1
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When you are focusing on your breath, should you keep a peripheral awareness to your passing thoughts?

2
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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.

3
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Well, no, you shouldn't.

4
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The problem isn't that you're too focused on the breath.

5
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The problem is that your mind still

6
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Well, it's not even a problem, but it's not the ideal mind state.

7
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Of course, the ideal mind state is freedom from thought, even freedom from breath.

8
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I mean, the ideal mind state is extinguishing when there is release or freedom.

9
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But the problem that you have is

10
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that your lack of mindfulness is not allowing you to catch the thought when it starts.

11
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It has nothing to do with being too absorbed in the breath.

12
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When you're watching the breath, if you're mindful, if you're clearly aware,

13
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you should be able to see as soon as the thought arises.

14
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And as soon as the thought arises, you'll be able to acknowledge it as thinking.

15
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It's true that you can't actually be aware of an object as it's happening.

16
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Sorry, you can't actually be mindful of an object as it's happening.

17
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The object arises and there's the awareness, and then there's the mindfulness.

18
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So you're actually technically not mindful of something at the moment that it occurs.

19
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But it's so quick.

20
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It's thought moments.

21
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one thought moment and the next thought moment.

22
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But

23
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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.

24
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Each thought moment until you caught it was a mind with delusion in it.

25
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So, that being the case, I would suggest that your attention on the breath was void of wisdom and void of mindfulness.

26
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So, perhaps had delusion involved in it.

27
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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.

28
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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.

29
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Practically speaking,

30
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A beginner will only catch the thoughts at the end after you've thought through the whole subject.

31
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An advanced meditator, as they progress, they'll be able to catch the thoughts earlier and earlier and earlier.

32
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And a meditator who is truly in the zone will be able to catch the thoughts as soon as they arise.

33
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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

34
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the main object.

35
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So no, you shouldn't keep tabs on something else while you're focusing on a main object.

36
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And no, it isn't caused by the breath.

37
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It's caused by delusion, which may be indicative of improper observation of the breath.

38
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So starting out from a deluded state, which carries on into the thought, allows the thought to sneak in there.