A Wobbly Mind - If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride.
On the Path of Suffering we tend to resort to our imagination for relief from what is reality and what is just simply wishful thinking. Watch your mind. Study the thoughts, followed by the feelings, supported by perceptions and impulses which in the end smothers clear consciousness.
One wish and we go blind. This is an image of ignorance. Ignorance meaning being unaware and lacking the knowledge that goes beyond the mundane things popping up everywhere in the world. We find ourselves very close to being unconscious, arrogant, opinionated, self-important…oh golly, the list is endless.
Just one wish can cause havoc. One thought, one feeling, one perception, one impulse clouds the mind. Despite knowing this truth on some level, we find ourselves making wishes, imagining something or someone we want, or someplace. We beg for the wish to come true.
It is this wobbly mind of selfishness that is a conjuror. A trickster! We trick ourselves by believing our mental forms. Just check it out. What story begins to arise on the screen of the brainpan?
Time and time again we seek what we want in the world - a world that is unreliable, a world that is constantly changing, a world that promises and never delivers to our satisfaction.
A wish is an expectation. Disappointment follows our expectations. It is as though we have gotten dirt in our eyes - it hurts, makes seeing difficult and unclear. But this dirt rises in our mind in the form of thoughts, feelings, perceptions, impulses…and a self-centered consciousness.
The antidote is simple - but those of us who keep focused on the material world follow the mantra:
…if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again…
to get something from the world - to get power, fame, money, love, a career…and the list goes on.
A spiritual awakening requires “surrender.” If you will, a “letting go.” A very necessary step. It is especially difficult for those who remain attached to the jewels and bangles of the world.
Here is a Chan Buddhist story of letting go.
During the Buddha’s life, a Brahman with supernatural powers came to offer two vases. He had one in each hand to offer the Buddha.
Buddha said to him, “Let Go.”
The Brahman put down one vase.
The Buddha repeated, “Let Go.”
The Brahman put down the other vase.
Buddha again repeated, “Let Go.”
The Brahman said, “I’m empty-handed. There is nothing else to put down. What do you want me to let go of now?
The Buddha said, “I did not ask you to put down your vases. I want you to “let go” of your six senses, your six dusts, & your six consciousnesses. When you completely let go of them, then you will be liberated from the shackles of birth & death.
The Brahman understood.
Do you understand?
For those of us who have not “let go” do not give up. Keep practicing the very difficult practice of emptying the mind, the six sense dusts and the six consciousnesses. Here is a simple practice of letting go.
Do the things you do not like to do, that are good for you.
Do not do the things that you like to do, that are not good for you.
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