The Peaceful Mind

by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

When I was ten or eleven years old, my personal tutor, some friends, and I made a rare excursion from the monastery. I looked forward to visiting the great adept Kunzang Nyima Rinpoche in a valley two days away. Though I enjoyed my life in the monastery, it was so exciting to ride a horse across the spacious Ser Valley. For miles and miles, we rode through this untainted land, enjoying the sight of peaceful and beautiful animals. Butterflies dotted the air over the green carpet of grassland, and birds played and sang freely, in a timeless scene of natural beauty.  It was the greatest feast for the senses of a little boy to enjoy, an unforgettable adventure for someone who had lived for years within the sanctuary of a monastic compound.

Arriving in the evening, we reached a small, peaceful gorge walled by gentle green hills. In the distance, the majestic mountain of Ser Dzong seemed to preside over all of existence.

We camped in a beautiful field at a distance from Rinpoche’s big black tent. Early the next morning, we crossed the meadow to meet Rinpoche. He had a beautiful and powerful face with wide, smiling eyes, a brownish complexion, and long hair tied around his head and wrapped in a silk turban. He might have been in his fifties, and he had a strong, vital body. With a blossoming, flower-like smile, he welcomed us as if he had just found his long-lost friends. He kept his treasure of writings close at hand, about forty volumes, most of which were his mystical revelation. I remember the feeling of unconditional and unpretentious love in his heart, which wasn’t only for me but for all around. Although his voice was powerful and far-reaching, he spoke in a stream of gentle and soothing words. He was someone who enjoyed the simple gifts of life with deepest contentment. I was a guarded and shy boy, but in the sunny presence of Rinpoche, I became so natural. There was no place to harbour darkness or anxiety anymore.

Rinpoche’s joy and calm seemed pervasive. Immediately upon meeting him and for all the time I was there, die world appeared to be a very peaceful place. As I looked around, I vividly felt that his presence had somehow transformed my surroundings, that nothing was separate from this wonderful peacefulness. The trees, the mountains, my companions, myself — everything was united in calm and peace. It wasn’t the mountains and people that changed, but my mind’s way of seeing and feeling them. Because of the power of his presence, my mind was enjoying a greater degree of peace and joy, almost a state of boundlessness. That feeling enabled me to see all mental objects through those qualities. For a while, no attractions or disappointments mattered.

Even today, when I remember that experience from more than four decades ago, I feel joy and completeness. The heat of that memory helps me to melt the ice of obstacles as they come upon life’s journey. The mind creates peacefulness. In this case, my mind had focused on an object outside itself — this benevolent spiritual teacher — and expanded the feeling of peace. We can benefit from such experiences because they offer a taste of peace and show us how our minds would like to be. And we don’t have to go to the Ser Valley to experience such peace. We can feel happier and more peaceful in our everyday lives and encourage this feeling of peace through meditation. 

True healing and well-being come down to enjoying an awareness of peace, the ultimate peace of existence. The mind is not passive in the sense of being half-asleep. Instead, the mind is open to die thought and feeling of total peace. An unrestricted and uncontaminated awareness of peace is the ultimate joy and strength. When we are truly aware of peace, our nature blossoms with full vigour. 

Some people are so fully open to the true nature of existence that they are peaceful no matter what the circumstances. For die enlightened mind, peace does not depend on any object or concept. Awareness of die absolute nature of things, the universal truth, is not limited or conditioned by concepts, feelings, or labels such as good and bad. A mind that is free can transcend dualistic categories such as peace versus conflict and joy versus suffering. The enlightened mind does not discriminate between a subjective or an objective reality or between liking and disliking. Time is timeless, and everything in existence is perfect as it is.

Before this begins to sound too theoretical, I should say that there are many people who are enlightened, to one degree or another. Some Tibetan lamas I know were imprisoned for many years, and they almost enjoyed die experience. I try to avoid talking about the political upheaval in Tibet because it is too easy for blame to arise. This can lead to a cycle of resentment, which could embitter the mind and is neither helpful nor productive. Suffice it to say that prison is not necessarily a pleasant holiday. Yet I have a friend who got out of prison only after twenty-two years and had felt quite at home there because of a very peaceful mind. When I asked him how it was, he said, “It was nice there. I was treated very nice.” When you ask one of these lamas to explain, he will say, “Alive or dead, it doesn’t matter. I’m in Buddha pure land.”

We can be inspired by tales of enlightenment, where peace is everywhere and even turmoil is OK. But for most of us, the goal should be to work with our ordinary minds and just try to be a little more peaceful and relaxed in our approach to life. If we can become a little more peaceful, it will help us handle everyday problems better, even if big problems are still difficult.

 

Even so, it can be helpful to remember that die enlightened mind and the ordinary mind is two sides of the same coin. The mind is like the sea, which can be rough on the surface, with mountainous waves stirred up by ferocious wind, but calm and peaceful at the bottom. Sometimes we can catch sight of this peaceful mind even in times of trouble. These glimpses of peace show us that we may have more inner resources to draw upon than we had realised. With skill and patience, we can learn how to be in touch with our peaceful selves.