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A secret manifesto for blogging:

Bear in mind that the place of meditation is not of key importance, but it is wise to return to the same place at the same time daily so that the habit of meditating becomes established. The Buddha meditated under a Bodhi tree where he achieved enlightenment. An advanced meditator can choose almost any place and it will serve his purpose — a crowded market place, a burial ground, a cave, a park or a refuse dump. In his inward turning he becomes totally oblivious of his surroundings; or, contrariwise, makes the very surroundings, as he advances deeper and deeper into meditating, the subject of his thoughts. The important thing to remember is that these thoughts must be schooled and channeled. They must be kept “on center.”

But you, now, are still in your beginning stages. Untoward thoughts will persist in entering your mind. This is only natural. You will be amazed at how many and how trivial these intrusions can be. You must learn, however, to treat these intruders with courtesy. Do not shove them away in anger. Be gentle, kindly. Label each one — past — present — future? Worthy? Unworthy? Animosity? Vanity? Desire? Egotism? Your very act of branding them will assist in their cessation. As they begin to disappear, your mind will gently return to your nostrils, your breathing. It will grow quieter and quieter.

— Dorothea Figen, Beginning Insight Meditation

We’ve had blogging as dreaming, now blogging as insight meditation. Blogging as Vipassana. Choosing topics and posts because they stay “on centre” and not, in fact, because they lead us through the multitude of links and paths. That is the monkey-mind blog, which we try, no matter how successfully, to avoid.

Anyway, my monkey mind keeps returning to the image of the Buddha blogging beneath the Bodhi tree. He would have had fun with this medium.