The function of store consciousness
is to receive and maintain
seeds and their habit energies,
so they can manifest in the world, or remain dormant.
Much like how smoking and consuming narcotic substances can become a habit, if we do not deal with the conditions that make negative emotions manifest, they too will begin to manifest habitually. Our environment plays a very important role. Since everything is individual and collective, the people in our world impact our lives. Your world includes everything, the government, the moon, the stars but we are more in contact with certain elements of our world like the workplace, home, school and friends.
Anger and anxiety related to workplace issues have become major concerns today. You may be a great programmer. You work very hard. You are on the verge of producing very good results. In comes an Ivy league graduate who decides to get rid of the programming team and move those jobs to Mumbai and Manila. He does this because when he was at school he learned how outsourcing can reduce cost and improve margins. Higher margins can lead to higher profits despite stagnant sales. So he learns of this short cut to higher incentives and implements it. Instead of increasing sales to increases revenues, he cuts costs. All he is after is more money for himself. Of course, you will be very angry.
You carry this anger home with you. It makes things worse.
The more we come across such things, the more dissatisfied and angry we become. Exploiting labor has become a habit now. People in America are demanding better wages and more employment opportunities.
It is important now, in fact more than ever before, that we pay attention to the conditions that are letting our negative emotions manifest. If you realize that your employer is not practicing meritocracy and transparency, then it is unlikely that you will be happy at the workplace. Your friends may sympathize with you, maybe together you may even protest or participate in demonstrations. They will likely replace one approach with another. One condition for dissatisfaction will be replaced with another condition for dissatisfaction.
The Vijñaptimātra teachings aim to truly break this cycle of discontent. Sufferings related to professional life are the sufferings of not having what we want and having what we do not want. To create conditions so we can get rid of these two sufferings, we must practice the five mindfulness trainings. The five mindfulness trainings create the conditions for us to progress faster towards enlightenment. We will understand the teachings better and faster.
We must carefully look into our consumption and behavioral habits to see if they are making other sentient beings suffer. Are we using products or consuming food that are a result of processes that exploit human, animal and mineral resources? Is your shoemaker using leather that comes from animals or exploiting human resources in China or India? Are you buying from a grocery store which pays its staff poor wages or are you buying your veggies and cereals from the farmer's market?
The habit energies of the seeds are stored in the store consciousness. We must utilize our present lifetime to water seeds of enlightenment. We must carefully study the mindfulness training - true happiness. We must not take from others what is not ours. The cow's skin is not meant for us to use. Her milk is not meant for us, it is meant for the calf. When we do not get what we want, we must bring to mind the sufferings of sentient beings who are having to pay the price of our unmindful consumption habits with their lives.
Since the seeds in our store consciousness are both individual and collective, it is possible for us to be impacted by the suffering and joy that others experience. If you obtain a home loan through Wells Fargo who sell their home loans to the loan servicer, Ocwen, then it is possible that your loan may be sold in future to Ocwen and you may end up a victim of an elaborate foreclosure scheme run by Ocwen and its associate companies who make money by selling foreclosed properties. If you buy a computer or another electronic device from a company looking to cut costs by paying its staff poor wages, it is possible that they may just hang up on you when you call for support.
We should promote businesses who contribute positively to society. Let us support the lemonade stands put up by the children in our neighborhood, the farmer's markets, companies that produce vegan friendly products and pay fair wages to their employees. We must be looking for opportunities to practice generosity.
The rule is really simple - if we exploit others and help those who exploit others, we are promoting exploitation. Then there will be more exploitation around us. Sooner or later we will ourselves be denied of what should rightfully be ours. If we smoke, we are inviting illness.
If we practice the five mindfulness trainings, it will bring about a transformation within us and our world will change. The seeds in the store consciousness do not just manifest as emotions but also as objects - mountains, rivers etc. A happier world will manifest.
When we look deeply into the mindfulness training - true happiness, we see that we become a part of an economic system that exploits us due to our our materialistic requirements and consumption habits. It is a good start if you can practice modest living. The mindfulness training on true happiness asks us to reduce our materialistic dependencies and share what we have with others.
Working for a Wall Street bank or a Silicon Valley enterprise does not bring joy. Practicing the five mindfulness trainings helps transform our habits and waters the seeds associated with good habits, preparing conditions for happiness to manifest.
(Based on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.)
#विज्ञप्तिमात्र #Vijñaptimātra #VijñaptimatraBuddhism #ThichNhatHanh #Vasubandhu #50Verses #50VersesOnVijñaptimātra #Vimshatika #Trimshika #VimshatikaKarika #TrimshikaKarika #Asanga #Yogacāra #Yogacara #ManifestationOnly #Vigyaptimatra #Xuanzang #India #Linji #Rinzai #Zen #Bodhidharma #Hinduism #Buddhism #Buddha #Mahayana #Prajñapāramitā #Vijnaptimatra #IndianBuddhism #IndianPhilosophy #UttarPradesh #StoreConsciousness #Alayavijñana #Manas
No comments:
Post a Comment