two mindfullness trainings

The 14 mindfulness trainings are used at Thich Nhat Hahn's Plum Village Retreat in France. The first two trainings are presented below and each is followed by my comments. 

For more information on the 14 trainings go here http://toonloon.bizland.com/compilations/fourteen-mindfulness-trainings .

The First Mindfulness Training: Openness

Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance,

we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones.

We are committed to seeing the Buddhist teachings as a guiding means that help us learn to look deeply and develop understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.

We understand that fanaticism in its many forms is the result of perceiving things in a dualistic or discriminative manner.

We will train ourselves to look at everything with openness and the insight of interbeing in order to transform dogmatism and violence in ourselves and the world.

Comment on “mindfulness training 1”

Individual human beings are conditioned in parts by nature, nurture and serendipity. Both the conscious and the unconscious mindbrain are conditioned. The conditioning fits the individual to operate in a hunting and gathering group of 50-100 in the African savanna. The conditioning process creates a world view rooted in myth and magic and normally includes a distinction between ‘me, us and them’.

The conditioning process has resulted in a wide variety of forms throughout history and geography. At the positive end of the spectrum the conditioning can be thought of as broad-minded and open-ended education and training; while at the negative end it can be viewed as narrow-minded and limiting indoctrination and brainwashing, they are parochial xenophobes. Note – there is a lot of this about. In evolutionary terms it is fit enough to survive.


THEY are war-mongering, intolerant, idolatrous, dogmatic, fanatics and zealots irrationally bound to theories, doctrines and ideologies that are rooted in dualistic myth and magic. In short, they are parochial xenophobes. Note – there is a lot of this about. In evolutionary terms it is fit enough to survive.

 

WE are peace-loving, tolerant, flexible, reasonable and rational. Our world view is rooted in the experiential monistic concept of interbeing. Along with the rocks and stones and plants and animals, we are all citizens of planet earth. In short we are global co-operators and environmentalists. Note: this way of understanding things is catching on (eg green politics and MBSR). How might we work towards making this viewpoint fitter?

At the personal level there is the bad news and the good news. The bad news is that often while on the cushion, the darker side of my nature and nurture enter the attention centre. The good news is the fact of neural plasticity – it is never too late to change your mindbrain. Notice what arises, label it and let it go. More good news – having experienced and understood the bad stuff in myself I am more inclined to be compassionate towards other people who have still to get on top of their bad stuff.

The Second Mindfulness Training: Non-Attachment to Views

Aware of the suffering created by attachment to views and wrong perceptions,

we are determined to avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views.

We are committed to learning and practicing nonattachment from views and being open to other’s insights and experiences in order to benefit from the collective wisdom. Insight is revealed through the practice of compassionate listening, deep looking, and letting go of notions rather than through the accumulation of intellectual knowledge.

We are aware that the knowledge we presently possess is not changeless, absolute truth. Truth is found in life, and we will observe life within and around us in every moment, ready to learn throughout our lives.

Comment on “mindfulness training 2”

In the late 1960s I was conditioned into thinking and writing like a scientist (Zoologist) and later (1980 and 1986) as an academic. My worldview was a creation of those times.

I read Thomas Kuhn’s 1962 book -“The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” and thus knew that we were not dealing with ‘truth’ but rather with ‘the best working hypothesises in the light of evidence presently available’.

I also absorbed the scientific spirit of evidence-based, critical thinking where it was my duty to try and discredit the findings of fellow scientists. If the findings were insecure then it was for the greater good that this should be demonstrated. If the findings could withstand attack by the fiercest of adversaries then so much the better.

It sounds like a cool rational process but emotions could run very high in opposing camps – scientists are also human beings and prone to cognitive biases. Groupthink is another ever present danger. Older and influential scientific brains often find it hard to shift with the paradigm and they come to be surrounded by careerist sycophants. “Max Planck … sadly remarked that ‘a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.’” Passions can get the better of reason!

But the non-attachment to views brought about by mindfulness is a guiding star in the methodology of both meditators and scientists. And the methodologies lead to very similar insights and understandings related to (a) the workings of the mindbrain, (b) the psychology of perception, (c) the politics of environmental stewardship and (d) the commitment to life-long learning.