"ATTENTION PLEASE"
| Attention, in the context of Dhamma,
is that ‘radical attention’ which aims at
getting down to the root of the matter through insight
into its source or matrix. It tries to avoid the pitfalls
of discursive thought which distract and becloud
one’s vision. This kind of right attention goes hand in hand with mindfulness and full-awareness. Being mindful and fully aware, one can narrow down one’s attention to the present moment. In our everyday life, we rarely pay attention to the simple details of daily routine. Attention is always regarded as something to be ‘called for’. We go about our routine work rather mechanically. Our behavior is largely impulsive. In our normal lives we feel more comfortable in our accustomed ruts and grooves. The hidden potentialities for deep insights in the simple details of daily routine are ignored. But the simplest often turns out to be the most profound. One awakens to this truth by paying attention to the most ordinary - looking activities in one’s everyday life, such as breathing, the change of postures and answering ‘calls’ -of-nature. Radical attention reveals ever new layers of fresh insight day by day in apparently insignificant life-situations. The range of attention extends over the Four Foundations of Mindfulness outlined in the Satipatthana Sutta - the contemplations of body, feeling, mind and mind-objects. With keener attention the foundations go deeper and deeper. The disarming beam of keen attention switched on with mindfulness and full-awareness, does the work of penetrative wisdom. It is dynamic in holding the forces of Mara (the ‘Evil-One’) at bay, like a skilled swordsman with his parry and thrust. Insight meditation works on the principle of accelerating attention to stem prolificity of thought. Normally, attention is slack in picking up mind-objects. The rapidity of thought is a challenge hard to meet. To get at the root of a thought, one has to be extremely vigilant. Where vigilance is lacking, thoughts simply ‘bump-off’and go astray. So, like an expert table tennis player, one has to wield the racket of attention right at the point of TOUCH.
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