The mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief. They are all mind-wrought.
Even if all sacred Buddhist texts were to perish, and all monasteries turn to ashes, and all the Buddha's teachings be forgotten, and all Buddhists wiped out in an apocalyptic cataclysm from the face of the Earth, and the very memory of the Buddha himself lost in the mist of time, and all that were to remain would be only these two verses, the first two of the Dhammapada, it would suffice for the entire faith to be rebuild from scratch, as a gigantic Sequoia tree rising from just one small seed.
We often think, albeit mistakenly, that it is irresistible outside forces that are actually responsible for us feeling, behaving, or reacting one way or the other, when -in fact- the sheer falsity and shaky logical foundation of this fundamentally-flawed view are sometimes so easily dispelled merely by taking a simple look at reality itself: how many times haven't we seen one heart offering someone forgiveness for a certain fault, while another heart was turning with bitterness towards someone else for making the very same mistake? Some people bite even the hand that feeds them, repaying kindness with ingratitude, while others are thankful even to their worst enemies for turning them into the persons that they have now become, by overcoming all the hurdles and obstacles that have been set in their path over the course of time by the hatred and enmity of their foes. Some men being enslaved by the beauty of a woman, while others remain indifferent to her charms. Some leaders honorably resigning at the slightest sight of error, others still desperately holding on to their chairs even after committing dozens of catastrophic and unpardonable mistakes. Some seeing in failure a reason to get up and keep fighting (or at least viewing it as an indispensable and invaluable part of the learning process), while others are completely crushed at the first sign of defeat, crying out in surrender, and giving up all hope once and for all.
6 comments :
Do you believe mental illnesses are real? I've been thinking about that a lot lately, along with my struggles about what the human will is all about and why we do what we don't want to do (as St. Paul put it); I also suspect I may have ADD. There actually are many scientists and psychiatrists who've been defending mental illness is nothing but bogus, and their arguments are pretty compelling. If they really are fake, then a lot of people have a lot to account for...
Yes, Bruno, mental illnesses are very real indeed.. which of course is NOT to say that -in certain cases- spiritual afflictions are not mistaken for neurological ones due to the materialistic bias of today's post-Christian society..
I also suspect I may have ADD
Of course you do: that's usually what happens when school's boring, summer's coming, and you're single.
So how are we to discern whether it's "irresistible outside forces that are actually responsible for us feeling, behaving or reacting one way or the other" (i.e., in this case, mental illnesses) or a spiritual affliction? Dozens of supposedly mild mental illnesses display absolutely no neurological or physiological changes in the body, which renders their diagnostic process a little suspicious — ADD being one of them, so are people with ADD mentally ill or just plain lazy?
Of course you do: that's usually what happens when school's boring, summer's coming, and you're single.
Well... I can't blame you; you don't know my story and I'm not gonna bother you with it right now, but it's not that simple. It's something much more persistent and pervasive than just when "summer's coming." Anyway, I didn't say anything with any certainty at all, I simply said I suspect. Heck, I've even just told how I'm not even sure whether ADD is real. Meh, I've just been thinking about these things too much due to my current situation, sorry if all this sounds like some nonsensical rambling.
Look, Bruno, on the serious side: I'm not a medical doctor, and as such I really can't offer you any medical advice... This post was about fighting off temptation and struggling against the passions -like lust or hatred- not about medical disorders... :-|
Right. Sorry. I got a bit carried away. My bad.
No, it's OK, I'm not mad at you or anything for bringing it up... but if you think that you might have a medical condition, PLEASE consult a physician about it, before it worsens. Doing original research over the net and asking random strangers about it won't solve anything... :-|
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