2022-05-24 Attention

How does one live an intentional life? According to the Buddha, being intentional starts with focused attention on yourself. “Do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do; give it to what you do or fail to do,” explained the Buddha.

In the Buddha’s Words, editor Bhikkhu Bodhi writes,

The teaching begins by calling upon us to develop a faculty of careful attention. To stop drifting thoughtlessly through our lives and instead pay careful attention to simple truths that are everywhere.

Similarly, Jon Kabat-Kinn (founder of mindfulness-based stress reduction) writes in Wherever You Go, There You Are: The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.

“To pay attention,” observed the poet Mary Oliver, “this is our endless and proper work.”