If during meditation I quiet my mind, why is a subsequent arising thought connected to what we have learned is the continuous stream of thought since beginningless time?
A student writes: Hi, I have a question regarding mind. During meditation, when one quiets the mind, however briefly, then a thought arises, seemingly independent of any previous thought, how is this thought dependent on any previous thought and how is this related to the continuous stream of thought since beginningless time? T. Y. responds: The purpose of the Continuity of Consciousness Meditation is simply to assist us to see, to understand, that there is a mental continuum functioning, with causal aspects. And, to understand that this continuum is both beginningless and endless. These results will not necessarily come after only a few sessions with this meditation, but at the very least we can begin to understand the continuity of mind moments and the cause/effect aspect of this stream of mental events. You are quite correct to note that the memories of past thoughts and emotions are existing in the present. They are not just distorted by conceptualization, they are concepts. Concep
