Buddhism

What’s Behind the Curtain

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What’s Behind the Curtain

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The ego’s survival relies on the defeat of [spiritual] truth because it is dependent allegiance to falsity and illusion. For one thing, spiritual truth challenges the ego’s presumption that it is sovereign. “ – David R. Hawkins

 

In the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz” Dorothy is cowed by the wizard in the hall of the Great and Powerful Oz. But her dog, Toto, is not in the least bit intimidated and pulls back a curtain revealing a little man. Suddenly, the voice of the wizard says “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” But, the secret was out. Everything was controlled by the little man. He created an awe-inspiring illusion of a non-existent all powerful wizard. Everything that was believed was all an actively created illusion by the frightened little con artist. Once the illusion was revealed, then the essence of the Dorothy’s life problem could be directly addressed and rapidly solved, returning her home. But, first the illusion had to be unmasked.

 

This is a wonderful scene that can be viewed as a metaphor for our existence. There is something behind the curtain that is creating illusions that we believe and organize our lives around. Behind the curtain is the mind. It creates the illusion that there is a wizard; a thing called an “I”, a self that is in control. But, when we look behind the curtain we can see what’s actually there and see the illusion that the mind has created. The illusion is that there really isn’t a thing that was first named by Sigmund Freud, called the ego. The illusion of self is created by the mind by portraying an overriding integrated executive in charge of everything. We then identify with it totally, pledging allegiance and defending it without question. It is so effective that the first reaction people have when its existence is questioned is one of disbelief and incredulity. The concept of no-self is one of the most difficult to accept and understand.

 

When we look deeply and try to find the thing called self or ego, we are puzzled by the fact that we can’t find it. Meditate deeply, looking inside, and try to find a self. What’s revealed is that it can’t be found because it isn’t there. If there were a thing that was truly the self, then it wouldn’t come and go. It would always be there. But, when we’re not thinking about the self, it disappears. Here one second, gone the next. The key here is that the self only exists when we’re thinking. This suggests that it is a creation of the mind’s thought processes, a fiction and not a thing unto itself.

 

Reflecting about this thing we call the self and looking at it closely, it can be seen that it is not a singular entity, but a concept composed of multiple cognitive and memory processes. When one is asked to describe their self, they almost universally will recite a list of characteristics, gender, height, weight, eye and hair color, occupation, educational attainment, religious affiliation, ethnicity, place of birth, place in the family, etc. But, it is quickly clear that these are just labels and measures of the body and its history and not really a self. Upon further reflection, it becomes clear that the self is simply a creation of the mind, the thinking part of the being, a concept created from a composite of memories.

 

Years ago, I decided to try to understand the mind by looking in the dictionary at its definition. I found the mind defined as “that which thinks, feels, wills, perceives, the subject or seat of consciousness.” Upon reflection, I realized that this was simply pointing to set of processes that are carried out by the brain. After a while I had the insight to see that the key to the definition was the first two words, “that which.” It’s not what it does, but who or what carries them out. The next realization was that this didn’t solve the problem of where and what is the “that which.” The definition simply attempts to clarify the concept by renaming it as an entity called “that which.” It never really defined it, it just dodged the issue by calling it something else.

 

As it turns out the mind does not exist as a singular entity. It is a concept that ties together a number of mental processes, and memories as suggested by the definition. These mental processes are what assemble the memories, creating the illusion of self. Behind the curtain is not a little man after all, but rather simply a concept, called the mind, and it is that assemblage of memories and processes that creates the illusions that we use to guide our lives.

 

But, why does this all occur. Why do we need to create a self out nothing? First off, it’s adaptive. It helps organize our experiences into an organized whole, providing structure to them. Our minds are limited and require structure to properly process experiences. This also provides for the seeing of others also as selves, providing structure to the social community. This would have been very adaptive in the dangerous and difficult times of early human development. Seeing a unified self, motivates us to defend it. Seeing a group of selves to which we belong motivates us to defend the group and make our and the groups survival more likely.

 

These defensive functions of the ego, the self, are readily on display in deep meditation. It frequently occurs that as the mind quiets in deep meditation and the meditator begins to glimpse an insight, the self jumps in and changes the subject, eliciting discursive thought and mind wandering. Just when the meditator begins to touch upon the fringe of truth, the self pulls away. This is often accompanied by a little brief emotional fright. All of this suggests that the self is so important that it will be defended even from within the individual. The structure does what it has to do to defend itself and maintain the illusion.

 

This all raises a very important question, what is experiencing all of this? What is “that which?” What is seeing the illusion created by the mind? What is the “Dorothy” that experiences the illusion and at the appropriate time sees what’s behind the curtain. Many spiritual teachers have suggested that it is something called awareness. They have suggested that it is the essence of our being. It’s been called by many names, soul, Buddha nature, spirit, Atman, etc. But, is simply the unchanging ground of all experiences. All of this simply labels the phenomenon but does not explain it. At least it doesn’t explain it in ways the limited mind can understand. But it can be experienced. In fact, it is experienced all the time everywhere and always has been. It’s the self that has kept us from noticing it. It is the self that keeps the curtain drawn. It’s the self that is the frightened little many behind the curtain struggling to defend itself.

 

It is the function of meditation to set the stage to allow the curtain to be pulled back. By quieting the mind, meditation quiets the defenses. They are still there and most of the time rise up to prevent any real insight. But, every once in a great while the truth pops through. This can produce a breakthrough where the curtain is pulled back and the truth of existence is revealed. Meditation tricks the mind into letting its guard down.

 

What are the consequences of drawing back the curtain. For Dorothy, it allowed her to see that she always had the power to go home, to be fulfilled, to be happy, to be liberated. The same goes for when awareness pulls back the curtain on the self and sees that it really doesn’t exist, that everything was just an illusion. When that is fully penetrated, it allows us to see that we always had what we seek, we always were at home, we are already fulfilled, we are already happy, and that we always were liberated. We just had to pull back the curtain on the illusion of self to see the truth.

 

“This ego, this false pretender, whenever it arises grabs the seat of honor at the core of our being. It purports to speak for the whole of us, even though our various parts lack integration.” – Joseph Naft

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Positive Mindfulness

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Positive Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“It is possible to live happily in the here and the now. So many conditions of happiness are available – more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don’t have to run into the future in order to get more.” –  Thich Nhat Hanh
Much of the tone of Buddhist teachings was established with the Four Noble Truths; there is suffering, there are causes of suffering, suffering can be relieved, and there is a path to the end of suffering. This focuses us on suffering, the negative side of existence. Without a doubt, these Four Noble Truths are correct and following them is a means to end suffering, become happy, and become enlightened. But, the negative tone has permeated much of the practice. The focus on the unpleasant has made the practice seem to be a chore, a necessary chore, but, nevertheless a chore. The unpleasantness prompts escape into mind wandering.

