As we practice we cultivate present time attention. Without training our mind is continually pulled away from here and now to the past, as memories or regrets, to the future, as plans, desires or fears, or to the impressions that come streaming into our minds every moment, through our senses. This flood is disturbing, and makes it hard to focus on what we are doing, making it more difficult to be as purposeful or as peaceful as we would like to be. By training the mind intentionally, we can recover our ability to be present, clear, and stable. Then we can do what we need to do, and respond to changing conditions without haste or hesitation, distraction or worry. That gives us more freedom from desire and fear, returning us to poise, dignity and purpose.
That is a good way to think of mind training. We do not need to be too concerned with metaphysics. We need to do our practice, to stabilize and clarify our habits of mind.
But here is something to think about as we go: The present does not exist as a thing. It only exists in relation to the past and the future. The present is where the past and the future meet. But you can’t actually find the present. It is infinitely small. It is only relational.
The same is true for a line or for the center of a wheel. There are no such things. They are not findable in themselves. Conventionally we can use a line to divide space, or refer to the center of a wheel, but in fact we cannot see them. The line we can see on a page is really a thin rectangle that represents a line. A line is one dimensional. Not perceptible. Imaginary. But at the same time quite real, functional and reliable.
This is true for the center of a wheel. You can see the hub. You can see where the spokes meet. But as it spins you can go down to a millimeter, a micrometer, a nanometer, a quantum unit and find that the center is still turning. You could keep going, infinitely. You wouldn’t need to do that to build a functional wheel. But the center is a reference point, not a thing.
The same is true with regard to the present moment. The funny thing there, when you get to thinking about it, is that while the past and the future define the present, they don’t actually exist either. They are real. They function: We can learn from the past, and will receive the consequences of our past action. We can plan for the future, and we can expect the results of what we do now to bear fruit at some future time. But these are perspectives, in the mind. They are not places we can go to, or things we can hold onto. And yet here we are. Here and now. This is quite real and dependable and knowable.
To notice this is useful. When we talk about “no self-nature” this is what we mean. It does not mean that we don’t exist. We exist. It does not mean that we don’t have a soul. We have a soul. It means that we are integrated in time, space, mind and motion with a vast world. We are not separated in reality, but by our conventional habits of mind. Power and freedom depend on this insight.
Because things interrelate and change, and our actions have consequences, our physical training works to make us fit and healthy. That is why our mind training works to make our minds stable, clear and knowing. That gives us the ability to be aware of the condition of our mind, which gives us the ability to examine our experience and all phenomena, with precision.
There will be time to deepen this analysis. But for now, we just train. We practice with care and diligence.
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Post copyright © 2025 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate Dojo, in the mountains of western NC.
Photo by Dawid Zawila via Unsplash
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read True Karate Dō by Jeffrey Brooks
“One of the best books I’ve read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields in this wide-ranging and Illuminating study that has much to offer both novice explorers and veteran practitioners. A splendid achievement.”— Philip Zaleski, Editor, The Best Spiritual Writing series