...because "tree" is a concept, and the point of noticing is to shift (temporarily) away from conceptual awareness to non-conceptual awareness. I tell peeps to notice what is in front of their eyes, or what their ears hear, or what their skin feels, etc. In general, we call this kind of noticing "attending the actual." Rather than THINKING about the world as conceived, we’re suggesting that peeps look at the world without knowing (intellectually, through name and form) what they are looking at. This is the easiest form of attending. We might say that this is noticing the "outside" world. Breath awareness is a form of ATA just like looking at the world in silence.
Sometimes we tell peeps to notice thoughts without getting attached to them or following them, to simply notice that thoughts appear and disappear. We watch how thoughts follow one another linearly, and how various thoughts trigger other related thoughts. We notice that what we call "thoughts" can be ideas, images, or symbols. We might say that this is noticing the "inside" world of the mind.
Some teachers suggest noticing awareness, itself, and it is certainly worth noticing that awareness does not age or change over time. The body may be fifty years old, but awareness is the same as it was when the body was five years old. It can be noticed that awareness has no qualities or attributes.
Most adults do not realize how awareness shifts back and forth between thoughts and reality throughout the day, but this, too, can be noticed. Most adults stay mesmerized by a surreal meta-reality created and sustained by thoughts, and they never experience enough internal silence to understand what's going on. They live in a kind of fantasy world generated by the mind.
If someone decides to start noticing either the inside or outside worlds, instant clarity does not usually occur. In fact, as already noted, many people will say, "Looking at the inside or outside world in silence is boring." Indeed, it might appear boring at first, because the mind is in the habit of ignoring what it thinks it already knows or understands, and it prefers the excitement of fantasy and speculation. If someone begins noticing, there may be some sudden insights, experiences, and realizations, but habits of mind are very powerful, and unless someone regularly shifts attention from thoughts to THIS, then the value of such attentiveness will probably NOT be noticed or appreciated.
Little children see and interact with the living truth; adults see and interact with conceptual meta-truths that are self-centered and conditional. For an adult there are really just two ways of life. The usual way is mind-oriented; the enlightened way is reality-oriented. One way of life is through the mind; the other way of life is through the body. Like a little child the sage sees and interacts with the living truth. The mind, with its full intellectual capacity, is available to the sage, but it is not the primary focus. The primary focus is beyond words and ideas, and the sage lives in unity and equanimity with “what is.” Moment by moment the sage does what she has to do without reflection or expectation.
Watch a little child at play. The child goes about its business without reflecting upon the past or anticipating the future. The sage lives life in exactly the same way. For both the child and the sage there is only the present moment---THIS.
There have only been a handful of sages who instantly jumped from an adult state of mind to an enlightened child-like state of mind. A few, like Niz and Rinzai (who had instruction and were pointed in the right direction), attained freedom in about three years. The Buddha (a sort of do-it-yourself-er) woke up after six years. Most sages make the transition over a much longer period of time, and only after doing a lot of attending.
Sometimes we tell peeps to notice thoughts without getting attached to them or following them, to simply notice that thoughts appear and disappear. We watch how thoughts follow one another linearly, and how various thoughts trigger other related thoughts. We notice that what we call "thoughts" can be ideas, images, or symbols. We might say that this is noticing the "inside" world of the mind.
Some teachers suggest noticing awareness, itself, and it is certainly worth noticing that awareness does not age or change over time. The body may be fifty years old, but awareness is the same as it was when the body was five years old. It can be noticed that awareness has no qualities or attributes.
Most adults do not realize how awareness shifts back and forth between thoughts and reality throughout the day, but this, too, can be noticed. Most adults stay mesmerized by a surreal meta-reality created and sustained by thoughts, and they never experience enough internal silence to understand what's going on. They live in a kind of fantasy world generated by the mind.
If someone decides to start noticing either the inside or outside worlds, instant clarity does not usually occur. In fact, as already noted, many people will say, "Looking at the inside or outside world in silence is boring." Indeed, it might appear boring at first, because the mind is in the habit of ignoring what it thinks it already knows or understands, and it prefers the excitement of fantasy and speculation. If someone begins noticing, there may be some sudden insights, experiences, and realizations, but habits of mind are very powerful, and unless someone regularly shifts attention from thoughts to THIS, then the value of such attentiveness will probably NOT be noticed or appreciated.
Little children see and interact with the living truth; adults see and interact with conceptual meta-truths that are self-centered and conditional. For an adult there are really just two ways of life. The usual way is mind-oriented; the enlightened way is reality-oriented. One way of life is through the mind; the other way of life is through the body. Like a little child the sage sees and interacts with the living truth. The mind, with its full intellectual capacity, is available to the sage, but it is not the primary focus. The primary focus is beyond words and ideas, and the sage lives in unity and equanimity with “what is.” Moment by moment the sage does what she has to do without reflection or expectation.
Watch a little child at play. The child goes about its business without reflecting upon the past or anticipating the future. The sage lives life in exactly the same way. For both the child and the sage there is only the present moment---THIS.
There have only been a handful of sages who instantly jumped from an adult state of mind to an enlightened child-like state of mind. A few, like Niz and Rinzai (who had instruction and were pointed in the right direction), attained freedom in about three years. The Buddha (a sort of do-it-yourself-er) woke up after six years. Most sages make the transition over a much longer period of time, and only after doing a lot of attending.