Memory

By Dhammacaro

Memory is the power of the mind to remember things. The mind would have no problem if there were only good things to be remembered. In reality, however, there are many things, both good and not so good to be remembered. So we have to be able to remember the good things and to let the bad ones go. There is a Zen story, which illustrates this well. Here is the story:

There was once a man who had a bad experience in his childhood. He saw his mother commit suicide. He could not let go of that memory. He tried many ways and techniques to help himself forget that bad memory. When he was 15 years old, his brother committed suicide. That action had been forced on him by the thought that only death was the solution to life’s problems. So he himself tried to commit suicide, but he was not successful. He was helped by a Zen master.

The master realised that the young man had a life-problem in the depths of his heart. The young man thought that life was not worth living: because life is painful it is better to die. One day the master said to him, “I can teach you to meditate, if you like.” He asked the master, “Is meditation helpful?” The master replied, “No matter whether it is helpful or not, you should meditate.” Puzzled, he asked the master, “If it is not helpful, why should I do meditation?” The master said, “Because meditation practice is something you do without expectation. You should just be in the here and now”.  The young man suddenly realised that the reason for his problem was because he had not lived in the here and now. He kept bringing back memories from the past to the present.For this reason it was difficult for him to let go of the memory of his mother’s and brother’s suicides. He just played the same memory again and again, which made him depressed. He started to meditate under the guidance of the master and soon after this he found that he could let go of his bad memories.

It is true that if we don’t live in the here and now, we are distracted by past memories, either good or bad. At those moments we are deluded; we attach to the good ones and push away the bad ones. To live in the here and now is a good way of life. Accept and learn whatever comes up in life in the here and now!  Don’t attach to happiness and push away unhappiness.  Because that will distract you.