Abiding in an Engaged State of Mind
Unconsciously, we often engender experiences of pleasure or pain by how we relate to events in our day-to-day life. You might become infuriated because of a facial expression or gesture from a passing stranger. Even though it is just a transitory moment, you dwell on it. We make big things out of small incidents. Things pass by yet we continue to obsess over them, which causes pain in our mind and preserves the feeling of being upset. Usually, whatever our mind focuses on tends to get magnified. Similarly, if someone makes eye contact with you and smiles, you could think that they are attracted to you. The more you think about it, the more you might be convinced that they were flirting. By replaying the moment in your mind, and perhaps even daydreaming about it, the experience of happiness from that person’s smile, while a subtle thing, causes you to be giddy because of how much importance your mind gives it.
Beyond these extremes lies a truth of what genuine happiness is. Beyond the swinging pendulum of suffering and superficial happiness is an innate ultimate happiness. Clearing away the confusion—learning how to abide in an engaged state of mind that is not hooked by inevitable fluctuations of joy and sorrow—is the essence of this path.
Excerpt From
Loving Life as It Is
Chakung Jigme Wangdrak