Emotions, Mindfulness and Inner Peace
Reflections by Deirdre Morrison
Here are some reflections on an enlightening evening we spent together in discussion of ‘Emotions, Mindfulness, and Inner Peace’ during a guest lecture, which was sponsored by the URI Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, at the University of Rhode Island.
Geshe Lobsang Dhakpa, a respected scholar and Buddhist philosopher, spoke to us in Tibetan, while Thupten Tendhar translated from Tibetan to English. Both Geshe Lobsang Dhakpa and Thupten Tendhar are esteemed life-long scholars and practitioners of Buddhism, well known to the fourteenth Dalai Lama and to their respective communities for their teachings, their humility, wisdom, and compassion, which they fortified during many years of studies and teachings at the Drepung Monastery, located in the Doeguling Tibetan Settlement in Mungod, in the Northern district (also known as Uttar Kannada) of Karnataka State, South India.
Geshe Lobsang Dhakpa received his doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy from Gelupka University, and he is now a resident scholar and author at the Private Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Thupten Tendhar studied for over eighteen years at the Drepung Monastery in India and also received his doctorate in Education from the University of Rhode Island (URI) and now oversees the International Nonviolence Summer Institute as one of the directors of URI’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies.
It was a delightful gathering and though the invitation indicated ‘free food’, many of us were surprised and happy to find homemade, fragrant, flavorful traditional Tibetan Cuisine, in addition to some very enjoyable pizza.
In addition to the delicious food, here are a few highlights from my reflections on the discussion:
Throughout the gathering, we were encouraged to be aware of, and to strengthen our own unique abilities to stand strong, rooted in our own Inner Peace, nurturing our ability to become less dependent upon our outer conditions and attachments to the material and non-permanent aspects of our lives. This way, we might arrive at a state where our inner peace of mind and states of joyfulness are more sustainable, even as we constantly navigate ever-changing emotions.
Nurturing our Inner Peace through awareness is a daily opportunity to apply mindfulness techniques to focus inside to become better equipped to not repeatedly proceed to the future with fear and suspicion, or to fixate on the past with resentment and remorse. With practice, we can train our minds to remain in the present moment. We do not need special meditation cushions or any silent and secluded practice space, but instead we can apply these techniques throughout our day, with awareness and alertness to the present moment. With practice, we become more capable of noticing when our minds and our emotions get off track, and we are better equipped to begin looking for the causes and conditions, and to remember that there is really no foundation for reactions to external conditions and ultimately, we are encouraged to take a U-turn back to our inner reality of joy and peace of mind.
These techniques are known to be universal truths and wisdom that Buddhists have studied and practiced for millennia, knowing we all (each one of us) have a universal aspiration to create a world filled with sustainable joy. The discussion was much in line with The Four Noble Truths, which was taught by the Buddha as part of the Dharma, forming the basis of Buddhist thought, that suffering is largely caused by our attachments, which are impermanent, and then, once our external conditions (the world of delusion and attachments) are impacted, our happiness ceases, and more suffering begins. As long as we are alive, we will continue to encounter changing circumstances that result in a constant alternation between states of joy and suffering. Sustainable satisfaction and joy are attainable to enjoy all the tastes and flavors of our lives, and to nourish our own Inner Peace. We are frequently distracted, even as we pursue this universal aspiration. Sometimes we (falsely) equate our happiness with our material things, such as the home we live in, the comforts we enjoy, the material world we exist in, and we come to realize that although some of those material comforts might bring us temporary happiness, we find that it still falls short of providing us with that sustainable Inner Peace.
We are continually distracted by the inclination to think that there must be ‘more’ needed for true happiness and joy, yet our Sustainable Inner Peace can only be created and sustained in our own minds, and it goes far beyond the conditions of our external/physical/material comforts – or lack thereof. Sometimes the best thing we can do with negative external conditions (even incurable disease diagnosis) is to seek acceptance and be patient with our own suffering, attempting to prevent feelings of grudges, which only create additional fear and anxiety.
So, we first reflected on the reality that our ability to possess knowledge can be either beneficial or harmful, based on how we apply it. All sentient beings (from trees to mosquitoes to human beings) want to reduce suffering and find joy. And although human beings share the same fundamental goal as all other sentient beings, we have much more powerful minds, and we create additional suffering for ourselves, resulting from the misuse of our powerful minds. As traditional Buddhist philosophy teaches us, the human life is very precious, as is the life of each sentient being, including animals, and even trees. Human beings possess more knowledge than animals, trees, and insects, and have shown over millennia that we tend to misuse this knowledge and this intellectual power. Through the misuse of our knowledge, we create billions of times bigger negative effects, based on our own potential for negativity. Human beings are the only species that are known to eradicate entire species. Other animals will attack and even provoke, but they do not systematically eradicate.
