JAINA Convention 2007 07 Edison NJ

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 89

body. These sensations could be tingling, itching, dryness, wetness, heat, cold etc. These sensations rise, intensify, subside and eventually cease. They could be gross or subtle, short lived or prolonged, but they are all temporary. If you check the next time you are angry, you will notice that your breathing will be heavier and your body temperature will be higher - These sensations are noticeable but there are so many sensations that are at a subtle level that our mind does not recognize them yet they occur at every micro seconds throughout our body.
4. Subconscious mind associates these sensations with a pleasant or un
pleasant label (step 2). It wants more of the pleasant sensations and tries to avoid unpleasant sensations. The desire to get more pleasant experience or aversion for unpleasant sensations turns into determination in the mind, building knots. These knots generate reaction, which comes in two forms, verbal or physical. Most of the time, the reaction takes shape in both verbal as well physical. Sometime an individual is successful in suppressing the reaction but it's still building steam until it explodes like a volcano at a tipping point sometime in the future.
All of us want peace
and happiness, yet most strive to
achieve it without success. At times we all experience difficulties, anger, and agitation. I understand that it is easier to preach than to follow. At some level, we
all agree that peace begins and ends within
ourselves, but how do we find it?
These steps are repeated at such a rapid speed at the subconscious level that our conscious mind does not even recognize what happened. Before you know it, one is angry if unpleasant sensations are experienced. If the experience is pleasant, it wants more of it. But sooner or later it will not get what it wanted and eventually leads to an unpleasant experience and hence agitation, and anger. When an individual doles out a negative reaction toward another person, that person receives an unpleasant input which in turn produces negative reaction toward the originator. The ego of both parties ups the ante escalating the intensity of the reaction and the aggression eventually turning into hatred.
By the time a reaction is generated (step 4); it is too late to stop. An individual's ego and emotions take strong hold of the reaction and the subconscious mind takes control of the body like an autopilot. Individual is not in control of the mind, but the subconscious mind is in control of the body. The key is to stop the reaction in its tracks before it takes any form. Imagine you can experience these sensations at the subatomic level and learn to observe these temporary sensations whether pleasant or unpleasant. Imagine that you can train the mind to observe these sensations without indulging in the reaction. No matter how intense these sensations are or how long they last, recognize that they are just sensations either pleasant or unpleasant, observe them with equanimity. Then there is no craving or clinging for the pleasant sensations or no aversion for unpleasant sensations. They are just sensations, they rise and eventually they fall. Even if your opponent sends a negative reaction which becomes a sense input (hearing or touch), your mind which is in your control, observes the negative sensations generated at the subatomic level in perfect equanimity. There is no ill will generated in you towards the other person. The flow of negative reaction is turned into a positive energy in the form of compassion. Many have mastered this technique and gained from it, you could too!
14th Biennial JAINA Convention 2007
PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE
Jain Education Intemational