Our Mind Holds The Key to Freedom From Suffering

Written by John Allcock

   “The mind is the forerunner of all events. The mind is everything. What you think you become.”

The Buddha

 "Most of the worst things I experienced in life never happened."

Mark Twain

There is no evidence of which I am aware that Mark Twain followed the Buddha's teachings, but his quote captures something which is at the heart of the Buddha's approach. You might call it the first principle of the Buddha's teachings--you are not really in control of your mind, but your mind is the ultimate controller of how much you suffer. So, if you can use some perspectives and practices to gain some level of control over what is "in" your mind--beliefs, thoughts, habits, ways of mindfully responding to events rather than mindlessly reacting to them---then you can greatly improve your level of happiness.

What do I mean by this?

How many times have we worried about something which never ended up happening?

Or if it did, it was far less harmful or troublesome than we imagined it would be?

In my case pretty much everything I worried about was never as bad (if it happened at all) than I thought it would be.

Some time ago I had a growth on my forehead, and the doctor said it needed to be biopsied in order to determine whether it was cancerous. So, a sample was taken and results returned within a few days. Now they were not the most excruciating few days, but my mind was occasionally filled with thoughts of dread. "Surely the result will be its cancer and what then? It will be horrible, and what if they cannot fix it?"  Now there was absolutely nothing I could do about it--no amount of thinking or planning would change the outcome or improve it. The results came back and it was cancer, and I had to undergo a mildly painful and modestly inconvenient procedure which solved the problem completely.

Now all of the time I spent worrying was wasted, and was unnecessary, self -created suffering--all induced by my (understandable) concern for my health.

But sometimes we worry about far less significant things than our health--and spend a lot of time in states of anxiety over fairly trivial things (in the big picture).

So the Buddha did not mean that the mind would stop future painful events from ever happening--as the story of his life shows, inevitable unfortunate events like sickness, old age, death (of loved ones or even yourself) happen and your mind cannot do away with them.

But the mind can recognize the inevitability of those events (and other inevitable "bad" things) and treat them in such a way that they cause no more mental suffering than the pain of the event.

In other words, pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.

And if the mind is clear, and treats the painful event in a wise way, then your choices in the present will promote, although not guarantee, a happier future.

This does not mean only having a positive attitude (but it includes that)--it means having a different point of view on unwanted, painful events that happen.

Losing a job, unexpectedly, is a painful event. That is painful and creates harmful economic consequences. It recently happened to a close relative of mine.

He could have chosen to blame the boss (or the economy) and mope around with a "why did this happen to me" attitude.

That choice would have led to suffering.

But he didn't--he chose to look at the event as a challenge, as a test of his internal strength and as an opportunity to do something he had wanted to do but was too busy occupied with his decent job: to get his contractor's license. He did (putting in the hours of study with great effort) and ended up with the license and a much better job with incredibly increased future opportunity.

Now the better job was not a guarantee--but the attitude and perspective he brought guaranteed his suffering would be far less. And it opened the possibility that would not have been there if he chose a "why do bad things happen to me" attitude.

There are many more extreme examples of the Buddha's approach--which is that in each moment we have a choice and how we exercise that choice determines our experience of life.

Helen Keller was dealt with a very challenging situation. Deaf and blind. Many would have seen a life only of suffering. But as we know, she chose to write herself a different story--a productive, happy life which was a beacon to others with similar challenges.

A less well known but more recent example is Nightbird--the contestant on America's Got Talent who was stricken with cancer, but appeared with an incredibly positive demeanor, appropriate to her song titled "It's OK." When one of the panel members, after noting her incredible positivity despite cancer in her lungs and many other places, said to her "but you are not OK." She responded:  " Well not in every way. …. It's important to know you can't wait until life isn't hard anymore until you decide to be happy." The vignette of her appearance is worth watching, and is one of the most inspiring moments in the history of the show (and which I have ever witnessed in my life).

While Helen Keller and Nightbird were likely not Buddhist,  they exemplify the core perspective, and principle, the Buddha taught.

In each moment you have a choice.

Whether you are faced with how to respond to a painful event the universe presents you, over which you have no control, or you are choosing a path for some aspect of your life over which you have substantial control, your mind allows you a choice.

How you exercise that choice in whatever circumstance is what determines the level of happiness, or suffering, you will experience.

The Buddha taught this as a key aspect of Karma--your action in this moment has consequences for your happiness now and in the future, and your mind is always the originator of the thought, and then the action.

The Buddha proposed some perspectives, principles and practices to enable wise choices--if you are interested in what he had to say come join us.