Friday Night's Teaching

Here are some notes from the teaching on Healing Mind and Body, given by Lama Tsultrim Yeshe on Friday evening:

The Buddha taught what is called the four noble truths. They are:
1. Life means suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. There is a path to the cessation of suffering.

We, humans, have physical and mental afflictions. Our physical afflictions include disease, the effects of aging, and pain from injury. Mental afflictions include fear, depression, addictions, compulsions, emotional roller-coasters, and suffering.

The Buddha taught that we are all neurotic, but neurosis is workable and can be eliminated.

Are we afraid of our neurosis? Do we ignore it? Do we deny it? Worry about it? Exaggerate it?

Mind is awareness. It is the mind that experiences things. Our mind suffers, not our body. Our body experiences pain but our mind suffers.

We are always putting our “spin” on our experiences. Spin is our interpretation of events and experiences that becomes “truth” to us. We should be skeptical about our own spin.

The Buddha taught that we have a separate self /ego (not in the Freudian sense of ego) and judge these as being either pleasing, or displeasing to the self. This develops attachment and addiction if pleasant, and hatred and desire to destroy if unpleasant. If it is not strongly pleasant or unpleasant we can develop indifference. We become jealous if we think someone has it better, or arrogance if we think we have it better. If we did not have this other self/ego we could not have spin. We believe and are attached to our spin. We cannot believe it could be another way.

We try to manipulate our environment and others to keep chaos and uncertainty at bay. But the world is uncertain and chaotic and we can never avoid that. We tend to blame others for the results of uncertainty and chaos. Blaming others gives them control of our own suffering.

Meditation is a way of making our mind settled and see the world clearer.

Emotions are nothing but thoughts with credentials.

Friends who support our spin are our letters of recommendations.

The past is like a rotten seed - nothing can grow from it.

The future is like the son of a barren woman.

Plans are nothing but well thought-out fantasies.

All we have is now. We can only control the way we relate to the chaos in our lives. This is what heals neurosis. Cessation of suffering means there is no more spin or neurosis.

If there is no attachment to the self, there is no self to suffer.

Meditation is a way of synchronizing mind and body.

These are from my notes. Any misquoting, or misinterpretation of Lama Tsultrim Yeshe's teachings are mine alone.