The Reason Why the Mind Is Swayed by Circumstances

When the mind follows external states, the outer environment can influence the inner mind and stir up waves. One reason for this is insufficient meditative concentration (samādhi); another reason is insufficient wisdom, which prevents one from correctly and reasonably recognizing and analyzing the states one faces. What people love most is to go along with their own mind, regardless of whether that mind is wholesome or unwholesome—if things accord with me, I am pleased; if they go against me, I feel suffering. Because a person pays too much attention to inner feelings, their judgments of people, matters, and things are often inaccurate. The same person may sometimes seem very good and at other times seem very bad—this comes entirely from one's own subjective feelings, not from an objective and impartial standpoint. This shows the illusory nature of our mind consciousness and the illusory nature of external states; they are always in a state of constant change, never eternal or unchanging. That means they are unreal dharmas, unreliable dharmas. We cannot rely entirely on these things; otherwise, when they cease and pass away, we will feel at a loss, not knowing where to turn.