The Very Venerable Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

The Seven Points Of Mind Training

Birmingham Karma Ling, December 2002

VI. The Commitments of the Mind Training

B. Specific Principles: 2

2. Change your attitude and act naturally.

How we are normally we have this mind set that we are the most important and we want to look after ourselves so because of this mindset of putting ourselves first we have a lot of suffering. So what do we call that? We call it the ego clinging or grasping to the ego. There are two types of ego grasping; there is the grasping to the self the I there is the grasping to my things.

The main cause for us wandering in Samsara is both of these grasping to the I and grasping to possessions. Even if we are a normal worldly person if we have this idea of clinging to self or clinging to ones possessions then one also experience a lot of suffering. Me and my things.

For example, normally I give examples to explain things. First of all the idea of my things, we need to be introduced to that first. How will I introduce you to that? I am going to use the example of a car.

Generally we are using the car, driving along in the car. Normally the person driving the car has great attachment and grasping for the car and thinks it’s a very important and nice thing. How much the person has grasping for the car then their sufferings and grasping for the car will be equal to that.

If you have this idea that its my car but you don’t have a very strong grasping to that idea of possessing the car then you won't have too much suffering to it.

If you don’t have the idea of this is my car then you won't have any suffering, as soon as one has this grasping for the car this is my car then this is the beginning of the suffering.

So if you are a person like me and I like a car. I have a very old car not very good then I think I would like a nice car. Then one day I go to Birmingham City centre just looking not particularly for cars. Walking around town I see a very nice car and I stand staring at the car and thinking what a very nice car I would like that as I am gazing at this car another car approaches from another angle and the two cars collide they are completely smashed. If I had a negative mind, I would think ha ha that was quite nice, quite entertaining. I've seen a really entertaining thing today, I've had a very nice experience today I have achieved my purpose of going to town I have seen something very nice and entertaining. Then if one has a more positive mind state you think what a shame, after seeing this accident I go home.

After seeing this accident I go back home and drive my old car but it's not really much use and I don't really get much benefit from it. So then I think a couple of weeks later I'm going back to the city centre and I'm definitely going to look for a new car, I really need to buy a nice car. So again I go off to Birmingham City centre and I think I really must buy a nice car today, so I go to car dealer. When I get to the motor dealers' place in the forecourt I see a car, it's the same car which got smashed up the other day but it's been redone and made up to look really nice but I don't know it's the same car as the other day. I see the car and think it's a really great car.

I like the car so much I get the money out and pay for the car immediately. Its exactly 12.00 midday. I have a very happy mind I am thinking I have this great car and I have a great attachment for it.

I go off driving the car but the road isn't very good there is lots of gravel on the road. As I am driving along one piece of gravel is thrown up by the wheel and smashes the windscreen. It's almost like having a heart attack; something has smashed my precious car. Actually what happened is that the gravel hit the windscreen with a big noise but I felt like it was my heart breaking the stone hit my heart and my hair stood on end, I got very angry.

Then I become very sad and upset. Because of this great grasping for this car I couldn't sleep at night and couldn't eat food. The car I saw two weeks before, the car I like so much now is the same car I saw smashed two weeks before. It's the same car I laughed at when it was smashed, I was able to look at it and think how entertaining it was. Then a short while after 12.00 midday when I bought the car then this piece of gravel jumped up and smashed my own windscreen it was the same as having a piece of gravel hitting my own heart. The car is actually the same car nothing has changed. It is the same car that was in the accident before.

So what is the difference between the car that was there before which one was able to laugh about and the car now where the piece of gravel has smashed the windscreen? What has caused so much suffering what is the difference, what has caused that?

At 12.00 midday it became MY car and with great grasping this become my car, my possession. At the moment you have this great grasping connected with this idea this is my possession this is my car then the suffering starts to come. Then a minute before 12.00 before I bought the car then whatever happened to it if it got smashed up or whatever then it wouldn't be causing you any problem at all because you wouldn't be thinking or having the thought that's my car. Because of this great gasping to what is mine, what I possess, these are my things. This is the main reason, the main cause for us travelling around in Samsara.

How is it we have this grasping to what is mine and to what are my possessions? Because we have the grasping to oneself we have the feeling that we exist that I am this person then because of that we get the grasping to what you think you possess.

For example if someone picked up a stone and chased after you and threw it at your head you would cover your head with your hands and think oh that person is throwing a stone at me and is going to hurt me, its going to hit my head so you would have this suffering because of this clinging to oneself as real, as I. Then you have I and my things this is two things. The stone is being thrown at "me", it is going to hit "my" head. The "me" comes first and the "my" comes second.

