The link between achieving peace and Vippasana Buddhist meditation

Through the growth of Vipassana, you gain insight into the ultimate truth

The inherent nature of the human mind is peace. As humans, peace is ingrained within us. When the mind is purified, it attains a state of peace. This notion finds support in modern scientific evidence, and when individuals purify their minds through various methods, they can personally experience this truth. Within this state of inner peace lies happiness, wisdom, creativity and satisfaction. However, as we seek enjoyment in life, we often sacrifice our inner peace, leading to suffering. 

Is it not possible to find a way to enjoy life without compromising our inner peace? This short article aims to explore precisely that.

We often remind ourselves that life is short and should be enjoyed to the fullest during this limited time. Pursuing enjoyment, we engage in various activities such as attending social gatherings, parties, going on fun trips, meeting friends, watching movies, eating out, and drinking. To enjoy life, we follow our preferences and take measures to prevent undesirable events. Our enjoyment stems from doing what we like and avoiding what we dislike. It is natural to find pleasure in obtaining the things we desire, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, amidst our enjoyment, we also experience moments of suffering. Striking a balance between enjoyment and suffering is challenging, as we often struggle to find a way to enjoy life without experiencing suffering simultaneously.

Why do we suffer when we go to enjoy? Let’s think about this a little deeper.

To comprehend this, let’s consider a simple example. Many of us watch teledramas for enjoyment and pleasure. Think of your favourite teledrama that you never miss. Within the drama, there are characters you admire and enjoy, labelling them as “good” characters. Conversely, there are characters you dislike intensely, categorising them as “bad” characters. You identify them as “bad” and develop affection for the “good” characters. Consequently, you become emotionally attached to the good characters and engender conflicts with the bad ones. As you continue to watch the teledrama, these attachments and conflicts begin to cloud your mind.

Whenever the bad ones mistreat the good ones, you experience sadness for the latter and harbour animosity towards the former. Fear also arises within you, worrying that harm might befall the good ones at any moment. These negative emotions, such as hatred, anger, fear, and sadness, start to surface and impact your state of mind as you get engrossed in the storyline.

Now, the sense of peace within you has vanished, replaced by a fiery nature. Your heart is burning with emotions, causing an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. These physical reactions indicate that you are suffering. However, you remain unaware of this suffering, mistakenly believing that you are merely enjoying the teledrama. 

Your excitement blinds you to the reality of your emotional turmoil. In other words, you are unable to recognise and fully comprehend the emotional experience you are going through. Instead of acknowledging the suffering, you continue to perceive it as enjoyment. Moreover, during idle moments or when feeling bored, you replay those intense incidents in the teledrama to relive the excitement. Additionally, you find yourself consumed with fear for the safety and well-being of your favourite characters. This fear further contributes to the erosion of your inner peace—a natural state inherent within you.

You can use the same teledrama-watching experience to discover a way to enjoy life without suffering. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Before you begin watching the teledrama, take a moment to observe your mind. Check if your mind is in its natural state of peace. If it is not at peace, pay close attention to your mind, and you will notice it gradually becoming peaceful through this mindful observation.

2. Now, as you start watching the teledrama, do so differently from your usual approach. While enjoying the show, also be mindful of what is happening in your mind. Initially, this might be challenging, but with practice, it becomes easier. By doing this, you can observe how your mind becomes agitated, and how your inner peace is lost as it becomes restless. This practice is known as Vipassana, a form of insight meditation.

3. Through Vipassana, you can observe how your mind becomes impure, causing you to lose your inner peace and ultimately leading to suffering. You will also become aware of the physical manifestations of suffering, such as an increase in heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and a heart filled with fear.

4. As you continue with Vipassana, you will come to realise that the root cause of suffering lies in your attachments to the good characters and conflicts with the bad characters. By letting go of these attachments and conflicts, you can enjoy watching the teledrama without experiencing unnecessary suffering.

5. Practicing Vipassana allows you to see the Noble Fourfold Truth, understanding the nature of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path to its end.

Once you become accustomed to this practice, you can apply the same method to other life experiences. Gradually, mindfulness becomes effortless, and through the growth of Vipassana, you gain insight into the ultimate truth. As this understanding deepens, you achieve inner peace bit by bit.

(RU)