something to ask
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Defilement + habitual tendency = reaction ?
[ one of the condition is ignorant identification of dualism ]
Being mindful one is angry, if one is wise enough will walk away before it blows up. but then when one is very angry, human tend to let emotion to take over and it sometime clouds the mind so we might do actions that we might regret later.
So how does being mindful stop the angry emotion from perpetuating?
u can suppress awhile and do other stuffs to forget about it. but then negative emotion can still arises when the right condition is there [ like u saw something and it reminds u of there thing which cause anger ] but this is unless u have completely let go of the matters...which isn't a easy thing to do. -
One more thing.. doesn't mean enlightened people do not watch movie, etc. They're simply not bonded or attached. But I do know some of them who love to watch movies.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Desire to watch movie, eat meat, become rich and reborn in heaven are all attachments that must be relinquished slowly... and they all causes sufferings. Desire for enlightenment is the last desire and of course will eventually go, too, when we reach enlightenment... like a raft that is discarded when one reaches the shore. Even so a practitioner must be careful to make sure his practise is not a completely goal-oriented practise, but insight into his true nature must be developed moment to moment, or Now to Now. -
Originally posted by Isis:
In a way thats so... habitual tendencies, defilements, ignorance are all interrelated. Ignorance perpetuates all these through identification, judgement, preferences, aversion and attraction and attachment, all forms of 'doing'.
Defilement + habitual tendency = reaction ?
[ one of the condition is ignorant identification of dualism ]
(12:59 AM) Thusness: it is the habitual tendency of the mind to "do"
(12:59 AM) Thusness: we are always 'doing'
(1:00 AM) Thusness: when thought arises, we ascribed meanings to it, so 'evil' or 'holy', we still 'act'
(1:00 AM) Thusness: a dualistic mind is in action always
(1:01 AM) Thusness: so much so that we do not know how to 'non-do'
(1:01 AM) Thusness: so don't do is doing.
(1:01 AM) Thusness: do also doing.
(1:01 AM) Thusness: it is thus realisation that liberates. Not doing.Being mindful one is angry, if one is wise enough will walk away before it blows up. but then when one is very angry, human tend to let emotion to take over and it sometime clouds the mind so we might do actions that we might regret later.
When one is mindful, there is no more identification and reaction to a story... what happens is just what is happening in the moment - thoughts passes away instantaneously as it arises, bodily sensations and the emotions, also fleeting and constantly changing, just that. There is no mental stories of 'I am hurt, He or she was bad to me', and so on. There is just a non-preferential, non-egotistic mirror-like mind reflecting/aware of everything as it is.. but grasping on none.
So how does being mindful stop the angry emotion from perpetuating?
u can suppress awhile and do other stuffs to forget about it. but then negative emotion can still arises when the right condition is there [ like u saw something and it reminds u of there thing which cause anger ] but this is unless u have completely let go of the matters...which isn't a easy thing to do. -
ahh i see longchen's advise for me works- the other thread. it stops since yesterday but then when i saw something, my heart feel tight but then arise and fall... so does metta sutta... it works.. and ur advise too
thx
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Glad you're feeling better nowOriginally posted by Isis:ahh i see longchen's advise for me works- the other thread. it stops since yesterday but then when i saw something, my heart feel tight but then arise and fall... so does metta sutta... it works.. and ur advise too
thx
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Anger, like any other defilement, is not your true nature. It is a temporary defilement, that arises based upon compounding factors, and ceases when the causes and conditions go apart.Originally posted by Isis:Defilement + habitual tendency = reaction ?
[ one of the condition is ignorant identification of dualism ]
Being mindful one is angry, if one is wise enough will walk away before it blows up. but then when one is very angry, human tend to let emotion to take over and it sometime clouds the mind so we might do actions that we might regret later.
So how does being mindful stop the angry emotion from perpetuating?
u can suppress awhile and do other stuffs to forget about it. but then negative emotion can still arises when the right condition is there [ like u saw something and it reminds u of there thing which cause anger ] but this is unless u have completely let go of the matters...which isn't a easy thing to do.
Therefore, the Buddha taught a few ways to deal with such defilements. I'm not sure if there's a framework for it....but the following is a general summary of what I've learnt before from some teachers.
(1) Examine the impermanent/fleeting nature of defilements
Look at your anger. How long can you make it last? Can you make it last for 1 hour? 1 day? 2 days? 1 week? 10 days?
