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In this episode, we talk about your monkey. The monkey on your back.
You know the one. The brilliant, overachieving, slightly unhinged creature swinging through your mind at 2:00 a.m. reorganizing your life, replaying arguments, drafting emails you will never send.
In an old Buddhist story, a man is given a magical monkey by his spiritual teacher. The magical monkey can do anything. Grant any wish.
At first, it's amazing. The monkey builds him a palace! But then comes the problem.
"Now what?" the monkey asks.
"What next?"
"More! More!"
Day and night, the monkey pesters him. The man can't rest. He can hardly sleep at night.
Finally, he returns to the Buddhist master and begs for his help. The master gives him a single curly hair and says, "Have the monkey make this straight."
The monkey pulls it straight. It springs back. He pulls it again. It springs back again. The monkey sits down, completely absorbed in concentration. In mindfulness, the monkey becomes peaceful. And the man finally sleeps. That's the secret.
You don't get rid of the monkey mind. You give it something simple and steady to do. Breathe. Be present.
Enter: the breath.
When your thoughts are racing, don't argue with them. Don't try to solve your entire existence before lunch. Just gently anchor your attention to one full inhale… and one full exhale.
Feel the air enter your nose.
Feel the air in your body as you breathe deeply and slowly.
Watch the breath leaving your nostrils.
That's it.
The breath is your curly hair. It keeps bouncing back. There's always another inhalation, another exhalation. Your mind will wander. Of course it will. That's what monkeys do. When you notice, kindly guide it back.
No judgment. No spiritual performance review.
Just come home to the present moment.
The present moment is not dramatic. It's not flashy. But it is peaceful. And when you anchor yourself here, even for a few breaths, the monkey in the jungle quiets.
You do not have to straighten every curly hair in your life. You just have to come home to the breath.
And in that simple returning, again and again, the wild monkey becomes your ally. Your friend.
"Don't run back to the past,
don't anticipate the future.
the future has not arrived;
and any present phenomenon
you clearly discern in every case.
The unfaltering, the unshakable:
having known that, foster it.
Today's the day to keenly work—
who knows, tomorrow may bring death!
For there is no bargain to be struck
with Death and his mighty horde.
One who keenly meditates like this,
tireless all night and day:
that's who has one fine night—
so declares the peaceful sage.
—Buddha, One Fine Night Sutra
References and Links
Buddha. The One Fine Night Sutra. Sutta Central (online). Retrieved from: https://suttacentral.net/mn131/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin
Lama Tsomo (2021). Ancient Wisdom for Our Times. Tibetan Buddhist Practice: Wisdom & Compassion (Starting with Yourself). Published by Namchak Publishing Company LLC, USA. Excerpt, pages 40-41, retrieved from: https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/the-buddhist-story-of-the-monkey-mind/
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