In the face of this order of magnitude, our presence is extreme limitedness, to put it mildly! All possible dispositions, animate or inanimate, including ourselves are abject polarization. Thus the phrase ‘insufficiency delimitation’. Everything, not limited to our form, apparent reality and our expectations are virtually delimited inadequacy. What then are we meant to do? Perhaps little by little, we are meant to discover, look upon and imbibe the properties of what is beyond even total space. Action and aspiration engage and exercise our will and capabilities. Barely or largely, directly or indirectly, all action and aspiration generate first the appreciation of limitedness, and then that of expansion.

For instance, the move from myself to us is along such a trajectory, as is that from indifference or frank ill-will to compassion. This movement is possibly the purpose of all action and aspiration. Until wonder arises. With wonder, we likely approach the periphery of vision, in terms of reason and ramification. Further along this course, spontaneous possibility might even give way to fruition in the absence of the manifest. However we choose to phrase it, progressive expansion outstrips possibility until the ground that harbors potential or no potential is reached. Beyond this basic ground perhaps is ”no measure”. And all of this begins with the acknowledgement through any and all action or aspiration, of limitedness, of insufficiency delimitation. Only then can we start to move into possibility, basic ground and even beyond!

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Early Buddhist psychology states that everything including the self is dependently arisen. This means that what we think is ‘me’ comes about from the arising of causes and conditions. If any of these conditions cease to arise, there would be no ‘me’. Therefore in terms of origin, we really have only conditions that could change and cease at any moment. From this point of view, the emphasis on self-identity is plainly mistaken!

For true joy and compassion to arise, we ought to focus on values or perhaps a value system that gifts freedom from conditioning. And the notion of identity is the veritable fulcrum of conditioning. It is the beginning of a move away from community, from fellowship and from generosity. With a focus on self-identity, we are forever preoccupied with our own needs and wants, on losses and gains and hopes and fears. Not only is this a loss of balance, it is a canvas that presents and reinforces the cues, the triggers and the conditions that keep us forever trapped in a cycle of inadequacy and perpetual seeking.

The abandonment of what keeps us in bondage starts with relinquishing self-identity. This opens us up to exploring values such as freedom, ease, equality and union. It might seem that letting go of our sense of identity threatens our welfare. That is simply not true. In releasing our emphasis on ourselves, we stand the chance of discovering a panorama that is full of novelty and beauty. When such a stance is adopted, there comes a sense of fellowship and wonder that far outstrips the transient happiness that we think we ought to pursue.

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Trauma management can be fraught with difficulties. Many would argue that getting to the ultimate cause for behavioral or psychic distortions is key. We believe that this may not be so. Trauma imprinting is recursive. This likely requires reframing and not exploration and uncovering. The paradigm we present here does away with emphasis on causality and introduces a model wherein tolerance and gratitude can be built upon. Doing so eliminates the root of trauma and not just manages its manifestations.

For more information about this practice, do connect with us.

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If we examine closely, perturbation emerges as a given. Not uncertainty which gives rise to our hopes and fears but perturbation. This flux is the nature of both growth and decay. Perturbation is a hallmark of a system that is limited in some way. If there were complete freedom and unity, there would be no such flux and variance. That is in effect what we perhaps are, a state of limited change, and we assume that this circumscription is true reality. Can we deny that everything we are aware of is limited in some way? Perhaps not.

That which is a condition is subsumed by that which is not a condition. We can choose to look at that which is a condition and call it reality or we can choose to approach that which is not a condition. This begs the question, what is a condition? Everything is, from the teapot to the automobile to my body and mind. Not only this, everything and anything that can exist, or not exist from now to forever before and after has to be a condition, a state of limitation, of perturbation. And what is that which is not a condition? Something that forms both the skeletal framework of that which is a condition as well as its boundary and beyond. It therefore appears that that which is not a condition must be an overarching, all encompassing system of incomprehensible magnitude. In the face of such magnitude, can anything we call real actually be reality? Likely not!

