Chapter 13

Identifying Cravings:

Cultivating Non-Craving and Analysis of The Mind

In your pursuit of Enlightenment, it is highly beneficial that you develop this most important skill. “The Ability to Identify Your Own Cravings through Analysis of The Mind” then developing a plan to eliminate the cravings, desires, and attachments. The Path leading to the elimination of discontentedness and the suffering it causes involves the “elimination of cravings, desires, and attachments”. But, if you do not know how to identify a craving, desire, or attachment, how could you ever eliminate them? Because we cause our own discontentedness through cravings, we need to eliminate our mental cravings, desires, and attachments if we are to eliminate 100% of all discontentedness from the mind.

First, you need to know what a craving/desire/attachment is:

A craving/desire/attachment/wants/expectations/grasping/holding/clinging:

a mental longing for something with a strong eagerness. The mind pulling in a direction for objects of its affection. Second, you need to know how to identify your own cravings through analysis of the mind so that you can develop a plan to eliminate them. You need to train the mind to identify cravings and eliminate them all. There is no such thing as a “good” or “wholesome” craving. To attain Enlightenment, a Practitioner will need to eliminate 100% of all cravings. To identify cravings, you should use discontentedness as the “red light” on the dashboard helping a Practitioner observe that the mind is shaken up, unsteady, unstable, or uncalm. When the mind is discontent, it is uncalm and needs to be trained. Each time discontentedness arises, such as, any of these feelings, the Practitioner needs to take active steps to identify the cravings that led to the discontentedness and eliminate those cravings.

- A pleasant feeling (happiness, excitement, elation, thrill, exhilaration, euphoria, etc.) - A painful feeling (sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fear, stress, anxiety, etc.) - A feeling that is neither painful-nor-pleasant (boredom, loneliness, shyness, displeased, uncomfortable, unsatisfied, etc.) With awareness of mind, when the Practitioner observes these feelings exist in the mind, they should “cut them off” and “let them go”. As any pleasant feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant are arising, the mind needs to be aware of the arising feeling, then cut it off and let it go. If the mind is able to identify the feelings arising as just a bodily sensation and cut it off there, that would be ideal. If not, then cut it off as a feeling in the mind. If the Practitioner was not able to cut it off as a bodily sensation or as a feeling in the mind, then it will affect the condition of the mind more long term for hours, days, weeks, etc. The Practitioner will need to cut it off and let it go as a condition of the mind. Otherwise, it will feed the mental objects in the mind such as sensual desire, ill will, complacency, conceit, etc. The bodily sensations, feelings, conditions of the mind, and mental objects are referred to as The Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The Buddha is explaining in The Four Foundations of Mindfulness the process that is experienced as discontentedness is arising. To eliminate discontentedness, a Practitioner will need to develop awareness of the bodily sensations, feelings, conditions of the mind, and mental objects. The sooner one is able to observe the arising discontentedness and cut it off so that one can let it go, the better. If one is able to observe the bodily sensations associated with arising discontentedness and “cut it off and let it go” there, this Practitioner is nearing close to Enlightenment. By cutting off and letting go of any arising discontentedness as a bodily sensation, the Practitioner is helping the mind to not need to experience the discontentedness as a feeling in the mind. They are guarding the mind and protecting the mind with Right Mindfulness while also applying Right Effort to eliminate the craving/desire/attachment that arose the discontentedness. Over time, with enough practice, the Practitioner will have cut off and let go of the arising discontentedness enough times that the craving/desire/ attachment that produced it will have been eliminated and there will no longer be any discontentedness that arises associated with that specific craving/desire/attachment. The benefits accumulate to complete liberation of

the mind where it will no longer experience any discontentedness because all the cravings/desires/attachments that are producing the discontentedness have been eliminated. But, to accomplish this goal, a Practitioner will need to develop awareness of the bodily sensations that occur based on the arising discontentedness and then be able to cut off and let go of any arising discontentedness as a bodily sensation. This is accomplished through training the mind in Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and having a well developed practice of generosity. Both of these are providing the mind generalized training to “let go” so that it is no longer having craving/desire/attachment resulting in experiencing the Enlightened mind. The approach that you are interested to employ is that if you were taking a long distance boat trip across a large stretch of ocean, what would you do? Would you allow the water to come into the boat and then attempt to get it out or would you prevent the water from ever coming into the boat? Of course, you would be interested in preventing the water from ever coming into the boat so that it does not sink the boat.

