When thoughts come while you are meditating, let them come; there’s no need to regard them as your enemies. When they arise, relax in their arising. On the other hand, if they don’t arise, don’t be nervously wondering whether or not they will. Just rest in their absence. If big, well-defined thoughts suddenly appear during your meditation, it is easy to recognize them. But when slight, subtle movements occur, it is hard to realize that they are there until much later. This is what we call namtok wogyu, the undercurrent of mental wandering. This is the thief of your meditation, so it is important for you to keep a close watch. If you can be constantly mindful, both in meditation and afterward, when you are eating, sleeping, walking, or sitting, that’s it – you’ve got it right!

Dudjom Rinpoche

from the book Counsels from My Heart

translated by Padmakara Translation Group


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Further quotes from the book Counsels from My Heart:

• The most profound of all Buddha’s teaching
• The root of Dharma
• The seven sublime riches
• Don’t waste your time
• Investigate the root of mind!
• An Aspiration to The Great Perfection
• Keep a middle course
• Gaining certainty
• Introduction to the nature of mind
• Remaining in the nakedness of ultimate reality
• Be without regret
• The Essence of the Path
• Remain within your inner nature