The Nature Of Our Moods

Ajahn Chah talks about how we must know all about what is happening in our minds and lives. When we can understand the nature of our moods and emotions, they won't hit us, and we won't go chasing after them. "The Buddha taught us first to see these things all around, from all sides. Only then will the mind really be quiet and still...As long as we don't understand our moods, we become a moody person."

This recording is an excerpt from Ajahn Chah's talk 'In the Shape of a Circle.'

Transcript

When it comes to the Dhamma,

We have to understand that our opinions are one thing,

And the Dhamma is something else.

As for the practice,

Start out by establishing your powers of endurance,

And then contemplate.

Contemplate your activities,

Your comings and goings.

Contemplate what you're up to.

Whatever arises,

The Buddha had us know all around.

Whatever directions things come in from,

He had us know all around.

If we know all around,

Whatever comes at us from this way will see it.

Whatever comes at us from that way,

We see it.

Right we know,

Wrong we know,

Happy we know,

Glad we know,

We know all around.

But our minds,

When they contemplate,

Aren't yet all around.

We know just this side,

But leave that side wide open.

It's like putting a fence around a field or a house,

But it doesn't go all around.

If we put it up just on this side,

Thieves will come in at that side,

The side that the fence hasn't gone around.

Why is that?

We haven't closed the gate.

Our fence isn't yet good.

It's normal that they'll have to come in through that opening,

So we contemplate again,

Adding more fence,

Closing things off,

Continually.

Putting up a fence means establishing mindfulness and always being alert.

If we do this,

The Dhamma won't go anywhere else.

It'll come right here.

Good and bad,

The Dhamma we should see and should know will arise right here.

As for whatever we don't need to know,

We let it go for the time being.

We don't waste our time with the logs we aren't yet strong enough to lift.

We wait until we have a tractor or a 10 wheel truck before trying to move them.

Focus for the time being just on the things that you can lift.

Look at it.

Use your powers of endurance,

Bit by bit.

If you stick with this steadily,

Your happy moods and your sad moods,

Your desirable moods and undesirable moods will all come in right here.

That's when you get to watch them.

Your moods and preoccupations are one thing.

The mind is something else.

They're two different kinds of things.

Usually when a mood hits,

One that we like,

We go running after it.

If it's one we don't like,

We turn our backs on it.

When this is the case,

We don't see our own mind.

We just keep running after our moods.

The mood is the mood.

The mind is the mind.

You have to separate them out to see what the mind is like.

What the mood is like.

As when we're sitting here,

Still,

We feel at ease.

But if someone comes along and insults us,

We go running after the mood.

We've left our spot.

The mind that gets deluded by the mood goes running after the mood.

We become a moody person,

A person who panders to his moods.

You have to understand that all your moods are lies.

There's nothing true to them at all.

They're far from the Buddha's teachings.

All they can do is lie to us about everything of every sort.

The Buddha taught us to meditate to see the truth,

The truth of the world.

The world is our moods,

Our preoccupations.

Our preoccupations are the world.

If we aren't acquainted with the Dhamma,

Aren't acquainted with the mind,

Aren't acquainted with our preoccupations,

We grab onto the mind and its preoccupations and get them all mixed up.

Phew.

My mind feels no ease.

It's like you have many minds and they're all in a turmoil.

Actually,

That's not the case.

You don't have many minds.

You have many moods and preoccupations.

We're not acquainted with our own mind,

So we keep running after our preoccupations.

If you sit meditating like that,

Things just keep running along in that way.

The Buddha taught us to look at things right here,

Right where they arise.

When they arise,

They don't stay,

They disband.

They disband and then they arise.

When they arise,

They disband.

But we don't want them to be that way.

When the mind is quiet,

We want it to keep on being quiet.

We don't want it to get stirred up.

We want to be at our ease.

Our views are in opposition to the truth.

The Buddha taught us first to see these things all around,

From all sides.

