Yoga, Meditation in Action: Seane Corn (video)

Yogi Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; Krista Tippett, Trent Gilliss (onbeing.org)

 

American Yogini Seane Corn

Yoga has infiltrated law schools and strip malls, churches and hospitals. This 5,000-year-old spiritual technology is converging with 21st-century medical science and with many religious and philosophical perspectives.
 

Midwesterner Seane Corn ("Off the Mat Into the World") takes us inside the practicalities and power of yoga [mainly those limbs of an ancient eightfold practice focusing on physical postures and breath regulation]. Corn describes how it helps her face the darkness in herself and the world and how she’s come to see yoga as a form of body prayer. More

• Listen to the radio show/podcast
• When Yoga Gets Really Real  When I moved to Jerusalem two years ago, I thought for sure that I would continue my yoga practice, especially after having yoga present in my life in so many ways for so many years. And I thought that I would even find others in this holy city to practice with. A sangha (spiritual community), a space, a teacher...

Exploring Mysteries, Encouraging a Love Affair with Life Parker Palmer pays homage with words of wisdom on "the savage and beautiful country that lies in between."

  

Living with Yoga: rehabilitation

Molested at 6-years-old, Corn made a gift of that experience -- not in spite of it -- by transforming the shame and darkness. She works with child prostitutes and sex trafficking here in the U.S. and in Buddhist countries like Cambodia. She went through a period of drug abuse, sex abuse, and other efforts to numb out and check out. But when she faced and actually dealt with and transformed the shadow, she was able to venture on the road to becoming whole.

  

VIDEO: Body Prayer
Trent Gilliss (onbeing.orgj)

For Seane Corn, yoga is much more than a practice in flexibility. It’s a way of applying spiritual lessons to real-world problems and personal issues. One way she channels her energy and love is through a practice she calls “body prayer,” as she shares in this video from Yoga from the Heart.

She shared this perspective about “body prayer” in the show, “Yoga, Meditation in Action”:
 

“I trust that if I do my yoga practice, I’m going to get stronger and more flexible. If I stay in alignment, if I don’t push, if I don’t force, then my body will organically open in time.

“I know that if I breathe deeply, I’ll oxygenate my body. It has an influence on my nervous system. These things are fixed and I know to be true.

“But I also recognize that it’s a mystical practice, and you can use your body as an expression of your devotion. So the way that you place your hands, the ways that you step a foot forward or back, everything is done as an offering. I offer the movements to someone I love or to the healing of the planet.

 

Hope I can do yoga like Seane during this war

“And so if I’m moving from a state of love and my heart is open to that connection between myself and another person or myself and the universe, it becomes an active form of prayer, of meditation, of grace.

“And when you’re offering your practice as a gift, as I was in that particular DVD, as I do often, I was offering to my dad who’s very ill. And so when I have an intention behind what I’m doing, then it becomes so fluid. Because if I fall out of a pose I’m not going to swear, I’m not going to get disappointed or frustrated. 

Titling a Show on Seane Corn’s Yoga

“I’m going to realize that this is my offering, and I don’t want to offer that energy to my father. I only want to offer him my love. And so I let my body reflect that. And when you link the body with the breath, when my focus is solely on getting the pose to embrace the breath that I’m actualizing, then the practice, it’s almost in slow motion.

“It has a sense of effortlessness. When people can connect to that, it takes the pressure off of trying to do it perfectly. It just becomes a real expression of their own heart.

“Sometimes it’s graceful and elegant, other times it’s kind of funky and abstract, but it’s authentic to who the person is. It’s their own poetry.” More

Learn a New Word; Parker Palmer Reminds Us That Work Doesn't Define You; Yoga Mom and Child; The Ethics of Lockpicking?

This week inspired a lesson from Ralph Waldo Emerson, a poetic reflection on being more than doing from Parker Palmer, a precious moment that will make you smile, and a peculiar story about a lockpicker that will make you think.

"Monkey Mind" in Meditation

Michael Carr; CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly (Wiki edit)

What's monkey mind? Hold on a second, I'll look on Wisdom Quarterly (Huffington Post).

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Obsessed with sexy distractions (Uhohbro).

