Crowding Out The "Evil" In The Mind

Hey everyone,

This is Judy Cohen and this is Wake Up Call 328.

Welcome.

I hope you had a great holiday last week and hope you found lots of gratitude,

Lots of times to talk about gratitude out loud and a lot of time for self-appreciation as well,

And hope you're pacing yourself into December.

So let's head back into the Dhammapada.

We left off at chapter nine,

Which has the very brief and slightly alarming title,

Evil.

And the way I read this chapter,

The point is to watch carefully whenever we notice evil thoughts or actions.

And sometimes I use the word unwholesome instead of evil because it feels less alarming,

But I think also evil is used in the chapter for that very reason.

So anyways,

To watch carefully whenever we notice evil thoughts or actions arising and abandon them right away and watch carefully for non-evil or good or wholesome thoughts and actions and lift those up and then to lift them up so far that they take up all the space and there's no space for evil anymore.

The first three verses of chapter nine say,

Be quick to do good,

Restrain your mind from evil.

When one is slow to make merit,

One's mind delights in evil.

Having done something evil,

Don't repeat it,

Don't wish for it.

Evil piled up brings suffering.

Having done something meritorious,

Repeat it,

Wish for it.

Merit piled up brings happiness.

Okay,

So we had a big Thanksgiving.

We had all the relatives.

It's a blended family.

So people from different directions,

Plus friends,

Plus family and friends of family and friends,

So it was great.

And as a lot of people,

We sat down at the table and my partner and I had been working for three days,

So I sat down with like a big,

Deep sigh and yeah,

I did remember to feel my butt in the chair,

But then I turned to my partner and he was about to welcome everybody and he had decided to invite a quick go-around with everyone offering one word to say what they're grateful for,

So we swung around the table,

People were grateful for each other,

Grateful to be together,

To meet new folks,

Go to food for vaccines,

A lot of things.

We got three quarters of the way around the table and someone I love very much and who is also a colleague,

A member of the tribe,

Meaning the tribe of the lawyers,

Said pass,

And this is just a one word and they said pass and my heart ripped.

I was just so,

So sad.

I was sad that there wasn't anything coming to mind or that there was too much panic to speak or that some mood was in the way or for whatever was happening and I didn't know what it was.

And then judgment arose and my mind went to why couldn't they say anything?

They have a lovely family,

They have a thriving law of practice,

What's wrong with them?

Who has no gratitude?

So it was judgment and it was also meanness.

It was the evil that Chapter 9 is talking about.

And then what happened next was I forgot about Chapter 9 and I was just completely and I didn't do anything about the judgment or the mean thoughts.

I wasn't quick to do good.

I failed to restrain my mind from evil.

These are the quotes.

I failed to fill the space of the mind with wholesome thoughts,

Thoughts of compassion and love,

Which are there.

I can do that,

But I forgot about it.

So we all know,

Right?

If we forget about our practice,

Then we're not practicing.

And instead I just,

I let my mind fester.

And I watched as it did exactly what the verse said,

Delighted in evil.

And I knew that it was doing that.

I mean,

I wasn't aware that it was doing that every moment of the time,

Or I'd like to think I would have stopped it.

But I knew it was doing that a few days later because then it was our turn to go to this person's house for a Hanukkah party.

And right away,

I started assuming they'd be the same.

They'd be grumpy.

They'd be anxious.

They'd be depressed,

Tight,

Unpleasant,

Or maybe none of those things,

But somehow ungrateful or at the least unable,

Unwilling to express gratitude.

And I had it in my mind that that's what I would encounter.

And I braced for it.

And I could tell that I was bracing for it.

And I even said a few things about being braced for it.

And I realized I didn't want to go.

And even though I do want to go,

Because I love being with my family,

But the verse says this,

It says,

Evil piled up really does bring suffering.

So I made this aversive mood.

Right.

And then we arrive at the Hanukkah party and the person's in great mood.

They're super fun.

The party's terrific.

So I'm relieved.

And I get there too.

And I have,

I have a lot of fun.

But finally,

Finally,

Finally,

Finally,

Right.

I notice what's happened.

So I took all that time to notice and wow,

What a waste of time.

What a waste of energy,

What a waste of emotion on my part.

And,

And really fundamentally what a wasted opportunity for practice.

Right.

But I mean,

I get to practice with it now,

But I could have gone straight to compassion and like I fleetingly did that.

Right.

So sometimes how you notice your practice takes you just where you want to go.

Or at least sometimes I noticed that.

But then I could have stayed there and I didn't.

I could have remembered how much I love this person at the time at Thanksgiving.

And I could have spent a few moments sort of working with the mind,

Guessing how hard it was for them to stay past to gratitude and how whatever state of my obfuscated,

They're being able to think of something they were grateful for.

It must be a strong state of mind.

It must be difficult for them.

Right.

Because it causes suffering when the mind is filled with evil.

So,

And I could have seen,

The main thing I could have seen was the same thing was happening for me.

Right.

But that aversive state of mind had taken hold in my own mind.

And chapter nine talks about this.

It says,

Don't disregard evil thinking it will come back to me with dripping drops of water,

Even a jug is filled,

Even a water jug is filled,

Little by little,

A fool is filled with evil.

Don't disregard merit thinking it won't come back to me.

With dripping drops of water,

Even a water jug is filled,

Little by little,

A sage is filled with merit.

So I'm the fool for missing the opportunity to practice at Thanksgiving and in the days following.

And I'm,

I'm also the sage for eventually remembering,

Even if way too late.

And I don't know,

Maybe you can relate to this.

If you can,

Then we're all fools and we're all sages.

We,

We do contain multitudes as Walt Whitman said,

And I actually looked up the quote and he said something even more accurate,

He said,

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then I contradict myself.

I am large.

I contain multitudes.

Right.

So we contradict ourselves.

We're all fools.

We're all sages.

So when we see our own evil,

Our own foolishness,

And at least for me,

There's plenty to see,

Can we catch it?

And then can we avoid what happened to me,

Which was that little by little,

I was a fool filled with evil.

Or can we at least do that some of the time or more of the time catch it?

And when we do catch it,

When we wake up,

We're all fools.

We're all sages.

And when we do catch it,

When we wake up,

Even for a moment and see our own love,

Our compassion,

Our caring parts,

Can we catch that,

Not miss that?

And then whatever practice is most resonant for you,

Put your hand on your heart or smile.

And first let in that goodness,

That merit.

Oh,

This is a meritorious,

A good thought.

And then cultivate it.

Really let it foment,

Just like for me,

The evil thought would or did.

Really let it rumble around and let the goodness and the merit take up more space.

Give it more space,

Breathe more life into it,

Let it take up more space.

Eventually all the space is the ideal,

Right?

So there's no room for evil so that little by little we can be these sages filled with merit.

Okay,

So let's sit.

So finding your seat or if you're standing,

Finding your posture.

Finding yourself,

Locating yourself in this moment,

Locating your body in this moment and just dropping in.

Beginning to notice the breath or the sounds in your environment and some kind of resting place for the awareness.

And either staying with this practice or just practicing this practice or if you would like to and there's some unwholesome evil thought that you've been noticing.

And especially if it relates to another person.

Just because that's easy to work with.

And then see what good thoughts,

What wholesome,

Meritorious thoughts are also present or available to you.

Relating to that person or if it's an event or if it's yourself.

Could be yourself.

And really focus on the positive and let it,

Let it rumble around in the body,

In the mind and let it increase.

See if you can let it increase so much then it starts to crowd out.

The unwholesome bats,

The evil bats.

L.

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