When you are focusing on your breath, should you keep a peripheral awareness to your passing thoughts?
Because I found that if I'm deeply aware of the breath, or another object, I just notice a thought after it has passed and not in the moment.
Well, no, you shouldn't.
The problem isn't that you're too focused on the breath.
The problem is that your mind still
Well, it's not even a problem, but it's not the ideal mind state.
Of course, the ideal mind state is freedom from thought, even freedom from breath.
I mean, the ideal mind state is extinguishing when there is release or freedom.
But the problem that you have is
that your lack of mindfulness is not allowing you to catch the thought when it starts.
It has nothing to do with being too absorbed in the breath.
When you're watching the breath, if you're mindful, if you're clearly aware,
you should be able to see as soon as the thought arises.
And as soon as the thought arises, you'll be able to acknowledge it as thinking.
It's true that you can't actually be aware of an object as it's happening.
Sorry, you can't actually be mindful of an object as it's happening.
The object arises and there's the awareness, and then there's the mindfulness.
So you're actually technically not mindful of something at the moment that it occurs.
But it's so quick.
It's thought moments.
one thought moment and the next thought moment.
But
The fact that you can't catch it until after it's over is a sign that during that thought there was lack of mindfulness.
Each thought moment until you caught it was a mind with delusion in it.
So, that being the case, I would suggest that your attention on the breath was void of wisdom and void of mindfulness.
So, perhaps had delusion involved in it.
If there is a deluded mind state, even watching the breath, there will be conceit, there will be view of self, there will be craving.
As a result, the thought, the moment of the thought arising will come without awareness of the thought, and that's how you get carried away.
Practically speaking,
A beginner will only catch the thoughts at the end after you've thought through the whole subject.
An advanced meditator, as they progress, they'll be able to catch the thoughts earlier and earlier and earlier.
And a meditator who is truly in the zone will be able to catch the thoughts as soon as they arise.
So the thought arises in the mind, the meditator is aware that the thought arose, just one thought subject, and then it ceases, and the meditator comes back to the
the main object.
So no, you shouldn't keep tabs on something else while you're focusing on a main object.
And no, it isn't caused by the breath.
It's caused by delusion, which may be indicative of improper observation of the breath.
So starting out from a deluded state, which carries on into the thought, allows the thought to sneak in there.