By Bridget Rolens
In the Numerical Discourses, the Buddha urges us to gain the wisdom that leads to the end of suffering by developing the mind:
No other thing do I know . . . that brings so much suffering as an undeveloped and uncultivated mind. An undeveloped and uncultivated mind truly brings suffering.
No other thing do I know . . . that brings so much happiness as a developed and cultivated mind. A developed and cultivated mind truly brings happiness.
(AN 1:3.1–10; selected)
In the Dhammapada the Buddha emphasizes why training the mind is so important for those who wish to be free from suffering:
All experience is preceded by the mind
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a corrupted mind,
And suffering follows
As the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox.
All experience is preceded by the mind,
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows
Like a never-departing shadow.
(Dhp 1-2)
And how do we train the mind to engage in the experience of a human life with the wisdom that frees us from suffering? The Buddha gave us the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (MN 10), i.e. – four ways of establishing mindfulness as the direct path for attaining the end of suffering. This is the perfect guide for developing and cultivating a mind that leads to true happiness – a happiness that cannot be shaken by the constantly changing conditions of this human life.
There are various ways of defining mindfulness. I have two definitions that support me in remembering what mindfulness is. The first is a combination of definitions by Diana Winston and Russ Harris: Mindfulness is consciously bringing awareness to our here-and-now experience with openness, interest and a willingness to be with what is. The other definition comes from Sylvia Boorstein: Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to and receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is without either clinging to it or rejecting it.
From these definitions we might distill the practice of mindfulness down to two basic training instructions: 1) Know what you are experiencing in the present moment, and 2) Know how you are relating to it.
If you want to be proficient in playing a musical instrument or engaging in an athletic activity you have to train in the skills that that lead to that proficiency. An aspiring pianist must spend hours practicing scales and other exercises that need to become habitual in order to perform compositions for the piano. And they must perform those compositions over and over to create the muscle memory that lets the music flow freely as they play. An aspiring basketball player must engage in physical training of the body for strength, flexibility and endurance and practice the skills that make it possible to run the ball down the court and get it through the hoop.
In the same way, if we want to gain proficiency in living a life free from suffering, we have to train the mind in the skills of wisdom – clearly seeing the truth of the way things are and aligning our physical, verbal and mental actions with that truth.
If we want to clearly see the truth of the ways things are we need to train in the skill of Samadhi – the ability to collect and unify the mind so that it can aim and sustain attention on physical and mental objects, their feeling tone (pleasant, unpleasant or neutral), and the mental states that arise in relation to the objects.
This skill is essential to the establishment of mindfulness because we need to look deeply into our experience, investigate it, so that we experience for ourselves what leads to suffering and what leads to happiness. We might see the value of this practice by comparing it to using a telescope to see more clearly the rings of Saturn. This can only happen if we hold the telescope steady. This steadiness of aiming and sustaining the focus of the telescope makes it possible to see in greater and greater detail the characteristics of the rings. We can gain a deep understanding of the “truth” of what the rings are.
And we train in the skills of Mindfulness and Clear Comprehension (Sati and Sampajjana). Ajahn Sucitto describes these two mental factors working together:
In considering mindfulness and clear comprehension we see that these two terms are often conjoined. They support and amplify each other. Mindfulness is the ability to attend in a particular way, to turn the mind on to something and feel it out. Clear comprehension is the thing that helps to determine what we should be mindful of and how. These two together form a helpful practice for the arising of understanding. There are various techniques and ways in which to develop and cultivate mindfulness, but sometimes what happens is that people consider mindfulness to be developed only through refining the preliminary object of meditation. For example, they may become attentive to particular refined sensations – but what they really need to be mindful of is motivation.
An example from my own experience is the phenomenon known as “in order to” mind. It’s fairly common when practicing mindfulness to become aware of discomfort or even pain in the body. Rather than distract ourselves from the pain we mindfully turn toward the experience and allow ourselves to feel it. There are times when I open to the experience of the discomfort and, within a short period of time it actually fades. Wonderful! I’ve found a way to get rid of pain! Then there comes another experience of pain in the body to which I have turned the mind and felt, but it persists. My mind gets lost in the physical discomfort of the painful with seemingly no way out. Thoughts arise in the mind: “It will always be there. I can’t take it.” I realize I have been practicing mindfulness “in order to” get rid of the pain. The motivation under my mindfulness practice has been aversion and thus I have added the suffering of that defilement to the unpleasant experience of the pain. It is clearly comprehending this motivation that makes it possible to abandon the unwholesome mental state of aversion and respond wholesomely by allowing the discomfort to be present in my experience and investigating it to see that it is just an unavoidable reality of having a human body, that at some point it will change, and that it is arising out of impersonal causes and conditions that don’t define me.
Just as the musician and athlete train daily to perfect their skills, so we must train the mind daily in those skills that lead to awakening and freedom from suffering.
Musicians and athletes have another support for building skills: CAMPS. Often held at a specific location for a weekend or a more extended length of time, these camps provide a time away from the daily responsibilities and distractions of life so that the participants can take a deep dive into learning how to increase their skill levels.
Dharma Camps (aka – Retreats) provide a similar environment in which participants can deepen their understanding of the path of practice the Buddha taught that promises the sure heart’s release: the state of liberation from suffering and attachment, achieved through cultivating a stable, unshakeable heart and mind, free from craving, aversion and confusion.
It is not enough to intellectually understand music theory or the parts of an instrument and how they function to actually play a piano concerto. It is not enough to study the sport’s game playbook and memorize the strategies necessary to succeed in the game. In both cases, it is necessary to practice, practice, practice the skills needed to actually play the instrument or engage in the sport.
In the same way, it is important for those who wish to attain the sure heart’s release to hear the Dharma and know what the Buddha taught. But that is only a good beginning.
The Buddha made it very clear that liberation only comes by putting what he taught into practice, by applying it to one’s own mind and heart so that we see for ourselves our deeply conditioned habits of mind that lead to suffering.
With this experiential understanding of suffering, we have the motivation to practice the skills that create wholesome habits that lead to the unshakeable deliverance of the heart and a happiness that cannot be affected by the constantly changing conditions of the world.
Embracing this path of wisdom and doing the work to see with complete clarity the habit patterns that cause suffering is not easy. When I go on retreat some friends and family say, “Have fun.” I don’t try to explain that I go to retreats not to have fun, but rather to undertake the sometimes difficult work of uncovering any layers of habit patterns rooted in craving, aversion and confusion, not at an intellectual level, but rather at the level of the felt sense of the suffering in the body, mind and heart caused by these underlying defilements. Thanks to the Buddha’s teaching I can meet those unwholesome habit patterns with the wisdom that leads to freedom from suffering and a deep peace with the truth of the way things are.
The Buddha’s way to freedom from suffering is not easy. It takes a strong determination tempered with great kindness and compassion to face and embrace any suffering that is present in ourselves. Sometimes it can feel like an impossible undertaking.
In those moments I like to recall that the Buddha assured us that it IS possible to abandon the unwholesome, develop the wholesome and experience the happiness of a well-trained mind.
Bridget Rolens has been practicing Insight Meditation in the Theravada tradition and sharing her experience of the Buddha’s teachings since 1997. Recognized by the Spirit Rock Teachers Council as a Community Dharma Leader, Bridget leads a weekly insight meditation group and shares her experience of the Dharma through classes, retreats and individual mentoring. For more information visit her website.
Bridget will be offering an in person retreat at Mercy Center in St. Louis “The Happiness of a Well-Trained Mind” October 30-November 2, 2025. Registration opens July 15, 2025