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The Prison of the Mind
Find out what happened in this podcast episode : https://bit.ly/2J2uqSS
Once upon a time, there lived a prisoner named John, who grew up without a father. Since he was young, he was always angry about everything. As he grew into an adult, his anger got worse. Once, John got into an argument with someone, feeling that he was being judged and slighted. Unable to control his anger, he punched that person in the head and knocked him down. The person ended up with brain damage and John was sent to jail over his actions. In prison, John was put in a cell measuring 2 square feet. With such limited space, he didn’t have much room to move around. Every day, he grew even more bitter and resentful. He felt it was wrong and unfair that he was locked up, as he still believed that the person he had punched deserved it. Now stuck in his tiny prison cell, he had only his own resentment as a daily companion. One day, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, John noticed a fly. The fly flew towards him and buzzed around his head. Getting angry, he yelled, “How dare you come into my space? This cell is MY SPACE! It has only space for one, you’re not welcome! Get out of here!” Determined to get rid of the fly, he chased it around his cell like a madman. When the fly flew towards the door, John jumped towards the door. When the fly flew towards the wall, he jumped to the wall. Now breathing heavily, he pointed at the fly and said, “You think you are better than me?! Just wait till I catch you!” The fly responded by landing on his face. John could feel it and with all his strength, he slapped his own face. Even though the impact was painful, he was so focused on getting the fly, he didn’t care. The fly was now buzzing around the room again, and he tried to punch it out of the air with no success. Now, exhausted, he sat on the floor. Staring at the fly, he began talking to it, “Why is it that I can’t catch you? I was so close but you so easily get away! This cell is so tiny, too small for even one person, but trying to catch you, it feels like this room is now so huge. It was at that moment, John realized that the cell he had always complained about was actually not that small after all. At the very least, it was big enough to make him see things from a new perspective. This story explores the nature of our minds. With a discriminating mind, we will never find peace. Just like John, who resented his small cell, the issue isn’t about the size of his cell; it is actually about his mind. Whether big or small, it was his mind that made all the difference. As the saying goes, “A mind full of worries lives in a narrow world. A mind free of worries sleeps on a broader bed.” In other words, the size of the world is not important, what is important is our inner world. Is it big or small? Ultimately, the world we perceive is a reflection of our own mind. If we can turn situations around with our minds, then, even a small prison cell can become as vast as the universe. If we have a discriminating mind, even if we lived in a huge mansion, we may not enjoy it. Over time, we may find ourselves getting bored, feeling empty, restless, and stuck. Therefore, one should not solely focus on the good or bad of a given situation, but instead, focus on our mind. How well we live each day depends on the nature of our mind, as well as how tolerant we are. Just like the Buddha taught, everything in this world is interpreted as manifestations of our minds. Master Wumen (無門和尚) once said, “Spring has its blossoms and autumn its moon, Summer has its breezes and winter its snow; If one has nothing to be concerned about, Then any time is a good time in life.” Regardless of whether the flowers bloom in spring, a cool breeze blows in summer, the autumn moon is bright, or the snow falls in winter, as long as the mind is not unsettled by the outside world, and does not cling to right and wrong, gains and losses, prosperity and wealth, every day is a good season, and your mind will be calm and at ease. Just as Venerable Master Hsing Yun says, Free of delusion, you happily get along with people. Free of discrimination, you peacefully accept your surroundings. Free of attachment, you cheerfully carry on. Free of the five desires, your mind will be joyful.
Once upon a time, there lived a prisoner named John, who grew up without a father. Since he was young, he was always angry about everything. As he grew into an adult, his anger got worse. Once, John got into an argument with someone, feeling that he was being judged and slighted. Unable to control his anger, he punched that person in the head and knocked him down. The person ended up with brain damage and John was sent to jail over his actions. In prison, John was put in a cell measuring 2 square feet. With such limited space, he didn’t have much room to move around. Every day, he grew even more bitter and resentful. He felt it was wrong and unfair that he was locked up, as he still believed that the person he had punched deserved it. Now stuck in his tiny prison cell, he had only his own resentment as a daily companion. One day, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, John noticed a fly. The fly flew towards him and buzzed around his head. Getting angry, he yelled, “How dare you come into my space? This cell is MY SPACE! It has only space for one, you’re not welcome! Get out of here!” Determined to get rid of the fly, he chased it around his cell like a madman. When the fly flew towards the door, John jumped towards the door. When the fly flew towards the wall, he jumped to the wall. Now breathing heavily, he pointed at the fly and said, “You think you are better than me?! Just wait till I catch you!” The fly responded by landing on his face. John could feel it and with all his strength, he slapped his own face. Even though the impact was painful, he was so focused on getting the fly, he didn’t care. The fly was now buzzing around the room again, and he tried to punch it out of the air with no success. Now, exhausted, he sat on the floor. Staring at the fly, he began talking to it, “Why is it that I can’t catch you? I was so close but you so easily get away! This cell is so tiny, too small for even one person, but trying to catch you, it feels like this room is now so huge. It was at that moment, John realized that the cell he had always complained about was actually not that small after all. At the very least, it was big enough to make him see things from a new perspective. This story explores the nature of our minds. With a discriminating mind, we will never find peace. Just like John, who resented his small cell, the issue isn’t about the size of his cell; it is actually about his mind. Whether big or small, it was his mind that made all the difference. As the saying goes, “A mind full of worries lives in a narrow world. A mind free of worries sleeps on a broader bed.” In other words, the size of the world is not important, what is important is our inner world. Is it big or small? Ultimately, the world we perceive is a reflection of our own mind. If we can turn situations around with our minds, then, even a small prison cell can become as vast as the universe. If we have a discriminating mind, even if we lived in a huge mansion, we may not enjoy it. Over time, we may find ourselves getting bored, feeling empty, restless, and stuck. Therefore, one should not solely focus on the good or bad of a given situation, but instead, focus on our mind. How well we live each day depends on the nature of our mind, as well as how tolerant we are. Just like the Buddha taught, everything in this world is interpreted as manifestations of our minds. Master Wumen (無門和尚) once said, “Spring has its blossoms and autumn its moon, Summer has its breezes and winter its snow; If one has nothing to be concerned about, Then any time is a good time in life.” Regardless of whether the flowers bloom in spring, a cool breeze blows in summer, the autumn moon is bright, or the snow falls in winter, as long as the mind is not unsettled by the outside world, and does not cling to right and wrong, gains and losses, prosperity and wealth, every day is a good season, and your mind will be calm and at ease. Just as Venerable Master Hsing Yun says, Free of delusion, you happily get along with people. Free of discrimination, you peacefully accept your surroundings. Free of attachment, you cheerfully carry on. Free of the five desires, your mind will be joyful.
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