The Sixth Patriarch was quoted as saying, “One bad thought results in the destruction of a thousand years of good ones. But one good thought results in the annihilation of a thousand years of bad ones.” So what I get from that is it is REALLY important to direct my attention – and direct it to what is good! The moment is brand new and the experience is either moving toward suffering or away from it.
A image that is sometimes used in Buddhism is of a gigantic stone wheel that is rolling in the direction of suffering that, through practice, is slowed down, brought to a stop, and then rolled back in the opposite direction. From what I remember in physics class, this notion is supported by science as well in: an object in motion remains in motion at a constant speed in a straight line unless influenced by an outside force. Practice is that outside force, and our actions constantly shape our experience! So I’m going to practice picking the ones that lead toward freedom!
GasshÅ,
Alex