I'm Definitely in my Zone: Selflessness and Flow in MBSR, Zen Buddhism, and Karma Yoga

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Zen Buddhism, and Karma Yoga (as described by the Bhagavad-Gita) on a superficial level, seem like very different practices.  However, at least one central theme is inferable from these practices: effortlessness in activity.  This effortlessness can also be described as being in a flow state, or a sense of absorption in activity so that negative emotions such as doubt and anxiety fall aside.  This is state is correlated with a withdrawl of the sense of self.

MBSR can be described as allowing experience to be, this is accomplished by learning how to surf the waves of thought, perception, and sensations. Eventually the process becomes effortless, and the meditator simply becomes the observer, and allows the sense of self to dissolve. This is described by Jon Kabat-Zinn as like watching a waterfall in the crevice behind it. Intimately close to the waterfall, but out of the torrent of the experience.

Zen practice, as represented by several koans, stresses less the turning inwards on the mind but emphasizes awareness in everyday activity.  In Buddhist terms, this emphasis is on right effort, effort that is used towards staying in the present moment, effort used to turn awareness to the present moment.  This is distinguished from what could be called unskillful effort.  For example in Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, he relays the koan of Tozan’s three pounds.  In this koan a Zen master when asked what is Buddha, responds “this flax weighs three pounds.”  (Reps 105).  Rather than engaging in intellectual theorizing the Zen master simply demonstrates what the correct effort in the present moment is; for him it was staying with his activity of weighing flax.  This approach avoids the pull of the mind that wants to pin down and understand concepts at the intellectual level when its unnecessary, and not helpful to do so. The part of the mind that thinks in planning, step taking, studying ways, usually applies too much effort to the situation.  This is why the Zen master rejects this approach as a part of her spiritual practice.  For example, when the student asks his master whether the path can be studied, the master says that studying will make the path far away and that the path does not belong to perception or non perception.  (105).  In Zen practice the effort is just in staying with experience as it arises, without making intellectual effort, but effort is still applied to the activity.  Nevertheless, that effort places you “in the same freedom as sky.”  (105).  Which feels light and effortless because the thinking and planning sense of self has been let go of.  The process of living happens without that self that gets tired and world weary.

Although I am not an expert on Vaishnavism, significant parallels can be drawn from MBSR and Zen Buddhism.  In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna exhorts Arjuna to practice Karma Yoga by carrying out his caste duty without regard for the results.  (Prabhavananda 40).  Carrying out this effort, however, requires that one surrender to their ego, free oneself from “hankering after happiness”, free oneself from anger, as well was all things of desire.  (42).  In Karma Yoga this process is carried out by giving up all regard for the results of actions, and meditation.  By doing so the small sense of self, atman, merges with the universal oneness of God, Brahman, and that person can truly know peace, free from desire.  (44).  Although, probably poetic, the description of enlightenment that results from the practice of Karma Yoga could be said to be effortlessness in experience because there is no longer an individual to exert effort.

All three of these traditions encourage individuals to drop conceptualization and take up activity just for the sake of the activity.  MBSR stresses this more so in formal meditation, but also encourages daily mindfulness, as does Zen Buddhism.  In these practices activity becomes the central focus of awareness, so that thoughts of self fall away and the awareness of the object becomes purer, more enjoyable.  Similarly, Karma Yoga requires this constant mindfulness so that the yogi can drop attachment to gain, pleasure, etc. from their activities and in this way drop clinging to the ego.  One result from these practices is a state of flow, or being in the zone.

Whether or not there is, or should be more, to a spiritual practice, or end goal of religion is a bigger question that won't be discussed here.  But surely any practice that did not encourage and provide tools for getting into flow states regularly, would seem lacking because the state of flow is so enjoyable. 

Wherever You Go There You Are: A Review

Kabat-Zinn’s Message to the Beginning Meditator

In meditation circles there are a handful of books seasoned practitioners refer beginners to, Jon  Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go There You Are is one of them, and for good reason.  Kabat-Zinn developed the system of practice known as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, based on eastern meditation practices.  In this book he essentially lays out the basics of that practice and theory in an easy to read guide for anyone with an interest in the subject of meditation.  This review will discuss what beginning meditators will most likely find of value in Kabat-Zinn’s work, and discuss portions of the book that readers might want to take more lightly.