Only then will the mind really be quiet and still.

As long as we don't know these things,

As long as we don't understand our moods,

We become a moody person.

We lay claim to our moods.

This turns into stubbornness and pride.

When we see this happening,

The Buddha tells us to turn our attention to contemplating right there.

This kind of thinking is thinking.

This kind of knowing is knowing.

When things are like this,

They're like this.

Tell yourself that these things simply follow their own nature.

This is what moods are like.

This is what the mind is like.

When this is the way things really are,

What can you do to be at your ease?

What can you do to be at your ease?

Well,

Just contemplate right there.

We don't want things to be like that.

That's the reason for our discomfort.

No matter where you go to run away from these things,

They're still just like that.

So we should understand that these things are just the way they are,

And that's all.

That's the truth.

To put it simply,

That's the Buddha.

But we don't see him there.

We think it's Devadatta,

Not the Buddha at all.

The inconstancy of the Dhamma.

Inconstancy,

Stress,

And not self.

There's nothing wrong with these things.

They're just the way they are.

We place too many labels and intentions on them.

And you can see this happening,

It's really good.

To put it in simple terms,

Suppose that when you sit in concentration today,

The mind feels still.

You think to yourself,

Hmm,

This is really nice.

Just sitting there,

You feel at ease.

This keeps up for two days or three days.

I really like this.

Then the next day when you sit down to meditate,

It's like sitting on a red ant's nest.

You can't stay seated,

Nothing works.

You're all upset.

You ask yourself,

Why isn't it like the other day?

Why was it so comfortable then?

You can't stop thinking about the other day.

You want it to be like the other day.

Right there is where you're deluded.

Preoccupations change.

They're not constant or sure.

They're not stable.

They just keep following their nature.

The Buddha taught us to see that that's the way they are.

Whatever arises is just old stuff coming back.

There's nothing to it.

But we fix labels and make rules about things.

This I like.

This I don't like.

Whatever we like makes us happy.

Happy because of our delusion.

Happy because of our delusion,

Not because it's right.

When the mind is quiet,

The Buddha tells us not to be intoxicated by it.

When it's distracted,

He tells us not to be intoxicated by it.

Things happen in all kinds of ways.

There's addition,

Subtraction,

Multiplication,

And division.

That's how we can calculate numbers.

But we want there to be just multiplication so we can have lots of everything.

We want to do away with addition,

Do away with subtraction and division.

And our calculations will all be stupid.

If we had nothing but multiplication,

Would we have the space to put everything?

If that's how we think,

We'll stay in a turmoil.

The Buddha said that that sort of thinking has no discernment.

Stillness of mind,

Tranquility,

Comes from being far away from preoccupations.

If you don't hear much of anything,

The mind settles down and is still.

To get this kind of stillness,

You have to go off into seclusion,

To a place that's quiet and still.

If you can get your mind away from your preoccupations,

Not seeing this,

Not knowing about that,

The mind can settle down.

But that's like a disease,

A disease like cancer.

There's a swelling,

But it doesn't yet hurt.

It's not yet tormenting us.

It doesn't yet hurt,

So we seem to be well.

As if there were no defilements in the mind.

That's what the mind is like at times like that.

As long as you stay there,

It's quiet.

But when it comes out to look at sights and hear sounds,

That's the end of it.

It's not at its ease anymore.

How can you keep on staying alone like that so as not to see sights,

Hear sounds,

Smell aromas,

Taste flavors,

Or touch tactile sensations?

Where can you go?

There's no place in the world like that at all.

The Buddha wanted us to see sights,

To hear sounds,

Smell aromas,

Taste flavors,

Or touch tactile sensations.

Hot,

Cold,

Hard,

Soft.

He wanted us to be acquainted with everything.

He didn't want us to run away and hide.

He wanted us to look,

And when we've looked,

To understand.

Ah,

That's the way these things are.

He told us to give rise to discernment.