We learned that the optimal path is to build upon a solid foundation of love and compassion, and to encourage our powerful minds to dwell in these emotions, for the most positive results. Looking at this core concept on a broader scale, we see that all beings want to seek happiness and remove suffering, and therefore our desires in life must be based on a sincere commitment to not harm others, and this includes ourselves. We can develop our own inner practices and mindfulness practices rooted in compassion and loving-kindness, solid roots which do not depend on external conditions. These practices can be enjoyed in solitude and shared with others. In sharing with others, our individual desires can easily connect with a Universal aspiration for Global Peace. Our unique behaviors and attitudes can align with the simple goal to BE peaceful and to extend our peacefulness to those we love, such as our family members, our friends, and colleagues and more broadly, in connection with all sentient beings. Most humans share similar values, and it is optimal to look at everyone humanely, and to contribute to others in positive ways, with an open mind and an acceptance of the richness of all cultures. Not all others are interested in these peaceful practices, but to continue to follow them for ourselves. In practice, we find that it is much easier to start to generate this unconditional love for our own family first, for our children and our parents and our spouses, and it does require practice and contemplation and meditation to be better equipped to offer this same kindness in the broader world. Even if we are just beginning on this path, we can begin today and adopt the mindset that ‘If it cannot be corrected, there is no use in regretting’.
We start where we are, in the present moment. We should not look at these practices to convert others to our way of thinking, but instead to simply offer this perspective of compassion and loving kindness to help others when they are ready. An example from the Buddha is that in prescribing medicine, we must be cautious and remember that nothing solves all illness. We need to first have a diagnosis and remember that a solution that is good for one person or illness may even harm another condition. Another reflection on this discussion of spirituality from the lens of a compassionate presence, is to think of ourselves as flowers in the garden, appreciating that the most beautiful gardens have a wide variety of colors and fragrances, that all colors and flavors are perfect, and it is the variety that makes for the most beauty. This is a wonderful way to think of interfaith kinship.
Realizing Self in the moment, with mindfulness, we become better able to Be in a state of Inner Peace, even without the material comforts.
We can become less dependent on our conditions and create a life with joy and inner peace. It is a constant cycle, typically during a human lifetime, to have different and changing experiences, and an ongoing alternation between stages of joy and stages of suffering. This has been the way since the beginning of time and will continue. There has been much written, and studied by Buddhists, especially the path to nirvana, and the Eightfold Path.
We heard many gems of wisdom from Geshe Lobsang Dhakpa during this guest lecture, about how we might follow this path towards nirvana, by desiring to improve our moral conduct, our concentration, and our wisdom and how we apply it to the world and all others and to ourselves.
We then discussed the usefulness of mindfulness practices, to enhance our ability to discourage our minds from proceeding towards the future with fears and suspicions or fixate upon past events with regret and resentment. The optimal path is to remain grounded in this present moment. Geshe Lobsang Dhakpa used a water bottle to display an intense focus and seemed to wish to place a special emphasis on the universal concept of seeing a glass as either half-full or half-empty, and delved into the realization that if we are better able to view our glass as half full, and focus on the more positive aspects that we can find to be grateful for, it might allow us to better sustain a sense of satisfaction and contentment with our conditions, and this leads to a life filled with grace, gratitude, and greater Peace of Mind, more balanced emotions and a more mindful way of living in this world – aware of our inner reality.
There was a very poignant question posed to Geshe, at the end of the session, asking, how do we successfully deal with the people in our lives who are negative and provoke conflict, the ‘porcupines’ of our lives. The answer was multi-faceted. It largely depends on the circumstances. Each situation is unique, and the fundamental takeaway was that we need to discern clearly whether continuing to engage with that porcupine would help them or not. If it is clear that continued engagement would only provoke more negativity, it is up to us to determine that if there is no hope for helping or changing the other, it is time to disengage.
Although the Buddhist teachings encourage us to be selfless, and to serve others without expecting anything in return, we may decide for ourselves whether our time and efforts spent serving certain causes or conditions or individuals have been exhausted, and if perhaps our time is better spent detaching from the negativity (as it is sourced from ignorance) and finding a focus where we can spread greater positivity with a more receptive audience. When we encounter people or communities that are negative and harsh, we can protect our own minds from harm by using forgiveness, Forgiveness, says Geshe Lobsang Dhakpa, is a tool to Happiness! We may need to forgive the ignorance of others to protect our Selves by not succumbing to the external negativity. Our overall health is of primary importance, not just our physical health, our spiritual, psychic, energetic, and mental/emotional health must be nurtured and protected, as we walk our path toward Self-realization, towards nirvana.