
                           THE HEART AWAKENED

                              Three Essays


                                   by
                          Eileen Siriwardhana


                          Bodhi Leaves No. 93


           Copyright 1983, 1995 Buddhist Publication Society


                      BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
                      KANDY              SRI LANKA

                                 * * *


                         DharmaNet Edition 1995

                      Transcription: Eileen Santer
                Proofreading & Formatting: John Bullitt

        This electronic edition is offered for free distribution
            via DharmaNet by arrangement with the publisher.

                        DharmaNet International
                 P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951


                            * * * * * * * *



  About the Author
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Mrs. Eileen Siriwardhana graduated from the University of Ceylon in
  English, Singhalese and Pali. She is now the Principal of Visakha
  Vidyalaya, the premier Buddhist Girl's School in Colombo.

  She is also a distinguished writer in Singhalese.


                                 * * *



                                 MUDITA


  //Mudita// means appreciative joy at the success and good fortune of
  others.  Evaluation of achievement is a precursor to mudita, and
  appreciation a component of mudita.  Seeing the good in others and
  learning to recognize and admire what good there is, is what mudita
  tacitly implies.  Laughter and exhilaration are not characteristics of
  mudita.  Mudita is joy and appreciation flowing quietly out of the
  core of one's heart towards others like the waters from a spring
  flowing outwards from the bowels of the earth.  Spontaneous and
  sincere participation in another's glorious hour is possible only when
  the quality of mudita is developed to its fullest.

    Genuine joy in the prosperity of others is indeed a rare quality.
  The virtue of mudita may be best noticed at work in the joy of parents
  over the success of their offspring, and in the genuine ecstasy of
  teachers over the success of their pupils, particularly in the latter
  situation when the threat of the younger eclipsing the older is always
  imminent.  While it is easy to practice mudita within the narrow
  circle of one's family and friends, to identify oneself with the joys
  and triumphs of outsiders requires deliberate effort.  Yet the
  capacity for doing so is rooted in man's nature. Smiling faces of
  adults make children respond readily with their own smiles.  This
  potential in the child should be nurtured and activated by parents and
  educationists.  For the seed of mudita planted early in a child will
  grow and blossom and bear fruit in his adolescence and in his adult
  life.  To some extent, man is a product of his environment -- with
  this in mind, adults, parents, teachers and wardens who handle
  children should be of a cheerful disposition and an appreciative
  nature.

        If a child lives with criticism,
        He learns to condemn;

        If a child lives with hostility,
        He learns to fight;

        If a child lives with ridicule,
        He learns to be shy;

        If a child lives with jealousy,
        He learns to feel guilty;

        If a child lives with tolerance,
        He learns to be patient;

        If a child lives with encouragement,
        He learns confidence;

        If a child lives with praise,
        He learns to appreciate;

        If a child lives with fairness,
        He learns justice;

        If a child lives with security;
        He learns to have faith;

        If a child lives with approval,
        He learns to like himself;

        If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
        He learns to find love in the world.


    Latent in man are both noble characteristics as well as vicious
  tendencies.  It is strange that the vices latent in man seem almost
  natural and spontaneous, whereas the dormant virtues have to be
  brought to the surface with great effort.  As one advances in years,
  activating  and developing the potential of mudita becomes more and
  more difficult -- though not impossible.  Seeds will not take root in
  hard and crusty soil.  One has to loosen and soften the soil if one
  expects shoots from seeds.  In children the heart is tender and seeds
  planted therein will take root early and grow fast.  So the best time
  to activate and develop the positive and saintly tendencies which lie
  dormant in every human being is during the tender years.  When a child
  receives praise and approbation, he will naturally learn to give it to
  others for he knows the joy of recognition and appreciation.