Monkey mind (or mind monkey) comes from the Chinese word xinyuan and the Sino-Japanese shin'en (心猿), literally, "heart-/mind-monkey").

It is a Buddhist term meaning "restless, unsettled, capricious, whimsical, fanciful, inconstant, confused, indecisive, uncontrollable." In addition to Buddhist writings -- including Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen (two Mahayana sects giving their pronunciations of the Pali term jhan'a and the Sanskrit dhyan'a), Consciousness-Only, Pure Land, and Shingon -- this "monkey mind" psychological metaphor was adopted in Taoism, Neo-Confucianism, poetry, drama, and literature.

"Mind-monkey" occurs in two reversible four-character idioms with yima or iba (意馬), literally, "thought-/will-horse," most frequently used in Chinese xinyuanyima (心猿意馬) and Japanese ibashin'en (意馬心猿).

The "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the Journey to the West personifies the mind-monkey. Note that much of the following summarizes Michael Carr ("'Mind-Monkey' Metaphors in Chinese and Japanese Dictionaries," International Journal of Lexicography 1993, 6.3:149-180). 

Linguistic and cultural background

Mind monkey piggy backs on horse idea (Tang Dynasty)

"Mind-monkey" (心猿) is an animal metaphor. Some figures of speech are cross-linguistically common, verging upon being linguistic universals.

Many languages use "monkey" or "ape" words to mean "mimic," for instance, Italian scimmiottare "to mock, to mimic" and scimmia "monkey, ape," Japanese sarumane (猿真似), literally, "monkey imitation," "copycat, superficial imitation," and the English monkey see, monkey do or to ape. Other animal metaphors have culture-specific meanings. Compare English chickenhearted as "cowardly, timid," "easily frightened" and Chinese jixin (雞心), literally, "chicken heart," "heart-shaped, cordate."

 

The four morphological elements of Chinese xinyuanyima or Japanese shin'en'iba are xin or shin (心) "heart, mind", yi or i (意) "thought," yuan or en (猿) "monkey," and ma or ba (馬) "horse."

The 心 "heart, mind" and 意 "idea, will"

Mr. Simian! - No, I just meant a pony ride on the "will horse," not us horsing around!

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The psychological components of the "mind-monkey will-horse" metaphor are Chinese xin or Sino-Japanese shin or kokoro (心) "heart, mind, feelings, affections, center" and yi or i (意) "thought, idea, opinion, sentiment, will, wish, meaning."

This Chinese character 心 was graphically simplified from an original pictogram of a heart and 意 "thought, think" is an ideogram combining 心 under yin (音) "sound, tone, voice" denoting "sound in the mind, thought, idea."

 

In Chinese Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, xin/shin (心) "heart, mind" generally translates Sanskrit citta "mind, process of mind, state of mind, consciousness" and yi/i (意) translates Sanskrit manas "the mental organ, deliberation."

 

Some Buddhist authors have used 心 and 意 interchangeably for "mind, cognition, thought." Compare these Digital Dictionary of Buddhism glosses:

• 心 "Spirit, motive, sense. The mind as the seat of intelligence, mentality, idea. (Sanskrit citta)... Thought, intellect, feeling (Sanskrit mānasa)"
• 意 "Thought, intellect (Sanskrit manas, Tibetan yid), the mind, (Sanskrit citta, Tibetan sems)."

For example, take the Buddhist word Chinese xin-yi-shi or Japanese shin-i-shiki (心意識), literally, "mind, thought, and cognition" that compounds three near-synonyms.

 

The Abhidharma theory uses this word as a general term for "mind, mentality." But Yogacara's theory of Eight Consciousnesses distinguishes xin/shin (心) "store consciousness," yi/i (意) "manas consciousness," and shi/shiki (識) "six object-contingent consciousnesses."

 

Xinyuanyima (心猿意馬), literally, "mind-monkey idea-horse," "distracted, indecisive, restless" is comparable with some other Chinese collocations:

• xinmanyizu (心滿意足) "heart-full mind-complete," "perfectly content, fully satisfied."
• xinhuiyilan (心灰意懶) "heart-ashes mind-sluggish," "disheartened, discouraged, hopeless" (or xinhuiyileng (心灰意冷) with leng "cold, frosty."
• xinhuangyiluan (心慌意亂) "heart-flustered mind-disordered," "alarmed and hysterical, perturbed."
• xinfanyiluan (心煩意亂) "heart-vexed mind-disordered," "terribly upset, confused and worried"...

