Given that the defiled mind is characterised as the mind which is tainted by the ignorance which
misconceives things and the world to exist as objectively real along with the subtle stains of this
misperception, this ignorance and its subtle stains which defile our mind need to be purified.
For eliminating the ignorance, one has to revolutionize the way our minds perceive the world.
The enlightened beings exhorted that just as the person is seen as void in the objective reality
amongst the five aggregates of body and mind, the aggregates as well are objectively void as they
are also seen as not different from their own constituents. This thus points to the absence of
objectivity across the board of existence. Dream-like nature of all phenomena is established.
After delving into the experience of the emptiness of objectivity of the first aggregate which is
the form, one furthers towards reflecting the same on the remaining aggregates – feeling,
discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness. Reflecting on the emptiness of feeling
which is of three kinds – pleasure, pain and neutral – is extremely important.
All sufferings are derived through negative karmas which in turn are given rise to by disturbing
emotions such as attachment, anger and ignorance.
Of the three destructive emotions, ignorance lays the ground for the other two – attachment
and aversion. Seeing things as independently there from the object side orchestrates the mind to
latch on to the object when it is seen as attractive which is attachment. It triggers aversion when
the object is seen as objectively undesirable. Aversion or anger comes in the facade of service to
feed attachment and to destroy what is felt as threat to feeding pleasure to attachment.
Feelings in the form of pleasure or pain, feed the attachment and aversion which in turn
incessantly keeps karma rolling. The world endlessly operates in chaos with disruption of peace
because of the people’s total surrender and slavery to the feeling of pleasure and paranoia to the
feeling of fear and pain. In the process of the operation of the world, instead of subsiding fear
and pain, more complications arise thus demeaning peace and happiness in the world.
Only through eliminating the ignorance by seeing these feelings as not existing the way they
appear to us as objectively real, we can successfully undo the complications. By seeing the
feeling of pain or pleasure as dream-like devoid of objective reality, the corresponding response
in the form of attachment and aversion will cease. Therefore to see the ultimate reality of the
feelings is very important. Fearlessness will dawn in us at times where otherwise fear and anxiety
would have surged when meeting with unpleasant feelings. Since fear steals our peace and
happiness. Fearlessness is thus peace.
