Categories: Maintaining Mindfulness
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
Welcome. Through these practical teachings, we hope to offer you a deeper understanding of your own mind. Our minds are in a constant state of agitation. This is a topic we have explored frequently through the lens of mindfulness. The truth is, your mind can be disturbed at any moment.
To illustrate this, imagine a perfectly still lake. Picture it clearly in your mind. This lake, so calm and undisturbed, only becomes agitated when something falls into it, a leaf, a stone, or a piece of debris. A larger branch causes a bigger disturbance. A large stone thrown by someone creates even more turmoil. Our mind is just like this lake.
The Buddha taught that there are two primary things that we have conditioned our minds to be disturbed by: attachment and aversion. On one hand, there is desire or craving. On the other, there is hatred, anger, and aversion. As long as these two forces are at play within our minds, we can be certain of two things: our mind is not pure, and we do not have true mental freedom. This is the fundamental nature of the mind, and it is this that we must strive to overcome.
The Two Chains: How Attachment and Aversion Bind Us
Consider this for a moment. When your mind becomes attached to a person, an object, property, a vehicle, or money, how much do you suffer because of that attachment? Think of the struggle to acquire it, the effort to protect it, and the constant work to maintain it. It is, in simple terms, an exhausting ordeal. And if, for some reason, you are unable to keep that thing exactly as you want it, how deeply does your mind break down? We call this a mental collapse, and it is an inevitable consequence of attachment.
Similarly, what happens when you are forced to see a person you dislike, or when you have to endure an action you find unpleasant? A hateful, malevolent thought arises in your mind. A feeling of anger and aversion takes root. This, too, leads to a mental collapse. These two forces, attachment and aversion, are what prevent you from keeping your mind pure and achieving mental freedom.
From the moment we are small children until the day we die, these two experiences constantly arise in our minds. They are known in Buddhism as Lobha (greed or attachment) and Dosa (aversion or hatred). These two unwholesome roots are an unavoidable part of the untrained human experience.
The Illusion of Control and the Wisdom of Impermanence (Anicca)
If you can learn to live without being ensnared by these two forces, without becoming attached or developing aversion to any person or object, you will certainly achieve victory. This is a certainty. To do this, we must understand how the mind works. When we become attached to something, we become deeply bound to it. Because of this bond, we try to control it and make it conform to our wishes. However, as I mentioned earlier, we can only maintain this control for a limited time. We cannot maintain it forever.
This is a fundamental truth we must understand: we cannot keep things exactly as we want them. This is why the Buddha taught so profoundly on this topic. He explained that we cannot control anything in this world according to our will. Yet, out of our foolishness and ignorance, we constantly try to change and control the world to suit our desires. This is impossible. Everything is subject to change. People change, and objects change. They are all subject to the universal characteristic of impermanence, which in Buddhism is called Anicca. Everything belongs to this nature of constant change.
The Ripples of Kamma: How Our Mind-States Shape Our Reality and Beyond
This same principle applies to aversion. Anger and hatred are also states that things are subject to. This is simply the nature of the mind. Reflect on how much mental pressure you experience because of these two states. I have met many people trapped by attachment and aversion.
For example, think of a romantic relationship that ends. Because of the intense attachment, the separation causes a state of profound suffering. I have also seen people who marry with love and attachment, only to suffer mentally due to the conflicts and problems that arise within the marriage.
Consider property disputes. We often see long, drawn-out court cases over land. These exist solely because of attachment, causing some people to suffer for a huge portion of their lives. The same suffering arises from attachment to vehicles or money, even wealth stored in someone else’s account.
Now, think about your relatives who have passed away, your grandfather, grandmother, mother, or father. Reflect on what they were most attached to or what they held the most aversion towards in their final moments. Based on your own wisdom and understanding, you can get a sense of where they might have been reborn.
Often, at the moment of death, people cling to thoughts of their children and grandchildren. Isn’t this a form of craving, of attachment, arising in the mind? Because of this, they can sometimes be reborn as spirits or ghosts connected to the family, known as gnathi pretha. They then begin to trouble and harass the very children they loved. This is the nature of this process that we must understand.
The Universal Sickness: A World Suffering from Attachment and Aversion
And what if someone dies with a mind full of hatred? Their next existence is often driven by a desire for revenge. For instance, a mother-in-law might die with deep resentment for her daughter-in-law. After death, she might return as a demon or a snake, intent on taking revenge. This is how the cycle of karmic transactions, or Samsara, continues. Look at how much we suffer due to these two states of mind.
There are over seven billion people on this planet, and within their minds, you will find these same forces: anger, hatred, attachment, greed, and aversion. People suffer immensely because of this, but often they don’t even realize it. When you lose something you love, or when something you love causes you pain, the suffering is immense. I speak to so many people whose relationships have broken down or whose marriages are in turmoil.
Some have children, they have wealth, property, and vehicles, but they have no mental freedom. They have no peace. They are so broken down they cannot even eat properly. Their bodies waste away. They can barely swallow a mouthful of rice. They are under such immense mental pressure, all because of the nature of their own minds reacting to external events.
The Way Out: Practical Steps Towards Mental Freedom
So, what should you do? Understand this: for your entire life, until the day you die, you will face endless problems. Financial problems, relationship problems, worldly problems related to living and non-living things, problems at work, they will come from every direction.
Even if you do nothing, someone will find something to say about you. The Buddha taught that there is no one in this world who has not been blamed or criticized. This is the nature of the world. You cannot stop it. You cannot change it. This is just how it is.
Therefore, what must you try to do? You must understand these principles and train your mind to be like that still lake from the beginning of our talk, unagitated and calm. If your mind breaks down because of an attachment, train it. Train it little by little. You can explore our teachings on mindfulness, particularly those that guide you to silently watch your own mind. Practice according to the way that all Buddhas have taught.
As you practice, you will gain direct, practical experience. Think of a time when your mind was clear and free. Look at your mind in that moment. You will realize that at that time, you were not attached to anything, nor were you in conflict with anything. That is why you had mental freedom. Conversely, whenever you are agitated, it is always because of an attachment or an aversion present in that moment. Use your mindfulness to find it. Find that thought.
What am I attached to? What am I fighting against? The very moment you identify it, you will begin to feel a sense of release. As you get better at recognizing these thoughts, ‘I have no mental freedom because I am attached to this thought,’ or ‘I have no peace because I am filled with hatred from this thought’, your mind will become freer and lighter. This lightness brings profound peace.
A Timeless Teaching for a Troubled World
This teaching will be most understood by those who have experienced the various collisions, conflicts, and attachments of life. If you are young and have not yet faced such serious life experiences, you may not fully grasp it now. However, this teaching is for those who have suffered. And if you are young, remember these words, because you will inevitably face such things in your life. Start practicing now.
If you do, you will be able to live your life with less pressure and more happiness and peace than others, right up to your deathbed. This is absolutely possible. The practical teachings we share are drawn from our direct experience; they are not limited to books or theories. We teach the practical path, encompassing both tranquility (Samatha) and insight (Vipassana) meditation.
You have the ability to understand and act on these matters. If it were impossible, we would not teach it. If it were impossible, a Buddha would not have arisen in the world to teach us. The number one priority is your own mental well-being. You absolutely have the ability to achieve this state of mental freedom. I am sharing this teaching now because it is so relevant to our times. I will continue to offer such teachings in the future.
A Final Blessing for Your Journey
For today, I will conclude this teaching here. By the power of the Triple Gem, the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, may you all be able to understand these points well, engage in the training, free your minds from pressure, and attain true peace.
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!.
