user-1: My question is basically as to what constitutes skillful and unskillful activity.  I noticed I return to unskillful craving-related activities when I am idle. However, I cannot ascertain what is skillful in terms of activities. I would think the application of effort is important in terms of an activity, because I am often contemplating/analyzing ideas, but in a slightly lazy way. 
Concretely, is idleness bad? For example, I often take public transport, wherein I contemplate certain subjects. But, I often tell myself I should read in public transport instead. 
I think to me, some contemplative activity occurs when idle, but it is not focused, nor effortful. Can mere contemplation without much effort or focus be called meditation? Or is it simply wasting time?
Thank you. 
EDIT: Also, I would think activity and industriousness generates energy in some sense. What states accompany idleness? (e.g. lethargy, fragmentation, etc.)

user471: In Vitakkasanthana Sutta, the Buddha advised:

Just as a skilled carpenter or his apprentice would use a small peg to
  knock out, drive out, and pull out a large one; in the same way, if
  evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with
  desire, aversion, or delusion — arise in a monk while he is referring to and attending to a particular theme, he should attend to
  another theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful.
  When he is attending to this other theme, apart from that one,
  connected with what is skillful, then those evil, unskillful thoughts
  — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and
  subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within,
  settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.

So, if you're afflicted with thoughts imbued with the three poisons (desire/ greed/ attachment, aversion/ hatred and delusion), then this is the sign of unskillful thoughts. The Buddha advises above to switch to other thoughts which are skillful (which are the opposite of the three poisons), then advises to concentrate the mind (in the context of meditation).
Of course, outside of the context of meditation, one should recognize unskillful thoughts imbued with the three poisons, then switch to other themes.
Concerning idleness or laziness, the Sigalovada Sutta states:

"And what six ways of squandering wealth are to be avoided? Young man,
  heedlessness caused by intoxication, roaming the streets at
  inappropriate times, habitual partying, compulsive gambling, bad
  companionship, and laziness are the six ways of squandering wealth.
"These are the six dangers inherent in laziness: saying, 'It's too
  cold,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too hot,' one does not work;
  saying, 'It's too late,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too early,'
  one does not work; saying, 'I'm too hungry,' one does not work;
  saying, 'I'm too full,' one does not work. With an abundance of
  excuses for not working, new wealth does not accrue and existing
  wealth goes to waste."

Although I couldn't find the exact sutta reference, this essay by Lily de Silva states:

In one sutta (A. III, 293) the Buddha explains how to prepare for a
  peaceful death. One has to organize one's life and cultivate an
  appropriate attitude for this purpose. The instructions given there
  are as follows:
(1) One should not be fond of a busy life involved in various activities.
  (2) One should not be fond of being talkative.
  (3) One should not be fond of sleeping.
  (4) One should not be fond of having too many companions.
  (5) One should not be fond of too much social intercourse.
  (6) One should not be fond of daydreaming.

There is a kind of a middle way advised above, where one should neither be too busy in too many activities, nor daydreaming or oversleeping or over-socializing.
If you have idle time on your hands, you can use it for skillful activities like reading good material (like this book), or by cultivating mindfulness.
In his booklet "How To Meditate", Ven. Yuttadhammo advises in "Chapter Six: Daily Life":

Once one has put aside activities that interfere with clarity of mind,
  one can begin to incorporate meditative awareness into ordinary life.
  There are two ways in which one can meditate on ordinary experience,
  and they should be practiced together, as follows.
The first method is to focus one’s attention on the body, since it is
  the most clearly evident aspect of experience. As in formal
  meditation, the body is always available for observation, and thus
  serves as a convenient means of creating clear awareness of reality in
  daily life. Since the body is generally in one of four postures –
  walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one can simply become aware
  of one’s posture as a meditation object to bring about clarity of
  mind. .......
When cooking, cleaning, exercising, showering, changing clothes, even
  on the toilet, one can be mindful of the movements of the body
  involved, creating clear awareness of reality at all times. This is
  the first method by which one can and should incorporate the
  meditation practice directly into ordinary life.
The second method is the acknowledgement of the senses – seeing,
  hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. Ordinary sensory experience
  tends to give rise to either liking or disliking; it therefore becomes
  a cause for addiction or aversion and ultimately suffering when it is
  not in line with one’s partialities. In order to keep the mind clear
  and impartial, one should always try to create clear awareness at the
  moment of sensory experience, rather than allowing the mind to judge
  the experience according to its habitual tendencies. When seeing,
  therefore, one should know it simply as seeing, reminding oneself
  “seeing, seeing”.

