Thank you, Erin for nuancing how we can deepen our mindfulness practice. More often than not, practitioners — beginners and seasoned alike — tend to get caught up in treating distractions as "something" to get rid of. In a similar vein, suffering has also been treated as "something" to get rid of. Practising through this way of seeing, we can develop feelings of aversion towards distractions and suffering.
While the ultimate goal of the practice is liberation from suffering, perhaps we can soften our relationship with distractions and suffering by taking a deeper look into their nature. This would mean understanding that the causes and conditions of distractions and suffering are themselves opportunities of letting be. When we have trained ourselves to just sit and be with them, we can similarly apply this experience into our daily lives, from moment to moment.
Thank you, Erin for nuancing how we can deepen our mindfulness practice. More often than not, practitioners — beginners and seasoned alike — tend to get caught up in treating distractions as "something" to get rid of. In a similar vein, suffering has also been treated as "something" to get rid of. Practising through this way of seeing, we can develop feelings of aversion towards distractions and suffering.
While the ultimate goal of the practice is liberation from suffering, perhaps we can soften our relationship with distractions and suffering by taking a deeper look into their nature. This would mean understanding that the causes and conditions of distractions and suffering are themselves opportunities of letting be. When we have trained ourselves to just sit and be with them, we can similarly apply this experience into our daily lives, from moment to moment.
Well said. :) Thank you Chuan Yeow for sharing your thoughts.