The Importance of "Awareness"

  When I am thinking about the idea of awareness, I think about the Zen analogy of birds in the sky. In order to see birds as "birds", a person must also see the sky as the background upon which they fly. Without that background, one will get caught up in the details of the birds without properly contextualizing the bird as part of an unfolding background.

   What's the "background" of each thought? It relates to the idea that all of one's thoughts are created by mind, and sustained by mind. In essence, what I think about the world is a reflection of my self and the way I think. I am fond of the idea that no two people see the same painting, the same food, the same television program, etc. in the same way, because what one sees is a projection of all the complex memories and experiences they have had. In essence, not to recognize this is to confuse the phenomena and think that it is entirely external. This also leads to an attitude of taking things to be "truth" without examining the extent to which they are cultural or socially-mediated representations. 

    The value of Buddhist teachings, for me, lies in the reminder that what triggers thoughts are often previous thinking about something--patterns, in essence. I will use the example of someone who is preparing a wedding. When a person typically prepares for a wedding, they are not just shopping for clothes or a dress, or a ring. Instead, they are sifting their thoughts for a particular experience they want to have that they can remember for life. I remember someone telling me that her friend had already prepared her wedding--what it would look like, what dress she would wear, etc.--and all she needed was the person to marry! This is a fitting analogy in essence, for how people might think about their present experiences. I already bring to the present moment my previous expectations and assumptions. The present experience is often simply fit into the past expectations, as a hand would fit into a glove. If those expectations are left unexamined or unexposed, a person will end up imposing a particular view or idea onto something or someone that has nothing to do with it. And these ideas are often connected to one's desires.

   Awareness is the important context to remind oneself: 

a. One's experiences are often colored by previous learning, assumptions, etc. which in turn give rise to expectations

b. One often projects things within themselves which have very little to do with the forms they are observing. In fact, human beings are more complicated than this and cannot be reduced to a person's thoughts or impressions of them.

c. Being aware also means that the thoughts are seen as transient and always changing. I don't cling to thoughts like they are the be all and end all. I practice simply letting go of whatever thoughts come to the imagination, to really get a direct experience that they are always flowing in and out of the mind.

The importance of meditation as a practice of observing the flow of thoughts cannot be overstressed!