Meditation explained using metaphor and analogy

1.  A Buddhist monk using the metaphor of a mad monkey to explain what typically happens when we try to concentrate and how meditation can help us” tame that mad monkey”:

‘We are out of control of our minds. We have very poor concentration.

You don’t have to believe me–you check up for yourself…

Try to focus, single-pointedly, on just one thing and tell me how long you can keep it up. Before even one minute has passed you will be thinking about tonight’s dinner, and what’s happening at work, and all the things you need to do at home–everything except what you decided to concentrate on.

…Some people call this “the mad monkey of the mind”. Totally crazy. Jumping this way and that.

One of the main purposes of meditation is to tame the mad monkey, to allow the mind to settle down and rest instead of all this manic activity.’

 (From Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness  in an Uncertain World,by David Michie, p 18-19)

 

2.  The Buddhist monk using the analogy of a glass of murky storm water to explain what meditation can achieve for us if we persevere long enough:

‘If you allow a glass of murky stormwater to stand, eventually the dirt settles and you are left with only clear water. It’s the same with meditation…Eventually we discover that the true nature of our mind is nothing except pure clarity, awareness–and bliss.‘ 

(From Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness  in an Uncertain World,by David Michie, p 31)

 

3.  David Michie using a metaphor of ‘lunatic in the attic’ to describe our incessent internal chatter that gets in the way of single-minded focus of attention:

“Why does it take so much effort to achieve something as simple as mental clarity and awareness? Quite simply, it’s because it goes against all previous conditioning. We lived with a ceaseless tide of internal chatter for so long that it’s only when we take  the unusual step of focusing the spotlight of our attention on the mind itself, observing its antics at close quarters and in real time, that we discover we have a lunatic in the attic.”

(From Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness  in an Uncertain World,by David Michie, p 33)

 

4.  David Michie developing the “mad monkey” metaphor further and likening it to flabby businessman trying to get fit and suffering pain and frustration in the process:

“Trying to tame the mad monkey mind is, in many ways, like a flabby middle-aged businesssman trying to recover his youthful profile on the step machine. It hurts because we’re just not used to it. We are confronted by the consequences of decades of bad habits and ill-discipline. We are forced to use mental muscles we didn’t even know existed. Wouldn’t it be easier just to give up, and instead enjoy a nice big internal talkfest, garnished with disjointed reflection and lashings of fantasy?” (From Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness  in an Uncertain World,by David Michie, p 33)

How can I learn to concentrate better?

Answer: Practise meditation for half an hour a day

Meditate To Concentrate
ScienceDaily (2007-06-26) — Researchers say that practicing even small doses of daily meditation may improve focus and performance. Even for those new to the practice, meditation enhanced performance and the ability to focus attention. Performance-based measures of cognitive function demonstrated improvements in a matter of weeks. … > read full article

and this:

Meditation helps increase attention span
ScienceDaily (2010-07-16) — It’s nearly impossible to pay attention to one thing for a long time. A new study looks at whether Buddhist meditation can improve a person’s ability to be attentive and finds that meditation training helps people do better at focusing for a long time on a task that requires them to distinguish small differences between things they see. … > read full article

and this:

Meditation May Fine-tune Control Over Attention
ScienceDaily (2007-05-10) — Everyday experience and psychology research both indicate that paying close attention to one thing can keep you from noticing something else. However, a new study suggests that attention does not have a fixed capacity — and that it can be improved by directed mental training, such as meditation. … > read full article

Read more:

What Can 11 Hours of Meditation Training Do? It can Rewire Your Brain
Meditation trains our brains to regulate emotions and behaviors

Good quotes on why is it’s important to know how to concentrate well

The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will.  No one is compos sui [master of himself] if he have it not.  An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal than to give practical directions for bringing it about.
~William James, The Principles of Psychology, 1890.

When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.
~Michael Leboeuf

The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success are concentration, discrimination, organization, innovation and communication.
~Michael Faraday

The true art of memory is the art of attention.
~Samuel Johnson

Concentration is the secret of strength.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing interferes with my concentration. You could put on an orgy in my office and I wouldn’t look up. Well, maybe once.
~Isaac Asimov

Ninety percent of my game is mental. It’s my concentration that has gotten me this far.
~Chris Evert

Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.
~Bill Russell

Discipline and concentration are a matter of being interested.
~Tom Kite

When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.
~Bhagavad Gita

Throughout my career, if I have done anything,  I have paid attention to every note and every word I sing–if I respect the song.  If I cannot project this to a listener, I fail.
~Frank Sinatra

Give whatever you do and whoever you are with the gift of your attention.
~Jim Rohn