    Envy and jealousy are the chief opponents of mudita, or appreciative
  joy.  These noxious qualities arise partly out of a lack of confidence
  in one's achievements and one's capacity to achieve.  Dislike, boredom
  -- nuances of the Pali term //arati// -- may be considered as enemies
  of mudita.  The opposite sterling virtues which can vanquish these
  enemies are loving-kindness, //metta//, and compassion, //karuna//.
  Mudita is placed third in the listing of the Brahma Viharas, for
  mudita is the natural outcome of the two preceding benign mental
  states. Metta and karuna are the forces that urge one to alleviate the
  sufferings of others with purely altruistic motives, expecting nothing
  in return -- not even gratitude.  What matters to the Buddhist is the
  little bit of joy he has brought to another's heart by relieving him
  of even a little bit of sorrow, of suffering.  Little do people
  realize how a kind word, a warm smile, a loving touch can act as a
  balm to a sorrow-laden heart.  We can now see how mudita becomes a
  natural result of metta and karuna.

    Too often people are much more ready to sympathize with the
  misfortunes of others than to rejoice with them in their good fortune.
  Where is a definition of a friend:  "What are friends?  Are they not
  dear sweet people who abuse you behind your back and take an inward
  deep pleasure in hearing of your faults and misfortunes?"  We have to
  take ourselves to task whenever we recognize these psychological
  perversities within us, and with great effort try to eradicate these
  unwholesome tendencies which seem to be deep-rooted.

    We have to be honest with ourselves and look within.  Whenever
  traces of envy or jealousy enter our hearts, we should recognize the
  emotion as one which is unwholesome.  We should also make an effort
  not to let it take hold of us.  Let us ask this question: Why are we
  envious?  Because someone possesses something we do not.  Why do we
  not have that which we want, that which would give us joy?  The answer
  lies in our own //kamma//.  In the light of the Buddha Dhamma no one
  is to blame but ourselves.  The greatest sorrow for a woman is the
  inability to bear a child.  Why accumulate more bad kamma by envying
  those who have children?  Unwholesome states of mind such as hatred
  and anger are said to be the causes of infertility.  So why promote
  such a state in a future birth too by continuing that evil train of
  thought?  This line of thinking, of arguing, needs very great effort.
  It is not easy.  That is why the Buddha praised effort, //viriya//, as
  a noble virtue.  "If it were not possible to do good I would not tell
  you to,"  said the Buddha.  This mode of thinking helps to eradicate
  delusion -- //moha//.  The source of all unwholesome kamma is
  ignorance of moha.  When the vail of moha is lifted, one sees clearly
  that craving is the source of all sorrows.  Craving gives rise to
  jealousy, envy, covetousness, avarice, greed -- all enemies of mudita.

    Let the fertile woman not look down upon her less fortunate sister
  who is denied the great joy of motherhood.  Let not the one endowed
  with beauty scorn her plain-looking sister.  Let not the wealthy
  insult the poor.  After all, we must remember that this earthly
  existence is but a short sojourn in our journey through Samsara. The
  Buddha says there is no one on earth who has not in a previous
  existence been a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a child to us.
  So let us suffuse the whole world with metta, with karuna and with
  mudita.  This is why the Brahma Viharas are described as //appamanna//
  -- illimitables (all embracing).  They are so-called because they find
  no barrier or limit.  They embrace all living beings.

    Jealousy can poison a man's system, mar his character, and ruin his
  social relationships.  And what is life but a series of relationships?
  It is only in death that we are alone.  Today jealousy and greed for
  power have poisoned the mind of the world.  We now witness jealousy on
  a global scale.  We are destroying each other and our home -- the
  earth.  The situation at the present is so very grave that we can no
  longer talk of individuals or groups or nations. We have to speak for
  Earth.  Carl Sagan, the eminent astronomer, exasperated by the wanton
  destruction of our beautiful little planet and its resources asks,
  "Who speaks for Earth?"  The practice of mudita never seemed to be as
  important as in the present day. The forces of evil seem to have been
  unleashed in full measure in human hearts the world over.

