Dear Teacher David,
Could you please help me with this question?
I stopped listening to music for entertainment purposes some months ago, and I've realized that although I was quite attached to it in the past, I now know that I could go without listening to music and it wouldn't cause me any discontentedness.
I don't miss music that the mind perceives as beautiful when it's absent, and when I listen to music that the mind has no particular preference for, I don't feel any aversion.
However, I notice that when the mind is exposed to music it prefers, it still experiences pleasurable feelings.
In other words, if the mind is calm and equanimous, it becomes excited when it hears preferred music. However, if the music stops or is simply not present, it does not bring feelings of discontent. This has left me a bit confused.
Should I cut off the pleasurable feelings that arise from contact with music, even if their absence doesn't cause discontent? Or is this a way to enjoy something pleasurable without being attached to it? I ask because I wouldn't want to fall into a trap if I'm not understanding this correctly.
Thank you.
Have a wonderful day.
Teacher David replies.
Hello Victoria…sure, I will help you.
The excitement that the mind experiences is still discontentedness. That is a conditioned feeling based on contact with an object, in this case, music.
Therefore, the mind is forming its inner feelings on some condition, the mind is discontent.
You will still need to “cut off and let go” of those conditioned pleasant feelings. By letting go of the temporary conditioned happiness, the mind will be able to experience the permanent happiness and joy that is unconditioned.
If what is being experienced when listening to music is unconditioned happiness/joy, you will not be able to “cut it off and let it go” because, there is no condition that is causing it so therefore, you would not be able to eliminate it.
An Enlightened being is able to enjoy something without a conditioned feeling. The mind needs to learn how to do this in order to experience Enlightenment.
The Enlightened mind can easily experience enjoyment but, there are no conditioned feelings. The enjoyment does not arise, change, and fade away. An Enlightened being is enjoying all aspects of life.
The mind needs to learn how to do this and “cutting off and letting go” of conditioned pleasant feelings is needed in order to be able to experience permanent happiness and enjoyment.
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