Helpful Meditation Instructions

Wherever You Go There You Are is split into three sections.  An introduction section with more of an emphasis on the state of mind or attitude with which to bring to meditation practice; a practical session with detailed instruction for a variety of meditation practices, and accompanying postures; and finally a much more philosophical exposition of how meditation and mindfulness practice fits into the world.  Beginning meditators will likely find the first two sections on attitude and practice most useful.

     Paradox of Practice

In terms of attitude, Kabat-Zinn stresses the paradox of practice.  Although most activities in life are propelled by an expectation of getting somewhere or something in the end, meditation is not one of those.  The reviewer found that Kabat-Zinn’s instructions to let go of trying to get anywhere at all, were particularly helpful.  (16).  The pull of cultural forces emphasize a constant need to be a better person, to get somewhere in life, but Kabat-Zinn emphasizes to “let things be just as they are”.  (98).  This line of thinking is a good first step in subduing the greedy tendency of the mind to accomplish and conquer.

     Don’t Look for Anything

Of course Kabat-Zinn gives helpful advice on precisely how to allow things to be just as they are, “Sit down and enter into your breathing, if only for a few minutes. Don’t look for anything. . . .”.  (99).  This reviewer has found that bringing a few moments of mindfulness to any situation, especially the unsatisfying ones, adds a dimension of sanity and reasonableness that can become the foundation for a state of wellbeing.
Put the Welcome Mat in Front of the Meditation Cushion
Another useful aspect of the practice laid out by the author is the emphasis on bringing awareness to whatever experience arise in the mind, without added baggage, “If you put the welcome mat out for them and investigate their qualities and let them be, you may learn a lot about what is strong and unwavering in yourself.”  (126).  Not only does this practice calm the mind, but it has the power to transform situations that would have drained all the meditator’s psychic energy, and allow them to see that whatever comes up is just fine.

     Trust in Awareness

Finally, in all of this Kabat-Zinn reminds us, as the title of the book suggests, that where ever you are, just trust in that.  You do not need to ask “’is this what is supposed’ to happen”.  (130).  Rather, you can learn to trust your awareness.  In meditation, all that you really need to know can be found in this experience of the body, in this breath, in this moment.

Less Helpful Teachings

Although Wherever You Go There You Are is a great book for beginning meditators, they should keep in mind not to take everything the author says at face value.  Examples of unhelpful meditation structure include concepts that are too vague and amorphous to be useful.  These concepts are not necessarily vague but Kabat-Zinn seems to dodge the doctrinal underpinning of these teachings, which make them easier to understand.  The reason is most likely because he wants to avoid association with new-age thought, or that he wants to be seen as more impartial to Buddhism.

Teachings on Karma

What Kabat-Zinn explains as karma can just as easily be attributed to neurological conditioning. (222). He avoids discussing that even single actions in the past can ripen into later occurrences.  He also avoids any discussion of rebirth, which is essential to the philosophy of Karma in both Buddhist and many Hindu sects.  On the other hand, some contemporary teachers argue that the Buddha taught rebirth as a metaphor, Kabat-Zinn may be advocating for this approach in his work.

Eachness and Suchness

It seems that Kabat-Zinn attempts to describe emptiness using  the zen notions of suchness. (230).  Interestingly he relies more heavily on passages from wise men of the past in this section than in any others, probably because he realizes that his explanation of something as profound as he is attempting to explain will always fail as a result of the inadequacies of language.  But, the biggest problem of this section is that the short quotations are so ambiguous that can be interpreted really any direction, can seem contradictory, and at worst may look like nonsense.  For example, “the chickadee hops near to me.” And midnight. No waves; no wind, the empty boat is flooded with moonlight” could be simply describing in a poetic way, an image.  A more philosophical rendering could be that the chickadee and the observer are one but second quote could be taken to mean that we are all without an essential self.  So its very unclear and without further exposition, simply confusing especially to a beginning meditation student.