"Mind-monkey" in English

Prozac (fluoride) calcifies the pineal gland

Monkey mind and mind monkey both occur in English usage, originally as translations of xinyuan or shin'en and later as culturally-independent images. Carr concludes:

Xinyuan-yima (心猿意馬) "monkey of the heart/mind and horse of the ideas/will" has been a successful metaphor. What began 1500 years ago as a Buddhist import evolved into a standard Chinese and Japanese literary phrase.

Rosenthal (1989:361) says a proverb's success "'depends on certain imponderables," particularly rhythm and phrasing. Of the two animals in this metaphor, the "monkey" phrase was stronger than the "horse" because xinyuan "mind-monkey" was occasionally used alone (e.g., Wuzhenpian) and it had more viable variants (e.g., qingyuan 情猿 "emotion-monkey" in Ci'en zhuan).

The "mental-monkey" choice of words aptly reflects restlessness, curiosity, and mimicry associated with this animal. Dudbridge (1970:168) explains how "the random, uncontrollable movements of the monkey symbolise the waywardness of the naive human mind before it achieves a composure which only Buddhist discipline can effect" (1993:166). More

Ajahn Brahm: Letting Go vs. Clinging (video)

Seth Auberon, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Ajahn Brahm (BuddhistSocietyWA); Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Doctrines and Terms

(Poh Ming Tse Temple, 2014) Ajahn Brahm: Freeing Our Minds from Our Mental Prisons

Ven. Ajahn Brahm, an ennobled and very humorous Western monk who emerged from the Thai Forest Tradition in Isan under Ajahn Chah, now lives and teaches in Australia. He had just come from teaching at a retreat when he chose to explore ways of letting go in the Buddha's teaching. Indeed, there is danger in clinging (upadana) and liberation in letting go, internally renouncing, and freeing ourselves from suffering.

Orange is the new black, but for free robes not bound jumpsuits (dreamstime.com).

Prison is a scary place yet not nearly as fearful as our mental prisons, ones we've created as terrifying places we are imprisoned even as we walk around free to do as we like. In this video teaching by the ennobled and humorous Western Theravada monk, brought to us by the Buddhist Congress and Angulimala Fellowship, Ajahn Brahm shares his insights and wisdom on the most important prison break we can attempt. It is peppered throughout with the distinctive flavor of Ajahn Brahmavamso's trademark humor. See video below from 2010 when he began this thread.

MENTAL PRISON: Some of us are as tortured and trapped as prisoners in prison cells.

 

Non-clinging (nekkhamma) is a Buddhist Pali term translated as "the pleasure of letting go" or "renunciation." It conveys, more specifically, "giving up worldliness and leading a higher life" or "freedom from crippling lust, craving, and addictions." In the Noble Eightfold Path, it is the first practice associated with "Right Intention."

In the Theravada list, it is the third of the Ten Perfections, involving non-attachment and non-clinging to suffering. How do we cling to suffering? The root of our self-injury is clinging to the Five Aggregates, to wrong views of self.

Milarepa's Tibetan Vajrayana writings are canonical Mahayana Buddhist texts that emphasize the temporary nature of the physical body and the need for non-attachment.

 

Non-clinging is also a central concept in Zen Buddhist philosophy. One of the most important technical Chinese terms for "non clinging" is wú niàn (無念), which literally means "no thought." This does not signify the literal absence of thought, but rather not clinging to or identifying with thought, the state of being "unstained" (bù rán 不染) by thought -- like a lotus flower born in water and grown up in water rising above water and remaining unstained by water.

Therefore, non-clinging is being detached from one's thoughts. That is, it is to separate oneself from one's thoughts and opinions [of course, they are not actually one's own] in detail as to not be harmed mentally and emotionally by them (see The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch translated by Philip B. Yampolsky).

