Teaching given at Bodhi Path Washington, DC Metro Area in Spring 2004.
Today, I will give you instructions about mind nature that will be helpful for your meditation. And, I will give you reasons for doing the shamatha or calm-abiding meditation practice. To meditate, you first need some understanding about your mind. Our normal concepts about mind, which really are not accurate, can disturb your meditation. Therefore, it is very important to have a correct understanding about the nature of mind.
Generally, people today view mind from a scientific perspective. Perhaps they equate mind, which is a process, with the brain, which is a bodily organ. In this case, it is easy to see mind as no more than a collection of nerves transmitting and processing electronic signals, like a computer made of flesh. I should tell you that if mind functioned in this way, then there would be no need to meditate. In fact, you could not meditate at all with such a mind. However, for Buddhists, mind is not like this. In Buddhist terms, we say that mind is clear. Clarity here means mind can understand itself. We can understand things because the mind’s true nature is self-understanding. Otherwise, we could not learn anything. To learn in the Buddhist sense means to gain self-understanding.
All conceptual knowledge comes to us as pictures in our minds. The physical objects that we comprehend are not themselves of the same material as our minds. Physical objects have atoms, while minds do not. This makes physical objects different than mind.
Mind itself is not made of atoms. Thus, mind has its own, separate nature from physical objects. If we reason this out, it means that in reality, there is no contact between mind and matter. When you understand that objects are just reflections in the mind, then you realize that what your mind comprehends are not objects themselves, but merely images or pictures. Through this concept of mind you can then approach the more difficult idea that mind-nature is defined by self understanding and self-realization. Every moment mind is working, it is moving. Mind is not a fixed thing with some permanence, but a process; a true mind-stream. So, as thoughts pass through mind, they themselves ensure mind’s continuance. If mind were to remain always on one thought, then it would get stuck. It would be frozen. But because mind is always moving, because it is dynamic, then you can perceive the outside world through ever-changing sense data. You can see, hear and feel. For example, we might compare the mind-stream to reading a series of words quickly. Each word is connected to a thought. The only way you can comprehend a series of thoughts is because your mind is not a fixed, unchanging entity. If your mind was not dynamic, then it would get stuck on "A," and never able to get to "B." So, in every moment, the mind is moving; it is passing by its former position. When we are fully awake, mind is free of the object with which it connects to through thoughts, perceptions and feelings. Mind is unobstructed. You neither have a single thought nor many thoughts. Mind does not exist substantially. Mind is no longer ignorant or stupid in the deepest sense.
But we should understand that self-realization is not like being in a coma. Instead, there is clarity and power. Self-realized mind is free from the influence of phenomena. It is mind free from all need to occupy itself; it is now an independent mind.
This, we might say, is good mind, non-dualistic mind. Of course, this kind of mind is not easy to obtain. Our habits are strong, and the unrealized mind is easily carried away by the flow of thoughts. If you examine your own mind, you will understand this. Mind does not exist in tangible substance; it is not a physically existing thing. Mind is not limited by any size, any shape, or any color. It is boundless and spacious. When you can realize an open state of mind—and keep it stable—then you can develop this state without limit. You can call this state enlightened mind, but enlightenment is difficult to realize. You may be able to realize this state of mind through examination or analysis. But your mind won’t stay in this state for long. It quickly disappears because of your mental habits. I’m talking primarily about the mental habit of confusion and agitation. This habit of agitation is very, very strong. Our minds and those of all living beings are nothing if not restless. While the basic nature of our mind is clear and limitless, our present mind is restless because agitation is a mental habit. Therefore, meditation is the natural antidote. Systematically organized meditation techniques are available to solve this problem of mental agitation. In other words, we have to train our minds.
Right now, our minds are wild and agitated, like a confused hurricane. To realize our full potential, we must tame our minds. And the good news is that we can use the mind to tame itself. We need to develop new mental habits. Among the many varieties of methods used to tame the mind, one of the most powerful is taught at Bodhi Path Centers—the practice of shamatha meditation. You should concentrate on practicing shamatha a great deal.
By Shamar Rinpoche
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