At a certain point we start to question, “What is a thought? What does it look like? Where does it come from? Where does it stay? Where does it go? What shape is it? Where is it? How is it?” So one could bring up a thought and examine it. For example, supposing one was feeling upset about something, then one can bring up that feeling of anger, remember what it was that made you so mad and then look at the feeling. How does it feel? Where is that feeling? What does an angry thought look like? When you are not angry anymore, where has it gone to? What actually is it? Really question the mind to death.
Question, not just intellectually but as though there is a big question mark in our mind, just looking. This is not an intellectual analysis. It is not so concerned with the intellect, it’s to do with really looking with our whole being. Otherwise, if we just use the intellect, then we end up in endless internal discussions and debate— just making more and more thoughts. That’s not the point. The point is to understand what is a thought and for that we have to really observe, really look.
Then, like looking at those translucent frames in the movie, we begin to understand that these thoughts which seem so solid, so real with the emotions that drive us—are just momentary mental states, quite transparent and empty: they arise and then just dissolve into nothing. They are empty in their nature because they don’t have any inherent existence—and yet they rule our lives. Our likes, our dislikes, our prejudices, our memories, our opinions, our judgements, our criticisms, it’s all so real. We know that people will die for their beliefs. They will kill for their beliefs. Yet belief is just a thought. And what is a thought?
Then sometimes the mind completely quietens down, becomes very peaceful and spacious, without thoughts. One maintains awareness, one doesn’t space out. The mind has calmed down and is very quiet. Sometimes the mind is moving, very busy, sometimes the mind is very quiet but there is that awareness which sees the quietness, which sees the busyness. So the next question would be, is the mind which is quiet with no thoughts, and the mind which is busy with lots of thoughts and the awareness which knows them both, all the same or are they different? Is the awareness different from the thoughts or the same? Is the awareness different from the silence of the mind or the same? So we look.
From a teaching on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of Mind, now available in the Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo Archive