Why Train Our Minds?
“If you thoroughly train your mind, no matter your circumstances or environment, how busy you are, or the pressure you are under, you can live a happy and meaningful life.” -Tsultrim Lodro
I’m writing now about a set of teachings that are referred to as “Mind Training.” I’m going to be writing about these teachings for a little while, so buckle up. The idea behind mind training is that a whole lot of our problems are the result of our minds being disturbed.
(if you’d rather listen to a podcast on this subject click here: Why Train the Mind?)
Any time you’re struggling more than you think you should. Any time you get confused and make a bad decision. Any time you’re hard on yourself. All these negative feelings are the result of our minds being disturbed. As long as we’re in that condition it’s going to be hard to find lasting peace and happiness. Because the struggle is inside us. We think it’s outside of us but it’s not.
The killer is inside the house.
So, we are training our minds to learn how to cultivate and grow our positive thoughts and emotions and to reduce our negative thoughts and emotions.
There’s a concept called the threefold development that is suppose to be the keys to happiness. The threefold development consists of:
1) Developing our External World
2) Developing Our Actions
3) Developing Our Mind
Developing our External World:
There’s a limit to the amount of happiness the external world can bring. Once you reach that limit, your happiness will flatten out and there won’t be more. Basic needs have to be met for happiness, of course. Happiness from the external world consists of basic physical comfort and the elimination of the discomfort from not having enough. If we work too hard to get more happiness from the external world it can actually make us unhappy. When you hear that the richest man in the world is getting a divorce, I think that’s a big reminder that money doesn’t solve all your problems.
“If you have a horse, you have a horse’s worth of problems. If you have two horses, you have two horses worth of problems.” - Tibetan Proverb
“It’s like the more money we come across / The more problems we see.” -Notorious B.I.G.
Developing Our Actions
This is about how we speak and behave in the world. Living a good life brings some measure of lasting happiness. Connecting with other people and living in harmony brings more joy than just trying to pursue pleasure all the time. Trying to live a virtuous life is important. Living a virtuous life leads to some measure of contentment and a better relationship with the world around us.
In his book The Power of Mind, Khentrul Lodro Thaye says, “When we act in positive ways, we feel good and have a clear conscience. Even if we don’t get exactly what we want, if we make every effort to refrain from harming others, in the end we will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing we did the best we could. When we act in negative ways, even if we succeed in getting what we want, our mind will be disturbed and we’ll have a sense of discomfort. Gaining something at the cost of another’s well being never results in happiness.”
Developing Our Mind
The mind is the actual primary source of our happiness. A whole lot of our contentment simply comes from within us. A person can have an undeveloped mind and a lot of possessions and still be unhappy. A person can have a well developed mind and very little and be happy.
Training your mind ------------------- > Happiness
When our minds are not disturbed and we start coming from a place of love and compassion, our actions will improve, which also helps the world. This helps others but it also helps ourselves.
So, that’s why I advocate for these Mind Training teachings. We can work to change the standard actions and reactions of our minds. We can manifest more wisdom, compassion, and joy in our lives by getting our minds right. There is a lot of potential in working with our minds.
That’s where the Lojong teachings come in. Lojong is a Tibetan word.
“Lo” - “thinking mind”
“Jong” - “to train”
In this process we are working to refine away our mental afflictions so we aren’t quite so controlled and pulled around by the negative thoughts and emotions that our afflictions cause. This is a way to gain some measure of control over our experience and how we relate to the world around us. This can allow us to live more fully. I like to say this path can’t really add years to your life but it can add life to your years. When we resolve to train our minds we are setting ourselves on a path toward happiness.
More on how we train our minds next time.
I hope this writing has been helpful.
Click the bowl for a guided meditation. This is “Mindfulness of Breathing”:
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I am writing a series and I’m basing these teachings on “The Power of Mind” by Khentrul Lodro Thaye. If you want to follow along you can get that book here:
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Upcoming Events
Talk: Precious Human Life January 8, 2023 at 10:30 am – 12:00 pm St Marks. 3800 Troost Ave. KCMO During the Rime Center Sunday Service
Meditation Group January 25, 2023 at 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm Rime Buddhist Center. 2939 Wayne Ave. KCMO
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Podcast: Why Train Your Mind?
Video: Why Train Your Mind?