Think of your mind as a garden. People may throw "seeds" in it from time to time. Don’t water them if you know they are weeds. Weeds are very difficult to get rid of once they start to grow. If you know they are flowers you should water them often.
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2 comments:
Hi Dr. Walpola,
I had to smile when I read this. You see, I’m not much of a gardener, but I try. I once took great care of a plant that was growing in my yard. Watered it faithfully and even gave it plant food and mulch! It had the loveliest tiny purple flowers. With all of my care and attention it spread like crazy and soon choked out everything else I had planted. A friend visited one day and gently informed me that my favorite plant was in fact a noxious weed. I battle it to this day. And those lovely little flowers eventually gave way to a bumper crop of painful thorns!
I still sometimes find it hard to tell the difference at first glance, especially with those “weeds” that are so good at mimicking true flowers.
Hi Kris
Thanks you for sharing your beautiful story. You are absolutely right. It is sometimes not easy to differentiate seeds of "weeds" from the "flowers." Sometimes experience helps. We all know, “experience is the life's best teacher.” We should use to “mindfulness” as our "gatekeeper." You may still miss some, but you can still be mindful when they are growing. It is easier to get rid of them when they are still young. I think the best method is to grow as many flowers (loving kindness) in your garden as possible and try and choke the “weeds” (defilements). When the garden is full of flowers and healthy, it is hard for the “weeds” to grow. As you have already experienced, it takes much more effort to grow “flowers” than the “weeds.”
Keep posting your very insightful comments.
BTW-All the flower pictures are from my garden.
With Metta.
Piyal
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