[HugoZyl]

  Dear and precious followers of the Dhamma. 

It is a great pleasure to be able to share and ask some questions on this forum. In the past my questions were foolish, for which I apologize, but I am extremely grateful that I can say that from now on I will try to ask useful questions based on right views.

  When I think about my mind, I find there are some things I enjoy thinking about and others I don’t want to think about at all. For example spirituality is a nice topic, but foolish, regrettable things I did in the past are not. This makes it unclear to me whether I am being mindful of thought, or just enjoying my thoughts.

  Am I being mindful of the Buddha’s Dhamma by sitting and thinking for 10 minutes about how it is different from religion? When is it just like watching TV but for the mind? Mentally watching a buddhist TV show. Is this a sensual enjoyment (the 4th fetter)? Or does it depend on whether it is done with passion or without?

  Also, in the sutta on the 4 forms of mindfullness it mentions being mindful of the 4 Noble Truths but does not mention being mindful of the Dhamma. Why?

  Much gratitude to the Buddha, his teachings and the dear ones here and everywhere who lead us on the path to nibbana. 🙏

  Namo Buddhaya ☸️

[Lal]

If raga, dosa, or moha arise in the mind, that will lead to unpleasant vipaka in the future, including rebirths in the lower realms. 

• Thus, being mindful is to avoid such akusala thoughts. 
• However, until the samyojana (samsaric bonds) are broken by comprehending the Buddha’s worldview, it is impossible to avoid all akusala thoughts forcefully.
• Thus, to break the samyojana, one should do the best to avoid akusala thoughts AND learn Buddha Dhamma (Four Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada, etc.).

P.S. See “Attaining Nibbāna Requires Understanding Buddha’s Worldview.”

• This reply was modified 12 hours ago by Lal.

[HugoZyl]

  Dear Venerable Lal 🙏

  Thank you for your quick and concise response. Trust you are well.

  Do you mean that any thought without raga, dosa or moha, without wrong views and without wrong actions is mindfulness? So, for example, to spend the whole day thinking about the long, long history of China is being mindful? It does not have to be anything related to the Buddha? Or, at least, it does not have to be related to anicca, dukkha and anatta?

  Thank you for taking your time to supervise this forum. 🌸

  Namo Buddhaya ☸️

[Lal]

1. “Do you mean that any thought without raga, dosa or moha, without wrong views and without wrong actions is mindfulness?”

• Yes. 

2. “So, for example, to spend the whole day thinking about the long, long history of China is being mindful?”

• No. Thinking about anything associated with the world is done with moha or avijja.  

Let me try to explain that as simply as possible.

• Existence anywhere in this world (as a human, animal, Deva, Brahma, etc.) prolongs suffering. Even though humans (or Devas or Brahmas) experience both happiness and suffering, we are all born in the lower four realms (including the animal realm) most of the time in the “beginningless rebirth process.”  In other words, any living being experiences much more suffering than happiness in the long term.
• To end suffering, we need to attain Nibbana. That means breaking the ten “samsaric bonds” (samyojana) that bind a mind to the rebirth process. It happens in stages. One must first understand the “worldview of the Buddha” to attain the first stage of Nibbana, i.e., the Sotapanna stage. See “Attaining Nibbāna Requires Understanding Buddha’s Worldview.” I provided that link in my above comment. I suggest you read that carefully first, including the links in that post. It is not easy to understand the “worldview of the Buddha,” so please take the time to read it carefully. 
• Based on your questions about that post, I can suggest more to read. However, since I do not know your level of understanding of Buddha’s teachings, I can only answer questions about specific issues that come up.
• If you are new to learning Buddha Dhamma, I suggest scanning through posts in the following sections (especially if the above post is too advanced).  Moral Living and Fundamentals, Essential Buddhism | Pure Dhamma, Buddhism – In Charts | Pure Dhamma. (in that order). You can stay on this thread in the forum, but please refer to any specific post that you ask the questions. 

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