Very difficult. You'll need immense single-pointed concentration on anger in order to sustain that kind of anger. *grins*
By its own nature, anger is impermanent. Even when you're very angry, the next moment your stomach growls and your mind turns to "hunger", then next moment it flips back to feeling "angry" again, then the next moment, the mind gets engaged with another thought of the TV programme you watched yesterday.... so on and so forth.
Recognize that anger can't last. Even if you try very hard, by virtue of its compounded nature, i.e. dependent on causes & conditions, anger can't last, even if you pray hard for it to last.
(2) Apply the antidote emotion
Just as when there is light, there cannot be any darkness; when there is heat, there cannot be any cold - enhancing one antidote emotion automatically diminishes the opposite.
When you are angry, you can apply the remedy emotion of loving-kindness & compassion. When your mind is occupied by thoughts of loving-kindness & compassion, there is no space for anger to arise. Therefore, try all kinds of methods, such as thinking of how this person who makes you angry is also suffering from pain, thinking of how many other people are in worse situations than you, generating the aspiration that one day you will be able to generate endless loving-kindness & compassion etc... whatever works for you.
When you do that, again it's a reminder to us that anger is impermanent and only temporary. Once the causes & conditions for anger go apart, you can't find it anywhere.
(3) Know that your true nature has never ever been stained by such temporary defilements. Therefore such defilements are removable.
You have to recognize that at that moment you are angry, but you are NOT anger.
Knowing that you are NOT anger is important, because then anger is removable.
Just like when there is a stain on your window, you know that the stain is not part of your window, that is why you will clean away the stain. If you don't believe that the stain is removable, if you thought that the stain were part of the window, then you wouldn't even attempt to clean it away.
Likewise, when your anger arises, recognize the fact that you want to and you can actually remove anger is because it was never part of your true nature. Know that the stain is clean-able. The anger and all other defilements are removable. Your original nature (often referred to as Buddha Nature, or Tathagatha-garbha, or kham) is primordially pure and unstained.
(4) Recognize the times when your Buddha Nature 'leaked out'
Once in a while, we suddenly have an instantaneous thought of "wanting to help somebody who's suffering", or a sudden urge to renounce worldly pursuits, or a genuine sense of sadness towards Samsara etc.... at these moments recognize that it's our Buddha Nature 'leaking out' through the thick karmic blanket.
It's not easy, because at the next instance the thick karmic blanket comes to cover it up again. But try to have it a little bit more...maybe at least 'allow' it to leak out 1/millionth of a second per week..or something like that. hehe at first we got to fabricate it, but after some time it'll become slightly 'more natural'....all the way until we eventually recognize our true nature.
(5) Rather than talking and thinking so much (as of the above), just be in the present and watch what's happening.
Being present. Do nothing. That's the best. Do not pursue the past moment, do not construct the next moment, do not do anything, do not "don't do" anything. Just watch.
Or using Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's explanation on meditation, he said that we should just "ignore" everything that's happening in our mind. "Ignore" means that you know, and you ignore. If you don't know someone is present, you can't "ignore" him. Therefore, know your anger and ignore.
(6) Aspire that one day you will be able to enjoy defilements.
Right now we're still trying to clean the window. Therefore we have methods such as "letting go of the anger", "generating compassion" etc - these are all the practice of "cleaning the stains away". When we practice long enough, we will gradually see the "appearance of a clean window" - i.e. our minds become kinder, softer, etc...
But actually there is no such thing as the "appearance of a clean window", because the window has never been dirtied before. Remember? The stain was never part of the window. Therefore, while clearing away the stain allows the "clean" window to appear, after your cleaning, the window is not any cleaner, nor is it any less dirty.
Therefore, the stains (defilements) were never a problem at all. Our primordially pure Buddha nature had never been stained, and has never been moved. Thus the Heart Sutra says "no arising, no cessation; no increase, no decrease".
At that time, defilements are not an issue anymore.
For now, it's pretty much beyond us. So the best is just to aspire that one day we will 'realize' that.
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As I said, it's pretty much a summary of what I learnt, or what I thought I learnt. Any faults are due to me and not the teachers. But may the wisdom & compassion of the great Dharma teachers benefit you and all suffering beings, including me. -
One more thing, you can also use your anger to contemplate on the 3 or 4 Dharma seals.
(1) Look at the impermanence of anger. It can't even last for 1 full hour.
