The ultimate discovery in meditation is the experience of a pure mind—clear, luminous and free from fear. However, it takes consistent practice to achieve this. After all, the mind is like a spoiled child running wild. But we cannot understand the nature of our minds if we cannot slow them down to really examine them. Our job is to be the parents, to tame our minds.
Taming, however, is not the same as control. We cannot simply tell our minds: Stop thinking! First, this directive is in itself a thought. Moreover, like that spoiled child the mind will simply start thinking of something else.
Instead of trying to force ourselves to concentrate, we must practice accepting what comes up in our thoughts, while learning how to bring our minds back to a single point of focus.
Eventually we are able to hold our concentration on one thought. Having developed that focus, we can use it to thoroughly explore and comprehend, through meditation, the realities of impermanence, selflessness, and emptiness.
Watch Rinpoche explain the key points of successful meditation.Rinpoche on the importance of taming the mind
LIVE BETTER
Life is complex, puzzling and often painful.
Sometimes it seems there must be a better way
to manage—and there is. It is as simple as looking
at a problem through a different lens.
ASK A QUESTION
Whether we are troubled or merely curious,
it can be helpful to turn to someone noted
for wisdom. Rinpoche is pleased to answer questions
about life, the Dharma or Buddhism in general.
