Violence is the Mind

The violence that is common throughout our world is very evident, not just in our time, but throughout all of history. We are confronted with it constantly. Not a week goes by before there is more tragic news of a terrorist bombing or school shooting. In response, we collectively lash out in anger toward the individual or group who is responsible. We, in turn, fill our minds with violence, with thoughts of how we wish to harm those who perpetrated the attack or shooting.

This is not how we will end violence. This is how we perpetuate violence. Violence starts in the mind. All actions and structures in the outer world started in the mind! Our minds must be trained, one by one, from person to person, culture to culture for the pervasive violence to end. This is a very high and lofty goal, but it is not unattainable.

In Buddhism and other Eastern traditions, there is the practice of ahimsa, or nonviolence, the act of not causing harm. This practice encourages us not to live with a closed, fearful heart, not to react unconsciously with violence. Instead, ahimsa invites us to live from a more empowered, centered place of courage, wisdom, forgiveness, and of course compassion.

The cultivation of consciousness and awareness is the only way that we can confront and avert the cycle of violence within our minds, and in turn, throughout the world. It is impossible to do it with any other means. This calls us to open our hearts on our daily, moment to moment path in life. It is a call to live with mindfulness, in the present, now. In order to do this we must breathe with awareness, with consciousness. Allow the breath and the consciousness of it open us up to the present and to the body. Here we can now look into the dark places of the mind, open ourselves up to the awareness of our internal poisons of doubt, fear, narcissism, anger, greed, prejudice, and selfishness. In seeing them, with consciousness and clarity, we can see their uselessness and replace them such things as with awareness, compassion, centeredness, inclusiveness, and courage. 

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The Shroud of Ignorance

There are aspects of our thinking that can be problematic. No one causes us as much harm than we cause ourselves with our constant mental noise, derision, and judgement. In order for us to go beyond suffering, we must confront and meet these aspects, otherwise we will get stuck in an unconscious trance, a loop where we meet these patterns again and again instead of confronting our suffering. I want to talk about one of these, namely ignorance.

We believe all of the phenomena we see to be real and everlasting. We identify with our fleeting stories and thoughts of ourselves and believe them to be our actual, eternal Selves. We often don’t investigate our thoughts or ask ourselves what it is that we don’t know. Much of how we respond to the world ends up being products of our conditioning, what we have been taught by our parents, school, work, and society. There are thoughts and beliefs in our minds that we believe to be true, but if we actually meet and investigate them, unwrap them with the light of consciousness, we find that these are merely unfounded beliefs that we have been taught and left uninvestigated.

The Buddhist path invites us to analyze our world closely. We are asked to sit and watch what the mind does, where it goes, what it believes. We are asked to deal with our unconscious patterns and aspects of ourselves.

Through investigation, we can find that things do not exist as we assumed they did. We find that ourselves and our egos are fleeting and ephemeral. We can then choose to steer our minds in the directions which we desire such as resting in equanimity. This does not mean that we must complacently acquiesce to whatever is going on in the outer world, but we can meet it fully, with presence, and with an open heart and thereby powerfully move through It.

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Discipline of Compassion

Spiritual teachings of various traditions speak of compassion and its cultivation being a necessary component of a fulfilled and happy life. 

How is it that you can establish a way of living that will be conducive to being a mindful and compassionate human being in your ordinary, every day life?

Firstly, you must have motivation and discipline.

You must ask yourself why is it you want to be compassionate? What can you get out of being selfishly altruistic?

Study after study has shown that compassionate people live a more fulfilled life. You will be happier. You will experience life from a more inclusive perspective.

Daily existence will be imbued with a greater sense of ease, comfort, equanimity, and overall joy. And wouldn’t these things make everyone’s life a better place to be?

You also need discipline.

Discipline in living within a compassionate mindset will be a guideline in establishing compassion as a priority, keeping you on track with this view in your mind and will then give birth to compassionate actions.

The intention of being compassionate and having the discipline to act in accord with it will then give rise to a different relationship with yourself and others. A deeper, freer, easier relationship that is more harmonious.

Have the discipline to practice when things are going well because there will, at some point in the future, be a point when things are not unfolding as you would like, when things are full of pain. Here, having had practice practicing in easier times, you will then have the strength and fortitude to practice compassion during more trying times, when you really need it. 

The practice of regularly practicing meditation is also a key here as it will unfold to your mind the nature of reality and liberate you from the tyranny of the unenlightened mind. 

Be yourself and experience your intrinsic wholeness here, now. Ask yourself, “What would it be content with what is here right now? What would it feel like to stop waiting for another day, postponing our happiness for some future event?”

This contentment with the present is learned through meditation. You must relinquish all your illusory struggles at some point. Why not now?

It’s a moment to moment choice that you can only have if you are aware and mindful. 

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