The suffering we encounter every day... where does it truly come from? It isn't because the world around us is heavy, but because our own minds refuse to let go. Before an old story has even faded, we rush to pull a new one onto our shoulders. Repeating this again and again, we become like the madman carrying stones, who, upon seeing anything, picks it up and adds it to the burden, even though what is already carried is heavy enough to make one collapse. This makes us feel as though each stone is heavier than a mountain...
This content is adapted from a Dhamma talk given by Ajahn Sim Buddhacaro, a noble monk of Wat Tham Pha Plong in Chiang Mai, on October 10, 1975. On that day, Ajahn Sim taught that if you want the mind to be at ease, you must stop carrying suffering. You must practice letting go of what is unnecessary, gather the mind inward, and cultivate stillness and peace through mental development. When the mind stops chasing after the outside world, you will realize that true happiness lies in a mind that knows how to let go.
The Single Mind
In its natural state, this mind—the true heart and mind—is singular. One person, one animal, no matter who, has only a single mind. It is just this one Mind (Citta), but the wanting, the struggling, the Defilement (Kilesa) is vast. It is said to be immense. The ancients, abstracting from the various Sense Bases (Āyatana), stated that there are 1,500 defilements and 108 forms of Craving (Taṇhā). This simply means they are numerous. The more one thinks, the more the defilements multiply along with the thoughts.
Therefore, the Buddha taught to gather the mind inward. If the mind is gathered inward, it becomes one.
This single mind is the one that wanders and is deluded in the Sensual Realm (Kāmabhava), the Form Realm (Rūpabhava), and the Formless Realm (Arūpabhava); in the human world, the celestial worlds, the brahma worlds, the ghost worlds, and the hell worlds. No matter the world, it is this single mind that wanders and gets lost. When it is born into any realm and establishes itself there, it clings to the belief that it truly exists in that realm. When this single mind is brought inward, it is easy to look after because it is a single thing.
Now, if we think too much, fabricate too much, following the power of the defilements and cravings in the heart, then things become complicated and chaotic.
The Buddha taught that the mind is supreme, the leader. All things are accomplished through the mind. Whatever the mind desires, does, or speaks—whether creating merit or demerit—it is all accomplished by this very mind. Even the Buddha, in cultivating the qualities for Enlightenment Knowledge (Bodhiñāṇa), succeeded because of this mind and heart. That which leads the body and speech to act well and do good is this very mind.
It isn't that we don't know or understand this mind. It is present. We all know that within ourselves, within our hearts, there is thinking and fabricating happening at all times. All forms of wanting are given the name taṇhā: Sensual Craving (Kāmataṇhā), Craving for Existence (Bhavataṇhā), and Craving for Non-existence (Vibhavataṇhā). This is the struggle, the turmoil, the agitation that prevents the mind from being calm. When it is not calm, the more it struggles, the more entangled it becomes.
For the most part, when the mind is not calm, not firmly established within itself, it is the mind itself that goes searching, gathering various matters to think about, to ponder, to fabricate. This is despite the Buddha's teaching that one should not pick up anything more. What is already here is heavy enough. The five Aggregates (Khandha) are already a heavy burden, yet we still go out and gather external matters and moods, making things even more chaotic. It becomes heavier and heavier, as if we are already carrying and shouldering a full load but, finding it insufficient, we add even more.
A mind that is not calm, not settled within itself, is likened to a madman carrying stones.
There is a parable about a madman carrying stones. It is said there are 108, or 32, or innumerable kinds of madness. There is one type of madman who is not malicious in any way. He gets a basket or a container and carries it on a shoulder pole. When he sees a piece of wood, a stone, or a pebble, he picks it up and puts it in the front and back baskets, and just keeps on walking. Whatever he sees on the side of the road, he picks it up. He is known for collecting heavy stones and carrying them. He carries them until he can no longer move, so he takes some out. Once it's light enough to proceed, he continues on his way. He is called a madman. This type of madman has no issue with anyone; his only issue is with stones. Seeing a heavy object, he places it upon himself and carries it. When the load gets lighter, he adds more. Seeing a new object, he adds it in. He does this all day and all night. This is one parable.
The Parable of the Madman Carrying Stones
This parable of the madman carrying stones is an analogy for the human mind that does not engage in Mental Development (Bhāvanā). When it is not calm, it does not relinquish its hold on various moods. It gathers them in. The eye sees a form, and one gathers it in to think about, to ponder, to fabricate, with the intention of grasping and clinging, just like the madman carrying stones. If the form is good, one wants it, struggling and scrambling. A beautiful form—be it an object, a utensil, or a person—upon seeing it is good, one desires it, striving after it according to sensual objects, objects of existence, and objects of non-existence. It gathers and grasps.
