How to still the mind
In order to understand how one can evolve consciously and learn to still the mind, we have to learn about the mind. The mind as the Buddha saw it is not an entity different from the body. The mind is an activity of the body. Just as an activity of an engine differs from the engine, so the mind as an activity differs from the entity called body. Both body and mind are experiences. We are able to experience the body as well as the mind. The body is an objective experience while the mind is a subjective experience. The body does many activities. But what we call the mind is the activity of the nervous system. There are three kinds of activities of the body, which the Buddha referred to as mind: Perception (viññana), conception or cognition (mano), and the emotional mood or affection (citta).
This means, our mind has two main sections: one is affective and the other is the cognitive. The perceptual section comes under the cognitive. The cognitive section has two aspects: visual and verbal. We use both aspects in our thinking. The affective section deals with emotions while the cognitive section deals with thinking and reasoning. The Buddha called this emotional section citta, and the rational section mano. The emotional section (citta) is blind to reality, and the rational section or intellect (mano) is aware of reality. While the intellect tries to adjust to reality, the blind emotions come in conflict with reality.
The reality that the intellect is aware of is: that every event or circumstance is dependent on the necessary conditions. Even if one of the necessary conditions is absent, the event cannot occur. What is dependent on conditions is unstable (anicca). What is unstable is insecure, unpleasant and undesirable (dukkha). What is unpleasant and undesirable is not as I want. What is not as I want is not under my power. What is not under my power is not mine. What is not mine cannot be me or my “Self” (anattā). This is the nature of reality: it is unstable, unpleasant, and impersonal. The wise intellect attempts to adjust to this reality, but the unwise blind emotions refuse to do so. This disagreement results in the conflict mentioned above.
Our emotions are not permanent entities, however. They come and go, dependent on conditions. An emotional disturbance, which is physical, always accompanies a picture in the mind. One kind of emotion can accompany different mental pictures. These emotions come in two basic forms: as a desire for pleasure and as a hatred of pain. This means, what these emotions ultimately seek is permanent pleasure, which is unrealistic and impossible. Pleasure does not remain with us always, and even if it remains, it does not continue to please us forever, we soon become bored with it. Pain though unpleasant is impermanent, and pain cannot be avoided altogether.
Emotions are also possessive and self-centered. We cannot really possess anything in the world, because all relationships are impermanent. Our self-centeredness is futile because we can never really preserve a permanent self or identity, because we change constantly, both physically and mentally and we cannot avoid death. This pursuit of eternal pleasure and eternal life is based on blind emotions and not on clear thinking. It is important to understand that our emotions come in conflict with reality because they are blind, and it is unwise to be carried away by them. It is wiser to be dominated by reason than by emotion. Emotions can never make us happy. They can only make us uncomfortable and unhappy. Happiness comes only through freedom from emotions. It is only when one realizes this fact that one can begin to cultivate true tranquility that leads to happiness.
Let us consider a person who is attracted to money or wealth; he may think that becoming wealthy is the greatest thing in the world, and then begin to earn wealth. When he makes a loss he becomes terribly unhappy. Another might think that social position is greater than wealth, and he might sacrifice wealth to gain social position. When he loses his position he comes to great discomfort as a result. Still, another person might believe that popularity is better than riches or even social position. The latter might sacrifice wealth and high social position to become popular and to secure a good name. Such a person might be blamed and lose the good name some way or other, and as a result suffer much pain of mind. Another person might think, “wealth is of little value,” “social recognition is of little value,” “popularity is of little value,” “what I need is sensual pleasure.” And then, keep on going after sensual pleasure, thinking that it is the greatest thing! Such a person too will be thoroughly disappointed when he/she ceases to get the pleasures that he/ she craves for.
When the mind is free of emotional excitements the body is free from tension, and the mind is calm. Therefore the main task in stilling the mind is to free the mind of emotions. In order to achieve this, we practice two main methods: i) Prevention of emotions entering the mind and ii) Elimination of emotions once they have entered the mind. If these two tasks are accomplished properly, the mind becomes calm and the body is relaxed. To still the mind is to free the mind of emotional disturbances. It is emotions that produce tension in the body and also disturb the thinking.
Emotion is a reaction to stimulation of the senses. It is a chain reaction. Take for example the eye. First we see something, then we interpret or give meaning to what we see. It is according to the way we interpret it that we are emotionally aroused. Therefore in order to stop this emotional reaction we must stop holding on to what we see and also stop interpreting what we see.
If a young man who is meditating sees a girl, he should not hold on to that image he saw, and he should not interpret what he saw as, for example, this is a sexy girl. It is this interpretation that arouses the sexual desire. In the same way, if someone says something and we interpret that as an insult, then anger is aroused. If we do not hold on to what we heard and do not interpret it, this is the way we prevent emotional thoughts entering the mind.
The next step is to get rid of an emotional thought that has already arisen in the mind. If the senses are guarded properly, the only other way the mind can get polluted is when memories come into the mind. When a memory comes to the mind, it comes as a mental image. If we cling to the image and begin to think about it, in sentences, then the emotion is aroused. Thoughts remain in the mind only in the form of visual images and verbal sentences. When such thoughts are present in the mind, emotions are aroused.