And how do we give rise to discernment?

The Buddha said it's not hard if we keep at it.

When distractions arise,

Ah,

It's not for sure.

It's inconstant.

When the mind is still,

Don't say,

Oh,

It's really nice and still.

That too isn't for sure.

If you don't believe me,

Give it a try.

Suppose that you like a certain kind of food and say,

Why,

I really like this food.

Try eating it every day.

How many months could you stand it?

It won't be too long before you say,

Enough,

I'm sick and tired of this.

Understand?

I'm really sick and tired of this.

You're sick and tired of what you liked.

We depend on change in order to live.

So just acquaint yourself with the fact that it's all inconstant.

Fear isn't for sure.

Pain isn't for sure.

Happiness isn't for sure.

Stillness isn't for sure.

Distraction,

It isn't for sure.

Whatever,

It all isn't for sure.

Whatever arises,

You should tell it.

Don't try to fool me.

You're not for sure.

That way,

Everything loses its value.

If you can think in that way,

It's really good.

The things you don't like are all not for sure.

Everything that comes along isn't for sure.

It's as if they were trying to sell you things,

But everything has the same price.

It's not for sure.

Not for sure in any way at all.

In other words,

It's inconstant.

It keeps moving back and forth.

To put it simply,

That's the Buddha.

Inconstancy means that nothing's for sure.

That's the truth.

Why don't we see the truth?

Because we haven't looked to see it clearly.

Whoever sees the Dhamma sees the Buddha.

If you see the inconstancy of each and everything,

You give rise to nibbidā,

Disenchantment.

That's all this is.

No big deal.

That's all this is.

No big deal.

The concentration in the mind is no big deal.

When you can do that,

It's no longer hard to contemplate.

Whatever the preoccupation,

You can say in your mind,

No big deal.

And it stops right there.

Everything becomes empty and in vain.

Everything that's unsteady and constant,

It moves around and changes.

It's inconstant,

Stressful,

And not self.

It's not for sure.

It's like a piece of iron that's been heated until it's red and glowing.

Does it have any spot where it's cool?

Try touching it.

If you touch it on top,

It's hot.

If you touch it underneath,

It's hot.

If you touch it on the sides,

It's hot.

Why is it hot?

Because the whole thing is a piece of red hot iron.

So where could it have a cool spot?

That's the way it is.

When that's the way it is,

We don't have to go touching it.

We know it's hot.

If you think that this is good,

I really like it.

Don't give it your seal of guarantee.

It's a red hot piece of iron.

Wherever you touch it,

Wherever you hold onto it,

It'll immediately burn you in every way.

So keep on contemplating.

Whether you're standing or walking or whatever,

Even when you're on the toilet or on your arms round,

When you eat,

Don't make it a big deal.

When the food comes out the other end,

Don't make it a big deal.

Whatever it is,

It's inconstant.

It's not for sure.

It's not truthful in any way.

It's like touching a red hot piece of iron.

You don't know where you can touch it,

Because it's hot all over.

So you just stop touching it.

This is inconstant.

That's inconstant.

Nothing at all is for sure.

Even our thoughts are inconstant.

And why are they inconstant?

They're not self.

They're not ours.

They have to be the way they are.

They're unstable and inconstant.

Boil everything down to that.

Whatever you like isn't for sure.

No matter how much you like it,

It isn't for sure.

Whatever the preoccupation,

No matter how much you like it,

You have to tell yourself this isn't for sure.

This is unstable and inconstant.

And keep on watching.

Like this glass?

It's really pretty.

You want to put it away so that it doesn't break,

But it's not for sure.

One day you put it right next to yourself and then when you reach for something,

You hit it by mistake.

It falls to the floor and breaks.

It's not for sure.

If it doesn't break today,

It'll break tomorrow.

If it doesn't break tomorrow,

It'll break the next day,

For it's breakable.

We're taught not to place our trust in things like this,

Because they're inconstant.

