Nature of Mind
When the mind looks at itself, what can it learn about its own nature? The first thing that becomes apparent is that countless thoughts prompted by our feelings, our memories, and our imagination constantly rush through our mind, almost without our knowledge.
But is there not also a basic consciousness, always present behind this movement, even in the absence of thoughts, a presence that could be called the fundamental ability of the mind to know or to be conscious?
As thoughts arise, if we look at them closely, can we pin down any characteristic, or attribute, any real existence to them? Where are they located? Do they have a color or a shape?
However hard you look, you will not find anything else in the end but the bare faculty of knowing that we have just mentioned. You will find nothing intrinsically real. It is in this sense that Buddhism says that the mind is “empty of independent existence.”
How can we make use of this notion of the “emptiness” of thoughts? When a thought or an emotion such as anger arises in our mind, what usually happens? We let ourselves be overwhelmed by it. The thoughts grow and give rise to many other thoughts that disturb us, blind us, and encourage us to say and do certain things, which may be violent, which may hurt others, and which we will probably come to regret.
Now it is possible to examine the thoughts before they proliferate, instead of letting this chain reaction occur.
Then we will realize that those thoughts and emotions do not have the solid reality that we had imagined, and it will be possible to break free from their grip.
If we can see that thoughts arise from pure awareness, the nature of mind, then dissolve back into it, like waves rising from and falling back into the ocean, it will be a big step toward inner peace because thoughts will have lost much of their power to harm.
(Source: Based on Ricard, Matthieu. “Understanding the Nature of the Mind” in On the Path to Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters [Shambhala: Boston and London, 2013]).
Nature of Mind: From Nyendrak Lungrig Nyima
Although subject and object are not two,
They appear to us as fundamentally distinct entities.
And through attachment to them,
we further strengthen this tendency.
Samsara is nothing else but that.
While good and bad actions are devoid of true reality,
By the power of our intention they produce joys and sorrows,
Just as seeds of sweet or bitter plants
Give fruits of corresponding taste.
Thus, the world appears similarly
To those with common karma,
And differently to those whose karma is different.
In fact, even if one “goes” to hell or elsewhere,
It is only a change in one’s perception of the world.
As in dreams, where the things that appear do not exist,
The root of all our illusory perceptions is the mind.
The nature of mind transcends the notions of existence
And nonexistence, eternity and nothingness:
To this nature is given the simple name “absolute space.”
That space, in itself perfectly pure,
That immaculate sky, empty and luminous, with no center or periphery, Has always been in the heart of every being,
Its face obscured by the temporary veil of mental constructs.
It is hard to put an end by force
To the continuous chain of thoughts,
But if, when they occur, their nature is recognized,
Thoughts have no choice
But to be liberated in their own sphere.
Without pursuing past thoughts
Or inviting future thoughts,
Remain in the present moment, and simply recognize
The nature of whatever arises in your mind.
Relax in simplicity, free of intentions and attachments.
Although there is nothing to meditate on
Remain fully present without getting distracted.
By getting used to the way things occur of themselves,
without altering anything,
Primordial wisdom, self-luminous, will arise from within.
“How is this so?” you might ask.
If you leave cloudy water undisturbed,
It will naturally become clear.
Most other meditations
Are only temporary ways to calm the mind.
The space of great unchanging emptiness
And the simple luminosity of uninterrupted wakeful presence
Have always been inseparable.
You must yourself experience that essential thing
Which is within you: no one can do it for you.
(Source: Based on Ricard, Matthieu. “Understanding the Nature of the Mind” in On the Path to Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters [Shambhala: Boston and London, 2013]).
Personal Reflections
Understanding the nature of mind is a profound realization. There is simultaneously an awareness, a knowing, and a basic goodness.
Through meditation – resting in open awareness – one may come to understand that the nature of mind has:
No birth/no death
No above/no below
No being/no non-being
No coming/no going
No same/no different
(Source: Thich Nhat Hanh. No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life. New York: Riverhead Books, 2002)
It is this awareness that transcends death. This implies the reality of rebirth into another existence. Paramount in this life, therefore, is the understanding of karma – the law of cause and effect – that our thoughts, words, and actions in life will have a direct bearing on our future state of existence.
An Appreciation of the Four Thoughts
This leads one to deeply appreciate the four thoughts from Tibetan Buddhism, as a foundation or anchor for one’s life. The Four Thoughts may be introduced as follows:
The Four Thoughts can serve as a foundational understanding for everyone, regardless of faith, because they provide a clear description of the way reality works.
In the Buddhist teachings, most every system of Dharma includes specific preliminary teachings that serve as a solid foundation for correct perception and correct spiritual practice.
This preliminary teaching, Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind Towards Dharma, is the very foundation of the Buddhist path.
Without this preliminary understanding, we are subject to common misperceptions of reality which inevitably cause confusion, stress, dissatisfaction, and suffering. To make progress in our practice, to attain liberation from suffering in this very lifetime, and to be able to assist the awakening of other beings, we need to radically shift our fundamental perception of reality.
