The Mind
(Based on the notes I made during a talk I heard at IBPS, Xiang Yun Temple, Austin, TX Date:06/16/2004)
When the mind is pure
There is pure land.
If one's mind is pure
One is already there!
Our mind is like a factory
Manufacturing thoughts.
If the mind is pure,
So are our thoughts!
Mind is like a storage house.
It stores lots of thoughts - good and bad.
We show some,
And then hide some.
When the mind is sick,
The body becomes sick!
When the mind is healthy,
The body is healthy.
Secrets in one's mind
Keeps one ill-at-ease
And very uncomfortable.
No secrets! One is happy!
If one is not attached to anything,
Then one is not afraid of anything.
Fear comes from attachment.
No attachments! No fear!!
Good thoughts: If it is not in your mind, then grow it,
If it's already there, then nurture it.
Bad thoughts: If it is not in your mind, then prevent it from coming.
If it's already there, then eliminate it.
When anger arises,
Evil doors open.
Anger has the power
To destory all our virtues!
Mind is like a monkey. Hard to control!
It keeps moving .. from here to there!
From there to somewhere! Giving no moment of peace!
Hard it is to control this monkey-mind.
Mind is like lightning! Fast!
The speed of changing thoughts is like a lightning!
In an instant it can visit Europe,
And imagine the scenario over there!
Mind is like a deer. Always searching.
Searching for something! Like a thief!
The thief robs our money and possessions,
The mind robs us of our merits!
One can easily capture a thief,
Even if he hides in a mountain!
Hard indeed it is to capture the robber,
Who is with in us.
Mind creates rivalry.
It creates afflictions.
And make us suffer,
And suffer endlessly!
Our mind like a servant
Driven by external influences
One should master one's mind.
And not be mastered by it.
Mind is like a commander-in-chief,
Commanding our five sense organs,
And consciousness producing feeling,
Thoughts and knowledge.
There are 10 realms - humans, animals, heaven, asura, Buddha (arahats), bodhisatva, Pratyeka Buddha, sravaka, ghosts and hell.
Our mind keeps changing realms!
Moving from one realm to other constantly.
When one helps the old lady cross the street, one has the Bodhisatva mind!
When one buys unneeded stuff at Super Market (because they are cheap), one has the greedy mind!
Mind can travel from Bodhisatva realm to hell realm in an instant.
Mind is like a spring that is never dry.
One should search the source of wisdom
From within one's mind.
Not from the outside.
Mind is like a painter
Painting all kinds of objects.
Good ones and bad ones!
Our expressions are reflections of our minds.
Mind is boundless,
Like the vast sky.
One should expand one's mind,
Like the sky that includes all!
The power of mind is hard to imagine.
Mind not only controls one's thoughts
And one's behavior.
It also shapes one's lives!
Sages only look after their mind
And they purify their mind.
Commoners look after their body
And they only look after their body!
Best Time of Our Life:
Ten thousand flowers in Spring,
The moon in Autumn,
A cool breeze in Summer,
Snow in Winter,
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life."
- Wu-Men
Stories (The Power of Mind):
1. There once was a king in India who wanted to test the ability of mind to concentrate. One day he calls a prisoner who was in death row and tells him, "Take this bowl, full of oil and walk around the town without spilling a drop and come back and you will be pardoned." The prisoner gladly accepts the king's offer. To distract the prisoner along the way, the king arranges for lots of amusements including dances by the most beautiful girls. The prisoner pays no attention whatsoever to them and at the end of the day returns the bowl full of oil to the king and earns his freedom.
2. A condemned prisoner was brought to be executed. The doctor who was present there gives him an option. He can be killed by shooting or stabbing which is painful or by a painless death by slowly draining his blood away and he wouldn't even know the pain. The prisoner picks the third method. The prisoner was tied to a bed. The doctors pricks his leg with a needle. The doctor tells the prisoner that he will be draining his blood slowly and that the prisoner wouldn't be feeling the pain at all. The doctor arranges for drops of water to fall underneath making the sound .. Blub! Blub!! Blub!!! The prisoner is not aware that no drop of his blood was falling. He was just made to think that way. The prisoner does not feel the pain, but gradually he gets week and in few minutes he dies.