 

But, this tone can be completely altered without altering the truth of the teachings. The Four Noble Truths can be simply restated in the positive; there is happiness, there are causes of happiness, happiness can be increased, and there is a path to endless happiness. This simple rejiggering of the teaching makes a tremendous difference. It focuses the practice on happiness, making it a pleasant endeavor that can be enjoyed, relished, pleasurable, and looked forward to. It changes the practice from a chore to a joyful endeavor.

 

The science of Psychology has long established that all creatures, and especially humans, respond best to the positive. Negatives produce distaste and avoidance behaviors. On the other hand, if someone receives a positive reward for doing something they are not only more likely to do it again, but they will also feel good about it. So, changing the Four Noble Truths into the positive, can make practice not only an enjoyable experience, but more likely to occur.

 

This does not suggest that we should pursue happiness as is done in the modern western world. In this paradigm, happiness is pursued by consumption and accomplishment. When we buy something new, say a designer watch, it makes us happy. But, this happiness, like everything is impermanent, it fades and the watch no longer makes us happy. So, now we pursue something else, perhaps a new car. After working hard and saving, we go out a buy a brand new luxury car. This brings us happiness. But, just like the happiness from buying the watch, it fades and eventually the car no longer makes us happy. In fact, the monthly payments may make it a source of suffering.

 

In the modern world happiness is also pursued by accomplishment. We go through a prolonged education to acquire a degree. Upon graduation, we feel very happy, but this too fades. So we think that when we get a good job, then we’ll be happy, and indeed when we obtain it we do feel very good and happy for a while, but unfortunately, that too fades. So, we look for a promotion or a new job to make us happy, and again it does but only temporarily. This whole cycle is termed by Psychologists as the “hedonic treadmill.” We keep pursuing things because they temporarily make us happy but each happiness is impermanent and we get back on the treadmill looking for the next thing that will make us happy, on and on and on. Instead of happiness it brings disappointment and suffering.

 

Perhaps there’s a better way, and that is pursuing happiness in our practice. We look carefully and mindfully at what actually produces more lasting happiness. This can begin very simply. When you feel happy, even for a brief moment, simply look at it carefully and reflect on exactly how you feel, what are the sensations you experience in your body. This practice can make you more sensitive to happiness and more aware when happiness actually arises. Also, reflect on what led up to this happiness. This can help to make it clearer what the roots of happiness are to you and perhaps how to produce it in the future.

 

This simple practice of meditating on the state and causes of your happiness will slowly begin to expand the frequency, duration, and depth of the happiness you experience. This can begin to interrupt and push suffering away. There’s a process in psychological practice called counter conditioning. In this process, you eliminate an unwanted state or behavior, not by stopping it, but by replacing it with a positive state or behavior. This is very effective. So, as you expand happiness you are in fact counter conditioning suffering and replacing it with happiness. This suggests that there’s no need to focus on the elimination of suffering. In fact, trying to eliminate it often amplifies it or becomes itself a suffering. In contrast, focusing on happiness, eliminates it in a joyful way, overwhelming the gloom with sunshine.

 

During mindfulness practice it’s good to keep in mind Thich Nhat Hahn’s instruction to start by putting a smile on your face. Even if it’s a bit forced, it still somehow makes you feel happier. It’s also a reminder to look for good feelings and happiness during the practice. I like to focus while meditating on what and where something feels good on my body, maybe a subtle tingling sensation in a foot or an obvious cool breeze striking the face. I meditate on how beautiful it is to just be alive and sitting quietly. I listen closely to the symphony of sounds, some even internally in my head, and wonder at the miracle of hearing and the beauty of the sounds themselves. In hearing you own internal voice you can laugh at its inane content, bring joy rather than frustration at not being able to quiet the voice. What actually is looked at doesn’t matter so much but that the habit be built of seeing the goodness, the aliveness, the joy, and the happiness that is right there, all the time while doing something as simple and mundane as meditating.

 

This may seem contrary to the instruction of focused meditation to pay attention to only one thing and become single pointed. But, you’ll find that when you focus on the good, it becomes easier to concentrate and you become better at single pointedness. It is transformed from a frustrating chore to a source of joy. This not only enhances meditation but also makes it more likely that you’ll meditate in the future and look forward to it. Positive practice might also seem contrary to the instruction of open monitoring meditation let go of trying to control experience but to allow everything to just arise and fall away on its own, while just noticing. Looking for the positive may seem to be controlling. But, as it turns out, positive practice leads to better open monitoring as you learn to experience the joy and happiness in what is spontaneously occurring around you. It becomes easier to continue observing and lessens the mind wandering.

 

Meditation is only a platform to practice skills to apply to everyday life. Happiness can be found while doing everyday things. I like to look for good feelings and happiness no matter where I am, what I’m doing, or the conditions around me. I sometimes swim laps in a pool. This can be excruciatingly boring. But, I focus on how good my body feels in the water, the exquisite feelings of the internal sensations of energy in each part of my body, and the miracle of body in motion and the automatic unconscious movements controlling it. This changes what could be experienced as a chore to a joyous, mindful, and pleasurable experience.

 

You can do something similar almost anywhere, perhaps driving a car. Looking at traffic and noticing how well people work together to produce a safe environment, or accommodate someone who is driving not so safely, can produces a loving smile. When stopped at a traffic light, looking around and at the sky, looking for and finding the beauty and wonder all around can transform impatience to happiness. While driving remembering and seeing the joy experienced when you first got behind the wheel and drove as a teenager. Again, what exactly you do is unimportant. Rather the practice is to see the happiness everywhere around you all of the time.

 

We need to accept that this will be an ongoing process. As Thich Nhat Hahn reflected “When I was a young monk, I wondered why the Buddha kept practicing mindfulness and meditation even after he had already become a buddha. Now I find the answer is plain enough to see. Happiness is impermanent, like everything else. In order for happiness to be extended and renewed, you have to learn how to feed your happiness. Nothing can survive without food, including happiness; your happiness can die if you don’t know how to nourish it.” This makes it clear that we should continually renew and reinforce the state of happiness.

 

Happiness is self-reinforcing. The more you find it the more it promotes more happiness. It slowly builds upon itself, generalizing to other similar activities and circumstances producing an upward spiral of good feelings. You’ll find that slowly happiness begins to fill more and more of your day displacing more and more of the suffering. This is an automatic byproduct of positive practice which can completely change your view and experience of existence. Life become transformed from constant suffering to constant happiness. Try it. You’ll like it.

