Three Methods for Working with Kleshas
From Santier Khandro’s text “How to Meditate”
Working with Negative Energy
“Working with negative energy.
As mindfulness develops, we become increasingly sensitive to negative states of mind such as anger, irritation, pride, depression, and so on. Why are these states called negative? This does not mean that anger or desires are inherently bad, or that we must feel guilty when they arise. We simply need to recognize that they are products of our delusion, distorted by a worldview that gives us a false picture of the world. These states are negative because they make a person unhappy and confused.”
As one saint said, “The Buddhas marvel at how sentient beings find ways to make themselves unhappy.”
Deep within sentient beings lies a boundless potential for joy. But because of obscurations and the absence of the light of clarity, sentient beings rigidly tie their joy to external objects. They often find ways to suffer because external objects seem not to conform to their notions of joy. But when our joy is projected outward, that is fundamental ignorance.
Worlds and the experiences within them are highly relative, highly conditional. If a god were brought down here from the sacred heavens into your present state, he might experience suffering—unless he were awakened. If a hell being were brought up here, this place would seem like paradise, and he would be beside himself with ecstasy.
“Like all your experiences, negative emotions are impermanent; they have no solidity or stability. They are simply the energy of the mind, like love and joy, whose nature is pure and clear. Sometimes you feel that negative emotions have taken hold of you, and you doubt whether you are capable of controlling your mind at all. But do not worry. Delusions arise in your mind and disappear from it; they are not you. With mature understanding, every experience, positive or negative, can become a constructive step on the path.”
Managing Emotions Through Awareness
Managing emotions and dealing with them is very easy if, at the very moment an emotion first arises, you remain in the state of an observer, if you possess the clear mirror of awareness. If you miss that moment, the emotion unfolds and generates corresponding energies that have not self-liberated, phantom images, and accumulates karma. If you do not miss it and manifest the presence of the mirror of awareness at the very first instant, the emotion has no power over you. It has a master, a king—the mirror of your awareness. Even if some movement of prana arises, it is like a play and does not take possession of your mind in any way. That is precisely the point. Ordinary beings have no such king. Therefore, when emotions arise, they obscure whatever clarity was present and lead a person into various bhavas, experiences of the lower worlds. But if the presence of the mirror of awareness is there, emotions never lead one astray.
Besides practicing awareness, we must constantly accumulate the potential for inner purity and harmony—that is, develop the four immeasurables and become deities within. Even if your awareness is not very profound, if you possess the qualities of a deity, you can easily tame and subdue emotions.
Self-Control as the Foundation of Monastic Life
The defining quality of a monk is self-control, always, everywhere, and under all circumstances. Know this: a monk who does not control himself is not trusted. Such people are described by saying, “He is still very, very green.” Therefore, there is no other way to become a monk, to stand on the same level as the best monks, and to be on familiar terms with the Guru except by attaining very deep self-control. And when a person possesses the necessary qualities, they can always be trusted. This means not only external self-control, but internal self-control as well. External self-control is a consequence of internal discipline.
Where does such self-control come from? First, it comes from your merits, from the purity of your soul, and from the many causal connections created through service: practices, prostrations, and samayas. In other words, it is your positive karma. Second, this self-control arises from the principle of awareness, from your inner clarity, when, with the sword of discernment, you effortlessly liberate all thoughts and negative bhavanas.
A monk always knows the level of his clarity and where his limit lies: “This I can liberate effortlessly, but this I can no longer liberate.” A monk’s state is supposed to be an order of magnitude higher than that of an ordinary worldly person. That is, he can self-liberate what an ordinary person cannot. But in fact, even this is not enough. The level of self-control must rise even higher, until you can liberate a great deal while your mind always remains serene, pure, and calm. This is precisely the kind of self-control you are required to develop during the first years, because it is the foundation of all future accomplishments and results. In essence, this is the measure of a monk’s maturity.
