Second flower bloom

Chapter 3 An Le
What is attachment?How do you count letting go?Anle, in the final analysis, is a feeling of the heart. At the end of July 2008, Master's old illness relapsed.During the treatment, the master gave the following teachings on the relationship between pain and happiness.

Some disciples asked me before: "How can I be at peace?" I think this is a good question to answer: "Let go of attachments and you will be at peace." But after a long time, I found that this simple and direct answer is not for everyone. both work.

What is attachment?How do you count letting go?These are all questions.So, when my disciple asked me again how to be happy, I asked back, "How do you feel now?"

Anle, in the final analysis, is a feeling of the heart.

Sometimes people are not unhappy, they just think they are unhappy.If you try to observe the changes in your emotions, you will find that emotions are like clouds in the sky, changeable and easy to disperse. From a distance, one looks like a person can walk and dance on them, but when you get closer, you will find the fundamental There is no place to stand.Despite this, there are often floating clouds in the sky. In the sky of our mind, the floating clouds of emotions gather into clouds and form our state of mind.There are many happy and satisfied emotions, and the mood is peaceful.

What is happiness?The disappearance of pain is happiness.

Don't take happiness so seriously, as if you can't get it without serious effort.But in fact, it's not.No matter how ordinary people are, no matter how ordinary their lives are, they are full of happiness.When you are thirsty, you will be happy when you drink water; when you are hungry, you will be happy when you eat; You are days, and the moment the doctor pulls it out, you are happy; a cool breeze on a sweltering summer night, a shade from a tree beside a road under a scorching sun will make you happy; even the most ordinary breath will bring you happiness. hapiness……

One way to get started with meditation is to observe your breath.When the mind calms down, you will experience that every breath is filled with joyful energy.You can feel this even in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

We've all been there: a cold, stuffy nose is uncomfortable, but two days later, when we suddenly find that our nose is unobstructed and we can breathe normally, we are so happy that we can breathe smoothly through our nose Such a happy thing!

It can be seen that happiness is all around us, but people either do not feel it because their hearts are not quiet enough, or because happiness is fleeting and there is no time to fully experience it.

If people can understand and be familiar with the activities of their minds like observing the spots and wrinkles on their faces, it is not difficult to find that every simple and direct moment is accompanied by a touch of joy.If people do not blindly pin their happiness on the stimulation brought by the ever-changing external world, then the feeling of happiness can be extended and expanded.

Buddhism tells us: Suffering comes from self-attachment and dharma attachment, that is, attachment to oneself and attachment to things around you.

People believe that there is an absolute "I", this is my body, this is my mind, my house, my friends... But in fact, this is just a misunderstanding caused by not knowing myself.

As for the method of getting rid of ego attachment, it is clearly explained in "The Madhyamaka" and "Entrance to the Realm", so I won't repeat it.Simply put, there is no absolute "I".

Is that you that person you see in the mirror every morning?But the teacher in the biology class told you that the human body is metabolizing all the time, that is to say, it is constantly changing, and the cells that make up your body are constantly dying and regenerating.Maybe you think that changes within a certain range are acceptable, as long as you maintain a "degree", you are still you, just as water is still water no matter how it changes between freezing point and boiling point.However, take a look at the photos of you when you were three years old, will you still insist that there is such a "degree" in yourself?Relatives and friends who have been away for decades often sigh when they meet: they have become unrecognizable!And the reason why I still know it is "you" is because "you" is not isolated, and you can still find traces of the past in the inextricable connection between you and the outside world.This connection, this relative identity, is how others identify us and how we identify ourselves.There are no people who come and go in the world by chance.

Knowing this relativity, we realize the futility of spending a lifetime trying to build a wall between ourselves and the outside world, and the frustration of that futility makes us unhappy.

Not only do we misunderstand our connection to the outside world, we also know very little about our inner self.For many people, the strangest person in this world is "myself", and it seems that I have never had the opportunity to calm down and understand myself: how do I feel at this moment?Are you full or hungry?Is it cold or hot?Is it tired or energized?Is it quiet or restless?It sounds like a simple question, but not everyone can answer it right away.

It's very interesting. In this era of information explosion, you may know the progress of the US election on the other side of the earth, but you don't know your real needs and feelings physically and mentally.Habitual absent-mindedness causes us to miss great opportunities to learn about ourselves.

The "Agama Sutra" describes the practice of the "Four Foundations of Mindfulness", which is to start from the body, feelings, mind, and dharma, and to be aware of one's body and mind truthfully and closely.In this clear awareness, many defilements disappear without a trace.

I don’t know if you have experienced this kind of experience: when you feel pain in a certain part of your body, you focus on observing the "pain", including the specific location of the pain, the degree of pain, and the change of pain degree... soon , you will find that the pain is relieved.In the same way, when you are troubled by emotions such as anger, jealousy, fear, and irritability, pay attention to observation.

Take the most harmful negative emotion—anger, as an example. Anger also has a process from brewing to eruption, just like a fire. At first, it was just a few small sparks, and later it developed into a flame. When the wind blows, it will burn more and more fiercely. It became a big fire.Many people don't realize they're on fire until the flames burst into flames.However, if you pay attention to the observation, if the sparks or flames have just started, you will step forward to extinguish them, and the fire will not burn.You don't even have to rush to put out the fire, just sit back and watch how the fire burns.In case you didn't know it, it's usually the mischievous you who fan the flames and add fuel to them.Now you run out to be a spectator, no one helps, the fire doesn't burn well, and it will go out by itself after a while.

