Thoughts are just the infinite appearing as thoughts. Thoughts are no more “useful” than any other appearance. We often seem to find ourselves apparently making a decision and basing it on a thought, but that’s just the self trying to stitch together what seems to be happening to be about someone with free will and choice, a history, and a future. Thoughts seem to happen, action seem to happen. There is nobody doing any of it. It is also all completely unconditioned; time-flow is not real.

Just as everything that seems to be appearing is revealed to be not only real but both real and unreal, thoughts are revealed to be both real and unreal. How can a though, a concept, possibly have anything useful to reveal about what seems to be happening? A thought is like using one word to describe a great painting.