A Tibetan monk, who specializes in meditative practices to reduce stress, promoted solutions for a clear mind November 28th in the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences building at 7 p.m..
One concept Monk Gelek Rabten mentioned is the mind-body-spirit connection. The mind-body-spirit connection is the idea that when one form is affected all are affected. If a person is overthinking a small situation, it can affect how your physical body and non-physical body react, the body and spirit.
To find happiness, a person must allow their mind to be clear of all negative emotions. Praying to God or Buddha every day to get rid of the negative emotions won’t help, Rabten said. Buddhists believe that praying does not help and it is not something they do.
The goal to happiness is to become fully awakened with the mind and know what the mind is. A person must expand freedom in the mental vault, aspects of the mind that understand the quality of something and can cloud the mind. “The mind is something like water: clean, but if you put dirt in the water you can’t drink it,” Rabten said. “Clean becomes dirty, but they are separate.” The mind and the negative emotions mixed into it can be separated, like the water and the dirt.
Buddhist’s believe that negative emotions are caused by Saṃsāra, said Rabten. Saṃsāra is the cycle of repeated birth, ordinary life, and dying again. In Buddhism, it is known as suffering, dissatisfaction, and pain that is maintained by desire and ignorance, resulting in karma. The negative emotions that come with these occurrences are a main cause of stress.
Another cause of stress comes from the five senses, which are responsible for bringing about good and bad emotions. For example, hearing one bad thing can ruin a person’s mood for the rest of the day, Rabten said.
The second root cause of negative emotions comes from attachment. “There are two ways you can help others,” Rabten said. “For example, giving chocolate to a child because they want it. You can either give the chocolate to the child or get rid of the attachment to the chocolate.” To get rid of the attachment, one must stop giving into the temptation, said Rabten.
A third cause of stress comes from hatred, Rabten said. The hatred that develops towards an enemy can also cause jealousy, loneliness and selfishness to develop too. “We spend 10 hours a day saying “I” and talk about ourselves,” Rabten said. “We have to remove this ego and have to elect the loving, compassion in our mind to live our life.” Our enemies are our best teachers, not our parents or our teachers, Rabten said. “Enemies have the intentions to harm you,” Rabten said, “Your real teachers have the intention to help.” Rabten said that it is important to thank those who harm us because they teach us patience and tolerance, where those who try to help do not.
The solution to a clear mind, Rabten said, is to take your problems and meditate through them. Rabten suggested meditating to your favorite music, meditating to emptiness, and meditating to those you consider your enemy.
A person can clear the mind by detaching themselves from the negative aspects of their lives. Whether it is depending on a person or hating someone for harming you, getting rid of those negative emotions will make room for compassion and love in your mental vault. The mental vault is an aspect of the mind that understands objects and can color the mind.
Most students who attended the event went to find ways to destress during exams. “The idea of studying for hours straight at the risk of failing is a stressful situation,” said Freshman Eileen Dillon.
Two middle-aged women and an elderly man who attended the event said they went because they said the event sounded interesting and they wanted to find other techniques that could help them get rid of any unwanted thoughts that cause negative emotion.
Others who attended said they came to learn about meditation and more about Buddhism in general.
Although the idea of having love and compassion for others was the main talk of the night, Pharmacy Major John Hoolhan, expressed his concern towards self-love. Hoolhan asked Rabten if he had any techniques for practicing love and kindness towards one’s self because it is something he struggles with in his personal practice.
Rabten told Hoolhan that he did not have enough time to cover everything, then continued his answer to Hoolhan’s question. “Think, everything comes from others. I have to treat other people as my best friend, as my best teacher, as my parents.” Everything comes from money, such as a house and a car, Rabten said.
It is important that a person does not become reliant on others, Rabten said. By depending on others, a person loses the sense of what it is like to be independent and then struggles when they are alone.
“We can do small things with great love and compassion,” Rabten said. “We have to allow ourselves to be changed by love and compassion. Then expand that love and compassion to others. The practice of human life is getting your mind to think how fortunate and lucky you are to have certain things.”