From the comments:

OP: Would it be possible to be mindful of discursive thoughts? The bodily and sensory mindfulnesses mentionned don't involve thoughts. Is
  mindulness only perceptual?

This question is answered in Ven. Yuttadhammo's booklet "How To Meditate" in "Chapter One: What Is Meditation" referenced below.
The additional foundations of mindfulness after body, are feeling, thoughts and dhammas (mental objects).
Concerning feelings, if you feel happy or calm, acknowledge it as "happy, happy" or "calm, calm".
Concerning thoughts, when your mind drifts away, usually pondering about the past or future, as soon as you recognize it, acknowledge it as "thinking, thinking". The idea here is to detach from them and not cause you to react to them. For e.g. if you remember some past unpleasant event, it will make you feel unhappy. But through mindfulness, you just acknowledge and let it go. As soon as you realize that you are thinking and acknowledge it, the thinking might stop.
Concerning mental objects, the example given in the excerpt is only the five hindrances. But there are also others. For more information on the Foundations of Mindfulness, please read this essay entitled "The Way of Mindfulness" by Ven. Soma Thera.

When we feel happy, we acknowledge it in the same way, reminding
  ourselves of the true nature of the experience, as “happy, happy,
  happy”. It is not that we are trying to push away the pleasurable
  sensation. We are simply insuring that we do not attach to it either,
  and therefore do not create states of addiction, attachment, or
  craving for the sensation.....
Likewise, when we feel calm, we say to ourselves, “calm, calm, calm”,
  .....
The third foundation is our thoughts. When we remember events in the
  past, whether they bring pleasure or suffering, we say to ourselves,
  “thinking, thinking”. Instead of giving rise to attachment or
  aversion, we simply know them for what they are – thoughts. When we
  plan or speculate about the future, we likewise simply come to be
  aware of the fact that we are thinking, instead of liking or disliking
  the content of the thoughts, and thus avoid the fear, worry, or stress
  that they might bring.
The fourth foundation, the “dhammas”, contains many groupings of
  mental and physical phenomena. Some of them could be included in the
  first three foundations, but they are better discussed in their
  respective groups for ease of acknowledgement. The first group of
  dhammas is the five hindrances to mental clarity. These are the states
  that obstruct one’s practise: desire, aversion, laziness, distraction,
  and doubt. They are not only hindrances to attaining clarity of mind,
  they are also the cause for all suffering and stress in our lives. It
  is in our best interests to work intently to understand and discard
  them from our minds, as this is, after all, the true purpose of
  meditation.
So when we feel desire, when we want something we don’t have, or are
  attached to something we do, we simply acknowledge the wanting or the
  liking for what it is, rather than erroneously translating desire into
  need. We remind ourselves of the emotion for what it is, thus:
  “wanting, wanting”, “liking, liking”. We come to see that desire and
  attachment are stressful and causes for future disappointment when we
  cannot obtain the things we want or lose the things we like.
When we feel angry, upset by mental or physical experiences that have
  arisen, or disappointed by those that have not, we recognize this as
  “angry, angry” or “disliking, disliking”. When we are sad, frustrated,
  bored, scared, depressed, etc., we likewise recognize each emotion for
  what it is, “sad, sad”, “frustrated, frustrated”, etc., and see
  clearly how we are causing suffering and stress for ourselves by
  encouraging these negative emotional states. Once we see the negative
  results of anger, we will naturally incline away from it in the
  future.
When we feel lazy, we say to ourselves, “lazy, lazy” or “tired,
  tired”, and we will find that we are able to regain our natural energy
  in this way. When we are distracted, worried or stressed, we can say,
  “distracted, distracted”, “worried, worried”, or “stressed, stressed”
  and we will find that we are more focused. When we feel doubt or are
  confused about what to do, we can say to ourselves “doubting,
  doubting” or “confused, confused”, and likewise we will find that we
  are more sure of ourselves as a result.
The clear awareness of these four foundations constitutes the basic
  technique of meditation practise as explained in the following
  chapters. It is therefore important to understand this theoretical
  framework before beginning to undertake the practise of meditation.
  Understanding and appreciating the importance of creating a clear
  awareness about the objects of our experience as a replacement to our
  judgemental thoughts is the first step in learning how to meditate.


