Mental Immunity, by Dalai Lama

Everyone knows that physical pain is bad and tries to avoid it. We do this not only by curing diseases, but also by trying to prevent them and by trying to keep our physical immunity strong. Mental pain is equally bad, so we should try to alleviate it as well. The way to do this is to develop mental immunity.

Mental immunity is just learning to avoid the destructive emotions and to develop the positive ones. First, we must understand the mind -- there are so many different states of mind -- the diverse thoughts and emotions we experience on a daily basis. Some of these thoughts and emotions are harmful, even toxic, while others are healthy and healing. The former disturb our mind and cause much mental pain. The latter bring us true joyfulness.

When we understand this reality, it is much easier to deal with the mind and to take preventive measures. This is how we develop mental immunity. And just as a healthy immune system and healthy constitution protects your body against potentially hazardous viruses and bacteria, mental immunity creates a healthy disposition of the mind so that it will be less susceptible to negative thoughts and feelings.

Think about it this way. If your health is strong, when viruses come they will not make you sick. If your overall health is weak, even small viruses will be very dangerous for you. Similarly, if your mental health is sound, then when disturbances come, you will have some distress but quickly recover. If your mental health is not good, then small disturbances, small problems will cause you much pain and suffering. You will have much fear and worry, much sadness and despair, and much anger and aggravation.

People would like to be able to take a pill that makes their fear and anxiety go away and makes them immediately feel peaceful. This is impossible. One must develop the mind over time and cultivate mental immunity. Often people ask me for the quickest and best solution to a problem. Again, this is impossible. You can have quickest or you can have best solution, but not both. The best solution to our suffering is mental immunity, but it takes time to develop.

One time I was talking with Al Gore, the American vice president. He said that he had lots of problems, lots of difficulties that were causing him a great deal of anxiety. I said to him that we human beings have the ability to make a distinction between the rational level and the emotional level. At the rational level, we accept that this is a serious problem that we have to deal with, but at the deeper, emotional level, we are able to keep calm. Like the ocean has many waves on the surface but deep down it is quite calm. This is possible if we know how to develop mental immunity.

Excerpted from The Book of Joy.

Seed Questions for Reflection

What does mental immunity mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to avoid destructive emotions while still acknowledging the situation rationally? What helps you create a healthy disposition for your mind?

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Add Your Reflection

13 Past Reflections

Elissa

Feb 2, 2023

striplife.ru

Carter

Nov 4, 2022

Represent power engineering gang

Hillary

Oct 20, 2022

I could write a book...................... great article ... in a nut shell... a catalyst for much thought and additional research to back up the healing and how to for the balance and harmony that comes with health and well being plus developing mental immunity .... working on it....................... what a journey best wishes to you all

Peter

Oct 5, 2022

Good post, but rather shallow. Improving immunity be it physical or mental is a journey that takes time and patience. Inner peacefulness is not immunity but the realisation of acceptance that leads to calmness.

kate knapp

Oct 4, 2022

when I say a prayer of gratitude to no particular deity but to the creative force of the universe and my higher power I find that even saying something positive creates the possibility of seeing the positive...I cannot watch the news nor can I feel mentally healthy after a discussion about the very difficult conditions in our country and world today. I can make donations to people and places in need and to those who would help in these situations. I find that focusing on the positive strengthens my mental immunity.

Kristin Pedemonti

Oct 4, 2022

This post brings up many layers for me both personally and professionally as a Narrative Therapy Practitioner. In this perspective, emotions are not to be judged, they simply are. The distinction intros post of 'avoid devastating and seek positive emotions' lands to me as potentially judgment. We are taught in Narrative to notice the emotions and to ask the person we are in service to to notice too. What might the emotion wish to te us?
Avoiding emotions can push those emotions deeper and actually make a person sick: lots of trauma research around this. Speaking of, a person's lived context has a Huge impact on why they are feeling the emotions they feel. I've more to say, but this feels sufficient for now. There are no 'good' or 'bad' emotions. There are simply Emotions.