As we contemplate the Four Thoughts — integrating this deep wisdom into our awareness — we transform our mind and heart, thus bringing about this most essential and necessary shift in our perception and in our ways of living.
In this way, the Four Thoughts help us to purify ignorance, delusion, and attachment, and will continually strengthen and clarify our Dharma practice.
By contemplating the Four Thoughts, (1) we overcome the eight mundane concerns (fame/disgrace, pain/pleasure, gain/loss, praise/blame); (2) we find the inspiration to transform our non-virtuous behavior, and (3) we are motivated to embrace those aspects of life which are of true and lasting value.
This excellent preliminary teaching brings greater insight, wisdom, loving-kindness, and compassion—the very heart of Dharma.
Source: Based on “Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind Toward Dharma” in The Heart of Dharma Collection. Used with permission from https://sourcepointglobaloutreach.org/what-we-offer/
In sum, the Four Thoughts (or Four Reminders) consist of a series of reflections or contemplations on four topics:
(1) The freedoms and advantages of precious human rebirth
(2) The truth of impermanence and death
(3) The workings of karma
(4) The suffering of beings within samsara
“Thinking about the difficulty of obtaining the precious human life, impermanence, karma, and suffering turns our minds toward Dharma and creates the urge toward a spiritual goal. That is why these verses are the instructions on turning our minds toward Dharma practice.” (Tulku Thondup. Enlightened Journey: Buddhist Practice as Daily Life. 2001)
For a more comprehensive description of the Four Thoughts, please visit the following website, also produced by Alexander Peck: https://the-four-thoughts.org/
All-Important Awareness
Finally, regarding awareness, the following quotation is timely:
The great master Guru Rinpoche has said: “A hundred things may be explained, a thousand told, but one thing only should you grasp. Know one thing and everything is freed — remain within your inner nature, your awareness! …
It is important for you to keep a close watch. If you can be constantly mindful, both in meditation and afterward, when you are eating, sleeping, walking, or sitting, that’s it—you’ve got it right!”
(Source: Counsels from My Heart [2001] by Dudjom Rinpoche.)
Understanding the Nature of Mind
To take the uncreated stronghold of the nature of mind, you have to go to the source and recognize the very origin of your thoughts. Otherwise, one thought will give rise to a second, then a third, and so on. In no time, you will be assailed by memories of the past and anticipation of the future, and the pure awareness of the present moment will be completely obscured. If you recognize the emptiness of your thoughts instead of solidifying them, the arising and subsiding of each thought will clarify and strengthen your realization of emptiness….
It is our own mind that leads us astray into the cycle of existence. Blind to the mind’s true nature, we fixate on our thoughts, which in truth are simply the manifestations of that nature. But through fixation, pure awareness is frozen into solid concepts such as “self” and “other,” “desirable” and “repulsive,” and many more. That is how we create samsara….
Lakes and rivers can freeze in winter, and the water can become so solid that people, animals, and carts travel back and forth on its surface. At the approach of spring, the earth warms up, and the waters thaw. What remains then of all that solid ice? Water is soft and fluid, ice hard and sharp. We cannot say that they are identical, but neither are they different—ice is only frozen water, and water is only melted ice. It is the same with our perceptions of the external world. To be attached to the reality of phenomena, tormented by attraction and repulsion and obsessed by the eight worldly preoccupations, is what causes the mind to freeze. Melt the ice of your concepts so that the fluid water of free perception can flow….
Everything we experience—all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana—appears with the vivid clarity of a rainbow and yet, like a rainbow, is devoid of any tangible reality. Once you recognize the nature of phenomena—manifest and at the same time empty—your mind will be freed from the tyranny of delusion.
To recognize the ultimate nature of the mind is to realize the state of Buddhahood, and to fail to recognize it is to sink into ignorance. In either case, it is your mind, and your mind alone, that liberates or binds you….
If you allow your thoughts and feelings to arise and dissolve by themselves, they will pass through your mind in the same way that a bird flies through the sky, without leaving any trace. This applies not only to attachment and anger, but also to the experiences of meditation—bliss, clarity, and absence of thought. Those experiences result from perseverance in practice and are the expression of the inherent creativity of the mind. They appear like a rainbow, formed as the rays of the sun strike a curtain of rain; and to become attached to them is as futile as it would be to run after a rainbow in the hopes of wearing it as a coat. Simply allow your thoughts and experiences to come and go, without ever grasping at them….
Maintain that state of simplicity. Should you encounter happiness, success and other favorable conditions, take them like a dream or an illusion. Do not get attached to them. And should you be struck by illness, calumny, or other trials, physical or mental, do not let yourself be discouraged. Rekindle your compassion by wishing that through your own suffering, the sufferings of all beings might be exhausted. Whatever the circumstances, do not get either elated or depressed, but remain free and at ease in imperturbable serenity.
(Source: Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche quoted in On the Path to Enlightenment by Matthieu Ricard)