The waves of subtle and coarse thoughts return to their source.
Undisturbed, the river of mind flows naturally.
Free from the contaminations of dullness and torpor,
May the still ocean of calm abiding be dependable.
Commentary
All experience is movement in mind. The first skill to develop is to let those
movements resolve themselves. Whether in a pond, a lake, or an ocean, waves take different shapes and different sizes, from monsters with hundred-foot faces to ripples that can barely be seen, much less felt. Whatever the size, whatever the shape, waves are water in motion, just as experience is mind in motion. Winds, currents, and other factors generate waves, but when those factors are absent, the waves die down. The water in the waves returns to its source, namely, the ocean, the lake, or the pond in which they arose.
Thus, the first step in the development of calm abiding is to reduce the factors that generate turbulence in mind. One way, perhaps the most common way, is to rest attention in the experience of breathing and return again and again to the resting whenever you recognize that you have been distracted, no matter what the distraction. As you develop skills in recognizing and returning and capacity in what you can experience without falling into distraction, a continuity of attention arises. As you continue to practice, your skills become more refined and your capacity builds, and that continuity becomes like a river in a valley, quiet, deep, and full of power.
Bit by bit, the disturbances of dullness and torpor drop away, and you are left with a clear stable attention that may feel like a vast ocean with no hint of a ripple. This way of resting in attention becomes increasingly reliable and accessible to you through continued practice.