user-1: I think my teacher put this best - "half of Zen practice these days is teaching people how to be a loser!"  In the West (and Japan), at least, we are addicted to work and productivity.  The most "virtuous" among us are those who forgo sleep, work an asinine amount of hours, and generally occupy their time with all manner of industry.  It's at once a delusion and an addiction.  These social norms impel us to monetize every moment.  The also make us wholly negligent of the calm required for effective internal contemplation.
When chopping wood, chop wood.  When carrying water, carry water.  When you're on the bus, just sit on the bus!  Let loose.  Relax.  Let the samatha arise.  Sit back and enjoy the ride.  

user8044: Skillful activity is getting your head and your heart to respect each other, and in being mindful as you go about in life. Then your head and your heart can take each other far when you can remain mindful, even amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Your heart needs the help of your head to generate and act on more skillful emotions. Your head needs your heart to remind you that what's really important in life is putting an end to suffering. They need each other.  When you come to this realism, you will dwell in “kaya passaddi”. 
To explain the above, I must give you another meaning to words like “Kaya”. Such words come under Adhi-vacana – meaning - the same word has different meanings depending on the sutta, and how it gets used. Here “kaya” refers to action; action of the mind. So, “passaddi” refers to serene, tranquil nature of action. Actions of mind become tranquil only when the mind is devoid of “heat”, resulting from the existence of defilements such as lobha (greed) and dosa (aversion). 
There is a tendency of mind to grasp objects. The action of mind (kaya) is always to grasp something. When one’s mind reaches the stage of passaddi (quietude, serenity), the action of grasping takes place in a tranquil manner.  A person who has developed this quietude of mind discerns greed or aversion exactly at the time that these qualities appear in his mind. This discernment which synchronizes with the arising of greed or aversion in mind is the correct way of “anupassana”. Anupassana means “discard according to the principles learned” (“anu” means according to and “passana” means to get rid of).
Let’s take an example where a youth coming face to face with a pretty girl. The sight of a pretty girl is a sensuous sense object for a young guy. If this guy is one who cultivates good or worthwhile qualities in the mind, then, he sense the arising of greed at the sight of the pretty girl. Therefore, he applies “anupassana” in respect of the sense object. Likewise, if this girl walks past the boy completely ignoring him, that could cause anger in him. If the boy could note the anger in his mind, then, he applies “anupassana”. As his sole objective was to maintain a wholesome state of mind, devoid of greed and aversion, he was successful in doing so at the sight of a pretty girl. This is meditation, if you take it in its truest sense of meaning. 
When you conduct yourself in this way, in whatever you do, or wherever that you go, then you experience that more often than not, your body calms down and your mind is completely relaxed. Your brain's thinking is slower, your mind is clear and you may even feel slightly drowsy or idle. But worry not, as this is “being intelligent”. Being intelligent signifies being able to exist with a happy, blissful mind. Happiness is the tranquil nature of mind. Happiness arises in mind. It manifests through bodily and verbal actions.  Such a person will go about things in a happy, blissful way. 
However, such a mental state is shrouded with our own suffering if we cannot get our head and heart to respect each other, and in being mindful. Once this is done and once the suffering is eliminated, dormant happiness begins to surface in a mind. Then anything that you do constitutes skillful activity.