 

“Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are a also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

It’s Eliminating the Causes of Suffering, Stupid

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It’s Eliminating the Causes of Suffering, Stupid

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“The Buddha taught that beyond suffering lies great bliss. As we take steps towards removing the causes of suffering, we experience progressive levels of happiness. The path is a long one. But staying on it leads to a tremendous sense of liberation. There are other benefits from adhering to this philosophy – one can live in happiness, untroubled by any kind of negativity. At the end of this path, when desire and ignorance would have completely fallen away, one may experience the same transcendental joy that the Buddha did.” – Buddha Groove

In a previous essay the first Noble Truth was discussed, reflecting the patently obvious fact that there is suffering, a.k.a. unsatisfactoriness. In the next essay the second Noble Truth was discussed also stating the obvious that there are causes to the suffering. But, not so obviously we saw how, all encompassing, unsatisfactoriness is in our lives and how subtle are its causes. We saw that most of the unsatisfactoriness emanated from our inability to accept things as they are and instead, go to war against reality.

As we look carefully and deeply at this unsatisfactoriness, we find that it is much more encompassing than we initially thought, affecting every aspect of our lives and experience, day in and day out. In fact, unsatisfactoriness is the rule and not the exception. It is the biggest single impediment to being truly happy, making progress on a spiritual path, and experiencing liberation. The Buddha recognized this and held out hope in the third Noble Truth, that suffering can be eliminated, that there can be a cessation of unsatisfactoriness.

At first glance the idea of eliminating suffering would seem simple, just eliminate the cause of suffering. Since, the cause of suffering, desiring things to be different than they are, is also simple, it should be an easy task to eliminate the desiring and thereby the suffering. But, it’s not simple at all. It took arguably the greatest, most mentally disciplined, mindfulness practitioner of all time, the Buddha, six years of struggle to accomplish it. For most of us, it would seem to be an almost impossible task. To get an idea of the difficulty just realize that wanting to eliminate the desire for things to be different, is itself a desire for things to be different!

The complexity of the cessation of desires is also underscored by the fact that many desires are healthy and in fact necessary for life, e.g. hunger, thirst, breathing, etc. Obviously these desires should not be eliminated. In addition, many are for pleasant things that make life enjoyable, such as companionship, love, art, music, good food and wine, etc. It would certainly be a bland life without them. Others are unpleasant things that need to be avoided or tempered, such as pain, illness, fear, loneliness. It would seem problematic to remove these desires. In fact, the third Noble Truth does not call for the elimination of desires. Rather, it suggests that we should eliminate clinging to, grasping onto, these desires.

The difference between desires and clinging to desires is a subtle but very important distinction. There is nothing wrong with desires themselves. It is human nature to have them and if not clung to, they are normally healthy. But to be invested in the outcome of the desires is where the problem arises. It is perfectly fine to desire going to a concert, but it causes suffering when the outcome makes a difference. If the concert is cancelled or sold out or your car breaks down so you can’t get there would you be OK with it, or would you be upset? If it’s the latter then you’re attached, you’re grasping, you’re clinging. If it’s the former you’re displaying the equanimity that the Buddha taught is the way to the cessation of suffering. Similarly, if you desire to get rid of a headache and take analgesics and rest, this is fine. But, if the headache continues and you’re angry and upset to have to deal with the continuing pain, then that’s clinging, grasping, and attaching to the desire. You can only alleviate the suffering by accepting that the headache is still there. Indeed, research has shown that the headache pain lessens just as soon as you cease to fight it and let go of resistance. As Ajahn Chah said, “If you let go a little, you’ll have a little happiness. If you let go a lot, you’ll have a lot of happiness. If you let go completely . . . you’ll be completely happy.”

Once again, though, this sounds simple, but in practice is devilishly difficult to do. The mind is programmed to control. It automatically tries to produce good feelings and hold onto them and eliminate bad feelings and prevent them from returning. So, even though we may wish to cease clinging to desires, our own mind works against us. We might try to force our will on the mind and battle its tendencies. But, as Adyashanti likes to say “If you go to war with your mind you’ll be at war forever.” The Buddha found this to be absolutely true as his attempts to control his mind with asceticism were a nearly mortal failure. He finally found a better way, “The Middle Way” where one works to restrain the mind, but doesn’t get upset when failure occurs, simply returns to the effort with expectations of slowly moving more and more toward equanimity. This is a patient practice in the middle between striving and giving up. It works to tame the mind, but not dominate it.

The practice begins with an intention to explore everyday experiences, looking at each and asking the question, do I feel unsatisfactoriness and when you do exploring why, what is the cause of the unsatisfactoriness. Sometimes it’s simple. You’re caught at a red light and detect unsatisfactoriness and realize that you want to get somewhere (you want things to be different) rather than appreciating the drive. With this realization, you can often spontaneously let go and stop clinging to the desire to be somewhere else and simply enjoy a relaxing interlude to the stress of driving. At times, though, it may be difficult to release the clinging. You may feel that you’re underpaid at work and thus feel unsatisfactoriness with you job rather than enjoying the moment to moment experience of the work. This feeling of unfairness may not simply diminish upon realization. This will take more work. One important lesson here, is that the key to ending suffering and becoming happy is not in a monastery or a pilgrimage, but right here in everyday life. This is where the practice is. This is where equanimity can be developed. It’s right here, right now, in the present moment, in the midst of your life.

The practice from here becomes subtle. It involves first working with everyday experiences and noticing when unsatisfactoriness arises and secondly noting the underlying cause, the desire, the wanting, the craving. Then, thirdly, noting and observing that both the unsatisfactoriness and the desire go through a phase of arising, increasing in magnitude and fourthly noting that they both go through a phase of decline, falling away. Obviously, this requires patience and mindful observing. But, it reveals that unsatisfactoriness and its cause, desire, just like everything else, are impermanent. They come and they go. Note that you have just observed the cessation of unsatisfactoriness and desire, the exact state that you want to achieve. Note also that you didn’t do anything. It all happened spontaneously, on its own.

For example, you may want to go out for dinner at a restaurant for a nice meal but realize that your budget won’t allow it. This will likely be followed by feelings of frustration, the unsatisfactoriness. Observe the feelings arising. Then, look deeply for the underlying cause, perhaps the desire to have more money, greed. Observe, also how this desire for money arises and strengthens. Then if you patiently stay with these feelings, you’ll note that they begin to decrease and fall away. The unsatisfactoriness and the greed slowly dissipate and eventually completely cease. You are left not caring that you can’t go out for the meal, that you don’t have the money. You have achieved a brief equanimity. As I’m sure, you’ll recognize, this liberation will not last long, the feelings will arise again either immediately or at a later time. You haven’t extinguished them, only experienced a brief cessation.

Once, the falling away of unsatisfactoriness and the underlying desire, is experienced. There is nothing else for you to do. Do not attempt to control this experience in any way. Do not attempt to maintain or lengthen the experience. This is a form of desiring things to be different than they are; the exact cause of unsatisfactoriness in the first place. It’s very hard not to try to control it. Remember your mind is programmed to do this. Don’t get upset if the mind jumps in and tries to do so. It’s just what minds do. Simply watch it and see how this itself creates unsatisfactoriness that arises and falls away.

