How can one remain in the “present moment” when overwhelmed by extremely difficult circumstances?
Letting Go of Four Attachments
“If you are attached to this life, you are not a true practitioner.
If you are attached to worldly things, you lack renunciation.
If you are attached to self-interest, you have lost your bodhicitta.
If you cling to arising thoughts, your view is not genuine wisdom.”
Q: Rinpoche, is the “present moment” you teach the same as the sudden events that disrupt our peaceful daily life?
Rinpoche:
That’s a very good question. A so-called peaceful life is the present moment—if you know how to appreciate it. Sudden thoughts or disruptions can also be part of the present. If your peace is something you’ve created and are attached to, it’s only a secondhand peace.
The “present moment” means having a clear awareness, no matter what is happening. If you’re angry, you are fully aware of the anger. Most of the time, we are not. If you truly know you’re angry, the anger becomes much weaker. But usually, when we’re angry, we don’t respond to the anger itself—we think about why we’re angry, or whether we’re right. Sometimes, we even enjoy the feeling of being angry. These thoughts spoil us, making it hard to actually recognize anger for what it is.
Q: When facing truly difficult or unbearable circumstances, how can one remain in the “now”?
Rinpoche:
That’s a good and very practical question. For beginners, staying in the present during harsh situations is certainly challenging—it requires a lot of patience. When someone is ill, the more they fear it, the worse it gets. The more they need something, the less they seem to receive. Or they may be overwhelmed because it’s an experience they’ve never had before.
We’ve generally been spoiled—cushioned by comfort. So when something disturbs that, like illness, it can feel terrifying. And when you’re scared, your “inner enemies” have countless opportunities to take over. They are always waiting for such chances. Good news, bad news, surprises—these are all moments where you have both the chance to experience the present and the risk of being overwhelmed.
- Today’s Reading Pick: Make Your Mind an Ocean
Q: How can we manifest Buddha-nature through the karma and conditions that arise?
Rinpoche:
By staying in the present. There are many ways to practice this. For instance, when you do prostrations with full awareness, that practice itself can purify vast amounts of karma. Eating vegetarian meals with awareness also clears karma. But doing these in the present moment brings even greater benefit.
How do you stay present while prostrating? By not caring how your posture looks to others or which tradition your style of prostration comes from. What matters is being fully aware of your self as it is.
To be a mindful vegetarian is to embody compassion. If eating vegetarian becomes just another form of fuel—as if you must use this kind of fuel—then it’s no different from eating meat. What matters is the motivation. By examining your intention closely, much karma can be purified.
Q: When something unexpected happens, which is better—staying in the present moment, or thinking about life and death?
Rinpoche:
This is another great question. It depends on the situation and the person. Maybe both are needed. In that very moment, if you can stay present, that’s wonderful—but we are sentient beings shrouded in ignorance, so we usually can’t. Therefore, it’s wise to cultivate certain habits in advance—like visualizing buddhas and bodhisattvas—so we’re more prepared.
- Today’s Reading Pick: Getting The Buddha Mind : Zen Meditation Handbook for Realizing Buddha Nature
Q: Is the very first arising of a thought—the “first moment”—always what we call the true present, regardless of whether it’s good or bad?
Rinpoche:
Yes, but the problem is: there’s no such thing as a true beginning or end.
Today’s Reading Pick: The Sutra On The Eight Realizations Of The Great Beings( Commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh)
Q: Is the present moment that instant of non-judgment, when there is no labeling of good or bad?
Rinpoche:
Yes, in that moment you are not thinking of good or bad—but you’re also not thinking, “I am not thinking good or bad.”
Q: If the first thought is the present, does that mean emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and fear also arise there? How do we stay in the present with them?
Rinpoche:
If you can fully grasp that first moment, then joy, anger, sorrow, and fear will no longer dominate you. That is how one transforms afflictive emotions into the path.
