Anam Thubten, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and founder of the Dharmata Foundation, explains in this talk that we all have the desire to be free from a troubled existence, and that undoing mental knots is central to Buddhist teaching.
The Art of Undoing Mental Knots
Emotional knots can take away our freedom and strength. They are often made of sadness, painful experiences and emotional wounds, and setting ourselves free from these feelings is not easy. Hasn’t this ever happened to you? Your earphones or shoelaces get so tangled up that you become annoyed for a minute. In any case, if there’s one thing we know without a doubt, it’s that the best way to loosen a complicated knot is to look carefully at how it’s tied. Then, gradually, you can take the knot apart and pass one end through the loops one at a time, slowly loosening it and returning the rope to its original shape. It’s much the same with emotional knots. Of course, you won’t be the same as you were before. These emotional mazes can cause lasting change, and they can also fortify our inner structure.
