Understanding Defilements and the Path to True Happiness : หน้า 61/164

"• In conclusion, the sufferings of all beings are caused by succumbing to the influence of our accumulated defilements - from the past until this moment. We open our eyes (all of our senses are open) → we come into contact with our external world → we feel drawn toward specific people, places, and things → we perform actions based upon those feelings or we desire specific results → we experience the consequences of those actions. Actions create results. We experience suffering because our actions are based upon desires (or desired results), or emotional attachment to the things outside of ourselves. As long as we still have desires, or desires for external objects, then there is no end to this cycle. Therefore, destroying all defilement is the solution for real happiness and this should be the ultimate goal of each human being. Defilement is what causes us to feel, or experience, desire and because we identify with this feeling of desire, we think that we need to act upon it, because it is ‘us’. "In order to destroy defilements we must do three things: (1) Perform good actions, (2) Stop all poor habits or actions that we do, (3) Meditate. All of these create boon which is simply pure energy that gets out into the universe to destroy defilement. Happily, the more good energy we put out there, the more it comes right back to us. So, if we do not think improper thoughts, act incorrectly, or speak harshly, we will create pure energy. If we do good things, we create pure energy. And, if we meditate we create pure energy. The more we meditate, the more boon, and the more boon, the more successful we will become at meditating. What goes around, comes around! We do reap what we sow! "Finally, can we ‘know’ without using the brain at all? Is it a straight line from the brain to the mind? In Samsara, a person’s brain acts for him and he really is not aware that his mind is functioning in the four areas that it has. He THINKS, and therefore, he is. The notion that ‘We are what we think’ only contains us in the cycle of birth-rebirth and in the cycle of Samsara. But our mind really uses our brain as an office – receiving sensory information for the mind to use. As we meditate, and gradually become aware of the difference between brain and mind, then we realize that we are actually speaking our brain-thoughts and not our mind-thoughts. For the advanced meditator, all speaking comes from the mind. And, that, my friends, is the beginning of wisdom! So, an ‘equation’ might look like this…"