In all likelihood, a system of such overarching, incomprehensible magnitude can only be approached and in the movement of this approach is bound to lie perturbation. Perhaps that is what we have to learn as we live our lives. That pain and suffering, change and dissolution are inevitable. From the largest galaxy cluster to the tiniest ant, everything is this flux, this limitation, and in comparison to an overarching system of immense magnitude, barely there and merely insufficiency! True reality might thus be an immense system, beyond the reach of our minds and lives which appear only as inadequacy in the face of absolute magnitude. Does this have to be a morbid realization? Absolutely not! For in approaching magnitude beyond measure, we can discover true joy in limitation. And we can aim to forever keep our sights trained on that which is above and beyond measure. In doing so, not only do we move towards complete freedom, we can live our lives filled with wonder at the magnitude of true reality as well as humility in being allowed to be part of it.

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As a concept, this notion of freedom can be very appealing. However, there is a difference between a conceptual notion or belief in natural perfection and actually ‘seeing’ and feeling it. Just thinking about it does not free us and even though it is said to be ever present and actually all that there is, only a seldom few are equipped to see and live natural perfection. We have to be prepared to be free, to acquire the causes and conditions for liberation and the full glory of natural perfection might manifest if we were to realize that we are free no matter what state or circumstances we inhabit. This is paradoxically, not easy! Most, if not all the time, we are stuck in our minds and our lives to be able to rest in natural perfection. Incessantly, we long for the things and circumstances that will please us and suffer when we do not get what we want. Mental and physical frenzy is the norm and even thought of as necessary. Our inability to rest in freedom is perpetuated by our ignorance.

We see our trials and tribulations as real, we identify with our minds and our bodies and a so called self, and so it goes, endlessly. Perhaps, in order to see natural perfection and be immediately free, we have to first cut through our usual perception of things. The world of senses and objects and knowing has to be seen as transient and subject to change and thus not really ours at all. Through meditation or contemplation, we connect with this ‘non-self’ view of phenomena. We begin to see all things and experience as arising and ceasing, never solid and independent and thus not really worth clinging to. Regular practice literally helps us shed the weight of me and mine and this or that. With that happening, it becomes easier to just rest in the natural fluidity of reality, and we begin to catch glimpses of a reality that is free from all structures and ideation, from any elaboration, conceptualization or labeling.

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Contemplating this, we realize that we cannot stop acting. And that is perhaps part of the trap. We have free reign over how we act and mistakenly believe that we can act to lastingly satisfy ourselves. Many do not accept the notion that we are trapped and yet if we were to agree, wouldn’t we act to free ourselves? Isn’t it better to act on a truth rather than on ceaselessly acting on and perpetuating what might actually be misperception? If we actually saw that there is nothing permanently satisfying, we would act accordingly, prudently, wisely, instead of forever grasping at rainbows. And with just that much of a realization comes freedom. And we start creating momentum in the right direction rather than cementing the trap.

The Buddha talked of things like right action and right effort. Action that sets us free is right action. Perhaps, if we were to be careful to act only in the service of what grants freedom, we might overcome suffering. Many claim that our actions could lead to great and noble things. That is true and acting in the service of freedom does not preclude actions that eventually help us and others to acquire the means to pursue our course towards liberation. We have to earn a livelihood to clothe and feed ourselves. If we are hungry, we cannot practice the path that brings freedom. Acts of invention and creativity help one and all to be free of time consuming and wasteful distractions so that we can focus and invest in what really matters. Kind acts, acts of compassion and of help and service serve to create the right ground and mindset in which our practice can flourish. So, we can choose to act skillfully and in a direction that eventually helps us and others to acquire the conditions that might allow the consideration and practice of what sets us truly free.

With skillful action comes restraint. Knowing how not to act is perhaps more important than knowing how to. The Buddha repeatedly pointed out that acts fuelled by greed, ill-will, arrogance, covetousness, jealousy and other unwholesome states inevitably lead to suffering. In the context of unwholesome motivation and emotions, even though a certain end might seem desirable and attractive, in acting upon it, we trap ourselves in misery and pain. Everyone’s experience shows that the state of greed is suffering, the state of hate is suffering. Unwholesome mental states not only cause pain but in being driven by such emotions and states we inevitably increase our pain. We just do not clearly see this. In spending time contemplating, the insidiousness of this process becomes clear. Even the slightest attachment or aversion and we set in motion the process of creating suffering. The longing for things to be a certain way or not a certain way itself is attachment or aversion acting! It is mind boggling to think how often we do this over a lifetime. So that is a lifetime of solidifying the trap! Perhaps this is the reason why buddhist thought is so detailed when it comes to matters of conduct, behavior and practice. Craving is pervasive, and learning not to rely upon it requires tremendous vigilance. Greed is insidious as is ill-will and underlying these is craving, for things to be a certain way or not be a certain way. So when we act, we are already under the influence of this longing or craving. That is how subtle the trap is!