This is where the subtlety comes in. The equanimity, the decrease of unsatisfactoriness, and the cessation of desire can’t be controlled. They must simply be allowed to come and go. As the practice continues the number of times this equanimity occurs and the duration of the cessation will start to increase on their own. The realization begins to dawn that you really don’t have to do anything. All you need to do is accept things as they are. This acceptance produces a pleasant state that reinforces the process, making it occur more frequently and for longer duration in the future. You come to not only understand, but directly experience that unsatisfactoriness and desire can be ended simply by patiently waiting for them to spontaneously diminish and cease. When you do a pleasant feeling will spontaneously arise. This in turn leads to an upward spiral leading slowly to enduring equanimity.

It is important to understand that attempting to actually do anything to produce, hold onto, or lengthen the state is counterproductive. Patience and persistence is required here. Trust that it will all happen on its own if you just let it. Don’t meddle. But, don’t stop observing. This is the method revealed in the Third Noble Truth. It is the way to true happiness, true liberation, true enlightenment.

The Buddha provides a path that makes it more likely that this will occur. It is the fourth Noble Truth, also called the Noble Eightfold Path which is the subject of other essays.

“After suffering, the Buddha taught, there is supreme happiness. Every step of the way to removing the causes of unhappiness brings more joy. On the path to the end of suffering, which is a path that Buddhists may spend their whole lifetimes practicing, there are levels of happiness and freedom from craving and ignorance that can be achieved.” – Buddhist Studies

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

It’s the Causes of Suffering, Stupid

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It’s the Causes of Suffering, Stupid

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Basically, life is suffering. And we create our suffering by thirsting or craving for what we cannot have. But are these really all the causes of suffering? Do we really create all of our suffering? I would argue that there is more to suffering than what we cause with our craving. Fighting with reality surely adds to our suffering – if I do not accept that I am sick, for example, and moan the whole time that I shouldn’t be sick, I will suffer more.” – Rachel Buddeberg

In a previous essay http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2016/08/07/its-the-suffering-stupid/
the first Noble Truth was discussed, reflecting the patently obvious fact that there is suffering, a.k.a. unsatisfactoriness. Although I previously overlooked and ignored this important truth, an investigation of my daily life revealed that it was chock full of unsatisfactoriness. It became clear that this unsatisfactoriness must be witnessed completely to see the Buddha’s wisdom. Life is so full of unsatisfactoriness that it’s impossible to move forward on a spiritual path until it is addressed. Unsatisfactoriness is at the very core of existence and a major impediment in attaining true happiness let alone enlightenment. It became evident to me that it was the suffering, stupid.

But, once this is clearly realized and a complete inventory is taken of unsatisfactoriness, what’s the next step. This is presented in the Second Noble Truth that there are causes to suffering. My initial naive thoughts were that the causes of suffering were obvious. If I stepped on a nail and experienced pain or contracted the flu and experienced malaise, the causes were obvious. But, once I realized that unsatisfactoriness was rampant in my life, I realized that I wasn’t always sure what caused it. Why should I care if someone thinks highly of me? Why should I try to avoid boredom? Why should I be unhappy when certain forms of music are played? Why should I be afraid of heights even when I know it’s safe? The causes here are subtler and more difficult to identify. But, it’s important to do so, as unsatisfactoriness can only be eliminated if we first know what’s producing it.

To put it simply, unsatisfactoriness arises whenever we want things to be different than they are. Struggling against what is, is the primary source of unsatisfactoriness. This is a simple and absolutely true statement. But as with everything there’s more to it. There are a number of sources that are either built into us or inculcated by our society that produce a desire for things to be different. But, keep in mind that no matter what the source, ultimately it’s the refusal to accept what is that’s the source of unsatisfactoriness.

Our attraction and aversion to sensory experiences is a big driver of wanting things to be different. We want pleasurable experiences, be they beautiful sights, music, the flavors of a good wine, perfumes, sexual orgasm, ocean waves hitting our skin, etc. There is nothing wrong with these desires. Many are programmed into us by evolution. The problem arises when we are attached to these sensations and are never satisfied unless they’re present. Hence, in order to obtain them we strive to change the ways things are. When we don’t accept their absence, we suffer. There’s nothing wrong with liking pleasant sensations. We can enjoy them when they’re present. After all that’s accepting the present as it is. In fact, we can even seek them out. Problems arise when we’re not OK when we can’t get them or when we strive to hold onto these experiences even though they will inevitably fade. Not accepting that this is the nature of these experiences causes us to grasp onto them and then suffer when they dissipate. These are seemingly subtle distinctions, but they’re crucial. Grasping is the key. If we don’t grasp, then there’s no unsatisfactoriness.

We are not only wired to seek out pleasant sensation we’re also wired to avoid or eliminate unpleasant sensations, be they ugly or disgusting sights, grating sounds (the noise from lawn tools is one of my aversions), the taste of spoiled wine, the odor of rotten eggs, feeling of being chilled or overheated, pain, etc. There is nothing wrong with not liking these sensations, avoiding them, or attempting to stop them. Again evolution has programmed many of them to help protect us. The problem arises when we do not accept that these sensations arise as they inevitably will, or when we grasp at their avoidance not accepting what is. So, rather than accepting that we’re experiencing a headache, we fight against it, which amplifies the pain. Sure, lie down, close your eyes, rest, take an analgesic, but also accept that pain is present. There’s no sense in denying it or fighting it. That’s what causes the unsatisfactoriness. Just accept it, and relax knowing that like all sensations it will eventually go away. Additionally, we suffer when we become fearful of the possibility that they might occur. So we worry about the next headache or ruminate about the last one. This is a waste of time and makes us miserable. There is no headache present. Enjoy your non-headache. Aversion to certain kinds of sensory stimuli can be a major source of unsatisfactoriness, but only when we don’t accept what is.

Another major source of unsatisfactoriness is the unwillingness to accept ourselves as we are, to desire to be different than what we are. We want to be more successful, more attractive, more knowledgeable, more liked, happier, healthier, more assertive, younger, older, slimmer, stronger, less fearful, a better parent, less fidgety, etc. Just look in the self-help section of a bookstore as evidence of its pervasiveness. This is especially true in western society, where most people simply don’t like themselves. They want to be different. Once again, this is not accepting what is, rather wanting things to be different, producing intense unsatisfactoriness. This lack of acceptance of the self can generate unhealthy jealousy of others who seeming have what we wish we had. It can also cause us to judge others, making us feel better about ourselves by denigrating others. Hence, this desire to be different than we are can be a major source of unsatisfactoriness.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t want to improve ourselves. There’s no problem with working hard to advance one’s career, to lose weight, to exercise, to change hair color, to save toward purchasing a house, etc. This is normal and healthy. The problem arises when we can’t accept what we are in the present moment, when we can’t see that we’re just fine as we are even though we’re working to improve ourselves. There is much about us that we can’t change. No matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to make myself taller, smarter, or unemotional. This is what I am. To be happy, I need to accept myself as I am in the present moment. Fighting it is a waste of time and energy and a major source of unsatisfactoriness.