-1: <p>My question is basically as to what constitutes skillful and unskillful activity.  I noticed I return to unskillful craving-related activities when I am idle. However, I cannot ascertain what is skillful in terms of activities. I would think the application of effort is important in terms of an activity, because I am often contemplating/analyzing ideas, but in a slightly lazy way. </p>

<p>Concretely, is idleness bad? For example, I often take public transport, wherein I contemplate certain subjects. But, I often tell myself I should read in public transport instead. </p>

<p>I think to me, some contemplative activity occurs when idle, but it is not focused, nor effortful. Can mere contemplation without much effort or focus be called meditation? Or is it simply wasting time?</p>

<p>Thank you. </p>

<p>EDIT: Also, I would think activity and industriousness generates energy in some sense. What states accompany idleness? (e.g. lethargy, fragmentation, etc.)</p>
 471: <p>In <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.020.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Vitakkasanthana Sutta</a>, the Buddha advised:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Just as a skilled carpenter or his apprentice would use a small peg to
  knock out, drive out, and pull out a large one; in the same way, if
  evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with
  <strong>desire, aversion, or delusion</strong> — arise in a monk while he is referring to and attending to a particular theme, <strong>he should attend to
  another theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful</strong>.
  When he is attending to this other theme, apart from that one,
  connected with what is skillful, then those evil, unskillful thoughts
  — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and
  subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within,
  settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So, if you're afflicted with thoughts imbued with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_poisons" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the three poisons</a> (desire/ greed/ attachment, aversion/ hatred and delusion), then this is the sign of unskillful thoughts. The Buddha advises above to switch to other thoughts which are skillful (which are the opposite of the three poisons), then advises to concentrate the mind (in the context of meditation).</p>

<p>Of course, outside of the context of meditation, one should recognize unskillful thoughts imbued with the three poisons, then switch to other themes.</p>

<p>Concerning idleness or laziness, the <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.ksw0.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sigalovada Sutta</a> states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"And what six ways of squandering wealth are to be avoided? Young man,
  heedlessness caused by intoxication, roaming the streets at
  inappropriate times, habitual partying, compulsive gambling, bad
  companionship, and laziness are the six ways of squandering wealth.</p>
  
  <p>"These are the six dangers inherent in laziness: saying, 'It's too
  cold,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too hot,' one does not work;
  saying, 'It's too late,' one does not work; saying, 'It's too early,'
  one does not work; saying, 'I'm too hungry,' one does not work;
  saying, 'I'm too full,' one does not work. With an abundance of
  excuses for not working, new wealth does not accrue and existing
  wealth goes to waste."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Although I couldn't find the exact sutta reference, <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/desilva/wheel337.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this essay</a> by Lily de Silva states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In one sutta (A. III, 293) the Buddha explains how to prepare for a
  peaceful death. One has to organize one's life and cultivate an
  appropriate attitude for this purpose. The instructions given there
  are as follows:</p>
  
  <p>(1) <strong>One should not be fond of a busy life involved in various activities.</strong><br>
  (2) One should not be fond of being talkative.<br>
  (3) One should not be fond of sleeping.<br>
  (4) One should not be fond of having too many companions.<br>
  (5) One should not be fond of too much social intercourse.<br>
  (6) <strong>One should not be fond of daydreaming.</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>There is a kind of a middle way advised above, where one should neither be too busy in too many activities, nor daydreaming or oversleeping or over-socializing.</p>

<p>If you have idle time on your hands, you can use it for skillful activities like reading good material (like <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/8463/471">this book</a>), or by cultivating mindfulness.</p>

<p>In his booklet "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How To Meditate</a>", <a href="http://buddhistinsights.com/yuttadhammo-bhikkhu/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ven. Yuttadhammo</a> advises in "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chapter Six: Daily Life</a>":</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Once one has put aside activities that interfere with clarity of mind,
  one can begin to incorporate meditative awareness into ordinary life.</strong>
  There are two ways in which one can meditate on ordinary experience,
  and they should be practiced together, as follows.</p>
  
  <p>The first method is to focus one’s attention on the body, since it is
  the most clearly evident aspect of experience. As in formal
  meditation, the body is always available for observation, and thus
  serves as a convenient means of creating clear awareness of reality in
  daily life. Since the body is generally in one of four postures –
  walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one can simply become aware
  of one’s posture as a meditation object to bring about clarity of
  mind. .......</p>
  
  <p><strong>When cooking, cleaning, exercising, showering, changing clothes, even
  on the toilet, one can be mindful of the movements of the body
  involved, creating clear awareness of reality at all times.</strong> This is
  the first method by which one can and should incorporate the
  meditation practice directly into ordinary life.</p>
  
