​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.