It is easy to say “got it”, I see the causes of suffering, so let’s move on to how I get enlightened. But, it is important to thoroughly investigate the causes of unsatisfactoriness. It drives home how we go about making ourselves unhappy. Every time you wish that things were different than they are right now, ask the question, why? What’s wrong or missing from the present moment? This doesn’t have to be done for major agonizing suffering. It’s best to look at something simple, like we’re bored. Ask why? Why are we unsatisfied with what’s going on right now? Is it that we crave more sensory stimulation? Then take a careful look at the sensations you’re currently experiencing and ask why they’re not sufficient. It can be an amazing revelation to see how we’re bored because we’re used to and are ignoring the incredible wonder of what is right around us. We’re not happy with the same old experiences, we crave something new. Why?

Don’t try to move on too quickly. Take the time to explore this thoroughly. This morning I was out for a speed walk workout in the heat and humidity, wishing it were cooler. If it was, I thought, then I’d enjoy the walk. But, I explored this a bit more deeply and realized that I was missing the extraordinary feelings of my body being hot, the sweat on my brow, the sun on my face. Then I started to appreciate the present moment and started to enjoy the situation that I was in at the time. The exploration of unsatisfactoriness can lead to greater happiness and simple enjoyment of what is. So, explore the reasons for your unsatisfactoriness and begin to understand your mind and to learn to appreciate what you have right now.

“If we can recognize when incorrect comprehension has affected our mind states, we can then make more sound judgments. We can tell when we are seeing things correctly, because we can notice peacefulness inside of us. Only when incorrect comprehension is in action do we feel tension and agitation.” – Lisa Mitchell

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are a also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

It’s the Suffering, Stupid

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It’s the Suffering, Stupid

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

” If you want to understand suffering you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there. Where suffering lies is right where non-suffering will arise, it ceases at the place where it arises. If suffering arises you must contemplate right there, you don’t have to run away. You should settle the issue right there. One who runs away from suffering out of fear is the most foolish person of all. He will simply increase his stupidity endlessly. We don’t meditate to see heaven, but to end suffering.” – Ajahn Chah

 

When I was first introduced to the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths I was underwhelmed, to say the least. They said first that there’s suffering. Yeah, I thought, that’s obvious, there’s lots of suffering in this world. So, what’s new. Then they said that there are causes for suffering. Again, I thought, of course, there are causes for everything. So, when do we get to the good stuff. Then they said that there’s a way to end suffering. That’s clear and obvious, I thought. Of course, if you know what causes it then there’s always ways to end it. Let’s get to the meat. Lastly, they said that there was a path to the end of suffering. Yeah, yeah, of course, let’s move on and get to how do we attain enlightenment. How do we get to nirvana and eternal bliss?

 

I don’t believe that my response was unusual as my unscientific discussions with peers has revealed similar responses. I believe that part of the reason that we missed the importance of what was being taught was the word suffering itself. It’s a translation from the Pali word “dukkha” that was the language that was likely used by the Buddha. But, it can equally well be translated as “imperfect”, “unsatisfying”, or “incapable of providing perfect happiness.” I happen to favor unsatisfactory. Using this translation, I began to see what was being taught here. Suffering implied to me an extreme and painful experience, agony, which I saw as relatively rare. But, unsatisfactoriness, now that’s a different story. Most things in life are to one degree or another unsatisfactory. So, the teaching now seems to apply to a much wider range of experiences. This was the beginning of the revelation as to just how seminal this teaching is. It’s when I realized that “It’s the suffering, stupid.”

 

I should have noted the clear and precise teaching of the Buddha. When asked about how to attain enlightenment the Buddha said “I teach one thing and one thing only: that is suffering and the end of suffering.” This should have been a clear message that the pursuit of enlightenment is actually the pursuit of the end of “dukkha”, the end of unsatisfactoriness. It should have been obvious that the key to enlightenment is unsatisfactoriness, its causes, and how to eliminate them. But somehow, I wanted to jump ahead and missed the most important teaching of all.

 

Looking carefully at existence from the perspective of unsatisfactoriness, it is clear that unsatisfactoriness is ubiquitous, it’s everywhere.

 

The alarm goes off in the morning and I think, I want to sleep longer, but I can’t. The day starts off with unsatisfactoriness. I notice a slight ache in my neck and want it to go away, and this is more unsatisfactoriness. Rising out of bed in the morning there’s a need to use the bathroom. My state is unsatisfactory. When picking out some clothes to wear I find the outfit I want to wear is out at the cleaners and I’ll have to wear something less satisfactory. I feel a bit shabby and old fashioned in the clothes. Being late, a breakfast bar is grabbed as I rush out the door, wishing I could sit down and have some scrambled eggs but have to eat an unsatisfactory breakfast. I go outside and feel the cold and wish the day to be warmer. The temperature is unsatisfactory. Driving to work I get caught at a red light and want it to be green, feeling frustrated and unsatisfactory. Traffic is moving slower than I want, so I find driving unsatisfactory. At work my co-worker looks at me with a scowl and I’m unsatisfied because I think that she doesn’t like me. etc., etc., etc. The entire day is filled from one end to the other with unsatisfactoriness.

 

The more I look at it the more I see that some of the unsatisfactoriness is due to external circumstances, the red light, the outside temperature, and the neck pain that I have little control over. But, I see that the more insidious type of unsatisfactoriness is of my own making. I make myself suffer by my interpretation of how I look in the clothes I’m wearing or how I think about events like my co-worker’s scowl. I assumed it was because she didn’t like me and I want to be liked. But, that was my interpretation. I brought that unsatisfactoriness onto myself. She may have just had a bad morning or been called on the carpet by the boss. I make so many assumptions and interpret a large number of events as suggestive of some personal failure or fault when they probably have nothing to do with me whatsoever.

 

Once we take this perspective it begins to dawn that life is replete with unsatisfactoriness. There is no end to it. Now I get what the Buddha was talking about. It’s the suffering, stupid. It’s the unsatisfactoriness. I am constantly dissatisfied with virtually everything. What a miserable way to live. Seeing the all pervasiveness of my suffering, it becomes evident that I’m rarely truly happy and even then when it’s over I feel unsatisfied. This reveals another way that unsatisfactoriness arises. One that is produced by the impermanence of all things. Everything is constantly changing and I find it unsatisfactory when good stuff goes away or when bad stuff begins. I want pleasurable experiences never to end and unpleasant ones never to begin. This is perfectly reasonable, but nevertheless a major source of the unsatisfactoriness that fills my day.