    Advances in science and technology have been of immense value to
  man's material progress and development, but the negative by-products
  of this progress are truly frightening.  Destruction of natural
  resources, pollution, unhealthy rivalry and dangerous competition have
  reached such colossal proportions that life on earth is threatened.
  Discoveries and inventions in the fields of science and technology
  should be for a better and more comfortable life.  But now many of
  those discoveries' are a threat to life itself.  It is indeed
  depressing that the irony of this situation is not considered with
  sufficient concern.  The ills of the world are insidiously increasing
  so that there is a growing sense of cosmic gloom and defeatism.

    Man's predicament as perceived by the modern poet, George Barker, is
  embodied in the following words:

        When will men again
        Lift irresistible fists
        Not bend from ends
        But each man lift men
        Nearer again.

        Many men mean
        Well: but tall walls
        Impede, their hands bleed and
        They fall, their seed the
        Seed of the fallen.

        See here the fallen
        Stooping over stones, over their
        Own bones, but all
        Stooping doom beaten.

        Whom the noonday wishes
        Whole, whom the heavens compel,
        And to whom pass immaculate messages,
        When will men again
        Lift irresistible fists
        Impede impediments
        Leap Mountains, Laugh at Walls?


    Looking on, dejected and dispirited, is not the solution.  We have
  to struggle to save ourselves and our planet.  This is why
  institutions like the United Nations Assembly exist.  Though
  satisfactory results may not always be forthcoming, the fact that
  while a section is destroying, inventing weapons of hate, another
  section of mankind is arguing, demonstrating, petitioning for peace.
  As long as such forces opposing evil are in existence, there is hope.
  This means that there is still sympathy and love in men's hearts for
  their fellow beings.  So we must be hopeful.  Conflict is eternal;
  conflict is natural.  Conflict helps us to rediscover lost values. We
  must not see only hatred in conflict.  Conflict is the natural
  prerequisite of a satisfactory solution.

    A section of the world today is enveloped by the thick veil of
  delusion.  Hence their inability to see the truth.  Failure to
  perceive the Truth is delusion.  So it is with persistent effort and
  enduring patience that those who wish to be noble and serviceable must
  sublimate themselves and serve humanity, both by example and by
  precept.  The cultivation of mudita and the practice of this virtue
  can relieve humanity of the suffering it has brought upon itself.
  Those with right understanding must by personal example work out
  salvation for themselves and for their fellow beings.

    Diligent practice of mudita will make a person more amenable,
  flexible, and understanding.  He will learn to live outside himself.
  He will experience a new kind of happiness, the joy of sharing.  This
  virtue will elevate him to eradicate the cankers of jealousy and
  egoistic craving; "We" and "ours" will be substituted for "me and
  "mine."  Wholesome camaraderie will build up, and he will gradually
  embrace the whole world with loving-kindness -- //sabbe satta bhavantu
  sukhitatta//.  The ego will gradually disintegrate, and he will gain
  insight into //anatta//, the Buddha's central doctrine. The fetters of
  attachment to self will break first, and with it all other fetters of
  attachment, which will lead him gradually toward renunciation.

    The Buddha advocates the sharing not only of material resources, but
  of spiritual resources as well.  The transferring of merit to our dear
  departed ones is a truly beautiful sharing.  Our loved ones who are no
  more with us physically feel such a sense of joy in the thought that
  they are not forgotten; the joy that accrues to them by our
  enlightened acts is //anumodana//.

    Mankind is on the eve of a nuclear war.  Sure and certain
  destruction will be the fate of the human race if war breaks out.  Now
  is the hour to muster benign forces within the human heart on a global
  scale.  The virtues of metta, karuna, mudita and upekkha must be
  practiced to combat the degrading forces of greed and hatred which
  cause dangerous divisions.  Once the sparks of divinity in men's
  hearts are released, all divisions of creed, colour, religion and race
  will recede into insignificance.  Then only one creed will be in
  evidence:  the creed of humanity.  So let us activate, cultivate, and
  develop the sublime qualities -- Brahma Viharas. These powers hidden
  within the human heart are yet untapped, yet it is through these
  powers that humanity can be saved.  This seems to be the way -- the
  only way out of the present entanglement.

