Mindful Action and Personal Transformation

 

On page seven of Eckhart Tolle’s spiritual classic, A New Earth, he states that “this book is not interesting.”  What a surprise for someone to write such words about his own book!  But what does he really mean by this?  Many times, when someone reads a philosophical or spiritual book they will say (if they don’t hate the book) something like “There are some very thought-provoking ideas here.  Very interesting!”  What this typically means is that they have considered the merits of the author’s views, considered strengths and weaknesses in the reasons given, maybe compared the ideas with other things they have read or thought, and maybe even sat around with friends kicking around various interpretations and ramifications in a very lively discussion.  And then, though nobody actually says this, the attitude is “Well, that was stimulating. OK, what’s next?” and it’s off to next book or public speaking engagement and some more ideas to kick around and debate.

Sometimes people spend many years doing this sort of thing.  But the upshot of all this is:  nothing changes.  The reader’s life goes on in exactly the same way as it did before encountering the “interesting” book, lecture, video, or meditation retreat.  But at their very core, the teachings of the Buddha are a collection of practices, and practice here means something that you do—something that involves action on your part.  All the reading and study about getting strong and fit won’t get you one iota more fit or strong unless you take action and do the necessary practices that are involved to change yourself.  And exactly the same thing is true about becoming more mindful, grounded, free of suffering, and at peace.

No matter what kind of change I want in life, a blueprint for carrying it out might look something like this.  First, I need to make the changes I wish to see in myself a top priority.  Suppose I want to save money every month.   If my approach is to go out and buy whatever I want first, and then put whatever is left over into savings, my savings account will grow very little if it grows at all.  But… If I make saving my top priority I will behave differently.  I will make a conscious decision ahead of time about what amount of money I want to save each month, I will put that amount of money aside in savings as soon as it enters my life, and then whatever is left over I can spend. This works, and exactly the same principle applies to how we use time.

If I never find time for meditation or exercise, I need to make time to do it ahead of everything else, and then what time is left over can go to other things.  The Buddha often said “this is, because that is,” and this teaching is known as the Principle of Interdependent Co-Arising.  In this case, it means that my lack of time for meditation or exercise exists because (for example) my spending hours watching television, internet surfing, and reading escapist novels exists.  If I change my viewing habits, then I have time for the things that really matter.  I give my time, energy, and resources to changing my life first, and then whatever is left over can go to other things.  After a while, the new way of engaging life becomes my “default setting” and life becomes easier and there is less suffering.

Second, I can look for places in my life where I can change my behavior.  If I want to become more generous, the best way to do this is to do generous acts.  I have a large fruit orchard.  I can initiate contact with neighbors or local food box agencies and give part of my apples away.  If I feel strange or fearful about doing this I can sit with the feelings and realize that I can know that fear is present but choose to take action anyway.  The more I practice generous acts, the more I become generous and experience the joy of giving.  We learn what generosity is by practicing generosity.  This can be applied to almost everything.

"When Naropa, seeking the meaning behind the words [of the Buddhist teachings about compassion], set out to find a teacher, he continually found himself squeezed.  Intellectually, he knew all about compassion, but when he came upon a filthy, lice-infested dog, he looked away."  --Pema Chodron , When Things Fall Apart.

                Did Naropa understand compassion at a deeper level?  Probably not.  Thich Nhat Hanh states that, “Ideas about understanding and compassion are not understanding and compassion.”  This means that we learn what compassion really is by practicing acting in a compassionate manner. Being able to quote Buddhist teachings about compassion and enlightenment is not compassion and enlightenment.

