Whenever aversion arises in the mind, focus on being mindful exclusively of the present state of your mind. Don”t focus attention on the external object or person that gave rise to the anger and aversion. Anger in the mind is like a burning fire. If you aren”t mindful and alert to the state of your own mind, and instead think only of the object or person that incited the anger, it”s like setting yourself on fire, and all you can do is end up getting burnt. So you shouldn”t preoccupy yourself with the outside object. Instead, focus on being mindful and aware of the state of aversion in the mind. When mindfulness reaches full strength, the state of aversion will immediately disperse.
Aversion and anger are like a cover over a fire that lets the fire keep smoldering away, providing heat but no light. If we remove the cover by doing away with the aversion, the light of the fire can brighten the mind. The "light" here is discernment and skilled awareness.
Actually, there”s nowhere else that we have to look for goodness other than our own minds. That”s how we”ll be able to gain the freedom from suffering and stress that is termed citta-vimutti, mental release, i.e., a mind beyond the reach of its preoccupations. This is one way in which we reach the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha on the level of inner qualities.
As for states of delusion, in which the mind tends to be absent-minded and forgetful: These come from there being many objects crowding in on the mind. When we find this happening, we should center the mind on a single preoccupation where we can gather strength for our mindfulness and alertness, in the same way that we can take diffused light rays and focus them on a single point: The power of the light is sure to get brighter. In the same way, when we are constantly mindful of the mind and don”t let it get involved with various outside perceptions and preoccupations, mindfulness will give rise to a powerful light: skilled awareness. When skilled awareness arises within us, our minds will grow shining bright, and we”ll awaken from our slumber of unawareness. We will have attained a quality of secure refuge in our own hearts. We”ll know for ourselves and see for ourselves, and this is what will enable us to attain the noble qualities of the transcendent.
D. Mental qualities as a frame of reference. Be mindful to focus on the mental qualities that occur in the mind with every moment. Mental qualities are of two basic sorts, good and bad.
1. Bad mental qualities, which obstruct the mind from attaining higher levels of goodness, are called the Hindrances (nivarana), and there are five sorts.
a. Sensual desire: hankering after sensual objects — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas that you like and find appealing; and a hankering after sensual moods, such as passion, anger, aversion, and delusion — assuming good to be bad and bad to be good, right to be wrong and wrong to be right. A hankering for any of these things is classed as sensual desire.
b. Malevolence: ill will for people or objects, hoping that they will be destroyed or come to a bad end.
c. Torpor & lethargy: sleepiness, sloth, lassitude, laziness, and depression.
d. Worry & distraction: being upset at failure in your aims, lacking the mindfulness to put a brake on your worries and concerns.
e. Uncertainty: indecision; doubt about the various things or qualities your are working to develop in your practice.
These five Hindrances are bad mental qualities. If you fall into any of them, you”re in the dark — like a person at the bottom of a well who can”t see anything on the surface of the earth, can”t move around as he likes, can”t hear what people at the top of the well are saying, can”t see the light of the sun and moon that illumi…
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