Then, when the form is not good—ugly, frightening, or hateful—one gathers that in as well, hating it, fearing it, and detesting it. This prevents the mind from achieving Concentration (Samādhi) in mental development. It is the nature of an unquiet mind, one without "Buddho" in the heart. When the eye sees a form that is pleasing, it gets lost in one way. When the form is unpleasing, it gets lost in another. It's just turmoil, like the madman carrying stones.
Besides the eye seeing a form, the ear hears a sound, and it too gathers it in. And beyond just gathering it in, one likes to speak and talk only of unwholesome things. "Buddho, Dhammo, Sangho"—the teachings consist of 84,000 Dhamma Aggregates (Dhammakkhandha), yet one does not chant or memorize them. But as for words of scolding, insults, and slander, one loves to think about them. Even if the event happened long ago, it is remembered, never forgotten, written down and never erased. It has been like this for aeon (Kappa) after aeon, through lifetime after lifetime, for humans and all beings of the world. It’s always been this way, not knowing how to let go.
In the path of concentration and mental development, the Dhamma, the teachings of Buddhism, instruct one to be resolute in the practice of preparatory meditation. Other people are not as important as our own mind. It is our own mind that should be trained in mental development, mindful and observant within itself, without heedlessness. One need not carry or bear the burdens of others.
The beings of the world are innumerable. The Buddha said they are "Anantaṁ, Aparimāṇaṁ" - Infinite, Immeasurable. The beings of the world, even just the humans, cannot be counted. Just think: the animals in the water, on land, and in the air are so numerous. The world is full of beings. When could they ever be counted? No one can count them. The earth itself is full of them—ants, termites, tiny insects so numerous they haven't been named. They are countless. There are the beings that have already taken birth, while those that have not—existing only as a mind or consciousness—could be said to pack the world.
The minds and Consciousness (Viññāṇa) of all beings are said to fill the world. Or as the ancients would say, the minds and hearts of the world's beings fill the world like rice stuffed into a sack. Just as rice fills a sack, a pot, a jar, or a vat, packed tightly inside, so do the minds and hearts of beings fill the world, without end.
Some people today see that the human population is so large that governments in each country cannot support them. There must be birth control to prevent more births. If more are born, there will be many problems for each individual, so they implement birth control. But whether they are born or not, the minds and hearts of beings are born just the same. They already exist. Birth control can only control the Form Aggregate (Rūpakkhandha), preventing a form from arising, but it cannot control the mind and heart. The mind was born before its controller. It has been born for countless lifetimes, for so many eons that one cannot count the ages of the heavens and the earth. This mind, therefore, is one that has been lost in the world for a very long time, a madman carrying stones for an uncountable duration.
Even the Fully Enlightened Buddhas who have attained awakening in the world—all the Buddhas knew that the beings of the world were too numerous to be saved by mental development alone. Each Buddha comes to aid, to teach and to guide, but the beings are never all saved. An incalculable number of beings have escaped suffering and reached Nibbana by following each Buddha, but even so, the world of beings never comes to an end. Why? Because the minds of these beings are still lost in delusion.
This being the case, one is taught to practice Restraint (Saṃvara), to be determined in one's practice and devotion, and not let the mind gather external moods and stories, for they are endless. One must learn to let go. The eye sees a form, the ear hears a sound, the nose smells a fragrance or an odor—do not grasp or cling to them. If the mind, in its delusion, grasps and clings, it brings suffering to the heart, suffering to the world, without end.
When it comes to the sense of smell in the nose and the sense of taste on the tongue, the matter of food is a crucial one. The lives of all beings are sustained by food. They are born and continue to live because they consume food. If beings had no food to eat, the form aggregate could not endure. The taste of food is a major affair, because a mind not established in concentration and mental development, lacking a calm and peaceful inner state, will inevitably struggle and be agitated in matters of food and eating.
That which has passed, whatever one has eaten or consumed before, this mind will go and cling to it. It is like the madman carrying stones; it carries the past and refuses to let it go, bringing it back to think about and ponder over. And it thinks ahead to the future, lost in the taste of food, failing to realize that taste merely sustains the form aggregate. Once the form aggregate is sustained, we can then develop Tranquility Meditation (Samathakammaṭṭhāna), making the mind calm and subdued, not allowing it to be distracted by external matters. This will bring the mind and heart to a state of calm and stability within, allowing one to gather the mind inward and not be agitated by external affairs.
"Plong Tok": Letting the Burden Fall
As for the body, there are things that make contact with it: cold, hot, soft, hard, sickness, health, comfort, and discomfort. These are called Tangible Objects (Phoṭṭhabba). The things that impact this physical form are also moods that make the mind unable to be still and unable to maintain "Buddho" in the heart. This is because of the delusion associated with the skin and body, or with objects of touch. Whatever one has, whatever one wants—the clothes that cover the body, besides protecting from heat, cold, and insects, are also worn for adornment, to enhance the body's beauty and make it look special, in a way that is endless. This, it is said, is to carry, grasp, and cling, which is suffering in the heart, suffering in the world, suffering in the body, and suffering in the mind. The mind itself suffers.