Perhaps in seeing how subtle the trap is, we start creating the conditions for freedom. We can of course choose not to see or agree with all this. Seeing the truth in this is wisdom, it is patience and compassion. Tempered by the sobering realization that it is our actions and our minds that trap us, we might better appreciate the value of true freedom, of true peace and contentment rather than valuing the fickle pleasures and accomplishments that we spend all our lives chasing.

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Spending time in contemplative practice makes many things very clear. That we are eternally dissatisfied, always seeking and craving and mistaking momentary pleasure for permanent happiness. Being still, we come to see that everything that we can conceive of simply arises and ceases with no inherent, intrinsic nature. Nothing whatsoever can give true, lasting satisfaction, and that nothing is actually pleasurable or attractive or ever ours to begin with. Really seeing that impermanent things are inevitably unreliable changes everything.

As we begin to see the truth of impermanence, we begin to question our activities and our intentions. There arises the desire for that which is lasting. Our contemplative practice starts to acquire renewed meaning and gradually our practice reveals the many shades of our own conditioning. Our belief that the universe has anything that is satisfying, stable and ours to control begins to erode. And our usual engagements and endeavors start to lose their meaning. This is a wholesome development as we start to realize that simplifying and deconstructing leads to more space and time. Space to ready ourselves for the inevitable like illness, aging, separation from what is beloved and even for death. And more importantly, to begin creating a path that will lead to freedom.

As we face these realities, impermanence and inconstancy which begin as mere notions become, real, stark and immediate. When we contemplate how strong our craving for pleasure and satisfaction or certainty is, even the notion that at death, we will cling to whatever arises or appears doesn’t seem so improbable. The Buddha said that the cycle of existence never ceases with craving and becoming, creating or acquiring fueling further being and arising. Given the strength of our conditioning, this is a very sobering thought. The result even if one were not to go this far is that time takes on new meaning, as do our actions. Do we choose to spend our time strengthening our conditioning and cementing our predispositions and delusions or do we choose to try and break free from this ceaseless cycle of wanting and dissatisfaction?

Perhaps in the questioning of our actions, there is knowing. A knowing that everything we do and think matters. That the time available to us to attempt to be free, to sincerely practice is limited indeed. With each mental and physical action, we either dig ourselves deeper into the mire of confusion and suffering or we take a slow but sure step towards eventual emancipation.

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No matter what tradition we follow, at first, sitting unmasks this noise. The momentum of our usual daily lives makes acquiring stillness difficult. Thoughts come in, as do plans and memories and impulses, urges and sensations. With a little bit of sensitization however, these distractions usually lessen and we might be surprised to experience moments of silence and a deep knowing. A knowing that people, places and things are ephemeral and that our experiencing and our impressions are our actual reality. When we tune in to the fact of experiencing, we see clearly that the desire for sense impressions, the longing for things to be a certain way or to not be a certain way is pervasive. This craving for sense pleasures, becoming or not becoming was what the Buddha said was the cause for all our suffering.

Upon attempting to contemplate in silence, this craving to do, to become, to change or stop becomes very prominent. This is an important event in contemplation. Identifying this craving is vital in moving towards freedom. Most of the time, we are oblivious to it and it rules all our moments and drives all our actions, thoughts and behavior. Only with stillness and silence can we apprehend the magnitude of the influence craving has in all that we do.

Contemplation has a way of generating its own momentum. As we sit with craving, at least during practice, it lessens and we experience ease and comfort. Even though this ease is momentary, it brings into focus the mechanisms of our distress. So it is important not to get discouraged by distractions. We sit with them, allow them to be. With the repeated knowing of the centrality of craving might come a readiness to let it arise and cease. This is possible with sitting contemplation. And if we can learn to pause during our daily lives and spot this dissatisfaction with what is, we’d have come a long way in our journey towards freedom.

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