        "The inner tangle and the outer tangle --
        This generation is entangled in a tangle.
        And so I ask Gotama this question:
        Who succeeds in disentangling this tangle?"


    The answer of the enlightened One given centuries ago embodies the
  solution to the present tangle.  It is, in fact, the answer to every
  generation -- past, present, future.  "He who succeeds," says the
  Buddha, "in disentangling this tangle, is the wise man, established
  well in virtue, who has developed consciousness and understanding."

                                 * * *





                                 METTA


  Metta is a sincere wish for the welfare and genuine happiness of all
  beings, without exception.  It means that which softens one's heart --
  a friendly disposition.  "Just as a mother protects her only child
  even at the risk of her own life, even so should one cultivate
  loving-kindness towards all living beings."  It is not the passionate
  love of the mother that is stressed here, but her sincere selfless
  wish for a genuine welfare of her child.

    Metta transcends all boundaries of caste, class, race and religion.
  It is limitless in size and range (//appamanna//); it has no barriers,
  no discriminations.

    Think of the number of instances during a day when your actions are
  colored by discrimination.  When your unfortunate servant boy
  accidentally breaks an article, you shout at him.  When your own child
  does it, you tolerate it.  That servant boy is also somebody's child
  who, through bad kamma, has come under your roof to do your menial
  work -- to do your bidding.

    When you strike a blow across your dog's back for trampling your
  flower bed, do you realize the unwholesome state of your mind at the
  moment of such action?  You may even be a person who recites the
  gathas and the suttas, who goes to the temple, who observes the Eight
  Precepts, who listens to sermons, who gives alms.  But at the moment
  of such discriminating actions you have turned away from the Dhamma.

    At some time you may bide the time, waiting for an opportunity to
  take revenge on someone who has slandered you.  During that period of
  waiting -- please think of the Buddha.  Enact in your mind's eye the
  story of Cinca Manavika or the courtesan Sundari. Then your little
  embarrassments and heartaches will fade into insignificance.

    Metta is described as a divine state (//brahma-vihara//) which
  cannot co-exist with anger or hatred.  "Hatreds never cease through
  hatreds in this world.  Through love alone they cease.  This is an
  eternal law."  Goodwill, loving-kindness, benevolence and universal
  love are suggested as the best renderings of the Pali word //metta//.
  A point to be clarified here is that metta is not synonymous with
  ordinary affection.  The world cannot exist without mutual affection.
  Between parents and children, between husbands and wives, between
  teachers and pupils, between friends, exist varying degrees of
  affection.  This affection is natural, and metta has to be cultivated.
  A benevolent attitude is the chief characteristic of metta. One who
  practices metta is constantly interested in promoting the welfare of
  others -- not only in his family and friends.  Such a person is
  sincere when he says:  "May all beings be happy."

    Another very important point that should be clearly understood is
  that in exercising metta, do not ignore yourself.  How often do you
  say, "Oh, I got so angry with myself" or "I can never forgive myself"?
  Some hasty words or actions on your part fill you with resentment
  towards yourself.  Remorse, though a fine corrective, is an extreme
  form which can bar your progress when indulged in again and again.
  There are times when you may even make yourself mentally and
  physically ill.  So the most important person to make friends with is
  yourself.

    Remorse, regret, diffidence and hopelessness are negative
  tendencies the existence of which can never result in a friendly
  disposition towards oneself.  Metta is a positive quality.  Unless you
  feel friendly toward yourself, you cannot be friendly towards others.
  To the world outside you may appear to be well-disposed towards others
  and give the impression of possessing a benevolent, magnanimous
  nature.  But be aware of yourself.  Be honest with yourself. Honesty
  is the starting point towards self-purification.

        "To thine own self be true
        And it must follow as the night the day
        Thou canst not be false to any other man."


