Your body is not real. It is a compounded phenomenon, a creation of your own imprints/habitual patterns, a creation of the mind. Our clinging to physical comfort and aversion toward physical discomfort is a delusion of the mind. After we have died, there is no body, yet we experience more intense suffering in the Bardo. If we are able to let go of our thoughts of attachment and aversion, we will not experience such painful delusions in the Bardo. Therefore, we must contemplate that this life is like a dream again and again.
If, in this life, we are able to recognize the empty nature of the afflictive emotions we will also be able to recognize the empty nature of the Bardo. However, if we give way to the afflictive emotions and accumulate negative karma which leave an imprint in the mind, the frightening appearances of the Bardo will seem to be real. This is the point of meditation.
If, in this life, we are able to recognize the empty nature of the afflictive emotions we will also be able to recognize the empty nature of the Bardo. However, if we give way to the afflictive emotions and accumulate negative karma which leave an imprint in the mind, the frightening appearances of the Bardo will seem to be real. This is the point of meditation.
-H.E. Garchen Rinpoche
The whole purpose of meditation is to clean our mind of defilements. The defilements of attachment, aversion and delusion give us suffering. External circumstances are neutral by nature but it is the reaction of the mind to these circumstances that create the suffering. In other words, afflictive emotions (anger, jealousy, hatred, love, etc) causes us suffering. Why is this so? The Buddha has explained in the First Noble Truth that separation from the beloved and association with things you dislike cause suffering and that the cause of this suffering is attachment and aversion to these things. In order to break the chain of suffering, we must learn to let go through meditation and see the empty nature of these emotions. Emotions arise and fall quickly. It is the attachment to these emotions that causes suffering. Dear Dharma friends, there is no value in these emotions at all except to cloud your mind!
Commentary by Jerome:
The whole purpose of meditation is to clean our mind of defilements. The defilements of attachment, aversion and delusion give us suffering. External circumstances are neutral by nature but it is the reaction of the mind to these circumstances that create the suffering. In other words, afflictive emotions (anger, jealousy, hatred, love, etc) causes us suffering. Why is this so? The Buddha has explained in the First Noble Truth that separation from the beloved and association with things you dislike cause suffering and that the cause of this suffering is attachment and aversion to these things. In order to break the chain of suffering, we must learn to let go through meditation and see the empty nature of these emotions. Emotions arise and fall quickly. It is the attachment to these emotions that causes suffering. Dear Dharma friends, there is no value in these emotions at all except to cloud your mind!
Author:
Jerome is a Buddhist practitioner that has learnt from Theravada, Mahayana and Tibetan traditions and is still learning! He first learnt meditation and Dharma from Theravadan monks and practitioners in the lineage of the Arahant Venerable Amatha Gavesi Maha Thero from Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist temple in Singapore. Then, he completed a Diploma in Buddhism from the Buddhist and Pali College in 2016. He also learnt from Zen Master Wu Jue Miao Tian (85th Zen Patriach) from the LingJi lineage in Taiwan in 2014 - 2015. Subsequently, he learnt from Garchen Rinpoche from the Drigar Thubten Dargye Ling tradition (Tibetan) and attended annual Om Mani Padme Hum and Om Ami Dewa Hrih retreats from 2015 till date. Currently, he is a disciple of Master Jin Bodhi (Mahayana) from Bodhi Meditation in Singapore and is an active volunteer there. Master Jin Bodhi is his main Dharma teacher. Jerome feels that Buddhism is not a religion but is a practical way to reduce our life's problems. The essence of Buddhism is not in the books or sutras but in the way we apply it into our lives. Having understood some aspects of Buddha's teaching, he wants to give back to the society and hopes to share his insights with everyone who has the affinity with him.
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