Not mystical but logical
This apparently mystical change is not mystical at all, because it is perfectly logical. This psychological change has occurred through a paradigm shift. This difference of paradigm is a difference in the way one perceives the world and oneself. This paradigm shift occurs when passing through a series of observations of experience in logical sequence. This logical sequence of thought, in awakening from the dream of existence, is as follows.
• Everything depends on conditions
• What is dependent on conditions is unstable (anicca)
• What is unstable is painful (dukkha), because we desire stability (nicca).
• What is painful is not under my power to change (vasavatti)
• What is not under my power is not “mine” (netam mama)
• What is not mine cannot be “me” or “I” (neso hamasmi)
• What is not “me” or “I” cannot be my “self” (neso me attati)
• What is not “mine” or my “self” is impersonal (anatta), and cannot be personalized (upadana).
All evil behavior such as crime, war and suicide, and all unhappiness experienced within, is a result of the futile effort to personalize what cannot be personalized. When this is fully comprehended as a fact rationally, a paradigm shift from selfishness to selflessness can occur.
Yet it can be achieved only in the absence of emotional obstacles. This means the individual has to purify and tranquilize the mind before the paradigm shift can occur. This makes it necessary to practice two kinds of meditation: to make the mind tranquil – samatha meditation, and to achieve the paradigm shift – vipassana meditation.