 

So, life is inherently unsatisfactory. How can one ever experience eternal bliss, if unsatisfactoriness is everywhere? I guess that’s what the Buddha was talking about. It has been said that the way to nirvana is through samsara or in plain language we must go through suffering to get to bliss. If this is true, then we must fully experience and understand our unsatisfactoriness in order to make progress on the spiritual path toward enlightenment. The first step is to carefully explore our experiences and see where and what we find unsatisfactory.

 

So, begin with the suffering, stupid.

 

“On top of the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, we encounter the pains of facing the unpleasant, separating from the pleasant, and not finding what we want. The basic problem lies with the type of mind and body that we have. Our mind-body complex serves as a basis for present sufferings in the form of aging, sickness, and death, and promotes future suffering through our usual responses to painful situations.” – Dalai Lama

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Let the Dharma Do You!

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Let the Dharma Do You!

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“To truly be in the moment, to not be defined by expectation, requires mindful clarity; a heart conditioned by love, compassion, and empathetic joy for others; and equanimity that allows you to receive life however it unfolds. This can inspire and orient you in how to live in the moment. You simply lay aside your expectations as best as you are able. You may be surprised when you discover how much choice you have in letting go of expectations. When you do this, you are showing up for what you value and discovering a sense of joy and ease that is independent of the conditions in your life.” – Phillip Moffitt

 

In mindfulness meditation, we are instructed to let go of trying to control our experience and instead let things be as they are. This seems like a simple instruction until it begins to dawn on us that the act of letting go is itself an attempt to control experience. We, in essence, try to control not controlling! But, if we let go of this control, then experience is taken over by our naturally controlling mind. It would appear that there is no solution, we are caught in a trap. This seemingly makes it impossible to comply with the instruction to let go of trying to control our experience. How can we possibly follow the teaching (Dharma)?

 

When we enter into meditation our first task is to focus our attention. The focus can be on the breath, a mantra, the body, etc., regardless we attempt to hold this single thing in our attention. This is obviously not letting go as we’re consciously exerting control on our attention. But it’s a step in the right direction, as we’re attempting to occupy our minds so that thoughts, memories, and plans are less likely than usual to enter consciousness. It will be readily recognized by all who have attempted meditation that this is devilishly difficult to do. Inevitably and frequently the mind wanders away and thoughts, memories, and plans flood into consciousness. What we discover is that the harder we try to control this and prevent our minds from wandering, the more and more they tend to. As Adyashanti likes to say, “if you go to war with your mind, you’ll be at war forever.”

 

So, what are we to do? The answer is ridiculously simple. We need to patiently let the Dharma do us. The key is not to try to control the mind, but to simply relax and let the mind settle. As we practice meditation, we can notice that over time, our concentration gets better and better and mind wandering occurs less and less. This is a slow process and may take months or years to be at the level that’s noticeable. But, if we simply relax and try to focus our attention, it will occur. One of the keys is to not get upset when we fail and the mind wanders. We need to just patiently relax and recognize that the mind is simply doing what it was designed to do. Be OK with that. Rather we should congratulate ourselves when we return to the focus of the meditation. Recognize what a miracle it is that we’ve let go of the mind wandering. Take note that letting go occurred spontaneously. We actually didn’t have to do anything. If we just relax, letting go will spontaneously happen. This is allowing the teachings (Dharma) do us.

 

Now, in the course of meditation, every once in a while, our mind settles, and we become simply an observer of the sensations occurring in the present moment. This may only occur for a very short time, perhaps seconds, but occasionally it will spontaneously occur. Once again, we should congratulate ourselves that we truly let go. Don’t let judgement and recriminations creep in that it couldn’t be maintained. Simply revel in the fact that letting go spontaneously occurred. Simply, meditate without attempting to produce it, control it, or hold onto it. Just simply note when it spontaneously happens, recognize it, and enjoy it. There’s nothing more to it. We’re just letting the process do us.

 

The peace and serenity we feel during the periods of letting go, even brief ones, will reinforce the process and make it more likely to occur again in the future. It simply feels good to experience such silence and peace. Our natural hedonic instincts to seek pleasure will take over. Slowly, perhaps taking months or years, the periods of letting go will become longer and more frequent. As long as we don’t try to control them but simply let them happen and then don’t try to hold onto them, the normal natural process will happen. As we let this occur, peace, silence, and serenity become stronger and stronger and the minds attempts to control it becomes weaker and weaker. We begin to spend more and more time in our meditation in just being, in a state of relaxed joyful awareness.

 

This is not a linear process. We can do this well one week and terribly the next. Don’t get discouraged, the process will unfold and the good weeks will become more and more frequent and have more and longer periods of serenity and the bad weeks will have less and less and shorter periods of mind wandering. Think of the process as being like a roller coaster that is positioned on a gradual upward slope. Understanding this will help to prevent discouragement. Just know that you are moving up the slope.

 

It has to be reiterated, that you don’t have to do anything for this to occur. In fact, the more you try to do, the less success you will have. Simply set up the conditions for success, regular meditation, and it will happen on its own as the Dharma does us.

 

“Letting go isn’t an immediate phenomenon. It is a process. Craving to let go and attaching to the idea that we will be happy once we let go of this one thing is harmful. We have to let it happen. Bring your awareness to the experience of aversion and impermanence. Bring your awareness to the craving to be rid of it. Letting go is a practice in allowing space for our experience.” – Elizabeth Key-Comis

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Desire Nothing

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Desire Nothing

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

To reach satisfaction in all
desire its possession in nothing,
To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing.
To come to possess all
desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing.
— St. John of the Cross

 

The instruction to desire nothing is very common in spiritual teachings. But, it is very difficult to actually do. For one thing, desiring nothing in and of itself is a desire. So, to actually successfully follow the instruction you have to completely stop wanting anything including the desire to completely stop wanting anything.

 

If we desire anything it indicates that we want something other than what we have right now. It indicates unhappiness with the present moment. In other words, it suggests that we are not accepting things as they are. So, one way to begin to “desire nothing” is to simply accept everything as it is. Easier said than done! We are designed to constantly strive to change control and improve ourselves and our environment.

 

To “desire nothing” does not mean that we don’t seek things. Our bodies seek air, water, and food in order to survive. But, we don’t have to desire air in order to breathe. The body will take care of breathing without our paying any attention to it or feeling any desire. The difference is one of simply allowing it to be as it is and not trying to control or interfere in it. Just let nature take its’ course, without interference.

 

To the mind the instruction to “desire nothing” is an anathema. But, the instruction is not to the mind, it is to the awareness that underlies all. It is basically telling the mind to cease and desist and let our basic underlying nature take over. Just be! Just let everything be as it is, without thought, judgment, or control.

