By Dr. Tim Ong
While it is worthy and wise to start with the end in mind, meaning we transform ourselves with the ultimate goal of final liberation, for most people this is not the case and it is alright. Many people put in great effort to transform themselves initially for mundane success but as they progressed, they realized that mundane success alone cannot guarantee them the happiness they seek. Eventually the wise will realize that peace and lasting contentment can only be achieved through the taming of our mind, the ending of desires and anger, and the ultimate realization of reality as it truly is.
-The Root Cause of Sufferings-
The root cause of all our sufferings in this mundane life is the delusional way we view the world. We see things not as they are but as what we thought they are. An enlightened mind sees and understands that everything that we experienced is devoid of any intrinsic values or qualities, and therefore make light of them. There is no attachment or aversion to the experience.
On the other hand, our deluded mind cannot see things as they really are. Instead, we experience things through the projection of our mind. We project our values onto these things and then erroneously believe that the values we projected onto them are their true values or qualities. Then we foolishly react to them, ruffling our tranquil mind and causing the tranquil mind to become agitated and disturbed. In this way, we suffer.
-Befriending the Original Mind-
We are spiritual beings. We have an original mind that is tranquil. This original mind is what some called the mind of God. If we are not deluded, we are able to experience everything in this mundane world through this peaceful mind without being ruffled by the experience itself. So as spiritual seekers, our goal in personal transformation is to get to know our original mind once again and to familiarize ourselves with its undisturbed nature. This is called befriending the original mind.
0 comments:
Post a Comment