When all the sense objects are present—form, sound, scent, taste, and tangible objects—they become moods within the mind. But they are not the mood of "Buddho" meditation, not the mood of mindfulness of death meditation. They are the moods of delusion, following the eye and form, the ear and sound, the nose and scent, the tongue and taste, the body and tangible objects. It is lost in this way.
When the mind experiences things through the sense bases, they become moods within the mind that do not cease or quiet down. That mind then comes to see its own thinking, its restlessness and agitation, its frantic struggle, as a form of happiness. But it is a happiness that is suffering. It gathers it in, grasps it, clings to it, not knowing how to release or let go.
The Buddha let go of everything completely. There was nothing held or clung to in his mind and heart. His mind is said to have abandoned all defilements along with their Habitual Tendencies (Vāsanā). That is, he was no longer mad, no longer grasping and clinging according to the ways of the world. The Buddha, the Arahants (Arahant), the Stream-enterers (Sotāpanna), the Once-returners (Sakadāgāmī), and the Non-returners (Anāgāmī) know how to release and let go. They know themselves, that they have been lost in this world for an uncountable number of times. Having arrived in this present life, they let go. They do not carry the burden any longer. They set it down, place it aside according to its nature, and then contemplate it until they see clearly within their own minds.
It is not that they lack mindfulness, concentration, or wisdom. They possess mindfulness, they possess concentration, they possess Wisdom (Paññā), they possess insightful knowledge. They see that their minds have carried, shouldered, and hauled turmoil for a very long time. It is time to set it down, to put it down. This is called "plong tok" - to let the burden fall. To let the burden fall is to contemplate and see clearly that there is nothing good, nothing special in it. So they relinquish it, release it, and let it go completely from the mind.
Whatever jealousy, vengeance, or anger they once held towards humans and other beings, they let it all go... They possess an intention focused on the happiness and well-being of all humans and beings, that they may not suffer or be in turmoil. Whatever happiness another has, may they have that happiness in ever-increasing measure. The Buddha and the noble disciples are said to have Loving-kindness (Mettā) and Compassion (Karuṇā) for the beings of the world. They do not add to their burdens, nor do they clutter their own minds with others' affairs.
The reason our minds are not at peace is that we are always grasping, always holding on, always carrying, like the madman carrying stones, never knowing how to release or let go.
In truth, trying to let go for others, or speaking well of others, is of little consequence. Speaking ill or harmfully of others is also of little consequence. The duty of a practitioner of the Dhamma, of mental development in the path of Buddhism, is to make one's own mind calm and steadfast, firmly established in the preparatory meditation within one's own heart and mind—for each and every person. As long as one is not yet free, one strives for liberation. Once free, once liberated, one has compassion for all beings of the world. One does not add to the burden of anyone who is already suffering in body or mind, making their suffering even heavier. One does not do that.
They have methods for teaching and guiding the Buddhist community—monks, nuns, male and female novices, white-robed laity, and hermits—to be determined in their mental development, to strive in abandoning the defilements.
To abandon the defilements completely is not accomplished by calm alone; that is not enough. One must contemplate and see clearly with the eye of the heart, with Insight Knowledge (Ñāṇa) and wisdom, that this very form and mentality (rūpa-nāma)—this body and mind, this self—contains nothing that is permanent, lasting, or stable. It is impossible for it to be in accord with our love and desires in every way. This is because the form aggregate, this solid body, and the Mental Aggregates (Nāmakhandha)—which consist of the mind's thoughts and fabrications—are characterized by Impermanence (Aniccaṁ), Suffering (Dukkhaṁ), and Not-self (Anattā).
The masters train and teach the Buddhist community to know how to be calm and composed, to know how to let go, and not to cling. Even if a mood arises while we are sitting, when we get up from our seat, they teach us not to take the mood and the stories that arose during the sitting with us. If one can do this, the mood of mental development becomes comfortable. One does not pick up the moods of praise or blame. Upon rising from one's seat, one does not carry them along. The mind is at ease, the body is at ease, the ear is at ease, because nothing more is being collected. Or if one is criticized, blamed, or slandered while in the water, upon getting out of the water, do not bring it with you. Leave it in the water.
This is a strategy for teaching practitioners. Do not collect it. Do not carry it, grasp it, or cling to it. If you grasp and cling to it, there is no end. When it comes to the world, there is no end to it. The more one adds to it and promotes it, the further it goes. It never ends.
