Venerable Thubten Dhondrub is a ordain monk from Australia who gives us some insight and thoughts about the mind and its potential. In this video he mentions that the source of suffering comes from within our mind. Yes there are many factors that can contribute to the suffering, but the mind is the main factor when we deal with suffering and happiness. In order to reach happiness, he mentions that we need to change or mind (thought process) so that we can eliminate the negative. The change should not just be a little change because only a little bit of suffering will be eliminated. Later on in the clip he asked a question is it possible to get rid of these disturbing thoughts? They do not go away completely he advised by the will eventually decline in their existence.
I love the demonstration that he presented at the end as well. He was shaking the cup of water to show how the water was being aggregated because of a factor, Dhondrub moving the water back and forth. When he set the cup down the water was able to settle, which shows that once we eliminate the factor that is aggravating us, the suffering, then we can be calm and happy.
This clip from the movie, Discovering Buddhism, related to the book Zen wrapped in karma dipped in chocolate, by Brad Warner, in a couple of ways. Warner mention that there are a lot of people in this world scamming and telling people that they can reach the state of enlightenment in just a few days which is absolute false. One of the scams he mention was, “according to one of these people, his trademarked technique will give you an authentic kensho or satoru experience in which you realize your True Nature just like Buddha did under the Bodhi Tree in a single half day session” (p.27). Enlightenment is not an overnight type of event, reaching enlightenment takes time. This passage related to my clip that I chose because in order to reach enlightenment your mind needs to be clear of all things negative. And just like enlightenment it takes time to learn to clear your mind from suffering and negative thoughts.