Clifford Feb 17, 2023

What would your advice be to someone with OCD trying to navigate the disease, a burgeoning awakening and the expectations of daily life? Many thanks

anurekha Jain

Oct 4, 2022

beutiful article. Mental immunity is the main need to live a happy life. Most of the time, physical pain is also because of poor mental immunity. Rational mental immunity is not a permanent solution. It is just a solution to come outside from mental pain from time to time. But Deep mental immunity can be gained by calm and peace

gary marcus judge

Oct 3, 2022

What helps you create a healthy disposition for your mind?Mental immunity is the foresight to understand why you are putting in your mind and in your body will have repercussions in your life. The ability to discern from nourishing and flourishing rather than just "filling" keeps us focused on our well being mentally and physically. I recently had a situation when I was in the wrong and the aggressor wanted to make his point, a little over excited in my opinion, however, I was in the wrong, so apologised and bid him good bye. It took emotional control to not react as he was being aggressive, but the calm and polite way the situation was handled made me the victor, even though I was in the wrong. My early morning routine of exercise, silence and prayer helps me to start my day grounded and I try to carry that through my interactions with people and life.

David Doane

Oct 3, 2022

Mental immunity means to be exempt from mental or emotional disturbance. In my opinion, no one has mental immunity any more than physical immunity. We can increase the chance of mental or physical health, but no one is immune and we are all susceptible. Mental immunity is not "just learning to avoid the destructive emotions and to develop the positive ones." Learning that lesson is major. Developing calmness that is deep down below the surface is difficult for most of us. A key issue is whether we deal with emotions healthily or unhealthily. Sometimes the quickest solution to a problem is the best. When I avoid destructive emotions, I live and act from knowing that destructive emotions are harmful to me and to others, which knowing is more than rational. What helps me create a healthy disposition is focus on myself, looking at my part in my grievance or outrage, looking at my responsibility rather than blaming, and improving myself.

Victoria

Oct 2, 2022

My reflection is based on what happened today, a sunny Sunday, and I had been asked to clean a place which hadn't been cleaned for a year. The time allowed was 4 hours. I saw that 4 hours of cleaning wouldn't make much difference as the place was so filthy. Sometimes people don't respect you, as in this instance - my boss implied how could a one bed take so much time? I feel that in such instances I need to walk out, and this isn't because I have anger or frustration, more that being walked on is not healthy, and sets me, in this case, up for similar cleaning situations which are unreasonable.

Jagdish P. Dave

Oct 2, 2022

There is a wise saying: Prevention is better than cure. This wise saying can be applicable to physical pain as well as to mental and emotional pain. When we have physical pain we take pills to reduce the physical pain. A better way to deal with the physical pain is to find out what cuases physical pain and to take actions to prevent it coming by taking preventive measures to create physical immunity. Likewise, we can prevent or avoid our mental and emotional pain by knowing what cuases difficult and destructive thoughts and emotions. And that way we cultivate our mental immunity. I have been suffering from physical pain for quite some time. In order to reduce my physical pain I take pain reducing pills. I also have consulted experts to discover the cause of physical pain and do whatever is prescibed to reduce the physical pain. I also apply other ways for managing my physical pain such as relaxing breathing and Yogic stretchings. I have learned not to dwell on painful thoughts and n... View full comment

Ted

Oct 1, 2022

Beautiful passage! Training the mind via meditation really does work well, finding and appreciating insight, exercising right awareness, right thought, right intention, right emotions leave little for suffering to grasp onto. If *I*, *ME*, and *MINE* are all that fills my awareness, then there are always adversaries, always the threat of "other", so fear, and anxiety flourishes, and the experience is of suffering. When the larger whole is seen clearly, it includes all of the apparent separations within it, every "me" is there, as well as "my" right actions, and none of them take over and require suffering.