Finding Peace
To calm the mind, we need a safe environment. Many people think that this is in the mountains or in the jungles of south Asia. They think they need to travel far and wide, maybe even to the forests and mountains of China, to find a master to teach them the secrets of the universe. Until recently, I believe, I also suffered from this ideological constraint. To overcome this, there are a few things that I had to reflect upon. Two things I have heard, and one thing I have experienced.
The first – The Dalai Lama once said that he learned what true compassion was from his mother. Without it, he would be lost in the Buddhist practice.
The second is something the Buddha said, recounted in the Metta sutra. He said, “Just as a mother would protect her only child, even so, develop a boundless loving-kindness to the entire world above, below, across, unhindered, without anger and without hostility.”
The third, which I realized myself, is gratitude. Really understanding how my mother and father have taken care of me since birth, through childhood, until now.
Without these three lessons, I would be lost in the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha shows us the path with the theory and the method. But, he cannot feel for us, he cannot experience for us, and therefore, unlike Jesus or God, he cannot save us from the perils of the world. We must, and can only, do it ourselves.
To find a calm mind, we must draw on our positive past experiences to create a safe environment for our mind to calm, to take down its guard. If you are having trouble finding a calm mind, I might suggest rummaging through your comfortable memories.
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