    All men have their frailties.  What is meant by making friends with
  oneself does not mean that we expect to find within ourselves only
  that which is good and perfect.  We talk about understanding people.
  Let us understand ourselves first.  Let us recognize our strong points
  and feel satisfied about them.  Let us recognize our failings, and
  strive towards lessening or eradicating them.

        "Whoever looks for a friends without imperfections will never
         find what he seeks."

        "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter.
         He that has found one has found a treasure."

        "He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his
         life."


    Let us not throw away our lives by throwing away that friend that is
  in us.

    "I" or "myself" should be the central or starting point.  Metta
  radiates from oneself to others, so it is very important to feel a
  sense of goodwill, friendliness, well-being towards one-self. This is
  a subtle point which has to be clearly understood.

    The Buddha radiated metta equally towards his adversary Devadatta,
  Yasodhara his royal wife, and Patacara the demented woman, his royal
  father Kind Dusshodana and Sopaka the humble low-caste youth.

    Metta then should be extended towards friend, foe and mere
  acquaintances alike.  The identification of oneself with all beings
  (//sabbattata//), making no difference between oneself and others is
  the culmination of metta.  The ideas of "me" and "mine" are building
  blocks of barriers.  Metta dissolves barriers and loosens all
  constraints. With the diligent practice of metta, division evaporates
  and humanism is realized.  Such a mind is free from ill-will, and this
  freedom is bliss or //sukha//.

    Ill-will is the antithesis of metta.  Anger, hatred, aversion are
  related qualities.  Metta cannot co-exist with such unwholesome
  attitudes.  Disparaging, condemning and belittling others is possible
  only through ill-will.  Pointing out another's faults with the
  intention of leading him towards good does not mean a lack of metta.
  Parents, teachers and elders often have to resort to various methods
  of correction and reform where the young are concerned.  But one has
  to be very watchful when one is engaged in such activity.  The motive
  has to be analyzed carefully.  Elders sometimes react in anger.  At
  such moments one must question oneself: Was it to avert a disaster to
  the other that one acted so?  Or was it merely giving vent to one's
  own anger which oppressed one?

    A mother who could not convince her son that the path through the
  jungle was unsafe and that he should take a safer route exclaimed in
  despair,  "May a bear maul you!"  The son departed and the mother
  radiating metta towards her son, hoped and prayed that no harm should
  befall him.  Though the jungle was infested with wild animals, the
  loving-kindness which radiated from the core of the mother's heart
  towards her son was a weapon against the fierce jungle beasts.  Metta,
  one has to understand, is a powerful weapon against evil -- and
  protects one from many pitfalls in life.

    Metta is a constructive healthy force with the power of combating
  hostile influences.  Just as anger can produce toxic effects on the
  system, benign thoughts can produce soothing health-bringing physical
  effects.  Many instances in the Buddha's life illustrate the fact that
  the peaceful thought vibrations of the Buddha produced salutary
  effects, so much so that the intoxicated elephant Nalagiri and the
  wild Angulimala were completely subdued.  The magnetic power of metta
  is indeed deeply rewarding.  Metta has a liberating influence on the
  one who possesses it and on the one to whom it is extended.

    In our day-to-day lives with its trials, tribulations and
  complexities, the art of being friendly is fast disappearing.  We act
  like automatons. We are so wrapped up in ourselves, in our own
  affairs, that we hardly think it is necessary to spend time over
  anything that is not connected directly to ourselves and our affairs.

    We must teach our young the value of a friendly disposition. We must
  do it by example more than by precept.  In our homes, in our schools,
  in our places of work, if this simple quality of friendliness is
  allowed to pervade the atmosphere, our corner of this earth can be a
  little haven -- a true home.

    Let us fill our hearts with metta, and let us make our hearts a home
  where peace and love and friendship will dwell.

