How do we take the Buddha’s teachings farther than just learning to calm down and self-regulate?
The Buddha points us toward something deeper in the Devitaka Sutta, where he describes two kinds of thinking. He says,
“Practitioners, before my self-awakening, when I was still just an unawakened bodhisattva, the thought occurred to me: Why don’t I divide my thinking into two sorts?”
So I made thinking imbued with sense desire, ill will, and harmfulness one sort. And thinking imbued with renunciation, non-ill-will, and harmlessness another sort.”
In other words, we can categorize our thoughts, words, and actions as either wholesome (kusala)—leading to the welfare of ourselves and others—or unwholesome (akusala), which lead to affliction. He goes on:
“As I remained heedful, ardent, and resolute, thinking imbued with sense desire arose in me.
I discerned that thinking imbued with sense desire has arisen in me.
I discerned that it leads to my own affliction, or the affliction of others, or the affliction of both.
It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, and does not lead to unbinding.
As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided.
As I noticed it leads to the affliction of others, or both, it subsided.
Whenever thinking imbued with sense desire had arisen, I simply abandoned it.”
It’s a little bit like mindful smoking. Mindful smoking basically means you can smoke whenever you want, and when you do you’re fully aware of the experience— the felt sense, the smell, everything. It turns out that 40-some percent realize: it’s not so great, and that becomes a catalyst for abandoning the habit.
Something similar happens in practice. If we monitor our state of mind, we can notice the mind filled with greed, aversion, and delusion; and it’s like when a child touches a stove: it’s ouch, this is no good. And we don’t do that again intentionally.
So that’s my encouragement to you all: Notice the attitude and state of the mind. Identify what’s wholesome, skillful, kusala—leading to your own benefit, your own well-being. Identify what’s unwholesome, unskillful, akusala. And try to shift the balance: more skillful, less unskillful. This is part of what it means to care for yourself: paying attention to your state of mind and the impact it has on your sense of well-being. When we see suffering and align with the heart’s wish that it be alleviated, we’re no longer connecting not with the suffering in the experience, but with the love that’s there.
Warmly,
Gullu