Lake and Mountain Meditations

Although some readers might find that the addition of the visualization heavy meditations on the lake and mountain useful,  The reviewer found these meditations resulted in an undisciplined proliferation of mental imagery rather than a stable steady continuity of mindfulness.

Too Many Meditation Tools

Finally, in a point related to the previous note Kabat-Zinn was perhaps a little over-ambitious in including so many different techniques in this single book.  Any single meditator could be overwhelmed with knowledge, and find herself jumping from technique to technique.  Although Kabat-Zinn warns against this, (197) the warning is somewhat hidden and is made in connection with looking for special experiences.  The bigger concern is that jumping from technique to technique can simply happen because a meditator thinks that is what is needed to practice stillness.  On a related note the reviewer would have liked to see a more robust explanation in the introductory section about the necessity of having a good meditation teacher.


In Defense of Kabat-Zinn

Kabat-Zinn likely had convincing reasons to leave in these more philosophical forays into karma and emptiness.  Admittedly the practice seems really incomplete without some discussion of this.  Further, Kabat Zinn likely sees through his experience that yogis need some idea of what to do once they have been meditating for a while and still feel lost in the world.  This philosophical underpinning in the book can give them some direction of wholesome avenues of life direction.


Conclusion

Wherever You Go There You Are is a stimulating and wholesome read.  New meditators will find a systematic, but not dogmatic, method of practice.  As a more experienced meditator I found the book to be a refreshing look at the basics.  I still find myself getting caught proliferating on events in my life that I find to be unfair, and lapse into really greedy or deluded mind states.  But if I practiced everything that Kabat-Zinn teaches in this book with more regularity, those mind states would soon become less appealing to me and eventually no longer bother me.

Social Media Helping People Become “Givers of Everything”: My Experience with CouchSurfing

When you hear of yet another social media site popping up its easy to put the mental spam filters up, but when I heard about a site that allowed travelers to connect with like minded people and give them a place to stay, it really peaked my interest for its huge potential to generate a lot of goodness in the world. 

In the Kindatta Sutta the Buddha implied that giving residence is the highest of mundane gifts. “A giver of food is a giver of strength. A giver of clothes, a giver of beauty. A giver of a vehicle, a giver of ease. A giver of a lamp, a giver of vision. And the one who gives a residence, is the one who is a giver of everything. . . .” (SN 1.42).

Giving a residence, even if just temporary has the power to generate a lot of good energy. It is one of the reasons why I love hosting guests, but if you're like me, out in the Midwest away from the popular coasts, its not so often that people already in my CA based social network want to come visit. Thats where CouchSurfing comes in.

CouchSurfing allows users to set up profiles, like most sites, allowing users to expound on their personalities, but the unique feature of couch surfing is that it allows users to talk about the space they have available for other users to stay in. People then can search other users based on their location, ability to host, interests, etc.  and email to request to stay. 

For many the prospect of spending the night at a complete stranger’s or allowing a complete stranger to stay in one’s own home may seem extremely scary. After all, both host and couch surfer are making themselves vulnerable to abuse: stalking, violence, or just plain awkwardness. 

However, I find something really quite beautiful about the exchange. In a very real, concrete and direct way it allows people to open their lives to others. In many cultures it is considered a great honor to host a weary traveller. Some Hindus believe that a guest is a form of god and should be treated as such, even when they are not personally known. However, in this modern age where we are daily bombarded with stories of the cruel and degrading treatment humans can perpetuate on each other, most people have lost the sense of humanity that would welcome a weary traveller in need of a place to sleep into their home.  CouchSurfing seeks to change all this. 

More than simply giving people a free stay, it is about transforming the world into becoming a more understanding place and fostering personal growth. The potential for cultural exchange is huge. Not to mention that it supports a bedrock of spiritual practice: generosity.

My personal experience with CouchSurfing has been very enjoyable thus far. My first guest was a young woman for Iowa who was in town for just a night. At first I was a little nervous and apprehensive because I felt a little busy at the time and didn't think that it would be a great stay because of it. I could tell my guest was a little nervous too, but after we talked and put each other at ease I felt genuinely happy to have her around. My girlfriend and I took her out around town and tried to treat her like family. Looking back it was a very joyful time, and I very much look forward to hosting more people through CouchSurfing. I recommend others looking to explore ways to open your life and practice generosity try it out too.

