Truth can be discomforting. So we often look away from it or pretend that we do not see it; we may find excuses or make up some feel-good stories. However discomforting it maybe, truth is always liberating. The first and foremost thing we can do for our deep well-being is to wake up and pay attention. Without paying attention, there is no possibility of learning or responding skillfully; without paying attention, we will just be carried away by our habitual tendencies and continue to stuck in our rotten thoughts and behaviors. Without paying attention, we are just mindless zombies and heartless robots.

Our attention is very limited and it can easily be hijacked and distracted. So it is essential that we are mindful of "how" and "where" we pay attention. Buddha refers such mindful attention as right mindfulness (samma-sati). Without paying right attention, we easily get lost in the jungle.

How do we pay attention? Whether our heart and mind is open to receive the truth, or our existing assumptions, beliefs, views and opinions stand in the way of seeing things as they are... Whether our intention is to defend our beliefs and views, or understand reality as it is... Whether our intention is pure and wholesome, or we have unwholesome ulterior motives... Whether our intention is to bring peace and happiness for all, or gain selfish advantages at the cost of others...

Where do we pay attention? Whether we focus on relevant matters, or irrelevant noise and distractions... Whether we focus on important and critical issues first, or minor issues... Whether we focus just on symptoms, or root causes and conditions...

Inattention is dying.

Paying attention is living.

Right attention is worth living.

——

CK. Kamaraj

12 June 2020