Freedom Is a Side Effect

In Buddhism, what we call ‘mind’ (or ‘citta’) does not refer just to thinking and the brain. The mind has a much broader dimension. It includes thinking, but it also includes our perceptions, feelings, stories and memories. For example, when I perceive something, I already have an imprint in me, a memory that can help me recognize: ‘this is this; that is that.’

As we become more conscious of the workings of our mind, we free the heart from the causes of misery. Freedom is a side effect of a life that is conscious. We don’t necessarily become happy every minute of every day, but we feel more comfortable in ourselves. We have fewer regrets and less worry because we have lived a life that breathes deeply through the quality of awareness.

Somehow, awareness doesn’t leave many traces at the end of the day. We let go of a lot of things which we wouldn’t have, had we not been cultivating mindfulness and the skill of letting go.

This reflection by Ajahn Sundara is from the book, Seeds Of Dhamma, (pdf) pp. 23-24.