Teachings from a Venerable Monk and Former Midwest Lawyer: Review of Questions from the City- Answers from the Forest by Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu

There are only a handful of books that I read with such captivating interest as Ajahn Sumano’s Q&A book. I first heard of Ajahn Sumano while perusing through Youtube videos, I watched one of the Ajahn Chah videos and saw a video titled “Monk in the Mountain” in the sidebar. That video relayed a portion of the life story of this monk and contained compelling and novel answers to some of the basic and more intermediate questions in Buddhism- what is happiness, what do I when I see through the emptiness of materialism.

Ajahn Sumano graduated from law school in Chicago (not sure which) and was a successful businessman before giving up the worldy life and donning the robes. But what is more fascinating than his life story are AS’ teachings. Throughout the book AS takes great care to provide answers not fashioned solely from Buddhist texts and doctrine, but rather from insightful and personal life experience. The depth of his wisdom echoes in aphorisms such as: “simplicity is sanity” and “You have to remember that whatever you do, wherever you go, you go there and do it with the mind as is.“

AS reiterates throughout the book that most people do not understand the real meaning of Dukha or stress/suffering because most people have no idea of how much of their live is spent floundering in unskillful mental states such as doubt and anxiety. He criticizes the conventional world for promoting outward knowledge and ignoring or giving short shrift to the importance of the cultivation of inner wisdom. He even sometimes refers to it, in the strongest terms, as a conspiracy (he uses this term in another book Monk in the Mountain), or at least an ultimately incorrect conventional understanding. For example when a student asked why bother meditating when the mind spins wildly Ajahn Sumano answers that a meditator should not be discouraged from the thought that it is a waste of time because time does not exist. AS says once one trains themselves in this way the mind will automatically begin to settle down and will learn to more effectively deal with agitation and disturbance in the mind. This makes practical sense and also corresponds with the axiom in neuroscience: “neurons that fire together wire together.”

The difficulty in reading Questions from the City is that AS' perspective is so unconventional and goes against the grain so much that you may have to take (if you accept at all) some of his propositions on respect for his authority, especially his opinions on karma and rebirth. Nevertheless, even those who do not believe in rebirth can also interpret his rhetoric as encouraging mediators to abandon their preconceptions about the cycle of life and death. Another core theme throughout this book is to encourage sincere inquiry into the reality of life, without extra desires, anxieties, or delusions. AS’ wisdom reminds the reader to abandon their preconceived notions on what meditation should be, and even how life should be, and instead just  focus on understanding the fundamental truths of life: all experience is inconstant.

In all this is more of a perspective widening book rather than a meditation manual. I strongly encourage Questions from the City- Answers from the Forest to anyone interested in reading a perspective from a meditator who clearly has a tremendous experience and wisdom. 

Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About the Thai Forest Tradition

I really like this website, http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com/

It is a blog developed by Brooke Schedneck, a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University. Her scholarship revolves around her personal experiences at meditation centers westerners frequent in Thailand. It is an intriguing blog that in a very true to life way captures what daily life is like a meditation monastery, beyond the doctrine and spoken teachings. There is a lot to learn from the different styles of teaching at the centers Brooke visits, I would recommend this site to anyone interested in learning more about the Thai Forest Tradition or Buddhist expats.

"Meditation: a new [sic] practice for lawyers"

A good article from the California Bar about increasing attention from the legal community on meditation: Meditation: a new practice for lawyers

Apparently Supreme Court Justice Breyer meditates regularly, very cool. 

Arizona Bill Seeks to Ban Karma

The bill, SB1026, seeks to prevent Arizona courts from using any Religious sectarian law as persuasive authority. It specifically prohibits "Sharia Law, Cannon Law, Halacha law, and Karma." Although it does not prohibit courts from applying "principles on which the United States was founded."

I have yet to see a court interpreting the law of moral cause and effect in a legal decision, and highly doubt if its passed that it will be challenged. Nevertheless, I can not think of anything more ironic than this law being struck down as overstepping the boundary of legislative authority in to the affairs of the judiciary. Although I'm not sure what the jurisprudence around separation of powers in in AZ.