        "I read within a poet's book
        A word that starred the page:
        'Stone walls do not a prison make
        Nor iron bars a cage!'
        Yes, that is true, and something more,
        You'll find wherever you roam
        That marble floors and gilded walls
        Can never make a home.
        But every home where Love abides
        And Friendship is a guest
        Is surely home, and home sweet home
        For there the heart can rest."

                                 * * *




                         GETTING HOLD OF MYSELF


        I told myself never to do certain things:

        Never to fly into a rage when things have gone wrong,
        But something is simmering inside me;
        Then I try to get hold of myself
        But I can't!

        Never moan and lament over loss and disaster,
        But something is writhing inside me;
        Then I try to get hold of myself
        But I can't!

        Never be elated over triumphs and victories,
        But something is dancing inside me;
        Then, too, I try to get hold of myself,
        But I can't!

        Exasperated, I try and I strive
        But I can't!

        I just can't get hold of myself,
        Can you?
        If you can, please let me know how.
        Yes, I can.
        And you can, too,
        If you turn to the Buddha.

        "Irrigators lead the waters.
        Fletchers bend the shafts.
        Carpenters bend the wood.
        The wise control themselves."


    Just as a water-course is dammed and directed through channels
  towards a chosen direction, so too the mind must be bent and
  consciously directed towards good, towards virtue, towards
  righteousness.

    To amass wealth, to dig up the treasures from the bowels of the
  earth, man makes laborious efforts and spends enormous sums of money,
  but to dig up the invaluable treasures of the mind, man makes little
  or no effort.  But to make the effort man has first to realize, he has
  first to understand the mysterious and mighty potentialities hidden
  within his mind.

    On the other hand, if, though well aware of the natural destructive
  forces within him, man makes little or no effort to curb them, he
  thereby causes untold misery to himself and to others.

    Latent in man are both saintly characteristics and destructive
  tendencies.  It is strange that too often the vices latent in man seem
  almost natural and spontaneous, whereas the dormant virtues have to be
  brought to the surface with great effort.  It is worth noting that
  every vice possesses its opposite, a noble virtue which may not appear
  to be natural and automatic, yet which lies within the range of every
  person.

    And so man lives enveloped in miseries of various types.  Man is
  never happy, never satisfied, always frustrated, always wanting
  something more, something new.  His mind is constantly in turmoil, and
  the misfortune is that he thinks that this has to be the natural
  condition common to all.  This is delusion, or //moha//.

        "Blind is the world.
        Few are those who clearly see.
        As birds escape from a net,
        few go to the blissful state."


    It is a pity that man does not realize that all these fears,
  sorrows, phobias and miseries are mind-made -- and can be eliminated.
  A man can live in a constant state of bliss and joy devoid of
  unnecessary sufferings and live life to its fullest if only he would
  live the word of the Buddha, for the word of the Buddha embodies
  peace.  This is why the arahats often uttered:

        "Calm in mind, Calm in speech, Calm in deed, who rightly knowing
        is wholly freed, perfectly peaceful and equipoised."


    A desert traveler with parched lips and burning soles will be
  gladdened on hearing that an oasis is not far off.  But he will not
  experience real joy until he tastes its waters with his lips, and dips
  his soles in the cool waters.  In like manner the word of the Buddha
  gladdens our hearts, but we should not stop until we have tasted the
  bliss of that noble state which is the panacea, the only panacea, for
  all the ills of the world.


        "There is no medicine comparable to the Dhamma.  Taste of it.
        Drink it,  O monks."


    The Dhamma is to be lived, not merely to be read about or listened
  to.  Listen.  Think. Practice.

    In our day-to-day lives, in the course of being engaged in our daily
  chores, we should think of the innumerable times when we have
  neglected the word of the Buddha.  Yet the incense chamber of the
  Buddha should be created within our hearts, and that fragrance must
  pervade every thought, every word, every action of our waking life.

