Shundo David Haye

‘Part of the effort to take responsibility for the quality of our mind involves cultivating two particular qualities of mind, which are said to be centrally important for the task of becoming free from suffering.  These two qualities are the qualities of mindfulness and concentration.  To cultivate the ability to see more clearly, and to see with a mind that is stable and still, allows us to begin seeing into the depths of places where we have only seen shadows in the crevices, in the deep cellar of the mind.  This allows us to understand things that we normally can’t understand at all about ourselves.  Why do we suffer in certain ways?  It can be a mystery—why do I suffer so much, why is it so hard for me, why am I doing this?  You need to have a very mindful, alert mind to have the ability to be still and get down into the cellar of the mind.  The more you develop mindfulness and concentration, the more ability you have not to be caught by what is happening.  You have more ability to stay dignified and balanced in the conditions of the world.’ (from the Insight Meditation Center website)