  <p>The second method is the acknowledgement of the senses – seeing,
  hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. Ordinary sensory experience
  tends to give rise to either liking or disliking; it therefore becomes
  a cause for addiction or aversion and ultimately suffering when it is
  not in line with one’s partialities. <strong>In order to keep the mind clear
  and impartial, one should always try to create clear awareness at the
  moment of sensory experience, rather than allowing the mind to judge
  the experience according to its habitual tendencies.</strong> When seeing,
  therefore, one should know it simply as seeing, reminding oneself
  “seeing, seeing”.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>From the comments:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>OP:</strong> Would it be possible to be mindful of discursive thoughts? The bodily and sensory mindfulnesses mentionned don't involve thoughts. Is
  mindulness only perceptual?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This question is answered in Ven. Yuttadhammo's booklet "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How To Meditate</a>" in "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-one-what-is-meditation/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chapter One: What Is Meditation</a>" referenced below.</p>

<p>The additional foundations of mindfulness after body, are feeling, thoughts and dhammas (mental objects).</p>

<p>Concerning feelings, if you feel happy or calm, acknowledge it as "happy, happy" or "calm, calm".</p>

<p>Concerning thoughts, when your mind drifts away, usually pondering about the past or future, as soon as you recognize it, acknowledge it as "thinking, thinking". The idea here is to detach from them and not cause you to react to them. For e.g. if you remember some past unpleasant event, it will make you feel unhappy. But through mindfulness, you just acknowledge and let it go. As soon as you realize that you are thinking and acknowledge it, the thinking might stop.</p>

<p>Concerning mental objects, the example given in the excerpt is only the five hindrances. But there are also others. For more information on the Foundations of Mindfulness, please read this essay entitled "<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Way of Mindfulness</a>" by Ven. Soma Thera.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>When we feel happy, we acknowledge it in the same way, reminding
  ourselves of the true nature of the experience, as “happy, happy,
  happy”.</strong> It is not that we are trying to push away the pleasurable
  sensation. We are simply insuring that we do not attach to it either,
  and therefore do not create states of addiction, attachment, or
  craving for the sensation.....</p>
  
  <p>Likewise, when we feel calm, we say to ourselves, “calm, calm, calm”,
  .....</p>
  
  <p><strong>The third foundation is our thoughts. When we remember events in the
  past, whether they bring pleasure or suffering, we say to ourselves,
  “thinking, thinking”. Instead of giving rise to attachment or
  aversion, we simply know them for what they are – thoughts.</strong> When we
  plan or speculate about the future, we likewise simply come to be
  aware of the fact that we are thinking, instead of liking or disliking
  the content of the thoughts, and thus avoid the fear, worry, or stress
  that they might bring.</p>
  
  <p><strong>The fourth foundation, the “dhammas”, contains many groupings of
  mental and physical phenomena. Some of them could be included in the
  first three foundations, but they are better discussed in their
  respective groups for ease of acknowledgement. The first group of
  dhammas is the five hindrances to mental clarity. These are the states
  that obstruct one’s practise: desire, aversion, laziness, distraction,
  and doubt.</strong> They are not only hindrances to attaining clarity of mind,
  they are also the cause for all suffering and stress in our lives. It
  is in our best interests to work intently to understand and discard
  them from our minds, as this is, after all, the true purpose of
  meditation.</p>
  
  <p>So when we feel desire, when we want something we don’t have, or are
  attached to something we do, we simply acknowledge the wanting or the
  liking for what it is, rather than erroneously translating desire into
  need. We remind ourselves of the emotion for what it is, thus:
  “wanting, wanting”, “liking, liking”. We come to see that desire and
  attachment are stressful and causes for future disappointment when we
  cannot obtain the things we want or lose the things we like.</p>
  
  <p>When we feel angry, upset by mental or physical experiences that have
  arisen, or disappointed by those that have not, we recognize this as
  “angry, angry” or “disliking, disliking”. When we are sad, frustrated,
  bored, scared, depressed, etc., we likewise recognize each emotion for
  what it is, “sad, sad”, “frustrated, frustrated”, etc., and see
  clearly how we are causing suffering and stress for ourselves by
  encouraging these negative emotional states. Once we see the negative
  results of anger, we will naturally incline away from it in the
  future.</p>
  