Mindfulness and self-control are one and the same. A mindful person naturally possesses complete self-control. He will never allow his thoughts to run wild, his pranas to constrict in his abdomen or chest, his blood to throb in his temples, or his breathing to become rapid. Whatever happens, he always remains in a state of mindfulness in which his pranas and mind are completely under control.
A monk can have such complete self-control only when no events or inner experiences can catch him off guard, when he is constantly vigilant. His vigilance is based not on personal clarity, but on the Absolute, on the natural state.
Three Approaches to Working with Emotions
“Usually, we either identify completely with anger (sometimes with only a vague understanding of the situation) or suppress it, not allowing ourselves to become aware of what is happening. Both approaches only make the situation worse.
But we can look directly at anger, analyze it, recognize its fallacy, and apply countermeasures to instill a more realistic view of things in the mind. If we interact with anger or another negative emotion in this way, we transform negativity into a positive learning experience.
Thus, we divide everything outside ourselves into friends, enemies, and strangers, according to our feelings toward them. In essence, all our feelings and attitudes can be divided into attachment and ignorance.
The main cause of negative emotions is rooted in our mistaken perception of a permanent, tangible, solid existence and in our projecting this understanding onto everything around us.
This misconception develops into attachment, aversion, and ignorance, which in turn evolve into all other negative states of mind.
The methods explained here are practical ways of working with attachment; with anger, which can manifest as the crudest expression of aversion; and with depression, that is, a dark attitude of hopelessness rooted in ignorance and dull indifference.”
Inspiration in Spiritual Practice
When you follow the path of practice and uncover the mirror of this awareness, it is as though blinders fall from your eyes, and inspiration arises. Inspiration is something that should always accompany you in spiritual practice. It is like a subtle current that constantly carries you as if on wings.
Where does such inspiration in practice come from? It arises from a connection with the Supreme Source. Know this: whenever inspiration is lost, it means only one thing—your connection has weakened or been lost. Some have inspiration in the pranas, while others have it in the mind. But it is best to have inspiration in both the pranas and the mind. Those who are mindful have inspiration in the mind. Those who possess good bodily karma from birth, as well as those who practice working with the winds, have inspiration in the pranas. Some have neither. At the very least, they should strive to gain inspiration either through the practice of awareness or through control of the pranas.
Over time, such inspiration develops into highly divine experiences (bhavanas): divine pride, rapture, ecstasy, joy, bliss, an extraordinary expansion of consciousness, unusual intuitive clarity, an immense surge of strength, and faith in one’s abilities. The yogin then feels like a god whose word becomes reality. He can change the past, shape the future, alter time and space—he can do anything. It is precisely this kind of inspiration that is the driving force in practice. And it comes with time if you practice contemplation correctly.
Inspiration fades when attentiveness wanes, when the pranas decline, when the senses turn outward. A true yogi guards his attentiveness and pranas so as not to lose that minimum of inspiration which guides him in spiritual life and gives him such self-control.
“It is difficult to interact with negative energy, but through practice and patience, you can gradually change your approach, taking the first step toward changing your present experience of people and situations.”
An experienced practitioner can draw inspiration even from negative energy. Negative energy easily disrupts inspiration. If it is very weak, even something minor is enough for inspiration to be lost. It can be affected by a word or some other simple thing. But an experienced practitioner cannot lose inspiration even when powerful negative energy arises in his consciousness. Instead, he feeds on it, draws from it without fear, and can use it for the benefit of his practice.
Then the negative energy of emotions becomes like a snake whose teeth have been pulled out, so it has no venom.
Working with Depression
“Depression.
Depression is a gloomy, heavy, unhappy state of the egocentric mind that lacks positive energy. It can turn into a chronic ailment or become a side effect of an unpleasant experience.”
One lay disciple described it this way: “It is a state in which you start feeling crushed.”
“In any case, depression is caused by a mistaken view that exaggerates the negative aspects of your personality or a particular situation and ignores the positive side.
