One year, I had too many worries about all kinds of things. Annoyed to the point of depression.
So I went to Mount Wutai to have some fun and relax.
After going to Wutai Mountain, we spent a whole day playing. I went to several temples to worship Buddha. After praying, I turned to the back mountain. The scenery in the back mountain was also good, with many wild woods. After walking for a while, I suddenly realized that I was lost.
How good is this? It was almost dusk.
I'm looking for a path. Suddenly an old monk walked by. The cassock he wore was very old and shabby, and he didn't look like a monk in a temple. So I quickly called him, Master Master, please slow down, I'm lost.
So he came over with a smile and took me out. We walked out to a roadside and there was a big rock on which we rested. So we started chatting. I saw that although this mage was quite old, he seemed very wise. So just ask him how to get rid of your troubles.
I asked: Master, how can I have less worries?
he said: A few big simple steps. But it's not easy to do.
First, first figure out what the trouble is? How did he get here?

What is the trouble? Worry is a change in our emotional thinking about things. Such emotions and thinking make us uncomfortable. The level of discomfort has not yet reached the level of pain and depression. At this time, we give him a name called trouble.
For example, I have no money, I am worried, I love someone but can’t get it, I am worried, I cannot coexist with my partner in family life, I quarrel every day over trivial matters, I am worried, etc.
Generally speaking, troubles occur because things do not happen according to my wishes.
I am dissatisfied, so I am troubled, I cannot change, so troubled, I cannot get it, so troubled, someone affects me, so troubled, I encounter setbacks and obstacles in doing things, I am troubled, and another kind of trouble is that nothing happens. , I am worried for no reason.
These worries torture me all the time. So we have to figure out what it is and how it came about?
What is it? It is a reaction in our brain consciousness. Why does
react like this?
had conflicts with himself due to changes in external circumstances. So it was born.
do you know where it comes from?
I said: From outside?
He said: How can there be troubles in the outside world? If you leave the outside world, will there still be troubles?
I said: The trouble arises in the self.
He said: By the way, troubles arise from your self-consciousness. They are your own children and grandchildren. You still always feel that so and so is bothering you. In fact, they are all produced by you yourself.
I said: Oh, I understand after listening to you. Usually we often complain. Complaining is really annoying. Why are you bothering me? Why is he bothering me? In fact, it is not who is bothering you, but you who are causing trouble.
He said: Yes, it’s just that you rely on changes in external things to create troubles.
So, what's the trouble? It is your definition of external things. You regard what someone said to you as an annoyance, and you regard a certain thing you encounter as an annoyance.
There is no right or wrong in these things. They also have different meanings to other people, but when it comes to you Here, it becomes the definition of trouble.
This is the truth about your production troubles, because you are defining, why do you want to define, because your ego is too strong. People who are very egotistical are the easiest to worry about.

Because you cannot let go of yourself and cannot accept any obstacles or collisions that your self-awareness and self-will may encounter.
So you like to cling to the outer edge and cause trouble. What is this called? This is called asking for trouble.
was originally very good, but I was troubled by looking for definitions all by myself.
I asked, what about the second step?
He said: The second step is to observe the troubles.
Trouble has already arisen, as if you have given birth to a child, it is already your flesh and blood. Don't despise it, don't just name it trouble.
As soon as you name it trouble, you must despise it and think it is not good. Then you still think that he is here to drag you down as a rebellious son, and as a result, he adds a lot of unnecessary emotions on top of your worries.
Originally, worries are bothering you when they are born. If you continue to dislike, dislike and worry, it will be like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. When it grows up, it becomes serious. It changes its name to depression. When it grows up, it becomes depression. It becomes painful, and finally it pinches you every day and refuses to let you live. The ending of
is that everyone collapses and dies together.
But think about it, you are a good person, why should you die with it? You can just not let him grow up.
I said: It is easy for you to say it, but it is too easy for it to grow up. Even if it doesn't grow up, it's still enough for you to drink a pot.
He said: So you have to do the second step, watch the troubles.
That is to say, when troubles arise, you must first be aware of them, oh, this is troubles coming. When trouble comes, it is not easy to notice it, because as soon as it comes, you are fascinated by it and you run away with it.
You first learn to be aware of its arrival quietly.
actually does not take long. Some people can do it in a few days, some can do it in a week or two, and some people can do it in a few months.
In short, it won’t last long, but the habit of awareness is difficult to maintain. You know how to be aware, but it is not easy to maintain awareness every time.
Sometimes you will realize it later. For example, you have been annoyed by one thing for a long time, and then you realize that after you are done with it,
Oops, the trouble came just now. I didn't keep calm and followed him down a wrong path. This is hindsight, not noticing troubles in time when they come.

