Not as Real as You Think!
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten 11/2020
Dear Dharma friends,
​
Human beings are born with this incredible gift: our ability to think, learn, and to believe or not believe. Such inborn capacity is part of what makes us human beings unique in a world where every species is unique in their own way. At the moment we’re born, we’re all pure in spirit and filled with so much innocence. We are free of the complex thinking mind. As time goes by, we continue developing our mental and physical ability, a necessary undertaking for our survival as well as to fulfill our role in the world. Without the thinking mind, we wouldn’t be able to communicate with others. So much greatness comes with the gift of a complex thinking mind like music, dance, poetry, art and philosophy.
​
This gift comes with a surprise. By using it, our consciousness gets narrower, and can get trapped behind a veil of endless opinions, judgment, and greed. Then, not only is the bigger picture of reality hidden from us, but much suffering is created. The more we’re attached to our beliefs, the less tolerant we become. Not only that, we tend to judge and put down those who hold different beliefs. At some point, we need to loosen our attachment to our beliefs, whether they be political, philosophical or even the mundane, such as an opinion about someone or a situation. Letting go of these beliefs makes us more open hearted and compassionate.
​
All of our ideas are just a bunch of mental constructs formed in our mind, and most them are lacking in intrinsic truth. They’re often given to us by people around us and shaped by the culture of which we’re a part. These ideas are like any other adventitious conditions, they’re not static and we can let them go. Usually, if we simply question them, it can make them feel less solid and real. However, the power of our defenses that guard them cannot be underestimated. The only way we can dismantle these beliefs is if there is a genuine willingness not to shield them, but rather to dare to question them. Once we start inquiring into their nature and we realize that many of our versions of reality are not true, big freedom can happen. We can then love and feel joy that we maybe couldn’t in the past.
​
During this Sojong, let me invite everyone to hold the intention to question the beliefs that might cause your mind to be narrow and rigid, leading you to quietly suffer. Hold the aspiration that soon they will release their grip on you and will be replaced with insights and peace.
​
With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
​