MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
Our topic today is mental development. We are going to look at the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path that fall into the group known as mental development, meditation or Samadhi. We have spoken about how the steps of the path are interrelated and in this context it is particularly interesting to understand the position of mental development because standing as it is between good conduct and wisdom it is relevant and important for both of them. You may ask why this is the case. In fact sometimes people have said to me regarding the need for meditation: if one simply follows the moral precepts, is that not sufficient to lead a moral life
I think there are several answers to this question. First of all, in Buddhism there is not only one goal. Besides the goal of happiness and good fortune, there is also the goal of freedom. If one wants to attain the goal of freedom, the only way that can be achieved is through wisdom. And in order to achieve wisdom one has to purify the mind, develop the mind through meditation. Even for the practice of good conduct, for the observance of moral rules, mental development is necessary. Why
Because it is relatively easy to follow the rules of good conduct when things are going well. If we have a good job, if we live in a stable society, if we earn sufficiently to support ourselves and our families, it is relatively easy to observe the precepts. But when we find ourselves in circumstances of stress, of instability, as for instance when we lose our job, when we find ourselves in a situation where lawlessness prevails, this is the point at which the observance of good conduct comes under attack. In this kind of circumstance, the only thing that can safeguard our practice of good conduct is mental development, strengthening of the mind, attaining control over the mind. In that way, mental development on the one hand serves as a safeguard of our practice and on the other hand it serves to prepare the mind to see things as they really are, to prepare the mind to attain wisdom which will open the door to freedom, to enlightenment. Mental development therefore has an extremely important role in the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.
This emphasis on mental development is not surprising if we remember the importance of the role of the mind in experience in Buddhism. I remember a week before last, someone in the audience remarked that it seemed as though the mind was the most important thing in regard to the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path. I remarked that this was a very significant and true statement. We find this very clearly in the Buddha”s own words. The Buddha has said that the mind is the source of all mental states, that all mental states are fashioned by the mind. It is also said that the mind is the source of all virtues, of all qualities. In order to attain these virtues, one must discipline the mind. Mind is the key to changing the nature of our experience. It was once said that if we had to cover the whole surface of the earth in order to protect our feet from being cut by sticks and stones, if we had to cover the whole surface of the earth with leather, this would be a very difficult undertaking. But by covering only the surface of our feet with leather it is as if the whole surface of the earth were covered with leather. In the same way if we had to purify the whole universe of greed, anger and delusion, it would be a very difficult task. Simply by purifying our own mind of greed, anger and delusion it is as if the whole universe were purified of these defilements. That is why in Buddhism we focus upon the mind as the key to achieving a change in the way we experience life, in the way we relate to other people.
The importance of the mind has recently been recognized b…
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