Love & Understanding

Today, as a part of our continued exploration of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, let’s move into the second set of exercises in our wisdom training, exercises in thought. Remember, in an effort to transform the suffering in the world, the Buddha created a path, the Noble Eightfold Path, which can be broken into three arenas of training: (1) a training in wisdom, (2) a training in ethics, and (3) a training of the mind.

Thought and worldview compose this first arena of training — wisdom. So, when training our thoughts, the goal is wisdom. It is to cultivate thoughts that align with the Dharma, that align with truth, that align with reality. It is to cultivate thoughts that lead to peace, love, happiness, and freedom.

Okay, so what kind of thoughts align with the Dharma? What kind of thoughts lead to more peace, love, and happiness? What thoughts lead to a state of ease and spaciousness and timelessness? What thoughts will set you free?

Let’s consider some practical ways to train our thoughts in pursuit of wisdom.

To help train our perception, it may be useful to bring into awareness what Buddhists call the Four Great Hallucinations of Perception, since we likely fall into these traps at times and become agitated and dis-eased. They are:

1. The Hallucination of Permanence. How often do you take that which is impermanent to be permanent? Is your reaction to this question one of denial? Remember, knowing the truth of impermanence intellectually isn’t the same as living according to this understanding.

2. The Hallucination of Beauty. How often do you mistake beauty for lust, for wanting, for desire? Do you find yourself sexualizing bodies, placing beauty in the perception of a body, rather than in the divine nature, the divine light, that sits at the foundation of the being across from you? Don’t get me wrong, the human body is beautiful. Just don’t lose your Love glasses. (Guys, I’m mostly talking to you.)

3. The Hallucination of Happiness. Take a look at the world’s literature, look at our pop culture, at our movies and shows, at our social media networks, at our advertisements, and it’s pretty clear that most of us mistake suffering for happiness. We continually chase that which is unsatisfying in hope of finding lasting happiness, in hope of embodying lasting peace and satisfaction. We take a hit of pleasure and almost immediately find ourselves wanting again. ‘Why can’t I fill this hole?’ we ask ourselves before moving onto the next hit. Remember, wanting itself is not happiness. It is in fact what brings dis-ease and agitation.

4. The Hallucination of Self. Last but not least is the deeply conditioned perception of self — taking what is not self to be self. How often do we find ourselves identifying with our bodies, with our personalities, with our thoughts, stories, or beliefs, with our race or gender, with our feelings and emotions? Or, another common identification, even among those who may have many years of meditation under their belt, is the identification with knowing itself, with awareness itself, even though we see the changing nature of all things. Be careful of putting a wall around that which is unbounded and unformed, unborn and undying, that which is free.

Today I want to pick up where we left off, continuing our exploration of the Noble Eightfold Path. So, just to recap, in my last article, A Way To Transform Your Suffering, I expressed that the Eightfold Path provides us with a means or a foundation and framework to support us in our pursuit of peace and freedom. And it does this by encouraging us to listen to and live in harmony with the Dharma — with Truth, Reality, Law, Nature, Life, God, etc.

More specifically, I spoke about one of these eight folds, our worldview and understanding, which I mentioned takes shape naturally as a part of the human experience, because it is this worldview that acts as our operating system, it is this worldview that navigates us through the terrains of existence, that moves our lips and our limbs. It is through this worldview that we come to know ourselves, the world, and our place in it. It is our worldview that shapes our entire lives, that shapes our entire experience.

Today, then, because this first fold is so important in our pursuit of peace and freedom, we’re going to continue exploring it in a bit more depth. And we’ll do so through the window of perception, which together with thought constructs our entire understanding and model of the world, or experience.

A useful philosophy contains more than a collection of words. The words must be made flesh. They must be lived. They must be embodied, felt, and experienced.

Today, then, I will pick up from where I left off with the Four Noble Truths, which provides the conceptual framework for the Buddha’s life philosophy. And then, once we’ve refreshed ourselves a bit, I will move into the Noble Eightfold Path, which asks us to live this understanding.

Three years have passed since I was introduced to Mother Ayahuasca in the Sacred Valley of Peru, where I met the astonishing Shipibo people. Today, I have returned home from my latest trip to the Amazon Rainforest, where once again I was humbled not just by the medicine but by the subtle yet profound art of being the Shipibo so gracefully radiate.

It’s hard to unpack and conceptualize the lessons learned and insights gained from this experience. But my hope in this article is to share those golden nuggets of wisdom, those insights and lessons that are universal, that are applicable to each of us who face suffering, who face fear, doubt, and uncertainty. I will focus on those takeaways that lead to more peace, happiness, and love in the world and in our lives.

I sat for four Ayahuasca ceremonies this trip, each of which was its own unique expression of life and love. I hope you enjoy what I am able to convey from these experiences.

May you find lasting peace.

The Buddha taught only suffering and its end, which is expressed in the Four Noble Truths — the indispensable foundation embraced by all Buddhist traditions and lineages, no matter how far their metaphysics and methodologies may diverge.

So, what are the Four Noble Truths and why are they applicable to you? That will be the topic of today’s episode.

Through my own practice of mindfulness, one thing continues to grow very clear: that there is no space between me and what is known, that everything inter-is.

And as this direct insight strengthens, as the barriers between me and the objects of awareness dissolve, as I continually fall back into the single realm of knowing, into the glue and container of all things, a quite miraculous feeling of unconditional love continues to expand in my heart and mind, which then leads my thoughts and intentions more and more in the direction of compassion — compassion for myself, for others, and for the world.

“When I look inside and see that I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I look outside and see that I am everything, that is love. And between these two, my life turns.” — Nisargadatta Maharaj

When the famously loving Buddhist practitioner and teacher Dipa Ma was asked whether to practice metta (loving-kindness) or mindfulness, she replied, “From my experience, there’s no difference. Love and awareness are one. When you are fully loving, aren’t you also mindful? And when you are fully mindful, is this also not the essence of love?”

You don’t need to search far and wide for the Divine connection. It’s that without beginning or end. See and feel – know directly – the love that both surrounds you and fills you. Know the Love that is you.

Because “I” can’t be removed from you, because it’s essential to you, only you can investigate it for yourself. So, go ahead, take a look. What is this thing you call “I”? Where is it? What is it like? What qualities does it have? What is its nature?

Uhhh…

Weird questions? Yeah, I know. “What do you mean ‘What is it?’ and ‘Where is it?’ It’s me, duh. I’m right here.”

I know. But just humor me for a moment. Try to relax. Maybe take a few deep breaths. And then take a good look at your experience – at whatever there is to be known in this moment.

It’s no secret everything changes. You know this, I know this, we all know this. We watch the sun rise and set. We feel the seasons turn. Our experience this morning isn’t the one here now. We know that entire species and civilizations have come and gone. Stars and galaxies are born and fade away. Not even the very fabric of space and time is stable.

But how many of us really understand the implications of this truth? How many of us live as if we understand this – that there are no stable, unchanging things, that everything is always in flux, that our experience is one seamlessly connected flow of ever-changing perceptions, sensations, thoughts, and feelings?