Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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Cittasanto
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by Cittasanto »

purple planet wrote:Thanks for the reply - i changed the 3 topics things - but thanks for that answer

Cittasanto about what you said - if i wash dishes its labeling like : lifting moving pushing scrubing ect ....

and about the jobs if i wash the dishes for instance i need to talk a little when i meet people but then i just clean them and there is less need of talk

if i need to hear someone say wash this 6 dishes i need to think but not as much as in a costumer service job - which i think not to choose cause of this issue
how quick do you think you will need to work?
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He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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purple planet
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by purple planet »

how quick do you think you will need to work?


good point it will be to fast to label
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acinteyyo
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by acinteyyo »

Hi purple planet,

you are probably missing the point about meditation. Labeling may be a good technique to start with and to gather a certain degree of mindfulness but you should come to a point where labeling is not necessary anymore. A more or less "bare" knowing establishes itself eventually where words even if only mentally spoken aren't necessary in order to know. Being mindful of being mindful of doing something becomes a self-sustaining feedback-loop. Instead of trying to find a job that is "easy enough" so that you'll still be able to verbalize what you're doing with mental labels is trying to avoid progress in some way. That way you're just treading water. There is a lot more going on in a split second than we are able to phrase in words. I recommend to start your meditation with labeling or with whatever you usually begin with and after developing a certain amount of mindfulness let go of labeling and try to just notice mindfully the same way you did before with labels. Notice but don't label what you notice, just notice. If you can't focus anymore on knowing start anew with labeling and repeat the process. How do you think one is mindful of speech for example? I don't think there is anybody able to label what he thinks, speaks and does all at once while talking. What I'm trying to say is, at the point where knowing replaces labeling it won't matter which job you'll do you'll still be able to uphold mindfulness.

I hope you get what I'm trying to say...

best wishes, acinteyyo
Thag 1.20. Ajita - I do not fear death; nor do I long for life. I’ll lay down this body, aware and mindful.
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purple planet
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by purple planet »

got it - thanks :smile:
Digity
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by Digity »

Work in a toll booth.
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manas
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by manas »

purple planet wrote:See my shoulder and back are killing me - im looking for a job -

there are some interesting non-physical jobs but they require thinking - on the other hand if i would find a non-thinking - not to hard on the body job i could practice while working
I would love to have such a choice. In my situation, jobs are so scarce I would gladly accept any paid work at all. I would happily 'think' for six to eight hours a day at a job, if it meant I could give my kids a better life right now, and increase their prospects for the future (by being able to afford tutors, for example).

manas
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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Cittasanto
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by Cittasanto »

purple planet wrote:
how quick do you think you will need to work?


good point it will be to fast to label
I have worked in kitchens and hospitality for years and you can practice, but it is far from conductive or suitable for retreat/formal period style meditation. Yet one can still meditate.
I actually think you have an incorrect view of what you would need to do in that job, and of what mindfulness actually is.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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ndh611
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Re: Jobs who require no thinking so i can meditate

Post by ndh611 »

I understand your problem. My job is a Project Manager (for website development project) and my mindfulness is constantly disturbed with phone calls, emails and lazy developers who don't meet deadlines.

From my own experience and my previous discussions with some monks, I have some conclusions for you:
  • There are jobs that are more "skillful" than other jobs in helping you progress with your meditation
  • Such jobs usually requires less stress, less communications and... less work load
  • Such jobs allows you to have quiet time with yourself
  • Jobs that requires a little or no thinking (as you mentioned dish-washing) is easy to be employed as mindfulness practice e.g. being mindful of your body movements
  • However a job is still a job and you can't expect it to be as perfect as your meditation (and most meditation sessions aren't anyway). The best you can do is to focus 100% at your job, no social media, no surfing etc.
I have heard a story from a respected Bhante about a librarian in London. Because of her quiet life, it was very easy for her to attain samadhi (concentration) when she learned meditation.
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