Things that are inconstant,

They would have taught that they're the truth.

Think about it.

If you see that there's no truth to things,

That's the truth.

That's constant,

For sure.

When there's birth,

There has to be aging,

Illness,

And death.

That's something constant and for sure.

What's constant comes from things that aren't constant.

We say that things are inconstant and not for sure,

And that turns everything around.

That's what's constant and for sure.

It doesn't change.

How is it constant?

It's constant in that that's the way things keep on being.

And even if you try to get in the way,

You don't have an effect.

Things just keep on being that way.

They arise and then they disband.

Disband and then arise.

That's the way it is with inconstancy.

That's how it becomes the truth.

The Buddha and his noble disciples awakened because of inconstant things.

When you see inconstancy,

The result is nibbidā,

Disenchantment.

But disenchantment,

It isn't disgust,

You know.

If you feel disgust,

That's wrong.

The wrong kind of disenchantment.

Disenchantment isn't like our normal disgust.

For example,

If you live with your wife and children to the point where you get sick and tired of them,

That's not disenchantment.

It's actually a big defilement.

It squeezes your heart.

If you run away from things like that,

It's being sick and tired because of defilement.

And that's not nibbidā.

Actually,

It's a heavy defilement.

But we think it's disenchantment.

Suppose that you're kind to people.

Whatever you have,

You want to give it to them.

You sympathize with them.

You say that they're pretty and lovely and good to you.

Your defilements are now coming from the other side.

Watch out.

That's not kindness through the Dhamma.

It's selfish kindness.

You want something out of them,

Which is why you're kind to them.

It's the same with disenchantment.

I'm sick and tired of this.

I'm not going to stay any longer.

I'm fed up.

That's not right at all.

It's a big defilement.

It's disenchantment only in name.

The Buddha's disenchantment is something else,

Leaving things alone,

Putting them down.

You don't kill them.

You don't beat them.

You don't punish them.

You're not nice to them.

You just put them down.

Everything.

The same with everything.

That's how it has to be.

Only then can you say that your mind is let go.

That it's empty.

Empty of clinging.

Empty of attachment.

Emptiness doesn't mean nobody exists.

Or like this glass.

It's not the case that it has to not exist for us to say that it's empty.

This thermos exists.

People exist.

Everything exists.

But those who know,

Feel in their hearts,

That these things are truths.

They're not for sure.

They simply follow their conditions.

They're dharmas that arise and disband.

And that's all.

Take this thermos.

If we like it,

It doesn't react or say anything.

The liking is all on our side.

Even if we hate it and throw it into the woods,

It still doesn't react.

It doesn't respond to us.

Why?

Because it's just the way it is.

We like it or dislike it because of our own attachment.

We see that it's good or no good.

The view that it's good squeezes our heart.

The view that it's no good squeezes our heart.

Both are defilements.

So you don't have to run away from things like this.

Just understand this principle and keep contemplating.

That's all there is to it.

The mind will see that these things are no big deal.

They're just the way they are.

If we hate them,

They don't respond.

If we like them,

They don't respond.

We're simply crazy of our own accord.

Nothing disturbs us.

But we get all worked up.

Try to see everything in this way.

It's the same with the body.

It's the same with the mind.

It's the same with the moods and preoccupations that make contact.

See them as inconstant,

Stressful,

And not self.

They're just the way they are.

We suffer because we don't want them to be that way.

We want to get things that we simply can't get.

Now is there something that you want?

Hmm.

I guess it's like when I want concentration,

I want the mind to be quiet.

Alright,

It's true that you want that.

But what's the cause that keeps your mind from being quiet?

The Buddha said that all things arise from causes.

But we just want the results.

We eat watermelons,

But we've never planted any watermelons.

We don't know where they come from.

We see them when they're sliced open and they're nice and red.

Mmm.

Looks sweet.

We try eating them,

And they taste good and sweet.

But that's all we know.

