Is it better to have a positive or neutral mental attitude?

sova

What do you think?

IronRabbit

I used to be indecisive - now I'm not sure.....

Vincenzi

equanimous and content attitude

thickpaper

Positive Realism:

Positive: Make More Happy
&
Realistic: Know Dukka

DaltheJigsaw

I say all kinds of attitude, but then I would probably stick with: neutral mental attitude.

taiyaki

have them all. negative, positive and neutral.

then gain wisdom from them all = profits.

then just watch your body/mind. good, neutral, and negative states cycle naturally. just like we get hungry and tired.

go about your day.

DaltheJigsaw

have them all. negative, positive and neutral.

then gain wisdom from them all = profits.

then just watch your body/mind. good, neutral, and negative states cycle naturally. just like we get hungry and tired.

go about your day.

Exactly!

Vajraheart

Yes, but you want to anchor in positive neutrality, which openly processes the negative towards self and all's benefit. As a learning and teaching tool.

compassionate_warrior

which openly processes the negative towards self and all's benefit.

"Self"? What self? You mean, on a mundane level of self?

buddhajunkie

Well, the first of the Five Faculties is "faith" (often also translated as "confidence"). And that is a type of positive attitude.

Strictly in terms of worldly pursuits, someone has argued (using evidence) that self-compassion is more important than self-esteem.

jll

Its almost impossible to have a neutral attitude.
Similarly, if you can maintain a positive attitude all the time,
you will be a very happy person.
Unless you have trained your mind intensively.

Jeffrey

Vajraheart you said positive neutrality. Do you mean decidedly neutral or do you mean positive or neutral?

sova

Friends: thank you all very much for your answers.

I would like to share an excerpt from the Vimalakirti Sutra (Vimalakirti is a very wise character and much of the sutra is his expounding of The Law). It is a pivotal text in the Mahayana tradition, where Buddhahood (and being a Bodhisattva "until then" is the ultimate aspiration).

Vimalakirti: "If [a bodhisattva] hopes to rely on the power of the Tathagata's blessings, he should devote himself to saving and liberating all living beings."

Manjushri: "If he hopes to save living beings, what must he free them from?"

Vimalakirti: "If he hopes to save living beings, he must free them from earthly desires."

Manjushri: "If he hopes to free them from earthly desires, how should he proceed?"

Vimalakirti: "He should proceed by the method of correct mindfulness."

Manjushri: "How does one proceed by the method of correct mindfulness?"

Vimalakirti: "One proceeds on the premise of no birth and no extinction."

Manjushri: "What has no birth, and what has no extinction?"

Vimalakirti: "The not good has no birth, the good has no extinction."


Yesterday, a deep meaning in these words became apparent: cultivation and promotion of skillful states of mind, such that they are not to become "extinct," and the allowance and observation of the cessation of unskillful mind states, gradually leading to their non-birth, became apparent as an aspect of correct mindfulness. To cling to one flavor of mental attitude is to become aversive to certain mental states, and wisdom stems from a holistic, unbiased and non-reflexive (state of environment does not influence/cause the arising of action) view of the true nature to be. This become apparent upon reflection of answers from this discussion, and to all those that have replied I give my sincerest thanks.


For those interested in reading a bit more of the Vimalakirti Sutra, Manjushri and Vimalakirti's dialogue expounds on the Twelve-Link Chain of Causation that demonstrates, step-by-step, the causal events/conditions linking (what are typically translated as) Ignorance and Suffering.

Manjushri: "What is the root of good and not good?"

Vimalakirti: "The body is the root."

Manjushri: "What is the root of the body?"

Vimalakirti: "Desire and greed are the root."

Manjushri: "What is the root of desire and greed?"

Vimalakirti: "False and empty distinctions are the root."

Manjushri: "What is the root of false and empty distinctions?"

Vimalakirti: "Topsy-turvy thinking is the root."

Manjushri: "What is the root of topsy-turvy thinking?"

Vimalakirti: "Groundless assumptions are the root of topsy-turvy thinking."

Manjushri: "What is the root of groundless assumptions?"

Vimalakirti: "What is groundless can have no root. Manjushri, it is on the root of this groundlessness that all the other concepts are built up."

Jeffrey

:clap:

KarmaDondrupTashi

Best to have positive, neutral and negative attitude. Then just observe.

andyZ

Friends: thank you all very much for your answers.

I would like to share an excerpt from the Vimalakirti Sutra.....

good post. Once you reach a certain level of mindfullness there's no need to be in this or that attitude. It's all natural.

upekka

Vimalakirti: "What is groundless can have no root. Manjushri, it is on the root of this groundlessness that all the other concepts are built up."

in other words,

mind which does not see the perception as perception builds up all other concepts

therefore, the most important thing in understanding Dhamma is to identify the perception as perception

how can we do that?

using the six sense bases and looking at the way how they work

Vajraheart

which openly processes the negative towards self and all's benefit.

"Self"? What self? You mean, on a mundane level of self?

Yes, I mean mundane.

Vajraheart

Vajraheart you said positive neutrality. Do you mean decidedly neutral or do you mean positive or neutral?

I mean seeing emptiness, so that there are no inherent sentient beings or their qualities, thus being neutral concerning blame and praise, gain and loss, etc. as well as being positive about how connected we all are regardless of the ultimate nature of things being empty.

Daozen

Paradoxically, joyfulness naturally arises when one maintains a neutral attitude.

By neutral, i mean non-clinging. Just observing.

Namaste

taiyaki

yeah neutrality is slightly positive. =]

NOTaGangsta

It's better to have a humble attitude. Unfortunetly, I don't think I actually have that right now as I type!

Positive and neutral attitude implies your still ignoring your own problems.

StaticToybox

I think of myself as an optimistic pessimist.

NOTaGangsta

I think of myself as an optimistic pessimist.

ha ha, thats actually quite a accurate description when one learns of impermeance and rebirth.