The scopes of the three trainings of
Impermanence, dissatisfaction, and Anatta – No self
HAPPINESS
First, I will consider happiness in the context of the scopes of the three trainings.
Since training in morality is such a vast subject,
the ways we can find happiness is also a vast subject, and becomes interesting
primarily in comparison with the scopes of the other two trainings,
those of concentration and wisdom.
~~~
The common denominator of the concentration attainments is
that we learn to get ourselves into states of consciousness
that are some mixture of blissful and peaceful,
as well as increasingly spacious
and removed from our ordinary experience.
These can be a source of happiness that is
far more intense and predictable than the happiness found in the ordinary world,
though these states, too, obviously end.
Being able to access as much happiness and peace
as we wish when we wish
reduces our anger at the everyday world
for not providing us with these,
making us less needy and greedy.
There is also the happiness that comes from
seeing the true nature of the sensations that make up our world
and thus
attaining stages of realization
by fundamentally eliminating perceptual distortions
that impede appreciation of even the most pleasant experiences.
RENUNCIATION
Renunciation in this context involves shifting priorities
away from things that cause suffering and
towards those that help extricate us from suffering.
There are three areas of renunciation that correspond to
the scopes of the three trainings.
We can renounce aspects of the ordinary by simply letting go of these things.
We can quit our job, leave our relationship, stop smoking crack,
or shave our heads.
We can try to be less angry or fearful.
We can work on our communication skills, trying to avoid lying and slander.
Sometimes people feel that the ordinary concerns of the world
require attention every waking instant, which is clearly not true.
Realizing that we can consciously choose to set them aside
for periods of time and
go deep into the profound stillness and depths of concentration
allows the form of renunciation associated with the second training.
~~~
We can practice renouncing more crude mind states in favor of more
skillful, refined ones, and this conditioning can increase the chances that
more beneficial mind states will predominate
and that unskillful states will be less predominant.
This insight-associated renunciation is a subtler and
more sophisticated form of renunciation than the other two,
yet
it is not always easy to convince people that
having the option of being with reality is a good idea.
While “awakening” generally sounds very appealing,
it suddenly sounds strange in the context of
seeing all sensations as being utterly transient,
a source of pain if we make artificial dualities out of them,
and
if we mistake transient sensations
for an experientially stable, independent self.
~~~
People often conflate the three kinds of renunciation,
the most common error being the idea that they must
“give up” aspects of the first two trainings
(a happy life and fun concentration states)
to renounce them in the insight way,
in which they see the true nature of the sensations that make up these things.
SUFFERING
First,
there is the form of suffering that the Buddha is most famous for talking about,
ordinary suffering, the standard list including:
birth, sickness, aging, death, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.
These are ordinary forms of suffering that we can try to mitigate or postpone
as best we can by ordinary methods, that is,
by working within the scope of the first training of Morality
in the conventional world.
I am a big fan of trying to find worldly happiness
so long as we do not neglect the importance of the other two trainings –
Concentration and Wisdom.
~~~
There is also the form of suffering relating to the scope of the second training – Concentration,
that comes from being limited to our ordinary states of consciousness,
with our only way out coming generally from
sleep, extreme or peak experiences, or
the use of mind-altering substances.
We yearn for bliss that is not so bound up in things like
whether we get a good job;
we yearn for experiences like those found in the concentration states.
~~~
Our minds have this potential,
and the failure to be able to access these states
at times when doing so would be helpful and healthy…
is a source of bondage.
I am a big fan of being able to attain these wonderful states
so long as we do not neglect the other two trainings.
There is also the kind of suffering that comes from
making artificial dualities out of non-dual sensations,
and all the unnecessary reactivity, misperceptions,
distortions of perspective and proportion, and the
basic blindfulness that accompanies that process.
This kind of suffering, relating to the scope of training in wisdom,
is not touched by the first two trainings,
though to say that it is entirely unrelated to them
is not quite true.
~~~
The suffering that insight practices seek to remove
forms a background level of suffering in our life
and increases the potential for further suffering in the other two scopes.
This form of suffering is gradually relieved by the stages of awakening,
as clarity of perception grows
and so fewer and fewer aspects of reality
have the capacity to trick the mind in this way.
~~~
I am a big fan of awakening and thus
of eliminating this pervasive form of suffering,
just so long as we do not also neglect the other two trainings.
The suffering of the ordinary world can be extremely unpredictable,
and working to relieve it is a very complex business,
the work of a lifetime, or, for those who emphasize rebirth,
the work of eons.