Being aware of the bodily sensations associated with arising

discontentedness and “cutting it off and letting it go” as a bodily sensation is the same as preventing the water from ever coming into the boat. This ensures that the mind is not shaken up by the arising discontentedness because it was never able to become a feeling in the mind. Through a well developed life practice, you can train the mind to the point where this can be accomplished effortlessly, and result in the mind experiencing Enlightenment. Then, once the feelings have passed and the mind is able to look inward, the

Practitioner should investigate the mind analyzing what were the cravings/

desires/attachments that caused the discontentedness. There was some mental longing with a strong eagerness that led to the discontentedness. The more intense the discontentedness, there is going to most likely be more than one (1) craving that exists in the mind that caused that specific incident of discontentedness.

Discontentedness does not arise if there is no craving/desire/attachment in

the mind, therefore, anytime a Practitioner observes the “red light” of discontentedness arise, they will need to uncover what craving led to it, so that the mind can actively work to eliminate those specific cravings/desires/ attachments. Just like if the red light on the dashboard of a car “lit up” the driver would investigate the cause in order to remedy the issue, a wise Practitioner will observe the arising discontentedness that “lit up” and then

investigate the specific cause (craving/desire/attachment) then remedy the issue.

Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and generosity should be developed in a

consistent and comprehensive life practice to gradually train the mind to more easily let go of cravings. But, there are then oftentimes active steps a Practitioner will need to take in order to eliminate a specific craving. Once a craving or multiple cravings have been identified, you can take active steps to eliminate the craving/desire/attachment.

For example, if the Practitioner becomes discontent when one’s mobile

phone is not readily available and the mind experiences anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, fear, or some other discontent feeling, then that is the red light alerting you to become aware that the mind has craving/desire/ attachment to the mobile phone. The Practitioner can identify that the mind has a craving/desire/attachment (a mental longing with a strong eagerness for the mobile phone) and due to this, it has caused the mind to become discontent when the mind thinks the phone is lost or otherwise not available. Noticing this, a Practitioner will not only need to continue with Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and a life practice of generosity to generally train the mind to eliminate cravings, but also a wise Practitioner will need to put the mind in situations where it can actively work to eliminate its specific craving for the mobile phone. A Practitioner might choose to purposefully and gradually move away from the mobile phone, training the mind not to hold on to it so tightly. The mind is not in the middle, therefore, it becomes shaken up when it does not have the mobile phone. If the mind holds on to anything tightly, it will cause the mind to become discontent. The Practitioner will need to train the mind to leave the mobile phone at home and go for walks or otherwise depart from the mobile phone, training it to be peaceful and calm when you do not have the mobile phone. Otherwise, the mind is going to continue to stay latched onto the mobile phone and always want to keep it close. When the device is not close, the mind will be shaken up by this impermanence. The mind will continue to experience repeated cycles of discontentedness as long as the mind is latched on and holding the mobile phone so tightly. The mind is trying to hold on to the mobile phone permanently and when it experiences the impermanent nature of the mobile phone, it causes itself to become discontent.

If a Practitioner doesn’t use discontentedness as a red light notifying them of the cravings in the mind and does not investigate to eliminate the cravings, then a Practitioner will just continue to experience discontentedness related to the mobile phone over and over until it finally learns to mentally “let it go” - not attempting to hold it so tightly. This same example can be applied to each situation where the mind experiences discontentedness. Anytime the mind experiences any discontentedness whatsoever, the Practitioner should immediately apply Right Effort to cut off and let go of the discontent feelings but then afterwards, investigate and analyze what were the cravings/desires/ attachments that led to the discontentedness. Through analyzing the mind in this way, a Practitioner will become an expert at becoming aware of the arising discontentedness, cut off and let go of the discontent feelings, then investigate what were the cravings that caused the discontentedness so they can be eliminated, and the mind will no longer experience discontentedness related to that specific craving, desire, or attachment. It is only when a Practitioner has eliminated 100% of all cravings/desires/ attachments, that the mind will then reside permanently peaceful and calm, no longer longing with a strong eagerness for things to be done a certain way. The mind can learn to be “satisfied with what is” and content with the impermanent nature of the world, taking wise steps to resolve whatever impermanent situations arise. But, if the mind thinks that the lost mobile phone is permanent and dreads needing to look for the mobile phone, find the mobile phone, or otherwise acquire a new mobile phone, then the mind will react out of anger and frustration rather than respond through the wisdom of The Natural Laws of Existence realizing that it is impossible to maintain the mobile phone permanently. The phone is impermanent and will leave you someday but why react with anger and frustration? How does that help the situation? The Path to Enlightenment is an independent journey with the guidance of Teachers. You cannot rely on others to tell you what your cravings are, you need to identify them for yourself. This requires training the mind in this new skill and training the mind to be honest with yourself. In this way, we all need to strive to pursue a more peaceful and content mind. But, Teachers can be very helpful for you to establish the ability to identify your own cravings/ desires/attachments and then develop a plan for how to eliminate them. Once you learn this important skill and practice it a few times, then it is just a

matter of repeating this same approach in each situation when the mind experiences discontentedness.

Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is the “practice” within your “life practice”

that helps you to observe the mind and be aware of what’s in the mind so that, through training, you can develop the ability to cut off thoughts and let them go. Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is a practice that takes time to establish and is training the mind to become aware of thoughts and let them go more and more easily through dedicated training.

Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is training the mind to eliminate the

unwholesome root of “craving/desire/attachment”. Practicing generosity in daily life is also helping train the mind to “let go”. But, this generalized training is not enough as there are active steps outside of meditation that one needs to take in order to eliminate discontentedness in the mind.

Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is training the mind to eliminate the

unwholesome root of craving/desire/attachment while also training the mind to develop “awareness of mind” or Right Mindfulness. With awareness of mind and the ability to “let go”, the mind can observe unwholesome qualities and then let go of these unwholesome qualities to arise wholesome qualities.

Taking the effort to eliminate unwholesome qualities and arise wholesome

qualities is Right Effort as part of The Eight Fold Path. In addition to Breathing Mindfulness Meditation, you need to develop the skill to understand that when the mind experiences discontentedness, take active steps to identify what the mind is craving that is “causing” the mind to be discontent. You may actually have several cravings that caused one burst of outrage, anger, or other emotions - especially early in practice. It is craving/desire/attachment that is causing the mind to be discontent as described in The Four Noble Truths. Therefore, to eliminate discontentedness a Practitioner will need to eliminate craving/desire/ attachment.

Examples of discontentedness are: happiness, excitement, elation, thrill,

exhilaration, euphoria, sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fear, stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, shyness, unsatisfied, etc., or even just an uncomfortable and displeased mental state. Discontentedness is a pleasant feeling, a painful feeling, and a feeling that is neither painful-nor-pleasant. The Four Noble Truths explains exactly why we are experiencing discontentedness of mind. The Second Noble Truth: Discontentedness is

caused by our own cravings/desires/attachments because the mind wants everything to be permanent when everything in the world is impermanent. The Four Noble Truths explains to us that we must eliminate our cravings/ desires/attachments and practice The Eight Fold Path in order to eliminate our own discontentedness in the mind. But, if you do not develop the ability to identify the mind’s cravings, how could you ever eliminate them and, thus, reach Enlightenment? We all must develop this skill by being honest with ourselves and looking inwardly through “analysis of the mind”. This important skill is so crucial in the pursuit of Enlightenment. It requires investigation of the mind so that you can observe the mind’s cravings then develop a plan to eliminate them. Meditation and being able to identify one’s own cravings are the two most important skills a Practitioner needs to develop on this path to the Enlightened mind. Unwelcome feelings and emotions are just indicators that something is not satisfied within the mind. These unwelcome feelings indicate that the mind is discontent. Then, you must actively take steps to investigate the mind to discover the cravings so that they can be eliminated and the mind can be content. By eliminating the cravings/desires/attachments, the mind will be peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy and not experience discontentedness from the cravings. Take a moment to reflect on the following questions to develop the ability to identify cravings in the mind that cause discontentedness and then eliminate them. Reflect on the last time the mind was angry. What was the situation? What made the mind angry? It wasn’t someone else, what they said, what they did, or the situation, etc. That’s what you may think now, but, look deeper for your own cravings/ desires/attachments that caused the anger. What inside of the mind caused the anger? There is something or multiple things that the mind was longing for with a strong eagerness. There was something or multiple things the mind wanted or expected and when it did not get that, the mind reacted with anger.

What was the craving or cravings “that the mind is holding” that caused the mind to be angry? If you can identify what they were, then you are starting to develop this important skill to identify the cravings in the mind. If you are having challenges to understand and observe what cravings caused the anger and other discontent feelings, then you need to reach out to seek guidance. You can post a question into the Facebook group to seek guidance, ask a question during a class, send a private message, or schedule a personal guidance session with the author of this book. All learning opportunities are offered openly and freely to “all beings”. This is a skill that the mind will need to understand and develop. Then, once the mind can identify the cravings, it will need to learn how to construct a plan to eliminate the cravings from the mind. As a Practitioner learns this process with a few different cravings, a Practitioner can then apply this same approach to each situation where the mind encounters discontentedness.

1.) When discontentedness occurs, cut off and let go of the pleasant

feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant as a bodily sensation.

2.) Reflect on the cravings/desires/attachments that led to the discontent

feelings arising.

3.) Develop a plan to eliminate the specific cravings/desires/attachments that

caused the discontent feelings to arise while maintaining a consistent practice of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and generosity.

4.) Repeat this process for each incident of discontentedness that arises in

the mind seeking guidance with a Teacher as needed.

Learning Resources for Further Exploration

Audiobook

(Audiobook) - (Volume 1 - Chapter 13) - Identifying Cravings: Cultivating Non-

Craving and Analysis of The Mind (Read & Listen)