Day 27

Where is the mind?

When we sit down to observe ourselves, we can get the impression that the mind is here and there and all over the place. Taking thought as the object of meditation this morning, I could see my mind going into my bathroom where I am doing renovations. I was drilling very straight holes and painting very well with a beautiful colour of paint. Then I was out in the garage sawing wood, and at the same time I was inside making sure the children stayed napping in their beds through the noise. I went to the hardware store, too. Then I was back on the cushion, hearing the sound of the radiator, seeing the incense smoke, feeling my sitting position. After a period of present concentration, I was back out of the room again, where my son does gymnastics, remembering some kind words that were said. All of this happened very quickly.

But was my mind really there? If I had gone into the garage for real, I don't think I would have met up with my mind. And therein is another problem: "I" go into the garage, but don't meet up with "my" mind. Which one is me - the "I" that goes into the garage or the mind that is not there?

The question of where the mind is located leads many people to answer that mind is nothing but electrical connections in the brain. In this case, the brain is the cause of the mind's thoughts. But where is the effect - that is, the thoughts themselves?

Thoughts are none other than the object of mind, the thing that is done by the subject, which is the mind. So where is this mind that thinks? When I heard the sound of the radiator, was my mind somewhere in my body? In the radiator? Somewhere in between? Somewhere else?

Furthermore, the mind is more than thoughts. We can be conscious, mindful, without thinking thoughts, without sparks flying in the brain. This is sometimes our aim in meditation, although we should not attach ourselves to any aim with hopes and fears about the outcome.

According to Buddhism, the mind is a stream of consciousness, and it does not have a location. But we should not take the Buddha's word for it; this is something we need to investigate ourselves.

This is vipashyana.