Buddha taught, in his last incarnation,
that sensations arise from contact,
and reactions follow sensations.
To break this connection
between sensation and reaction,
observe with discernment
each impermanent impression:
watch it arise and depart
without aversion, without attachment.
Patanjali wrote, circa 200 BCE,
of withdrawing attention
from images on the mind-screen,
of the suspension of interaction
not just with external stimuli
but with all mental distraction,
to direct the senses to the “I”,
and forsake reaction
that serves simply to self-gratify.
I scroll, today, every day,
liking, celebrating, heart-ing
ideas that come my way.
Each utterance lingers, reverberating–
dotted with affirmations,
lined with objections,
especially those
that I did not/could not/dare not
react to.
