Zen and the Art of Consciousness by Susan Blackmore

Author:Susan Blackmore [Blackmore, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Oops. What? To my astonishment I find I’m half way through a great long line of thought about how the bird table fell over in the wind and whether it would be better to pick it up now or leave it until the wind has died down in case … Someone had been having all those thoughts and I didn’t notice! Who didn’t notice? The one who was supposed to be asking the question? Who’s she?

Oh dear. Stop and begin again. You know this happens. You know that thoughts do that. But I want to see where they come from, and how they arise in tranquillity. That train of thought was presumably provoked by the sound of a bird, or a gust of wind, but I was watching for it wasn’t I? How could I have failed to notice all those thoughts for so long?

I’m reminded of the parallel threads. There was someone sitting in tranquillity, waiting for a thought to come along so that she could see how it arose, but she didn’t see it. Meanwhile a great long complicated thought started up and suddenly the two collided. Oops. Did the one asking the question carry on while another one had started thinking? Or did the thought think itself, or …?

I’m not supposed to be asking a thousand supplementary questions. Get back to work. How do thoughts arise in tranquillity?

The day wears on and tranquillity stabilises. A headless body sits calmly in the garden shed. Stuff happens.

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