Why does it not end? Because it revolves around the same old moods. This entire world—form, sound, scent, taste, tangible objects, and Mind Objects (Dhammārammaṇa), in the internal and external sense bases—is constantly in contact and collision. Where can it end? It spins in the same old patterns. It is said to be like an ant crawling on the rim of a pot. No matter how much it crawls, where is the end? The object is round. It crawls according to its own ignorance, circling in the same old way. Even our own thoughts, which we think travel to the farthest reaches, travel far only by circling in the same old patterns.
Therefore, the Buddha taught not to revolve back into this world anymore. Calm the mind and heart, establish the intention firmly in the mind and heart. Let that mind have wisdom to contemplate the arising, existing, and ceasing. This is the nature of all conditioned phenomena (Saṅkhāra); they must be like this. Even the mind that resides in this form aggregate, this body, this self, cannot have everything it desires. It is impossible, because this form aggregate is subject to aging, decay, sickness, and inevitable dissolution.
It is the mind that cultivates "Buddho" that is different. Whoever is determined not to let their mind go out and receive external stories—whatever is external, leave it there. Whatever story enters and troubles the mind and heart, strive to abandon it within the heart. Be determined in the preparatory meditation of "Buddho," gathering the mind into the heart itself. Strive to remain in your own heart at all times.
The Path of Practice: Realizing the Truth Within
Wherever you sit, practice mental development there. Wherever you stand, practice mental development there. Wherever you walk, practice mental development. Gather the mind, calm the mind, and establish it firmly until knowledge and clarity arise, until one is capable and brave enough to cut the snares and attachments of the defilements in one's own heart, completely and utterly. This is not about the desire to get, the desire to be good, or the desire to have, according to the power of the defilements. That path is endless, a struggle born of delusion.
True, clear knowledge must be realized right here in this body, in this mind, in this self. The physical form of each person has two legs, two arms, and one head, enveloped completely by skin, with a mind residing within this body. So, one must strive to look after this single mind. Do not let mindfulness lapse, do not let concentration lapse, do not let wisdom lapse. Gather it into the heart. Do not send the mind out to get entangled with external matters. Maintain a calm mind, a quiet heart, firmly established in one's own heart alone.
Everything else, apart from the mind that knows within, is impermanent, suffering, and not-self. All things called saṅkhāra, whether they are physical formations or mental formations, are inherently unstable and in a state of constant flux. This is their nature. Let the practitioner of Buddhism gather the mind, calm it, and establish it firmly in the heart until it is seen that everything else, apart from this calm and steady mind, is all impermanent, suffering, and not-self. It is not truly ours, and so we should not cling to the happiness or suffering, the being or having, that exists within this body and mind.
Make clear and penetrating knowledge in the Dhamma practice that is the present Dhamma right there. Whatever is a mood or story of the past, it has already passed. The future has not yet come. It is external, apart from the body and mind. Do not let the mind waver or shake.
Be one who has mindfulness at all times, who has concentration at all times, who has mindfulness and wisdom at all times, in every moment. Do not be heedless, intoxicated, or let the mind leak out elsewhere. The mind is within the heart, within the body of each and every one of us. The minds of others are for them to look after and develop. Our mind is within us; we must look after and develop it. Do not be heedless. The heedful person progresses toward prosperity. The heedless person is said to move toward decline and ruin, not contemplating, lacking mindfulness, lacking concentration, lacking wisdom, lacking knowledge and cleverness, lacking wondrous ability. The mind drifts, restless, not established in the heart.
Be one who is "Leading Inward" (Opanayiko), bringing the mind to the principle of the present moment, right here, right now. When we can practice mental development within this body and mind, at every moment, right here in the heart, this will lead to growth and prosperity in the way of Buddhism.
What has been expounded is sufficient for this time. Thus it is. (Evaṁ).
Concluding Remarks
The suffering we face each day comes from nowhere else but our own mind that loves to hold on. If someone speaks unkindly, we hold on to it. If someone does something we dislike, we keep it in mind. We refuse to let go of old matters and anticipate new ones before they arrive. All of that... is the heavy stone that we willingly carry ourselves.
Let us try to apply the teachings of Ajahn Sim. He taught us to stop collecting, stop thinking, stop fabricating, and the mind will become unbelievably light. This is the heart of Dhamma practice. Just by knowing how to gather the mind inward, to stop chasing after moods, to practice "Buddho"—if you can't think of anything else, just repeat "Buddho." The next time you are aware, you will see that... the suffering that was once heavy hasn't gone anywhere. It's just that we didn't make it into suffering for ourselves... from the very beginning. Therefore... it is merely something that makes contact with us... and that is all.
This was the Dhamma for today from Ajahn Sim Buddhacaro, the noble monk of Wat Tham Pha Plong.