I can do this monastic stint standing on my head...because I'm free (annenbergproject.org)

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"Freedom from sensual lust"

Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Doctrines and Terms

Gokyo Ri peak (Hendrik Terbeck/flickr)

The real meaning of "renunciation" (nekkhamma) is an internal act not an external one.

It is not by shaving one's head and face and donning saffron robes that one moves toward enlightenment (bodhi, awakening) and nirvana (moksha, liberation from all suffering). There are many monastics who yet cling and are therefore no closer to freedom than householders).

The word is apparently derived from nir + Ö kram, "to go forth (into the wandering, left-home-life of an ascetic)." But in Pali language texts, this term is nevertheless used as if it were derived from lust (kāma as in Kama Sutra) and always as an antonym to kāma (craving for sensuality). 

It is one of the Ten Perfections (pāramīs or pāramitās as in the Prajna Paramita, the famous "Perfection of Wisdom" literature).

  

Nekkhama-sankappa, the "intention of renunciation" -- thoughts free of lust, thoughts of renunciation, is one of the three kinds of right intention or right thought (sammā-sankappa), the second factor in the Noble Eightfold Path (see Magga, 2), its antonym being kāma-sankappa, lustful thoughts and intentions.

Four Ways to Let Go and Get Free

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What is clinging?

Maitreya Buddha, Gandhara (wiki)

"Clinging," according to the Path of Purification (Vis.M. XVII), is an intensified degree of craving. The four kinds of clinging are:

1. sensual clinging,
2. clinging to views,
3. clinging to mere rules and rituals [as if they could ever in and of themselves lead to or result in enlightenment],
4. clinging to personality-belief.

(1) "What now is sensual clinging? Whatever with regard to sensuous objects there exists of sensuous lust, sensuous desire, sensuous attachment, sensuous passion, sensuous delusion, sensuous fetters, this is called sensual clinging.

 

(2) ''What is clinging to views? 'Alms and offerings are useless [without karmic benefit to the giver]; there is no fruit and result for skillful and unskillful deeds: all such views and misconceptions are called clinging to [wrong] views.

(3) "What is clinging to mere rules and rituals? Holding firmly to the view that through [the observance of] mere rules and rituals one may reach purification [enlightenment and liberation, bodhi and nirvana), this is called clinging to mere rules and rituals.

 

(4) "What is clinging to personality-belief? The 20 kinds of ego-views [beliefs about self, identity, ego] with regard to the groups of existence, these are called clinging to personality-belief" (Dhs.1214-17).

 

This traditional fourfold division of clinging is unsatisfactory. Besides clinging to lustful objects of the sense, we would expect either clinging to fine material spheres and immaterial spheres of existence or simply clinging to continued existence (bhava-upādāna, continued being, which can never be static, and is therefore translated as becoming).

Although a non-returner, a person who has gained the third stage of enlightenment, is entirely free of the traditional four kinds of clinging, that person is not yet freed from rebirth, as one still possesses clinging to continued-becoming. The Commentary to the Path of Purification (Vis.M. XVII), trying to get out of this dilemma, explains sensual clinging as including here all the remaining kinds of clinging.

 

"Clinging" is the common rendering for upādāna, but "grasping" would come closer to the literal meaning of it, which is "uptake" or the habit of repetitive craving; see Three Cardinal Discourses (Wheel 17), p.19.

I'm in love! (love addiction)

Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Ann Smith (Healthy Connections/PsychologyToday.com)

Danger, drama: Lana Del Rey wants the whole world to love her (New York Times)

Evolution of the parasite: Tapeworm, Flea, Leech, Vampire Bat, Banker...Love Addict

 

How To Break the Pattern of Love Addiction

Reinvent Yourself: future focus

Part 2. Might as well face it if you're "addicted" to love. Love does not cure all, not even close.

 

Rachel Uchitel, an alleged Tiger Woods' mistress, spoke openly about her addiction to love because of her participation in Dr. Drew Pinksy's "Celebrity Rehab." For many people this may be the first time they ever heard about love addiction, so here's a popular post about the topic from last year:

 

First things first. Take this brief quiz to see if you are likely a "love addict."

When is love an addiction?