A good practice for becoming more compassionate is to start by taking an entire day and setting your intention at the very outset to treat everyone you encounter during the day with compassion, kindness, and respect (regardless of how they are treating you)—and to also monitor your own emotions as you move through your day.  Challenge yourself to do this and see what happens and what you learn about yourself—and how you change.  (For more details, see earlier post “Responding Unconditionally”    September 15, 2024,  https://ahimsaacres.blogspot.com/2024/09/ )

Consciously changing the way I speak is a similar and a very powerful practice.  The Buddha called this Right Speech, and it is an important part of his Eightfold Path for personal transformation.  If I speak differently, it will change how I feel and the way that I engage life day to day.  Begin first by simply observing your speech for a day—notice what you say, and also examine your motivation for saying it.  Perhaps you have a pattern of looking for defects (what is wrong) in everything.  Notice how this feels at the time you are doing it.  The second part of the practice is then to deliberately catch yourself in the act of saying something negative and choosing to say something else instead.  Notice your emotional state as you do this.  Over time your emotional state and behavior will begin to change.  (For more information, see earlier post “The Deeper Purpose of Mindful Speech,” April 27, 2024, at https://ahimsaacres.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-deeper-purpose-of-mindful-speech.html ) 

Third, I can find people who have already successfully made the change I wish to make, and then choose to spend time with them so that they can inspire me to know that the change I want is possible, allow me to see the benefits of having changed in their lives, and enable me to see how to actually go about living in the new way.  The Buddha called this type of practice Right Association, and it simply means being mindful about who we choose to associate with on a regular basis and noticing how we are affected by our associations.  If I want to do something about my negativity, I can choose to spend more time with people who have a positive outlook and minimize the time I spend with those mired in negativity. (For more details, see earlier post “Taking the Next Steps After Meditation, Part 1:  Who I Spend Time with Makes a Difference ,” January 18, 2023, at https://ahimsaacres.blogspot.com/2023/01/taking-next-steps-after-meditation-part.html)

A story is useful here. Terri was always full of questions about the words:  “What does it mean to observe the workings of the mind?  How can I think something and observe it at the same time I am thinking it—the thought of observing the mind replaces the earlier thought so it is no longer there for me to observe…”  Terri wanted to get all her questions answered before she was willing to do the practice.  In addition to wanting to have all the “theory” behind some practice explained, Terri also had anger issues that had been with her almost all her life.  Here is where the story gets interesting.

                In Sangha one day Terri was telling about something meaningful that happened a few days previously.  She was driving in her car and someone cut in front of her and she felt herself starting to become enraged:  she noticed judgement of the other person arising, the beginning of heat and tension arising in her body, and thoughts about the other driver not respecting her.  And suddenly, she saw with blinding clarity what was going on in her mind and body, the needless suffering it caused, and how her mind was creating this suffering.  In an instant, as she described it during Sangha, “I saw what I was doing and I didn’t want to do it anymore.”  She saw her whole anger dynamic in her direct experience without having to “figure anything out,” and her unskillful habit of reactivity began to loosen its grip on her. 

What happened for Terri was not the result of reading some new explanation of Buddhist teachings.  Rather, it was the direct result of her action of turning her attention inward and seeing the unnecessary suffering she was causing.

                This was a huge turning point for Terri with her anger issues.  And it could have come years earlier if she had not felt that she needed to get all the words right—get all her questions answered—before simply doing the practices that were needed.

Although the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre was not a Buddhist, he said something remarkably similar.  In an essay called “Man as Self Creator,” he said that we create the person that we are by our day-to-day choices.  Each time I steal, I make it easier to steal again and eventually I become a thief.  Each time I refrain from stealing, I make it easier to not steal the next time and I create a more honest person.  Our actions create who we are.  And, he says, as a result of this, we are thus responsible for who we are and what we become and the example we set for others.  Often this choosing is unconscious, but it can and must become conscious if we want real change in ourselves.  Each of us is like a sculptor who sculpts the features of personality by a series of many, many choices every day. 

This is the end of today’s post.  My hope is that there is something useful in it.  And once again we have a choice.  We can say to ourselves, “Well, that was interesting.  What should I read next?”  Or we can decide to take action and perhaps change our lives (and the world) for the better.  We always have that choice. 

 

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            If you have questions, comments, or ideas for new Blog topics please contact Dale at ahimsaacres@gmail.com.