by Bruce Tift
The more that we trust in ourselves and dissolve our self-absorption, the more we find our experiencing to be most fundamentally the energy of open awareness. As we live with this realization, we find that while we can directly and consciously participate in this basic nature, we can never fully describe or express it. The experience of open awareness is said to be beyond description, without ascribable qualities. This does not have to mean that it is something hard to experience; it’s just hard to describe—open means open, without anything defining it. A mother holding her newborn infant, an artist in synch, an athlete in the zone: these are at least temporary experiences of nondivision, of relative freedom. But it’s probably impossible to ever really describe what was experienced. Traditionally, words, symbols, and art are used to point toward or suggest this experience, without the expectation that it will ever be captured or represented adequately. Sometimes negative language is used to make this point: “It’s not this; it’s not that.” When words are used, they often are terms like basic nature, spirit, mystery. In this book, we have used open awareness and freedom most frequently to point in this direction. Hopefully, none of these terms will be taken as representing something that actually exists as an objective reality, with its own essential nature.
Unlike our cultural tendency to see moments of freedom as unique and somehow qualitatively different from our usual experiencing, the fruitional view asserts that all limited, relative experiencing is inherently the expression of freedom. All relative experience is seen as constructed, as arising out of an incredibly complex web of conditions, as present for a moment in vivid appearance and then dissolving as it’s replaced by the next moment’s appearance. This includes the continually constructed appearance of the “experiencer” of this display. Because all of our relative experiencing is equally without objective existence, it is all an equally valid expression of the same never-resolvable reality. This display is always present, and awareness of this display is always present. The two are inseparable. In Buddhist terms, relative reality and absolute reality are inseparable. Because all of our experiencing is without essential nature, without permanence, it is actually impossible to be trapped or limited by it. It’s only when we “freeze” our experience—with great effort—that we can have the fantasy of being limited selves in a world of limitation. Our very nature is that of an open, never-resolvable stream of experiencing and the always-present awareness of this display. Our very nature is that of freedom. Precisely because there’s never any ground, there’s never any entrapment. Trungpa Rinpoche said, “The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is there’s no ground.”
As our path clarifies our confusion and our confusion is revealed to be only a distorted way of relating to what we are already experiencing, we wake up to the unconditional confidence and appreciation that comes from realizing that all of our experiencing is the expression of freedom. This experiential confidence invites a reengagement with the full range of our human experiencing. Rather than trying to escape into some fantasy of a life without limitations, we engage fully, spontaneously, and in embodied vulnerability, choosing what to work with and what not to work with. We discover that a good state of mind, regardless of circumstance, is the relative expression, in form and limitation, of the unconditional energy of awareness and freedom.
THE SUN AND THE CLOUDS
Imagine that we live where it’s always cloudy. We never see the sun. And we, of course, take our everyday experience as if it’s reality—the only reality. The clouds are perhaps a little claustrophobic in some vague way, but they’re comfortable and familiar. One day we meet a visitor who tells us that what we’re used to isn’t the whole story, that there’s something else. Curious, we go with him, and he guides us up a mountain. We climb up and up, through the cloud cover. There, at the top, we step into this incredibly intense experience of sun and expansive sky. It completely changes our sense of what’s possible, what’s available to us. We return to our daily lives, but we’ll never be the same.
We might unconsciously allow that experience to become only a memory—something very valuable that we experienced. But we might also use this memory to remind ourselves that, in each present moment, the sun is still there. Perhaps that one experience on the mountaintop might have been enough for us to feel confident that the sun really exists. Or perhaps we might climb that mountain many times to strengthen our confidence. But increasingly, we may begin to live as if the sun were always there. We start to live with a sense of greater expansiveness. We don’t take daily life as if it’s the whole story anymore. We don’t feel so oppressed by the experience of limitation. We begin to realize that, in fact, the sun, the clouds, and our daily life all exist together and are one piece, that the clouds are just as valid as the sun. We may recognize a fantasy of how nice it would be to only live in the sun. We realize, though, that we always have that choice; we can go live on top of the mountain if we want. But we can also choose to live in our daily life, because it’s all the same reality. What makes it the same reality is our awareness. We’re aware of the clouds; we’re aware of the sun. It’s always the same awareness, and that open knowing has no preference itself. We’re free to choose, and whatever choice we make is an expression of that freedom. Because what’s always there is awareness and freedom, we may be willing to relax into the actual experience of being awareness as our most fundamental sense of self, the experience of being freedom.