(2) Look at the suffering of anger. How binding it is, how it turns you ugly, how it traps your mind, how much pain it is giving you. Even happiness can turn into anger. The anger that happiness can't last. The anger that your happiness was removed from you. the list goes on...
(3) Look at anger's lack of inherent existence. Try pinpointing where is anger, what is its shape, how does it look like? Can you find it? If the person you're angry at is removed, where is your anger? If you're now in the presence of someone you're secretly admiring and trying your best to impress that person, where is the anger?
Look at the anger's dependence upon causes and conditions to exist; and the anger's dependence on the lack of other causes and conditions in order for it to exist.
Beyond the assembly of causes and conditions, no anger can be found.
(4) As long as there is duality, there is no true peace. Duality is Samsara, duality is aggression. Aspire for the realization of non-dual Enlightenment. -
Hey i feel much better now. In my admist of suffering, i tend to see everythings negative but in reality it is not really so. There are actually good things in life which i haven't been focusing on and there are people, friends and family who have given me emotional support.
aen- don't see it as problem, it couldn't be a problem. There advice is really good.I don't have hatred adi cos really not worthwhile. Both parties suffer alot and i'm aso at fault. It's karma. Accept it happily and make the best out of it.
Let it be~
Thx for all for the advices. Very grateful!
It has been an opportunity for me to learn to be more patience, anger-control, ego blah blah.
Homage to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
May all sentient beings be well and happy!
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Wow wanderer, what a great and detailed reply.
thx -
Thats great...Originally posted by Isis:Hey i feel much better now. In my admist of suffering, i tend to see everythings negative but in reality it is not really so. There are actually good things/people around me who give me emotional support.
aen- don't see it as problem, it couldn't be a problem. There advice is really good.I don't have hatred cos i realise both parties suffer alot and i'm aso at fault. It karma. Accept it happily and make the best out of it.
Let it be~
Yes i have see the effects of anger and impermance and attachment.
Homage to the Buddha, dharma and Sangha.
May all sentient beings be well and happy!
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Anyway sometimes its good to have such conditions that we usually see as 'problems'... otherwise we really cannot learn and grow in dharma. Knowledge is not enough to go beyond/see through them. May all sentient beings be unobstructed by any 'problems'. -
Yea you're right.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Thats great...
Anyway sometimes its good to have such conditions that we usually see as 'problems'... otherwise we really cannot learn and grow in dharma. Knowledge is not enough to go beyond/see through them. May all sentient beings be unobstructed by any 'problems'.
I just learnt that Jigme Lingpa used to have an aspiration prayer where he prays that in all his lifetimes he will be born in families with a lot of spiritual wealth.
And spiritual wealth includes things like a death of a loved one, an accident, a mishap, or anything.... that could shake us from our comfort zone in Samsara and turn our minds to the Dharma. It's a pity I don't have his exact words.
Anyway Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche said that it takes courage to make such an aspiration prayer for spiritual wealth. So he suggested that for people like us, we can start off by making the aspiration to be able to make such aspiration prayers one day.. hehe
Anyway like what you said, it's good to have a fair bit of suffering in life - so that seeing the pointlessness of worldly pursuits, we may generate the renunciation mind; and seeing the suffering of beings getting entangled in the unending cycle of planting the causes of pain and experiencing the result of pain, we generate the bodhicitta intention. These will then fuel us towards the realization of wisdom of emptiness. -
Originally posted by _wanderer_:
Yup.. well said
Yea you're right.
I just learnt that Jigme Lingpa used to have an aspiration prayer where he prays that in all his lifetimes he will be born in families with a lot of [b]spiritual wealth.
And spiritual wealth includes things like a death of a loved one, an accident, a mishap, or anything.... that could shake us from our comfort zone in Samsara and turn our minds to the Dharma. It's a pity I don't have his exact words.
Anyway Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche said that it takes courage to make such an aspiration prayer for spiritual wealth. So he suggested that for people like us, we can start off by making the aspiration to be able to make such aspiration prayers one day.. hehe
Anyway like what you said, it's good to have a fair bit of suffering in life - so that seeing the pointlessness of worldly pursuits, we may generate the renunciation mind; and seeing the suffering of beings getting entangled in the unending cycle of planting the causes of pain and experiencing the result of pain, we generate the bodhicitta intention. These will then fuel us towards the realization of wisdom of emptiness. [/b]