Lessons at Tibet House have resumed and we started on Buddhist psychology yesterday

Geshe la mentioned the importance of knowing the mind which is a clear knowing with luminosity

And helped us find it

He reinforced the importance to not just know but to experience it feel it

Can you feel your mind even if you do not see it and even if the brain can be seen

Yet we experience our world because of the workings of the mind

Specifically the cravings of the mind

Here’s what is said by the great masters on mind

He brought to mind that everyday we have a personal practice to attend to

Having been born on earth- its a great opportunity and blessed to study and practice great wisdom of the masters

Say no to afflictions and bad habits

See what is obscuring your buddha nature for this is being kind to yourself in wisest way

We are all affected or under the influence of mental defilements and What is mental defilements?

-what is the nature of mental defilements?

Connected to self grasping ignorance Complimented by self centred attitude give rise to inappropriate attention gross afflictions and negative karma

Fear that arises within you is because of misconception 

If you want to get rid of this fear

Get rid of misconception by specific knowledge or wisdom

Introduce counter force directly opp wrt the object of apprehension

To Remove fear of samsara, 

Remove ignorance which leads to this fear which is self grasping ignorance

Past life habits of samsara deceives us in this life to think we r young

Know nature of mind or how mind works

We live in deep illusion

With this teaching I sought to apply it and ask myself what is the nature of the keloid

I put my hand on it. I thought of the scratching and asked myself what was it that I wanted

I wanted to get myself out of something I felt I couldn’t

Or I was in some kind of struggle and pain or fear that I (thought ) I could not articulate or handle

The itch- was telling me there’s something that needs to be done

Reminding me and helping me to release resolve to settle

In actual fact I really wanted peace of mind but in effect I cause only an amplification of the struggle of emotions I was in – if I kept scratching and reinforcing

So perhaps the remedy is the state of peace or assurance that I am safe and there is nothing wrong with a struggle

But first- awareness

The mind is chief and precedes all phenomena

Everything outside is all about the radiance / manifestation of the mind 

With internal luminosity you can see radiated world outside

How can I get closer to this clear knowing? With awareness.