Thoughts Are Not the Problem
Los pensamientos no son el problema
A question about the teacher's assertion that thoughts themselves are not the source of suffering, and what it is about the thought process that actually creates distress.
Thoughts Are Not the Problem
A question about the teacher's assertion that thoughts themselves are not the source of suffering, and what it is about the thought process that actually creates distress.
Could you explain a bit more what you mean by "thoughts are not the problem, but what you believe you are is the problem"?
Yes. When we're not practiced, we don't see with a lot of detail. A professional musician is going to hear music with a much deeper understanding: the notes, the nuances, the details. Someone without that training could hear all the same details but not understand them as deeply.
The untrained view of thought
The same applies when we experience the thought process. Someone who hasn't had much practice in observing thought won't recognize the details and won't understand the mechanisms. At that level, we can feel that thought is the problem. There may already be a sense of, "If only I could stop thinking, I would be okay." That's a very common experience. It's a general sense that something around the thought process is creating the distress, creating the suffering.
And even this feeling that thought is a problem is itself a thought.
Well, when it's communicated, it is a thought. But it's also beyond that. It's a kind of understanding. The issue is that it's an understanding that's not complete.