Why watermelons are the way they are,

We have no idea.

That's because we aren't all around.

All around in what way?

It's like watering vegetables.

Wherever we forget to water,

Doesn't grow.

Wherever we forget to give fertilizer,

Doesn't grow.

Contemplate this principle,

And you'll give rise to discernment.

When you've finished with things outside,

Look at your own mind.

Look at the affairs of your body and mind.

Now that we're born,

Why do we suffer?

We suffer from the same old things.

But we haven't thought them through.

We don't know them thoroughly.

We suffer,

But we don't really see suffering.

When we live at home,

We suffer from our wife and children.

But no matter how much we suffer,

We don't really see suffering.

So we keep on suffering.

It's the same when the mind doesn't get concentrated.

We don't know why it won't get concentrated.

We don't really see what's actually arising.

The Buddha told us to look for the causes of what's arising.

All things arise from causes.

It's like putting water into a bottle,

And giving it to someone to drink.

Once he's finished drinking it,

He'll have to come back and ask for more.

For the water isn't water in a spring.

It's water in a bottle.

But if you show the spring to the person,

And tell him to get water there,

He can just sit there and keep on drinking water,

And won't ask you for any more.

For the water never runs out.

It's the same when we see inconstancy,

Stress,

And not self.

It goes deep.

For we really know.

We know all the way in.

Ordinary knowledge doesn't know all the way in.

If we know all the way in,

It never grows stale.

Whatever arises,

It's already right.

When it disbands,

It's already right.

As a result,

It's right without stop.

The view that says,

That's the way it is.

It's right the way it is.

That's when you've got it.

That's when you're skilled and at ease.

You don't have to suffer.

The problems that we get involved with in Kling II will gradually unravel.

As the Buddha said,

Simply see that things arise and then disband.

Disband and then arise.

Arise and then disband.

Keep watching this Dharma constantly.

Doing it constantly.

Developing it constantly.

Cultivating it constantly.

And you'll arrive at a sense of disenchantment.

Disenchantment with what?

Disenchantment with everything of every sort.

The things that come by way of the ears,

We already understand them.

By way of the eyes,

We already understand them.

By way of the nose,

We already understand them.

By way of the tongue,

We already understand them.

The things that arise in the mind,

We already understand them.

They're all the same sort of thing.

All of them,

The same sort of thing.

Ekho Dhamma.

One Dhamma.

This Dhamma isn't constant,

Stressful and not self.

You shouldn't cling to anything at all.

That way,

Disenchantment will arise.

When the eye sees a form,

You already understand it.

When the ear hears a sound,

You already understand it.

You understand all about it.

These things will sometimes make us happy,

Sometimes sad.

Sometimes make us feel love.

Sometimes make us feel hatred.

We already know all about these sorts of things.

If we cling to them,

They turn into issues.

If we let them go,

Let forms go the way of form,

Sounds the way of sounds.

If we send them back and let them go their own way.

When we can stay at this level,

The Buddha said that we'll see all about inconstancy.

Whatever the preoccupations that arise,

They're all empty and in vain.

They're all deceptions.

When we see through the things that used to deceive us.

When we're intent on staying at ease,

Mindful,

Alert and discerning.

It's not that we see anything else.

We simply see that all the preoccupations that arise are simply the way they are.

Even if while we're sitting perfectly still,

The mind thinks about this or that.

It doesn't matter.

It's just an affair of thinking.

You don't have to believe what it's thinking about.

If the mind is peaceful and you feel,

Ah,

It's nice and peaceful.

The peace doesn't matter either.

Peace isn't constant too.

There's nothing but things that are in constant.

You can sit and watch the Dharma right there.

The sermon arises.

What reason is there to suffer?

Reviews

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Thank you!

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Very good insight

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Wonderful teaching

So much to sink in, i feel like I could listen to this many times and learn something new each time. Excellent

So deep. Many "wow" moments. Have to listen to again.