All attachment and aversion come from what we have mentally created. We have made an image and that is our mind as we normally experience it. In order to solve this problem in a more profound and permanent way, we have to look at our mind and see its true nature. In our innate, unfabricated nature, which is the basic state of our mind, there is no problem. We make all our problems by creating concepts and all kinds of mental conditioning.
Seeing the true nature of mind means experiencing the way the mind is when we do not fabricate and contrive anything. We need to look at our mind when it is devoid of our creations and free from mental elaborations. If we can see this state of mind, there is no grasping, no grasped object, and no subject doing the grasping. There is simply perception or seeing, which in itself does not cause a problem.
When the true nature of mind is seen, there are just appearances without any evaluation. One thing arises in the mind and then another thing arises. The arising that is pleasant is no better than the one that is unpleasant. They are simply different manifestations of the mind. There is no need to grasp one and reject the other. Once this is seen clearly, we see the true nature of mind. This is something that we need to experience directly. When we see the truth, we become liberated from our struggle within the nets of aversion and attachment.(p.97)
–from Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha by Ringu Tulku
This was taken from the Snow Lion newsletter
Bronwen and Frans Stiene are the co-founders of the International House of Reiki and co-authors of The Reiki Sourcebook, The Japanese Art of Reiki, Your Reiki Treatment, The A-Z of Reiki Pocketbook and the Reiki Techniques Card Deck. Bronwen and Frans teach in the USA, Europe and Australia. Visit the Courses page to find a course near you.
Comments 3
For me the mind is an essential part of the system of Reiki, as energy follows the mind. So to make sure we are open our mind needs to be open, to make sure the energy is clear our mind needs to be clear etc.
Here are some interesting quotes about the mind:
“All phenomena are mind, mind is all. Mind contains rivers, mountains, moon, and sun.”
Dogen
“All phenomea can be understood to be in two categories: mind and matter. On the conceptual level, we distinguish mind and matter, but on the level of awakening, all is mind. Object and mind are both marvelous. Mind is matter, matter is mind. Matter does not exist outside of mind. Mind does not exist outside of matter. Each is in the other. This is called the “nonduality of mind and matter”.”
Nagarjuna
This means that as Reiki practitioners and teachers we need to clearly look at our mind.
Nice one I just read today:
On breaking through the opening if Chaos,
There are no Buddhas or Immortals.
This is no marvel outside the mind,
And not mere verbal Zen.
I pass the days lightheartedly roaming,
And spend the nights freely sleeping.
Letting my body sink into the realm of the absolute,
I entrust all things to Heaven.
From The Book of Balance and Harmony
Translated by Thomas Cleary
Just received this in my inbox and thought some of you might be interested in reading this as well:
“The practice of Dharma is to pacify the afflictions and concepts that fill our minds. When we blend the teachings with our minds, the power of the Dharma can act upon and pacify afflictions and concepts. If on the outside we look like Dharma practitioners while on the inside our Dharma practice has not diminished our afflictions or concepts, we merely call ourselves practitioners without actually being one. This is not to say that outer behavior, our reflection in the world, is not important, but what is crucial is to train in taming our minds.
What we tame are the three main afflictions: ignorance, attachment, and aversion. Ignorance, the root of the two others, is defined as the continual fixation on our self that we assume to be permanent and independent. This ego-clinging is the main cause for our cycling in samsara. We wish to be in paradise for our own advantage; we wish to erase all suffering for our own advantage. We cling to this “I” of ours, thinking that it is so special that we should not be bothered with problems but enjoy wealth, power, and charisma. If we honestly look into our minds, it is quite easy to see this kind of coarse and obvious grasping to a self.
There are also subtle forms of fixating on the self (“I”) and what belongs to it (“mine”), like the quick thought of ourselves before another one comes. When practicing Dharma, we are taming this coarse and subtle clinging to an ego. If this does not happen, we will merely be able to suppress the afflictions temporarily, distancing ourselves for the time being. To cut through them completely, we must steadily apply ourselves to practice.(p.187)”
—from Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje by Michele Martin, published by Snow Lion Publications