Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

facing, and the problems just end then and there. In some
cases they have been taking drugs or prescription
medication, seeing a therapist, etc.; in some cases they say
they are ready to give up and take their own lives. Yet, with
just a few well-directed words, they are given a new way of
looking at the problem – seeing it not as a problem at all, but
just as a series of momentary experiences that arise and
cease without remainder. Through the practice of
mindfulness, one can see the way out of suffering oneself
and have no more doubt about the problem or the cause of
suffering.
There’s no question that even those suffering from severe
mental illness can overcome such conditions with meditation
if they stick with it and receive encouragement and
instruction from a teacher on how to perform this simple
work of mindfulness. Certainly, there are cases that may not
be curable in in this life; true chemical imbalances in the
brain, schizophrenia, psychopathy, etc., may be beyond
one’s ability to cure in this life simply through the power of
the mind, but at the very least one can begin in time to leave
this brain behind in favour of something more conducive to
mental development in the next life.
Buddhism doesn’t postulate an end to experience at the
moment of death. Since reality, according to Buddhism, is
based on empirical experience rather than external
postulation, it denies the belief in death at all, except in two
senses: on a momentary level where we are born and die
every moment, in an eternal flux of psycho-physical
experience, and as a final extinguishing of suffering for one
who is free from craving. Thus, we have an eternity to find
answers to our problems, and no belief in heaven, hell, or
extinction at death can excuse us from working to better
ourselves as Buddhist meditators. Further, even in this life it
can be observed that the brain is not a static entity; even the
physical organs in the body can change in inexplicable ways
and seemingly incurable diseases can be overcome by
patience and perseverance in mental development.
Altogether, there are four “satipatthana”, which we translate
generally as “the four foundations of mindfulness”; this isn’t
a perfect translation, but that’s how they are known. The
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