Depression focuses on ‘my’ difficulty and magnifies it beyond all measure. We become discouraged and believe that the situation is hopeless, that we have no way to improve it. We feel sorry for ourselves, seeing our ego at the very center of a sad story. We have little or no energy to share with others. Not only are we unable to take care of ourselves, but we also drag other people down with us. All of us are prone to depression from time to time.”
Not “all of us,” but “all of you.” Some practitioners are not prone to it at all. Perhaps this refers to beginning practitioners, but it is not characteristic of experienced practitioners.
“We are not perfect, and life does not always go smoothly. We make mistakes and have no control over what appears in our path. When we are unable to accept these difficulties joyfully, regarding them as natural aspects of life, or to handle them skillfully, we fall into a depressed state of mind. Of course, the pain we experience is real, and we need to address our difficulties somehow. But sinking into depression is not the answer, because you only deepen and complicate your unhappiness. The best solution is to analyze your thoughts and become aware of how we interpret the situation, and then try to understand where we are mistaken.”
Depression is a state caused not by the situation itself, but by a mistaken interpretation of it. In principle, in absolute Being there are no situations that are unequivocally bad or unequivocally good; there are only interpretations of them. This is what is known as karmic vision.
From my own experience, I can say that I have never suffered from depression at all. In the past, when something did not work out for me, I felt intense anger either at the situation or at myself. It is the feeling that someone or something is standing in your way, but you have so much power within you that you are ready simply to reduce it to dust. But over roughly the past twenty years, I have freed myself from this anger, because it is not the best solution either. I came to the conclusion that there is no point at all in developing any of these themes; instead, one should simply accept the situation as it is. And one should accept it not weakly and passively, but joyfully, with complete awareness and complete responsibility. One should find depth in this acceptance, consciously let go of oneself, and connect through this situation with the Supreme Source, so that through such acceptance one can gradually draw strength from the Supreme Source. Acceptance gives such tremendous strength that it is as though you are connecting to a kind of cosmic reservoir. Then, with such power of awareness and self-surrender, you can manifest yourself in a way that causes everything to dissipate completely.
This ability to yield without losing yourself is complete acceptance, which is the key to overcoming any state of depression. It is the ability to win without fighting. This is the best principle for those who practice natural contemplation.
Ways to Eliminate Depression
“Ways to eliminate depression.
- Investigate the ‘I’; become aware of the self that firmly identifies itself with unhappy thoughts and feelings. Try to locate this ‘I.’ What is its nature? Is it part of the body or mind, or is it something else? Can your depressed ‘I’ be something solid and unchanging?
Remember that your mind is a stream of various experiences—joyful, unhappy, positive, or negative—and all of them share the same clear and immaterial nature. These experiences arise and disappear like waves in the ocean; they last only a very short time. Your depression is like a wave: it is a brief, fleeting experience, so you should not become attached to depression by regarding it as yourself.”
If you analyze where depression is located, you will see that the body does not feel it. It is enough to feed the body, put it to bed on time, and keep it safe, and then it feels perfectly well. The Atman (your True Self), as well as buddhi (subtle awareness), is also free from it. Clearly, such an experience is rooted in the ego (ahamkara), which in turn relies on subtle memory and subjugates manas (the conceptual mind), which makes judgments, accepts, and rejects. This means that if you clarify what this very ego (ahamkara) is, you will see the source of such a negative state. But as soon as you begin to investigate the ego, you will see that it consists simply of chains of arbitrarily interconnected thoughts. And the greatest revelation for you will be that it has no right whatsoever to make unequivocal assessments or judgments. It is something arbitrary. It is as if several files were taken and saved on a computer, and then judgments were made and theories constructed on that basis. But from the very beginning, it was something arbitrary.
