Healing the Mind

People suffer from a variety of diseases of the mind, such as being greedy, judgmental, or quick to anger. The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra says, “There are four kinds of diseases of the body, which are due to excessive wind, heat, phlegm, or other causes. There are also four kinds of diseases of the mind, which are greed, anger, ignorance, and pride.”

Truthfully, it is much easier to cure physical ailments than mental ones. Just as the body is ours to have and understand, we should also each strive to know the mind as well. If we know both our bodies and minds well, then whether our disease is mental or physical, we will naturally be able to heal ourselves.

Mental sickness is like a demon. Each of us has many demons living in our bodies or entrenched within our minds that may appear at the easiest opportunity to wreak havoc in our lives.

According to the Buddhist tradition, there are 84,000 kinds of afflictions or illnesses. At the forefront of all of those afflictions is greed. The next type is anger, the third is ignorance, the fourth is pride, the fifth is suspicion, and the sixth is wrong views. There are many afflictions residing in our minds, but in the end, there is only one affliction that precedes them all: our self, otherwise known as “clinging to the self.”

The affliction of clinging to the self unites and controls all the other afflictions of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. Most of the time, we can very easily control our minds when they are healthy and strong, our views are correct, and our thoughts are appropriate and filled with compassion and wisdom.

The moment we become careless and forget to protect ourselves, we will be beset again by the demons of our minds, which in the Teachings Bequeathed by the Buddha Sutra are compared to thieves, wild horses, and enraged elephants.

If we look for the deeper reasons why there are so many troublesome afflictions in our minds, we will find that it all comes down to ignorance and distorted views.

For example, as soon as you become suspicious, you give your afflictions a chance to arise. If you become arrogant, extreme in your opinions, stubborn, selfish, and gullible, or if you enjoy seeing people argue, have no sense of what you believe in, and have low self-esteem, you will easily be led and become a victim of the demon king and his armies of afflictions.

How, then, can we heal the mind? The secret lies in practicing the threefold training: discipline, meditative concentration, and wisdom. It is by practicing the threefold training that we can erase all traces of greed, anger, and ignorance. Greed, anger, and ignorance are sometimes called the three poisons because they are the enemies most profoundly harmful to the body and mind.

Greed is like a stomach ailment since, just like many stomach problems, greed is the result of gluttony. Anger can be compared to lung disease, since diseased lungs gradually ruin the body just as anger ruins all that it touches. Ignorance can be compared to a neurological disorder, since neurological disorders are characterized by the loss of control over speech and motor functions, just as ignorance is the source of mishaps.

The way to heal the mind of the three poisons is threefold: generosity can heal greed, patience can heal anger, and awareness can heal ignorance.

We can view the three poisons—greed, anger, and ignorance—separately.

Firstly, all people harbor some degree of selfishness in their minds. They always think of themselves first. When they see something they like, they want to possess it; as long as they can get what they want, they do not care if others live or die. As a result, the disease of greed naturally arises. Wouldn’t it be better if we could be like a candle that sacrifices itself so others may have light, like dew that appears only briefly but gives part of itself to nourish other living things, or like the sun that selflessly shines across the earth providing warmth and light?

People who are able to give of themselves and who know how to help others feel happiness and joy are people who have overcome greed because generosity is the best way to heal selfishness.

Next, anger is another common illness that troubles people’s minds. People who become angry quickly have not spent enough time cultivating their character. The moment something they do not like happens, they become angry; in a moment of anger, a friend may become an enemy, while a spouse may become a foe. When a thought of anger arises, all things may appear so loathsome and hateful that he or she may wish to destroy the entire world with one blow. The Dhammapada says, “If one tries to end disputes with more disputes, they will never end, for it is only through patience that one can end disputes.” Anger never solves problems. If we practice patience at crucial moments and realize all things in the world are essentially equal and there is no real difference between good and bad or oneself and others, then the disease of anger can be healed.

