There was a visitor who felt that he was surrounded by evil people and that everything was not going well, which made him feel bored and depressed. I told him this story:
Huineng wandered to Faxing Temple and heard a monk saying "Wind Blowing Flags" "If the flags are moving, you will know the wind is blowing." Huineng said, "It's not the wind that moves, it's not the flags that move, it's the heart of a benevolent person that moves."
Huineng means: The reason why you keep arguing is not that the wind is moving. It's not that the flags are moving, but that your hearts as practitioners are restless and your hearts are not pure.
Buddhism tells us that "appearances arise from the heart." This word comes from the Buddhist "Impermanence Sutra". The original text is "There is no appearance in the world, appearance comes from the heart. Visible things are actually non-things, and sensible things are actually things." It’s nothing.”
’s book “Emotional Self-Healing” mentions that our inner thoughts about things will affect our views on external things. In fact, many times the truth of things is not what we think, it is just because of changes in our inner state. It’s just the nature of the matter. (Strongly recommended to read this book)
Here I would like to share a short story with you:
Su Dongpo went to the temple and Zen Master Foyin sat cross-legged and entered meditation. After getting down, Su Dongpo asked Zen Master Foyin: "What do you think I look like when you are meditating?" Zen Master Foyin said: "Like a Buddha." Su Dongpo thought to himself: "Chan Master Foyin said I look like a Buddha. I said he He couldn't argue with anything." So he said to the Zen master, "I see you like a pile of cow dung in meditation." After hearing this, Zen Master Foyin just smiled and said nothing. After Su Dongpo returned home, he happily talked about it with his sister Su Xiaomei . After hearing this, Su Xiaomei said: "Brother, you lost so miserably!" Su Dongpo was puzzled. Su Xiaomei explained: "Buddhism teaches that all the phenomena in the world are created by only the mind. Zen Master Foyin has Buddha in his heart, so he looks like you. A Buddha; and what about you? Seeing the Zen master look like a pile of cow dung, what does it mean?" Su Dongpo blushed after hearing this.
We have all had this experience. When we are in a good mood, the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers outside will make us feel the power of life and the beauty of nature. But when we are in a bad mood, the singing of birds seems to become noisy and flowery. The aroma also became pungent.
We can always see that some people are very harsh and picky about the people around them, thinking that everyone is evil and everything is not going smoothly, which only shows that his state of mind is also so unclear.
What should we do when we are anxious or depressed?
1. Be tolerant to yourself
When we are suffering from the influence of bad emotions, which has caused certain harm to our body and mind, maybe there will always be someone around us who will stand up and accuse us of our fragility. This accusation seems to be telling us all the time. : It’s our fault that we have bad emotions.
However, at this time, we should be more tolerant to ourselves, because only we know how much we want to live an active life, work hard, and return to our former selves.
Therefore, when we feel trapped by negative emotions again, we must embrace ourselves and tell the injured self: You have worked hard, I see how difficult it is for you, and I will always be with you.
2. Live in the present
The book "You Are Your Own Psychologist" says: The key to determining a person's happiness in life is not what happened in the past, but your focus on the present and the definition of life you make for this moment.
We always regret the decisions we have made and worry about the future, but in fact, the most important thing to us is the present, the loved ones around us who love us, our good jobs, and the company we have now. Our friends, and the warm sunshine we feel right now.
Perhaps starting from today, we must learn to let go of those worries and experience the feelings of the moment. The past is gone and the future is still far away. Enjoying the present is what we should do most.
Therefore, let us love ourselves more and be more tolerant to ourselves. When our mood gradually becomes clearer, then the world we see will be very different.
