Understanding the Nature of the Mind : หน้า 57/164

Alice gives with Dhamma Master Meeting #9 17 January 2010 - Ashram Bandita Today, a group has gathered together in the new Ashram to speak with Luang Por about The Nature of the Mind. Normally, guests gather in an outer room and when they are all together, they are invited to sit in the “inner room” of which there are several depending on how many guests are in the meeting. After they are seated, they quiet their minds by meditating. On this day, I have been invited to hear Luang Por talk with a group of international meditators who have come to seek his wisdom on this particular topic, which just happens to be one of his favorites. This is a topic that he has discussed at various times, to various groups, but the following is a super condensed version of this particular day and it includes some of the other notes I have taken on the topic when I have listened to him speak previously: Luang Por enters the room, smiles at his audience, quietly sits on his dais, and adjusts his robes. He begins: “We must first distinguish between ‘brain’ and ‘mind’ because there is always confusion between the two. The brain is an organ of the body. It acts as a filter to the information that goes to the mind. The mind is located in the middle of the body and, so, when we meditate, we always meditate focusing on our ‘mind’ in the middle of the body. “Now the Nature of the Mind is naturally pure and clear as a diamond. If it is disturbed by emotions such as love, hatred, fear and delusion, it will be clouded. The mind’s color is darkened just as adding color into water creates a false perception of the water. All of these emotions affect the mind and we don’t see things clearly. The mind is the master of the body and it directs the body to react. At the same time, it perceives everything through the brain, nerves, and all of the five senses. “By practicing meditation, you can see the mind. The mind is a clear spherical shape. It is generally about the size of an eyeball, but some people can expand their minds so large until it simply gets out into the universe. But you can prove it by yourself if you meditate! “The Human Being is made up of two components: Body and Mind. [NOTE: Actually, the mind is made up of three things, but that will be explained later, in another lecture, in a more advanced Dhamma lesson.] There are four physical and coarse elements