How do we go about grounding ourselves in the sense of things being out of whack; that is, grounding ourselves in dukkha? Does that make any sense?
There is a passage in the Anguttara Nikāya, in the Upanisa Sutta, which is striking. In this text the Nikāya Buddha is speaking about the transformation of habitual cycles of dukkha. Here he says that the causes of dukkha and the causes of liberation are intertwined. Many things have to be implicitly in place for dukkha – ignorance, false identity, a perception of our body-mind, dualistic sense-perceptions, thirsting for an escape from the round, and the whole thing rolls on due to our habit of ignoring immediate knowledge. At one point he says this:
“And what, Mendicants, is the immediate cause of gladness?
“It is confidence, I say, Mendicants.
“And what, Mendicants, is the immediate cause for confidence?
“It is dukkha, I say, Mendicants.
The cause of confidence, which is a basic process in the cycle of liberation, is dukkha? Yes, if we take the wise cook’s advice, and note the shifts that occur in our field – when we see clearly with mindfulness; that is, recollecting our purpose for seeing the causes of our dukkha – then we can be confident and glad of the process. (As an instance of this: I had a friend who died from cancer. When he got the diagnosis, he was glad, because then much that was happening to him made sense. His body took a big, relieved sigh and said, “Oh, that’s it!” Now he could get on with his next step with a certain kind of confidence; one which sustained him in his difficulties.)
It’s looks likely that in our earlier stages of evolution, what we now call greed, ill-will and delusion worked to carry the species forward. The development of self-centred-ness was once an achievement, and accomplishment. It helped give us a bodily feel for the kinds of distinctions we were making in our environment, and to sense our possibilities in those environments. The differentiation of the individual carried the species forward. The Buddhist teachings have no gripe with the emergence of an independent individual.
A baby is a representative of the development of the species. At an earlier stage of our personal development our narcissism works to help us survive – it is perfect for that phase. To be merged with our parents and not see their separateness furthers our bodies needs. Yet, at a later stage of development we need to discriminate a self which is separate. However, the particular mode of self-creation (the way we set it up in the past) may not be working for us now, for us as adults. Dukkha is a sign that an update is needed.
The next development needs to keep the discernment of our individuality, but to know it to be dependently arisen – including dependent on discernment. The task is to be conscious of our discriminations, of our dependently-arisen separateness, but to no longer resist its virtual-reality feel; and, to acknowledge the implicit matrix that it occurs from and into.
Dukkha, then, is a sign of the need for renewal. It’s a sign of something that needs growth. This ‘rough ride’ means that there is something good going on – a change is possible, and the situation is workable. Dukkha is a sign of a need for a new way to have knowledge. Dukkha is a sign that there is a life-expanding energy that needs our conscious presence to find its next step.
It’s a sign that the conditions of the old consciousness are no longer working to carry the organism (and therefore the species) forward. The old structures are not working and a process of renewal will bring new, more appropriate structures. (Which will include knowing that we and the biosphere are not two.)
How does such a new confidence and a fresh knowing emerge? It emerges when we take a fresh look at our dynamics of experience; when we activate the four placements of mindfulness:
– the sentient body in and of itself,
– the sentience of feeling-tones in and of themselves (pleasant, unpleasant, and neither),
– the sentience of mind-states in and of themselves, and
– the dynamics of the organization of the first three (of one’s body, one’s feeling-tones, and one’s mind-states), in and of themselves.
Here’s an exercise from Tarthang Tulku’s work, which I’ve found helpful to develop the fourth of these placements of attention. It’s from Time, Space, & Knowledge: A New Vision of Reality:
TSK Exercise 7: Body-Mind-Thought Interplay
Explore a wide variety of typical activities and situations. These can include social interactions, entertainments, learning experiences, various sorts of work or labor, and emotional highs and lows. In each situation, notice that its overall character and nature are reflected in your own psycho-physical embodiment. Observe the complex interrelationship between sensations, ‘mind’, thoughts, emotions, and body which constitutes ‘you in that situation’. For instance, the mind receives input; it thinks thoughts; these thoughts bear an emotional dimension; and emotions are embodied in particular physical areas (the stomach, the throat, etc.). Such embodiment leads to sensations which again tie in with particular emotions, memories, thoughts, and so on.
Investigate the psychological and physiological mechanisms and interactions in as much detail as you can. Such an investigation may require that you treat your own body as a ‘giant body’, travelling through it… as a tiny observer.