OM MANI PADME HUM
A troubled mind robs one of his energy and the entire day is wasted. A mind in such a state is the state of hell and one will remain in such a state until one’s trouble is over or overcome by some other situations which bring uplift in terms of happiness. How many times a day does the mind change from one state to another? How often each week, each month, each year?
Life changes and so the mind also changes in its outlook. This brings about a new personality in a person because his characteristics will change according to the nature of his mind. If one can have a calm mind, one has much to benefit and no real situation in life will trouble him too greatly. But if one is unable to understand the nature of living then calmness will almost be foreign to him and he lives in a state of constant changes. This kind of person will drain his own vital energy, will make himself sick and difficult to get along with. Realising this, one must begin to seek for a method of calming one’s mind in order to live a life of happiness. Living a life of happiness need not be too dependent upon wealth although it is a necessity which provides one with the comforts of life. But if one is the owner of an easily agitated mind, how can one really understand the bliss of serenity? Living happily is to be able to provide happiness to others, to be able to be accepted by others just as you accept them; to be able to feel deeply for others when they are happy or sad so that you will always be one who can respond towards others; to be able to take a petty strife with understanding so that whenever someone causes you some hurt, you do not straight away make plans to take revenge or retaliate which causes an angry mind; to be able to live in any condition that you are in, this is to be able to accept the realities of life; to be free from greed, anger, envy, lust and the host of poisons of the mind.
What then is the secret to this state of mind? Just practise loving kindness towards one and all and let the Buddha Dharma be your guiding factors in life. If you can become a practising Buddhist, you will feel the peace and calmness that many people have never experienced before. So a man of moderate means can be a much more happier person than a wealthy one but this is no indication that the rich ones are doomed to a life of unhappiness. Their kind of happiness is quite different from what it meant here. It will always be quite difficult for one who is on the path of materialistic accumulation to have time to search for inner peace because the conditions are seldom right for him. Not until he has reached contentment and seek no further than whatever he has already got, will he begin to search for the kind of happiness which is absent from ordinary people.
This is the more lasting kind of happiness which fills the day and the life, the peace that is in the mind which worldly wealth cannot buy. It will not be much appreciated until one is faced with a troubled mind because of his own doings and then he is on the search for this valuable mental peace. If you have already got a mind which is peaceful, do not lose it. Do not try to seek the ultimate in life which will bring you much pains, do not try and reach for the moon. Be yourself. Be what you are and be happy with whatever you have and peace will reign in your mind. When this state of mind is within you, you are one of the very lucky few for you will find life very meaningful; that you are a brother to every other being so that you will no longer discriminate but accept others for what they are. You will then feel sorry for the wretched and happy for the fortunate ones, you will then understand that life is what one makes out of it and you will complain less and appreciate more the things that you have but have not noticed before because your vision has always been blurred by your own dissatisfactions and desires which bring you to a state of unhappiness and a troubled mind.
If you can spend time in some quiet sitting and reflect on life you will see much truth. When you become used to daily sitting for a short period, you will begin to enjoy such quiet moments by yourself and in time, this being with your own self will become very precious to you, for you will learn much by your own reflections. Then you will go into a deeper state of contemplation which sometimes end up in you just sitting without any single thought, without any effort, and you have reached the state of meditation. The bliss of this calmness of mind is the mental state of heaven because then you do not desire, you do not become troubled by anything in life. Just you and the entire existence that is the world. You are in accord with it and you have reached true contentment. At this level of existence, life is beautiful and blissful and yet life is nothing. Just you and your mind. You will be able to understand life in every aspect during such sitting periods. With a calm mind you draw in universal energy which helps your compassionate nature to bloom and radiate loving kindness to others and hoping that they too will be able to experience this stage of nothingness which incorporates everything. You need only yourself to be in true accord with the universe. There is no need to struggle, no need to cause pains and ill feelings to others, no need to spend much money to attain this kind of happiness. And you would truly wish that all beings in the world too should share this joy which you can only feel strongly but cannot describe properly. And this, is loving kindness, for you are concerned for the well being of others, you care, whether they need or do not need your caring. You are the father and mother to all and this is the greatest feeling of a human being - love. When this state of being is realised, you will not be troubled with problems and sufferings of the body for you know that in the end, it is only the mind that can give you the true bliss, the true calmness, the greatest wealth that you can earn in your life time!
What does it take to reach this state of mind? Nothing and everything depending on how you see it. But you must be such a being, one with mental calmness which I require you to cultivate. Start at the beginning. Start without any complicated teachings from the books. Just your dedication to Me and understanding Me to be what I am, will lead you to the journey to eternal peace.
Only with a peaceful mind can you truly practise loving kindness towards others. Up to now you have hardly understood the real meaning. Just serving in My name is not enough, benefitting others because of the time spent in helping others even though selflessly, is not enough; to be a devoted devotee and disciple is also not enough. Only when you have understood what I am and practise what I am will you begin to really work in the name of Kuan Shih Yin P’usa!
Friday, 24th September 1982 (8th Moon 8th Day)