    "Purify your mind," said the Blessed One.  Now think of the
  numberless unwholesome thoughts that daily pollute the mind.  We speak
  and we act impulsively, rashly.  Our words and our actions are often
  harsh; we cause pain of mind to others, which in turn brings on
  remorse.  A whole train of unwholesome thoughts are unleashed as a
  result of our inability to control our mind.  We get angry. That anger
  even results in chemical changes in the body which can be injurious to
  our health, and to the well-being of others. And then we repent for a
  lifetime a few words uttered impulsively.

    So, realizing the unhappiness we bring upon ourselves and the
  suffering we cause others, we must first understand and accept the
  fact that we are not on the right path.  What is the remedy? Do not
  let the mind drift.  Take hold if it.  Cultivate it. What is
  cultivation?  It is meditation.  It is a process of mind cleansing.
  What are the steps leading to purification of the mind, which is the
  heart of the Buddha's message?

        1. To know the mind -- that is so near to us; and is yet so
           unknown.

        2. To shape the mind -- that is unwieldy and obstinate, and yet
           may turn to pliant.

        3. To free the mind -- that is in bondage all over, and yet may
           win freedom here and now.

                                -- "The Heart of Buddhist Meditation,"
                                    by Nyanaponika Thera


    To know the mind one has to watch it from moment to moment. Take a
  few minutes off your daily chores and sit down in a quiet place and be
  mindful of your thoughts.  Watch carefully the thought processes
  coursing incessantly through your mind like the rising and falling
  away of the ocean waves, but continuous -- in a never-ending flow they
  arise and they fall away.  Recognize each thought as pleasant or
  unpleasant, as the nature of the thought may be. We have to be honest
  with ourselves.  We must recognize jealousy as jealousy, know it to be
  unwholesome, cast it aside and substitute its antidote or opposite --
  which is appreciative joy or mudita.

    We can gradually increase the period of watching by a few minutes
  each day.  After some time we will find that when watching and
  perceiving, all shades and nuances of thought pass through our mind.
  With practice, this process will become automatic, natural and
  effortless, even while we are engaged in our daily activities.  This
  is as it should be -- a very desirable condition for our well-being,
  for then we will be constantly mindful.  An action performed with
  mindfulness will be a skillful action.  The result, or //vipaka//, of such
  action will be pleasant and good.  So constantly our mind will be
  suffused with satisfaction, joy and bliss.

    Let us look at a few of the common unwholesome states which too
  often pollute our minds:

    Anger is a destructive vice which can be subdued with
  loving-kindness or metta.

    Aggression is another vice that is responsible for much human
  suffering, errors and atrocities.  Its antidote is compassion or
  karuna.

    Jealousy poisons one's system.  It has a corroding effect on a
  person like rust on metal.  It will destroy a person.  Appreciative
  joy or mudita is the remedy.

    There are other universal characteristics that upset the equilibrium
  of man.  They are attachments to the pleasurable and aversion to the
  non-pleasurable.  The opposite force is equanimity, or //upekkha//,
  which alone can combat these two subtle but most prevalent defilements
  ever present in the mind.

    Impregnated in the vices mentioned are the germs of a dreaded
  disease which seems to be taking its toll of many human lives today.
  Self-destruction, depression, a sense of hopelessness, despair, gloom,
  pessimism, meaninglessness of life, are some of the symptoms of this
  dreaded disease which leads to so much unhappiness. The disease is
  ignorance.

    The cure for the disease is the substitution of the opposite virtues
  for each of the latent vices.  This will lead to the recognition of
  the beauty of life, its worthwhileness, its purposefulness. The
  substitution of wholesome pleasant thoughts is a recognized form of
  mental therapy.  These virtues tend to elevate man.  If cultivated
  with diligence, man will realize that the earth is such a beautiful
  place, that human life is noble, and that it is still possible to gain
  peace for oneself and for others.


                            * * * * * * * *
                            

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 TITLE OF WORK: The Heart Awakened (Bodhi Leaves No. 93)
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 AUTHOR: Eileen Siriwardhana
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