THE WIND OF THE MIND

In philosophical terms, Tibetan scriptures refer to neurotic mind as the impure or afflicted mind. But within the context of wind energy, neurotic mind is not just caused by self-attachment. The mind is also propelled by the movement of wind energy. The Tibetan language describes this relationship between the wind and the mind as the wind-mind (Tib. rlung sems). This compound word describes the wind energy and the conceptual mind as always intertwined and moving together—a singular motion. Again, a metaphor is helpful to understand how the mind and the wind work together. The Tibetan Buddhist teachings compare the mind and the breath to a rider and its mount. In this metaphor, the wind energy is the mount and the mind is the rider. This metaphor illustrates how it is the wind energy that carries the mind and that influences and shapes the mind’s energy. The wind energy is the root of all of our experience, since it provides energy for the mind’s movement. So, wind energy training is a powerful tool for purifying, calming, taming, and relaxing the wind energy to impact the expression of neurotic mind. See "The Tibetan Yoga of Breath" by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo