Categories: Maintaining Mindfulness
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
For those of you who follow our spiritual explorations, you are already familiar with using mindfulness to investigate the thoughts that arise, persist, and pass away within your own mind. You have practical experience in seeing how thoughts and mindfulness interact. Today, we will take this practice one step further, looking deeper into the workings of the mind as we navigate our daily lives.
We all engage in various tasks and face different situations every day. As you know from your own experience, these situations trigger thoughts within us. The goal is to develop a deeper awareness of these subtle mental movements and uncover the hidden intentions that often accompany them.
The Good Deed with a Hidden Attachment
Let’s consider a practical example. Imagine you are about to help someone, whether you are a man or a woman, this applies equally. Perhaps you see an attractive young person in need of assistance. Your initial intention might be one of pure loving-kindness, known in Buddhism as Mettā. This is a wholesome wish for another’s well-being.
However, since we are not fully enlightened beings, our minds are complex. As you perform this act of kindness, perhaps giving money or a meal, I invite you to observe your mind carefully. Alongside the genuine feeling of Mettā, do you notice another feeling arising? Perhaps it is a subtle sense of attraction or a flicker of desire for that person. This is what we call Tṛṣṇā, or craving.
You might notice other hidden intentions. Does a thought arise wishing, ‘If only this person would stay with me,’ ‘I hope they keep talking to me,’ or ‘I wish they would always rely on me for help’? These thoughts, a form of greed or attachment (Lobha), can subtly cling to a wholesome act of kindness. From my own exploration of the mind, I can say with certainty that this happens. It is a part of the human condition.
We give with one hand, letting go of greed, but with the other, we unconsciously expect something back, even something as small as a ‘thank you.’ An initially pure thought of kindness can become mixed with an impure, unwholesome thought.
Recognizing the Subtle Mental Defilements (Kilesa)
These subtle, clinging thoughts that tarnish our good deeds are known in Buddhism as Kilesa, which can be translated as ‘mental defilements’ or ‘impurities.’ They are not just about desire. Do you find yourself hoping for recognition when you perform a great act of merit, like organizing a large offering? Do you secretly wish for your name to be praised?
In almost every good thing we do, there is often a subtle, underlying unwholesome thought clinging to it. We might help someone and then crave their praise or hope they tell others about our generosity. Recognizing these hidden intentions is the first, crucial step. It is simply about seeing them for what they are: a form of Kilesa.
For those who wish to understand this more deeply, I highly recommend the works of the venerable Sri Lankan monk, Rerukane Chandawimala Nayaka Thero. His books, such as ‘Vanchaka Dharma ha Chitta Upakklesha’ (Deceitful Phenomena and Mental Defilements) and ‘Keles Ekdahas Pansiya’ (The 1,500 Defilements), offer profound insights into these matters. As you practice mindfulness and observe your mind, these teachings will resonate deeply with your own experiences.
The Practice: Mindfulness Over Judgment
This teaching is not meant to discourage you from doing good. It is not a call to stop giving, to stop helping beautiful people, or to cease performing acts of kindness. The instruction is simple: as you engage in these wholesome actions with your words, thoughts, and deeds, simply recognize the accompanying Kilesa with mindfulness. That is all. You don’t need to do anything else. Just see it.
As you continue this practice, again and again and again, something remarkable happens. The wholesome act begins to purify itself. The true Mettā becomes stronger, and the clinging thoughts of hidden intentions weaken and fall away.
Let’s return to the example of helping an attractive person. With sustained practice, the thoughts of ‘I should get their phone number,’ ‘I want to keep talking to them about spiritual matters,’ or ‘I want to continue this connection’ will naturally fade. The layers of craving, greed, and desire that surround the initial kind thought will dissolve.
Eventually, you will simply offer the help that is needed in that moment. There will be no expectation of a ‘thank you,’ no desire to know their name, and no impulse to check up on them later. You provide the help, and that is all. The act becomes pure. This is how sustained practice reveals true, selfless compassion.
