Clearing out the mind

I've been meaning to write this hub for quite a while now, inspired by my fellow hubber dohn121 and his excellentissimo story set in a Buddhist temple.

Reading dohn121's story brought to mind the time when I stayed in a Buddhist temple in Thailand. Before I get into my little story I'll mention that I only stayed one week but in that time I can honestly say I had fun. I made lots of friends, my Thai improved greatly and I provided the monks with amusement when I walked into the wall as I was bowing to them.

I admit though that as for enlightenment, well, I didn't get awfully far with that. I did everything I was supposed to - morning and evening chanting, meditation practice, eating one meal a day but I can't say I spent the time in between searching for the Dharma - I was too busy having a chinwag with my new friends and when it was meal time getting my favourite sticky rice cakes before anyone else got there.

Not much sign of enlightenment there.

Perhaps this may seem a little disrespectful to some people but it's not meant in that way. Besides if you're inclined to listen to Buddhism then you'll realise that 'respectful' and 'disrespectful' don't really exist. They're just products of the mind that passes judgement on the world and consequently we cling to this judgement and identify it as ourselves.

'This is my belief so this defines me.'

This brings about attachment because we see it as our idea and in this way we feed the ego. According to Buddhism, attachment is the root cause of all suffering. But it's not just attachment to beliefs and ideas but to the body, mind, feelings, knowledge - you name it really. Anything we try to hold on to will render us a slave.

Well, now that I've wondered into the topic of discussing Buddhism (without actually meaning to) I can try and expand on this as I have a little book called 'The overall Tripitaka' here which I bought in Thailand. (Tripitakas are the main literature of Buddhism). And, on the subject of attachment..

'Whatever one clings to, that brings about serious dissatisfaction which always brings about troubles like poison and always brings about danger.'

'Whoever revels in bodies, feelings, memories, thought, emotion or knowledge is not yet liberated...When you can liberate yourselves from those bondages, you will surely find bliss instead.'

So really in the end it's useless to grip onto emotions, feelings etc because they're not permanent but just fleeting energy. Possessions don't really exist.

Piece of cake, isn't it? Well, not really. And of course, going back to 'respect', as anyone who has visited a Buddhist temple knows, there are rules to adhere to before entering one. Shoes must be taken off outside and the bare sole should not be pointing in the direction of Buddha. So in a way, if you're delving into Buddhism, things can get confusing. If 'respect' is just a concept projected by the ego, why do we need to respect?

I'm presuming the answer would be that real respect is not forced but sincere and comes about from having a pure mind. And, according to Buddhism, a pure mind is what everyone should try to achieve - because that's the only way to find real happiness.

'Whatever one clings to - that brings about serious dissatisfaction which always brings about troubles about danger.'

But in some ways Buddhism could be misinterpreted to suit the whims of the follower - for example, if possessions don't really exist then wouldn't that mean a man could cheat on his wife? He doesn't belong to her after all, nor she to him. And their own bodies don't belong to themselves so can't they do what they like with them?

Well, the answer there is obviously that adultery would bring about a conflict in the mind and therefore cause suffering in the person. And of course, bringing suffering to others is to be avoided as well - for the sake of the perpetrator's mind as well. And here, my little book of Tripitaka gives me Buddha's instructions on the marital matter and it's interesting to see what the duties of a wife and husband are considered to be:

Duties of husbands

Good husbands will take care of their wives well in five duties:

1. publicly announcing her status,
2. not placing contempt upon her,
3. not committing adultery,
4. authorising her to manage the household matters,
5. giving her dresses and ornaments.

Duties of wives

Good wives will take care of their husbands well in five duties:

1. managing well the household matters,
2. taking good care of her husband's relatives,
3. not committing adultery,
4. protecting the husband's property,
5. willingness to help in all matters.

And here again I'm a little confused because, for me, giving your wife dresses and ornaments would surely be encouraging her to cling to material possessions? And protecting the husband's property - wouldn't that be doing the same? For that matter, wouldn't publicly announcing her status be encouraging her to be proud? Oh dear! I admit if I start reading too much I tend to go round in circles. But then I suppose I skim over the most important part...

'When you have tranquility in your mind, wisdom will enlighten your mind...To empower the mind one has to purify his mind, get rid of all obstructions.'

So really, it all boils down to keeping the mind peaceful. And that leads on to meditation. And there comes the tricky part.

You see, I'm starting to realise that in this day and age and with all that's going on in the world it's really important to have a peaceful mind. And well, Buddha does talk at great length of the benefits of meditation in the Tripitakas - it's taken me a few thousand years but I might start sitting up and listening now. Or just sitting.

Actually, I'm not Buddhist, nor any 'ist' really, so I wouldn't be able to tell you much about meditation even if I wanted to. But there are plenty of people who can and that's why I've added this video below where a 'Dada' from the Ananda Marga gives an introduction to meditation. Ananda Marga is an association that teaches meditation and yoga (not the fashionable kind) and various other things.

As for the video - well if you're interested I do advise watching it when you're good and ready as it's not really something to watch in a hurry (although it's only ten minutes long) but when you do I can tell you it'll be worth it.  Happy watching!

Ah! But I never got round to telling my story in the Buddhist temple...Well, I'll tell that some other day and just skip straight to the moral of the story...which is? Well, I suppose to look out for walls when you're bowing to monks.

Or alternatively that the path to enlightment may be long and arduous but it doesn't mean you're not going to have fun along the way.