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Part 7. Right Mindfulness

Right Mindfulness is the seventh aspect of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. It is the second of three aspects that concern themselves with mental discipline, concentration and meditation. By practicing Right Mindfulness we are training ourselves to perfect cognition, or to “see things as they are.”

Normally when we see something our thinking minds make distinctions and interpretations of the object we are looking at. We may notice the size, shape or color of the object. It might be something we want to keep, or something we’d like to destroy. But by thinking about the object, we are conceptualizing it. We’re not actually getting to know the object. When we are practicing Right Mindfulness correctly we are able to observe the process of conceptualization without getting caught up in it. In other words, we can hear all the thinking going on in our minds, but we can take it or leave it. In this way we can settle our minds down and in a way let the object itself tell us what is has to say. This may sound trippy, but when you are able to relax your mind in this way it all makes sense.

Here Bhikkhu Bodhi explains the practice of Right Mindfulness:
“The mind is deliberately kept at the level of bare attention, a detached observation of what is happening within us and around us in the present moment. In the practice of right mindfulness the mind is trained to remain in the present, open, quiet and alert, contemplating the present event. All judgments and interpretations have to be suspended, or if they occur, registered and dropped.”

At this point on my own Path, I feel like the practice of mindfulness has been the most beneficial aspect of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path mostly because it has helped me see that I am not my Ego. My ego is a construct of my thinking mind, and therefore creative in nature. It’s as real as my dreams. It’s not something worth investing a lot of time in. So I let it go and try to remain humbly in the present moment, where All is well.

Also, through practicing Right Mindfulness for myself, I began to see that the way my mind works in a dream when I’m asleep is the same as how it works when I’m awake. It’s just thinking. And just as easily as I can wake up from a dream and realize it was just a dream and forget about it, I can practice Right Mindfulness when I’m awake and deal with my thinking mind as if it were a dream, and let thoughts come and go, cultivating the good thoughts and letting go of the bad thoughts. Personally, this simple realization has been incredibly helpful day to day.

Also, as a side note to my fellow artists, when I practice Right Mindfulness while I’m working in the studio, I can work from a place beyond the conceptualizing of my thinking mind. It is in this space that I feel the most focused and in tune with the raw creative flow. And when I’m in that flow I’m able to remain productive and inspired indefinitely. I really believe that combining my art practice with my mindfulness practice was a huge breakthrough both personally and professionally.

Now, as a lifestyle, I try to maintain mindfulness during all the day’s activities. The consistent application of Right Mindfulness to all my daily activities has always yielded great personal kharmic benefit and a powerful feeling of peace and contentment. If I had to choose only one aspect of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path to people interested in liberating themselves from a sense of dissatisfaction in their lives, I would encourage everyone to develop Right Mindfulness. It’s that important.