The Pure Mind of the Enlightened
The state of a truly pure mind is exemplified by the enlightened beings, the Buddhas, Pacceka Buddhas (silent Buddhas), and Arahants (fully liberated disciples). Their acts are not tainted by these hidden intentions. For them, a thought of loving-kindness is just that, pure loving-kindness. A thought of compassion (Karunā), sympathetic joy (Muditā), or equanimity (Upekkhā) is direct and unadulterated.
This is why the Buddha’s compassion is called Great Compassion (Mahā Karunā). When these noble ones give, they just give. There are no clinging attachments. Our practice of mindfulness is the path to cultivating this same purity. In contrast, an ordinary person helps others with a thousand hidden expectations. The Buddha taught monks to practice so purely that they do not even expect a ‘Sadhu’ (a traditional expression of appreciation) after giving a Dhamma talk.
Expecting praise, even subtly, means the teaching is not delivered with pure Mettā. An aspiring practitioner trains their mind to let go of this, offering the teaching freely without expecting good or bad in return. This is the path to an unshakable mind, one that is not swayed by the ‘Eight Worldly Winds’: praise and blame, gain and loss, fame and disrepute, pleasure and pain. By observing our hidden intentions, we slowly move toward this balanced, middle way.
Applying This Awareness in Your Everyday Life
I encourage you to apply this deep level of observation to every aspect of your life. Look for these hidden intentions when you are eating, drinking, or interacting with your mother. If you are involved in social service, observe whether you expect praise or fear criticism for your work. These are very subtle inquiries.
I use the example of young men and women because it is easily understood, but this principle applies everywhere. Observe your mind during:
- An offering of light (Aloka Puja)
- An offering of robes (Kathina Puja)
- An offering of food to the Sangha at home
- Donating to an orphanage
- Organizing a public food stall (Dansala)
In every wholesome thought and action, watch how the mind operates. Even the act of taking a photo of your charitable work and posting it online, which is neither inherently good nor bad, is an opportunity for investigation. Ask yourself honestly: ‘What was my true motivation for posting that photo? What subtle thoughts were attached to that action?’ You will begin to see how our thoughts are rarely straightforward.
This is why it is said that enlightened beings have a ‘straight’ or ‘direct’ mind. For them, Mettā is just Mettā. For us, our wholesome states are often mixed. Sometimes, for a fleeting moment, we might experience a moment of pure, direct kindness without any attachment, even if we are not enlightened. But this state is not stable. For an Arahant, this purity is constant, a 24/7 reality. Our practice is to move from fleeting moments of purity to a more stable and established purity of heart.
Your Path to Liberation
By training in this way, you develop a deep understanding of your own mind. The defilements (Kilesa) begin to wear away. This is how you shorten your journey through Saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death. It is this very practice that can lead one to liberation, even in this lifetime.
Just as unwholesome thoughts can cling to good deeds, sometimes wholesome thoughts can arise alongside unwholesome ones. The key is mindfulness. For those unfamiliar with our teachings on mindfulness, I encourage you to explore our previous articles, especially the one on silently watching the mind. This will provide a firm foundation for the practice described here.
As you continue to practice mindfulness (Sati) and develop wisdom (Paññā), you will see these mixed thoughts arise and pass away. You will notice that by simply observing them without getting involved, these unwholesome tendencies weaken, diminish, and eventually cease to arise. This is the practice. This is the path. I will continue to share more on how to identify and work with the mind’s defilements from different angles in the future.
As we conclude, may the power and blessings of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, the Triple Gem, be with you. May you gain the mindful awareness and wisdom to recognize the wholesome thoughts, the unwholesome thoughts that cling to them, and the subtle impurities that arise in your mind. May this practice guide you toward clarity and freedom.
We invite you to walk this path with us. Read our teachings, and most importantly, apply them practically in your own life. as you practice, questions will naturally arise. Please feel free to share your experiences and questions in the comments below, via email or contact form. I will do my best to offer guidance in future talks based on your progress. For now, begin this practice with an open heart and a mind free from expectation. Cultivate it correctly, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek.
Thank you for joining us. We hope this blog will be of great benefit to your spiritual journey.
May you all be well and happy.
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
