From Suffering to Peace
Page 26
Special thanks to my beloved partner, Lori, most of all for her love and generous heart, but also for her suggestions and continuing support, wisdom, and guidance as I walk this path of teaching, writing, and training.
Finally, I’d like to express my ongoing appreciation for all the students who have studied with me around the world — from the wilderness of Baja, Mexico, to the tranquil abode of meditation centers, to hospitals, clinics, prisons, and boardrooms. Some of their stories of how mindfulness has supported them in life are peppered throughout this book, and I wish to thank all those who shared anecdotes. It is for these students that I have written these words, and I hope that this book will both serve their deeper understanding of mindfulness and support their fuller awakening.
Endnotes
Introduction: Understanding Mindfulness
p. 7In a 2010 study at Harvard, psychologists concluded: Steve Bradt, “Wandering Mind Not a Happy Mind,” Harvard Gazette, November 11, 2010,https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind.
Chapter 1: Living with Embodied Awareness
p. 20In a 2008 study, researchers found that, after only eight weeks: J. Carmody and R. A. Baer, “Relationships between Mindfulness Practice and Levels of Mindfulness, Medical and Psychological Symptoms and Well-Being in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program,” Journal of Behavioral Medicine 31, no. 1 (2008): 23–33,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17899351.
Chapter 2: Listening and Tending to the Body
p. 29In one 2010 study, researchers found that increased practice of mindfulness: Desleigh Gilbert and Jennifer Waltz, “Mindfulness and Health Behavior,” Mindfulness 1, no. 4 (2010): 227–34,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225152897_Mindfulness_and_Health_Behaviors.
Chapter 3: Working Carefully with Physical Pain
p. 33Cohen wrote: “People sometimes ask me where my own healing energy”: Quotes by Darlene Cohen are from her book Turning Suffering Inside Out: A Zen Approach to Living with Physical and Emotional Pain (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000).
p. 35Research has shown that mindfulness practice helps reduce anticipatory fear: J. Lutz et al., “Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation—An fMRI Study,” Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience 9, no. 6 (2014): 776–85,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23563850.
p. 35Similarly, a 2008 pain study considered older adults with chronic low back pain: N. E. Morone et al., “‘I felt like a new person’: The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Older Adults with Chronic Pain: Qualitative Narrative Analysis of Diary Entries,” Journal of Pain 9, no. 9 (2008): 841–48,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18550444.
Chapter 5: Meeting Aging with Kind Awareness
p. 50This extract from a poem by Carmelene Siani speaks beautifully about meeting: Carmelene Siani, “A 73-Year-Old Woman’s Ode to the Art of Aging Gracefully,” Elephant Journal (blog), November 8, 2015,https://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/11/a-73-year-old-womans-ode-to-the-art-of-aging-gracefully-poem.
p. 52In a 2014 research study using fMRI scans, findings revealed: E. Luders, N. Cherbuin, and F. Kurth, “Forever Young(er): Potential Age-Defying Effects of Long-Term Meditation on Gray Matter Atrophy,” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014),https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25653628.
p. 52Similar findings by Lutz and others have shown that long-term meditators: A. Lutz et al., “Attention Regulation and Monitoring in Meditation,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 12, no. 4 (2009): 163–69,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2693206.
Chapter 6: Embracing Death’s Invitation
p. 59In the poem “When Death Comes,” Mary Oliver wrote about confronting: Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems: Volume One (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992).
Chapter 7: Riding the Waves of Pleasure and Pain
p. 64Or as the poet Jack Gilbert writes in his poem “A Brief for the Defense”: Jack Gilbert, “A Brief for the Defense,” Refusing Heaven: Poems (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005); copyright © 2005 by Jack Gilbert.
Chapter 8: Understanding the True Nature of the Body
p. 70As Rilke once wrote in Letters to a Young Poet: Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet (New York: Norton and Company, 1962).
Chapter 9: Working with the Thinking Mind
p. 79The National Science Foundation posited that we can think upwards: George Dvorsky, “Managing Your 50,000 Thoughts,” Sentient Developments (blog), March 19, 2007,http://www.sentientdevelopments.com/2007/03/managing-your-50000-daily-thoughts.html.