Because of this great grasping to this "I" that you have you get the grasping to other. If one has the "I" and then "other" that is the beginning of the problems and the suffering. Why is this? What are the conflicting emotions they are the five poisons. Or you can say six poisons; they are pride, jealousy, and ignorance, desire anger and greed.

Because of one having the grasping to oneself the "I" if gives rise to the "other" and because you are relying on the self and the other this is the start of the five mind poisons. They come out of this grasping to self and other and they rely on self and other, this is where they come from. To give an example of anger, you think that person has caused harm to me or has hurt me, straight away you think I must do something back, give something back to him, say something back to him or hit him that is an example of anger.

The first thing is having this feeling of I. He hurt me so I have to do something to him so you are relying on this duality this self and other, because off that this anger can arise. Me and this other person we are the same but I am jealous of him, he is a bit more famous than I am he has a bit more money and everybody seems to like him and you become jealous of him. So then I have to defeat him, whatever he is doing I have to destroy it whatever plan I can find I will have to bring him down a peg or two so maybe being nice and peaceful towards him could be a good method maybe be a bit angry and wrathful to him. Maybe doing something bad in front of him or bad behind him may be better. How am I going to achieve this?

We call that jealousy. Because of this thinking of self and other as the same then jealousy can arise because if they change then the jealousy comes from that.

Pride is thinking I possess great qualities I have great wealth and he has nothing compared to me, that is pride. Whatever I do is fine I don't have to think of others, we call that pride. So you think yourself as better than other we call that pride.

Desire, if you look at an object and think if I could have that then I would be happy if I had that it would be very good that is desire.

Ignorance is not knowing that oneself has the nature of emptiness this is the ignorance. Because of this ignorance we don't know the cause of the anger desire etc. Because we experience them we get the problems and the difficulties and the suffering.

Then there is stinginess then if you have some money you find it very hard to give to another person you don't want to practise generosity. For example you go the city centre and you see an old man who says please give me some money, you reach into your pocket or bag and take out £100 note and think that's far too much and you put it back into your pocket that is stinginess. Then you try again and bring out another note this time it is £10 and you think that is still too much and you put it back. Then finally you reach to the bottom of your pocket and you take out a £1 coin or even less and you think, there you are. Then if you really are a stingy person then when you get home you think to yourself oh I gave that guy a pound I should have kept it for myself. If I had £1 I could have used it for many things, I could buy a toothbrush and toothpaste with that! Now I can't buy anything I have given the money away! You would be very upset, but that is the stinginess.

As much as we have these emotions the five emotional state coming up it is this much we have the suffering then if you have an angry mind and you think that a person is thinking harmful thoughts about me and I must get him and then afterwards maybe he will try to get me back then you are constantly having the suffering. Then if one has this angry mind you will never be able to defeat your enemies, if you defeat one then two more will come in its place and they will multiply so you will never be able to defeat your enemies.

If one has a lot of anger towards others then oneself doesn't have peace in the mind. Then you will eventually perceive that everyone is looking at you angrily and is thinking bad thoughts towards you. Then in the end even your food will look as if it is angry with you and is causing you pain. So you throw it away because you don't like it. Some people when they make food and it doesn't turn out right they get the whole saucepan and they just chuck it away!

I have a friend who has a car. He was trying to fix it so he went underneath and when he came up he banged his head on he pedal he became really angry and whatever it was he was holding in his hand he just chucked it at the car! So it was completely ruined, he threw the spanner at the car and the car was bent then he got even more work than he had at the beginning he was thinking that car has hit me now I have to hit it back because he was under the power of his own anger his work became more than he had originally. What was originally one hour's work turned into two days work because of his anger.

If we have anger it doesn't cause happiness it only causes problems. All of the different mind poisons are the same so then if we understand the mind poisons are faults we won't give rise to them. If one can lessen one's mind poisons then naturally peace will arise in one's mind and then others will perceive you as someone quite nice and whatever you have to say they will listen to you and they will say nice things about you. This will happen naturally and you won't have to make it happen. Then you won't be angry with your food, or your car and you won't have to work for two days on a car you will finish it in one hour, isn't that good?

What does it mean when it says change you attitude. It means change your attitude to the ego clinging that is what we normally have and its very much based on one's own benefit so you have to turn it around so whatever you are thinking and whatever action you are performing is for the benefit of others.Then when one is transforming the attitude you have of the ego clinging to that of helping others, having a positive beneficial mind for others, one doesn't get very proud and think I am practising the Bodhicitta path I am practising to be a Bodhisattva. You don't have to show your ability. For example someone is looking at me and I have to show them that I am doing very well rather you do it in a very natural way and have humility with it, you don't have to show off that you are practising the Bodhicitta training.