The Way of Wisdom: The Refrigerator Light

Okay, let's see if I've got this straight. Every time I open the fridge door, the little light is on, right? Okay. And when I'm not looking in the fridge, the light is off, yes? Yes, no problem. Okay. Now, every time you ask yourself "am I conscious, am I aware of the sense impressions I'm receiving?", every time I ask that question, I become aware of my own awareness. Right?

I won't pretend that the talk on Thursday night, the fifth in Phra Cittasamvaro Bhikku's rain retreat series, was easy. It wasn't. I gave up on taking notes, closed my eyes, and mentally jumped from one small random bit that I got, or thought I might have got, to the next. "Thank goodness", I thought, "Phra Pandit puts up summaries of these talks every week on the website".

I wasn't alone in having problems. Hands went up at the end. "So washing the dishes with concentration isn't mindfulness then?" Explaining why not, Phra Pandit used the example of a person climbing up a skyscraper. Clinging to ledges and finding the next foothold, they are totally absorbed and certainly not lost in dreams or memories. But are they on the way to Enlightenment?

Another example, one anyone living in Thailand is familiar with, was of a teenage boy entirely absorbed in his computer game. Tongue sticking out, meals missed. He is in the present moment, but it is not mindfulness because he isn't aware of his awareness. Ouch, I was getting a headache. But should the boy ask "am I aware", should he check what he is aware of, he'd be there.

Bing! A little lightbulb of my own flickered on for a moment or two. Yes, I might have got it. This is the stuff of watching the thoughts and feelings that float across your brain in meditation and, vitally, letting them float. Or, as I prefer to call it, quietly, and with faith, entrusting every single thing that arises to Buddha-nature. Yes, I know this.

Not that I'm good at it. I'm not a meditator really, but I sometimes do enough to recognise what Phra Pandit was talking about. I sit and watch the brain swirl through its bewildering stuff and remind myself to allow it to sink back down into Juingong. This is my meditation practice, and Seon Master Daehaeng Sunim talks about practicing this in any situation, in your daily life. Mindfulness.

I must admit that I've forgotten the rest of Phra Pandit's talk now. Difficult stuff, neurology and psychology. But that's okay. As Ajahn Chah once wrote, "Never mind. Don’t be perplexed over profundity or lack of it. Just do the practice wholeheartedly, and you can arrive at real understanding - it will bring you to the place the teachings talk about." I'm sure that's right.

Links:

Littlebang: Notes on The Refigerator Light

Tricycle: Ajahn Chah - Meeting the Dharma Alone

Photo: Early 18th century mural (detail), Wat Ko, Phetchaburi. Apologies for the poor quality of the image.