Chapter 12: Identifying the Judging Mind
p. 99In one 2008 study, researchers investigated the impact of mindfulness: Paul A. Frewen et al., “Letting Go: Mindfulness and Negative Automatic Thinking,” Cognitive Theory Research 32 (2008): 758–74,https://contextualscience.org/system/files/Frewen,2008.pdf.
Chapter 13: The Illusion of Time
p. 106An illuminating radio series on National Public Radio called Serial: NPR, Serial (podcast, 2014),https://serialpodcast.org/season-one.
Chapter 16: Learning the Wisdom of Letting Go
p. 124In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote about his experiences in the Nazi concentration camps: Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 1959/2006).
p. 125Ajahn Chah, a renowned Thai meditation master, once said: “If you want a little peace”: Ajahn Chah, Being Dharma (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2001).
Chapter 17: Freedom from Attachment
p. 133The Third Zen Patriarch, a famous Chinese Chan meditation master of the fifth century, wrote: Seng-T’san, “The Third Patriarch of Zen Hsin Hsin Ming,”Age-of-the-sage.org (no date),https://www.age-of-the-sage.org/buddhism/third_patriarch_zen.html.
Chapter 19: Releasing Mistaken Identity
p. 147Astoundingly, over half our body weight is made up of microorganisms:http://www.sciencealert.com/how-many-bacteria-cells-outnumber-human-cells-microbiome-science.
p. 148In Apocalypse, D. H. Lawrence hypothesized poetically almost a century ago: D. H. Lawrence, Apocalypse (New York: Penguin Classics, 1931/1995).
p. 154Wes Nisker, a colleague and meditation teacher, gave this solution to the problem: Wes Nisker, Buddha’s Nature: A Practical Guide to Discovering Your Place in the Cosmos (New York: Bantam Books, 1998).
Chapter 20: The Causal Nature of Everything
p. 161Researchers in Canada have found that, over the past twenty years, the average human: Kevin McSpadden, “You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish,” Time, May 14, 2015,http://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish.
Chapter 21: Exploring the Nature of Awareness
p. 167A text called The Flight of the Garuda by Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol: Keith Dowman, The Flight of the Garuda: The Dzogchen Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2014).
Chapter 22: Opening to Vulnerability with a Kind Heart
p. 176In the United States alone, more than sixteen million children go hungry each year: Katie Dupere, “6 Startling Facts about Child Hunger in the U.S. — and How You Can Help,” Mashable, July 14, 2016,https://mashable.com/2016/07/14/child-hunger-united-states/#Bulr0aa0Yaql.
p. 176Up to 10 percent of the U.S. population is on some kind of mental health medication: Sara G. Miller, “1 in 6 Americans Takes a Psychiatric Drug,” Scientific American, December 13, 2016,https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/1-in-6-americans-takes-a-psychiatric-drug.
p. 176Suicide rates, perhaps an expression of many people’s inner struggles, are also increasing: National Institute of Mental Health, “Suicide,” last updated May 2018,https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml.
Chapter 24: Cultivating Self-Compassion
p. 191Kristin Neff, a psychologist and leading researcher on self-compassion, talks about three key components necessary to foster self-compassion:https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/.
Chapter 26: Embracing Loss
p. 203The Palestinian American poet Nao
mi Shihab Nye speaks of the inseparability of loss: Naomi Shihab Nye, Words under the Words: Selected Poems (Portland, OR: Eighth Mountain Press, 1995); copyright © 1995 by Naomi Shihab Nye; excerpt from “Kindness” reprinted with the permission of Far Corner Books.
Chapter 27: Living with a Steady Heart
p. 213They remind me of a poem by the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova: Anna Akhmatova, Poems of Akhmatova: Izbrannye Stikhi, ed. Stanley Kunitz (Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin, 1997).
p. 214In one 2007 study, researchers found that people who had even minimal experience: J. Kingston et al., “A Pilot Randomized Control Trial Investigating the Effect of Mindfulness Practice on Pain Tolerance, Psychological Well-Being and Physiological Activity,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 62, no. 3 (2007): 297–300,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17324679.
