Q5-20100224-Larry_Rosenberg-IMSRC-the_four_noble_truths_a_vehicle_for_self_discovery_part_iii-8336 L

Talk: 20100224-Larry_Rosenberg-IMSRC-the_four_noble_truths_a_vehicle_for_self_discovery_part_iii-8336 Leandra Tejedor.jsonw Start_time: 00:41:13 Display_question: Can you explain the difference between thinking and investigating? Keyword_search: investigating, reaction, grasping, inquiry, mind, spinning, attention, stable, thinking, four noble truths, skillful, reflective insight, clear seeing, transformative, learning Question_content: Questioner: You were talking about investigating… Larry: Yes. Ah, good one. Questioner: And having this reaction, whatever it is, it’s grasping, it’s… Larry: Right. Questioner: Whatever. So, then I try to look at it, objectively, but then I watch myself run the risk, of spinning. I don’t know if I am saying this… Larry: Yeah, but then you're no longer investigating. Then the mind has taken over. Questioner: Is there a....that's the question. It’s hard for me to figure out when I'm actually investigating, or I'm just…. Larry: Yeah, sure. First of all, investigation to begin with, I would say, that sometimes investigation does have some thought in it, when we begin. For example, let's say, using the four noble truths, you find that you leave a situation, and it hurts, and you're suffering. And then you kind of… it's like pulling over to the side of the road, and saying, what happened there? It's after the fact. And it's a kind of inquiry. I see, the reason I suffered is because I wanted that person to say this, and they said that, instead of this, and I couldn't…., et cetera. And so, the event is over, but there's a piece of learning that happens. You saw that…do you see what I'm getting at? Break_line: That's a kind of inquiry. But more, and more, and this is, I think, a lot of what Michael was getting at last night, is that real investigation, has no thought in it. It's a silent, careful attention to what is, to what's going on. And there's a direct learning. Real insight grows out of that seeing. Now, to begin with, if you're very, very new, it would be, not impossible, but rather unlikely, that the mind has that as a stable quality, that you can count on a lot. But as the practice unfolds, you do thinking, less, and less. There's less thinking, and there's more seeing. And there's still…do you see…you could call reflective insight. It's a skillful use of thought, but it doesn't have the transformative power of clear seeing. Now, when the mind spins off like that, you're not doing either, probably. But then you see, then you reflect it on it, and that's how you can make a question, and share it. So that was a bit of investigation. Yeah. End_time: 00:43:34