Dear Tom:
It has been a while since I wrote. Please forgive me Sufi master. I need a little understanding. Bodhidharma says, “Not thinking about anything is zen…. To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha…”
Yet I read that people average an amazing 50,000 to 70,000 unique thoughts per day. Talk about overthinking? Is the Buddhist priest suggesting we shut down the brain somehow? Perhaps he is suggesting that using meditation and prayer we slow the brain down a bit and act more out of instinct and awareness, but I am not so sure.
I understand that coaches often counsel their athletes to not overthink a situation–to clear one’s mind from all outside distractions and trust their training and skill.
Maybe one way to put the priest’s words into something I can understand is to say, “Freeing yourself from thoughts, is not the same as not thinking.”
Any guidance? Your friend. Webb
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