[MD] contemplation

[Platt Holden]

Hi Marsha,

A most apt quotation. It answers the question, "Who is the I that knows me?"
Ken Wilber calls this internal observer the "Witness." Also, referred to by
the poet Wallace Stevens as "beauty" as in, "The body dies; the body's
beauty lives."

Thanks for sharing,
Platt

On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 5:30 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:

>
>
>
>     "As a human being we have a mind that can reflect and observe.  You can
> observe whether you are happy or miserable.  You can observe the anger or
> jealousy or confusion in your mind.  When you are sitting and feel really
> confused and upset, there is that in you which knows it.  You might hate it
> and just blindly react to it, but if you are more patient you can observe
> that this is a temporary changing condition of confusion or anger or greed.
>  But an animal cannot do that; when it is angry it is completely that, lost
> in it.  Tell an angry cat to watch its anger!  I have never been able to get
> anywhere with our cat, she cannot reflect on greed.  But _I_ can, and I am
> sure that the rest of you can.  I see delicious food in front of me, and the
> movement in the mind is the same as our cat Doris's.  But we can observe the
> animal attraction to things that smell good and look good.
>
>     "This is using wisdom by watching the impulse, and understanding it.
>  That which observes greed is not greed; greed cannot observe itself, but
> that which is not greed can observe it.  This observing is what is called
> 'Buddha' or 'Buddha wisdom' - awareness of the way things are.
>
>     (MINDULNESS by the Venerable Ajahn Sumedho)
>
>