~~~
The suffering related to
being unable to access refined altered states of consciousness
is mitigated by simply taking the time to learn the necessary skills
and then refining them until they are accessible to us when we wish.
Practically,
there are some limits to these states,
particularly as they are transient and thus… end.
The basic states attainable by training in concentration
can be very thoroughly mastered within a lifetime
and even within a few years or perhaps months
for those with talent and diligence.
~~~
The stages of awakening are relatively permanent
(or as permanent as they can be with a biological brain,
which is clearly impermanent, but it is not necessary at this point
to go into a discussion of mind and biological brain).
Once the stages of awakening are attained,
that aspect of our suffering is forever eliminated and never arises again.
This can be accomplished by those who take the time
to learn the skills necessary to see individual sensations clearly
and are willing to work on that level.
~~~
These basic facts can be used to help us plan our quest for happiness
and the elimination of the various forms of suffering in our life.
We can direct our studies and training to work on specific skills
that lead to specific effects and abilities in the order we choose
within the limits of our life circumstances and the resources available to us.
Just having the basic paradigm that
the meaning or point of our life might be
the elimination of suffering and the increase in happiness
in ourselves and those around us
by simply training in various established methods
represents a profound enhancement of perspective.
It might make sense to learn concentration skills early in our lives,
as they help develop so many of the skills necessary for the other two trainings
and can provide an increased sense of ease and well-being.
For example,
rather than popping a cold beer at the end of a hard day,
we could sit down and bathe our body and mind in as much
healing bliss and peace as we can stand for as long as we wish.
If we master concentration practices, we have those options.
AWAKENING
There are three ways in which words such as
“awakening” or “enlightenment” are used,
and these may also relate to the scopes of the three trainings.
However,
I feel that this is a dangerous habit,
and I strongly advocate using enlightenment and similar words
to refer only to ultimate insights,
meaning the stages of awakening in the high and traditional sense.
While we may hear people (like Craig Hamelton)
speak of performing “enlightened” actions,
or of thinking in “enlightened” ways.
This is awesome for those that are consciously
NOT on the deep end of a Path to real and full Enlightenment.
I have come to the conclusion that
for those that are determined to embrace spiritual training with the Right Effort …
we either need to be very careful to explain that these are
very conventional and relative definitions of enlightenment
or we need to not use such language at all.
~~~
Some traditions endow the very high concentration states an ultimate status.
I also advocate strongly against this, as did the Buddha,
who saw the limits of those states during his years of practice
before he became a Buddha.
The concentration states can be so compelling and seductive,
causing some people to imagine they are awakened in the non-dual sense
when they are merely having
temporary unitive, vast, or extremely subtle experiences
(experiences where reality did something that was sufficiently lacking in specific qualities or intensity to be clearly discerned, here termed “unknowing experiences”).
Thus,
I strongly suggest that such attainments never be associated with
the language of enlightenment or awakening in any way.
Rather,
I define awakening as:
Permanently eliminating the basic perceptions
that either duality or unity is the answer,
and thus
attaining to permanent realizations that are
unshakable within the limits of biology.
Awakening has nothing whatsoever to do with how things manifest and
everything to do with basic understanding of those things.
These frameworks can also be useful for looking at other common issues
such as thoughts of past and future
that people run into when they get into meditation.
Confusion arises when these pieces of advice are
applied outside the scope for which they were meant.
When working on our ordinary lives, or within the scope of the first training,
the content of our thoughts on past and future is very helpful,
in fact necessary.
~~~
Remembering the past is important,
as, with experience, we generate a body of memory
concerning what leads to what in this world.
Being able to plan and consider our future is very important,
as with our predictive ability we can use this to try to craft a well-lived life.
However,
when working on training in concentration,
such thoughts are generally ignored or suppressed
by deep concentration on another object.
~~~
When doing insight practices,
it doesn’t matter so much if thoughts of past or future arise,
so long as we are not fascinated by their content,
notice that the experiences of thoughts occur now,
and
notice the true nature of the individual sensations that make up those thoughts.
~~~
It is common to hear of people trying to apply one piece of advice
to a scope for which it was never intended, like
trying to stop thinking when trying to deal with their daily life.
This sort of practice would simply promote stupidity and dissociation,
and
there is already more than enough of that.
In short,
when evaluating or applying a piece of spiritual advice,
make sure
you understand the specific context for which it was intended.
This article was Inspired by
Buddha’s step by step instructions to obtain Enlightenment
as refined by The Arahant Daneil M. Ingram.