Chapter 29: Extending Compassion to Others
p. 227Nadine Collier, the daughter of seventy-year-old Ethel Lance, who was slain: Marc Maxmeister, “Gratitudes: Small Acts in Defiance of Hate, in Service of Love,” Chewy Chunks (blog), December 18, 2016,https://chewychunks.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/gatitudes-small-acts-in-defiance-of-hate-in-service-of-love.
Chapter 30: Mindfulness in Relationships
p. 237François Fénelon, a seventeenth-century archbishop and theologian, put it beautifully: François De Salignac De La Mothe-Fénelon, Spiritual Letters of Archbishop Fénelon (Germany: Hansebooks, 2012).
p. 240or in the Sufi poet Rumi’s words: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing”: Coleman Barks, trans., The Essential Rumi (New York: HarperCollins, 2004).
Chapter 31: Freeing Ourselves from Self-Centeredness
p. 246Though Darwin is renowned for popularizing the term “survival of the fittest”: Christopher Kukk, “Survival of the Fittest Has Evolved: Try Survival of the Kindest,”NBCnews.com, March 8, 2017,https://www.nbcnews.com/better/relationships/survival-fittest-has-evolved-try-survival-kindest-n730196.
Chapter 33: Service in the World
p. 261Despite being the wealthiest country, it sadly ranks eighteenth on the UN World Happiness Report: J. Helliwell, R. Layard, and J. Sachs, World Happiness Report 2018 (New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2018),http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2018.
p. 262Dogen, one of the most significant teachers in Zen and founder of the Soto Zen lineage, taught: Jay L. Garfield, Engaging Buddhism: Why It Matters to Philosophy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).
p. 263Research shows that when we are generous, the areas in the brain associated with happiness: Ana Sandoiu, “How Does Generosity Benefit Health? Brain Study Sheds Light,” Medical News Today, August 31, 2018,https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322940.php.
p. 265In Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken and his team chronicle a global movement: Paul Hawken, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World (New York: Penguin Books, 2007).
Chapter 34: Waking Up to Unconscious Bias
p. 268For instance, in a well-known study by Daniel Simons, participants: D. J. Simons and C.F. Chabris, “Gorillas in Our Midst: Sustained Inattentional Blindness for Dynamic Events,” Perception 28, no. 9 (1999): 1059–74,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10694957.
p. 269For example, minorities and black people are killed by police at disproportionate rates: German Lopez, “There Are Huge Racial Disparities in How US Police Use Force,” Vox, November 14, 2018,https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938186/police-shootings-killings-racism-racial-disparities.
Chapter 35: Waking Up to Nature as Teacher
p. 275In his poem “The Peace of Wild Things,” Wendell Berry writes: Wendell Berry, The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2010).
Chapter 36: Being a Steward of the Earth
p. 281Climate change and habitat reduction threaten to kill 50 percent of all large mammals: Paul Brown, “An Unnatural Disaster,” Guardian, January 8, 2004,https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/jan/08/biodiversity.sciencenews.
p. 285The heart of the poem “School Prayer” by Diane Ackerman speaks beautifully: Diane Ackerman, “School Prayer,” I Praise My Destroyer (New York: Vintage Books, 2000). Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Index
Abiding in Nonattachment (practice), 135–37
acceptance, 240–41
Ackerman, Diane, 285
adaptability, 43–44
Advaita Vedanta, 150–51
Afghanistan War, 252
African Americans, 268–70
age, 268, 270
agency, 150
aging: body and, 30, 147; cognitive decline associated with, 176; dissatisfaction and, 120; graceful, 49–50; kind awareness of, 50–55; loss as challenge of, 203; meditation and, 52; mindfulness practices, 54–55; physical, 52; physical decline during, 214; resistance to, 50; role models for, 51–52; vulnerability to, 179–80
