Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Official Report 681KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Paul McKeown, who is a Tibetan Buddhist from Inverness.

Good afternoon, everyone. I could have attempted to discuss 1,200 years of Buddhist history in a few minutes, but having thought about it, that would be almost impossible. I am sure that it would have been painful for all parties concerned. So, today, I would like to talk about one aspect of Buddhist meditation, which is mindfulness.

I am sure that most or all of us have had experiences of mindfulness at some point in our interactions with people in our daily lives. Have you ever been in a place or situation in which all your awareness becomes completely in tune with the present moment? You could be watching a wonderful view, alone or with a special person, or be walking through a park, when suddenly everything becomes alive. You notice the rustling of the leaves on the trees, the cool wind on your face, the chirping of birds, the scent in the air and all those little details that usually go unnoticed in our hectic everyday life.

Perhaps you are participating in a heated debate and you are about to leap or strike in that decisive action when suddenly your mind slows down, the background noise fades away and you are completely focused. If you understand what I am talking about or can relate to it because of some of your experiences, I am sure that you have already had a glimpse of what mindfulness is.

Mindfulness is a state of consciousness in which our awareness is focused or centred on our present moment. The mind becomes calm and we consciously notice our surroundings or our own bodily sensations—for example, the way in which your feet touch the ground as you walk. In most of our waking life, our mind is preoccupied with something that happened to us in the past or is worried about something that might or might not happen in the future.

In our everyday frenetic life, whether we are rushing off to work in the morning, waiting for a train or a bus, visiting constituents, preparing the kids for school, eating breakfast while reading the newspaper or making some notes for the day, we are constantly not being present in the here and now.

Our mind is sucked into thinking a million thoughts about this morning’s meeting, yesterday’s clash with the Opposition in the debating chamber, tomorrow’s First Minister’s questions, tomorrow’s birthday party or the bills that are due next week, both domestic and parliamentary. Continuously, the mind is taken over by such thoughts, leaving no time to experience the present. By being hijacked by thoughts about the past or future, the mind becomes absent in the here and now. It can be compared to being on autopilot. In fact, we go through most of our day’s routine in this autopilot mode. We rarely find time to slow down and get connected again with the present.

Mindfulness practice is all about being conscious and aware of your present, moment by moment. It is about being connected to the present with your being and not your doing. So, before you debate, think of an answer or accept the challenge of a political position, for a moment breathe, listen to yourself and try to be in the present, the now.

Thank you for listening to yourselves and me, and I hope that you have a peaceful and calm day representing the people of Scotland.