Thoughtless People
Posted: Saturday, February 06, 2010
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
Pick up any newspaper or get online and you will find endless stories of thoughtless people, people who, rather than being thoughtless or without thoughts, are actually filled with thoughts - thoughts about themselves! So much so that they can't see what is directly in front of them, and being blind to the immediacy of the moment, they make stupid mistakes or act selfishly.
So when we say that a person is thoughtless, we really mean that they are unaware of anyone or anything other than themselves. A mind filled with never-ending thoughts can never be aware of others (unless they think that they can use somebody for their advantage) because their selfish thoughts will always get in the way
But what about a person who is truly thoughtless; a mind that is so clear that thought never interferes with the many insights that this kind of person discovers? You know them. On the screen they are the heroes who risk their lives spontaneously instead of pondering the pluses and minuses.
They are the Mother Teresa's of the world who think nothing of themselves and throw their life away for the benefit of others, never complaining. These are the alive people, not the already dead people who hold themselves prisoners in some cul-de-sac worrying about wrinkles and bank balances.
A thoughtless person's actions are pure, without agenda, without consideration or cunningness, without wanting to receive something in return or to save themselves - while we run around and justify our cowardly actions.
So why don't you go for it? What is your passion? Take a chance. What is the rationalization, the excuses to declare ourselves already dead and buried? It is "thought;" that builder and protector of ego. Hell's fairyland. "Be careful and maybe you will never die" has become the watchword, instead of, "Live until you die!"
So we have become careful. We no longer go to a doctor just when we are really sick; we go when we are healthy so that we can prevent illness down the road and live forever. It's called preventative care. And it kills us little by little.
If we are worried about our health, we will die a million deaths. Every time we get a pain or feel not quite right, we will immerse ourselves in endless thoughts about what could be wrong and usually come up with a rare, fatal illness that describes our symptoms perfectly (on the internet). But then we are not living, we are dying in our minds and can think of nothing but our own problems.
There is nothing wrong with a physical, or some routine tests occasionally, but to be obsessed by illness is death itself. Can you imagine Mother Teresa fretting over the hundreds of serious illnesses that proliferate in India before going to help all the sick children there? Live life fully, dance your dance while you can, and die once. But dance.
What makes a saint a saint? It is thoughtlessness. No thoughts about themselves at all; only good feelings about you and your welfare. You have met people like this but probably have passed them by for someone more exciting. This would be called your karma.
Thoughtless heroes can't help it that they are thoughtless, they just see life differently. They see life as it actually is, not merely tools for personal pleasure or security. The thoughtless person envisions all of us as one - it‘s never about just them, it‘s never about just you, it‘s always about us.
And whatever they do; it is never considered a sacrifice. How could giving up a bloated idea of self, that doesn't exist in a thoughtless person's mind, be sacrificed for anything.
Mother Teresa could easily have died in India at the beginning of her work, and if she would have, she would never have felt that she was any better or different from the children she saved. This understanding only occurs to thoughtless people, because thoughtless people are humanity; not merely separate parts of humanity. Did Mother Teresa care if the children were Catholic or Hindu or Buddhist? No, she never asked; she knew that such unimportant things such as religious beliefs only mattered with thoughtful people, never thoughtless people. Thoughtless people only worry about their fellow human beings.
So as a meditator, I watch my thoughts. And I am constantly asked how can I survive in this aggressive world without relying solely on thinking.
I ask in return; have you noticed the world lately; one that is completely ruled by thought?
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Our world today is in need of help from those who only think of themselves. Yes they are nurtured in a self centered society. Where # 1 is the only important person in the world to them.Our educational system is focused on only the individual succeeding not the rest of the people, only them. We do indeed need help, good article e.Thanks Dave, Here's something that one of my young meditation students recently wrote to me;
"I saw that the knowledge I am receiving in college is filtered through society's ways of life- get a career, work hard, get money, promote yourself and your status. I started to realize that so many humans are living based on false notions...this way of life isn't right. Going about doing this and doing that, back and forth, going through the societal system, harming others for personal pleasure...there has to be something deeper."
Great article. I have to ask God daily to relieve me of bondage of self, sometimes I make and sometimes I don't but I am grateful for the opportunities he presents me with to serve Him. Thanks for sharingThank you so much for your comment Linda. And thanks for looking into your self! Most religions talk about it, but few people catch it.
Best...........e
This article rocked, Raymond! SuzyWell! Thank you Suzy! Glad that it ("Rocked"). Best. E. Raymond (Rock)!
Many words of wisdom in this article; good food for thought...
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