When the mind is pure
There is pure land.
If one's mind is pure
One is already there!
Our mind is like a factory
Manufacturing thoughts.
If the mind is pure,
So are our thoughts!
Mind is like a storage house.
It stores lots of thoughts - good and bad.
We show some,
And then hide some.
When the mind is sick,
The body becomes sick!
When the mind is healthy,
The body is healthy.
Secrets in one's mind
Keeps one ill-at-ease
And very uncomfortable.
No secrets! One is happy!
If one is not attached to anything,
Then one is not afraid of anything.
Fear comes from attachment.
No attachments! No fear!!
Good thoughts: If it is not in your mind, then grow it,
If it's already there, then nurture it.
Bad thoughts: If it is not in your mind, then prevent it from coming.
If it's already there, then eliminate it.
When anger arises,
Evil doors open.
Anger has the power
To destory all our virtues!
Mind is like a monkey. Hard to control!
It keeps moving .. from here to there!
From there to somewhere! Giving no moment of peace!
Hard it is to control this monkey-mind.
Mind is like lightning! Fast!
The speed of changing thoughts is like a lightning!
In an instant it can visit Europe,
And imagine the scenario over there!
Mind is like a deer. Always searching.
Searching for something! Like a thief!
The thief robs our money and possessions,
The mind robs us of our merits!
One can easily capture a thief,
Even if he hides in a mountain!
Hard indeed it is to capture the robber,
Who is with in us.
Mind creates rivalry.
It creates afflictions.
And make us suffer,
And suffer endlessly!
Our mind like a servant
Driven by external influences
One should master one's mind.
And not be mastered by it.
Mind is like a commander-in-chief,
Commanding our five sense organs,
And consciousness producing feeling,
Thoughts and knowledge.
There are 10 realms - humans, animals, heaven, asura, Buddha (arahats), bodhisatva, Pratyeka Buddha, sravaka, ghosts and hell.
Our mind keeps changing realms!
Moving from one realm to other constantly.
When one helps the old lady cross the street, one has the Bodhisatva mind!
When one buys unneeded stuff at Super Market (because they are cheap), one has the greedy mind!
Mind can travel from Bodhisatva realm to hell realm in an instant.
Mind is like a spring that is never dry.
One should search the source of wisdom
From within one's mind.
Not from the outside.
Mind is like a painter
Painting all kinds of objects.
Good ones and bad ones!
Our expressions are reflections of our minds.
Mind is boundless,
Like the vast sky.
One should expand one's mind,
Like the sky that includes all!
The power of mind is hard to imagine.
Mind not only controls one's thoughts
And one's behavior.
It also shapes one's lives!
Sages only look after their mind
And they purify their mind.
Commoners look after their body
And they only look after their body!
Best Time of Our Life:
Ten thousand flowers in Spring,
The moon in Autumn,
A cool breeze in Summer,
Snow in Winter,
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life."
- Wu-Men
Stories (The Power of Mind):
1. There once was a king in India who wanted to test the ability of mind to concentrate. One day he calls a prisoner who was in death row and tells him, "Take this bowl, full of oil and walk around the town without spilling a drop and come back and you will be pardoned." The prisoner gladly accepts the king's offer. To distract the prisoner along the way, the king arranges for lots of amusements including dances by the most beautiful girls. The prisoner pays no attention whatsoever to them and at the end of the day returns the bowl full of oil to the king and earns his freedom.
2. A condemned prisoner was brought to be executed. The doctor who was present there gives him an option. He can be killed by shooting or stabbing which is painful or by a painless death by slowly draining his blood away and he wouldn't even know the pain. The prisoner picks the third method. The prisoner was tied to a bed. The doctors pricks his leg with a needle. The doctor tells the prisoner that he will be draining his blood slowly and that the prisoner wouldn't be feeling the pain at all. The doctor arranges for drops of water to fall underneath making the sound .. Blub! Blub!! Blub!!! The prisoner is not aware that no drop of his blood was falling. He was just made to think that way. The prisoner does not feel the pain, but gradually he gets week and in few minutes he dies.
posted by satish at 2:31 PM
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