1. Did you once think that if only someone loved you in that "special way" you would be happy for the rest of your life?

2. Were you/Are you pre-occupied with the notions of love as expressed in music, movies and fiction?

3. Have you ever tried to talk yourself into loving someone you weren't particularly fond of because you needed the love NOW?

4. Have you felt the need to prop up or do a total makeover on your partner early on in your relationship rather than admit that he/she wasn't right for you and end it?
5. Have you stayed in a bad relationship or repeatedly returned to an ex-partner because you couldn't stand to be alone?
6. When you are in a committed relationship do you wonder if you chose the RIGHT one or fantasize about a lover from your past, thinking you should have kept him or her and then you would be happier?
7. Have you used the words "soul mate" in reference to how love should be? ...

Not crazy in love, getting paid

No need to score or rate yourself. If you suspect you are a love addict -- don't feel too badly about it. I was a member of the love addicts club for a good portion of my life as well. I too was in love with love.

I have built my career on this issue, working with ordinary people who are lost when it comes to finding and sustaining a healthy relationship, stuck in a cycle of pain and disappointment in others and themselves.

They believe that either they just can't find the right one or that the early infatuation waned and they are no longer "in love." Some jump from one relationship to another in search of that wonderful feeling they once had.
 
Others stay, despite feeling dissatisfied, harboring secret thoughts of leaving, cultivating emotional affairs, or cheating from time to time, having no clue about the real problem.
 
To be clear, addiction can be defined in a general way as a compulsive (repeated action without choice) and chronic (ongoing over time) pattern of using a substance or behavior for soothing, comforting, and/or arousal. It is used as a means of medicating uncomfortable feelings. "Addicts" typically continue use of their behavior or drug of choice despite negative consequences.
 
Sex addiction is a compulsive pattern of pursuing sexual arousal independent of emotional attachments. [While this seems common and promoted among American males, it gets so out of control -- for example with online porn addiction -- as to be devastating; attend an SAA meeting and find out how bad if you doubt that such a condition can even exist.]

 

Love addiction [more common and promoted among American females, so much so that we may consider it "typical" gendered behavior] is a little harder to define simply because by nature we are all "addicted" to love -- meaning we want it, seek it, and have a hard time not thinking about it. More

   All Princess Sleeping Beauty needs is Love's True Kiss to get better. O where, O where could it be found? On the lips of the prince...or the wicked witch of the fairy queendom? Lana Del Rey -- an expert after filming the Saga "Summertime Sadness" -- knows in "Once Upon a Dream"

• SCIENCE: Artificial vaginas are on the way
• PHOTO: What's up with Cameron Diaz's face?
• Involuntary sterilization then and now
• Parenting: Pop Psychology
• Kylie Jenner goes crazy at the MMVAs
• Kim Kardashian tries to go crazier at Bonaroo 
• The most popular erection drug is not Viagra
• Grow close by asking right questions 
• How much time should couples spend together? 5 tips

Baby born with four hands, feet

The Affection Sutra

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; "Discourse on Affection" (Pema Sutta, AN 4.200)

Gazing at the massive Buddha at Thimphu in Bhutan (Nikolas Schrader)

 
"Meditators, four things are born. What are the four? [More] affection is born of affection. Aversion is born of affection. Affection is born of aversion. And aversion is born of aversion.
 
What?

"How is affection born of affection? An individual is [considered] pleasing, appealing, and charming. Others treat that person as pleasing, appealing, and charming, and someone thinks, 'This individual is pleasing, appealing, and charming to me [too. After all,] others treat this individual this way.'  One gives rise to affection. This is how affection is born of affection [popularity].

 

"How is aversion born of affection? An individual is pleasing, appealing, and charming to someone. Yet others treat that individual as displeasing, unappealing, and not charming, and one thinks, 'This individual is pleasing, appealing, and charming to me, yet others treat this individual as displeasing, unappealing, and not charming.' One gives rise to aversion for them. This is how aversion is born of affection.

 

I'm not an attention hog. My meditation and yoga are really cooking (Hilaria Baldwin)

 
"How is affection born of aversion? An individual is displeasing, unappealing, and not charming to someone. And others treat that individual as displeasing, unappealing, and not charming, and one thinks, 'This individual is displeasing, unappealing, and not charming to me, and others treat this individual as displeasing, unappealing, and not charming.' One gives rise to affection for them. This is how affection is born of aversion.

