Do you search for things “out there” to pacify your mind … through numbing, busy-ness, blame of those outside of you, or seeking a guru? Then you are like the young monk asking Bodhidharma to pacify his mind.
This is from the essay, “Pacify My Mind” read in Episode 12 of the Words From My Teachers podcast and pasted below. (Essay from the book, The Center Within by Rev. Gyomay Kubose.)
Pacify My Mind
A young monk came to Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, and asked, My mind is troubled. Please pacify my mind. Bodhidharma said, Well, bring me that mind. I cannot bring you my mind, the monk replied. There, said Bodhidharma, it is pacified.
This is a very interesting dialogue. We think we have troubled minds. Actually, there is no such thing as a troubled mind. The monk could not bring Bodhidharma that mind. He could only talk about it.
Living is a fascinating process. We are able to smile and able to get upset. Of course, we say smiling is good and being upset is bad. But I don’t think that being upset is ad. We are alive—this is why we get upst. Becoming upset is an aspect of life. Although no one is happy about being upset, the trouble is not the being upset, but the attachment to being upset—that is the trouble.
We think troubles come from the outside, but really, trouble comes from within ourselves. All life starts from within and goes outward. Of course one might say, it is the warmth and sunlight from the outside that makes flowers grow. Yet, no matter how much sunlight there is, unless there is life within, nothing will grow. The environment is the stimulation, but the real source is within our own lives. Whether smiling or being upset, it is our own doing.
The young monk came to Bodhidharma and said, Please pacify my troubled mind. However, when Bodhidharma asked, Bring me that mind, the monk could not do it. It was all within him. No one to blame. If we want to blame, we should blame ourselves. We tend to blame outside things, but when we return to ourselves, the problem will be solved. Our minds will be pacified.
As a special incentive, I'm offering a special promo code for a subscription to my Substack posts and the Words From My Teachers podcast! Click on the link below by 3/31/2024 to receive 20% off a one-year subscription!
*Special Everyday Buddhism Substack / Words From My Teachers podcast subscription promo code:
Redeem by 3/31/2024 for 20% subscription for 1 year!