With all the brouhaha about attention, it was great to read this posting of a quote from Buddha (via Dharma Net) on Anne Zelenka's blog. This deserves to be read slowly, a few times.
In ordinary life, if mindfulness, or attention, is directed to any object, it is rarely sustained long enough for the purpose of careful and factual observation. Generally it is followed immediately by emotional reaction, discriminative thought, reflection, or purposeful action. In a life and thought governed by the Buddha's teaching too, mindfulness (sati) is mostly linked with clear comprehension (sampajañña) of the right purpose or suitability of an action, and other considerations. Thus again it is not viewed in itself. But to tap the actual and potential power of mindfulness it is necessary to understand and deliberately cultivate it in its basic, unalloyed form, which we shall call bare attention.
It's useful to try to remember from time to time that paying attention is hard, it is not fleeting.
Hat tip to Tim Oren, who I believe is the first blogger I started reading...
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