 

"How is aversion born of aversion? An individual is displeasing, unappealing, and not charming to someone, yet others treat that individual as pleasing, appealing, and charming, and one thinks, 'This individual is displeasing, unappealing, and not charming to me, yet others treat this individual as pleasing, appealing, and charming.' One gives rise to aversion for them. This is how aversion is born of aversion.

 

"Meditators, these are four things that are born.

 

"Now, when a meditator, withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful states, enters and remains in the first meditative absorption (jhana) -- with rapture and bliss born of withdrawal, accompanied by initial and sustained attention -- then any affection born of affection does not arise. Any aversion born of affection... any affection born of aversion... any aversion born of aversion does not arise.

 

"When a meditator... enters and remains in the second meditative absorption... enters and remains in the third meditative absorption... enters and remains in the fourth meditative absorption, then any affection born of affection does not arise. Any aversion born of affection... any affection born of aversion... any aversion born of aversion does not arise.

 

"When a meditator, by abandoning mental defilements, enters and remains in the defilement-free release of the heart and release by wisdom, having known and verified them for oneself right here and now, then any affection born of affection is abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump [a tree that does not regrow when topped off], deprived of supporting conditions, not destined for rearising. Any aversion born of affection... any affection born of aversion... any aversion born of aversion is abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of supporting conditions, not destined for rearising.

 

"This is said to be a meditator who does not draw in, does not push away, does not smolder, does not flare up, and does not burn [again].

 

Self

1,000 alabaster Buddha statues (LarryE251/flickr.com)

 
"How does a meditator pull in? One assumes FORM to be THE SELF, or the self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or the self as in form. One assumes FEELING to be the self, or the self as possessing feeling, or feeling as in the self, or the self as in feeling. One assumes PERCEPTION to be the self, or the self as possessing perception, or perception as in the self, or the self as in perception. One assumes FORMATIONS to be the self, or the self as possessing formations, or formations as in the self, or the self as in formations. One assumes CONSCIOUSNESS [as happens in Hinduism and therefore in Mahayana Buddhism] to be the self, or the self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in the self, or the self as in consciousness. This is how a meditator pulls in.

 

Kwan Yin meditation (buddhism.about.com)

"How does one not pull in? A meditator does not assume form to be the self, or the self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or the self as in form. One does not assume feeling to be the self... does not assume perception to be the self... does not assume formations to be the self... does not assume consciousness to be the self, or the self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in the self, or the self as in consciousness. This is how one does not pull in.

 

"How does a meditator push away? A meditator returns insult to one who has given insult, returns anger to one who is angry, quarrels with one who is quarreling. This is how one pushes away.

 

"How does one not push away? A meditator does not return insult to one who insults, does not return anger to one who is angry, does not quarrel with one who is quarreling. This is how one does not push away.

 

"How does one smolder? One may reason, There being 'I am,' there comes to be 'I am here,' there comes to be 'I am like this'... 'I am otherwise'... 'I am bad'... 'I am good'... 'I might be'... 'I might be here'... 'I might be like this'... 'I might be otherwise'... 'May I be'... 'May I be here'... 'May I be like this'... 'May I be otherwise'... 'I will be'... 'I will be here'... 'I will be like this'... 'I will be otherwise.'

 

"How does one not smolder? One knows, There not being 'I am,' there does not come to be 'I am here,' there does not come to be 'I am like this'... 'I am otherwise'... 'I am bad'... 'I am good'... 'I might be'... 'I might be here'... 'I might be like this'... 'I might be otherwise'... 'May I be'... 'May I be here'... 'May I be like this'... 'May I be otherwise'... 'I will be'... 'I will be here'... 'I will be like this'... 'I will be otherwise.'

 

"How does one flare up? One reasons, There being 'I am because of this (or by means of this),' there comes to be 'I am here because of this,' there comes to be 'I am like this because of this'... 'I am otherwise because of this'... 'I am bad because of this'... 'I am good because of this'... 'I might be because of this'... 'I might be here because of this'... 'I might be like this because of this'... 'I might be otherwise because of this'... 'May I be because of this'... 'May I be here because of this'... 'May I be like this because of this'... 'May I be otherwise because of this'... 'I will be because of this'... 'I will be here because of this'... 'I will be like this because of this'... 'I will be otherwise because of this.'

