97. Trying To Suppress Thoughts Is A Mistake

There is an interesting and productive way to view and digest the conundrum of
thinking in meditation. Sometimes it can become a hindrance, while at other times,
thinking is a necessary function and integral part of being human. Let’s explore
this in the following manner:

Begin by noting that when you are doing anything, whether it be physical labor,
watching TV news, a sporting event, or a movie, cleaning your home, gardening –
whatever it is, all the time your heart is pumping blood, your lungs are breathing
oxygen, your kidneys and liver are filtering and cleansing your body etc. all without
your consciously being aware of it and telling your body what to do…giving
instructions to these various organs as it were. That being said, normal brain
function is to produce thoughts. Trying to suppress thoughts to achieve some idea
or construct of quietude and peace that you have predetermined to be the “goal”
of meditation is not correct. Said another way, to try and stop thinking is just
another kind of thinking. Thoughts are always coming and going. Some are brief
just wandering thoughts, while others like to stick around awhile.

This natural brain function only becomes an issue when you “grasp” at a particular
thought. The thought then becomes an object and you the thinker are the subject.
A dichotomy is produced automatically when the mind is separated into two parts –
subject and object.

It has been referenced here many times the importance of correct posture,
breathing, and “cutting and letting go” of thoughts as Harada Roshi would instruct.
Being present to these time honored instructions as a meditation method helps us
to stay centered and over time break the chains of being tethered by thoughts and
emotions.

Buddha nature appears when we are flowing mentally and not stuck anywhere.
Additional blessings that come from this is an ability to stay focused and in the
present moment. A realization that time (as we perceive it) is man made and that
ever since the “big bang” there has been only a continuum of THIS moment. Most
important is a universal compassion for all sentient beings. Everyone, every
human being is incomplete and to varying extents are deluded by their life
experience, education, ethnicity and judgements. When this is seen clearly a
realization takes place that the five skandhas or doors of perception as they are
called – seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling are empty of any self nature.
Sights, sounds, tastes, tactile experiences, come and go, simply filtering in and
out of our consciousness.

In closing, stay alert to the pitfalls of subject and object evaluation. In Buddhism
this evaluation is described as the 7th “storehouse consciousness.” The five
skandhas as listed above plus cognition being the sixth normal function. Don’t get
stuck anywhere. The great 20th century Japanese Kosho Uchiyama Roshi
referenced the “cure” to this subject/object dilemma as “opening the hand of
thought.” I rather like that. When I first heard this phrase “opening the hand of
thought” I envisioned it as opening a clenched fist and having a butterfly gently
take wing. When we release our grasp on thoughts and just allow the mind to
function normally and flow along untethered the emotional conflicts that we
entertain begin to slowly melt away.