Marshaling the Emotions

You really have to be devoted to what you’re doing here. Or as Ajaan Fuang would say, “You really have to be crazy about the meditation if you want to meditate well.”

You have to get the meditation so that it really engages your imagination. What can be done with the mind as you focus it on the breath? What can be done with the breath? How can you learn to relate to the breath in a way that allows you to settle down and see what’s going on in the mind? Be curious. Find out.

And when you come up with obstacles you want to have the sort of inquisitive mind that doesn’t just give up in the face of the obstacle but tries to find a way around with the conviction that there is a way around. That’s what the confidence is there for.

If you’re lost in the woods and think there’s no way out, there’s going to be no way out. If you think there’s a way out, at least you have a chance of finding it.

So when you come up against issues in the meditation, try to use your ingenuity as much as you can.

This reflection by Ajaan Geoff is from the talk, Marshaling the Emotions, October 7, 2005.