Wisdom & Mindfulness

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Right Concentration | More than just a skill

“Meditation is right concentration.” Thomas Cleary

Right concentration is listed last in the Buddha’s eightfold path of liberation, but it is of prime importance.

Justly so, failure to keep our mind from wandering off has us often make stupid mistakes.

Simply because we’re physically present doesn’t mean our attention is where it should be, right here.  

The ability to concentrate is not just about maintaining our focus long enough, it goes much deeper.

What’s the purpose?

Actions are motivated by goals; we need to be clear as to what we want to achieve before we begin.

Given there are plenty of outside enticements to entertained us, we must try and be single minded.

Moving past the urge to reach out for our phones, scrolling the social media, checking e-mails is hard.

We need to train our mind, kick the habit, learn how to put things aside and better our concentration.      

Apply yourself

“The main thing in developing concentration is to continuously remember the object on which you’re focused without sluggishness or distraction.” Lama Yeshe, Nicholas Ribush

Counting that our environment will sabotage our efforts to stay focused, we need a space to retire to.

Meditation is just that, a setting conducive of clarity, peace and quiet, where we can grow our focus.

Also, it’s a way to experience firsthand how bad our concentration is, to understand where we stand.

The different techniques allow us to bring our mind back to the object of meditation and stay with it.

Get real

Let’s set things straight, concentration is a skill that requires persistent application, don’t expect fast results.

Keeping a steady practice, applying ourselves on every task, reminding ourselves of our motivation is key.

There’s no such thing as zero distractions, even if we were to cut ourselves off from civilization, our thoughts would remain.

Training in right concentration is a way to master our mind, to have it stay put no matter what comes.

Mind you

“Mindfulness nurtures the power of concentration in us.”. Thich Nhat Hanh

To make sure we’re in focus, we must have awareness as to what’s going on both in and around us.

That’s mindfulness, a state of alertness devoid of judgment that allows us to observe as we go.

Without it, our attention slips away or worse we zone out, and we don’t even know it.

Thus, to assist our training in right concentration we must practice mindfulness, cultivate the witness.

What are you doing? 

As we move about our day, performing one thing after the next, we’re all over the place mentally.

Moreover, fatigue combined with mental overload can make our mind slow, making focus impossible.

Obviously, a scattered mind can’t perform at its best, mindfulness practice helps us settle it down. 

Momentary lapse of attention can only be dealt with if we catch our mind looking for an escape, we stand guard. 

Right concentration | For your own good

“These arts of concentration, of returning to the task at hand, also bring the clarity, strength of mind, peacefulness, and profound connectedness that we seek.” Jack Kornfield

A lapse of judgment can lead to mountains of troubles, falling into habits happens because we’re unmindful, and that’s avoidable.

We want to concentrate on what counts, where and with whom we stand, That’s the only way to avoid senseless grief.

When we’re motivated by the wish to be present, it’s easier to stay connected so we don’t miss out.

That’s the gift of mindfulness working hand in hand with right concentration, we’re grounded and attentive.

It shows you care

Our failing to concentrate on the present has us do everything but connect, no wonder we feel isolated.

Sadly, we don’t even notice that we’ve completely disengaged from the world around, and that’s bad.

Technology has taken us hostage, we spend countless hours with our nose buried in our phones, numb.

We may feel our dependency hurts no one, but actually when we’re out exploring the virtual world, we’re unavailable to others.    

Better Focus | Makes you wiser

“If you strive hard to develop concentration and meditation, you can replace bad states of mind with the most precious mind of wisdom and compassion.” Lhundub Sopa, et al.,

Look around, people in cafes, walking the street, on the bus, head down, thumbs up, eyes glued to the screen.

Unconsciously or not, we opt to have our minds go momentarily blank, by bombarding it with hollow visuals.  

To remedy the habit and curb the tendency, we must agree to sever our attachment to the “pacifier”.

Knowing that most of our difficulties are the results of inattention, we are better served without it.

The end to escapism

Obviously, presence of mind is needed to navigate relationships as well as dealing with life.

Yet, stepping out of automatic mode is harder than we think, an untrained mind runs wild.

To get fully involved, we need to practice, to stay mindful, most of all our concentration must be steady.

Therefore, we must remind ourselves as often as we need to stay connected, to immerse ourselves.

Right concentration | the path of method

“Wrong concentration is based on wrong knowledge and views. Correct concentration based on correct knowledge and views.” Hsuan Hua

Remember how karma works? Our actions and the underlying motivations behind them bring us happiness or suffering.

Everything we think, say and do leads to consequences on our lives, so we should focus on that.

Therefore, our efforts should aim to the greatest good, for the benefit of our present and future.

There is no escape from reality, nor the results of our actions, wise are the ones who internalize this fact.

Know right from wrong

What should we focus on? After all, there is more to the daily tasks that require our full attention.

Don’t forget, proper concentration is about the quality of our focus and the motivation that drives us.

If the intention is to cultivate the skill for worldly purposes only, we are not in the right direction at all.

We must know the difference, think, use the wisdom we have gathered so far, what does it contribute to?

Shamatha | The practice of Concentration

“A mind that has attained meditative concentration Is like the merging of a river with the ocean.” Tilopa

The “Shamatha” practice, also called, Calm abiding, is aimed at achieving a stable state of concentration without effort.

It doesn’t happen in a day, if we’re diligent and keep to our routine practice, we’ll begin to enjoy its fruits.

Also, the more we practice outside our formal meditation, the faster our mind will assimilate the habit.

Concentration becomes an ability when focus is activated at the right time, for the right reason, for as long as necessary.

To be clear | There are stages

Developing our concentration skills, depends on steady effort yet we all differ, some of us are gifted.

For most of us, we will have to go through the stages and practice concentration meditation to get better.

The Buddha’s teachings point at nine stages, to each its own pace, we must keep going, stick with it.

By and by we’ll find the practice less difficult, pleasant even, as our mind becomes less chatty, time flies.

Using right concentration as a tool

“We use Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration to look courageously at our suffering.” Thich Nhat Hanh

In mind training, our objective is to mold our mind best we can, as our concentration grows it assists our aim.

The point of meditation is to get to know our mind, as it is the basis of all our experiences.

To train our mind, to cultivate constructive states of mind, to investigate and observe, we must stick to the task.

Improving our ability to concentrate allows us to further our practice, to come to a deeper and a clearer understanding.

An antidote

Concentration can help us control the direction in which our mind is headed, to prevent to from running amok.

Think of it as a rope, we can loosen or tighten it, to steer ourselves back to a constructive mental state.

Whatever the feeling, states of mind are only momentary, don’t dwell on it, try focus on others, snap out of it.

If you have the courage, concentrate on the emotions that are moving through, don’t engage them, observe, see how they dissolve.

Remember right concentration backed by mindfulness and the right motivation make our day-to-day way better.ॐ

Nathalie Bizawi, founder of Wisdom & Mindfulness meditation center. Senior Meditation, Mindfulness and philosophy instructor, From Wingate Academic College. M.A in Education from TAU University, Tel Aviv.

 

Wisdom & Mindfulness your meditation center in Tel Aviv