Lastly, people have the illness of ignorance because they are confused and lack awareness. Ignorance exacerbates the problems of greed and anger; it is the root of all our afflictions and the main reason we remain trapped within the cycle of birth and death. Ignorance leads to wrong views and all too often wrong views lead to the creation of unwholesome karma, which in turn may lead to being reborn in one of the three lower realms: the hell realm, the ghostly realm, or the animal realm. If we can spark a bit of awareness in our minds and realize that an ocean of wisdom resides within us, we will be less susceptible to the harsh winds and turbulent waves generated by ignorance.

From Buddhism and Healing, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

What are people supposed to do when they are troubled by afflictions? Some people are troubled by very specific things, others encounter poverty, and many have poor relations with other people. Some individuals are disturbed the moment they hear even the slightest comment they do not like, or they become angry when they see someone doing something they do not approve of. This sort of Read more
One of the great advantages of sitting meditation is that you can take it with you wherever you go. Whether you are in a forest deep in the mountains or beside a stream among the grass and reeds, you can develop meditative concentration just by sitting down and crossing your legs.But what is meditation? Does it come from sitting, standing, or lying down? Huineng, the Read more
If we want to understand what the Dharma teaches us about building affinity and living in harmony with others, we must first understand the four great all-embracing virtues. The Buddha teaches that for us to realize our true capacity of connecting with and serving our fellow citizens, we have to first build a good rapport, and the four virtues are tools to that end. The four Read more
Humans are “masters of the myriad creations of this earth” but are also the creators of problems. The arising of all problems in this world is related to humans, including today’s problems concerning environmental preservation. They also arise because of humanity’s selfishness, ignorance, and interruption of the harmony and natural cycles of the world, to the point where there are continuous natural calamities and changes. Read more
The first realization of The Eight Realizations of a Bodhisatttva Sutra is concerned with what is generally called the Buddha’s view of this world. This first realization is a description of the basic features of the world we live in. The points made in this realization are made in many other Buddhist sutras.The Buddha emphasized these basic points on many different occasions because it is Read more
Why should people create Buddha images? Did the Buddha really want everyone to make images of him and worship his body?In truth, the purpose of creating the Buddha images is not to create symbols for worship. Buddha images are reminders that “the mind is the Buddha,” and that everyone has Buddha nature. Buddha images also remind us to frequently recollect the virtues of the Buddha Read more
We all have our share of headaches and heartaches. Physically, we all have to face aging, sickness and death. Mentally, we have to deal with problems arising from greed, hatred and ignorance. The Chinese have a saying that aptly describes our predicament: “Heaven and hell sometimes end; the threads of sorrow continue forever.” Our afflictions are as deep as the dark blue sea and are Read more
Prajna allows us to truly know how life comes and goes, and it is only with prajna that we can have the strength to face the realities of life. To survive in this world we need both wisdom and power to alleviate our hardships and overcome adverse situations.Patience gives us both wisdom and strength.Buddhism speaks of three levels of patience.The first is patience for life, Read more
It is only through loving-kindness and compassion that we can find room in our hearts to forgive others. It is only through our willingness to let go of resentment that we can find a way to magnanimity.  Read more
Trees have their roots, and people have their origins. As hu­man beings, we must endeavor to increase joy in the world for the sake of everyone in the world, and we also must ensure that life will sprout flowers and bear fruits as strong and stur­dy as the peach. “Mother” is the source of life for every person, and she is also the harbor on Read more
In the past, during the feudal period of Chinese history, men were respected while women were thought of as being rather contemptible. The birth of a son was compared to fashioning an ornament as precious as jade, which not only made everyone happy, but also raised the status of his mother. Read more
If someone who holds firmly to the name of Avalokit­esvara were to find themselves in a fire, no matter how big, they need not fear being burned by it because of the Bodhi­sattva’s awe-inspiring spiritual powers. Specifically the passage describes one who “upholds the name.” The Chinese character chi (持), “uphold,” means to hold firmly to or mindfully maintain something. One who upholds the name Read more