However, as long as you are aware of it, it is a good thing and worthy of celebration. It doesn't matter if it is a little later, just do it sooner next time.
When you make it a habit to be aware of troubles, it will gradually turn into observing troubles.
Watch the troubles and you have a hero, because who is watching the troubles? Whose troubles are you observing? You go and realize it.
I said: Should I use an objective observing mind to observe the troubles of "me" at the moment?
He said: Well, you have said a lot, but you are still very savvy.
When you learn to observe troubles, you will realize that when troubles just come, they will go away by themselves soon. The length of time it takes to go away depends on how good your concentration is and depends on your protagonist. How determined.
That’s why the Buddha talked about the troubles in the world.
I asked: Why do you call guest Chen troubled?
He said: He came because of external circumstances, he is a guest. When there is a guest, there is a host. Who is the host?
I said: Master, is it me who is troubled?
He said: No, this me, although he caused troubles by colluding with external factors, is actually the self that the consciousness mistakenly recognizes, and is a false self.
The real master is the pure self. It is this "true self" that can meditate on the false self and troubles.
For this true self, all troubles are guest dust. Guest dust is the thoughts of guests who can pollute the self-nature and mind.
So you have to have the attitude of a protagonist, don’t follow the guests around, and don’t get entangled with the guests. When the guests come, if you invite them to eat, drink tea and sit for a while, they will naturally leave. Then just let it go away on its own.
So when you learn to observe the troubles in the world with your pure nature, the troubles will arise and disappear on their own. But you remain unmoved.
At this point, you will directly transition to the third step, trouble is Bodhi.
As time goes by, troubles will arise and disappear on their own for a long time, and they will become less frequent and gradually stop coming. Rough worries and big worries are all gone. Even if you encounter big difficulties, setbacks and changes in life, you will not have big worries.
I said: Is this relief?
He said: Of course it is not a complete relief. There are still many subtle worries that you are not aware of, because your concentration is not deep enough and you are not aware of those subtle worries at all.
But when your knowledge changes, the worries will change on their own.

Your knowledge, from the elimination of afflictions to the observation of afflictions, finally you find that afflictions do not exist at all. Why, because you are defining them, they are called afflictions. In fact, you do not define them and do not distinguish them.
It is no longer called a worry. It wipes away the heavy makeup you put on it and takes off the hat, revealing its true colors. It turns out that it is the good and not bad thought that it was. You suddenly realize it. I have been working on
for a long time, and the trouble is that I am messing around. It is a phenomenon of the miraculous use of sincerity. When you don’t define it, it is the miraculous use of sincerity. In other words, it is Bodhi.
Why it is Bodhi, because you can trace back the wonderful and true mind from it. Is it Bodhi? Now you understand the verse of the Sixth Patriarch : Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. There is nothing in the beginning, so how can we sweep away the dust?
Troubles are not found. It turns out that there are no troubles at all. It is you who are cheating and pretending to be false. If you are asked to eliminate your troubles and sweep away the dust, where will you sweep it away? Search everywhere and find nothing to sweep away. Search everywhere and find nothing to sweep away.
Of course, this is difficult to realize.
It takes real effort to practice and practice concentration. But we know the principle.
Naturally, one should not be disturbed by worries, because this is so ridiculous!

After hearing this, I thanked him, and he smiled and said: After you come down from the mountain, you can try the method I told you. After saying that, he turned around and walked into a mountain road and disappeared.
After I came back, I tried to use this method to observe the troubles and be aware of them. After seven or eight years, although I sometimes get annoyed, I really worry less and less, and I am much calmer when things happen.