 

"How does one not flare up? One knows, There not being 'I am because of this (or by means of this),' there does not come to be 'I am here because of this,' there does not come to be 'I am like this because of this'... 'I am otherwise because of this'... 'I am bad because of this'... 'I am good because of this'... 'I might be because of this'... 'I might be here because of this'... 'I might be like this because of this'... 'I might be otherwise because of this'... 'May I be because of this'... 'May I be here because of this'... 'May I be like this because of this'... 'May I be otherwise because of this'... 'I will be because of this'... 'I will be here because of this'... 'I will be like this because of this'... 'I will be otherwise because of this.'

 

"How does one burn? A meditator's conceit (mana) of 'I am' is not abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of supporting conditions, not destined for rearising. This is how one burns.

 

"How does one not burn? A meditator's conceit of 'I am' is abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. This is how one does not burn."

Meditation for not yelling (video)

Kirsten Johnson (richerexperiences.com); CC Liu (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

 Meditation = Not Yelling at anyone

 

Ever yell at a stranger? Has a stranger ever yelled back? Sadly, most of us probably answer yes to both! The temptation to yell came upon me this week.

In the heat of the moment it is a challenge to remember that just because we are invited to fight does not mean we have to RSVP. Being intensely emotional reactive, particularly with strangers, only results in toxicity in our body and theirs.

It's emotional poison we drink without even thinking. If we live in a city, it is not uncommon to see strangers yelling at each other, especially in traffic. Road-ragers are the worst.

WARNING: Graphic road rage violence, Los Angeles! (The Young Turks)

Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur, Steve Oh, and Hermela Aregawi discuss.*

 

A few days ago a stranger invited me to a fist fight in the parking lot of Whole Foods. Fortunately deep, mindful breaths helped me decline this invitation. It was tough to not engage. I can't imagine what I would have done to her.

She was texting with her back to one-way traffic, so I tapped my horn to alert her that a car (my car) was coming. It seems she was having a different experience. She turned around and started screaming at me. I cruised by her and parked. But not engaging was more difficult when I got out of my car. She ran up to me yelling, and my righteousness started doing flip-flops in my head. After all, I thought, "That's what horns are for!" That was the loud defensive truth blaring through my entitled head.

It's entirely possible for nice and lovely people like us to be provoked to act less than nicely. But there's a better way.
 

Hijack my amygdala?

Our brains are wired to be emotional, but not to be so reactive as they are. Emotions saved us back in our cave days when we needed to flee saber tooth tigers without thinking. (See the neuroscience details for our Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Faint Response in the Amygdala Hijack video). But thoughtless emotional reactions are not helpful in dealing with the stresses we commonly face today -- angry strangers, traffic, texts, calls, emails....
 

Yet, we can train our big brains and hearts through meditation and mindfulness. We can become less emotionally reactive. Observing our emotions and thoughts from a slight distance during meditation teaches us the true nature of emotions. They are not what they seem, not imperative, demands, but rather are more like warning lights on our dash boards -- something to notice and consider before acting. 

We can see them coming and going without attaching to them, without identifying with them as "self," without needing to find ourselves "in" them. This enables us to respond from values instead of reacting from emotions. Meditation benefits extend way beyond a temporarily peaceful mood!

We can observe anger, fear, or irritation without being swept away by anger, fear, or irritation.

 

We can recognize that we are angry. We may even want to excuse ourselves and leave the situation without the compulsion to react from the bubbling emotion. It is basically the difference between recognizing that we are feeling anger rather than falling under the spell that we are the anger we are feeling.

The interesting part for me is that I have learned to become grateful for these emotionally-triggered encounters.

Getting a side of cray-cray with the kale I ordered was not on my Whole Foods' shopping list. Nor is it something I would ever request. However, the net result is being able to practice grounding myself in my values and being less emotionally reactive. This is something I am interested in. And it definitely takes practice.

