I got up this morning and uncharacteristically did not meditate right away. The news over the weekend was too distressing. So I went to my computer and my phone and both called and emailed all my elected representatives with a long laundry list of concerns (concerns is a mild word in this context).
Then I meditated. Then I wrote them all again. Then I sat down to write this and re-read the first paragraph of last week’s email copied here.
One of the major goals of all the Buddha’s teachings is seeing with clear knowledge and vision the way things are. This is the path to the end of suffering. The implication here is that it is our own inattention, obscurations, prejudices and faulty reasoning, emotional entanglements, fears and desires, mistaken beliefs that interfere with our seeing clearly. This lack of seeing clearly prolongs our suffering. When we see clearly and deeply, we let go of old habits of mind and heart that don’t work for us. We gain freedom.
And I wondered, not for the first time, how that applies in this situation we/I find ourselves/myself in. It was clear suffering was present. It was clear that attachment to the way things were was also present. Aversion to the huge changes and destruction taking place was very present. And yes, it was also clear to me that some form of ignorance on my part was also present. After all, it was clear I was not happy with the way things were. I, my ignorant belief in the non-existent I, was not happy.
The clear knowledge and vision of the way things are is a very specific reference in Buddhism as is the word “ignorance.”
Here I quote Bhikku Bodhi from the book I quoted from last week (Transcendental Dependent Arising):
"Wisdom is “the one thing needed’ to cut off the defilements (of greed, hatred, and delusion/ignorance) because the most fundamental of all the mental depravities is ignorance. Ignorance is the kingpost upon which all the other defilements converge and the linchpin which holds them all in place. While it remains the others remain, and for the others to be destroyed it must be destroyed. …ignorance signifieds not so much the lack of specific pieces of information as a basic non-comprehension regarding the true nature of things as expressed in the four (noble) truths. Since the eradication of the defilements depends upon the eradication of ignorance, the one factor capable of abolishing the defilements is the factor capable of abolishing their fundamental root, and that is the direct antithesis of ignorance - wisdom or “the knowledge and vision of things as they really are.”
What Bhikku Bodhi is saying is that the key to "knowledge and vision the way things are” is understanding the four noble truths - there is suffering, there are causes for suffering, there can be an end of suffering, and end of suffering is the noble 8 fold path of wise view, intention, thought, speech, action, livelihood, mindfulness, and contemplation.
Ok, sounds like the whole of the Buddha’s path. Actually yes.
Matthew Brensilver, meditation teacher at Spirit Rock writes: "The Eightfold Path is broken down into three baskets. There's ethical conduct (sīla): wise speech, wise action, wise livelihood. And then there's samādhi, or mind training: wise effort, wise concentration, wise mindfulness. And then the wisdom basket, pañña in Pāli, of wise intention and wise view.
"Ajahn Chah (Thai meditation master) said that sīla-samādhi-pañña, ethical conduct, mind training, and wisdom, are not three separate activities, they are part of the same fruit. They are the mango pit, flesh, and skin. And that mango may be in a different state of ripeness or unripeness, may be big or small. But these three cultivations are one and the same: inextricably bound.”
The good news is that what’s needed is an understanding of the causes of ignorance. The ignorance and other defilements fall away with this wise comprehension. We don’t have to work at it once we understand it. Well, yes we do but not the way we think. There is no striving involved.
What is required is the first question in the midst of suffering - there must be a better way. What is the way out? Piling on more food, alcohol, social media, tv, video games, angry rants, etc., won’t cut it. Those are the path to more suffering.
So the first inkling of light in the ignorance of suffering is the faith that there is a better way. This is not proven faith but called “bright faith” when we hear the Buddha’s teachings or someone tells us about MBSR and we believe this might be a way out of our suffering.
The next element is the willingness to try something different, to renounce the habits of food, alcohol, social media…etc even for a moment. This momentary renunciation is a tiny ray of light produced by virtue, ethical conduct - sīla. With virtue comes the relief of lack of remorse.
That relief that comes with a brief pause into renunciation, lack of remorse, allows gladness to arise. And that faint wisp of gladness allows mindfulness to surface, allows curiosity, our investigative abilities, our energy to get to work looking more deeply at our circumstances, our motivations, our actions. And perhaps allows us just to stop, to forgo trying to “figure it out” and return to our breath. Therein lies our freedom.
And yet, what of action? Engagement? Working for the collective good? The best purest motivation for our actions is compassion and caring for ourselves, our family, friends, community, our world.
Once when I was on retreat in the middle of a family crisis, I went to my meditation teacher and told her of the suffering and distraction I was experiencing about the family circumstance. She started her advice, “When there is nothing more you can do…” I broke in with “But there is something more I can do.” Her response was immediate and piercing. “When there is something more you can do, do it.”
I keep that in mind as a flame for wise action. The path does not ask passivity of us even though the hours of meditation sometimes require quelling habits of restlessness and agitation.
For our own sanity, we need to find a balance and build up our resilience to the wrong energy of reactivity. So we need to find time to check in with our selves, find seclusion for our minds and hearts to rest and heal, to nurture our spirits. And we need to learn to rely on our wisdom and compassion to guide our actions. And if we find there is something more we can do, we do it.
This is not easy. But it’s all we’ve got.