The Stillness Within the Ups and Downs

The Trap of Emotional Fluctuations

When your heart experiences ups and downs, or when ripples of emotion stir within, it is because you are caught in the cycle of sensation and feeling. Once you allow these fluctuations to take hold, you have entered the realm of consciousness. And once you have entered the realm of consciousness, you are inevitably creating karma. As a practitioner, you must understand that these internal disturbances are the very things that bind you to the cycle of rebirth.

The Source of Our Disturbance

These sensations and feelings do not arise from nowhere. They originate from the interaction between your Six Roots and the Six Dusts. It is vital that you understand how these sensory inputs function:

• The Six Roots: These are your sensory gateways—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
• The Six Dusts: These are the external objects of your senses—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and the phenomena of the Dharma.

When your Six Roots come into contact with the Six Dusts, you begin to form attachments, and from these attachments, the waves of emotion begin to rise.

Transcending the Five Aggregates

As a practitioner, you must strive to remain unmoved. You must aim to be free from these fluctuations, free from the traps of sensation and feeling. By maintaining an unmoved mind, you can transcend the Five Aggregates: form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. I remind you of these truths periodically, my children, because it is so easy to forget. You often place yourselves in perilous situations without even realising it. You allow your hearts to be tossed about by external circumstances, creating a complex web of both good and negative karma.

Facing Karma with a Still Heart

When you create good karma, you receive favourable results, and you feel as though you are in a smooth, peaceful environment. Conversely, when you create negative karma, you receive unfavourable results, and you find yourself in adverse circumstances where your heart struggles to find peace. My children, you must cultivate meditative concentration. Whether the karma manifesting before you is good or negative, you must face it with a heart that is like still water—without ripples, without attachment to favourable or adverse conditions. Simply face these experiences with a calm mind, resolve the karmic debt, and do not create any new karma. This is the path to true liberation.

Written by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe, as chief writer.

Namo Amituofo