Chapter 5 "Bringing the Mind Home" Summary

Sogyal begins this chapter with the story of Buddha's enlightenment. In the story, Buddha sits near a tree and after a long period of meditation, becomes enlightened. At that point, the entire world is in true perfection. What Buddha realizes, according to Sogyal, is that humankind repeats the cycle of samsara because of its ignorance of the true nature of the mind. In order to realize this true nature, one must meditate and 'bring the mind home.'

Sogyal believes that in order to train the mind to meditate properly, one must first understand how the mind functions normally. Then, once one realizes the mind normally operates in illusion, confusion, addiction, and slavery, one can meditate with discipline, patience, and the proper training in order to master the nature of the mind. Since...