Daily Dharma 6/25: First and Second Thoughts

I didn't realize it's already been a full month since my last post, oy... it's not that I forgot about it, I just fell off my readings and thus didn't have anything I felt like was worth posting.  Today, though, I'm back.

For ordinary man is Buddha, and klesa (defilement) is Bodhi (enlightenment). A foolish passing thought makes one an ordinary man, while an enlightened second thought makes one a Buddha. A passing thought that clings to sense-objects is klesa, while a second thought that frees one from attachment is Bodhi.

- The Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra

I forget where I heard this first, and someone please correct me on how it goes, but we don't have control over our first thoughts to things that happen to us, but we do have control over the second.  Holding the Right View, that what we call "reality" is an aggregate of all the senses and experiences, includes the view that everything is a chance for reflection and learning.  Why did we have that first thought?  Was it a right thought, or was it a monkey brain thought?  Even in monkey brain thoughts, those driven by attachment, impulse, the basic senses, we have an opportunity to step back and learn "what not to do" so to speak.

To take a breath, momentize, and become our better selves.