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Monkey Mind Talks
The term monkey mind or mind monkey originates from Chinese xīnyuán or Sino-Japanese shin'en (心猿), a word that literally means "heart-mind monkey." It is a Buddhist concept that describes a state of restlessness, capriciousness, and lack of control in one's thoughts. This "mind monkey" metaphor is not only found in Buddhist writings such as Chan or Zen, Consciousness-only, Pure Land, and Shingon, but it has also been adopted in Daoism, Neo-Confucianism, Chinese poetry, theater, and literature. The expression "monkey mind" commonly appears in two reversible four-character idioms paired with yima or iba (意馬), which means "idea horse": Chinese xinyuanyima (心猿意馬) and Japanese ibashin'en (意馬心猿) illustrate the interconnectedness of a restless mind and wandering thoughts. The "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West is an iconic personification of feeling indecisive and unsettled.
| Title | Speaker | |
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Realizing the Buddha Way Together Monkey Mind, Practice, Wisdom |
Jan 2022 |
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Clean the Temple and Listen to the Cries of the World confusion, Monkey Mind, Letting Go |
Jun 07 2014 AM |
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Clean the Temple and Listen to the Cries of the WorldWork, confusion, Monkey Mind, Letting Go, Suzuki Roshi, Dragons |
Jun 07 2014 AM No Abode Hermitage |
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The Bodhisattva's Creativity and Freedom Monkey Mind, Practice Period, Hindrances, difficulty, Bodhisattva Way |
Dec 01 2011 The Yoga Room |