The practice of watching thoughts allows us to become aware of beliefs and patterns such as adding more judgments that tend to direct us to act or behave in a certain way, or are further hurting us. Awareness henceforth is empowering, granting us the power to stop what we are doing, understand the root cause of suffering, and giving us the space to choose a helpful response. When watching thoughts, look out for mental events especially extreme thoughts like “nobody loves me”, judgmental opinions “I’m lousy”, and then noticing our bodily and emotional response when these thoughts arise.
In the poetry below, I interpret “walk out into the woods” as a metaphor of in meditation, and it’s then we become enlightened or “see the full moon”.
Zen poetry, by Ryokan
I sit in meditation.
The affairs of men never reach here:
Everything is quiet and empty,
All the incense has been swallowed up by the endless night.
My robe has become a garment of dew.
Unable to sleep, I walk out into the woods—
Suddenly, above the highest peak, the full moon appears.
Guide: Noelle Lim
Image: Heather M Edwards, Unsplash
Kindermind Center 