Do you think there is any past, any suffering, any sadness, or any anger that is not owned by our mind? If we want to call upon a sadness in the past, then we have to use our mind to call it up. Our consciousness can bring up all of the past and think of these things. And if our mind or our consciousness is not whispering all of these things all of the time, then our past will not come up for us. For example, I could be very happy right now until someone just steps through the door and I remember that this person has caused me to suffer for many years. Then in my mind, the first words that come up could be, “Oh, him again,” or “Oh, her again.” And then we begin to recall all of the difficult moments that we have had with this person.
So many things come up in our minds about all the bad things that this person did, and we become angry and frustrated. So we can see that all of the frustrations and anger come up because of these conversations and this whispering voice in our mind. We can continue with these conversations, and they can imprison us for our entire lives. Or we can call upon the energy of Avalokiteshvara and say, “Oh, I recognize this voice! I recognize this mental formation!” The energy of Avalokiteshvara is the mere recognition, and it is like the sun shining on something dark. You can do this.
There is recognition without speech, and there is recognition with speech. We can just see, and we know. We just listen, and we hear. And this state of recognition is present with us right in the present moment. It does not arise from the discourses in our mind. The energy of Avalokiteshvara is the energy of mindfulness right in the present moment, and it is the ability to come in contact with the present moment, moment to moment, and to always have the wheels be in touch with the earth.
BE LIKE A TREEZen Talks by Thích Phước TịnhEdited and Illustrated by Karen HilsbergJasmine Roots Press – 2008
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