Bad actions 2

If we are aware of the workings of mind, we can see how emotional and intellectual reactions are dependent upon the internal balance in mind. If we do not know these factors, we might think that our feelings and thoughts are caused by some sort of external reality, by our personality or by divine truth or something.

This analysis is not new. It was described but the Tibetan master Longchenpa (born in the 14th century) and translated into English by Herbert V. Guenther in 1975 under the title Kindly Bent to Ease us.

The internal balance in mind is between the four concepts called the immeasurables. They are love, compassion, joy and equanimity.

Love out of balance becomes attachment, or the will to hold on to the beloved in such a way that it eventually is killed. The remedy against this is compassion.

Compassion out of balance turns into sentimentality. The remedy against sentimentality is joy.

Joy out of balance turns into elation, which in the modern world could be experienced as a result of using drugs. The remedy against elation is equanimity.

Equanimity is the ability to stay cool. Equanimity out of balance turns into apathy. The remedy against apathy is love.

So we have this rational and logical balance of four poles in mind where every tendency to lose balance can be counteracted in a rational and effective way -- it is all very kind, and the result is a situation of tremendous ease.