So how can we prevent the aggregate of Perception (saṃjñā) from giving rise to afflictions? The method is actually very simple: you must think in accordance with Buddhist teachings. Otherwise, it is absolutely impossible to avoid afflictions—this applies to all ordinary people. I am not discussing the profound aspects of the Dharma here, only its practical function. If you can truly do what I just described, you will become a happy person, a noble person, a person free from lowly tastes—even someone who may still engage in seemingly lowly activities, yet remains untouched by them (this last point carries a deeper meaning).
We have already discussed the relationship between thinking and afflictions (kleśa). Once afflictions arise, if there is no correct thinking, they will intensify and continue. Moreover, without correct views, thinking itself will generate many afflictions—we experience this every single day.
If you want to apply the Dharma in daily life, your thinking and views must be correct. And where do correct thinking and views come from? From hearing and contemplation (śruta–cintā). That is why we teach every day—essentially to transmit correct ways of thinking to everyone. Once a person acquires correct thinking, many afflictions will naturally disappear, and they will become as I described earlier. At the very least, you will become happy—because afflictions are painful feeling (duḥkha), and once free from afflictions, there is happiness.
We need correct views so that perception no longer generates afflictions. This can be addressed through the cultivation of renunciation (nekkhamma), bodhicitta, and contemplation of emptiness (śūnyatā). For example, when afflictions arise, we can transform suffering into the path through bodhicitta. This is the same as when we previously discussed the aggregate of form (rūpa-skandha), where we encouraged everyone to think: “May I take on this suffering in place of all sentient beings, who have all been my mothers.”
When mental afflictions and psychological suffering arise, the method is the same. However, at the beginning, it should not be applied to overwhelming psychological pain, because such pain is often beyond our capacity to bear. In those cases, one usually needs to seek help from practitioners, Guru or the Three Jewels (triratna), or simply take medication and rest—otherwise, it can lead to insomnia and depression, which is very serious. But when small afflictions or minor mental suffering arise, what should we do? We should habitually make the aspiration: “May I bear this kind of mental suffering in place of all sentient beings experiencing similar afflictions.” Once, twice, three times… it has a very wondrous effect—gradually, the affliction will directly disappear.
This is different from training physical pain to be used as part of the path. Physical pain may be alleviated, but it usually does not disappear completely—it still requires medical treatment. However, with psychological afflictions, if you repeatedly apply this way of thinking until it becomes a strong habit, then the moment you bring this thought back, the suffering vanishes instantly, and you become very calm. You may even laugh at yourself from ten minutes ago: “Why was I so foolish?” With long-term training like this, a person becomes broad-minded and strong.
Many people lack resilience—they cannot bear even a little suffering. At the slightest discomfort, they panic and create all kinds of trouble, disturbing not only themselves but also those around them—friends, classmates, and family. But if you train in this way over the long term, afflictions will disappear. This method is highly effective. It is not merely emptiness (śūnyatā) or one-sided emptiness; in essence, it is a form of bodhicitta. With sustained practice, it can truly be accomplished.
—Excerpted and compiled from The Arising and Remedies of Afflictions
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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