or if only it were some other way. We forget to establish a base of solidity and work from that. We need to cultivate the sense of one- pointedness as our foundation or base and then let the practice grow from that. This foundation includes keeping precepts, composing the senses, composing the mind, settling the mind, while reflecting and investigating with wisdom. This is the basis for our stability, our one-pointedness of mind.