"Created by the Mind"

  For a long time, I have been a bit puzzled by the idea in Buddhism that phenomena are 'created by the mind', or all things in the universe are as such. I have wondered: if all things are created by the mind, why doesn't the bus come sooner for me on a rainy day, if I  wish for it hard enough and long enough? Why do we often have the experience of being somehow 'thrown' into the world, perhaps even against our wishes? I wondered if perhaps the idea that all phenomena is a creation of the mind might only apply to Chan masters, or others who have cultivated great practice over many lifetimes to manipulate the physical world.
     Master Sheng Yen greatly clarifies this subject when he remarks, "we must understand that something in the mind is manifested and then brought into the world. Generally, we begin with a desire for something....It certainly doesn't mean that all you have to do is to wish for something and it will suddenly appear out of thin air. If that were the case, you wouldn't have to work. You'd never have to lift a finger." (p.66). Master Sheng Yen suggests that what happens always manifests as a result of a combination of intentions and conditions. Individuals still need to plant the right intentions into their minds in order to create the right conditions, as well as according to the laws of karma. I believe that the notion of 'creation' that Master Sheng Yen suggests is quite different from a Western notion, which often carries the romanticized legacy that creation is coming from a single being (like Dr. Frankenstein, for example!). Creation is  not, at least according to the Buddhist account, something that is done by one person, in one single stretch of time. It is manifest through reaping many conditions, over longer periods of time. Furthermore, intention also requires action and effort. Master Sheng Yen reminds his audience, "if your mind really moves in a particular direction, it will have the tendency to produce action according to the original idea or thought." (p.69) This is quite different from the assumption that one need only manifest the right thoughts to create good results. Thoughts need to lead to specific actions and decisions in order to truly be created by the mind. I find it also interesting that we tend to associate actions as 'external' to the mind, while thoughts are 'inside the mind'. In fact, both are equal parts mind.
    Master Sheng Yen elaborates on the importance of forging relationships with a combination of thoughts, intentions and actions, in order for good things to come to fruition. He uses the example of a couple, the husband of whom complains that his wife must love Master Sheng Yen more than he because she scolds her husband and heaps praise on Sheng Yen. Master Sheng Yen reminds the couple that the only reason this is so is that the wife doesn't see Master Sheng Yen on a daily basis, whereas she would see her husband every day. The fact that she sees her husband more means that she would have more for which to scold or criticize. But it also suggests that the husband has more importance in mind, because there's a caring bond that is cultivated there. I found this example wonderful because it shows how compassionate Master Sheng Yen is that he was able to see the husband as more important than the husband himself would imagine. But it also reinforces Master Sheng Yen's idea that 'created by the mind' is not just about idle daydreaming or entertaining thoughts. It is about cultivating relationships with specific beings and projects. I found this to be a different face of Buddhism, one which is more grounded and less 'idealistic' in the classical sense of the term.
   Finally, Master Sheng Yen emphasizes the importance of doing good deeds for others, in addition to striving for one's own goals. According to the Buddhist notion of karma, generating good merit is a way to smooth the path toward attaining wholesome goals in life. I think the notion of helping others ties into the theme that we are all interconnected in mysterious and often unknowable ways. The important thing is not to satisfy desire, but to cultivate the right intentions and right reasons for having something. Otherwise, it is just another form of greed, and it doesn't do oneself or others that much good.

Master Sheng Yen, Until We Reach Buddhahood: Lectures on the Surangama Sutra Volume 1, Elmhurst, NY: Dharma Drum Pub