The Reason Why the Mind Turns with Conditions

The mind turns with circumstances; external conditions can influence the inner mind and stir up waves. One reason is insufficient meditative concentration (samādhi), and another is insufficient wisdom—an inability to correctly and reasonably recognize and analyze the circumstances one faces. What people love most is to go along with their own mind, regardless of whether that mind is wholesome or unwholesome: when things accord with me, I am pleased; when they go against me, I feel suffering. Because a person pays too much attention to inner feelings, their judgments of people, matters, and things are often inaccurate. The same person may sometimes seem very good and at other times seem very bad—this comes entirely from one's own subjective feelings, not from an objective and impartial standpoint. This shows the illusory nature of our consciousness and of external conditions: they are always in a state of constant change, never permanent and unchanging. They are therefore unreal dharmas, unreliable dharmas. We cannot place complete reliance on these things; otherwise, when they cease and pass away, we will feel at a loss, not knowing where to turn.