All Dharmas Unattended, Naturally Cease

Some always say, "It's not the arising of thoughts that should be feared, but the delayed awareness of them." However, no matter how quickly one becomes aware, the thought has already arisen, and concentration is lost. In that moment, after all, there is no awakening. Realizing it belatedly and mending the fold after the sheep are lost—after all, the sheep have already run away. When sitting in meditation, if you are doing well, clear and lucid, and a thought suddenly arises, do not engage with it. Let it pass, and then return to concentration. If you engage with it, another thought arises; two deluded thoughts appear. The deluded thought of being aware of the thought often prolongs itself, and then regretting the arising of that thought makes it very difficult to maintain concentration.

If you disregard all phenomena, they will naturally pass. Sooner or later, everything passes; no phenomenon or state can endure forever. All things arise and cease; when they arise, they naturally have a time to cease. When they cease, that phenomenon is fundamentally nothing at all. When they arise, they were originally nothing either. By not engaging, the mind remains pure. When all phenomena come, watch them come; when they go, watch them go. Let them arise and cease on their own, let them play by themselves—simply watch as if observing a play.