Fresh Mind Reading for Addiction Retreat

Fresh New Mind
You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it. - Albert Einstein

Is this true? If it is, what are we to do? How do we go about getting another mind? Thankfully, and I say that from my own experience, Zen and the various methods of Zen practice offer us ways to find a fresh new mind.

Most of us are buried under a mountain of habits and conditions that hinder our locating this fresh, new mind. We remain for years covered by the same old prejudiced mind and old decisions that buried us in the first place. Fortunately, there are practices that are able to help us shovel out of this problem-making mindset. But we need the conviction to turn and return to the shoveling. We need to realize that continuous shoveling is a necessary spiritual activity to unearth the mess suffocating our life. “Over and over again” is an essential mantra to guard against giving up the dig.

The continuous digging and continuously returning to digging out from under these habits is Zen. We wish and worry our life away and end up like the walking dead. We often long for the past and fret about the future. We are sorters, classifiers, and rankers setting up endless steps towards short and long-term goals and think that these arrangements solve the human dilemmas of living. Bluntly, they are not the solutions because they come from the decision-making mind that created the problems in the first place. In essence, they are shovelfuls of habits, wishes and fantasies that smother our life. We need a fresh, new mind. The question is “How and where do we acquire such a mind?”

The where is clearly stated by Buddha.

What is the destination? The eradication of infatuation, the eradication of hostility and the eradication of delusion are what is called the destination. (1)
Not only did Buddha tell us the where, he gave us a how.
And what is the path leading to the destination? Present-moment awareness directed toward the body. (2) (speech and mind)

Straightforward and clear and yet not many of us follow it. Let’s have a look and see if we can see what gets in our way. We might think we have to invent or build this new, fresh mind. Not so. We have to unearth it from the weight of hundreds of moments of convention and habit. Our new mind is hidden beneath years of old and self-absorbed thinking. All of which is tightly packed down with ideas of right and wrong, like and dislike. Our main motivation underneath this pile of mess is to avoid what we dislike and approach what we like. We cycle endlessly in samsara or as Einstein would say the mind that created the problem. Watch for yourself, you are either putting a scheme together to get something you like or get rid of something you dislike. Let’s have a look at two common, very human stories to help us see what this is all about.

THE TALE OF DIVORCE
A man, many years divorced recalls how he and his wife of many years loved art and art events. He recalls how wonderful these times were and what he loved about these times together. They were for him delightful. The wonderful conversation they shared about different artists. They were enthralled by the potential meanings of each work, the memorable pieces, the history and skills of a particularly artist, the splendid and delicious luncheons. It was, for him, both enjoyable and unforgettable.

Now he attends museum events with a friend, a woman whom he admires, who is as intelligent and as caring as his former wife but who has no interest whatsoever in these afternoon imaginings. She generally wants to say goodbye and go home once she has eaten her lunch. He feels this is not enjoyable and he feels disappointed and a little slighted by her behavior. He mentioned it to her and she being an amenable, affable sort of woman tries to talk about the art, the theme and meaning of each piece they saw together. He reported rather downhearted that although she tried to give him what he wanted it was for him like a recitation of a Cliff notes summary, a book report.

He was disappointed.

First can you see the old-habitual, decision making mind at work? Don’t go any further until you see that this divorced man is setting up the whole event in his mind before he goes to the museum. He digs into his habitual past and pulls out a memory which he remembers to be enjoyable and pastes it on the current day. He defends his right to do such a thing because recalling the past is a commonplace, human activity. He cherishes his past and wants to repeat it. He fails to see that this recall is a little like regurgitating a delicious meal eaten earlier in the day.
His desire to repeat is quite strong, a tip that he is in an old habit.

This habitual mind lures him into longing for something gone, something irretrievable. And when his day results in disappointment he turns round into the old, habit mind that brought him there and does a number of conditioned, old behaviors. He judges the woman and declares her a dull cold fish. When judging her does not bring peace of mind he attempts to comfort this old wagging mindset by telling himself to accept his lot in life. Now he is even more downcast and begins to pin a label on himself “out of luck.”

The divorced man is unable to see that he is buried underneath old, dead patterns. He can’t see that he kills the fresh event with this woman because he is suffocating under this self-created mountain. Since he is a student of Zen he wants to look like a good student and shouts at himself, “OK, I KNOW I HAVE TO ACCEPT MY SITUATION.” Buddha is not that unkind or aggressive. This demand is merely more of the old, habit mind. Be a good Zen student and suck it up! He continues to cycle, sort, and shift, arrange and accept. If he is unable to see this circular hell of pain and bitterness he will cycle endlessly taping labels on his life with words like ACCEPTANCE, THAT’S LIFE and TOUGH LUCK. A dead end, indeed.

What is he to do? Eradicate the infatuation, but how does he do it? We’ll get to the specifics but first one more anecdote.

A TALE OF THE PERPETUAL VICTIM
A woman, quite talented and vibrant continuously finds herself complaining. She complains about her work, her family, especially her husband and her friends. Everyone seems to want too much from her. She feels “put upon” by others. Maybe you feel the same way. Again, her situation is a common enough misery, like the common cold. Yet it is annoying and irritating to her. When she describes her situation it goes something like this, they (they is any member of her social world) need so much stroking, care and attention that if I don’t give it to them all hell breaks loose. It’s just easier to give it to them and keep the peace than to do anything else. But I find I am miserable all the time. In fact, I end up hating all of them. No, it’s worse than that, I hate my life.”

