In the pursuit of wisdom in the midst of a slight funk I was reading Buddhadasa Bhikkhu on Anapanasati Bhavana about seeing if the mind is stable(done in meditation). "Normally most common people have not been emancipated spiritually in so far as the mind is concerned, so how are we going to know what a liberated mind is like? The answer is to think of the reverse of the present troubled state of mind. For example(s), if at present the mind is full of worries, a liberated mind will be just the opposite—free from all worries, if the mind clings to happiness, a liberated mind clings to nothing, not even happiness; if the present mind is troubled, chaotic and full of suffering, a truly liberated mind will be free of troubles, peaceful and calm. This is the way to picture what a liberated mind is like."
Now, we all know you can implement this in daily life as the person who meditates is the exact same one who is out trying to make sense out of daily life. We can chose to let go of mental images that provoke dis-ease and start to introduce joy even under the most difficult situations. So, how do you see yourself?
Because I think this can be an entry point. Case in point, I like people to know that I have a brain injury, so they know why talking is difficult for me, but upon further examination no one can know your suffering or understand it, they have their own and are really engaged in their own. So, exactly why would they trade sides?
2 comments:
I think that is one of the most difficult things about suffering - no one else can even fully understand what your particular struggles are like for YOU. This is true even of people who have had similar experiences. Every person experiences pain differently.
Thanks, keep going with that mindful based therapy. I have seen so many people stuck in a particular way of seeing their life, to the point of never being able to see a way out. I did sit down one time with a therapist when I lost a job, and I noticed it brought up a lot of other problems. But after a month of seeing her weekly, I knew that she would make me or I would have to begin to see it all differently. I quit and got busy, tripping and falling in my own way. Now I look back at that job loss, as a small taste of suffering.
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