Essential elements of understanding the human experience in the world
The Dhammapada contains an ancient saying that encapsulates the Buddha’s teachings in three parts: abstaining from wrongdoing, doing good deeds, and cleansing one’s mind.
This sequence of steps is progressive, beginning with the external and preparatory and culminating in the internal and essential.
According to Bhikkhu Bodhi it is clear that the core of Buddhist practice lies in the purification of the mind.
The Buddha’s teachings emphasize the importance of purifying the mind from negative influences, which he referred to as “defilements”.
These defilements include the three “roots of evil” – greed, hatred, and delusion – which can manifest in many forms such as anger, envy, pride, vanity, and wrong beliefs.
The goal is to cleanse the mind of these influences, allowing for more wholesome thinking, values, attitudes, and behaviors.
Today, ideas of impurity and cleanliness are not viewed in a positive light, and when first encountered, they may appear to be relics of an outdated moral code that was prevalent when prudishness and taboos were commonplace.
However, we are not all completely immersed in materialism and many of us strive for enlightenment and spiritual fulfillment.
We want to achieve these goals on our own terms, as beneficiaries of the new freedom to explore and experience life without having to engage in introspection, transformation, or self-regulation.
The Buddha’s teachings emphasize that true enlightenment is achieved through a clean and pure mind.
The goal of the teachings is to free the mind from negative influences, and Nibbana is defined as freedom from greed, hatred, and delusion.
According to the Dhamma, defilement and purity are not just moralistic concepts, but rather they are real and essential elements of understanding the human experience in the world.
