An Island in the Flood

The Buddha’s image for life is that it’s a flood, and you need an island in the midst of the flood to be safe. The island is learning how to depend on yourself, and you depend on yourself in learning how to establish mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the ability to keep things in mind. When it’s established, it’s established here in the present moment. You take as your foundation something here in the present, like the breath, and you hang on to the breath. The duty of mindfulness there is to remember, when you’re with the breath, what’s the best way to breathe, what’s the best way to think so that you can get the mind to settle down, so that it’s not grabbing after things that come floating past.

Otherwise, when something pretty floats past on the water, you jump down into the river, and maybe a log under the surface of the water comes and hits you in the ribs. Or some animal down underwater will come and pull you down. You have to be careful about things of the world. So you remember to stay here with the breath. Take this as your foundation.

As for things that come past, just let them go past. You want to hold on to something that’s of real value inside, because when the mind can settle down with mindfulness, it turns into concentration. You have one object that you stay centered on, and there’s a sense of well-being that comes with that. When you have that sense of well-being, then you’re not quite so tempted by the things that are floating past in the flood. That’s how you can stay safe.

So try to get established right here. The breath comes in; the breath goes out. As long as you’re with your breath, you know you’re in the present moment. Anything that’s not related to the breath, anything that’s not related to improving the state of your mind right now, you just let it go. Let it go. You need to maintain your foundation; you need your safety up here on the island. Otherwise, if you jump down into the flood, who knows where the flood’s going to take you.

So stay right here. This is your safe place. As long as you’re established here, then you don’t have to worry about the flood. It won’t wash you away. It’s when you’re tempted to jump down into the flood—that’s when you’ve got a problem.