Akhmatova, Anna, 213
Alauda, Astrid, 27
allyship, 270–71
“always” statements, 101
Alzheimer’s disease, 53–54, 145
amygdala, 86, 182–83
anger, 37, 181–82, 183, 184, 204
animal rights, 280–81
anxiety: aging and, 50; attachment and, 153; body and, 19; consumer culture and, 260; about future scenarios, 105; inner critic and, 198; jealousy and, 220; nature as salve for, 275–76; social media and, 92–93, 260
Apocalypse (Lawrence), 148
arguments, 184
Aristotle, 1
Ariyaratne, A. T., 259–60
assumptions, 205, 225–26, 243–44
attachment, 9; during childhood, 123–24; consumer culture and, 131–32; grasping and, 132; to identity, 153; letting go of, 134–35; mindfulness practices, 135–37; to preferences, 132–36; types of, 132; to views/beliefs, 114, 132. See also grasping
“attention economy,” 167
attention span, 161
attitude, 124
Attuning to Pain with Kind Attention (practice), 38–39
Attuning to Vulnerability (practice), 178–80
autopilot, 7
aversion, 87
avoidance, 126
Awake in the Wild meditation retreats, 281–82
awareness: clear, 8–12; difficulties defining, 166; exploring nature of, 166–72; kindness as expression of, 175, 177; love and, 265; mindfulness as, 4–6; mindfulness practices, 170–72; nature and, 273–74; of reactivity, 127–28; wisdom of, 135. See also mindfulness; present moment awareness; self-awareness; under specific topic
awe, 19
baby boomer generation, 260
Balzac, Honoré de, 97
Bankei (Zen master), 111
beliefs. See views/beliefs
Berry, Wendell, 216, 275–76
Bhagawan, Dada, 211
Bhut, Por Long, 73
bias: conditioning behind, 159–60, 267–70; development of, 268; mindfulness of, 252, 270–72; mindfulness practices, 271–72; reality vs., 85; separateness and, 252; views/beliefs and, 114
birth, 139
Black Lives Matter movement, 268–69
Blake, William, 8–9, 11, 22
blame, 213, 214–15
Blessed Unrest (Hawken), 265
body: awareness of, 128, 136; caring for, 28–31, 53; changing of, 50; control of, 71, 145, 147; death and, 73, 148; disconnection from, 19, 29; disregard for, 27–28, 30; emotional grounding in, 184; emotional trigger signals in, 184, 185; emotions experienced in, 18–19, 22; exploring nature of, 69–74; healing energy of, 70–71; identification with, 146–48, 155; listening to, 28, 178; microorganisms in, 147; mind and, 159; mindfulness and, 12, 20–22, 28–29, 35–36, 72, 120–21, 146–47; mindfulness practices, 23–25, 31–32, 73–74; pleasure/pain waves in, 65; sense of self and, 69–70, 71–74, 145; sensory experience of, 20–25, 146, 273–74; as temple, 28. See also aging; death; embodied presence; impermanence; pain
, physical; pleasure-pain polarity
body scans, 6, 31–32, 136
Brach, Tara, 189
brain: decline of, 52; evolutionary development of, 78; negativity bias of, 63, 97–98; the past as manipulated by, 105; reward center in, 263; sense of self and, 150; survival mechanisms of, 86, 104, 182–83; technology and, 161
Brault, Robert, 197
breath: during meditation, 248; mindfulness of (practice), 13–14; during mindfulness practices, 128–29, 154; present moment awareness and, 245
“Brief for the Defense, A” (poem; Gilbert), 64
Buddha, xvii, 120, 211
Buddhism, xviii–xix, xxi, 113, 211
Burning Man, 212
Buscaglia, Leo, 259
caregivers, 238
Castaneda, Carlos, 59
Catholic Church, 113, 211
causality: inner critic and, 160; interconnection and, 257–58; law of, 158; mindfulness of, 158–63; mindfulness practices, 162–63; negativity as result of, 157–58; social conditioning and, 159–60
Celebrating the Joy of Others (practice), 222–23
CFCs, 255
Chah, Ajahn, 34, 125
change: meditation and adaptation to, 43–44; in nature, 274–75; physical, 50; polarity and, 213; resistance to, 42–43, 115; in sense of self, 140–43, 145; as universal principle, 42; vulnerability and, 43
Chicago (IL), 247–48
childhood, 123–24, 159–60, 237–38
children, 176, 199, 264, 275–76
choice, 124, 150
Christianity, 211
civil disobedience, 253–54
civil rights movement, 227–28, 251
civil unrest, 176
clarity, 7, 8, 279
climate change, 104–5, 254, 255, 281, 282, 283–84
Cohen, Darlene, 33–34, 35