 

We can’t control the mind. It is going to attempt to control our experience regardless of our attempts to stop it. So how do we “desire nothing?” We simply let the mind do its thing and not latch onto it and believe in it. We simply let it go. We watch it but we don’t feed it. We let thoughts flow through awareness like clouds through the sky. Just experiencing them but giving them no attention. This will result in the mind slowly, slowly, slowly quieting down. It will never completely stop. It will just provide more and longer gaps between its actions. In these gaps between thoughts we can “desire nothing.”

 

What St. John was driving at was that in order to attain an awakening, an enlightenment, we must stop chasing after things. We must stop attaching to things. We must stop desiring them. This would suggest that “desiring nothing” is a prerequisite for enlightenment. But, could St. John have cause and effect confused. Perhaps “desiring nothing” is actually results from awakening rather than the other way around. Regardless, if “desiring nothing” is a component of enlightenment then by practicing “desiring nothing” we can move closer to an awakening.

 

The human has desires. Many are built into our DNA. Through evolution they have been found to help insure survival. So, desires should not be seen as right or wrong, good or bad. They are simply a fact of life. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with wanting a better life situation, companionship, a delicious meal, to get better at golf, etc. The difference resides in whether we can accept what is and not be attached to a particular outcome. So, if we don’t get the promotion, if we can’t afford to go out to a top restaurant, we are unable to attract a particular companion, we don’t improve at golf, etc. we need to simply accept that this is the way things are and not stress about it. So, “desiring nothing” doesn’t mean that you strive for the end of desires. Rather it means to strive for equanimity, the loss of attachment to the outcome, the acceptance of what is, and not getting upset about it.

 

Contemplative practices are techniques to help quiet the mind and bring about a state of “desiring nothing.” Each practice moves us towards non-judgmental awareness, towards accepting things as they are, in other words, towards “desiring nothing.” For St. John the practice was contemplative prayer, for the Buddha, it was meditation, for the yogis it’s yoga. There are many paths to the same goal. But, all involve practicing being in the present moment and accepting it just as it is.

 

So, engage in contemplative practice and learn to “desire nothing”

 

“The root of suffering is attachment.” – Buddha

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are a also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Sat Chit Ananda 3 – Bliss

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Sat Chit Ananda 3 – Bliss

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Ananda is that bliss which is eternal, uncaused and unexcelled. It is the real nature.” – Swami Sivananda

 

In previous posts we discussed the first two components of the classic phrase from Hinduism, “Sat Chit Ananda”. The phrase means “being, consciousness, bliss” and is a description of a sublimely blissful experience of the boundless, pure consciousness, a glimpse of ultimate reality.

 

The third component “Ananda” is translated as bliss, but also implies love and happiness. Bliss is often thought of as an ecstatic state of extraordinary joy and exhilarating happiness. But this does not capture the true meaning of “Ananda”. It is much subtler and richer, but devilishly difficult to capture in words. It is probably better to simply conceive of it as the feelings one has when “Sat” and “Chit” are fully realized, when one has fully awakened. Paramhansa Yogananda, described bliss as, “a transcendental state of superior calm including within itself the consciousness of a great expansion and that of ‘all in One and One in all.’”

 

Bliss is a continuous state of inner joy that is constant and undisturbed by outward gain or loss or by external circumstances whether positive or negative or happy or sad. It is a feeling of oneness and connection with all of creation. Bliss is where happiness, meaning, and truth converge.

 

Bliss is found in every religion. It is the ultimate state of consciousness that every religion holds as its highest goal and achievement, though each uses different terminology to explain it. Whether we are Christian or Hindu, Jewish or Muslim, Buddhist or atheist, Wiccan or animist, Taoist or Native American, we all strive for bliss.

 

Bliss arises when the mind becomes quiet and calm naturally and effortlessly. A fully awakened individual does not need to “think good thoughts” to feel good. Feeling good is our natural state when the mind is calm and open. So “Ananda” is as natural and inherent as Pure Being and Consciousness; “Sat” and “Chit”.

 

We can catch a glimpse of “Ananda” in our everyday unawakened state. When we quiet the mind and simply watch a sunset or a sunrise, Bliss arises naturally. Awakened ones simply experience this regardless of eternal circumstances. But, by simply letting go, and paying attention to what is always present naturally we can experience the state of “Ananda”.

 

So don’t strive to become blissful. Don’t try to make it happen. It already is happening. Simply practice deeply, quiet and calm the mind, and you will understand the meaning of “Ananda”.

 

“Sat is divine Existence, Chit is divine Consciousness, Ananda is divine Bliss. When we go deep within we feel these three together, and when we acquire the inner vision to perceive them all at once, we live verily in the Kingdom of Heaven. Otherwise, Existence is at one place, Consciousness is somewhere else and Bliss is nowhere near the other two. When we see and feel Existence-Consciousness-Bliss on the selfsame plane, each complementing and fulfilling the others, we can say that we live in the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Not only can we feel it, but without the least possible doubt, we can become it.” – Sri Chinmoy

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Sat Chit Ananda 2 – Consciousness

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Sat Chit Ananda 2 – Consciousness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The argument unfolds as follows: physicists have no problem accepting that certain fundamental aspects of reality – such as space, mass, or electrical charge – just do exist. They can’t be explained as being the result of anything else. Explanations have to stop somewhere. The panpsychist hunch is that consciousness could be like that, too – and that if it is, there is no particular reason to assume that it only occurs in certain kinds of matter.” – Oliver Burkeman

 

In the previous post we discussed the first component of the classic phrase from Hinduism, “Sat Chit Ananda”. The phrase means “being, consciousness, bliss” and is a description of a sublimely blissful experience of the boundless, pure consciousness, a glimpse of ultimate reality.

 

The second component “Chit” is translated as consciousness. It is our minds eye. It is our everyday experience of reality. Consciousness is actually the first manifestation of our true nature.

 

What we are striving to do in our contemplative practice is to make consciousness aware of itself. It is like looking in the mirror at your own eyes or looking into the eyes of another. There is a simple and deep recognition of the absolute as yourself, your essence.

 

We have become so used to consciousness that we habituate to it and take it for granted. It’s quite startling to realize that we are frequently unaware of something so essential to our existence. We are not conscious of our consciousness. This is what is meant by being lost in our mind; completely unaware of awareness.

 

In contemplative practice we strive to quiet the mind. When we have achieved this stillness we allow consciousness to simply gaze upon itself. This is a recognition of “Chit”. In a deeper state this consciousness seems to be streaming from all of creation, not a thing called “me” or “I”. It contains the “me” as part of consciousness, but not its center. It is only one component of an infinite reality. This is Sat Chit Ananda realized.

