The mind is the lens through which we see the world, and the quality of this lens affects what is seen through it. For example, when the mind is disturbed and anxious, the world seems disturbing and hostile, whereas when the mind is joyful and calm, the world seems benign, wholesome, and beautiful. What is seen and experienced by the mind indicates the quality and condition of the mind more often than what is really there.
The great meditation masters throughout history, without exception, have asserted that in nature and existence there are no problems and no imperfections, no good or bad, right or wrong, better or worse. Rather, things just are as they are, people are as they are, and you are as you are. Everything is perfect as it is, unique in its own way. Existence cannot be anything other than what it is. Even though the mind perpetually sees problems and imperfections, this is the mind’s own flaw, not a reflection of any underlying reality or truth.
There is great depth and subtlety in this message. It is not as simple as it seems. It has been misunderstood to mean that in order to see things as they are, one has to deny and reject problems, difficulties, imperfections, and conflicts. However, it is quite the opposite, and herein lies the essence of this method.
When encountering any kind of negative situation or feeling, the mind’s reflexive reaction is to reject it, get rid of it, or escape from it. The next time when you have some time for yourself, sit silently in a comfortable position with eyes closed and try the following experiment. Contemplate the problem and then, instead of resisting or rejecting it, allow it to remain there, exactly as it is. Don’t solve the problem. Don’t change it, don’t even touch it. Let there be a gap between you and the problem. Be separate from it, completely hands off, observing it from across the gap.
Keep in mind that not solving doesn’t mean ignoring the problem, escaping from it. It doesn’t mean you move on to doing something else and forget about the problem. Make dedicated time in a quiet, relaxed position, without distractions, and perceive the problem head on. Acknowledge it and feel it and allow it, but don’t solve it.
If you do this, you will be surprised to find that your entire quality of perception transforms, becomes glowing with a kind of inner light and energy. All sense of stress and anxiety melts, and you are able to see things clearly. If the problem needs solving, the solution or the path presents itself to you; otherwise, the problem itself dissipates, leaving in its place a blissful, meditative awareness.
When solving a problem, you don’t really look at the problem, you don’t really observe it, your focus is rather on searching for the solution; you are avoiding the problem. You are in a hurry to solve, to hide the problem under a solution. It may appear that the problem is gone, but really it has just been covered up, masked, changed in form. Each solution creates many new problems, ad infinitum; each answer creates many new questions. If anything, the solution is more problematic than the original problem because now you cannot recognize the original problem anymore. At least when the problem was unsolved, you could see clearly that there was a problem. The original problem is beautiful, as it is, and nothing needs to be added to it or removed from it to make it complete.
In times of joy, calm, and bliss, when there is no problem or discontentment, the mind reacts with distrust and disbelief. The positive is seen as too good to be true, unreal, something to be feared and denied, or else taken for granted and ignored. A sense of guilt arises in enjoyment, as if you don’t deserve it. Try to recognize that this is all the mind’s interpretation of what is seen, different from what is actually there. Even here, the same method is applicable: allow and accept the positive, the happy, and the good exactly as it is, without invalidating or dismissing it, without clinging to it or being possessive of it. Be a separate, detached observer and observe it as it is in this moment.
Whatever exists here and now, whether positive or negative, allow and accept it. Through this method, one goes beyond both the positive and negative, and is truly able to experience the meditative state of seeing things as they are.