Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

Buddha is said to have had a peculiar habit called the
elephant’s gaze; instead of turning his head to look at
something, he would, like an elephant, turn his whole body,
giving the object his full attention. If we wish to follow in the
Buddha’s footsteps, we should always strive to give our full
attention to one thing at a time, rather than seeking to take
in everything at once. At the very least, taking in too many
things at once will cause undue mental distraction, leading
us to lose our focus on the reality of our experience. While it
is true that ephemeral pleasure can be gained from seeking
out pleasant objects of the sense, such seeking is antithetical
to the attainment of true happiness. One should ask oneself:
if I am truly happy, for what reason must I seek pleasure?
If we wish to find true happiness, we should strive to focus
on what we are doing in every aspect of our everyday lives,
rather than dreaming about what we would rather be doing,
or what others are doing in the world around us. Rather than
trying to find happiness in what we don’t have, which only
leads us to develop habits of seeking, chasing, craving and
clinging, we should try to find happiness with what we do
have, so that we can be happy at any time, place, or
circumstance. We should remember this in our daily lives
and throughout our practice as Buddhist meditators, knowing
that every sense pleasure we indulge in and every aversion
we allow ourselves to cultivate will contribute to the soiling
of the mind, rendering the cultivation of insight that much
more difficult.
Guarding the senses is something we should take seriously.
When we walk, we should focus on walking; when we stand,
sit or lie down, we should likewise try to focus on that
activity without letting our minds wander. Whatever we do
during that day – speak, listen, work, drive, eat, drink,
shower, even urinate and defecate, we should focus on what
we are doing, not letting ourselves become distracted by
what is being done around us. A person who guards their
mind in this way will find themselves refreshed and alert,
free from the exhaustion that besets one whose mind is
given free reign to indulge in the objects of the sense –
enslaved, rather, to the terrible masters of desire and
aversion.
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