I read a lot because it’s one of my favorite things to do. I’m so curious about the many different aspects of nondual spirituality. Zen books, Advaita Vedanta, and Christianity books take up the most space on my bookshelves. I’ll pull one of those Zen books from the shelf when something needs to be confirmed.
In this case, it’s these two things in an attempt to write as clearly as I can about them.
When I first came across these two, I had no idea how they would affect me later in life.
These two were and still remain the cornerstone of my spiritual path and practice. It certainly wasn’t clear to me for many years that was the case. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to convince my false self to work with these to accept these two things:
- Impermanence
- Suffering comes from attachment
Here’s the thing though.
Once I accepted these views on life and put them into practice it resulted in an immediate sense of inner stillness, even before the shift.
The effortless stillness was yet to reveal itself, but it was a relief to have a tiny taste of it at that time.
My outlook on life and what I thought it was supposed to look like “out there” started to shift when I changed my point of view on how I looked at life. After all, a point of view is just a view from a single point.
So, when I began to look at my life through a lens of impermanence, it was a different point of view to experience the world so it took a bit of time to see in a new way.
Seeing in the way isn’t the stillness I talk often talk about. It’s more a way of changing your view through the illusion that helps clear the way for stillness.
Accepting impermanence was the second crack in my false self that soon gave way to the waiting reservoir from where everything else flooded and permeated.
Let’s look at that.
WHAT IS IMPERMANENCE?
Let’s dig into the meaning of impermanence so we have a reference from where to look out while reading this.
Impermanence is defined as the fact or quality of being temporary. If something is temporary it can’t be constant. Which, also means change. Change is the one constant in life. Often, the false self looks at change with a love/hate relationship. It’s not quite sure what to make of it, so it brings a lot of confusion to our lives.
When things seem to be going bad for us, we have a desire to change it so it’ll get better. If the circumstances change for the better we view that change as good, it’s a relief. It’s a short relief.
Then, when things are going seemingly well for us, we want those things to stay the same. We don’t want change because that good feeling brings comfort, maybe some happiness, and a bit of relief to our life.
Do you know what else is there?
Angst.
But why?
I’ve wondered why this is and it comes down to impermanence. We inherently know things won’t last.
We want things to remain in our favor and when things don’t, we create our own suffering. It does this when it explodes into thoughts of this sucks so bad, why is everyone against me. Then, if we attach so strongly to the feeling of the world is against me, it trips us and we can fall into depression. Been there before…
It’s an ugly cycle.
The good news is that once you’re aware of this pattern it begins to loosen its grip.
Once it’s seen through the big self is to fully know impermanence. This isn’t an intellectual understanding because it cuts to the heart of knowing how life plays out.
Once one wakes up, it’s one of those things that is just simply known, accepted, and trusted. Your intellect might try to argue with itself at first, but it’ll reveal itself in time.
This brings us to the next thing Zen Buddhism taught me.
SUFFERING COMES FROM ATTACHMENT
This is number 2 of the Buddha’s 4 Noble Truths. Here are all 4.
The 4 Noble Truths:
- Life is unsatisfying (there is suffering)
- There is a reason why it’s unsatisfying (there is a cause of suffering)
- There is an end to it being unsatisfying (there is an end to suffering)
- The way out is the 8-fold path
Okay, so that’s all of them and they’re worth a deep study on their own.
It’s worth your time to dig into the meaning of suffering, but it’s not quite the same as the word the Buddha was recorded as used in this case. The word he used for “suffering”, is dukkha, and it’s a much more encompassing word than the word suffering.
Look into the word dukkha. Study on this.
But for now, let’s get back to number 2.
So, how does suffering come from attachment?
Well, we want only what we want. And when we don’t get what we want, we create suffering for ourselves. The flase self bursts into all the reasons, no matter how ridiculous, why we didn’t get what we wanted. We blame others. We complain. We suffer.
When I came to fully understand that I brought myself suffering by attaching things I wanted to situations, like outcomes in my favor, it crushed to because I had to own it.
So, wait…
You mean, my suffering is my fault?
Yes.
How could this be?!
Can’t get any more direct than this, I caused all my own suffering. No one else was to blame. Nobody else, but me. That stung like a lightning strike.
Being forced to see that it was me was devastating. But, it was at this moment, when I accepted that it was my doing, that everything changed. Whether it was the false self or not, it was me and no one else that caused me so much suffering.
Taking responsibility for my own suffering was so difficult. I pushed it away, denied it, and still didn’t really understand how it could be so. I spent a lot of time contemplating how it couldn’t be true. In the end, something inside me knew it was true but I had to sit with it for some reason.
It’s just like that sometimes.
I had this illusion that I had to convince my mind it was true. Something beyond the mind was telling me it was true…but the mind sure needs convincing. We too often listen to our minds rather than listening to our hearts.
When I find myself attached to something, it’s not long before that other one shows up(impermanence) and everything changes. They work in a weird way.
ZEN HELPED ME IN THESE WAYS, TOO
Here are a few other ways that studying and practicing Zen helps clear the way for awakening.
Zen emphasizes direct experience
Zen is not a theoretical or intellectual practice, but rather it focuses on direct experience. By practicing zazen (sitting meditation) and other forms of meditation (walking, working, etc.), I learned to develop the skill to slow down, both mentally and physically. That slowing down resulted in me being present and experiencing reality as it is, without the filter of thoughts and concepts.
Zen teaches non-dualism
Zen emphasizes the non-dual nature of reality, which means that there is no separation between the self and the world. This realization helped me overcome a sense of isolation and disconnection that so often leads to suffering. This brings a profound sense of peace, connectedness, and stillness.
Zen encourages letting go of attachments
Zen practice underlines the importance of letting go of attachments, including attachments to thoughts, emotions, and material possessions. This helped me break free from the tornado of desire and suffering.
Zen teaches mindfulness
Zen practice puts a big deal of effort into mindfulness in all aspects of life, not just during meditation. It really helped me become more aware of life’s clarity by being attentive and slowing down my actions. Intentionally practicing in this way led me to a deeper understanding of myself and the world around me.
I hope those are useful to your practice. Of course, these are not all of them, but these are the ones that stick out to me right now while I’m writing this. 🙂
MEDITATIONS
What things from the past have I, even unconsciously, attached myself to that caused me to suffer?
What do I place too much importance on that is impermanent?
CONTEMPLATIONS
How different would my life be if I didn’t become so attached to my thoughts?
How would life be more at ease if I accepted the temporary nature of things? What arises when I contemplate this?
INQUIRY
If I found myself attached to something that causes suffering, I could…
If I discovered I was clenching a feeling of disgust, I could let it go by…
