Humankind strives to become more powerful, to dominate
their world in his quest to be a superman. What is more powerful, the
body or the mind?
We use our brain to invent tools and machinery to conquer our world
and be more powerful. How is this newfound power being used? For some it is the
ability to destroy the world. On another level, we can ask why have we created
all this technology and has it grown bigger than what man can handle? It is the
human's intention and his mind creates this destruction. With out the mind
component, technology alone would not be able to do anything. Therefore, the
mind is more powerful.
One of the most powerful sides of the mind is curiosity. We are
naturally curious beings. People are always discovering new things as a result.
That is very
powerful. Would it not be helpful to redirect this power to understand
ourselves better and to help others do the same? When a magician performs his
act, you might be intrigued by his powers of illusion. When you see someone
doing something you cannot do, perhaps you might want to learn how to do this
also.
Centuries ago, meditation was introduced to the world through
demonstrations of powerful mental feats, like walking on water or levitating.
This was done to
gather attention. Although curious and fascinating, this is not the true value
of meditation. It is better to understand what kind of qualities we have to
develop and fears to overcome.
The mind is our powerful ally. We have heard and sometimes
experienced strange manifestations of the mind. For example, people who have
left their bodies during an operation, and observed themselves in the operating
room. an out of body experience. Others have claimed to experience psychic
moments such as knowing some event will occur before it actually does, or to
experience sensations of Deja vu. At times, anger, lust or hatred is so
powerful it seems to control our thoughts and actions. We allow our emotions to
lead us when others provoke. When this happens, it makes us weaker.
In mindfulness, we learn that these "Hot" emotions should not control
us because they cloud our ability to observe the world around us. It is
important to
discipline the mind through meditation, to become more aware when weakness
arises and to overcome it. This is more powerful. With that power, we can learn
how to develop power within us, to stretch our human limits.
The base of power is compassion, loving-kindness, equanimity, and
sym-pathetic joy. To the perfectly developed mind traveling at the speed of
light, walking through fire, sinking in to the earths crust, mind reading and
time travel is not far fetched. Overcoming physical pain and disease is
possible. However, even the less than perfectly developed mind enjoys many
benefits such as good mental and physical health, a deeper happiness,
relaxation and many more just by practicing mindfulness. Some people overcome
diseases such as cancer, chronic pain and the like. relaxed in ones every day
life whatever the conditions are. A well-trained mind is the most powerful
element one can ever find.
- Bhante Sathi -
Edited by Richard Price