Not Seeing Things As Problems

 During the morning meditation, ChangYuan Fashi had talked about the real function of meditation as being about uplifting one's character and bettering themselves. Part of this means realizing that happiness is not something that comes from outside of me, but is rather something that I create through my own reactions to things. To use a simple example: for me, eating a meal after a long day of walking outdoors feels so much more satisfying than the same meal that has been consumed after sitting in an office all day. Why is that? I think it has a lot to do with the state of one's mind in the process of eating, and whether they have taken steps to prepare their mind to enjoy what they are doing.
   Fashi had also mentioned that method should not be approached in meditation with a rushed or forced attitude. Instead, the important aspect is to build the foundation of one's practice by way of a relaxed, unperturbed mindset. Whatever is arising in this moment is totally fine, regardless of whether one is generating blissful states through meditation or drowsiness and vexations. Vexations themselves can become the foundation upon which one can know themselves and truly practice awareness. Most importantly, however, is to always allow the mind to stay on whatever it is doing in this moment, without being perturbed by the world's events. If I am able to maintain a positive mindset and not give any vexations to others, in this way, I begin to cultivate merits with others.
   In distinguishing Chan from psychoanalytic approaches, Master Sheng Yen (2013) puts it in this way:

The Chan approach to resolving one’s problems is quite different from the psychological approach where the person’s problems are the centerpiece of analysis. In psychotherapy one’s problems are analyzed, themes and motifs are suggested, and the patient is urged to recognize patterns from early childhood, and to break the hold they have upon him. The approach of Chan is different: practitioners learn to simply put down their vexations and leave them behind. This does not mean that you should ignore what you have to do in life; it simply means that you abandon the idea that what confronts you constitutes a problem. You continue to deal with situations but you no longer see them as problems. In this way, the problems cease to exist. (p.11-12)

The difference is that whereas psychotherapy might try to analyze things as problems, the Chan approach goes beyond seeing them as "problems". This is a different orientation, in the sense that it asks that a person reconsider the idea that something needs to absolutely change due to one's judgments about it. For example, if I am plagued by a disturbing childhood memory, I might try to figure out what that memory is, label it as bad, and then do everything in my power to alter it or get rid of it. Chan, on the other hand, proceeds from the awareness that problems are only as such when we define them in ways that contribute to vexations. If I am able to see that all of these assessments, judgments, labels and evaluations are only thoughts in mind, then I am no longer determined to eliminate thoughts that bother me. I see that it is the judgment itself that becomes the source of the problems. Chan's approach is to develop a mindset that is not seeking, grasping or rejecting any thoughts or experiences, opting instead to know deeply the sources of the thoughts and phenomena themselves. In this way, everything starts to be seen as good, okay, manageable, and not needing to be altered to suit my passing mood or thought.

Sheng Yen (2013). Tea Words Volume II. Elmhurst NY: Dharma Drum Publications