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20110604

Meditation and Buddha Nature

As a Buddhist I cannot suppress my original nature.

My original nature is Buddha Nature. For all sentient beings are born good.

Living life without spiritual guidance leads to behavioral and mental negativities which hide my original nature.

I find this Buddhist truth liberating.

Yet knowing of this truth is not enough: the Buddhist practises meditation to clear the mind of those negativities daily.

In clearing your mind, you see the origin of jealousy, anger, envy, greed, sloth, shame, guilt and other mental negativities.

You also see the origin of positive emotions such as joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love.

Then you learn how to stop clinging to your emotions by letting go of each one you experience. For emotions and feelings rise and fall with your mood.

Having seen their origins, you choose to experience both the negative and positive emotions without clinging to them so that you live your life fully.

In this way are the behavioral and mental negativities seen for what they are: afflictions which are easily remedied once we stop clinging to them.

Having let go of such negativities, the wise ones enjoy positive emotions, being freed of their afflictions.

Through the mindful use of meditation, you learn to use your emotions and feelings wisely.

When used unwisely, both the negative and positive emotions are but mental negativities which give rise to behavioral negativities. Indeed, unwise use is when emotions are experienced excessively to extremes or suppressed needlessly.

When used wisely in moderation, emotions, feelings and the intellect are expressions of Buddha Nature.

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