So in this meditation session,
I thought that we would look at one of our disturbing emotions that sometimes arises in our mind,
So each person can choose which emotion they would like to look at,
And then just look at how this affects us,
What kind of effects it has on us,
Hopefully recognizing that it is disturbing to our mind and also to our life,
Our relationships and so on,
So it's not a great thing to have in our mind.
And then we'll look at some antidotes that we can use to start working on it.
So we'll just be looking at general antidotes or remedies that we can use for any of the afflictive emotions.
So start by sitting in a comfortable position for meditation.
Take a few minutes to scan your body and see if you notice any tension,
Tightness anywhere in your body.
If you do notice any spots of tension,
See if you can relax those areas.
Let go of the tension as much as you can.
If you can't let go of all the tension,
Don't worry about that.
Just let go of as much as you can.
Try to be as relaxed as you can.
One way of relaxing tension is to imagine breathing into that area.
If you inhale,
Imagine the breath going to that part of your body and releasing the tension.
Stay a little neutral there.
That's all you have to starts with an active neutral squeezing the,
Your gaze,
The on Central to make sure that this meditation is really positive and beneficial.
Bring into your mind,
Into your heart,
A positive,
Altruistic motivation for doing the meditation.
You might think that you want to do it in order to create the kasas for enlightenment in Buddhahood,
To benefit all living beings,
Or if that's too difficult,
Just feel the wish to benefit other beings as much as you can in this life from now on,
And that you would like to learn something from doing this meditation that will help you to be more helpful to others.
So those are just some suggestions.
You can use your own thoughts,
Your own ideas to generate an altruistic motivation.
You can use your own thoughts,
Your own ideas to generate an altruistic motivation.
You can use your own thoughts,
Your own ideas to generate an altruistic motivation.
You can use your own thoughts,
Your own ideas to generate an altruistic motivation.
You can use your own thoughts,
Your own ideas to generate an altruistic motivation.
So now,
Think about the various emotions,
Disturbing emotions that come and go in your mind,
And choose one that you would like to explore,
One disturbing emotion that you sometimes experience and that you can recognize as a cause of problems,
Something that you would like to work on and would like to reduce.
So just take a few minutes to choose a disturbing emotion that occurs in your experience.
So once you have chosen,
Think of a few occasions when that disturbing emotion did come up in your mind.
Just try to remember those experiences as clearly as you can and see if you can recognize what consequences it had for you.
Like how did it affect you physically?
How did you feel physically?
How did you feel mentally,
Emotionally?
For example,
Did it make you feel unhappy,
Tense?
Did it affect your energy?
You had low energy.
Or maybe you felt very agitated and restless,
Hard to sit still.
It may have affected your sleep,
Your appetite,
Your ability to eat,
And so on.
So those are just a few possible effects or consequences we might experience when some disturbing emotion arises in our mind.
Just look at your own experience to understand how that disturbing emotion affected you when it was present in your mind.
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Another thing to look at is whether or not you judge yourself for having this disturbing emotion.
Do you feel critical of yourself?
Do you feel guilty for having it?
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So if you do have those kinds of feelings,
Understand that they are not helpful.
It doesn't help to criticize yourself or feel guilty.
We are just ordinary beings.
We're not enlightened beings.
So as ordinary beings in samsara,
Our minds are afflicted by these disturbing emotions.
We don't really have choice.
We didn't choose to be this way.
We just inherited the seeds of these emotions from our past lives,
And all of the disturbing emotions are due to ignorance about the true nature of things.
We don't see things in a correct way,
As they really are.
So we're basically confused and see things in a mistaken way.
That's why we have these disturbing emotions.
So treat yourself with kindness and non-judgmentalness.
And if you can accept these disturbing emotions in your own mind and then work on them,
You'll be able to accept others for having these disturbing emotions.
You'll be less judgmental of them,
Able to be more compassionate,
And then more helpful to others.
And there are methods,
Antidotes,
To these disturbing emotions.
So one is to understand that they are impermanent.
They are not a permanent,
Fixed part of us,
Of our mind,
But they are like clouds that come and go in the sky.
Buddhism says the real nature of our mind is similar to the sky or space,
In that our mind is basically clear and pure,
Vast and spacious.
And disturbing thoughts and emotions,
Anger,
Attachment,
Jealousy and so forth,
Are not always there in our mind.
Just as clouds are not always there in the sky,
They come and go.
So these disturbing emotions come and go in our mind.
Sometimes they're there,
Sometimes they're not.
Even when they arise,
They only last a short time and then they pass.
So contemplate that,
Understand how they are impermanent,
Not permanent,
And they are not an inherent part of our mind,
Something intrinsic and fixed and always there.
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And also,
These disturbing emotions are not who we are.
We have the tendency to identify with these emotions when they do arise.
It's just kind of an automatic reaction.
When anger arises,
We automatically feel,
I am angry,
Or when there's depression in the mind,
We feel,
I am depressed,
And so on.
So I don't think we do this consciously,
Deliberately,
It's just a habit that we have.
And when we do identify with the emotion,
It seems to give it more power,
More energy,
So that it stays longer in the mind.
It's harder to let go of.
But we are not these emotions,
They are not who we are,
How we are,
They are just transitory,
Like tourists passing through.
So a helpful method is when we do notice a disturbing emotion in our mind,
Instead of saying,
I am that,
To say that is in my mind.
Anger is in my mind.
Depression is in my mind,
Whatever the emotion may be.
Think about that and see if you can make a kind of resolution that the next time you notice a disturbing emotion in your mind,
You'll use that method,
Rather than,
I am that emotion.
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And once again,
Remember that we're not alone,
We're not the only person in the world who experiences this kind of disturbing emotion,
Many other people do as well,
Probably most people.
And so we shouldn't feel bad or ashamed,
Guilty for having that emotion in our mind.
And instead,
Having that emotion in our mind gives us an opportunity to learn about that type of emotion and how painful it is,
How disturbing it is.
And we can learn how to deal with it,
How to manage it,
And how to even transform our mind so that instead of feeling that disturbing emotion,
We can feel something positive instead.
And if we can learn how to do that,
We'll be better able to help other people who experience that same disturbing emotion.
So this is actually a positive side of disturbing emotions.
And if we can learn how to work with them,
We can actually come out wiser and more compassionate and better able to help other people.
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Okay,
So now to conclude the meditation,
Make a mental dedication of the positive energy,
The merit of doing the meditation,
That it will be beneficial to other people,
Just as we generated at the beginning with our motivation.
So may whatever we've learned,
Whatever positive energy we've created,
May this be beneficial to other people,
To all other people,
All other beings,
And help them become free of disturbing emotions and all other problems,
And help them find genuine peace and happiness.
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