A Place to Hide Out
November 08, 2013

Close your eyes and settle down with the breath.

Remind yourself that you have the right to choose where you’re going to focus your attention.

As you’re focusing it on the breath and trying to keep it with the breath, that develops a lot of good qualities in mind. It creates a sense of ease and well-being. You want to be able to maintain that ease and well-being wherever you go.

This is important. Sometimes when things are pleasant, we tend to forget that even in pleasant situations we need a good foundation. It’s easy to understand that when things are difficult the mind needs a place to hide out. But when things go well, the mind needs a place to hide out, too. Because when things are going well they can change at any time.

The mind can develop a lot of habits that are going to detrimental when things don’t go well. You’re following the sound of this and the sight of that, just wandering around: If that’s the way the mind is normally, then when things get difficult that’s the way it’s going to be as well.

So you’ve got to be heedful. It’s one of the reasons why the Buddha emphasized the word heedfulness so much: He said, “All good qualities come from heedfulness.” And even his last statement: He didn’t end with the word heedfulness, he ended with the word, “Bring yourself to completion.” But how do you do it? You do it with heedfulness, he said.

So this is what we work on. Even when things are going well, you’ve to got to maintain this sense of being inside. This is where your real source of happiness is. Things outside are, as I said the other day, like snacks. Snacks are good, but what you really need is a good solid meal.

This is your solid meal. When things are pleasant, they’re pleasant, but you don’t make that your food for the mind. The real food for the mind lies inside. As you develop this habit regardless—whether things are going well, things are not going well, you’ve got a good place inside—that becomes a habit that will stand you in good stead in all kinds of situations.