  <p>When we feel lazy, we say to ourselves, “lazy, lazy” or “tired,
  tired”, and we will find that we are able to regain our natural energy
  in this way. When we are distracted, worried or stressed, we can say,
  “distracted, distracted”, “worried, worried”, or “stressed, stressed”
  and we will find that we are more focused. When we feel doubt or are
  confused about what to do, we can say to ourselves “doubting,
  doubting” or “confused, confused”, and likewise we will find that we
  are more sure of ourselves as a result.</p>
  
  <p><strong>The clear awareness of these four foundations constitutes the basic
  technique of meditation practise as explained in the following
  chapters. It is therefore important to understand this theoretical
  framework before beginning to undertake the practise of meditation.</strong>
  Understanding and appreciating the importance of creating a clear
  awareness about the objects of our experience as a replacement to our
  judgemental thoughts is the first step in learning how to meditate.</p>
</blockquote>
 -1: <p>I think my teacher put this best - "half of Zen practice these days is teaching people how to be a loser!"  In the West (and Japan), at least, we are addicted to work and productivity.  The most "virtuous" among us are those who forgo sleep, work an asinine amount of hours, and generally occupy their time with all manner of industry.  It's at once a delusion and an addiction.  These social norms impel us to monetize every moment.  The also make us wholly negligent of the calm required for effective internal contemplation.</p>

<p>When chopping wood, chop wood.  When carrying water, carry water.  When you're on the bus, just sit on the bus!  Let loose.  Relax.  Let the samatha arise.  Sit back and enjoy the ride.  </p>
 8044: <p>Skillful activity is getting your head and your heart to respect each other, and in being mindful as you go about in life. Then your head and your heart can take each other far when you can remain mindful, even amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Your heart needs the help of your head to generate and act on more skillful emotions. Your head needs your heart to remind you that what's really important in life is putting an end to suffering. They need each other.  When you come to this realism, you will dwell in “kaya passaddi”. </p>

<p>To explain the above, I must give you another meaning to words like “Kaya”. Such words come under Adhi-vacana – meaning - the same word has different meanings depending on the sutta, and how it gets used. Here “kaya” refers to action; action of the mind. So, “passaddi” refers to serene, tranquil nature of action. Actions of mind become tranquil only when the mind is devoid of “heat”, resulting from the existence of defilements such as lobha (greed) and dosa (aversion). </p>

<p>There is a tendency of mind to grasp objects. The action of mind (kaya) is always to grasp something. When one’s mind reaches the stage of passaddi (quietude, serenity), the action of grasping takes place in a tranquil manner.  A person who has developed this quietude of mind discerns greed or aversion exactly at the time that these qualities appear in his mind. This discernment which synchronizes with the arising of greed or aversion in mind is the correct way of “anupassana”. Anupassana means “discard according to the principles learned” (“anu” means according to and “passana” means to get rid of).</p>

<p>Let’s take an example where a youth coming face to face with a pretty girl. The sight of a pretty girl is a sensuous sense object for a young guy. If this guy is one who cultivates good or worthwhile qualities in the mind, then, he sense the arising of greed at the sight of the pretty girl. Therefore, he applies “anupassana” in respect of the sense object. Likewise, if this girl walks past the boy completely ignoring him, that could cause anger in him. If the boy could note the anger in his mind, then, he applies “anupassana”. As his sole objective was to maintain a wholesome state of mind, devoid of greed and aversion, he was successful in doing so at the sight of a pretty girl. This is meditation, if you take it in its truest sense of meaning. </p>

<p>When you conduct yourself in this way, in whatever you do, or wherever that you go, then you experience that more often than not, your body calms down and your mind is completely relaxed. Your brain's thinking is slower, your mind is clear and you may even feel slightly drowsy or idle. But worry not, as this is “being intelligent”. Being intelligent signifies being able to exist with a happy, blissful mind. Happiness is the tranquil nature of mind. Happiness arises in mind. It manifests through bodily and verbal actions.  Such a person will go about things in a happy, blissful way. </p>

<p>However, such a mental state is shrouded with our own suffering if we cannot get our head and heart to respect each other, and in being mindful. Once this is done and once the suffering is eliminated, dormant happiness begins to surface in a mind. Then anything that you do constitutes skillful activity.</p>
