The Texture of Thoughts and the Depth of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure

★On the Texture of Thoughts

Can you understand that thoughts have “different textures”? Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it.

Yes, that’s right. I just felt you think, “Is he talking about the difference between karma and divinity?” and that is exactly the right answer.

“The texture of thoughts” can be broadly divided into two kinds: damp, soggy thoughts, and dry, smooth, flowing thoughts.

★The Depth of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure

Then here’s the next question. In your language there is the phrase “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure,” right? Can you understand that “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure” have a depth of dimensions?

You don’t understand?

All right, then, let me see, how can I put it so it gets across?

The “joy” of “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure” is broadly divided into joy standing on thoughts stuck to the physical body that see self and others as separate, and joy that comes from life, where life itself is rejoicing. Do you see?

Yes, and in the same way, the word “anger” also has depth. There is anger at the level of emotional thoughts that believe the physical body is the self, and there is the scolding of love, in which life itself scolds. (In Japanese, “shikari,” scolding, is also “hikari,” light.)

If you look at it this way, you’ll come to see that the “sorrow” and the “pleasure” of “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure” also have depth.

For example, in “sorrow” there are thoughts that grieve while stuck to the body, and there are also thoughts that feel sorrow with sympathy from a slightly deeper consciousness. And if you look deeper still, there is also the “sorrow” of tender compassion, in which life itself looks upon the physical world with loving sorrow.

If you look only at the surface branches and leaves of the word “sorrow,” you would never imagine it had such depth. But when your consciousness stands in the position of “the light of life,” you come to understand such things.

And in the last of “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure,” “pleasure,” there is the “pleasure” in which you yourself enjoy or think something is fun, with thoughts that see self and others as separate, and there is also the “pleasure” in which life itself is enjoying.

★When You Can Tell Life from Karma

In this way, once you understand the depth of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, it becomes easier to distinguish and discern between the true human heart, the consciousness of life, and the thoughts that have forgotten their essence, karmic thoughts. When that happens, living becomes very easy. Where you used to constantly get caught on someone’s words and actions and pass nothing but critical and blaming judgments, before you know it you no longer take notice of each one, and you are no longer caught by them.

So here I come back to “the texture of thoughts” that I asked you about at the beginning. It’s good to always observe whether your thoughts are damp or smooth, and take care that the smooth, flowing feeling always continues.

★How to Keep Your Thoughts Smooth and Flowing

The simplest method for that, one that anyone can easily do, is this: when you think, “Oh, I’m feeling damp,” control your breathing so that you breathe in and out about five to seven times faster than your normal, unconscious breathing rate.

When you do that, the damp “texture of your thoughts” quickly returns to a smooth feeling, you stop criticizing or blaming yourself and others, and you no longer cloud “the sky of your heart.”

This is daily practice. As long as you keep repeating the practice tirelessly day by day, the time you can spend in smooth, flowing thoughts and consciousness will grow longer, so give it a try. You’ll be amazed at how you change.