To be aware of our mind means to be aware of the “mental formations,” our various states of mind. A “formation” is anything that is made of other elements. A flower is a formation, a physical formation. It is made of sun, rain, soil, seed, and so on. Our hand is a physiological formation. Our anger is a mental formation; mindfulness and concentration are also mental formations. According to my tradition, there are fifty-one mental formations. As a young novice, I had to memorize all of them. It is important that we train ourselves to recognize each mental formation when it arises and to call it by its name. Contemplating the mind means contemplating the mental formations.