Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!

Mental Purity

By Rasika Wijayaratne – Email: Rasika Wijayaratne – Version: 1.2 

Anger, hatred, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, lust, fear, worry, sloth, torpor and doubt are negative mental forces within that can take control of our minds and can cause us to perform negative actions with at times dire consequences. The Lord Buddha showed us five ways to gain control over such negative mental forces in the Vitakkasanthana Sutta.

The first method is to develop the opposing positive qualities in our minds. When anger arises we can develop the opposite quality of this, which is loving-kindness (mettâ), when jealousy arises about others we can develop appreciative joy, i.e. happiness for other gain and well-being (muditâ), when lust arises we can endeavour to see the ugliness of the subject (asubha) and so on. Even-mindedness afforded by equanimity (upekkhâ) is also applicable.

The second method is to bring to mind the drawbacks of giving into these negative thoughts. When we take a little time to see how much harm can come to both ourselves as well as others we tend to immediately come to our senses. The drawbacks of anger are well-documented in the Kodhana Sutta as becoming ugly, loss of sleep, loss of wealth and opportunities, lack of friends, unpopularity, and re-birth in a lower realm after death.

The third method is to pay no attention what-so-ever to the negative thoughts and to continue and concentrate with our present activity. When we dwell on anger for example it tends to grow and grow and eventually get out of control; however with this approach anger does not even get a chance to gain a foot-hold in our minds.

The fourth method is to by degrees slow down the fast pace of the defiled mind and to analyse, find and then removing the root cause for the arising of defilements. When the mind is gripped and overcome by a 'storm' of negative thoughts, we can become aware of this and slow it down by degrees until it is calm and still and remove the reason for the arising of these negativities.

The fifth and last method is to expend great mental energy to subdue and suppress strong negative thoughts as and when they arise. There is a belief in Western psychology that the suppression of negative thoughts such as anger has negative consequences; however this view is not in-line with the Lord Buddha's teachings. While letting out anger may seem like a good approach in the short-term, it only makes anger increase in the long-term and it become established in the mind as a habit. This is not to mention the harm that is caused to one's self as well as others through acting out in anger and other negativities.

As young Buddhists we should endeavour to cleanse our minds at all times of all the defilements such as desire, anger, fear and worry, sloth and torpor and doubt about the Dhamma, and these five methods, of developing the opposing positive qualities, seeing the dangers in harbouring evil thoughts, not paying any attention to evil thoughts as they arise, calming down the process of thought negative formation within our minds, and suppression of evil thoughts as they arise, can help us to do this. May you attain pure minds!

Related Youth Articles

1. Buddhist Positive Thinking The cause of and a way of dealing with fault finding and resentment

http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=posthink

2. Equanimity The cause of and a way of dealing with fault finding and resentment

http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=equanimity

3. Fault Finding & Resentment The cause of and a way of dealing with fault finding and resentment

http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=faultfind

4. Metta Meditation Easy to follow instructions for doing the meditation on loving-kindness

http://vihara.org.au/go?to=mettamed

Related Suttas

1. MN 20, Vitakkasanthana Sutta, The Relaxation of Thoughts, translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.020.than.html

2. AN 7.60, Kodhana Sutta, An Angry Person, Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.060.than.html