Silent mind
When your sense perception comes into contact with sense objects and you experience physical pleasure, enjoy that feeling as much as possible. But if the experience of the contact of your sensory perception with the sensory world binds you, if the more you look at the sensory world, the more difficult it becomes, instead of becoming anxious – “I have no control over this” – it is it’s better to shut down your fear. Turn off the senses and observe with a quiet mind the sense perception itself.
In the same way, if you are tied to the problems that ideas cause, rather than trying to stop those problems by clinging to another idea, which is impossible, then diligently investigate how ideas cause you problems. At certain times a quiet mind is very important, but ‘quiet’ does not mean closed. The still mind is an alert, awakened mind; a mind searching for the nature of reality.
Facing problems with a quiet mind
When problems in the sensory world bother you, the difficulty comes from your sensory perception, and not from the external objects you perceive. And if concepts bother you, it is not from the outside, but because your mind grasps for concepts. Therefore, rather than trying to emotionally stop problems by reaching for new material objects or ideas, it is best to silently explore what is happening in your mind.
Whatever type of mental problem you are experiencing, instead of becoming nervous and anxious, sit back, relax and be as still as possible. This way you can automatically see the reality and understand the cause of the problem. When we experience problems, both internal and external, our narrow, unskilled minds only make them worse.
When someone with an itchy skin condition scratches it, he feels temporary relief and thinks that the scratching has made it better. His scratching has made it even worse. That’s how we are; we do the same thing every day of our lives. Instead of trying to stop these kinds of problems, we should relax and trust our capable, quiet mind. But quiet doesn’t mean dark, non-functioning, slow or sleepy.
So now just close your eyes for five or ten minutes and take a good look at what you consider to be your biggest problem. Shut down your sense perception as much as possible, remain completely still and thoroughly examine your mind with introspective knowledge-wisdom. Where do you keep the idea of ’my problem’? Is it in your brain? In your mouth? Your heart? Your stomach? Where is that idea? If you can’t find the thought of a ‘problem’, don’t intellectualize; just relax. When miserable thoughts or bad ideas come to mind, watch them come and go.
Don’t react emotionally. If you practice in this way, you can see that the weak, unskillful mind cannot face problems. But your quiet mind with skillful wisdom can courageously face any problem, overcome it and control all your emotional and agitated moods.
Do not think that what I am saying is a Buddhist idea, the idea of some Tibetan lama. It can become the actual experience of all living beings in the entire universe. I could give you many words and many ideas in my talk tonight, but I think it is more important to share the silent experience with you. That’s more realistic than any number of words. When you examine your mind thoroughly, you can clearly see that both miserable and ecstatic thoughts come and go.
Moreover, if you do deep research, they disappear completely. When you are completely absorbed in an experience, you think, “I will never forget this experience,” but if you skillfully control this, it automatically disappears. That is the silent wisdom experience. It’s very simple, but don’t just take my word for it, experience it for yourself. In my experience, a silent lecture is worth more than a lecture with many words and without experience. In the quiet mind you find peace, joy and contentment.
Silent inner joy is much more lasting than the pleasure of eating chocolate and cake. That enjoyment is also just a concept. When you shut off your superficial sense perception and explore your inner nature, you begin to awaken. Why? Because superficial sensory perception prevents you from seeing the reality of how discursive thoughts come and go. When you shut off your senses, your mind becomes more aware and functions better. When your superficial senses are engaged, your mind is quite obscure; it is completely preoccupied with the way your senses interpret things. So you cannot see reality. Therefore, if you are bound by ideas and the sensory world, instead of stressing about your sense perception, stop watching your mind in silence.
Try to be fully awake instead of obsessing over just one atom. Feel the totality instead of details. You cannot decide for yourself how things should be. Things change by their nature. How can you capture an idea? You can see that you can’t. When you examine the way you think, “Why am I saying this is good?” Why do I say this is bad?” – you start to get real answers about how your mind really works.
You can see how most of your ideas are foolish, but how your mind makes them important. If you check it carefully, you can see that these ideas are actually nothing. By checking this way you end up with nothing on your mind. Let your mind dwell in that state of nothingness. It’s so peaceful; so joyful. If you can just sit with a quiet mind for ten to twenty minutes every morning, you will enjoy it immensely. You will be able to observe the movement of your emotions from moment to moment without feeling sad. You will also look at the outside world and other people differently; you will never see them as an obstacle to your life and they will never make you feel insecure. Therefore, beauty comes from the mind.
So that was the experience of silence. You can discuss what I said from your own experience. Observing and examining your mind is so simple; very easy. Constantly, wherever you go, at any time, you can experience this energy. It is always with you. But chocolate is not the peaceful silence of the silent mind. . .always with you – when you want it, it’s not there and when you don’t feel like it, it’s in front of you. The joy of the silent experience comes from your own mind. Therefore, joy is always with you. When you need it, it’s always there.