Read the original blogpost here

Why Are Deeds Done Altruistically "Better" and Implications on Government Humanitarian Aid and General Obligations

Buddhist texts comment on at least 7 reasons why people give gifts:

1. personal profit
2. it is a good thing to do
3. to continue the custom and tradition of one's family
4. the people one is giving to are worse off than oneself
5. the great sages of the past had given up so much in order to attain spiritual fulfillment
6. gift giving makes the mind serene
7. giving is a natural expression of the mind (only attainable by beings who are nearly enlightened)

These are the reasons listed in Anguttara Nikaya 7.49. According to this text the first reason, profit, is the lowest intent of giving (though giving even with this intention will produce good effects), with each succeeding form providing a greater karmic result than the proceeding intent. It is interesting that in some ways this list is in line with American cultural values of gift giving. We admire someone who gives because people really need it more than someone who gives simply to make a name for themself. However, the highest forms of gift giving that everyday, ordinary people can make are non-intuitive: giving because it makes the mind serene. 

This hierarchy is helpful to understand because it means that practice of giving is not necessarily a good thing unless some intent accompanies the gift. It is also nice to know that the stingiest of persons still have some impetus to give gifts because the fact that they think they will receive something is no bar to whether or not a gift will lead to personal benefit. 

On some level this ranking system is troublesome because it makes it really hard to argue for taxes to go to international relief, because it takes away the inherent goodness of giving. This is hard to stomach when you consider exactly how much money governments give to developing countries, and how bad the world would look if that aid were to dry up. Although I am not suggesting that government aid should be decreased, it is interesting to think at least from a karmic standpoint (though probably from a social justice standpoint), not everyone would be better off if the US increased international foreign aid. At least not the people who did not want to give. Although the taxpayers who fought hard to get the aid passed would certainly benefit if their efforts were donated. 

Ideally, the government would not have to distribute international aid, every american would give enough to obviate the need for this. But in a world where intent, not results, matter it government aid is just taking money from one person and giving it to another. There are societal benefits that make most aid worthwhile, which is why I am in favor of government aid generally. However, the issue is quite a bit more complex from a karmic standpoint. 

One interesting result of this rule, is that it does not seem to bar anything from being provided to another party as potentially being given as a gift. It implies that just by giving with an intent, that some good can be reaped from it. Compare the above list with this list in Anguttara Nikaya 8.33 of reasons for giving:

1. out of affection
2. in an angry mood
3. out of stupidity
4. out of fear
5. to continue family tradition
6. for personal profit
7. because giving is joyful
8. because it ennobles and adorns the mind.

although AN 8.33 doesn't elaborate on the effects of gifts given with these attached mental states, it does imply that "gifts" can be given that are somewhat against your will: in anger or out of fear. This may mean that even things that have to be paid, or things that there is an obligation to do can still be in a sense be gifts. This may explain why if you relate to obligations as giving gifts, it can free up the heaviness of the obligation. This is probably the reason why some people hate doing court ordered community service, but others love it. (though there are admittedly more complex reasons why a person would not want to do court appointed service) It should also be noted that all the benefit of a gift is reversed when one feels remorse over giving the gift. 

Conceptualization of Karma

I would appreciate any comments on the below conceptualization of karma, even if you don't necessarily believe in it:

karma is a mental factor, separate from the physical/mental action and results thereof. More accurately, karma is the urge to act. 

A. Karma is a mental factor born of three separate mental factors:

1. Distinguishing- recognition of the object at which our action will be directed
   1. We distinguish an object from a sense field such as this person from that person or this voice from others.
2. Intention- what we aim to do (defined by as motivation by Buddhist literature)
   1. Can be positive or negative, we can aim to help or hurt
3. Emotion- what we feel creates the urge (karma)
   1. Example: love- we feel urge to help, irritated- we feel urge to get away

B. Three types of Karma exist:

1. Mental- urge to think something, usually for a period of time.
   1. Example: plotting to play a practical joke.
   2. Usually Physical and Verbal Karma follow this
2. Physical- urge to do something
3. Verbal- urge to say something