What is she to do? Is her habitual mind running the show or not? She wants peace and ends up with self-loathing and hate for others which doesn’t sound much like the peace of Buddha. It sounds like hell. She sizes up a situation in terms, words, ideas of what the other needs, wants, and demands and then attempts to meet those needs, wants and demands which she labels as the path to peace. Yet, her experience tells her these actions lead to hate and more hate. She believes if she continues to follow her training to be a “good girl” that she’ll somehow have a good life. There is the rub.

Just as the divorced man, she needs to see her desire to be a “good girl” is burying her alive. She can’t skip this step. Neither can you.

Both of these stories remind me of two puppies that I recently fostered. We put up a little corral which formed a circle and within this corral was their cage where they could go in and out to sleep. Quickly these two puppies found that if they banged their small little bodies up against the corral walls and leaped that they could with effort hoist themselves over the wall into the rest of the house. Soon they were getting out all the time. They’d rush the wall, bang and leap and up and out they’d go. I watched how quickly they were able to do this and decided to make it easier for them to get out. I unhooked the cage from part of the corral wall and made an opening. Guess what?

They continued to rush the wall and leap over even though the gate was open. Their habit was formed and maintained even though there was another way out. I realized I would need to show them where the open gate was and actually redirect them away from their newly formed habit. The habit formed quickly and is maintained unless interrupted; it is the same for us.
The divorced man and perpetual victim are habituated and addicted. They both are defending this habit mind rather than defending their faith in digging out. They need to interrupt these patterns.

The practices of interruption and concentration are numerous but you have to pick one and do it. The practice needs to help you interfere with the habitual mindset not polish it, box it or seal it. It requires a concentrated mind. The concentrated mind strengthens your ability to pull out of the distracted, old hell raiser.

Fortunately, and I really mean fortunately your fresh new mind is ever present. You just need a method to uncover it. You need a glimpse of confidence that the treasure is there otherwise you’ll be like those who find fool’s gold.

How might you develop such confidence? In your own mind! There is no other place, and no better place than your own triumph through the mire of your own habitual, circular thinking. Most of us think it’s the other guy or our current situation which makes us so miserable. Don’t believe it!

You first need to see the hell making mind. Even a small glimpse of it is enough. And then you

need to write the glimpse down. Put it up all over the house, on the refrigerator, carry a copy in a wallet, and paste it on the bathroom mirror. You need to put it in your own words but if you can’t do that you can use this phrase, “if my life stinks, look at the end of my nose.” A strong, clear message is required.

You can fill in the word life with more specifics, such as my friend, mother, brother, husband, lunch, my job, body, boss and my kids, i.e., “if it stinks, look at the end of your nose.” You can’t skip this step. This is present-moment awareness at the end of your own nose.

You need to turn round and look with a pair of binoculars on your own thinking process, see where this thought takes you and realize this habitual mind leads to suffering. A YIELD sign needs to be put up to remind you not to go any further with these old thoughts. In Zen lingo this is seeing through karma or creating a fork in the road. It is setting down the sentimental for the real. It is the eradication of infatuation.

You now need a present-moment practice of awareness using body, speech and mind. Something as simple as coloring, putting a puzzle together or copying a sutra will do. Resistance will rise at this point and you’ll want to go back to your old problem-making mind which paves the road to hell. Expect resistance like you expect a bumpy ride over a dirt road. It can’t be otherwise. But, don’t give up. Resistance can be tolerated. You need to tell yourself you can tolerate, handle and manage the resistance. Imagine it’s a squirming puppy trying to get out of your hands. You wouldn’t drop them, so don’t drop this practice. It is the path to the eradication of infatuation!
Once you’ve decided on one of these simple tasks you need to follow it and do it. It can’t be just a thought, you need to do it and watch what happens to your mind. You’ll see very quickly how your old habit mind will want to lure you away. Telling you “coloring” is stupid or “putting a puzzle together” is a waste of time. You’ll swear to yourself this could not be the path to the eradication of infatuation.

Don’t get tricked by thinking there is something better to do than what you are doing. Comparing is merely more delusion. Clear your mind of the useless, idle concerns of the past or the future. Tend to what is right in front of you. If you are coloring, color, if you are putting a puzzle together, find the next piece.

This is where the new fresh mind is. You really can live without your stories, the echoes of before and after are ghosts that torment you and accuse you of what you did or did not do. You’ll need to shovel out over and over again. The practice gives you a chance to see it and watch it like a rainstorm. It’s completely up to you. No one else can dig you out. You gotta do it yourself.

Continuous shoveling is Buddha, continuous Buddha is shoveling

The eradication of infatuation, hostility and delusion are the destination.

Present-moment awareness of body, speech and mind is the path.

Look at the end of your nose.

Practice a present-moment awareness, i.e., coloring, puzzles and copying a sutra.


Good luck.

Reference from Glenn Wallis, Basic Teachings.

Your Practice?

Are you trying to escape?
Do you think there is a better place to be?
Are you wanting and craving something different?
Which fish are you?

How's your practice?

Just this....every drop fresh, new and completely falling over....

Why adhere to intimate or distant?

Sometimes we do not see eye to eye. How do we disagree without harming one another? How do we include it all?

The Egg

It is hard for us to see how to take care...like a hen that sits on a chicken...how do you relate to the care of your laptop? Your granite coutnertop? Your car? The keys to your house? The dental floss in your bathroom? The ceramic tile? The refrigerator? The air conditioner? The e-mail? The e-ticket. The TV? The monitor? The ambulance? The mattress? These are the things of our world. These are what cry out to us...care for me like a chicken on an egg...how are you doing?

Duality

Gain and loss, true and false: drop them all in one moment.

Dhammapada

If you do not find an intelligent companion,A fellow travelerOf good conduct, and wise,Travel alone,Like a king renouncing a conquered kingdom,Like the elephant Matanga on the forest.