Empowering Our Lives with a Calm, Clear and Compassionate Mind

by Venerable Chuan Sheng

COVID-19 has brought about much uncertainties, worries, fear and distress in our lives. If we are not careful, these can adversely affect our body and mind, lead to symptoms such as tiredness and insomnia, and predispose us to health issues like anxiety and depression.

To better cope with the frustration, confusion and stress brought about by COVID-19, we should develop a calm, clear and compassionate mind. Such a mind will enable us to overcome our worries and fear, to see things in perspective, to appreciate what we have, to be grateful to the people around us, and to do what we can to help and support each other. In this way, we can lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, even amid an unnerving and unsettling environment.

To develop a calm, clear and compassionate mind, meditation is an important skill to learn and practise in daily life. It can help us relax and gain composure when we are confused and frustrated, and facilitate us to grow a serene, bright and radiant mind to do the things we should do.

From a Buddhist perspective, meditation is the process of developing our mind to cultivate wholesomeness, happiness and wisdom. Wholesomeness refers to virtues such as generosity, love, compassion, joy, equanimity, calmness, and clarity. The more wholesome qualities we cultivate, the happier and wiser we shall become.

THREE TYPES OF MEDITATION IN BUDDHISM 

There are three types of meditation in Buddhism. Tranquillity meditation leads to a calm and stable mind; mindfulness practice leads to a clear and wise mind; and loving-kindness meditation leads to a compassionate mind — a mind filled with love, compassion, joy and equanimity. If we learn and practise these three types of meditation, we can steer ourselves to better face the challenges of COVID-19 and enrich our lives in the process.

Scientific research shows that meditation can change our brain structure through a process called neuroplasticity. It can rewire brain circuits to benefit our body and mind. It can reduce stress, improve attention, enhance brain power, boost the immune system, and promote well-being. Regardless of age, the more we meditate, the more our brain will grow, and the more empowered, at peace and at ease we shall be.

PRACTISING MEDITATION TO DEVELOP A CALM MIND 

We find a quiet place, sit in a relaxed position and gently place our mind’s attention on an object of meditation — which can be our breath, a Buddha image, or a sound (for instance, chanting the name of Amituofo/Amitabha Buddha). When we find our mind wandering, we bring our attention back to the object of meditation. We can also practise tranquillity meditation while we are standing, lying down, or walking (by focusing on our steps).

With practice, our mind can learn to subdue distractions and restlessness, worries and fear, and become calm, concentrated and stable, allowing us to function more efficiently and effectively in the various aspects of our life.

PRACTISING MINDFULNESS TO DEVELOP A CLEAR MIND 

To be mindful means: (1) to be aware (remember/keep in mind) and attentive; and (2) to watch our body and mind and know what we are doing at all time. No matter what we are doing, we can practise mindfulness — by focusing our mind precisely at that very moment, whether it be going to school, cleaning the house, or chatting with a friend.

Mindfulness practice can train us to be less impulsive in reacting to our roller coaster of thoughts, feelings and emotions throughout the day, and prevent our unwholesome states of mind such as panic, anger, hatred and greed from upsetting our lives. In this process, we enhance our physical and mental well-being.

Psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists are successfully using mindfulness-based techniques to heal mental disorders and improve well-being. Examples include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that to cultivate mindfulness is to cultivate the Buddha within us. Mindfulness is the energy that brings us back to the present moment, to be fully alive and awake to the wonder of each moment. It is the power of now, inclusive and loving.

PRACTISING LOVING KINDNESS TO DEVELOP A COMPASSIONATE MIND 

A compassionate mind is filled with the four divine attributes of love, compassion, joy and equanimity. If we cultivate them, we can counter such unwholesome traits as selfishness, cruelty, jealousy, paranoia and callousness, which can easily arise amid the COVID-19 upheaval.

We can take each of these four heavenly qualities as an object of meditation. We develop each attribute by beginning with the wish for our own well-being and happiness. For instance, to develop love, we begin with the wish “May we be well and happy.” To develop compassion, “May we be free of suffering”; to develop joy, “May we have joy and rejoice in the happiness of others”; and to develop equanimity, “May we be equanimous.”

We then gradually expand and radiate our wish for each quality to other beings: to our family and friends, to all beings living in a city, a country, the universe; or to all beings in front, behind, left, right, above and below us — until we permeate all directions with a mind that is replete with love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

Loving-kindness meditation thus can diminish our unwholesome aspects and grow our wholesomeness and happiness. It is used in such treatments as Compassion-Based Therapy (CBT).

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS 

Practising the three types of meditation can empower our lives in four main ways during this troubling and turbulent time:

(1) We can become better, stronger and more resilient persons, attuned to the constantly changing rhythm of life, the impermanence of all phenomena — for we are aware that COVID-19 too will pass.

(2) We can build closer relationships with the people we care about — our family and friends — cherishing and nourishing them, in this difficult and trying period.

(3) We can become more efficient and effective in what we do — our work and studies — and build stronger rapport with our colleagues and classmates, to mitigate the many disruptions in our daily life, work and studies.

(4) We can appreciate more the interdependent nature of our environment and the people around us, and do what we can to contribute to our community and society — for we know that together and united, we will be able to overcome the debilitating effects of this pandemic.

Therefore, let us practise in our daily life the three types of meditation — tranquillity, mindfulness and loving-kindness — to develop a calm, clear and compassionate mind. In this way, we can maintain wholesome, meaningful and enriching lives as individuals and as a community — and do what we can to maintain our humanity and humaneness amid this tumultuous time.  

For when we practise meditation, as Thich Nhat Hanh teaches, we are in contact with life. We can offer our love and compassion to lessen suffering and give peace and joy. So, let us not lose ourselves in our worries, fear and frustration. Let us come back to the present moment and touch life deeply. Let us generate the energy of calmness, mindfulness and compassion in each moment of our life. Let us enter the heart of the Buddha, the Buddha within us.