I would far rather practice with an angry and rude stranger than with someone I actually want to continue a relationship with.

*ROAD RAGE (June 21, 2012) "Three Los Angeles men were arrested in relation to a videotaped freeway fistfight inspired by road rage -- two are suspected of beating and kicking a man who was later arrested on suspicion of being involved in a similar altercation last month, authorities said Thursday. David Mendez, 21, and Edras Ramirez, 27, turned themselves in to a California Highway Patrol investigative services office in Hollywood at about 7:30 pm Wednesday and were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, CHP Officer Ming Hsu said. The man who was beaten in the video, identified as Jerry Patterson, was arrested without incident..." More (Robert Jablon/Huff Post)

• VIDEO: Shift happens: Mindfulness meditation benefits
• VIDEO: Introduction to meditation with Tara Brach
• Life is Right Now: Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn
• VIDEO: Coming to Our Senses (Jon Kabat-Zinn UCTV)

Intellect, Intelligence, and Intuition (Dr. Ashby)

Amber Larson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Dr. Elizabeth Ashby, "Three Mental Faculties" (Buddhist Publication Society, Bodhi Leaves No. 44)

The brain is not the actual source of knowing, just a citta routing station (DK Books)

Three Mental Modes

Emotional is not emotionally intelligent

In Western Buddhist literature we often find intellect and intuition contrasted with one another, usually to the disadvantage of intellect. This is a very short-sighted view, for both are necessary for the understanding and practice of Dharma (Pali, Dhamma).

The intellect is the reasoning faculty in humans. It sees things in their right proportions. It investigates, analyzes, and discriminates. It accumulates knowledge and is inclined to forget that “knowledge” isn’t “wisdom.” Too much stress on intellect produces mental dryness, harsh judgments, and a lack of kindness (mettā) and compassion.

The Buddha's Brain (Hanson)

 Another danger is that investigation may become mere idle speculation. “Speculative views” about the subjects that the Buddha refused to define will lead us into the wilds of skeptical doubt, with all the mental suffering that involves. Another danger is opinionatedness -- the canker (mental defilement) of clinging to views as in the case of certain Brahmins of old who declared: “This alone is the truth; all else is falsehood!”

Therefore one of the early Zen Patriarchs went so far as to say: 

Do not seek after the true;

Only cease to cherish opinions.

 
The cherishing of opinions leads to disputes and to vexation, for we wound one another “with the weapon of the tongue.”
 

Jim Olson studies creativity and the human spirit in medicine proposing to treat cancer with scorpion venom. Those using synthetic chemical poisons and cancer-causing radiation call him crazy (onbeing.org)

Intuition is the faculty that perceives truth without having it demonstrated or explained. It feels the truth before the intellect can grasp it and turn it into concepts. Hence intuition is closely allied to the emotions, and this constitutes a danger because the emotions go hand-in-hand with the imagination, and an imagined “truth” may be mistaken for “real truth.” 

This happens because intuition functions on both the mundane and the transcendental plane (lokuttara). Our intuitions -- our instinctive feelings for and against people or ideas, and our useful “hunches” -- do not mean that we already possess bodhi, the transcendental intuition that “knows according to reality.” 

This mundane intuition can be extremely deceptive and may lead to all kinds of trouble. It has to be examined in the light of a third mental faculty: intelligence. Intelligence is the ability to make skilful (kusala) use of the intellect. Lacking this, both intellect and intuition go astray.

Their emotions are like koans to me, with no easy way to solve their mysteries (CS).

  
All Buddhist schools recognize the part intuition must play in the attainment of wisdom (gnosis) -- that sure certain knowing that “done is what had to be done.” The winning of enlightenment by intellectual means, “the way of the head” (jnana or nyana), is very, very rare, though some of the Great Disciples are known to have done so.

The Zen School in particular stresses the importance of intuition. A great feature of Zen is to accept life as it comes and to make the appropriate response. Note, it is the appropriate or right response. This does not mean acting on the first impulse that comes into one’s head. Most human impulses arise from greed, hate, or delusion [the three roots of all unskillful karma], and it is only the trained disciple who can act both spontaneously and rightly every time.

Impulsive action frequently ends in disaster, as in the case of Don Quixote. More