Restlessness,
Contentment, and “Kindfulness”
AJAHN
BRAHMAVAMSO| JANUARY 5,
2016 Lion’s Roar
The
Buddhist monk known as Ajahn Brahm talks about developing a sense
of contentment, and not finding fault in your meditation
practice.
Restlessness
arises because we do not appreciate the beauty of contentment. We
do not acknowledge the sheer pleasure of doing nothing. We have a
faultfinding mind rather than a mind that appreciates what’s
already there. Restlessness in meditation is always a sign of not
finding joy in what’s here. Whether we find joy or not depends on
the way we train our perception. It’s within our power to change
the way we look at things. We can look at a glass of water and
perceive it as very beautiful, or we can think of it as ordinary.
In meditation, we can see the breath as dull and routine, or we can
see it as very beautiful and unique. If we look upon the breath as
something of great value, then we won’t get restless. We won’t go
around looking for something else. That’s what restlessness is,
going around looking for something else to do, something else to
think about, somewhere else to go—anywhere but here and now.
Restlessness is one of the major hindrances, along with sensory
desire. Restlessness makes it so hard to sit still for very
long.
Contentment
is the opposite of a faultfinding mind.
You should
develop the perception of contentment with whatever you have,
wherever you are, as much as you can—and beware of finding fault in
your meditation.
Watch the
silence and be content to be silent. If you’re truly content, you
don’t need to say anything. Don’t most inner conversations take the
form of complaining, attempting to change things, or wanting to do
something else? Or escaping into the world of thoughts and ideas?
Thinking indicates a lack of contentment. If you’re truly
contented, then you’re still and quiet. See if you can deepen your
contentment, because it is the antidote for
restlessness.
Even if you
have an ache in the body and don’t feel well, you can change your
perception and regard that as something quite fascinating, even
beautiful. See if you can be content with the ache or pain. See if
you can allow it to be. A few times during my life as a monk I have
been in quite severe pain. Instead of trying to escape, which is
restlessness, I turned my mind around to completely accept the pain
and be content with it. I have found that it is possible to be
content with even severe pain. If you can do that, the worst part
of the pain disappears along with the restlessness. There’s no
wanting to get rid of it. You’re completely still with the feeling.
The restlessness that accompanies pain is probably the worst part.
Get rid of restlessness through contentment, and you can even have
fun with pain.
Develop
contentment with whatever you have—the present moment, the silence,
the breath. So if you ever see restlessness in your mind, remember
the word contentment.
Wherever
you are, develop contentment, and from that contentment—out of the
very center of that contentment—you’ll find your kindfulness will
deepen.