Unexpected Freedom

More than our Feelingsthe length of time it takes for us to be mindful. I encounteredthis teaching in my first year as a monk during a period ofparticularly intense struggle. Instantly it made tremendouslygood sense to me; I believed it, I trusted it. And I still do.It doesn’t matter what passes through that empty space;the nature of those specks of dust is that they are all specks ofdust. Right understanding, right speech and right action willcome, so long as we remember to become rightly aware ofour experience.Balancing the FacultiesIt is good to practise morality and to develop concentration.It is of benefit to study wise teachings and to develop energyfor practice. All these spiritual activities are very important,but the Buddha made it clear that mindfulness wassupremely important. Without it we lose balance, even withthe virtue that we cultivate. If we are heedless we can start tosmell badly of becoming very good. If there’s mindfulnessthen there can be a recognition of where we’re going out ofbalance. For instance, if we are cultivating generosity,morality or kindness – or any of the other forces of goodness– and we have mindfulness, then there is alertness andrecognition when conceit starts creeping in, when theperception arises that ‘I’m generous’ or ‘I’m better thanthem’. With mindfulness well developed we can see suchtaints developing. Without mindfulness we might cultivatethe virtues but lose perspective, get lost and spoil the resultsof practice.With right mindfulness one recognises the relativity ofexperience. We don’t have to take sides with our experiences;we don’t have to take sides for or against pleasure or pain.Because we are experiencing misery and a sense of failure it39