​In the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness — the Buddha teaches us to observe the mind as mind — not its content, but its state, its clarity or confusion, its calm or agitation.
 
This meditation is not about chasing thoughts, analyzing them, or identifying with them. It is about observingthe qualities that color the mind, and witnessing the impermanence of mental events. Over time, this gentle, steady observation reveals that the mind is not a fixed entity, but a dynamic and shifting field ofawareness.

We are finally at the Eighth Factor: Right Concentration. But what is right concentration? The word concentration has multiple meanings. You read on laundry detergent labels “concentrated”, meaning thereis little or no dilution with other ingredients like water, or fillers.

When we speak of the concentrated mind, it too is free of dilution… or another term more commonly used in the practice: Free of Delusion, the unnecessary or watered down ingredients of our minds and are only left with stillness, and emptiness.

Concentration also means being very focused. Like concentrating on our work, no ADHD, or distractedness. When we are focused, it is like being in a tunnel with no other exit but what is right in front of us at that moment.

In the Heart Sutra, which is an explanation of the realization of emptiness, it speaks of going beyond all thatour individual minds experience, and becoming awakened. Awakened to the unborn, universal compassion and wisdom. In right concentration we are able to go journey across the sea of suffering (our scattered mind caught up in the perceptions of our senses) and enter into the deep peace of awakening.

Our minds drift, entangled in a flood of information,
Forgetting the past, forgetting the lessons of life.
But with contemplation — looking deeply into each moment --
The luminous stream of mind reveals endless experience.
A supermarket of data overwhelms our brains,
Old memories fade beneath the pressure of the new.
Yet in truth, the mind becomes clouded and confused,
As fresh impressions sweep away the traces of the past.
Look back — a month has already slipped away,
So many feelings, countless passing moments.
Can you recall them clearly? They’re hard to grasp.
But with steady meditation, the mind will shine bright.
Strange reactions arise in daily life,
Not born from anything present here and now --
They spring from past-life causes and momentum,
And meditation illuminates them all.
Sustain your contemplation — observe the mind each moment.
Past experiences return in clear awareness.
Consciousness stretches continuously across lifetimes,
And the practitioner sees wisdom naturally unfold.
​Each sensation, each extraordinary reaction --
Through mindful observation, the impermanent flow is known.
In deep meditation, all phenomena are illuminated,
And from this timeless stream, Nirvāṇa is revealed.

​Today we are going to talk about the mind as a mirror. So we can understand even more clearly the impermanence of all things, and how this connects to an understanding of being free from Karma.

Last week we talked about The Mind as a Mirror, using the Rorschach ink blot we explored how we all project our thoughts onto the world around us, and mix up the story from the reality. This week we are going to talk No Self –

To see no-self is not to erase our individuality, but to loosen our grip on the idea that we exist apart from others.

The mantra Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng purifies the self-centered mind — the one that says "I am right", "you are wrong", "this is mine", "that is yours".
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This week we practice swapping selves: entering the world of another person to see not only their suffering, but also how they might see us. Through this, the rigid shell of “I” softens into the fluid truth of inter-being.

​Humility is often misunderstood as self-deprecation or weakness. In the Buddhist sense, humility is truth — the recognition that there is no separate “self” to elevate or defend.

When the personal mind opens into the vast, universal mind, the illusion of separateness begins to dissolve. The small self that clings, competes, and wants recognition gives way to the clear, compassionate awareness that simply is.

“When my mind opens to the universal mind, the wisdom that unfolds can touch the universal truth in others.”
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Humility, then, is the fragrance of awakening — the natural state of a mind that no longer needs to grasp at being “the one who knows.”

​To meditate on compassion, as taught by the Bodhisattvas, is to step beyond the small boundaries of the self and into the boundless heart of the universe. The Bodhisattva’s compassion is not merely a feeling—it is an active, living force, like sunlight that warms all without judgment, like rain that nourishes all without preference.

When we sit in meditation, breathing with awareness, we begin to see that every being—human, animal, seen, and unseen—carries joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, just as we do. With each breath, we soften the walls we have built around our heart. With each moment of stillness, we dissolve the rigid edges of our mind.
The Bodhisattva reminds us that to truly open the heart is to welcome all beings as part of ourselves, for in truth, there is no separation. Through this compassion, we rejoin the great fabric of the universe, remembering that we have never been apart from it. Our love becomes vast, without limit, without condition. We no longer ask who is worthy of our kindness, for in the Bodhisattva’s eyes, every being is worthy.

This is the love that heals—the love that touches the deepest wounds and brings them back to wholeness. In living this compassion, we plant seeds of peace in every heart we meet, and those seeds, in time, blossom into a more awakened world.
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As our compassion deepens, so too does our wisdom, until we realize that to love without limit is itself the path to enlightenment.