The Basis of Transformation

How do we know that it is possible to transform our mind? There are two basis for this. One is the fundamental law of impermanence; that all things and events are subject to transformation and change. If we examine this deeper, we will realize that at every instant, everything that exist is going through process of change. Even though, for instance, we speak of yesterday's person as existing unchanged today, we are all aware at a gross experimental level of the laws of impermanence; that for example, even the earth on which we live will one day come to an end.

If things and events did not have the nature of changing from moment to moment, we would not be able to explain how transformation takes place over the time. When we reduce vast passage of time down to very brief ones, we can realize that things are actually changing from moment to moment. Modern technology helps us to see some of these changes; the development of a biological organism, for example, can be observed through microscope. Also at a subtle theoretical level, certain observation indicate the extremely dynamic nature of physical reality. It is the fundamental law of nature i.e. impermanence, that creates the potential for our own change, development and progress.

This transient and impermanent nature of reality is not to be understood in terms of something coming into being, remaining for a while and later cease to exist.That is not the meaning of impermanence at the subtle level. Subtle impermanence refers to the fact that the moment things and events come into existence, they are already impermanent in nature; the moment they arise, the process of their disintegration has already begun. When something that comes into being from its causes and conditions, the seed of its cessation is born along with it. It is not that something comes into being and then a third factor or condition causes its disintegration. That is not how to understand impermanence. Impermanence means that as soon as something comes into being, it has already started to decay.

If you limit your understanding of impermanence to something's continuum, you will comprehend only gross impermanence. You will feel that when certain causes and conditions give rise to something, it remains unchanged as long as the factors that sustain its existence remain unchanged and begins to disintegrate only when it encounters adverse circumstances. This is what we call gross impermanence.

If however, you deepen your understanding of impermanence by approaching it at the subtle level, the moment-to-moment change undergone by all phenomena, you will realize how as soon as something comes into being, its cessation has also begun.

At first, you might feel that coming into being and coming into cessation are contradictory process, but when you deepen your understanding on impermanence, you will realize that coming into being (birth) and cessation (death) are in a sense, simultaneous. Thus, the fundamental law of impermanence (transitory nature of all phenomena) gives us one basis for the possibility of transforming our minds.

The second premise for the possibility of transforming our minds is again one that we can perceive in the reality of the external physical world, where we see that certain things are in conflict with others. We can call this law of contradiction. For example, heat and cold, darkness and light and many more, are opposing forces, enhancing one automatically diminishes the other one. In some cases this is a gradual process, in others, instantaneous. For example, when you switch on the light, the darkness in the room immediately dispelled.

If you look at the mental world of thoughts and emotions in the same way, you will again find many opposing forces, such that when you encourage and develop certain kinds of emotions, those that are contradicting them automatically diminish in intensity.. This natural fact of our consciousness, when opposite forces contradict one another, provides another premise for the possibility of change and transformation.

When we take two types of thought or emotion that directly oppose each other, the question arises, which reflects the true states of affairs and which is a false way of relating to the world? The answer is that those thoughts and emotions that are strongly grounded in experience and reason are the ones with truth on their side, whereas those that are contrary to the way things exist, no matter how powerful they may be at any time given, are actually unstable. Since they lack of valid grounding experience and reason, they do not have a firm foundation.

Also, if we take two types of emotion that directly oppose one other and examine them to see what distinguishes one from the other, another feature we notice is that they differ in their long term effects.

There are certain types of emotion that give us temporary relief or satisfaction, but when we examine them with our faculty of intelligence, the insight that enables us to judge between long and short term benefits and disadvantages, we find that in the long run, they are destructive and harmful, they cannot be supported by reason or insight. The moment the light of intelligence shines on destructive emotions, they no longer have any support.

There are other types of emotion, however, that may seem a bit disturbing at the time but actually have long term benefits and are, therefore reinforced by reason and insight, supported by intelligence. Therefore, the positive emotions are ultimately more powerful than the negative ones because their potential for development is greater.

These two premises, the laws of impermanence and contradiction allow us to see the possibility of bringing about transformation within ourselves.