 

Pure being and consciousness are always present although they may not be recognized. And it is mostly the mind or ego which distracts us from the direct experience of this divine presence. So, use contemplative practice to quiet the mind and allow “Chit” to be fully present.

 

“Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon… Nothing worth reading has been written on it.”  – Stuart Sutherland

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

What’s Wrong with Meditation III – Jargon

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What’s Wrong with Meditation III – Jargon

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Since clarity is beneficial and if Buddhism really is adaptable, then using one’s own language in its study should not be a big deal. I’m not trying to be Anglo-centric but it seems like we all lay it on thick some times.” – Brian Schell

 

As was discussed in the prior essay on What’s Wrong with Meditation I – Expectations  and What’s Wrong with Meditation II – Improper Instructions there are three essential problems with the way meditation has been presented in the west that have produced problems, misconceptions, and misunderstandings. First, meditation has been presented in a way that has evoked beliefs, ideas, and images that are overly idealized and not reflective of the typical experiences of meditation practice. Secondly, immediately jumping into meditation practice has been encouraged, without the provision for proper background information, study, or instruction. Lastly, the focus of the present essay, the jargon used to describe the process, experiences, obstacles, and results are extreme, resulting in ideas and expectations that far exceed normal experience and miss the most powerful aspects of the teachings.

 

Words and phrases such as suffering, emptiness, impermanence, greed, quieting the mind, stopping thoughts, clinging, no-self, abandonment of desire, karma, etc. are in a sense accurate, but they present too extreme an image of what the process is, what actually occurs, and what are the desired outcomes. This can cause the practitioner to be looking for the wrong experiences and completely miss it when the experiences are moving in the right direction. In fact, a recent issue of a Buddhist magazine had three separate full articles each explaining what was meant by a particular term. No wonder the novice doesn’t have a clue what they mean.

 

Let’s start with “suffering.” We are told that the purpose of meditation is liberation from suffering. This term is often thought by the beginner, as was true for me, to mean very painful or highly damaging. I was taught that the way to liberation was through suffering. This gave me problems because I didn’t believe that I was suffering and this left me at sea as to how to proceed with meditation. But, the word that the Buddha used was dukkha which is often translated as “suffering” but this Pali word also can also be translated as unsatisfactoriness. Now that’s a completely different story. Looking at experience it can readily be seen that humans find most things in their live as not being satisfying. In fact, we wish that most of our experiences were different than they were. We want the news to be different, we want our meal to taste better, we want our route to be free of traffic, we want others to think like we do, etc. The truth is that unsatisfactoriness is everywhere all of the time in our lives. Once we see this we can begin to meditate on why we find things to be so unsatisfactory. We can begin to uncover the universality of the Buddha’s teachings. We can begin to see our egos refusing to accept things as they are, producing unsatisfactoriness. What a difference a translation of a word makes.

 

We often hear the word greed as a desire that we should release. When I think of greed, I picture intense pursuit of money, like in the movie “Wall Street.” That being the case, it seemed that releasing greed is not a problem as I don’t think of myself as having that level of desire for money or things. But, again, the word is deceptive. What is actually meant by greed is wanting things, anything, even simple things, like a piece of candy, a new wallet, a significant other, the red light to change, win a point in tennis, for it to stop raining, etc. So, what we need to work on eliminating is not extreme avarice, but desiring things.

 

So, when we’re meditating should we release the desire to have anything. No, again that’s not the meaning. Desire for things is in human nature. There’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, it’s healthy. What needs to be released is insisting that you get the desired outcome. It is not needed that you meditate on releasing the desire, rather releasing the need for a particular outcome. This is even true for meditation. We need to release the desire to “make progress,” to “clear our minds,” to get into a new state of consciousness, etc. When it is said to eliminate greed, it simply means to eliminate the stake we might have in attaining the thing we desire. If we don’t get it or we get something we’re not expecting, it’s OK. We’re not married to the outcome. This is what is meant by another confusing term equanimity. It just doesn’t matter what happens, whether the desired outcome or something different happens. It’s perfectly OK either way.

 

One of the most confusing pieces of jargon is no self. We are instructed to practice and realize that there isn’t a self. This is sometimes termed losing the center. When I first heard of no-self, I envisioned it as being a state devoid of an experiencing entity. But, again that’s not the meaning. The mind produces a concept of self, based upon experience and conditioning, which is very useful in negotiating our world. But, it is a hypothetical construct. There is no thing that can be pointed to that is the self. It’s simply a term used to summarize a set of experiences. This construct is not permanent and unchanging but evolves and changes with experience. What the idea of no-self refers to is just that. There is no thing that is the self and there is nothing permanent called the self. Hence, there is no permanent self, or no self. Seeing this we can meditate on the self and become aware of its artificial and ever changing nature. We can begin to understand what is real and what is constructed reality.

 

When we meditate we are instructed that we should quiet the mind. When I first heard this I envisioned producing a state with no disturbance, no thoughts, feelings, interpretations, etc. But, once more that is not what is meant by quieting the mind. Thoughts, feelings, sensations, etc. arise in the mind spontaneously. There is nothing wrong with this. It’s the natural ongoing function of mind to do this. What’s referred to as quieting the mind simply means not to respond to these sensations. It simply means allow them to arise and to fall away without reaction, simply watching them. Thoughts will occur but in a “quieted mind” they are simply noted and let to dissipate without further processing. Likewise, sounds, sights, tactile sensations are only observed without further attention. Similarly, feelings arise, are observed, and allowed to simply dissipate without thought, or any attention at all. So, the “quieted mind” is not exactly quiet. Lots can be going on. But, whatever is happening is not reacted to, attended to, or thought about in any way. So, in meditation, we quiet the mind, not by turning things off, but by being a passive observer, letting them flow in and flow out, arise and fall away, come and go. This needed explanation because the term used can easily give a wrong impression and lead the meditator to try to control what can’t be controlled, leading to frustration and feelings of failure. Understanding what is really meant by the term produces peace and progress in meditation.

 

Meditation practice is often confusing and new practitioners often assume meditation is something other than it is because of the problematic and misleading terms used in its description and instruction. If you want to meditate it is important that proper instruction is provided in the early stages of practice so that it can develop appropriately. Without this instruction the meditator can move in wrong directions, become frustrated, and abandon the practice. With proper instruction, the meditator can understand the process, understand when its going in the right direction, be patient with its ups and downs, gradually improve the practice, and enjoy all of the wonderful benefits of a meditation practice.

 

“A seeker may be clever and may understand the exceedingly complicated principles of Buddhist philosophy, but is this really wisdom? These concepts have been born through excessive philosophizing in overly intellectual environments, where monks apparently had nothing better to do than analyze trivial things rather than find a clear path to enlightenment. To be intelligent is to aspire to gain the right knowledge: knowledge which is directly useful in the task of finding peace and realizing our true self.” – Anadi

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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