If you’ll recall, at the start of this book I shared the story of how I ended up doing what I do. How I had begun training as a psychotherapist but had found it very difficult to continue in the typical Western view. How my connection with Buddhism and with my teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche helped me find a way to return to therapy, informed by a Buddhist understanding of mind. It’s been more than forty years of practice and study and more than thirty-five years of clinical work since then, and I still feel so grateful to my teacher, Trungpa Rinpoche. There were so many gifts that came from being his student, listening to his teachings, and being in his presence. I think one of the greatest gifts was experiencing his energy of outrageous confidence. He was completely engaged with being human. I never witnessed him as unwilling to experience and work with anything that came up. This is one reason why Vajrayana Buddhism is sometimes understood as a “fast path”—nothing is discarded. Everything is used—however disturbing, however joyful. If I could pass on one of these gifts, it would be this encouragement: Discard nothing, appreciate everything. Look for wakefulness, look for compassion, and look for freedom in every moment of your life. Look for these energies in every moment, whether you’re experiencing anger, hunger, depression, or joy. If you look for what’s already there, you are likely to find it. And I feel confident in saying that the experience of freedom is, in fact, already there.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I AM ESPECIALLY APPRECIATIVE of my wife, Reva, for all of her unconditional support and love, her hugs and check-ins, and her tolerance of my hours in front of the computer. Like my other great teachers, I more and more understand all that she’s given me as my heart continues to open. Diane Israel has continually supported me in this project, with her genuine appreciation, engagement, and feedback. I probably would not have begun this book without her encouragement. Tami Simon has very generously given both her friendship and the resources of Sounds True to transform these ideas into an offering to a larger audience. The staff at Sounds True has been always friendly and professional. I’ve been very fortunate to have Kelly Notaras as my editor. She’s done a great job editing and, even more important, has really understood the material and given great insights about how to express difficult ideas. Thank you all so much.
I am also so grateful to the countless teachers and therapists who continually do their best for the benefit of us all. And to all of us who, as students and clients, support these efforts and then take what we learn to share with others. And to the overwhelming majorit
y of people on this planet who are doing their best to live with dignity and kindness. Thank you all so much.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BRUCE TIFT, MA, LMFT, has been in private practice since 1979, taught at Naropa University for twenty-five years, worked in a psychiatric ward and as a family therapist with social services, and has given presentations in the United States, Mexico, and Japan. In his twenties he traveled for two years by motorcycle in Europe, North Africa, and overland to India and Nepal. He has worked as a laborer, clerk, postal worker, longshoreman, painter, school bus driver, paper mill worker, miner, and truck driver. He and his wife, Reva, are now empty-nesters living in Boulder, Colorado. A practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism for more than forty years, he had the good fortune to be a student of Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, and to meet a number of realized teachers.
ABOUT SOUNDS TRUE
SOUNDS TRUE is a multimedia publisher whose mission is to inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening. Founded in 1985 and located in Boulder, Colorado, we work with many of the leading spiritual teachers, thinkers, healers, and visionary artists of our time. We strive with every title to preserve the essential “living wisdom” of the author or artist. It is our goal to create products that not only provide information to a reader or listener, but that also embody the quality of a wisdom transmission.
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© 2015 by Bruce Tift
Foreword © 2015 by Tami Simon
SOUNDS TRUE is a trademark of Sounds True, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author and publisher.
This work is solely for personal growth and education. It should not be treated as a substitute for professional assistance, therapeutic activities such as psychotherapy or counseling, or medical advice. In the event of physical or mental distress, please consult with appropriate health professionals. The application of protocols and information in this book is the choice of each reader, who assumes full responsibility for his or her understandings, interpretations, and results. The author and publisher assume no responsibility for the actions or choices of any reader.
All of the clinical examples in this book are composites. While the issues and interactions are accurate representations of Bruce Tift’s work as a therapist, none of the examples refer to actual clients.
Cover design by Rachael Murray
Book design by Beth Skelley
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tift, Bruce.
Already free : Buddhism meets psychotherapy on the path of liberation / by Bruce Tift.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-62203-411-6
1. Psychotherapy—Religious aspects—Buddhism. I. Title.
BQ4570.P76T54 2015
294.3'3615—dc23
2014042619
Ebook ISBN 978-1-62203-456-7
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