The mundane things that people face in life are like never-ending waves, coming one after another, but in the end we are left empty-handed, unable to retain anything. Countless thoughts pass through our minds, one after another. One thought gives rise to many, many thoughts.
All these thoughts only increase our inner turmoil and injustice. If we carefully reflect on our basic values on which we base our daily actions and try to find out where they come from, we will find that they all stem from our failure to understand and validate these things correctly.
We usually base our assumptions on the idea that everything is real and has substance. However, when we look more carefully, we will find that the phenomenal world is like a rainbow, with bright and colourful colours, but has no physical existence.
When a rainbow appears in the sky, you will see many beautiful colours, however the rainbow cannot be worn as clothes or accessories.
There is nothing that we can possess forever. All things are just presented to us through the combination of various causes and conditions. The same goes for the thoughts that arise in your mind. Thoughts have no so-called physical reality or essential existence.
Therefore, there is no reason for thoughts to have more power over us, and there is no reason for us to become slaves to thoughts. Samsara and nirvana are both created by the mind. Even so, the mind is nothing special; it is just a bunch of thoughts.
Once we recognize that thoughts are empty, the mind loses its power to deceive us. But as long as we accept false thoughts as true, they will continue to torment us and cause us as much suffering as they have in past lifetimes.
In order to master the “mind”, we must be aware of what to do and what to avoid; we must also remain alert and constantly review our actions of body, speech, and mind.
In order to be free of the attachments of the mind, understand that all phenomena are as empty as the mirage that appears as an oasis. It’s appearance is beautiful however is of no benefit to the mind, and similarly an ugly appearance is not harmful to the mind either.
Cut through the connections to hope and fear, like and hate, dwell in equanimity, and understand that all phenomena are just projections of your own mind.
Once you know what absolute truth is, you will realize that all the relative phenomena in front of you are just an illusion and a dream, and you will no longer be attached to it. Recognizing that reality is empty is equivalent to breaking through the limitations of thought.
~ Gyalwai Nyugu Rinpoche