The Solution is within the Problem – Mind
"The mind sent outside is the origination of suffering.
The result of the mind sent outside is suffering.
The mind seeing the mind is the path.
The result of the mind seeing the mind is the cessation of suffering."
~ Ajaan Dune Atulo
It is indeed touching how the above phrase is being poetically rendered to express the problem and also the solution of all human suffering. As a start, it is incorrect to state that "suffering" is only associated with humans since universally, where there is the presence of "mind", suffering is inevitable. In brief, when we talk about a being, as in any sentient being, there is already the presence of mind. And it is this – how the mind is being experienced – that can be the cause of the arising of suffering or can also be the end of suffering. It is a matter of seeing the mind correctly, or wrongly, as the case may be.
You may be wondering what has "suffering" got to do with how the mind is being seen or experienced since most of our suffering has got to do with either a situation, event or another person. I can only say that if we have yet to understand the workings of our mind, conceptually it may seem true that external causes can make us suffer. But the truth of the matter is that the mind itself, being an elusive phenomenon, is making that up. More precisely, it is the way the mind is being seen or experienced that is producing the result.
Let me try to put it in a simple language to express the reality of what is truly happening in each of our moments. It may not be simple to comprehend and may need some deep reflection on your part. A projector may be a good metaphor. The images that are coming through the projector and the light shining on it has always remained within the projector itself. Somehow, if attention is not given to this reality, a kind of projection starts to take place outside of it, in this case, the screen. It feels like there is now something "out there" though, in reality, it is "in here" – the origin of happening, that is the projector.
If you wish to understand how suffering comes about, you need to introduce awareness to the nature of the mind, as in the metaphor of the projector. You "return" inwards, so to speak. And that is what meditation is all about. You do nothing further with the mind. Just be aware and notice all the occurrences of mental happenings and notice how the happening within the mind is always mistakenly projected outwards. A good example is when judging another. Judgments are mental discrimination or thoughts within the mind and have never once left the mind. Somehow, if you do not notice this point when you judge, it looks like it is about someone. In truth, it is a kind of delusion. In reality, there is no "situation" out there except your own mind projecting that. If awareness is given to this area, you will see it clearly. Otherwise, you fall into the trap of the mind being "sent out". It is this delusion, that causes you to see a separation – that the outside world has nothing to do with you. And it is here, suffering begins. If you notice all these happenings and how mental projections are merely a mistaken state, as in the analogy of the projector, the entire poem above will make sense to you. Mindworks.
If you do not at all agree to what is shared here, fret not. Come and see for yourself. Jump on the wagon of awareness towards the working of your own mind and you will have a direct experience – without needing any belief at all – to finally come to your own senses: suffering, how it comes to be, how it ends and the way to end it. Welcome to our new season of Mindfulness A Starting Point.
In grace,
Tuck Loon
Newsletter 19 January 2021