022424intention

 9:13am  Yesterday I was typing up from this great mindfulness book.  

    I just grabbed it and I am turning to a random page, like Tita told me they do at the ashram.  I landed on page 96.  Mindfulness for Everyday Living by Christopher Titmus.   Cultivating Wise Intention.  I am going to type up the whole section.  Let me find it.  

Cultivating Wise Intention

"Authentic mindfulness takes into consideration the intentions behind our actions.  Intentions matter as much as mindfulness.  Together they have the power to transform our lives.  Our intentions act as a governing force behind our actions.  Even if we make mistakes and the results do not work out the way we want, we can take note of our intentions.  If we know deep in our heart that our intentions are wholesome, then we should take comfort in this knowledge.

If we apply right intention to right mindfulness, we develop a resource that enables us to be truly present to situations in a clear and caring way.  Both intention and mindfulness are factor's in the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path to an enlightened life.  The other factors are right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort and right meditation.  To realize fulfillment in life, we give attention to all eight factors.  We have the opportunity to open up to a whole new vista of existence that eludes us in many ways through distorted and habitual states of mind.  That may mean making a firm intention to opening up our horizons through a more conscious life.

In the Buddhist tradition, intention or motivation acts as an essential principle behind whatever we do or want to do, whether in terms of work, study, leisure, relationships or spiritual exploration.  If we remain aware of our intentions, we will notice if they change whether for better or worse.  It is all too easy to start with a wholesome motivation in a personal endeavor, such as the intention to give support to others, and end being motivated by the ego boost our actions bring.

Right intention is a core element in spiritual life but intentions alone are not enough.  We can be full of good intentions but never follow up on them.  Right intention leads to skillful action.  From a spiritual perspective, it means that such an intention needs to be followed up with skillful means.  In one discourse the Buddha says that we have the potential to realize full liberation if we practice mindfulness, not for seven years, or even seven months, but if we practice wholeheartedly for seven days.  That means having a clear intention to awaken and stay awake.

It would certainly seem worthwhile to examine our intentions, to see whether we regard them as wholesome, unwholesome or neither.  Our feelings and emotions easily have a major impact on our intentions.  If we feel happy and loving, we will probably express much kindness and generosity.  If we feel hurt or unhappy, we may want to hurt another through revenge, withdrawal or blame.  We need to be very honest with ourselves at such times and acknowledge the intentions that inform what we say or do.  Remember that our intentions not only have an impact on the lives of others, but also on ourselves.

We ought to adopt a pragmatic position.  Our unhealthy intentions will perpetuate our unhappiness if we desire to hurt another or others for what they have done or intended to do to us.  We have to be honest.  Do I want to sink to their level if I have been exploited?  Alternatively, can I use a healthy intention to rise up above the situation?  This is the greatest challenge when we pass through a tense situation, even a short-lived one.  For example, when driving along a busy road and another driver cuts in front, nearly causing an accident, we might swear at the driver and wave our fists in anger.  If we grasp onto our reaction, we might find ourselve trying to get past the driver to upset him.  This is road rage.  It is not only dangerous, but springs at our inability to look at our state of mind to catch the intention.  Clear mindfulness of our intentions makes the whole manner of our activities different.  Instead of reactivity, we approach a difficult situation with full alertness to our subsquent motivation.  We endeavor to stay true to acting wisely when under threat.  None would say this is easy.  Situations will test our patience and equanimity.  That is a guarantee.

Mindfulness, along with clear comprehension, dissolves our latent tendencies to indulge in daydreams and fantasies.  It is all too human to get lost in such states of mind, sometimes as a way to avoid the present moment.  Buddhist teachings have always regarded such states of mind as belonging to a dream world that consciousness finds itself immersed in as if it was reality.  One of the clear functions of mindfulness is to break up these patterns sufficiently so that we genuinely wake up to the immediacy of reality.  Mindfulness unlocks the door.  The clear intention to stay present is the key.  There is much to appreciate in the here and now, much to realize and much to wake up to in the present moment.  The here and now has the power to transform our lives.

As a major resource for a transformed life, the teachings of mindfulness seem deceptively simple.  If you say to yourself or others, "I am a mindful person," then the chances are that you have not truly entered the depths of mindful living and total attention to the here and now.  Commitment to mindfulness and wise intention embraces such concurrent factors as wise speech, skilful effort, right action and depths of meditation.  You can only start in this moment.

You might be tempted to tell yourself that you will start a serious mindfulness practice tomorrow.  That would be a postponement that gives license to living in the dream world longer than necessary.  This moment counts.  This is the moment where you have exposure to the presence of life.  In reality, there is no tomorrow.  There is no other time or place to turn to.  Is there any real choice between staying fully awake to this moment and living out of touch, often dull, unhappy and confused?  Who would choose the latter?  It may be worthwhile to reflect regularly on the value of staying present to keep our intention strong so that we abide with a clear and purposeful mind amid the ebb and flow or circumstances.

At times we certainly need to strengthen our intention, to give it extra focus, energy and consciousness, so that it has resolve to it.  We need to ask ourselves whether we have a genuine depth of intention to overcome problems.  We need resolve.  In some cases, this resolve needs to be strong from the time that we wake up in the morning.  There is little point in leaving reminders on the refrigerator door or stuck on the kitchen wall.  We all know how quickly we can even forget their existence so that nothing really happens.  We have to remind ourselves inwardly to keep our resolve about something that matters to us."