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I have observed that during contemplation, there are periods where attention is on the object, a kind of basic awareness. Then, there are periods where thoughts emerge, based on the object, a kind of cognition of the object.

Then, there seems to be periods where cognitions unrelated to an object within experience occur; these would be be as mind-wandering or speculation.

My question is: Are those cognitions and fabrications unrelated to direct experience precisely what one tries to counter in Buddhism?

I have the impression that if I cognized only direct experience through awareness, and produced only object-related cognitions, that I would diminish wrongness and inefficiency in the mind greatly.

Thank you

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  • Samsara is mind body industrial music
    – Lowbrow
    Sep 23, 2019 at 3:27

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You might want to study the Structural Defferential. It is a map of the process of abstraction of our nervous system. It was created by Alfred Korzybski, a pioneer in the field of General Semantics.

The Structural Differential

The basic awareness you're mentioned in your question refers to the silent levels of awareness. This experience of direct awareness of the whole is also called Gestalt.

In Buddha's spiritual path one tries to see and stop the process of "I" making and "mine" making in his mind. That's what I know theoretically.

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  • The work of Korzybski is extremely useful imo as well.
    – user8527
    Sep 12, 2019 at 22:18
  • I have a feeling that one can never possibly become a real thinker without understanding the works of Korzybski. And that is only what comes before real monkhood. In other words, one must be an accomplished, expert thinker, before one can become sadhu.
    – Marino Klisovich
    Sep 13, 2019 at 9:22
  • J. Krishnamurti defined the highest level of intelligence as: "The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence." That sound similar to silent levels or direct experience that Korzybski is talking about. Direct experience or just seeing - when you finally see things.
    – Marino Klisovich
    Sep 13, 2019 at 9:31
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cleaning the mind is not done by focusing on objects of perceptions. This is wrong territory according to the budhha https://suttacentral.net/sn47.7/en/sujato

The right things to watch are whatever is left after the ''five kinds of sensual stimulation'', ie ''cattāro satipaṭṭhānā.''

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On the impression; looks close to me. Whether one thinks or not is far less important than the content of thought. That to which one gives frequent attention becomes the inclination, therefore to establish a perception of impermanence ie one has to reflect on impermanence, this is in the Grimananda Sutta; 'how does one develop perception of impermanence? One reflects thus; ..' . Perceptions have to be established by reasoning. Reasoning is like talking to oneself, reasoning one performs actions; be it inference, translation or multiplication; by means of this or that system of expression one communicates internally. Purpose of reasoning is probably the mapping out of what can be thought about as it actually is so that there is no delusion about the cause and effect which results in unforseen consequences and disappontment.

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