The same goes for other emotions, don't be pushed around by them, turn around and look at them: see where they come from and where they go!
Everything will pass, including hurtful negative emotions.

When you are jealous, furious, sad, panicked, and full of grievances, say to yourself: It's not a big deal, it will get better.In fact, even if you want to be angry and sad all your life, you can't do it.

We mentioned earlier that there is no absolute boundary between ourselves and the outside world, and this interlinkage between self and others provides us with an opportunity to train bodhicitta.

We pursue happiness and don't want to be hurt. We feel wronged when we are misunderstood by others. We hope to be noticed and understood... People have the same heart and the same reason. Expanding, all living beings have the same hopes and desires.

On the bustling streets, men, women, poor people, rich people, people you like, people you don't like, they all want happiness and happiness just like you, although their means of pursuing happiness may be clumsy.Such thoughts make us naturally feel sympathy and tolerance.

Living with negative emotions, rather than suppressing them, can also help us develop bodhicitta.Anxiety, anger, jealousy, fear, boredom, disease, etc. all make us suffer. At this time, we think: there are many sentient beings suffering like me!For them and for myself, I must learn how to get rid of pain.

Shantideva said: When we generate bodhicitta, we are like beggars finding rare treasures in a garbage dump.It brings us endless joy and fulfills all our desires.

Another sign of not knowing yourself is not knowing what to do with yourself.Either indulge and indulge, or blame yourself and be demanding, in short, you just can't get along with yourself in a peaceful way.

The problem of many people is that they are always dissatisfied with themselves, dissatisfied with their current appearance, intelligence, status, wealth, and benefits.

In the Buddhist scriptures, the world we live in is called the Saha world, which means a world that can tolerate shortcomings.If you don't change your mind and insist on pursuing perfection in this world of imperfections, will there be any results?What is the purpose of endless pursuit?There are many people who are distressed or are too busy to live in order to pursue the prosperity and comfort of life.A lifetime of hard work, but still unhappy in the end, and a lifetime has passed.

A happy life starts with accepting your imperfections, accepting a not-so-perfect self, and learning to say: "I don't need anything anymore, I'm satisfied."

Don't think that the purpose of our practice is to master more talents and skills, so as to become a more beautiful, mature, richer, and more enviable person.not like this.

Many times, we just need to do subtraction.Simple mind, simple life is good.If we observe carefully, none of the people, things, states, etc. that we are deeply attached to is indispensable to our life.Placing your happiness on seeking outside is like drinking salt water to quench your thirst. The more you get, the less satisfied you will be.

Dharma King Ruyibao once said: "Although not everyone can give up this life like Venerable Milarepa, don't be too greedy." The wealth and honor that people in the world pursue is also a burden.

In the past, Patrul Rinpoche concealed his identity and performed a salvation for a deceased person on the way of begging for alms.When all the auspicious images of the deceased appeared, the family happily offered three horses to Patrul Rinpoche, who was dressed in rags, as a token of gratitude.Patrul Rinpoche said, "I don't need any offerings. If I have three horses, I will have the troubles of three horses."

Some people say that the living conditions of Tibetans are so difficult, and devout belief in Buddhism has not made their society more developed and their lives more prosperous.But in the hearts of Tibetans, the standard of a developed society is not material prosperity, but equality and happiness.Living rich but not happy is not a happy life.

In Buddhism, what we learn is the way to make this life equal and happy in the next life.Nagarjuna Bodhisattva once made a wish: in the next life, one should not be reborn into a wealthy family, and secondly, one should not be reborn into a family that is too poor. It is best to be reborn into a middle-level family with food and clothing. Stability and peace are most suitable for practice.

Many people in Tibet live contentedly and happily all their lives, only asking for food and clothing.They believe that the happiness they feel when their hearts are satisfied is a happiness that even Indra, who is unparalleled in wealth and benefits, cannot enjoy.

The reason why people think that they have to do this or that to be happy is entirely due to inertial thinking.When some unexpected events, such as diseases and disasters, interrupt our usual way of thinking, we will find that we do not need as many conditions as we originally thought to be happy.

In addition to our misunderstandings about ourselves, we also have misunderstandings about the world around us.

Some basic facts in life are obvious, but people always fail to recognize them, such as impermanence.Everything in the world is changing all the time, and we instinctively want to pursue a sense of security and certainty, which means that life often does not go our way.People often lament the disappointment in life. In fact, that kind of frustration is often just an experience of impermanence.If you accept impermanence as the law of life and accept it, you will relax.

You know that you are not alone in this world of dissatisfaction and insecurity.You will understand that many things cannot be forced, and it is good to do your best.It is also meaningless to care about gains and losses.

Recognizing and accepting impermanence does not mean that you will become a pessimist and life will be worthless in your eyes.Imagine before you recognize the fact of impermanence, whether it is suffering or happiness, don't you always live very vigorously?And how has impermanence ever left you for a second?
Sometimes we even have to thank impermanence.Because of it, we don't suffer forever, and we always have the chance to start over.Just like now, after countless kalpas of suffering and ignorance, we can still find happiness through the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha.

There are two other important concepts in Buddhism: cause and effect and emptiness.Believing in cause and effect and establishing emptiness can help us further let go of our attachments and gain happiness.I will elaborate on these two points later.

Chiarombo
Oral at the end of July 2008
Disciple records
(End of this chapter)