When you understand this, you stop trusting the ego’s assessments, knowing that it consists of a set of arbitrary impressions. Then you also lose trust in all thoughts and in the evaluative activity of manas. You see that these things are highly relative. You understand that you need to reorient yourself. And then the question arises: “What, then, should I trust within myself?” You can trust only the subtler part within yourself—buddhi (intuitive intelligence), clarity. Yet even this intuitive clarity is not self-sufficient; it is merely a derivative of the Atman, of the Absolute. And when, through analysis, you discover the intuitive intelligence and its source, you see that this is the only source that can be trusted. It alone is free from all negative states and gives you the power to overcome them. When a monk understands this, it is said that he knows how to self-liberate. In other words, a lack of understanding (a lack of jnana yoga) leads a person astray. In other words, if you practice, you must become like the ancient philosophers who, even if they did not meditate, possessed tremendous clarity of analytical mind.
“2. Practice meditation on the preciousness of human life. Even if you are facing serious difficulties, it is important to remember that you possess a great deal of positive energy and tremendous opportunities. Depression can always be overcome by changing your way of thinking and emphasizing the positive rather than the negative aspects of your personality.”
One layperson approached me and said, “I repent. I have such bad karma, such a dark past.” I told him, “But you have embarked upon the path of Dharma, and you have a bright future.” You choose what to emphasize: either to see your dark past or to see your bright future.
“There are certainly positive aspects. It depends more on the perspective from which you view life and what you identify with than on your low self-esteem caused by a depressed state of mind.
- Practice meditation for clarity of mind. Your unhappiness, anxiety, or expectations of failure, just like your pleasant feelings, are simply the energy of the mind—pure, immaterial, and fleeting. Simply observe the various thoughts and experiences passing through your mind, without judging anything or becoming involved in anything.
Negative states can also arise from low self-esteem. If you cultivate divine pride, your self-esteem will inevitably increase. But you must understand that by cultivating divine pride, you are raising the self-esteem not of the false “I,” but of your innermost essence, by constantly attuning yourself to it.
True and False Self-Esteem
A person with high self-esteem always possesses a great deal of energy and clarity. However, if this self-esteem is false and superficial, that person will always experience many states of delusion and ignorance. Truly high self-esteem stems from your inner clarity, from abiding in the natural state. But if it is based on the mental level, on something lower, then it is merely spiritual delusion, simply an illusion founded on pride. This, too, must be thoroughly understood.
As your spiritual practice progresses, your self-esteem should always increase. However, it must increase in the right way, without leading you into delusion. It is also apparent when a person’s self-esteem increases in the wrong way. With a mysterious air, they begin telling other disciples that they are an extraordinary disciple. They begin asking the Guru about their great mission or something of that sort. Then they begin trusting their dreams and visions in meditation. Then they ignore the Dharma or distort it to suit themselves. Then they stop listening to the Guru’s instructions. Ultimately, they fall into profound spiritual delusion. It is sad and harmful when changes in your self-esteem run counter to the instructions of the saints. This is why disciples are always tested, so that they can see how correctly they are transforming themselves.
The Dangers of Low and Inflated Self-Esteem
If a disciple transforms themselves incorrectly, various disharmonies arise. In other words, disharmony can result not only from low self-esteem but also from high self-esteem. Moreover, inflated self-esteem is also called “Mara, the son of a celestial being.” It may be described as pride coming from Satan himself, as a darshan of Mara that compels you to challenge God and to revere as absolute within yourself not the part that belongs to God, but the external part—that is, the ego.
If we practice correctly, neither low self-esteem nor the Mara of inflated self-esteem will ever seize us. We will easily pass between these two monsters guarding the entrance to nirvana.
Ancient Greek mythology describes two monsters, Scylla and Charybdis, guarding the entrance to the treasures. Whoever can pass between them attains proper, supreme, complete awakening. If one cannot pass between them, one inevitably encounters one of these monsters, and this becomes a serious problem.
How can one pass between them? Only by absorbing the teachings of the saints and their spirit, by being completely honest with oneself, and by carefully analyzing and polishing one’s consciousness.
