We have been talking how our mind works and we are going to continue that discussion. As we discussed, there are eleven virtuous states of mind. The eleven virtuous states of mind are: 1) Faith; 2) Sense of Shame; 3) Consideration for Others; 4) Non-attachment; 5) Non-hatred; 6) Non-ignorance; 7) Effort; 8) Mental Suppleness; 9) Conscientiousness; 10) Equanimity; 11) Non-harmfulness.
Let’s continue with the next virtuous state of mind that is non-ignorance. It is a mental factor that is a direct opponent of ignorance. It is a type of wisdom that acts as an antidote to ignorance. For example, wisdom realizing selflessness is non-ignorance. The function of non-ignorance is to enable us to understand the profound concept of emptiness. As our non-ignorance grows, we are closer to understanding emptiness. This wisdom realizing emptiness is our true wealth. Because once we realize emptiness, there is no suffering. Non-ignorance can arise from listening or reading, contemplating, meditating and from imprints. The first three are very similar to wisdom. If we read or listen to dharma teachings, contemplate about them and then meditate on it, we will develop non-ignorance. Non-ignorance arising from imprints is based on our karma. If we had strong karmic imprints, we would naturally develop non-ignorance.
Next, virtuous state of mind is effort. Effort makes our mind happy to engage in virtuous tasks such as giving, helping others, meditation, spiritual practice, etc. The opposite of effort is laziness. Effort is supreme because all virtuous qualities arise from power of effort. We may have heard about benefits for meditation but without applying effort, those benefits never materialize. Buddha said that if you only have effort, you have all Dharma. If you only have laziness, you have nothing. There are four types of efforts. Armour-like effort, effort of non-discouragement, effort of application, and effort of non-satisfaction. Armour-like effort is a courageous mind that makes us keep up our spiritual practice no matter what kind of external hardship we face. Effort of non-discouragement prevents us from getting discouraged if we don’t see immediate results. So, if our meditation practice is not making progress, we do not give up on our practice. Effort of application is a mind that engages in spiritual practice with delight. We are happy to practice and it is not a “chore” for us. The effort of non-satisfaction is the kind of effort we put in to continually improve our practice. We are not satisfied with the little progress we have made and we want to continue making more progress.
The next virtuous mind is mental suppleness. It is flexibility of mind induced by virtuous concentration. You will notice that when we are absorbed in your meditation, you will naturally feel lighter. That is mental suppleness. When our mind is heavy and rigid, it engages in delusions. A supple mind is naturally virtuous and engages in virtuous karma.
The next virtuous state of mind is conscientiousness. It is a mental factor that cherishes what is virtuous and guards the mind against non-virtuous karma and delusions. It prevents our mind from being influenced by delusion. For example, it prevents us from being angry at someone who we disagree with by not thinking about them or avoiding them. It can also prevent delusions by exaggerating good qualities of an object. For example, if we disagree with our loved one, rather getting angry, if we think of all their good qualities, we will not get angry at them. Shantideva said that there is no practice greater than preventing our mind from being negative. Conscientiousness is generally practiced in conjunction with mindfulness and alertness. That is what we practice in our M A C meditation. We are mindful of our thoughts and stay alert for any negative thought that may pop up and are practicing conscientiousness to prevent our mind from chasing any delusions. The main function of conscientiousness is to enable us to keep our moral discipline and to improve our concentration. By practicing conscientiousness, we reduce our delusions and stop committing negative karma. This naturally improves our moral discipline. If our delusions are diminished, our life becomes disciplined and in turn we can improve our concentration.
The next virtuous state of mind is equanimity. Equanimity prevents our mind from mental sinking and mental excitement. An equanimous mind is a balanced mind. There are two types of equanimity. Equanimity towards living beings and equanimity towards phenomena. Equanimity towards living beings means we have compassion towards all living beings without favoritism. Right now, we show compassion towards those we are attached to and are indifferent towards those we do not know. Regarding equanimity of phenomena, if things go our way, we are fine; if things go against us, we are fine. It is an even-keeled state of mind.
The last virtuous state of mind is non-harmfulness. Definition of non-harmfulness is a state of mind that wished all living beings not to suffer. So it is not simply not harming others but compassion towards all sentient beings. We need to be careful and make sure we are not confusing compassion with desirous attachment. Compassion is virtuous while attachment is non-virtuous. For example, our wish for our helper to get better is out of attachment. Our wish for our friends to get better is usually a mix of attachment and compassion. Our wish for some total stranger to get better is out of pure compassion. A person whose mind is filled with compassion could never wish to harm others. Refraining from harming others is one of the most important spiritual practices. There are two types of compassion we can practice. Mere compassion and superior compassion. Wishing someone to be free from suffering is mere compassion. Thinking I myself will act to free them from suffering is superior compassion.
Hopefully, over the last two weeks you have absorbed types of virtuous mind and have developed a wish to maintain these virtuous states of mind at all times.